O.C. Change Only Began With the Election Results

For political drama last week, nothing could top the larger-than-life conflict of veteran U.S. Rep. Robert K. Dornan in the fight of his political career with Democratic challenger Loretta Sanchez in the 46th Congressional District. In a dramatic way, that race was emblematic of changes that have been brewing for years within the ethnic mix of Orange County. For insiders and political junkies, questions of minority voting participation and power have belied the myth of this as a county of uniform ethnicity and politics.

But the races that were not so dramatic may have said as much or more this year about the alteration of the political landscape in Orange County. These changes will be with the county for years to come and their effect is not known entirely. The developments under way in the county--in the arrival of new political faces, alliances and interest blocks--are complex. One didn’t have to go to the polls on election day to find things happening with long-term implications.

For one, Supervisor Marian Bergeson, who is resigning, attended her last Board of Supervisors meeting, leaving a leadership vacuum. Also, the supervisors rolled the dice to approve the Musick jail expansion project, a decision sure to provoke further controversy in the emerging divide between the north and south counties.

The quiet but urgent voice of voter discontent found expression that day on the issue of term limits. In the first major election since the bankruptcy was buttoned up, voters overwhelmingly approved limits for supervisors, and all down the line gave ringing assent to similar measures in a flock of cities. The landscape of Orange County politics likely will be dramatically altered by resulting phenomenon: the fact that the clock will be ticking on local terms of offices, and the companion musical chairs effect.

There is no need to wait for term limits for change. With the departure of Bergeson, and with the arrival of two newly elected officials for other seats, there will be an immediate turnover on the majority of the Board of Supervisors. Charles V. “Chuck” Smith will take his place on the board in place of the outgoing Roger R. Stanton in the 1st District, and newcomer Todd Spitzer turned in a convincing victory over Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) for the 3rd District seat.

Taken together, the turnover on three seats is a remarkable opportunity for the county. By the way, it’s time for Gov. Pete Wilson to be about the business of naming a successor to Bergeson, and it would be a good idea (one already floated by the League of Women Voters) for the public to know who has applied for the post. It also ought to be clear that the lack of representation from South County on the board is a serious problem that should be addressed sooner rather than later.

In other signs of change, voters in Irvine convincingly passed a campaign contribution limit. Voters in Anaheim showed their independence on local fiscal matters while the electorate remains in an anti-tax mood; they approved a hotel tax that will pay for some of the expansion at Disneyland.

Of long-term concern to the political parties should be the increasing independence of newly registered voters. Republican registration among Vietnamese Americans has dropped, and a growing number of citizens in general are passing up both the Republicans and Democrats and choosing other parties or none at all. In a county too often given to political extremism, the message should be clear that the newer voters will not march in step to the tune of party bosses or to the most strident political leaders.

All these things taken together have made for an interesting election season. They make for challenging times ahead.