A behind-the-scenes look at Orange County’s political life : Assembly Race Hopeful Campbell Rips Beam and His Position Paper

Former Orange mayor and current Assembly candidate Jim Beam has been championing his “Clean Campaign Pledge” for weeks, long enough to get three of his four Republican opponents to sign on. Beam wants all candidates in the race to sign an agreement that they will run positive campaigns, free of derogatory comments about one another.

The fifth GOP candidate in the Assembly’s 71st District, Bill Campbell of Villa Park, has not only resisted, he held up the pledge at a recent meeting of Orange County’s Rush Limbaugh Fan Club and tore it to pieces.

“We were kind of mystified by that one,” said Beam’s political consultant, Wayne Johnson. “We are just trying to be nice.”

But Mark Thompson, Campbell’s campaign manager, said his candidate got a standing ovation for ripping up Beam’s pledge. Thompson, who said Campbell has signed a similar pledge sponsored by the Republican Party, believes Beam is just trying to protect himself from negatives in his past.

“Beam is scared to death he’s going to get hit for the truth that lies in his past,” Thompson said. “He’s just trying to protect his butt.”

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Oops: James Righeimer, a self-proclaimed conservative candidate for the Orange County Board of Education, found himself in an embarrassing bind last week when court records revealed that there was a warrant out for his arrest.

Over the Fourth of July weekend in 1994, police cited the 37-year-old Fountain Valley real estate consultant for drinking in public near Seashore Drive and 41st Street in Newport Beach. Righeimer said he was at a friend’s barbecue when he was ticketed by police for holding a red plastic cup of beer in front of the home.

Righeimer, who co-chaired the successful campaign to recall former Assemblywoman Doris Allen, became a wanted man because he inadvertently failed to pay the fine to settle the matter or show up for court. After a reporter alerted him to the warrant, Righeimer rushed to pay the fine the next day, handing over $270.

“It was the most expensive beer I ever paid for,” Righeimer said.

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No on S: Three local groups have recently declared their opposition to Measure S, the initiative on the March 26 county ballot that would repeal a proposal to build a commercial airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. Two were expected, but the other was a slight surprise.

The expected opposition came from the Orange County Business Council and the county chapter of the National Assn. of Industrial and Office Properties. Both are considered pro-development groups and both issued statements suggesting an airport at the Marine base would be a boon for the county’s economy.

The more surprising opposition to Measure S came from the 30-member board of directors of the Irvine Chamber of Commerce, which represents about 1,000 companies. The conventional wisdom is that most Irvine residents don’t want a commercial airport so near their homes, and the Irvine City Council has unanimously supported Measure S since its inception.

In its statement, the chamber board stressed that its opposition is not a stance on an airport. Rather, the organization is philosophically opposed to “ballot box planning.” It also opposed Measure A, the 1994 initiative that called for an airport at El Toro.

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A no on T: The Orange County Republican Party was not kind last week to Measure T, the proposed county charter that also will be on the March 26 ballot. The charter, designed to restructure county government in the wake of the bankruptcy, would convert several elective posts, such as treasurer-tax collector and auditor-controller, into appointive ones. It would also limit county supervisors to two consecutive terms, and would establish a strong county chief executive officer.

But the Republicans blasted the measure as increasing the county bureaucracy and possibly opening the way to new taxes.

“This measure is a sham,” said Thomas A. Fuentes, the county GOP chairman, in a prepared statement. “It offers little in the way of reform. It is anti-democratic and pro-bureaucratic.”

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Last call: For anyone who wants to vote in the March 26 primary, Monday is the final day to register. To accommodate all last-minute filers, the registrar of voters office at 1300 S. Grand Ave., Building C, in Santa Ana will remain open until midnight, said Registrar Rosalyn Lever. Five other local city halls will also remain open until 8 p.m. for registration purposes. They are Anaheim, Brea, Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo and Stanton.

UPCOMING EVENTS

* Tonight: The South Orange County Democratic Club will meet at 7 at the Educators Meeting Room, 25231 Paseo de Alicia, Laguna Hills. All area Democrats are invited. Information: Norma Long at (714) 770-9709.

* Tuesday: A fund-raiser for Jeff Thomas’ candidacy for Tustin City Council will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the Orange County Mining Co. Information: Betty Presley at (714) 540-0461.

* Tuesday: A fund-raiser for supervisorial candidate Helen Wilson will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Club. Information: (714) 586-1260.

* Friday: Candidates for the 71st Assembly District will be guest speakers at state Sen. John Lewis’ Century Club Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. at the Doubletree Hotel in Orange. Information: (714) 385-8191.

* Friday: Supervisorial candidate Chuck Smith will have a campaign open house from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Arcade Building, 12866 Main St., Suite 101A, Garden Grove. Information: (714) 897-1164.

* Friday-Saturday: Lt. Gov. Gray Davis and Ann Lewis, the deputy campaign manager for the Clinton presidential campaign, will be among the featured guests at the biannual Orange County Democratic Convention at the Inn at the Park in Anaheim.

* Saturday: Supervisor Don Saltarelli will be the guest speaker at the meeting of the Republican Woman of Brea Federated from 10 a.m. to noon at the Pioneer Hall, 304 W. Elm St. Information: Carol Wolfert at (714) 529-6030 or Marilyn Sutton at (714) 671-1348.

Compiled by Times staff writer Len Hall, with contributions from staff writers Diane Seo and Rene Lynch.

Politics ’96 appears every Sunday. Items can be mailed to Politics ‘96, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or faxed to (714) 966-7711.