Orange County Elections : Party’s Prospects Have Faded in 32nd Senate District : Democrats Jockey for a Race With Royce

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.

Their prospects in the 32nd District--that includes Stanton, La Habra and portions of Anaheim, Buena Park, Santa Ana and Fullerton--looked good because the seat was created during the 1981 reapportionment by a Democrat-controlled Legislature.

Banking on the open seat, aides to state Senate President Pro Tem David Roberti (D--Los Angeles) picked Stanton Mayor Pro Tem Sal Sapien as their man to avenge the party’s costly and bitter 1982 loss to Royce and the GOP.

But the oasis turned into a shimmering mirage when Royce did not run for Congress as expected and instead filed for reelection.

Some Democrats still believed that Royce, a freshman legislator, won the 1982 race by a fluke and speculated that his low profile in Sacramento would hurt him with voters. But Roberti and his aides took a long, hard look at the district and concluded otherwise.

Conservative Voters

They saw how Democratic registration had slipped dramatically to 42.6% from 51% four years ago. They knew from prior elections that the district voted conservatively on social and economic issues, even when Democrats outnumbered Republicans.

Meanwhile, Democrat Francis Hoffman, an attorney and Orange County Board of Education member, also filed for the seat, creating a contested primary. Roberti and other strategists decided that the 32nd District was not such a good bet after all.

To be sure, Sapien is getting some financial help through Roberti, but the district is not targeted. There will be no major push from Sacramento, according to Democratic leaders, unless Sapien proves he can raise a lot of money from Orange County sources.

Hoffman, backed by some county Democratic activists, said he entered the race not knowing about Roberti’s support of Sapien. In making that decision, Roberti had not even consulted county Democratic Chairman Bruce Sumner. Now, Hoffman faces an uphill struggle against Sapien for the Democratic nomination.

“It’s the district that made the difference,” a Roberti aide said of the decision not to target the race.

“It’s just too conservative. Royce is awfully tough to beat. The only decent factor is that the district is about 37% Hispanic, and even then it’s doubtful. You need a big name officeholder, like a D.A. or a county supervisor, who can raise big bucks.

“We won’t do much unless Sapien proves he can raise a lot of local money. We have other priorities elsewhere. Half of the Senate is up for reelection. That’s 20 seats on the ballot. And 16 of those seats are held by Democrats.”

That leaves voters with a low-key Democratic primary and two underfunded candidates planning to save what limited resources they can muster for the November finale.

Neither Sapien nor Hoffman is expected to give Royce much trouble in November. Indeed, party sources say the effort to oust Royce is in disarray.

Sapien, for example, recently lost the services of Dennis De Snoo, his paid campaign manager. De Snoo said he quit because Sapien needlessly took sides in a hotly contested Democratic congressional primary, risking political retaliation. The Stanton official endorsed Superior Judge David O. Carter against Assemblyman Richard Robinson (D--Garden Grove) for the 38th District seat held by Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R--Garden Grove).

Party officials said that Sapien’s action could provoke Robinson’s allies, including Roberti, into shutting off help to Sapien’s campaign. Under those circumstances, there would be no money to pay De Snoo’s consulting fees.

“Sal’s endorsement of Carter was a foolish decision,” De Snoo said.

Meanwhile, Hoffman’s volunteer campaign adviser and donor Tom Murphy has complained that Hoffman was having problems because “The entire Democratic establishment is against us.”

Still, Murphy vowed that Hoffman would stay in the race. “We’re gonna have some surprises for people,” Murphy said, without elaborating.

For Royce, the election is going smoothly.

Unopposed in the June 3 GOP primary, he has been busy attending Republican events in the district and renewing ties to people who helped him in 1982. With Republican registration in the district at 48.4%, up from 35% four years ago, and $88,000 bankrolled, Royce is not taking reelection for granted, but neither is he worried.

Limited Contributions

Sapien had raised about $1,532 at the end of March and Hoffman $202, according to campaign financial disclosure documents. Sapien’s campaign received several thousand dollars in contributions from Senate Democratic caucus sources in Sacramento since March, according to De Snoo. Hoffman said he will obtain some contributions from teachers and possibly from other labor groups

In the Democratic primary, Sapien and Hoffman have avoided attacking each other, preferring to focus their criticism on Royce.

“I wouldn’t say that one of us is better than the other,” Hoffman said. “We have a different approach and a different style.”

“Sal at times has been critical of the Reagan Administration,” Hoffman added. “I think that the Administration in Washington deserves a lot of blame, but I think they also deserve some credit. I think that indicates that I might be a little more willing to work with Republicans.”

But Sapien countered: “I have quite a bit of experience on legislative matters being a city councilman. . . . “

He contended that Royce has authored far fewer bills than most lawmakers, abstains or is not present on many votes and is inactive in the district.

Hoffman said that in walking precincts he has been startled by how few people know who their state senator is. He said that he is running primarily because Royce has failed to support legislation aimed at reducing school class sizes and improving discipline.

Hoffman and Sapien said during a television taping that transportation is a major Orange County problem, but Royce quickly cited a newspaper story showing that the county has received five times as much state transportation money during the four years of Gov. George Deukmejian’s Administration as it did during the prior decade.

And when Sapien attacked Royce’s attendance record in the Senate, Royce was able to show that his 96%-vote participation score is the highest among Senate Republicans and fourth highest overall.

However, Royce’s legislative output includes many highly technical amendments to existing statutes.

For example, Royce authored a bill that would require U-turns made in a business district to be made as close “as practical to the extreme left-hand edge” of the lane in which a driver has been traveling.

Also, Democrats charge that Royce has been duped by lobbyists into carrying some legislation of questionable merit, only to realize and acknowledge his mistakes later.

They cite the case of a Royce bill that would have allowed a controversial disposal site near El Toro to store 200 cubic yards of trash despite the objections of local residents and public officials, including county Supervisor Bruce Nestande, in whose district the site is located.

The same language, offered by a different lawmaker, was killed last year. But a trash industry lobbyist recently persuaded Royce to resurrect the bill.

Royce acknowledged that he was not aware of any problem with the bill until state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R--Newport Beach) explained her objections to the legislation. While denying that the lobbyist misled him into believing the measure was a technical, noncontroversial change in existing law, Royce acknowledged that he quickly dropped that bill.

Now, the legislation limits storage to 90 cubic yards of trash, which county officials have accepted as reasonable. And, in a surprise move, Royce has amended the legislation to prohibit the operation of any large waste-to-energy plant within three miles of a school, hospital, nursing home, day-care center or food-processing plant, an issue which has arisen in San Diego County but not Orange County.

Dennis Carpenter, the county’s Sacramento lobbyist, praised Royce’s decision to drop the original trash site legislation as evidence of Royce’s willingness to do the county’s bidding in the Senate.

But Roberti’s aides characterized it as evidence of “special interest” politicking, pointing out that the amendments restricting waste-to-energy plants were requested by the Miller Brewing Co., another client of Carpenter’s Sacramento lobbying firm.

Meanwhile, Sapien charged that Royce has introduced dozens of bills at the request of groups from whom he has received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, including pharmacists, refuse collectors, nurses, chiropractors, landscape architects and small-business loan applicants.

One Royce bill, for example, requires certain health benefit plans to cover chiropractic services without patients being required to obtain a recommendation for such services from a doctor. Chiropractors have contributed about $6,000 to Royce over a three-year period.

Such examples, however, can be found throughout the Democratic and Republican ranks in the Legislature. Each side raises the issue against the other in election years.

Among Royce’s legislative efforts have been several unsuccessful resolutions favoring a balanced federal budget. His legislative successes include increased penalties for various crimes, including kidnaping of children under 14, prison escapes and food stamp fraud.

A Royce bill that would require judges to add five years onto the sentence of anyone convicted of a second serious felony is still in committee.