ORANGE COUNTY CONGRESSIONAL RACES; Candidates’ Backgrounds, Views on Issues and the Airport

Voters go to the polls Tuesday to choose candidates who will appear on the November ballot. Here’s a closer look at candidates for Congress, state Senate and state Assembly. Candidates were asked about their goals and their stand on the proposed El Toro Airport. They were also asked their position on county toll roads which have come under scrutiny in recent months.

CONGRESS 41ST DISTRICT

Gary G. Miller

Personal: 51, Married, four children

Party: Republican

Career highlights: Incumbent. Former Diamond Bar mayor and city councilman, and former state assemblymen.

Goals: Protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare. Pay off the national debt. Clean up contaminated sites in inner cites, and curtail spam on the Internet.

El Toro: Called an airport “beneficial” for the district, but said the matter should be decided locally.

Toll roads: Supports private toll roads as a last option, but believes the state should prioritize expanding the freeway system.

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Anthony “Tony” Ma

Personal: 75, married, two children

Party: Republican

Career highlights: A teacher in Hong Kong for 10 years before immigrating to the United States in 1959. He worked as an aircraft mechanic and engineer for several Southern California aerospace firms, and also worked as a Caltrans engineer for 25 years.

Goals: Protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare.

El Toro: Undecided.

Toll roads: Chose not to comment.

Running unopposed are former Ontario city councilman Rodolfo G. “Rudy” Favila of Ontario, Democrat, and golf course manager David Kramer of Chino Hills, Natural Law.

45TH DISTRICT

Dana Rohrabacher

Personal: 54, married

Party: Republican

Career highlights: Incumbent. Worked as a speechwriter and special assistant to President Reagan, and currently chairs the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee.

Goals: Restraining government spending and reducing taxes. Promote space commercialization, and ensure the West Coast receives its fair share of federal dollars to protect the coastline.

El Toro: “Aggressively in favor” of the proposed airport, saying it will bring economic prosperity to Orange County.

Toll roads: Favors private toll roads if proven they can reduce traffic and are self-sustaining.

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Long K. Pham

Personal: 49, married, four children

Party: Republican

Career highlights: Worked as a senior engineer for the Bechtel Corp., Rockwell International and Ralph M. Parsons Co., and also worked for Edison International. He is the vice president elect of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Goals: Reform the health care system to make it more affordable; cut taxes and reduce federal spending; protect Social Security and establish congressional term limits. Favors a greater federal commitment to aerospace research and development.

El Toro: Supports the proposed El Toro airport.

Toll roads: No opinion.

Running unopposed are consultant Ted Crisell, Democrat, small business owner Don Hull of Costa Mesa, Libertarian, and real estate agent Constance Betton of Newport Beach, Natural Law.

46TH DISTRICT

Loretta Sanchez

Personal: Married

Party: Democrat

Career highlights: Incumbent. Co-chair of the Democratic National Committee; member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and of the House Armed Services Committee.

Goals: Providing an increase in affordable housing, especially in Orange County. Supports efforts to revive urban areas, and will continue efforts to secure funds for cities in her district. Investing any federal surplus in preserving Social Security and Medicare, and expand Medicare to include prescription drug coverage.

El Toro: Opposes Measure F because she sees restriction on building jails as a threat to public safety. Says the airport should be decided by local voters.

Toll roads: Supported the state’s move to stop the sale of the 91 Express Lanes to the state. Considers the failure of that road to be a “major public policy problem” that calls into question building private toll roads.

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Howard Garber

Personal: 71, married, three children

Party: Republican

Career highlights: Retired eye doctor, founder and director of conservative American Civil Responsibilities Union and host of public access cable television show “The ACRU Report.” An activist for victims rights.

Goals: Stem the flow of immigrants into the United States, especially illegal immigrants from Mexico. Promises to be a “loud voice” who will expose wrongdoing by the Federal Communications Commission. Support tougher laws against crime.

El Toro: “Not real strong on the issue.”

Toll roads: Supports the construction of private toll roads.

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Gloria Matta Tuchman

Personal: 58, married, two sons

Party: Republican

Career highlights: Teacher. Unsuccessful candidate for state superintendent of public instruction in 1998. Former school board member and teacher of the year. Strong advocate for Prop. 227, the anti-bilingual eduction initiative approved by voters in 1998.

Goals: Reforming the nation’s schools, especially giving parents more control. Supports government-supported vouchers for students in poorly performing public school. Cutting taxes.

El Toro: Supports the proposed international airport.

Toll roads: Supports the construction of private toll roads, but opposes state bailouts for failed projects, including the 91 Express Lanes.

Running uncontested is civil engineer Larry Engwall of Santa Ana, Natural Law.

47TH DISTRICT

Christopher Cox

Personal: 48, Married, three children. Lives in Newport Beach

Party: Republican

Career highlights: Fourth-ranking member of House Republican leadership. Chairman of House select committee on China that released a report saying China has acquired numerous nuclear warhead designs and military secrets of the past two decades. Attorney and former associate counsel for the Bush administration.

Goals: Spearheading an effort to overhaul the federal budget-making system. Opposes taxation and excessive regulation of the Internet. Supports repeal of inheritance taxes and “marriage penalty.” Supports the adoption of a strategic missile defense system.

El Toro: Supports Measure F, and said he strongly opposes any airport at El Toro that is advanced against the wishes of the affected community. Supports selling the property to the highest bidder.

Toll roads: Says county taxpayers already pay enough for federal highways, and that the county should receive its fair share of funding. Also has said that private financing of toll roads has sped up construction of much-needed freeways and saved taxpayers billions of dollars.

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Don Irvine

Personal: 49, married, one child. Lives in Irvine

Party: Democrat

Career highlights: Retired LAPD lieutenant. Substitute teacher for the Irvine school district, and part-time aide to Irvine City Councilman Dave Christensen.

Goals: Making sure an El Toro airport is never built. Supports strong gun control.

El Toro: Opposed to the airport.

Toll roads: Opposes private toll roads.

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Jim Keysor

Personal: 72, Married, four children. Lives in Laguna Woods

Party: Democrat

Career highlights: Businessman. Was state assemblyman from 1971-78, representing the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County.

Goals: Stop the proposed El Toro airport. Protect abortion rights. Preserve separation of church and state.

El Toro: Adamantly opposed to the proposed airport. Supports Measure F.

Toll roads: Undecided

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John Graham

Personal: 52, married, four children

Party: Democrat

Career highlights: UCI professor in international finance. Co-author of four books, including “International Marketing” and “Doing Business with the New Japan.”

Goals: Reforming the nation’s schools. Supports a 10-month school year and paying teachers more. Supports campaign finance reform.

El Toro: The proposed airport is a “stupid idea.”

Toll roads: No strong opinion.

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Maziar Mafi

Personal: 38, Married. Lives in Laguna Beach

Party: Democrat

Career highlights: Attorney specializing in business litigation. Former member of the Orange County Democratic Central Committee, and finance chairman for the local party. Past president of the Laguna Beach Democrats.

Goals: Stopping the proposed El Toro airport. Using any federal surplus to preserve Social Security and pay down the national debt. Supports abortion rights. Supports mandatory child-proof trigger locks for handguns.

El Toro: Adamantly opposed. Supports Measure F.

Toll roads: Does not support the construction of private roads.

Running unopposed are business manager Iris Adam of Irvine, Natural Law, and author/inventor David F. Nolan of Mission Viejo, Libertarian.

48TH DISTRICT

Darrell Issa

Personal: 46, married, one child. Lives in Vista.

Party: Republican

Career highlights: Founder of Directed Electronics, a manufacturer of car security systems. Was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1998. Co-chair of campaign for Proposition 209 in 1996, the anti-affirmative action initiative.

Goals: Restoring the nation’s military. Reforming public schools, placing more power with local districts and parents. Opposes bilingual education. Supports tax cuts and reduction of government regulation.

El Toro: Opposed to the proposed airport.

Toll roads: Not available.

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Mark Dornan

Personal: 40, Married. Lives in San Juan Capistrano

Party: Republican

Career highlights: Teacher. Worked on the campaigns of his father, former U.S. Rep. Robert K. Dornan. Active in GOP politics in Orange County for two decades. Co-founder of Save Our Bay, an organization opposing offshore drilling along the coastlines of Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Goals: Improving housing and pay for military personnel. Protect the nation’s borders to stem the flow of illegal immigrants. Favors more local charter schools, and less federal intervention in education.

El Toro: Opposes the proposed airport. Supports turning the former Marine Corps base into a “soldiers home.”

Toll roads: Does not support private toll roads, saying the transportation system should be upgraded with more efficient use of current tax revenue.

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Bill Morrow

Personal: 45, divorced, one child. Lives in Oceanside

Party: Republican

Career highlights: The outgoing state senator representing Oceanside, which he also represented as a state assemblyman. Former Marine Corps major and chief prosecutor at Camp Pendleton.

Goals: Restore the nation’s military. Reduce the size and cost of government. Repair Social Security and Medicare.

El Toro: Opposes the airport. Favors Measure F.

Toll roads: Supports the completion of Foothill South, and supports the use of private toll roads if necessary to improve the local transportation system.

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Kevin M. Mahan

Personal: 54, married, four children

Party: Republican

Career highlights: Lawyer and radio host. Former U.S. Air Force pilot and helicopter pilot. Also worked as a financial systems consultant.

Goals: Wants to eliminate the inheritance tax and eliminate income taxes for military personnel. Supports rebuilding the nation’s military strength.

El Toro: Opposes airport

Toll roads: Sees it as local issue

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Peter Kouvelis

Personal: 33. Lives in Dana Point

Party: Democrat

Career highlights: Retired Marine Corps captain. Advisor to Marine experimental warfare unit, and helped formulate policies for the Marines disaster and terrorist response units.

Goals: Better constituent service. Reforming the nation’s schools. Supports a strong patients’ bill of rights that will allow HMOs to be sued. Wants to make health care expenses tax-deductible.

El Toro: “I will use every power available to me to derail the El Toro airport.”

Toll roads: “Not a big fan” of private tolls roads.

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Richard K. Maguire

Personal: 41, Single. Lives in Dana Point

Party: Democrat

Career highlights: Mortgage broker. Director of a nonprofit organization that offers educational workshops to health care workers on alcohol and drug dependency and domestic violence.

Goals: Protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare, and expand Medicare coverage to include prescription medication. Supports abortion rights. Favors requiring child-proof trigger locks on all gun sales.

El Toro: Supports Measure F. Favors the Millennium Plan, which would convert the former Marine base into a park and economic center.

Toll roads: Calls private toll roads a bad idea, and as evidence points to the problems encountered by the 91 Express Lane.

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Also running are personal financial consultant Joe Michael Cobb of Dana Point, Libertarian; engineer and teacher Eddie Rose of Laguna Niguel, Reform Party, small business owner James Luke, Republican; teacher William D. Griffith, Republican; defense high-tech researcher Kim Debow, Republican; Corona del Mar physician and businessman Don Udall, Republican; business owner Sharon K. Miles of Laguna Niguel, Natural Law, and Lakewood businessman Ed Mayerhofer, Republican.