For Some, Minding Their Party Manners Wasn’t Easy

When people gather for any occasion--political or otherwise--some offbeat behavior is bound to happen. Here are a few examples from Tuesday:

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NOT SO HAPPY: At Party Central for Orange County Democrats--the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim--party leaders had to ask hotel security guards to leave pro-union demonstrators alone.

Security guards for the Happiest Place on Earth ripped up an oversized anti-ABC-TV poster. The sign protested the lockout of Communications Workers of America union members who were replaced after a one-day work stoppage to protest what they described as unfair labor practices. Disney owns ABC.

Guards wearing blazers and earphones jostled the protesting workers, their supporters and passersby who strayed in front of the cameras.

“I told them this is a peaceful event: ‘Don’t be tearing up anyone’s signs,’ ” said Ray Cordova, an official with the state party.

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STILL SWINGING: Robert K. Dornan promised supporters that Tuesday’s defeat at the polls would give him a new lease on life. “I’m going to be Bob Dornan unfettered by political restraints, a man of total truth,” he said. “I’m not going to be walking on eggshells anymore.”

The former congressman told his supporters at the Sutton Place Hotel in Newport Beach that he is the “last fighting Irishman left out there.” Thirty minutes later, his children proved him wrong, jumping into a melee with Matt Fong supporters who they believed were dissing their dad in the middle of his non-concession speech.

A police officer trying to break up the fight was injured, leading to the arrest of Peter Carolan, who spent the night in jail after failing to post a $10,000 bond. He is set to be arraigned today at Harbor Municipal Court in Newport Beach.

Bill Kelley, deputy commissioner of the California Highway Patrol, said the officer was not injured seriously.

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MISSING BALLOTS: A handful of polling places in Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Trabuco Canyon and San Clemente opened anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour late, according to the Orange County Registrar of Voters’ office.

“There are a lot of angry people around here,” said Robert Mellin, whose polling place in a San Clemente home had no ballots shortly after 7 a.m.

He finally got to vote a little after 9 a.m. after the ballots were delivered by motorcycle.

Mellin said the man who had the ballots was tracked down at home, working on his car.

“He said: ‘Oh. Is today election day?’ ” Mellin said.

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ANOTHER X-FILE? In a scene worthy of “The X-Files,” a man at Our Lady of Pilar Roman Catholic Church in downtown Santa Ana--ground zero for allegations of voter fraud two years ago--got a bit too close to the electoral process.

Dressed neatly in a suit and tie and wearing a Secret Service-like ear piece, the man, who refused to give his name, crowded voters as they waited for their ballots, said Florence Gipson, the inspector in charge of the polling place.

“He looked like he was from the CIA,” Gipson said. “I told him he had to go sit against the wall.”

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BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: Save the last vote for Robert Castillo, 48, of Santa Ana. After a long day of laying tile in Irvine, Castillo made in through the polling-place door just before the 8 p.m. deadline. At 8:50 p.m. he finally cast his ballot.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it,” Castillo said. “But I knew I had to vote for the right people.”

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Turnout Turns Down

Voter turnout in Orange County declined for this election to a little more than half of eligible voters. The trend:

1990: 62%

1992: 79%

1994: 66%

1996: 69%

1998: 54%*

* With 50,000-80,000 ballots to be counted

Source: Orange County Registrar of Voters

with contributions from Steve Carney, David Haldane, Robert Ourlian and Janet Wilson