Crowded Field in 1st District Makes Runoff Likely

The race for the 1st District county supervisor’s seat includes a trio of popular Republican officials from three of the area’s major cities in a contest that will test who can find the most votes outside his home base.

The major contenders in the nonpartisan March 26 election are Fountain Valley Councilman George B. Scott, Westminster Mayor Charles V. Smith and Garden Grove Councilman Mark Leyes. Two candidates considered longshots in the competition to succeed retiring supervisor Roger R. Stanton are Libertarian Gary D. Copeland of Fountain Valley and Democrat Robert John Banuelos of Santa Ana.

Most political observers agree it is unlikely that any candidate will win a majority of the votes and capture the seat next month. That means the two top vote-getters probably will meet again in November.

“Unless any one of the candidates substantially increases his fund-raising there will be a runoff,” said political consultant Mark Thompson, who is not involved in the contest. “I predict Leyes will be in first place, but he won’t have sufficient votes to take it outright, not unless he can spend $100,000 and his key opponents don’t increase their spending substantially.”

Leyes, a Democrat until January 1995, has the backing of several county Republican heavyweights, including his boyhood friend, Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle of Garden Grove.

“Mark is antitax and conservative,” Pringle said. “He believes in a limited government,” one that focuses “on public safety as the No. 1 job. In addition to that, he is my best friend.”

That has made Leyes the biggest fund-raiser in the contest. As of the most recent campaign report filed Feb. 10 he had raised $33,000, although he says the figure reached $55,000 last week.

His friendship with Pringle has also given him access to voter lists and computer technology under the control of the county’s leading Republican politician.

It has also caused a number of people to attack Leyes, labeling him an opportunist who shed his Democratic registration after a career as a Democratic Party activist. Others criticize him as a conservative-come-lately who was the deciding vote in 1991 when the Garden Grove City Council approved $3.3 million in taxes and fee increases.

Leyes rejects the opportunist charge and the tax-and-spend label.

“My antitax credentials speak for themselves,” he said. “I campaigned against Measure R [the half-cent sales tax to bail the county out of bankruptcy that was rejected in June], when George Scott was missing in action.”

Leyes also defended the tax and fee increases, especially one that raised water rates, saying it was done to make the city-run Water Department fiscally independent of the general fund budget.

Scott said he opposed Measure R but did not publicly campaign against it.

The district attorney’s office is trying to determine whether Leyes is meeting requirements that a 1st District home where he is registered to vote is his “domicile.” Some opponents contend Leyes actually lives in another home he owns in a section of Garden Grove in the 2nd Supervisorial District.

Leyes rejected the charge. He said he and his wife, Wanda, are now living in the 1st District house, sharing the quarters with a family that has rented it from him for several years.

Smith said he would file an official protest with the registrar’s office in an attempt to have Leyes removed from the ballot.

Copeland also faces allegations that he is registered at his business address, which is inside the district, rather than the address where his wife and children live, which is outside it. He too has rejected the allegations, contending he actually lives at the business address because of an unusual family arrangement.

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The low-key campaign has so far surprised some observers, who note the relative difficulty the candidates appear to be having in raising funds. Campaign fund-raising reports filed Feb. 10, the most recent available, showed that Scott had raised $11,400 and Smith $22,700. Both candidates said last week, however, that they had exceeded those sums, with Scott claiming $40,000 and Smith $25,000.

Total spending is substantially down from the 1994 primary for the 2nd District seat.

The central Orange County district has traditionally seen some of the county’s lowest voter turnout. It encompasses all of Fountain Valley and Westminster, half of Garden Grove, two-thirds of Santa Ana and several unincorporated areas, the largest of which is Midway City.

If money remains tight, then spots in the runoff could go to the candidates with the best organizations.

“None of the three [city officials] are that well known and they are isolated in their own areas,” said consultant Bruce Nestande, a former supervisor and Assembly member. “Whoever can put that personal effort into it can break out.”

The most interesting aspect of the race will be watching which candidate works hardest to woo voters outside his home turf.

“The real big base--Santa Ana--is up for grabs,” Nestande said. “Anybody who is doing any kind of analysis would be in there in spades. Why go into the area of your opponent, where they are strong? Why not go into Santa Ana and maximize the new base?”

Only Smith favors Measure T, a countywide ballot measure to enact a county charter that voters will also consider in March. Like the other candidates, however, he opposes Measure U, which would increase the number of county supervisors from five to nine. Copeland is the lone advocate of Measure S, which would repeal plans to locate an international airport at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. He believes developing land is none of the government’s business.

Banuelos, who plans to take no campaign contributions, is basing his effort on his appeal as a political outsider, someone who cares deeply about people.

“I can feel people’s frustration when they can’t get help,” he said. “I enjoy and love helping people” and would bring that dedication to the office.

Banuelos believes the county’s program to recover from bankruptcy “is going generally well,” but says he must reserve final judgment.

Copeland, who as a consultant worked on a project to re-engineer Humboldt County’s government, does not believe he can win the race, but says he is running to get his ideas before the voters, the other candidates and county government.

“We want to have impact and show folks there are alternatives to what is going on in the system,” he said. “I keep telling the public this is a real opportunity to force government to be more efficient.”

Copeland, who plans to spend about $10,000, says he will use no mailers or door-to-door canvassing, both of which he considers invasions of the voters’ privacy. Rather, he said he will buy cable television ads and perhaps some space in newspapers and campaign on the Internet.

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Copeland contends that county officials have failed miserably to address the bankruptcy. “Right now, government is hiding,” he said. “I don’t want to let them get away with what they are doing.”

Leyes, who describes himself as a free-market conservative, holds out the hope that he can raise $100,000 and end the contest in March. He said his campaign will reach out to the voters in other cities with an aggressive absentee ballot and mail effort, and also utilize door-to-door campaigning.

He praised the county’s efforts to forge a long-term agreement to repay cities that had investments in the county bond pool, and the county lawsuit against Wall Street brokerage firm Merrill Lynch. But like Copeland, he sees an opportunity missed.

“We have squandered almost every opportunity to reform local government and we are very close to back to business as usual,” he said. “To me that is unacceptable and why we need new leadership.”

Scott also suggests he could win the race in March, though he is still far short of his campaign funding goal of $75,000. His effort also will be a traditional one, with mailers, an absentee ballot drive and door-to-door campaigning. He hopes to attract volunteers through connections made during more than 20 years of work in the community and on the City Council, said his consultant, Dan Wooldridge.

Scott said his strength is a “history of proven countywide leadership” both as a former president of the county chapter of the League of California Cities and through years of service on county-level committees. He also touted his experience as a coach and a schoolteacher for 15 years at local high schools and in Juvenile Hall.

Scott praised the county agreement with pool investors and steps taken by the supervisors to control county investment practices.

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Smith has also targeted the county’s GOP establishment. He expressed frustration at taking on “a political machine run by Pringle” and others that “is very powerful and controls a lot of money.”

Smith, who retired from Rockwell International Corp. after 30 years as a manager, describes himself as an independent politician. He cited his tenure in 1995 as chairman of the Orange County Transportation Agency, when he successfully opposed efforts to raid the agency treasury to assist in the county bailout. “Mark Leyes was a champion of that,” he said.

Smith said he hopes to raise $50,000 for his campaign. He plans to start sending out mailers soon and to run a door-to-door campaign effort.

He is critical of the county bankruptcy recovery, saying officials “are trying to maintain a business-as-usual perspective. It is the cities and other organizations that are trying to restructure.”

Smith’s eight-year tenure as Westminster mayor was highlighted by a struggle with the city firefighters union over the firing of five firefighters. They were let go following an investigation into overtime fraud, but alleged they were disciplined for union activities.

The dispute lead to an unsuccessful 1994 recall election and to the council contracting out fire services with the county at a savings of $2 million a year, he said.

Last year, a federal court ordered the city and city officials--including Smith--to pay the firefighters nearly $2.5 million in damages for violating the union members’ civil rights. The city has appealed.

“We dealt with an extremely difficult situation in government: A union had gained complete control of . . . the Fire Department and were using it for their own benefit,” Smith said. “It is a victory for the taxpayers. We have better and faster fire service and we save $2 million every year.”

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Seeking Supervisor’s Seat

The vacancy caused by Supervisor Roger R. Stanton’s retirement has attracted five candidates for the 1st District seat. Here’s a look at each:

Robert John Banuelos

Age: 44

Occupation: Retired from Pacific Telesis.

Education: Tustin High School; attended Santa Ana College night school

Family: Single

Politics: Democrat

Endorsements: Santa Ana branch of Gray Panthers and Orange County chapter of Silhouette Club, both senior citizens groups

Government positions: None

Fund-raising: Less than $1,000

ON THE ISSUES

Measure T, the County Charter, and Measure U, which would increase Board of Supervisors to nine members: Opposes the charter, contending it would give too much power to the CEO and to the supervisors to pass taxes. Favors term limits. Opposes increasing the number of supervisors to nine

Measure S, which would repeal plans to locate a commercial airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station: Not in favor of S because he believes an airport is needed. “We voted on that in 1994 and this airport would bring additional income not only to the county but to cities, and would bring badly needed jobs here.”

Privatizing public safety services: “I am not for reinventing the wheel if what is working is fine, but would consider proposals to privatize public safety services and see if it would work. I oppose privatizing for the sake of privatization in all areas. I don’t want the quality of services to go downhill.”

Gary D. Copeland

Age: 39

Occupation: Owns consulting business specializing in efficiency studies for private industry and government

Education: Cal State Fullerton and Golden West College, associate of arts degrees in business and computer science

Family: Married, two children

Politics: Libertarian

Endorsements: Libertarian Party

Government positions: None

Fund-raising: Less than $1,000

ON THE ISSUES

Measures T and U: “The charter is a grab for power. It is a classic liberal effort to take away our power to make decisions and elect our own officials. U is a sham. It would just create more confusion.”

Measure S: “I would vote for S as a way to slow down the process. I would rather just sell the land. If Lockheed wants to come in and put in an airport, fine. If Disneyland wants to put in another resort, fine. Why should it be the county’s purview to develop it?”

Privatizing public safety services: “I have three criteria: If it can provide a better service, be cost-effective and if it was in line with what voters want, I would favor it. Of the public safety services, privatizing the jail would be the best fit. About 60% of county services could be privatized.”

Mark Leyes

Age: 37

Occupation: Government relations officer for Garden Grove Water District

Education: Bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics, Cal State Fullerton

Family: Married

Politics: Republican

Endorsements: Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove), Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton), Assemblyman Jim Morrissey (R-Santa Ana), state Sen. John R. Lewis (R-Orange); Garden Grove Police and Fire associations, Orange County Marshall’s Assn., California Republican Assembly

Government positions: Mayor pro tem Garden Grove, councilman for five years

Fund-raising: $33,000

ON THE ISSUES

Measures T and U: “The charter proposal is dangerous because it does not provide for voter approval of taxes.” Approves of term limits but believes it can be done without a charter. Opposes Measure U.

Measure S: Opposes Measure S, calling it anti-job, anti-growth and poorly written. “We very much need another airport in Orange County.”

Privatizing public safety services: “I think we need to privatize services wherever we can and that includes law enforcement. We need to privatize things like food service at the jail. For other services, anything the private sector can do in these areas, they can do better than government.”

George B. Scott

Age: 63

Occupation: Owns insurance agency

Education: Bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Family: Married; six children, two stepchildren and five grandchildren

Politics: Republican

Endorsements: Assemblyman Richard Ackerman (R-Fullerton), Supervisor Don Saltarelli, former U.S. Sen. John R. Seymour, full membership of the Fountain Valley City Council, Orange County Deputy Sheriff’s Assn., and police associations of Santa Ana and Fountain Valley.

Government positions: Mayor of Fountain Valley and city councilman for 21 years, past president of Orange County chapter of the League of California Cities and chairman of the El Toro Citizens Advisory Commission in 1995

Fund-raising: $11,400

ON THE ISSUES

Measures T and U: Opposes charter as written. Favors term limits and a strong chief executive but opposes reduction in number of elected positions. Opposes Measure U.

Measure S: “As most recent chairman of El Toro Citizens Advisory Commission, I am opposing S. We have spent $2.5 million . . . and I say let’s move on with Measure A.”

Privatizing public safety services: “I don’t think that is in an area we should be privatizing. I would take a look at both sides, though, if it were brought to me. I don’t think the jail is a place where we ought to privatize.”

Charles V. Smith

Age: 63

Occupation: Retired manager, Rockwell International Corp.

Education: Bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University and graduate work at UCLA

Family: Married; four children, three grandchildren

Politics: Republican

Endorsements: Anaheim Mayor Tom Daley, Brea Mayor Bernie Dunlap, La Palma Mayor Duane Schuster, Seal Beach Mayor Marilyn Bruce Hastings, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President Tony Aguilar

Government positions: Mayor of Westminster since 1988, City Council member 1984-88. President of the Orange County chapter of the League of California Cities and chairman of the Orange County Transportation Agency in 1995, vice chairman of Local Agency Formation Commission

Fund-raising: $22,700

ON THE ISSUES

Measures T and U: In favor of charter, contending it is a step in the right direction by eliminating some elected offices. Believes it does not go far enough toward privatizing of county functions. Opposes expanding Board of Supervisors.

Measure S: Favors an international airport at El Toro, which he believes would be a center of Pacific Rim trade.

Privatizing public safety services: “I am totally opposed to privatization of public safety services. It could be very dangerous. We could privatize jails, but would need to do that within the supervision of the Sheriff’s Department.”

Source: Individual candidates; Researched by PETER M. WARREN / Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times