Mild Bunch? Cox Will Make Unconventional Approach to San Diego

Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) should certainly get a fair share of the attention when the Republican National Convention officially begins tomorrow in San Diego.

Cox, one of the top Republicans in the House of Representatives, who was mentioned in some quarters as a vice presidential contender, will be rolled out for the national media at every opportunity. But his most unusual act may come even before the convention starts.

While many politicians--among them state Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove)--were heading into town Saturday on a whistle-stop train, Cox is expected to make an even louder entrance.

The normally buttoned-down politician, one of Washington’s most revered policy wonks, will mount a Harley Davidson and ride to the convention center this morning with a phalanx of motorcyclists and politicians led by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado).

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Unconventional: At a time when most Republican Party activists would give their eye teeth to be delegates to the national convention in San Diego, state Senate GOP Leader Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove) has given up his seat and badge so he can be in Sacramento Wednesday to push his three-strikes crime bill.

Advisors say Hurtt, who has given millions in the past five years to support conservative causes and politicians, figures the crime measure can be used to help seize control of the state Senate in the next two years--if he can force several vulnerable Democrats into opposing the measure.

Hurtt’s bill, which has passed the Assembly, would rewrite the three-strikes proposition struck down by the state Supreme Court. The proposition limited the sentencing discretion of judges and required that anyone convicted of three serious or violent felonies receive a 25-year-to-life term.

Some Senate Democrats have opposed the idea of completely limiting judicial discretion and want to ensure that crimes such as petty theft do not automatically constitute a third strike.

Hurtt is convinced the public wants to see repeat offenders taken off the street whether their last strike is a nonviolent offense or not, said spokesman Rob Stutzman.

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Convention TV: Tired of the Peacock? Irritated by Peter Jennings and Dan Rather? About 100,000 cable television customers in Irvine and South County have a local option.

They can get a behind-the-scenes look at the GOP convention through a special program through Cox Communications called “Cox Convention Connexion” that will air nightly until Aug. 18.

“There’s a wealth of information that isn’t always on the major networks,” said Cox spokeswoman Carol Starcevic. “We’re going to do features and interviews not necessarily available through regular programming.”

The list of interviewees includes veteran television producer Sig Mickelson, who helped stage the 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debates, and former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite. The program will be shown on local channel 3 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and again from 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

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Mickey’s Flip: For months, Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) said he was eager to go to trial over a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him by a former Capitol staffer so he could clear his name.

Now the woman’s attorneys are suggesting the trial be moved up before the November election, when Conroy will run for a seat on the Board of Supervisors. But the lawmaker is now singing a different tune.

Conroy suggests he will be too busy campaigning before the election to take time off for the trial. “It would be right in the middle of the campaign, and, yeah, that’s an inconvenience,” said Mark Thompson, Conroy’s campaign manager.

Moreover, an unrelated trial that posed a scheduling conflict for Conroy’s attorney in September and October has yet to be postponed, Thompson said.

Robyn Boyd, the former staffer who was fired after airing her complaints against Conroy, isn’t mollified. “I think the voters of Orange County are entitled to learn about Mickey Conroy’s improper behavior before they go to the polls, so they know exactly who they’re voting for,” she said.

Now Conroy’s opponent, Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer, is getting into the act, saying he wants to help the lawmaker out. Spitzer pledged last week to suspend “active campaign functions” during Conroy’s sexual harassment trial “to allow Conroy his day in court.”

Responded Thompson: “The only reason Spitzer is doing this is he has no money and nowhere to go.”

UPCOMING EVENTS

* Thursday: Orange County Republican Party hosts a party during Bob Dole’s acceptance speech from 5-8 p.m. at Sloppy Joe’s Entertainment Center in Irvine. Information: (714) 556-8555.

* Thursday: Meet several central Orange County Democratic candidates at a Clinton/Gore open house from 5-7 p.m. at the Loretta Sanchez campaign headquarters, 12553 Harbor Blvd., Garden Grove. In addition to Sanchez, who is seeking to unseat incumbent Republican Robert K. Dornan in the 46th Congressional District, Assembly candidates Audrey Gibson and Lou Correa will attend. Information: (714) 835-9174.

* Thursday: Attorney Hugh Hewitt will be featured speaker at the Orange County Forum at 11:30 a.m. at the Irvine Hyatt Regency. Information: (714) 588-9884.

* Saturday: Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) will be the guest at a fund-raiser for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at La Casa Pacifica. Information: (714) 969-7457.

* Sunday: Paul Rockwell, founder of Angry White Guys for Affirmative Action, will be the featured speaker at 10:30 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Orange County, 250 E. Cypress St., Anaheim. Information: Ruth Shapin at (714) 633-0922 or (714) 544-0155.

Compiled by Times staff writer Eric Bailey with contributions from political writer Peter M. Warren and correspondent Frank Messina.

Politics ’96 appears every Sunday. Items can be mailed to Politics ‘96, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or faxed to (714) 966-7711.