2 of 3 Incumbents Appear on Way Out

Aided by well-financed campaigns, two of three candidates backed by a conservative political group appear to have ousted incumbents in the county’s nonpartisan Board of Education race, according to early returns in Tuesday’s election.

In Area 3, which includes the northwestern part of the county, accountant Eric H. Woolery led incumbent Joan S. Primrose, a retired teacher who conceded defeat before the vote count was completed.

“The will of the voters has been done,” said Primrose, 66. “I congratulate [Woolery] and wish him the best.”

In Area 4, which covers the northeastern cities, physician Ken Williams narrowly led teacher Brenda J. Bryant, 39, longtime incumbent Dean McCormick, 65, and accountant W. Snow Hume, 38.

Of the three incumbents targeted by the Education Alliance for ouster, only retired INS agent Felix Rocha Jr. appeared to have retained his seat.

In early returns, Rocha was leading real estate consultant James Righeimer and construction contractor Richard F. Avard, 61, for the Area 1 seat representing central Orange County.

Rocha, 51, also ran as a Republican for the 46th Congressional District, but lost that bid.

Unlike other county races, there is no runoff for the Board of Education. The candidate with the greatest number of votes in each area wins a four-year term.

The board oversees the Orange County Department of Education, which provides support services to the county’s 27 school districts.

Most residents are only vaguely familiar with the department because it mainly provides behind-the-scenes support for school districts and services to students with special needs. It also acts as a court of appeals for county school districts in expulsion and student-transfer cases.

But this year, the Board of Education shed its obscure image when Righeimer, Woolery and Williams--all backed by the conservative group Education Alliance--entered the race, along with three other candidates advocating change.

Education Alliance, a Tustin-based group that helps elect conservatives to local school boards, targeted the county’s school board because three seats were up for election, enough for a majority on the five-member panel.

Working as a team, Righeimer, Woolery and Williams tried to drum up an anti-incumbent sentiment by persistently criticizing the incumbents for borrowing $42 million to invest in the county’s ill-fated investment pool. The Education Department lost $4 million when the county plunged into bankruptcy in December 1994.

“There’s no question that the bankruptcy hurt,” said McCormick, general manager of a courier service. “But from a personal point of view, the fact that [the Education Alliance candidates] won’t control the board is important to me.”

Meanwhile, the incumbents cast Righeimer, Woolery and Williams, 37, as extremists who want to dismantle the Department of Education and have no interest in helping public schoolchildren. Neither Woolery, 30, nor Righeimer, 37, have children, and Williams’ three sons attend a private school in Orange. All three incumbents have had children in public schools.

When it came to campaign fund-raising, the Education Alliance candidates had a distinct advantage over their opponents.

Williams raised $38,000 for his campaign, compared to McCormick’s $7,916. Woolery collected $11,715, and Righeimer, $5,173.

None of the other candidates sought campaign contributions.

Rocha and Primrose were first elected in 1992, while McCormick has served as a trustee since 1976.