17 Legislators Urge Pringle to Seek Office

At least 17 state legislators have signed a letter encouraging former Garden Grove Assemblyman Curt Pringle to run for office once again, this time in a seat that Republicans are expecting to be vacant after a special election next month.

The signers of the letter are hoping Pringle will seek to replace Assemblyman John R. Lewis (R-Orange) if he is elected to the state Senate in a special election May 14. Republicans are so confident Lewis will beat Democrat Francis Hoffman that they are already lining up for the race.

Assemblyman Tom Mays (R-Huntington Beach) said Wednesday that a one-paragraph endorsement of Pringle’s candidacy was circulating in the state Capitol and had been signed by at least 17 members.

“There’s still a lot of things going on behind the scenes,” Mays said.

Pringle, who would have to move into Lewis’ district to run, said he has not decided whether he will be a candidate. But he acknowledged that he has been seeking support from Sacramento.

“Part of the job is seeing what support there is out there,” he said. “I’m getting support from a lot of different people.”

Pringle lost his Assembly seat last November to Democrat Tom Umberg. If he runs for Lewis’ seat, Pringle could face another hotly contested race since two other Republicans have indicated their interest--GOP activist Mickey Conroy and Orange Councilman William G. Steiner.