ELECTIONS ’88 ORANGE COUNTY : Late Flow of Money Buoys Thierbach’s Campaign in 72nd

In a dramatic final push in the 72nd Assembly District, state Democratic leaders have poured $384,283 into Christian F. (Rick) Thierbach’s campaign in the past 10 days, according to state campaign finance records.

Thierbach, a 38-year-old Anaheim resident, has now raised $940,323 in cash and non-monetary contributions since the beginning of his campaign for the seat left vacant when Assemblyman Richard E. Longshore (R-Santa Ana) died June 8.

Thierbach’s GOP opponent, Curt Pringle of Garden Grove, has received a total of $688,459, but only $69,800 of that has come in the past 10 days.

Oct. 22 was the last deadline before Election Day for filing complete campaign contribution and expenditure statements with the secretary of state’s office. But candidates must report within 24 hours any further contribution of more than $1,000 received before Tuesday.

Political Literature

Thierbach, locked in a bitter fight for the central Orange County seat, apparently has been the beneficiary of an all-out Democratic push, much of it from the party organization at the state level. Since Oct. 22, he has received $292,398 from the Democratic State Central Committee, including $176,376 in cash, campaign records showed. The bulk of the money, Thierbach aides say, is being spent on political literature sent to voters in the campaign’s final days.

Thierbach’s campaign manager, Bob Lavoie, attributed the rush of support to a “growing enthusiasm” for Thierbach’s candidacy. “Democrats are coming aboard in a big way, and the numbers prove it,” said Lavoie, adding that the escalating spending in the campaign is due to the heavy reliance on mail to reach the district’s 105,777 registered voters.

Lavoie, sizing up the contribution gap between Thierbach and Pringle, suggested that GOP supporters may be souring on the 29-year-old Pringle. “When people appreciate the fact you are losing, funds tend to dry up,” Lavoie said. “We take this as a very good sign.”

Pringle’s political strategists, however, viewed the influx of last-minute money into Thierbach’s campaign as an indication that Democrats are worried about the outcome. Pringle consultant Carlos Rodriguez said his client is “comfortably ahead” in private polls, although he declined to support the claim with hard numbers.

He said the recent Democratic contributions bear out his earlier statements that the Democrats and Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) plan “to spend whatever it takes to win.”

Party Contributions

About half of Pringle’s $69,800 in cash and in-kind contributions since Oct. 22 have come from the California Republican Party. Since the campaign began, Pringle, chairman of the Garden Grove Planning Commission, has received more than a third of his total contributions from the state party.

Thierbach, a prosecutor with the district attorney’s office in Riverside County, now has received a total of $429,892 in cash and non-monetary contributions from the state Democratic Central Committee.

Assemblyman Richard D. Katz (D-Sepulveda), who is assisting the Thierbach campaign, said the recent contributions “underscore the Democrats’ commitment to win this race.” He said the bitter race “is very close” and the campaign has taken on the feel of a “super heavyweight fight in the 15th round.”

“Both candidates are exhausted and bleeding,” he said. “It’s simply going to come down to the last man standing.”