Delegates Show County’s Diversity : GOP Contingent Belies All-White, All-Right Stereotype

The eyes of the political world will turn to San Diego this week for the Republican National Convention. It is fitting that a county that represents a kind of national political center for Republicanism is sending such a mixed bag of delegates for the short trip down the San Diego Freeway. Of course, for partisans, whether that delegation is seen as a healthy mix or an overly “liberal” group depends on one’s partisan point of view.

The “good mix” (a characterization offered by Supervisor Marian Bergeson, a delegate for the fourth time) is a source of grousing for some of the more conservative members, who in particular have been so concerned in recent days about any attempt to change the party stand on abortion.

But the Republican Party, which dominates the local political landscape in Orange County, is made up of people advocating positions about much more than abortion. In the delegation are people as varied as state Senate GOP Leader Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove), who is a contributor to a wide range of conservative political causes; Collene Campbell, a San Juan Capistrano city councilwoman and an alternate delegate, who is a celebrated anti-crime advocate; and Barbara Kiley, an alternate, who says abortion is a personal and moral issue, and not one for government. She was one of the authors of the controversial Prop. 187 that passed in 1994 as the anti-illegal immigration measure.

Also scattered throughout the delegation are diverse representatives. These include Ho Chung, a Korean American and Garden Grove city councilman, who was one of the first Korean Americans elected to a municipal government post in Southern California; Placentia Police Chief Manuel Ortega; Vietnamese Republican activist Ky Ngo; and Bijan Kian, a Wilson appointee of Iranian descent.

Orange County often is portrayed as a white and predictably rigid conservative county, and one that is uniform racially and ideologically. In fact, the extent of backgrounds from which people come, and the range of opinions that they hold, are a tribute to the mix that actually exists within the county as a whole. If all the Orange County folks were mustered under the GOP big tent in San Diego, there would be enough passions and points of view to make for a very interesting time.