DeVore takes another shot at Cristich

Paul Clinton

With still more than six months until the primary election, an

Assembly hopeful is using hardball tactics to tar his more moderate

opponent.

Chuck DeVore, a Newport Beach aerospace executive and former

Irvine City Council candidate, has leveled a series of charges in the

last five months to discredit Corona del Mar resident and Anaheim

businesswoman Cristi Cristich.

In April, DeVore took Cristich to task for endorsing Bill Clinton

in 1996. Later, he accused her of waffling in her position on an

airport at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, a charge she says

has no merit.

Last week, DeVore unloaded again, saying Cristich pocketed

economic stimulus money from a small Tucson suburb to relocate her

business but backed out.

Cristich fired back in an open letter, charging DeVore with

engaging in “cheap political tricks” and mudslinging. DeVore, in a

press release, said Cristich accepted “$100,000 of that Arizona

town’s economic development money and then got cold feet.”

Officials in Sierra Vista, a town of 15,000 people, disputed

DeVore’s claim on Wednesday.

“There was never any money transacted between the city of Sierra

Vista and Cristi Cristich,” said Barry Albrecht, executive director

of the Sierra Vista Economic Development Foundation.

Political experts here have been debating the validity of the

charges but seem to agree on one thing. This race, which includes two

other candidates, has taken an ugly turn much earlier than most

political rumbles.

This tactic may be a miscalculation, UC Irvine political science

professor Mark Petracca said Tuesday.

“Ordinarily, this stuff gets saved for the last minute,” Petracca

said. “[So] your opponents don’t have any time to respond.”

Dave Ellis, a longtime Newport Beach political consultant, agrees.

He’s seen other races that have been uglier, he said.

The 1988 congressional race between Rep. Chris Cox, then a White

House lawyer, and Irvine Councilman Dave Baker was much worse, Ellis

said.

Cristich and DeVore, both Republicans, are looking for ways to

differentiate themselvesfor voters, Ellis said.

“We have two candidates that are philosophically fairly close,”

Ellis said. “So they have to trump up these differences more than

they are.”

Former Newport Beach City Council candidate Marianne Zippi and

Irvine resident Don Wagner are also in the race to replace

Assemblyman John Campbell, who is seeking a state Senate seat against

Assemblyman Ken Maddox.