Tempers and Rhetoric Already Unseasonably Hot in Supervisorial Campaigns

There are still six months until the Nov. 5 election, but the two races for county supervisor have begun in earnest.

Deputy District Attorney Todd Spitzer and Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange), the two candidates in the 3rd District, traded rhetorical blows recently amid hoots and catcalls in a debate before students at Brea Olinda High School.

In the 1st District, Westminster Mayor Chuck V. Smith and Garden Grove City Councilman Mark Leyes are swapping charges of campaign finance irregularities.

Leyes ignited the fireworks last month by parading before the Republican county Central Committee carrying a campaign sign with messages on both sides. One was from the November 1995 campaign; it urged a ‘no’ vote on the recall of then-Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress).

The other side carried an exhortation to vote for Smith this year.

“It’s called conservation, or recycling,” Smith said last week, acknowledging that he had been an Allen supporter and had purchased the leftover signs at a cut rate.

“That’s fine, but it’s illegal,” retorted Leyes, who charged in a complaint to the state Fair Political Practices Commission that if Smith got the signs at a reduced rate, he should have listed an in-kind contribution from Allen. Leyes has also sent the charges to the district attorney’s office.

Smith said his campaign filed all the proper paperwork, although some was done late. A spokesman for the FPPC said he could not comment. The D.A.’s office did not return telephone calls on the matter last week.

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Spinning webs: Republican presidential candidates were not the only ones using the Internet in recent months to reach out to the electorate. Local politicos also created home pages to communicate with Orange County voters.

“It was like an electronic mailer,” said Susan Withrow, a Mission Viejo City Council member who ran unsuccessfully for county supervisor in the 3rd District. “It was kind of hard to judge its effectiveness because this technology is so new . . . but it was a way for people to learn about me without my having to get in a car and drive 28 miles to Brea or Yorba Linda.”

Withrow’s Web site cost about $1,000 to create. She said she received about 150 inquiries during the campaign. Much like a political brochure, the home page allowed browsing voters to learn about Withrow’s platform and personal and professional background--complete with pictures of the candidate’s family.

In the future, “I think it will be a whole lot cheaper to campaign through the Internet,” Withrow said. “It’s definitely the wave of the future.”

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Limiting the supes: A county charter that would have limited supervisors to two consecutive four-year terms in office was soundly defeated at the polls in March.

But voters may get a second chance to consider the issue. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to decide Tuesday whether to place a measure on the November ballot that would impose the eight-year limit for supervisors.

Supervisor Marian Bergeson proposed the measure, saying term limits remains a popular issue despite the defeat of the charter.

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One yes, one maybe: There were headlines when San Juan Capistrano City Council members Carolyn Nash and Collene Campbell were first elected four years ago. Until then, no woman had ever served on the council and few had run for office.

Today, both women are former mayors--the mayor’s post in the city is a one-year, largely ceremonial title--with their council terms about to expire. How about another try?

Nash said she will run again in November, but acknowledges her council term has been “a significant learning experience, to say the least. . . . I had the misfortune of having the county declare bankruptcy the night I was sworn in as mayor.”

Campbell, the city’s first female mayor, remains undecided. “One day I think yes, and one day I think no,” she said.

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To Russia, with Mark: Irvine-based GOP political consultant Mark Thompson has been on a bit of a roll lately. He directed the campaign last summer to defeat Measure R, the half-cent sales tax increase to bail the county of bankruptcy. Two current clients--Conroy and Republican Bill Campbell of Villa Park--have won spots on the November ballot in supervisorial Assembly races, respectively.

Now Thompson is branching out. Way out. He will fly next week to Vladivostok, Russia, to help the incumbent mayor there run for reelection.

Never mind that Thompson doesn’t speak the language.

“I’ll have a translator the whole time,” Thompson said. “They are trying to set up American-type elections there. It will be an incredible experience.”

UPCOMING EVENTS

* Monday: The 71st Assembly District Democratic Committee will meet from 7:30-9 p.m. at the community room of the Irvine Marketplace, 4255 Campus Drive, Irvine. Information: Mannie Costales at (714) 770-1926.

* Wednesday: Edward Barker, an authority on China and the Far East, will be the guest speaker at the membership luncheon of the Capistrano Valley Republican Women Federated from 1-3 p.m. at the Orlandella home, 24422 Santa Clara Ave., Dana Point. Information: (714) 489-9889.

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Longest-Serving County Supervisors

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Name Years served District Willard Smith 27(1925-1952) Fourth Willis Warner 23(1939-1962) Second Thomas F. Riley 21(1974-1995) Fifth William Schumacker 19(1913-1932) Third C.M. Featherly 19(1949-1968) First

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* Source: Clerk of the Board of Supervisors

Compiled by Times staff writer Len Hall, with contributions from correspondents Frank Messina and Shelby Grad.

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.