State Senate Field Hopes to Block GOP’s Hurtt : Election: Front-running candidate has spent $200,000 of his own money on Tuesday’s special election for 32nd District seat, but his six opponents still hope to force a runoff. Four of them are Democrats.

He’s hardly Daddy Warbucks and he doesn’t even consider himself a millionaire, but Rob Hurtt cuts an imposing figure heading into the final days before Tuesday’s special election to fill Orange County’s 32nd State Senate District seat.

For the six other candidates in the race, Hurtt is designated the one to beat. The wealthy Orange County business owner, the lone Republican in a crowded field, has poured more than $200,000 of his own money into the campaign. He also has drummed up more than 16,000 absentee ballot requests from Republican voters for a race that pundits predict can be won with maybe 22,000 votes.

But the four Democrats and pair of third-party candidates in the field aren’t conceding anything. They each voice a single goal: to keep Hurtt from getting more than 50% of the vote, thus forcing a runoff election in April. Then, they say, all bets are off.

The others vying for the central Orange County seat held by Edward R. Royce before he was elected to Congress include Peace and Freedom candidate and composer David Porter; Libertarian Richard Newhouse, a college geography instructor; and a fleet of Democrats--educational assistant Linda Kay Rigney, insurance consultant Wayman Nelson, real estate agent Rick Porter and businessman Ken LeBlanc.

LeBlanc, who has has gone on a spending binge of his own by putting up more than $40,000 of his personal savings, has been talking particularly tough, accusing Hurtt in campaign literature of wanting to “buy this election for his right-wing fundamentalist friends.”

LeBlanc has been joined by abortion-rights activists, who held a press conference Thursday in Santa Ana to proclaim Hurtt an “enemy of choice.” Anita Mangels, Orange County co-chair of the California Abortion Rights Action League, described Hurtt as a “hand-picked candidate of the religious right” and warned that he would “implement the far-flung, restrictive agenda of this extreme faction” if elected.

Hurtt, who has stressed his firm interest in going to Sacramento as an advocate for business, said such statements are “grand rhetoric.”

“She’s accusing me of having a big radical agenda, when it looks like she herself is the radical,” he said.

Hurtt, who is making his first run for office, added that “six months ago I would have been personally offended. I’m either getting a thicker skin or something. This is pretty extreme. I’m assuming that the public can see through what they’re saying.”

Even so, Hurtt has made no secret of his devotion to Christianity and his strong anti-abortion, anti-pornography and anti-gay-rights beliefs. But he says such issues will take a back seat in Sacramento to his zeal to block tax increases, curb government spending and cut regulations he feels have a stranglehold on business. He also is a solid backer of school vouchers so parents can afford an alternative to public schools.

Moreover, Hurtt contends that by financing his campaign largely with his own money, “I am going to be the most unencumbered legislator in the history of the state. None of the PACs have given me any money. I have to kowtow to no one.”

His opponents see it differently: They contend that Hurtt is doing little more than buying himself an election. In addition, they contend, Hurtt’s personal wealth puts him out of touch with mainstream voters.

“He is a country club Republican,” said Newhouse, the Libertarian. “Is he going to represent Joe Lunchbucket and Sally Secretary? No way.”

For his part, Newhouse is sticking by his pledge to run a “no money” campaign. In November, such a strategy earned him 9% of the vote, the largest of any third-party candidate in Orange County, in his bid for the congressional seat held by Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove).

Newhouse is pushing an agenda of “social tolerance,” stressing that “we shouldn’t have bedroom police or police patrolling beaches to make sure you don’t drink beer.” He also advocates tax cuts and less government. Newhouse supports school vouchers, suggesting that “all people should have the same rights that Chelsea Clinton has.”

Porter, the Peace and Freedom candidate, is an eclectic, self-described “musicologist.” He not only composes music but serves as a recording engineer at a local theater company and works as a music programmer for KPFK radio.

He’s pushing an environmentalist agenda and wants a “full investigation” of the real estate industry. Porter, who calls himself a “consensus builder,” would also like to see more representation in Sacramento for renters. An inveterate bus passenger, he would work to see service improved. He would also like to see teachers’ salaries increased to improve the quality of education.

Nelson, one of the four Democrats, is seeking office for the first time but jokes that he has “been a politician all my life without the title.”

As an insurance man, Nelson knows the problems with health care and would put a premium on devising a system to provide less expensive care for all citizens. He would immediately take a 20% personal pay cut and then introduce legislation requiring all elected and appointed state officeholders to take a mandatory 15% cut for four years. Half of the money could go to budget reduction, the other half to provide a “basic care” medical plan, he said.

Nelson would also introduce legislation requiring arbitration rather than expensive litigation for lawsuits stemming from alleged medical malpractice or personal injuries caused by automobile accidents.

Foster, as a real estate agent, said he sees the problems California is having firsthand: half of his clients are “people moving to other states to chase their jobs.” He would put a priority on keeping jobs and wooing new businesses to the state. Foster wants to see government regulations reviewed and advocates reform of the state’s much-maligned workers’ compensation insurance system.

The Democrat is also staunchly opposed to school vouchers, saying it is a “quick fix” when the real goal should be to “have a public education system that provides the best education possible.” He wants to see more of the state’s lottery funds go to schools.

Foster contends the state’s deficit problem is caused in large part by the government spending beyond its means. He supports a line-by-line budget review and would support closing some tax loopholes.

Rigney is a longtime Democratic activist who took on Republican Curt Pringle for the Assembly in November and, despite having little money, got 44% of the vote. A teaching assistant, she opposes vouchers. California’s public schools, she said, can again become “the best in the country” by introducing more innovation into the classroom.

She also wants smaller school districts to link up to cut administrative costs, part of a program to streamline government across the board. She says the state should extend the half-cent sales tax to help reduce the deficit.

Rigney also contends that government needs to work with business and labor to improve the state’s economic climate. Government should ease taxes and regulations that prove onerous to free enterprise in the state, she said. Rigney also hopes that her position as a strong advocate of abortion rights, along with her status as the only woman and educator on the ballot, will help win votes.

LeBlanc, who was defeated by Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress) in November, is a staunch opponent of vouchers. Instead, he would like to see an extra tax credit for people who do volunteer work in public schools, a program he thinks could heighten the quality of education.

He would like to streamline the regulatory process for business and supports workers’ compensation reform. He also wants to cut the state bureaucracy and close tax loopholes. Finally, he advocates the state undertaking a multi-year budget forecast for better planning.

LeBlanc unabashedly considers himself “the Democratic front-runner,” but acknowledges that Hurtt is the one to beat. “He’s got tremendous leverage,” LeBlanc said of Hurtt. “If he doesn’t use it now, he’s in trouble. It’s his race to win now. It’s my race to win later.”