Candidates to get chances to woo the voters

With the special primary in the 48th Congressional District just four

weeks away, wrangling a location and date for a candidates’ forum and

rounding up the 17 candidates running for the seat is no small feat.

But at least five organizations have set up forums. Starting next

week, candidates will be invited to explain their positions to voters

on topics such as imported prescription drugs and the federal tax

code.

“I think it helps to get a sense of what the community is actually

concerned and talking about,” said James Vaughn, campaign manager for

former Assemblywoman Marilyn Brewer. Brewer is one of 10 GOP

candidates for former Rep. Chris Cox’s House seat.

“The media always covers these things, so another chance to get

your message out is always good, even if it’s only one quote in part

of a story,” Vaughn said.

And candidates will serve voters a platterful of issues. Some

forums will field candidates’ responses to preselected topics, and

others will take audience questions.

At an AARP-American Assn. of University Women forum set for

Leisure World on Sept. 19, the primary issues are likely to be

health-related -- the Medicare program, prescription drugs and Social

Security, said Zoltan Lucas, a Leisure World resident who is AARP’s

representative for the event.

One other issue also will come up, he said.

“I would suspect, knowing this is Leisure World, when the

questions come in from the audience that one of the major questions

is going to be the war [in Iraq],” he said.

The forums will also be a chance for candidates to ride their own

hobby-horse issues, because they’ll each be given a minute or two to

introduce themselves.

That’s a valuable opportunity for political newcomers, such as

David Crouch, a Republican dentist from Corona del Mar.

He wants to talk about securing the nation’s borders and tax

reform. The forum will allow him to get out of the shadow of the

rumored GOP front runners, Brewer and state Sen. John Campbell, whom

Crouch said have been “sucking all the oxygen out” of the race so

far.

However, the large number of candidates and the short election

cycle means not everyone will participate in forums. Brewer has been

anxious for a chance to go head to head with Campbell, but she’ll be

somewhat disappointed -- he’s attending only one forum, which the

Orange County Business Council has planned for Sept. 28.

Between finishing the legislative session this week in Sacramento

and a trip to Washington, D.C., to drum up support, Campbell’s

schedule is packed, campaign manager Jim Terry said. The business

council forum seemed like the least chaotic because it will include

“the relevant candidates,” he said.

“I’ve got to evaluate the most effective use of his time,” Terry

said.

“You get 16 candidates on the stage, it turns into ... there’s not

a lot of meaningful information that’s going to be exchanged.”

And it could add up to information overload for the average

person, UC Irvine political scientist Louis DeSipio said. But, he

added, “People that will go have a desire to hear the candidates on

specific kinds of issues.... The goal for most of these candidates in

these forums is to see if they can stand out in some way, so they can

become the major challenger.”

No matter how the candidates perform at the forums, the

information may be too late to do some voters any good. More than 22%

of voters in the 48th Congressional District are permanent absentee

voters, and absentee ballots begin going out in the mail Friday,

Orange County Registrar of Voters spokesman Brett Rowley said.

A Sept. 2 count showed 401,599 voters registered in the district,

and 89,923 of those always vote absentee.

Add such statistics to a scheduling conflict, and you have the

reasons the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce didn’t plan its own

forum. Newport chamber President Richard Luehrs said the Taste of

Newport, one of the chamber’s biggest annual events, falls in the

middle of a short campaign season, so there wasn’t time to put

together a candidate forum in Newport Beach.

Besides, he said, “I think people pretty much have their minds

made up as to who they’re voting for.”

MORE INFORMATION

Several candidate forums have been scheduled in the 48th

Congressional District race.

* Sept. 16: Irvine Chamber of Commerce forum, 7:30 a.m. Marriott

Hotel, 18000 Von Karman Ave., Irvine. For information, call (949)

660-9112, ext. 128.

* Sept. 19: AARP/American Assn. of University Women forum, 10 a.m.

in Clubhouse 5 at Leisure World. For information, call (949)

830-4498.

* Sept. 20: UC Irvine/city of Irvine forum, 6:30 p.m. at Irvine

City Hall, 1 Civic Center Plaza.

* Sept. 21: Merage Jewish Community Center forum, 7 p.m. at the

community center, 1 Federation Way, Suite 200, Irvine. For

information, call (949) 435-3400.

* Sept. 28: TechNet/Orange County Business Council forum, 5:30

p.m. at the Marriott Hotel, 18000 Von Karman Ave., Irvine. For

information, call Sandy Davis at (949) 794-7220

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at

o7alicia.robinson@latimes.comf7.