County seeks to delay state Senate election

To save money and give voters a break, registrar asks for a June date on vote to fill Campbell’s seat.Newport-Mesa voters definitely will face one special election in early 2006, but they may avoid having two if Orange County officials have their way.

Huntington Beach Assemblyman Tom Harman and Dana Point City Councilwoman Diane Harkey are the two announced candidates for the 35th District California Senate seat, which represents 13 mainly coastal Orange County cities including Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.

The seat opened Dec. 7, when former state Sen. John Campbell, resigned to take a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Campbell’s resignation set the clock ticking for a special election to replace him.

Orange County officials hope to hold a general election for the state Senate seat on the same day as the June 6 statewide primary election.

Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell on Tuesday asked the governor to consolidate the Senate election with the June primary, both to save money and to let the Orange County Registrar of Voters have a rest. The registrar has held four special elections in the last three months.

Under state law, the governor has 14 days -- in this case, until Dec. 22 -- from a legislator’s resignation to name the date of a special election to fill the seat. The general election must be roughly four months later, with a primary eight Tuesdays before it, unless there’s a countywide or statewide election already scheduled within six months.

If the governor agrees, it means the senate election cycle will be lengthened by about two months. That added time would be seen as a blessing by one of two declared Senate Republican candidates and an unnecessary delay by the other.

“The one advantage, the only advantage right now that Tom Harman has is name ID,” said Harkey, who is running against Harman for the 35th District seat. Harkey thinks she can overcome that advantage with a little more time to campaign.

Harkey already has lined up some big endorsements, including one from Rep. John Campbell that was announced Monday.

“Diane’s been in office for a year or something, in a city that’s relatively small,” Rep. Campbell said. “Tom will start out with a name ID advantage, but I think Diane’s getting all the support from just about everyone.”

Harkey’s Dana Point City Council seat is her first elected office, and she was elected in 2004. Harman, meanwhile, has been an elected official for more than 11 years, and he represents a much larger city -- as of Dec. 5, Huntington Beach had 124,808 registered voters, compared to Dana Point’s 23,513.

Harman decided in late June to shift directions from a bid for the Orange County supervisor’s 2nd District seat to the Senate seat, but his campaign has been quiet lately.

He’s not daunted by Harkey’s list of endorsements, which includes four of Orange County’s five supervisors.

“Certainly my experience in public service is substantially more than hers. I’ve been an elected official 11 years, going on 12,” Harman said. “She lacks experience. She lacks, frankly, a voting record.”

But even with the longer timeframe, Harkey and Harman aren’t expected to face challenges from other Republican candidates, Orange County GOP Chairman Scott Baugh said.

“If you’re not prepared to pull the trigger at this point, you will have missed the window for a lot of momentum and endorsements,” he said.

Combining the senate general election with the statewide primary in June would save money and possibly ease voter fatigue in the area. But Harman said he’d like the election to be held sooner rather than later.