Capizzi Raising Money to Run for Atty. Gen.

Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi, whose popularity among some GOP leaders has declined because of his recent prosecution of Republican officeholders, confirmed Thursday that he has begun raising money to run for state attorney general.

A fund-raiser is planned next week in Beverly Hills on behalf of Capizzi, who, according to the invitation, is “a candidate for attorney general of the state of California.”

Capizzi on Thursday stopped short of saying that he is a full-fledged candidate for the job, characterizing his actions as an “exploration” to “see what kind of financial support” he could muster within the Republican Party. He has formed a campaign committee to help with that effort.

For years, the 57-year-old prosecutor has been one of the most respected law enforcement officials in Orange County. Recently, however, he has come under attack from some party leaders, including state GOP Vice Chairman Michael Schroeder and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Huntington Beach, for prosecuting Orange County Republican officeholders.

Those cases include the unsuccessful misconduct prosecutions of Supervisors William G. Steiner and Roger R. Stanton for their roles in the county’s 1994 bankruptcy and pending campaign finance fraud charges against Assemblyman Scott Baugh of Huntington Beach.

“I would not think his chances for attorney general are very good,” said attorney Wylie Aitken, who defended Stanton in the misconduct case. “On the other hand, I’m sure there are people who believe we need another district attorney in this county and wouldn’t mind seeing him go.”

Capizzi said the views of some party leaders and others who criticize him are not representative of most Republicans in the state.

“I think one or two have been vocal against me, but I think there is a silent and substantial majority who are supportive and recognize I have a job to do.”

Thomas Malcolm, a prominent Orange County attorney and Capizzi supporter, praised him for being “an equal-opportunity prosecutor” who goes after both Democrats and Republicans who violate the law.

“He has a lot of integrity,” Malcolm said.

Capizzi, who has been the county’s top prosecutor for the past seven years and an attorney in the office for 31 years, has earned a reputation for pursuing political corruption cases. As a prosecutor in the office during the 1970s, Capizzi won about 40 convictions on public corruption charges, including those against two county supervisors and a former congressman.

Capizzi, whose term expires in two years, has hinted for months that he was interested in the attorney general position, which would be vacant if Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren were to run for governor in 1998, as is widely expected.

Some GOP officials pointed out that Capizzi is going outside Orange County for his fund-raiser, which is being held at the Beverly Hills home of urologist Norman J. Nemoy and his wife, film producer Carole Curb Nemoy. Carole Curb Nemoy is the sister of record mogul Mike Curb, who was the state’s Republican lieutenant governor from 1979 to 1983.

“I guess he’s got to go out of Orange County to raise money and get support,” Steiner said.

According to several party insiders, some well-heeled Orange County GOP leaders are considering a symbolic gesture against Capizzi by planning a fund-raiser for the man most likely to be his chief opponent for attorney general: David Sterling, chief deputy to Lungren.

“People are ready to go after him,” one knowledgeable source said.

Capizzi’s potential Republican challengers include Sterling and Assemblyman Jan Goldsmith of Poway in San Diego County.

Sterling was a two-term assemblyman from Whittier during the 1970s. He ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination for attorney general and later served as general counsel to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board before being appointed to the Superior Court bench in Sacramento County. He has served as Lungren’s top aide for six years.

Goldsmith, a former Poway mayor, has served since 1992 in the Assembly, where he has been chairman of the Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice but has not earned a very strong reputation in the Capitol as a law-and-order lawmaker.

Goldsmith also has the disadvantage of coming from a rural part of the state, a factor that could hurt him in both fund-raising and name recognition.

Capizzi has strong ties in the prosecutorial community, serving as president of the California District Attorneys Assn. But that is not expected to translate into big fund-raising capabilities, political consultants said.

“I think he is going to have a very difficult time,” said Mark Thompson, a Republican consultant. “The rank-and-file members of the Republican Party--the activists, the legislators--are not going to put their names on the dotted line for him.”

On the Democratic side, the presumptive front-runner is state Sen. Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward). As the top Democrat in the Legislature’s upper house, he comes armed with a formidable capacity for raising campaign dollars.

Also looking at the race is Sen. Charles M. Calderon (D-Whittier), who enjoys the advantage of being a Sacramento insider plus having links to the state’s growing Latino voting bloc.

Times staff writer Tracy Weber contributed to this report.