Parties Prepare for War Over New Turf : Endorsements: The reversal of a state ban in city, county and court elections may provide guidance to voters, but some fear that it paves the way for partisan domination.

Political parties, suddenly free to endorse candidates in local elections, may soon begin to flex their muscles in city and county races and even in support of municipal and superior court candidates in Ventura County, area officials say.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month struck down a state ban on endorsements in local nonpartisan races by the Republican, Democratic and other parties.

An early test of the parties’ willingness to endorse in nonpartisan races and of candidates’ eagerness to solicit such endorsements is expected this fall in the crowded campaign for mayor in Oxnard, where two top contenders are from opposing parties.

Analysts say the court ruling probably makes it inevitable that political parties will play a greater role in local elections, though some fear that would be a step toward the polarized ward politics of cities in some Eastern and Midwestern states.

Others predict a voter backlash if party endorsements become a major factor in nonpartisan local races. They worry that such stamps of approval could overshadow the qualifications of candidates.

Ginny Connell, chairwoman of the county Democratic Central Committee, said she understands such concerns, and her committee--traditionally a quiet, behind-the-scenes group--will be careful when choosing which candidate to support.

“This is something I think will be valuable to us,” Connell said. “But I certainly think we will use the power in a judicious way. There’s not any danger of bossism. We just don’t function that way.”

If Connell promises caution, Gwen Tillemans, chairwoman of the Republican county committee, said she is not sure that her party will endorse any candidate in a nonpartisan race.

Frequently, more than one Republican runs for a local seat, and endorsing just one could split the party, she said.

Yet, in races where a single Republican is running against a Democrat, Tillemans said an endorsement is likely. “If it was a Republican judge running against a Democrat, then yes, we would,” she said.

County Supervisor Madge L. Schaefer, a Republican, was more enthusiastic about the court ruling, saying it opens the door for party mailers that endorse slates of candidates, even those for judicial positions.

“With judges, the most important thing is that they be impartial,” Schaefer said. “But a party endorsement gives a voter some kind of guide on whether a judge is liberal or not. If you vote for judges, you ought to know where they’re coming from.”

The California Code of Judicial Conduct generally forbids judges from participating in partisan politics. But it does not specifically prohibit them from noting their party affiliation during a campaign or from accepting a party endorsement.

In the six-candidate race for mayor in Oxnard, a top contender has already expressed an interest in formal party support. Councilwoman Dorothy Maron, who is challenging Mayor Nao Takasugi, said that as “a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, I would welcome the endorsement.”

“I recognize that these are supposedly nonpartisan positions, but when people act, their partisanship shows,” she said.

Takasugi, however, was cool to a Republican endorsement.

“I don’t intend to go out immediately and actively solicit this type of endorsement,” he said. “It doesn’t have anything to do with the decisions we make here. People may be swayed to vote on party lines only and not to look at the real issues and the candidates.”

Commenting on the stand of Takasugi, Maron said: “That must mean there are more Democrats than Republicans in Oxnard.”

Oxnard, in fact, is the only large city in Ventura County where a majority of registered voters are Democrats, according to the county registrar of voters. The other four cities with 50,000 residents or more--Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Ventura and Camarillo--all have more Republican voters than Democrats.

Ventura County, which is considered politically conservative, has 20,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats, 142,513 to 122,685, though neither party has enlisted a majority of the 300,693 registered voters.

Even without party endorsements, the political persuasion of countywide officeholders reflects that plurality.

Six of seven non-judicial elective county posts--district attorney, sheriff, tax collector, assessor, auditor-controller and superintendent of schools--are held by Republicans. County Clerk Richard Dean is nonpartisan.

Judges are also elected countywide. Their affiliations often reflect the party of whichever of California’s three most-recent governors originally appointed them--Republicans Ronald Reagan and George Deukmejian or Democrat Jerry Brown. On the Superior Court, where tenure is usually longer, Democrats still outnumber Republicans 9-to-6. But there are 11 Republicans on the municipal bench and just one Democrat.

Edwin M. Osborne, presiding judge of the Superior Court, said he does not think that party endorsements will have much effect on the election of judges locally.

“Actually, most judges are apolitical and very few of them are challenged in contested elections, so I don’t know if it’s terribly important,” he said .

“If a judge has to be beholden to a political party to be elected or reelected and has to satisfy the party bosses for support, I think that would have a tendency to erode the judiciary,” he added. “But I don’t see that happening in California.”

Since reforms under Gov. Hiram W. Johnson nearly 80 years ago, California usually has avoided injecting formal party endorsements into local nonpartisan races on the belief that this decreases the opportunity for corruption.

There have been some such endorsements, but in 1986, a state constitutional amendment barred the practice. A series of lawsuits led to the federal appeals court decision last week.

In interviews, a number of local officials and political analysts agreed that the ruling’s impact will not be felt soon. But in the long term, Connell said it is possible that the Democratic Party may award endorsements even to candidates for local school boards.

“They would still be nonpartisan races,” she said. “It would simply be a matter of letting voters know how we feel about the candidates. I think they will just take party endorsements as one more piece of information about the candidates.”

But several elected officials said they were not interested in the parties’ stamps of approval.

Ventura Mayor Richard Francis, a Democrat, said that he does not plan to ask for his party’s endorsement when he runs for reelection next year.

“There’s such a tradition of nonpartisanship in local races, and I think the public prefers it that way,” Francis said. “I think it becomes a negative for anybody who breaks from that mold.”

Jim Monahan, who was mayor before Francis, agreed. “I’d rather see partisan politics kept out of city government,” he said. “I just think there’s too much pressure brought to bear. I’m assuming some decisions would be made on a partisan basis instead of on the basis of what is best for the community.”

Whether good or bad, veteran Thousand Oaks Mayor Alex Fiore said he does not think that party endorsements will make much difference to Conejo Valley voters.

“People in our city are pretty sophisticated and they tend to vote the issues. An endorsement might get someone a handful of votes but it’s not going to make or break anyone. If you need a hole in the street fixed, it doesn’t make any difference if you’re a Republican or a Democrat.”

Political consultant John Davies, who has worked on Takasugi’s last two campaigns and on Carolyn Leavens’ challenge to Supervisor Susan K. Lacey in 1988, said he thought that the court ruling will give more power to local party committees.

But he said that party committees in most California counties, including Ventura, have little impact on elections. Members conduct voter registration drives and sometimes work phone banks but not much more.

“This will give a little power back to the parties, but they don’t provide a lot of assistance,” Davies said. “There’s only one political structure in Ventura County politics right now, and that’s Patagonia.”

Patagonia Inc., a Ventura-based outdoor clothing firm, contributed heavily to three successful campaigns by slow-growth candidates in the Ventura City Council election last fall and assisted 25-year-old newcomer Maria VanderKolk in her stunning upset of Schaefer in the June supervisorial election.

Kevin Sweeney, a veteran of national political campaigns and now a Patagonia strategist, said the appeals court decision is very significant.

“In a local race, it’s sometimes hard for people to sort through the candidates,” Sweeney said. “But if they have an outside entity quickly narrow the field with party endorsements, suddenly you can have two front-runners.”

Though acknowledging that Patagonia has acted as such an influence itself, Sweeney said he is not sure that party endorsements are a good thing in local politics.

“I wonder if it might take some of the substance out of local politics by focusing on endorsements rather than trying to define what the real issues are,” he said. “There’s something special about local politics that is different from any other kind, and I almost don’t like to see it get co-opted.”

In races such as last fall’s in Ventura, where council seats went to the top four finishers in a 16-candidate field, a party endorsement could be decisive, he said.

“If you get that stamp of approval from an entity like the Democratic or Republican parties,” Sweeney said, “that’s worth an awful lot of votes.”

Times staff writer Mack Reed contributed to this article.

VOTER REGISTRATION

TOTAL DEM. REP. Camarillo 26,547 9,733 13,995 Fillmore 4,270 2,158 1,630 Moorpark 10,819 3,758 5,645 Ojai 4,091 1,814 1,777 Oxnard 46,896 25,997 15,129 Port Hueneme 7,392 3,415 3,023 Santa Paula 8,973 5,004 3,160 Simi Valley 45,574 15,646 24,587 Thousand Oaks 55,905 17,337 31,944 Ventura 50,130 21,760 22,337 Unincorporated areas 40,096 16,063 19,286 Ventura County totals 300,693 122,685 142,513