Nolan Frizzelle

It's the political equivalent of a solar eclipse--that rare phenomenon when three Assembly members are forced into a do-or-die election that could be the end of two legislative careers. Republican incumbents in Orange County are usually among the toughest politicians to unseat.

Three Republican incumbent Assembly members, all running now for the same seat, will tape an hourlong debate Saturday for later broadcast on cable television. Incumbents Doris Allen (R-Cypress), Nolan Frizzelle (R-Fountain Valley) and Tom Mays (R-Huntington Beach) are competing in the June 2 primary for the Republican nomination for the 67th Assembly District seat. The race is considered one of the most dramatic in the state.

It's the political equivalent of a solar eclipse--that rare phenomenon when three Assembly members are forced into a do-or-die election that could be the end of two legislative careers. Republican incumbents in Orange County are usually among the toughest politicians to unseat.

Two Orange County congressmen, Robert K. Dornan of Garden Grove and William E. Dannemeyer of Fullerton, and two state assemblymen, Gil Ferguson of Newport Beach and Nolan Frizzelle of Fountain Valley, sent out a letter urging the repeal of an Irvine ordinance making it unlawful, among other things, to discriminate against people because of their "sexual orientation."

After reading "Frizzelle Feels Protege Has Betrayed Him" (Jan. 20), I seem to smell a lot of sour grapes. As a supporter of Prop. 140, I think it's high time we get some fresh blood in the capital. Nothing personal against Nolan Frizzelle (R-Fountain Valley), but it's time to retire the "old guard." Tom Mays (R-Huntington Beach) won his election to the Assembly based on his own personal record, particularly on the Huntington Beach City Council. He's hardly considered a "protege" of Assemblyman Frizzelle's.

Three Republican incumbent Assembly members, all running now for the same seat, will tape an hourlong debate Saturday for later broadcast on cable television. Incumbents Doris Allen (R-Cypress), Nolan Frizzelle (R-Fountain Valley) and Tom Mays (R-Huntington Beach) are competing in the June 2 primary for the Republican nomination for the 67th Assembly District seat. The race is considered one of the most dramatic in the state.

Re: "4 Lawmakers Fight Irvine Ordinance on Gay Rights" (Jan. 8): Reps. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) and Robert K. Dornan (D-Garden Grove) and Assemblymen Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) and Nolan Frizzelle (R-Huntington Beach) outshine such organizations as the Orange County Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center and the Log Cabin Club in providing the public with a dramatic illustration of the need for the very ordinance that they rush to condemn. Our four fearless leaders are silent on 95% of the ordinance in question.

Democratic Assembly candidate James Toledano charged Thursday that his opponent, incumbent Nolan Frizzelle (R-Fountain Valley), is violating state law by using his legislative office and staff members in his reelection campaign. Frizzelle's staff aides, who are employees of the state Assembly, have represented the assemblyman at two recent candidates forums, and arrangements for Frizzelle's campaign appearances must be made through his district office in Fountain Valley, Toledano said.

Abraham Lincoln and Stephen F. Douglas engaged in them. So did Kennedy and Nixon, Dukakis and Bush and, this year, Feinstein and Wilson. But in the 69th Assembly District, which encompasses parts of Irvine, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Westminster and Santa Ana, incumbent Nolan Frizzelle (R-Huntington Beach) would have no part of a debate. Instead, he insisted on separate appearances by him and his opponent, Democrat James Toledano, at UC Irvine on Tuesday.

The article about the upcoming primary election for the 67th Assembly District seat between Tom Mays and Nolan Frizzelle suggested that old political ties should somehow carry weight in a candidate's decision to run for office. The only loyalty that interests me is between the voter and the elected official. In past campaigns, we voters heard too much about the old game of politics and not enough about the differences between candidates. Once again we are hearing about an entrenched politician who has served over a decade in the Assembly.

With more than a trace of irony in his voice, Assemblyman Nolan Frizzelle (R-Fountain Valley) explains how he taught colleague Tom Mays (R-Huntington Beach) a thing or two about politics. He hired Mays more than a decade ago to be a part-time intern in his Orange County district office. And when Mays ran for Huntington Beach City Council, Frizzelle and his wife managed the campaign, supplied volunteers, penned campaign literature and held strategy sessions around their dining room table.

Castrate repeat rapists. Prohibit photographic radar machines that anonymously record speeders. Give greater peace of mind to adoptive parents. These are just some of the ideas that Orange County legislators say they would like to see become law during the 1991-92 session. In all, the delegation of eight Assembly members and five senators introduced 331 bills this year, almost 10% of the 3,481 measures that will undergo scrutiny before the Legislature shuts down in mid-September.

Their conservative rhetoric may sound the same, but the three veteran Assembly members vying for the vacant state Senate seat in Orange County have very different records when it comes to the raison d'etre of the Legislature--making laws. Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress) has sponsored and passed the most legislation of the bunch, including bills with statewide impact in the areas of education and recreational fishing.

In a low-key election, typical campaign strategy is to identify the voters most likely to support your candidate and quietly but repeatedly urge them to the polls. That's what's happening now in the campaign to replace former Anaheim state Sen. John Seymour. Except for a few lawn signs, the race is almost invisible. But like miners digging for votes, the candidates are sending letters and making phone calls to the relative handful of voters most sympathetic to their issues.

In a low-key election, typical campaign strategy is to identify the voters most likely to support your candidate and quietly but repeatedly urge them to the polls. That's what's happening now in the campaign to replace former Anaheim state Sen. John Seymour. Except for a few lawn signs, the race is almost invisible. But like miners digging for votes, the candidates are sending letters and making phone calls to the relative handful of voters most sympathetic to their issues.

They've waited and waited and waited. Now, finally, there is a rare opening in the state Senate, and it has set off a scramble among several of Orange County's most eager political climbers. With the appointment of former Anaheim state Sen. John Seymour last month to the U.S. Senate, the downside of holding office in Orange County's safe Republican territory is underscored: Turnover is slow. Nearly half of the county's Assembly members have applied for this promotion.