Hot on the campaign trail

ORANGE — The air was sweltering Sunday afternoon in the old downtown as pedestrians walked by in tank tops and queued up at the frozen lemonade stands. Those manning the Republican and Democratic party booths on the roundabout for the annual Orange International Street Fair offered hand-held fans to passersby — some of whom picked up the fans, then left without a single campaign brochure.

Amid the small crowd in the Republican booth, guarded slightly from the sun by a white tent, Ryan Gene Williams stood pitching his candidacy for the state Assembly to anyone who had the stamina to listen.

A 20-year-old Orange Coast College student, Williams had few campaign resources beyond the money in his pocket, but at the booth on Labor Day weekend, he was surrounded by some powerful names. A cardboard cutout of Ronald Reagan gazed sternly out at bystanders. Arnold Schwarzenegger stickers covered the front table. Next to them were campaign materials for other Republican candidates: Lynn Daucher pamphlets, Bob Huff bottled water, Todd Spitzer balloons.

“I’m Ryan Gene,” the candidate said to one stranger after another, rarely adding his surname. “I’m running for state Assembly in Santa Ana.”

At the beginning of this year, Williams — who grew up in Texas and is starting his second year at OCC — announced his candidacy for the 69th California Assembly District, which includes Anaheim, Garden Grove and Santa Ana. He’s by far the most obscure name on the ballot, and he’s running in a district that heavily votes Democrat. His opponent is Democrat Jose Solorio. Still, the Santa Ana resident believes in a grass-roots touch. As prospective voters ducked into his tent to escape the heat, he happily filled them in on his positions regarding education, taxes and crime.

Not to mention his own qualifications as a candidate. At one point, Bill Alexander, a registered Democrat who lives in Los Angeles, stopped by Williams’ booth and struck up a debate with him about labor unions. Republicans, Alexander said, gave the poor an unfair break.

“I would beg to differ, because I’m actually a poor college student running for office,” Williams retorted, adding a moment later that online courses provided another opportunity for the less fortunate. As he and Alexander sparred for a few more minutes, Williams remained firm but relaxed. Finally, his opponent thanked him for taking time.

“That’s OK,” Williams said. “I like debates. It’s good for practice.”

Sunday marked the second straight day that Williams had stood in the mugginess of Old Towne Orange, helping to register voters and describing his and other candidates’ platforms. Since he started his run in January, he’s spent many weekends walking door to door and introducing himself to voters old enough to be his grandparents. Few of his party members give him a big chance of winning, but they take heart in his spirit.

“The experience he’s getting right now is going to serve him later on,” said Deborah Pauly, a candidate for Villa Park City Council who worked the booth on Sunday. “We are going to see him in elected office some time in the future.”

Practice, as Williams put it, may be the greatest benefit of his current run. When a woman asked him for a campaign brochure on Sunday, he replied that he didn’t have one; then, after she left, he admitted he didn’t have the funds to print any. Some of the voters who struck up conversations with him lost interest when they realized he didn’t live in their district.

A few stayed longer, though, interested to hear what a college-age candidate had to say. One man, listening to Williams and picking up a stack of other candidates’ fliers, asked, “So you want to be a part of the government, huh? A bigger part of the government?”

“Well,” Williams replied modestly, “just to represent.”