County’s Delegation Spent $3.85 Million in 1986

SACRAMENTO — The Orange County delegation spent $3.85 million of taxpayers’ money in 1986 to operate their Capitol and district offices, with Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) spending more than $500,000 to top the list.

The figures were released this week by the state and include all spending for offices, staff, travel, telephone and postage costs, and publication of constituent newsletters.

Former Assemblyman Richard Robinson (D-Garden Grove), who gave up his seat in November to run unsuccessfully for Congress, spent the most of any of the six Orange County Assembly representatives. He spent $258,261, while Assemblyman Nolan Frizzelle (R-Huntington Beach) spent the least, $217,323.

Not Out of Line

The county’s delegation accounted for slightly more than 10% of the $36.6 million spent by the Assembly and Senate in 1986. In general, the figures showed that the local delegation’s budgets were in line with other legislators.

Bergeson’s $510,600 expenditures were the fourth highest in the 40-member Senate but just $874 more than the $509,726 spent by former Sen. Paul Carpenter (D-Norwalk), who gave up his seat when elected to the state Board of Equalization. Carpenter’s district included areas in Los Angeles County and a very small area of northeast Orange County.

Bergeson is chairwoman of the Senate Local Government Committee and represents a district stretching from Seal Beach to Imperial County, which both raised her expenses. She maintains district offices in Newport Beach and Imperial.

Almost $368,000 of Bergeson’s spending went for pay to her office and committee staffs. She also spent nearly $25,000 for telephone service, $8,372 for postage and $33,326 for a newsletter.

Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights), whose district takes in a small portion of the county, spent $490,858, of which $318,093 went for staff salaries. However, he spent $48,058 on telephone service, the highest in the Senate and almost double that of any other legislator representing Orange County.

Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim) spent $463,567, of which $284,502 went for staff salaries. But he spent $58,276 for a newsletter, the ninth highest total in the Senate.

Sen. Edward R. Royce (R-Anaheim) spent $441,379, including $298,862 for salaries. But Royce only spent $150 on travel. Neither he nor Seymour, who spent $1,328 on travel in the state, did not take an out-of-state business trip in 1986.

Bergeson, in turn, spent $3,139 on travel, including $1,967 on out-of-state trips.

Robinson spent the most on travel, $3,600, but the records indicated all of it was done on behalf of the Assembly Committee on Public Investment, Finance and Bond Indebtedness that he headed.

Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress), who spent $239,108 on the year, charged the state $3,229 for travel. However, she had the smallest employee payroll of the delegation, $130,144.

Frizzelle spent $962 on travel, while Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-La Habra) billed the state $816 for travel expenses.

Assemblymen John R. Lewis (R-Orange) and Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) did not charge the state for travel.

For the year, Johnson spent $241,388, including $157,275 for salaries, $19,998 for a newsletter, $16,754 for telephone service and $4,440 for postage.

Ferguson’s Totals

Ferguson charged the state $241,164, of which $156,072 went to salaries. He spent $20,566 for his newsletter, $17,677 for telephone service and $12,979 for postage, more than double that of any other Orange County assemblyman.

Lewis spent $239,563, including $158,081 for salaries, $19,979 for a newsletter, $14,516 for telephone and $6,031 for postage.

Frizzelle spent $151,097 for salaries. But he had the lowest totals for the newsletter ($12,227), telephone ($9,913) and postage ($3,346).