Orange County Politics

Dollar politics: Want to know how much the proponents of an airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station have spent on their campaign? Or better yet, how far they have gone into debt? You won't be able to find out until Tuesday. Campaign treasurer Dana Reed said backers of Measure A on the Nov. 8 ballot purposely mailed their latest campaign finance report at 5 p.m. last Wednesday--the filing deadline--hoping that it wouldn't arrive at the registrar of voters' office until Tuesday.

A former Democratic congressional staffer will seek the seat held by Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), who is seeking the Republican nomination for President. Jim Prince, who has worked for Rep. Matthew Martinez (D-Alhambra) and on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced his candidacy last week in Dornan's 46th Congressional District in central Orange County. Prince may face a primary battle with Democrat Mike Farber, who lost a bitter campaign against Dornan last year.

Fueled by the bond crisis and the debate over a proposed commercial airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, a movement among South County cities to secede from Orange County appears to be gaining steam, particularly in Irvine.

Where's Bob?: Local Democratic Party leaders have often claimed that Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) seems to make more appearances on the Rush Limbaugh national radio talk show than in his district. He didn't even come home to announce his reelection campaign, they point out.

Consider the source: Hoping to show that his candidacy isn't as much of a long shot as mournful political pundits might think, Democratic congressional candidate Brett Williamson released a poll last week showing the Republican incumbent, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Huntington Beach, with a low approval rating and with one-third of the voters not knowing him well enough to rate him.

Paddles 'R Us: The recent success of Assemblyman Mickey Conroy's bill calling for the paddling of juvenile graffiti vandals got a rise out of Bob Mulholland, the California Democratic Party's hard-nosed campaign adviser. "Dear Mr. Conroy," Mulholland wrote last Wednesday, a day after the measure was approved in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. "If you're concerned about crime, why don't you amend your paddling bill (AB 150X) to include your friends Pat Nolan and Frank Hill?"

We know the county GOP Central Committee bucked some of the most powerful Republicans in Orange County last week by taking a unanimous stand in opposition to Measure R, the half-cent sales tax increase on the June 27 ballot. This week it's the Democrats' turn. The measure will be the topic at their Central Committee meeting Monday night. But Democrats are not united on the sales tax issue either. Mark P.

Early withdrawal: State Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) has withdrawn her endorsement of Republican accountant John Moorlach, who is battling to oust longtime Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron, the only Democrat holding a countywide elective office. Bergeson said she feels Moorlach is a good candidate and has a solid, professional background, but is worried that his statements on the campaign trail about Citron's investment strategies could hurt Orange County.