Orange County Elections

Want a $66 tax credit, or better streets and sidewalks? That's the choice confronting Costa Mesa voters on Tuesday in the form of Measure C, the first bid in Orange County to override the Gann limit on government spending. Want your water bill to increase 35% over the next two years to pay for needed pump station improvements, or should the city sell bonds that would be paid off with 6% to 8% rate increases through 1992?

As election time draws near, we are finding our mailboxes filled with campaign literature extolling the virtues of the plans for Phase I of the Home Ranch Project and implying dire consequences to Costa Mesa if Measures H and I are not approved. No mention is made that it is not a question of "all or nothing" unless, that is, Segerstrom elects not to build anything at all on his land, which will never be the case. Nor does anyone want it that way. No mention is ever made that a lesser development would still bring in funds for these purposes.

Making one bad joke after another, Orange County lawyers and judges paid tribute to a political friend Thursday night. The occasion was a roast of Assemblyman Richard Robinson (D-Garden Grove), who is running for the 38th Congressional District seat. The proceeds, $200-a-person for cocktails and jokes at Robinson's expense, benefited the liberal Democrat's campaign to unseat a conservative, Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove). Robinson's friend of 13 years, Santa Ana attorney Gary L.

After weeks of speculation that he might face a slow-growth opponent, Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez slipped by the Friday filing deadline for the June supervisorial races with no one from that movement announcing that they will run against him. Tom Rogers, co-founder of the organization that drafted the countywide slow-growth initiative, acknowledged that slow-growth activists could not find a candidate to challenge Vasquez, whom they had labeled as a solid vote for developers.

Though a light turnout is expected at the polls today, Orange County Registrar of Voters Don Tanney said that recent school district controversies may bring out more voters than usual in an off-year election. Countywide, 13 school board elections and one community college district race will be decided, with the polls opening at 7 a.m. and closing at 8 p.m.

Irvine Mayor Larry Agran, who now holds the post because he was selected by fellow council members, will be one of three mayoral candidates in the city's first direct election for the post in June, according to papers filed Friday with the city clerk. Challenging Agran are Barry J. Hammond, 36, a business analyst, and Hal Maloney, 38, a budget analyst with the Orange County Health Care Agency. Neither has held elective office before.

Democrat Cecil N. Green's bid to retain his 33rd District seat in the state Senate is expected to be the most costly and competitive legislative race in Orange County this year, political analysts said Friday as the filing deadline for legislative races passed. Green, of Norwalk, is expected to spend as much as $1 million to retain his seat. His Republican opponent, Cerritos City Councilman Don Knabe, says he needs $750,000 for his campaign. Last May, $2.

At 1:30 p.m. James H. Beam slipped out from behind the wheel of his 1984 Mercedes-Benz with the license plate "Orange M," locked the door and opened the trunk. He pulled out a clipboard with the names of registered voters in the Buena Park precinct he was walking several weeks ago and rang the bell on the first door. "I'm Jim Beam, a candidate for the board of supervisors," he said to the woman who came to the door. "I wanted to drop by and leave this pamphlet with you.

The two Orange County Municipal Court judges who face opposition on the June 3 ballot are more than a little irked by what their opponents are saying about them. North County Municipal Judge Betty L. Elias, who faces two challengers, is frankly displeased they did not go after another seat. "Sure I'm upset," she said. "I've done a good job. I don't think what they're saying about me is fair." Brian R. Carter, presiding judge in Harbor Court, said it doesn't bother him that Deputy Dist. Atty.

Earlier this year, the 32nd state Senate District looked like an oasis for Democrats in the parched desert of Orange County politics. State Sen. Edward R. Royce (R--Anaheim) planned to run for Congress, which would have created an open seat that Democratic leaders in Sacramento hoped to win through an infusion of extra campaign money and professional staffing.