3rd District Rivals Argue Over Signs

What many observers expect to be a volatile race for county supervisor in the 3rd District caught fire Thursday with both candidates trading heated charges over their campaign signs.

Candidate Todd Spitzer, a county deputy district attorney from Brea, contended that his opponent, Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange), tore down Spitzer’s campaign signs from a booth last weekend at the Orange International Street Fair, and demanded an apology.

“Your conduct in removing two of my signs . . . was unprofessional, immature and demonstrated conduct unbecoming of a person of your stature and responsibility,” said Spitzer in a letter faxed to Conroy. “I only hope that your conduct was a blind aberration, motivated more by a lack of sleep . . . than by a true inner readiness to do evil.”

Conroy acknowledged that he cut down Spitzer’s two signs at a city of Orange Republican women’s booth because the supervisorial seat is nonpartisan. Conroy said candidates were told to bring only campaign literature.

“You don’t put nonpartisan signs in a partisan booth,” said Conroy, who is serving his final few months in the Assembly because of term limits. “He could have just as well put his signs in the Democratic booth, where they probably would have been more at home.”

But Spitzer said he was asked by the Republican women to bring his signs to the booth and that any Republican candidate was allowed the same privilege.

The two candidates are running to take over the seat now held by Supervisor Don Saltarelli, who was appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson. Saltarelli took over for former Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, who resigned in 1995 after the county bankruptcy.