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.
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