67th Assembly District

Democrats living in the new 67th Assembly District in the northwest corner of Orange County will meet next week to form a new organization for their area. At the meeting Monday, officers will be elected and the one Democrat running for the 67th state Assembly seat in this year's election--Ken LeBlanc--will be introduced. The meeting is scheduled to be held at 7:30 p.m. in the American Legion Post No. 783, 11320 Beach Blvd., Stanton. There is a $5 registration fee.

The Legislative Coalition of the Orange Unified School District will host a public forum for 67th Assembly District candidates on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The 67th Assembly District seat became vacant when former Assemblyman John R. Lewis (R-Orange) replaced Republican John Seymour, now a U.S. senator, in the state Senate. Seven candidates will vie for the seat in a July 23 special election.

Voters in the 67th Assembly District go to the polls Tuesday for a special election to decide who will replace former Assemblyman John R. Lewis (R-Orange), who was elected to the state Senate in May. In part because the district is the second-most-Republican Assembly seat in California, Republican Mickey R. Conroy, a veterans affairs advocate, is favored over Democrat Gregory R. Ramsay, a health-care manager.

Orange City Councilman William G. Steiner, chairman of the No on J campaign to defeat the recent countywide jail tax initiative, announced Monday that he will seek the Republican nomination for the 67th Assembly District seat. Consistent with the No on J theme, Steiner pledged Monday to fight for lower taxes and more cost-effective government. "The most important issue for the 67th Assembly District, as indicated by defeat of measure J," Steiner said, "is no further increase of the tax burden. .

I was amazed to read that defeated Assemblyman Curt Pringle is seriously considering moving into my Assembly district to run for John R. Lewis' soon-to-be-vacated seat ("Dornan Backs Conroy to Replace Lewis," April 13). Is this man on a kamikaze mission? He got finished being beaten by a Democrat in Santa Ana just five months ago. Does he think he can fare any better against strong, local community activists who have already announced their intentions to run? My advice to Mr. Pringle is cool your heels, lick your wounds and put those carpetbags away.

Orange Councilman William G. Steiner, Republican front-runner in a special election to replace former Assemblyman John Lewis (R-Orange), leads some of his top opponents in fund raising, according to financial documents released Friday. The first campaign finance reports for the July 23 special election showed that Steiner has spent about $48,000, nearly three times as much as Mickey Conroy, another leading Republican contender from Santa Ana.

The major attempt to rewrite the California three-strikes proposition, which was struck down by the state Supreme Court because it limited the sentencing discretion of judges and required that anyone convicted of three serious felonies receive a 25-year-to-life prison term, is spearheaded by Orange County Republican politicians. Especially active in this respect are state Sen. Rob Hurtt and Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle, both of them from Garden Grove. There is an ongoing criminal investigation concerning the Republican scheme to put a "spoiler" Democrat on the ballot in the 67th Assembly District in last year's election.