Election papers due Monday

Alicia Robinson

Candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives seat left open by

newly confirmed Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Chris Cox

have until Monday to file papers to run in a special primary election

scheduled for Oct. 4, a spokesman for the Orange County Registrar of

Voters said Monday.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger chose Dec. 6 as the date for the

general election to fill the 48th District Congressional seat, which

represents Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and more southerly parts of

Orange County. If no candidate takes more than 50% of the primary

vote, a general election will be held, with each party’s top

vote-getter on the ballot.

Candidates have until Aug. 22 to file papers to run. They must

either pay a filing fee of $1,621; gather at least 3,000 voters’

signatures if they’re a Republican or Democrat; or gather 150

signatures from within their party if they’re running on another

party ticket, said Brett Rowley, spokesman for the Orange County

registrar.

People who have already announced their intention to run include

Republicans Marilyn Brewer, John Campbell and Edward Suppe; Democrats

John Graham and Steve Young; and Green Party candidate Beatrice

Tiritilli.

American Independent Party member James Gilchrist has taken the

necessary paperwork from the registrar, and a campaign volunteer said

Gilchrist will decide in the next few days whether to run. Republican

Don Udall said Monday he’ll pay the filing fee but is waiting to see

how much money he can raise before he commits to campaigning.

Republican Bob Dornan also has said he’s considering joining the

race.

In the primary, voters can choose any candidate regardless of

their party registration, so the battle for crossover votes should be

heated.

As the list of candidates firms up in the next week, campaign

issues will start to come to the forefront. With candidates all over

the political spectrum and Campbell and Brewer slugging it out for

GOP support, voters can expect to hear about the Iraq war, illegal

immigration, abortion rights and stem cell research.

“As far as I’m concerned, this is not a race about individual

candidates or political parties,” said Graham, a business professor

at UC Irvine who ran against Cox three times. “This is all about

criticizing [President] Bush’s policy in Iraq, and this is an

opportunity for the people of Orange County to tell George Bush how

they feel about the mess he’s created in Iraq.”

Campbell, a state senator who served two terms in the Assembly,

will be one choice for those who disagree with Graham.

“I’m a very strong supporter of President Bush’s foreign policy

strategy in general and the war on terror and the war in Iraq, which

is going much better than most people think,” Campbell said.

With Gilchrist in the race, the country’s immigration policy is

sure to come up. Gilchrist founded the Minuteman Project, which

organized volunteer patrols of the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Obviously, his main focus as founder of the Minutemen has been

immigration law enforcement, and that’s going to continue to be a

very big issue with Jim Gilchrist,” said Tom Hoefling, a campaign

consultant who’s volunteering for Gilchrist.

Brewer, who was in the Assembly from 1994 to 2000, will stress her

record as a legislator, campaign consultant Harvey Englander said.

That includes pointing out her support for abortion rights and stem

cell research -- issues she has used to set herself apart from

Campbell, whom some consider the front-runner.

Turnout for special elections is generally low, and much of this

race will probably be fought by direct mail. But Brewer on Monday

called for at least three face-to-face debates that include all

candidates.

“All the voters are going to be able to vote in the primary, so we

think they should all have an opportunity to participate in the

debates,” Englander said.