Capizzi Tops $100,000 in Campaign Donations

SANTA ANA —  Political backers for newly appointed Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi announced Tuesday that he has raised more than $100,000 in his campaign to retain his post in the June 5 election.

But news of the district attorney’s campaign fund brought a sharp rebuke from one of his opponents, Deputy Dist. Atty. Thomas Avdeef, who said he hopes to rely on volunteers instead of large money contributions.

“Because when you take a lot of money from individuals, you have got to expect that they are going to ask for a favor somewhere along the line,” Avdeef said.

Capizzi’s campaign finance report, filed Tuesday, listed $68,760 in contributions by Dec. 31, 1989. But a $1,000-a-couple Capizzi dinner at the Irvine Hilton on Tuesday night, with former state Supreme Court Justice John Arguelles scheduled as the main guest, easily put Capizzi over the $100,000 mark.

Avdeef said his own contributions by the end of 1989 amounted to about $8,000.

“I would like a volunteer on every street corner,” Avdeef said. “If you’ve got people who are out there working for you with their heart, you don’t have that expectation . . . of a pay back.”

But despite such criticism, Capizzi’s political backers said they believe it shows Capizzi as the only candidate with broad-based support.

“The response we have had has been great,” said Capizzi campaign chairman Bill Wenke. In a news release, issued by Capizzi political consultant Eileen Padberg, Capizzi said, “It’s going to be a significant week for me,” primarily because of Arguelles’ appearance on his behalf.

Capizzi’s campaign report showed his largest contributor as the Lincoln Club, the Republican high-finance group, which gave him $5,000. His next largest donation was $2,000 from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. The bulk of his contributions were $1,000 or less from members of the defense bar who have known Capizzi for years. Only four prosecutors within the office were listed as donors.

Avdeef countered that while his own campaign “may not have a lot of tangibles, we have a lot of intangibles in this race, a lot of support from various segments of the community.”

Avdeef called a press conference Tuesday to stir up interest in his lawsuit challenging the Board of Supervisors’ authority to appoint Capizzi on Jan. 2 to replace Cecil Hicks, who accepted a judgeship.

The suit will be heard on Friday morning by Superior Court Judge Eileen C. Moore. But whatever Moore decides, the issue will likely be carried to the 4th District Court of Appeal before it is decided.

Avdeef has been joined in the lawsuit by Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. James G. Enright. Should the Avdeef lawsuit prevail, Enright would be in line to take over duties as acting district attorney until the election.

However, few lawyers at the County Courthouse give Avdeef’s lawsuit much chance of winning, since county supervisors statewide have been making similar appointments for years. The county counsel’s office has informed the supervisors that Avdeef and his lawyers have incorrectly interpreted the applicable government code section. Avdeef himself admits that there is no precedent for what he is asking the court to do.

The supervisors appointed Capizzi to fill out Hicks’ term, which runs to the end of 1990. The district attorney elected in June would take over Jan. 1, 1991.

Enright so far has not said whether he will run. The other candidate, Assistant Dist. Atty. Edgar A. Freeman, announced this week that his campaign will be run by well-known Santa Ana defense attorney Keith C. Monroe.