Election Day Brings Out the Impish in the County’s Candidates, Voters

It was hardly as proper as the British celebration, but Guy Fawkes Day was observed, Irvine style, by a roomful of Democrats and Republicans alike Tuesday night.

A serape-draped dummy, its face covered with an American flag, swayed somberly above a less-than-authentic-looking fire--you know, the kind with plastic logs, flickering cellophane and a yellow light. It was the closest thing to a bonfire the city of Irvine would allow.

For non-Anglophiles, Guy Fawkes was caught trying to blow up the English Parliament in 1605. For his efforts, he was burned at the stake. Through the years, the English have been celebrating the anniversary every Nov. 5--around the time when Parliament opens--by burning effigies of Fawkes, also known as “guys.”

The party was thrown by staunch Republican Howard Ahmanson and loyal Democrat Michael Ray. Ahmanson, a philanthropist and the son of the late Howard F. Ahmanson, founder of Home Savings of America, sees plenty of parallels between the British tradition and America’s Election Day.

Although voters here don’t try to blow up the government, they do try to make radical changes, he said.

“And tonight, a lot of political aspirations will go up in smoke,” Ahmanson said.

The Guy Fawkes party was not the only offbeat recognition of Election Day in Orange County.

The owners of the Seal Beach Inn, which played host to ballot booths, decided “we wanted to display our patriotism,” said Marjorie Bettenhausen.

Fifty American flags were displayed out front, a man dressed in an Uncle Sam suit greeted voters, and red, white and blue cookies were served as soft--nonpartisan, of course--patriotic music was played in the background.

“We felt like we were one of the poshest polling places,” said Bettenhausen, whose name means innkeeper in German. “Or maybe this is voting California style.”

Ninfa Jarvis O’Brien was hoping to grab the attention of Newport Beach voters when she hired a plane Sunday to tow a banner with her campaign message: “We Need Ninfa for Newport, District 2.” But the City Council candidate didn’t count on one thing.

“Unfortunately, it was really foggy,” O’Brien said. “I don’t know if anyone saw it.” So the plane went up again Tuesday morning, under clearer skies, as voters were heading to the polls.

At an election night party where he was eagerly awaiting returns on whether the Saddleback Valley area would be incorporated, Bruce Myall, a pro-cityhood leader, was seen wearing a name tag with this phrase: “6 months ago I cutn’t even spel sitty. Now I are a powerful politishun.” )

They must have been paid in advance. While George Bush was on television giving his victory speech, a three-piece band hired to entertain the crowd at the Inn at the Park in Orange started playing, “Happy Days Are Here Again.”

Problem was, this was the Democrats’ gathering.

In another room at the Inn at the Park, two jugglers were entertaining supporters of state Senate candidate Mike Balmages. One of them, Jahnathon Whitfield, said he met Balmages a few years ago when Balmages took a juggling class from Whitfield. What kind of juggler was the candidate?

“A juggler’s a juggler,” Whitfield said with a shrug.

At the Republicans’ party, Bob Freund of Garden Grove sat in the thick of the crowd in the Grand Ballroom of the Doubletree Hotel, holding a drink, and craned his neck to watch the proposition vote results flash on the giant screen television.

Freund wasn’t choosy about his propositions. “I came here to see all the Republicans win and all the propositions lose,” he said.

Talk about confidence. Five days before the election, the campaign headquarters for Republican congressional candidate Dana Rohrabacher issued a press release ending with the notice that “Congressman- elect Rohrabacher” would be available for interviews today.. And at the Doubletree Hotel Tuesday night, as the early returns were coming in, Rohrabacher refused to say he had definitely won, but he wore a badge that said “Congressman Rohrabacher.”

Times staff writers Jim Carlton, Jean Davidson, Dianne Klein, Eric Lichtblau, Jeffrey A. Perlman, and Rick Vanderknyff contributed to this article.