67th Assembly District

It should be noted that the recent election of Mickey Conroy to represent the 67th Assembly District was decided by about 12% of the registered voters. That the 67th is a conservative district there is no doubt, but what we must ask ourselves is what this means. Does it mean that we constantly castigate and humiliate our Republican governor? The Republican who will ensure that the redistricting of our Assembly, state Senate and congressional districts will not be gerrymandered to the Democrats' advantage as happened 10 years ago. The Republican who just appointed a conservative to the state Supreme Court and will continue to appoint conservative judges.

A diverse assortment of candidates flocked to the county registrar of voters' office here Monday on the first day to file election papers. "We've had a stream of people filing for office all day," said Assistant Registrar Rosalyn Lever. By 5 p.m., 30 people had filed to run in newly drawn congressional and legislative districts, officials said. There are six congressional seats, seven state Assembly seats and two state Senate seats up for election this year in Orange County.

I thought the "big lie" technique was gone with the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, leftist UCI Professor Mark Petracca of (the former Peoples Republic of) Irvine still clings to the old socialist trick ("GOP Males Hinder Political Careers of Women Candidates," Letters, June 21). Petracca's big lie is that women are not in leadership in the Republican Party of Orange County. Petracca also says Orange County's GOP should elect more Republican women. With this one point, I agree!

Despite Assemblywoman Doris Allen's claim that she left the speakership to concentrate on defeating the recall against her, Orange County political observers suggested Thursday that the Cypress Republican has lost significant ground in that effort in just the past week. Harsh predictions of Allen's electoral future were easy to come by Thursday, the day the secretary of state's office informed Gov. Pete Wilson that he must schedule an election because a sufficient number of voters in the 67th Assembly District had signed recall petitions.

Short Run for Righeimer: Jim Righeimer, who had the critical backing of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) in his nascent campaign for the 67th Assembly District seat, has taken himself out of the race. Righeimer, who is a realtor and developer in Huntington Beach, said Friday that he realized he could not raise the cash necessary to battle Republican Haydee Tillotson, who has also announced she is seeking the seat now held by House Speaker Doris Allen.

Despite inconclusive ballot returns a day after the polls closed, Assemblyman Tom Mays all but conceded defeat Wednesday even as he trailed Assemblywoman Doris Allen by less than 500 votes in their Republican primary battle. But in the bitterly fought 73rd Assembly race, Republican Patricia C. Bates continued to hold out hope that some of the 15,000 to 18,000 absentee ballots yet to be counted in Orange County could help her catch attorney Bill Morrow, who led by more than 800 votes.

New political districts prepared for the state Supreme Court can be expected to produce dramatic gains for the Republican Party next year, possibly giving the GOP control of California's congressional delegation and, for the first time in two decades, one house of the Legislature. Lawmakers and political consultants working for both parties also said Tuesday that Latinos should see their fortunes rise under the plan.

What makes a good legislator? It's more than simply wearing one's political ideology on one's sleeve. The best legislators--whether Republican, Democrat or Independent--are those who stay true to their political beliefs while constantly seeking ways of solving local and state problems. Viewed this way, the members of Orange County's Sacramento delegation get decidedly mixed reviews.

Democrat Lou Correa burst from obscurity Tuesday to pull nearly even in early returns with incumbent Assemblyman Jim Morrissey, providing the only possibility for an upset in a likely Republican sweep of nine county legislative contests. As county Democrats held their breath, Correa, a little-known financial consultant and political neophyte, inched closer to the 66-year-old Santa Ana lawmaker in the heavily Latino 69th Assembly District.

In what could be the Republicans' toughest challenge this year in Orange County, Democrat Christian F. (Rick) Thierbach of Anaheim announced Wednesday that he intends to run against incumbent Richard E. (Dick) Longshore (R-Santa Ana) in the 72nd Assembly District. "The overriding issue in this campaign is quality, or absence of quality, and leadership he (Longshore) is providing to the district," Thierbach said.