Not so fabulous anymore

S.J. CAHN

For 25 years, residents of Newport Beach had the fortune to be the

dominant force in what came to be known as the “Fabulous Fifth,” the

county supervisor district that stretched along the coast from

Newport to San Clemente. Gen. Tom Riley and then Marian Bergeson

provided the city’s power punch to county government.

That all changed in December 1996 when Gov. Pete Wilson appointed

Tom Wilson to replace Bergeson when she became the state’s top

education official. Wilson, the first non-Newporter in the seat since

1971, immediately vowed to fight plans for an airport at El Toro,

establishing the dividing line in the county that still awaits

rapprochement.

With that, the Newport-dominated Fabulous Fifth was pretty much

over.

The nail in the already-closed coffin came two years ago after the

2000 Census. Because of the growth of South County’s population, the

5th District, with Wilson still at its helm, shifted truly south

during redistricting, reaching only as far as Newport Coast Drive.

Newport was suddenly with Costa Mesa in the 2nd District.

Even more politically important, Newport now shares a district

with Huntington Beach, which -- whether you think it’s a well-run

city or can stand up to Newport’s cache -- has about three times

Newport’s population.

With that population comes voters, and with voters comes

influence.

The potential scope of Huntington’s influence started to

crystallize this month when 2nd District Supervisor Jim Silva, a

former Huntington Beach mayor, and Assemblyman Tom Harman, who

represents Surf City, essentially acknowledged that they plan to swap

seats in 2006 when Harman is termed out of his Sacramento digs.

It’s a powerful one-two punch, not only because both have the

strength of incumbency but because they are familiar names in

voter-heavy Huntington.

Two other names I’ve heard attached to a 2006 supervisor run are

Costa Mesa Mayor Gary Monahan, who’s publicly stated his interest,

and former Newport Beach Mayor Dennis O’Neil, who has been quietly

mulling a run.

Monahan said he’d “relish the chance” to head into an election

fight with Harman, but that his decision to run will be based on

factors other than Harman’s candidacy.

“It’s just like these guys can’t get a real job,” he said of

legislators who are going from state to local seats, adding that

given the mess he sees the state in, he wonders why they would want

to return to local governing.

O’Neil said he’s not over-estimating his chances, which he pointed

out are limited by his lack of close ties to the county Republican

Party and personal wealth, as well as by his status as a former

Newport Beach mayor who was notably pro-El Toro airport.

“I think it will be a long time before Newport has another

supervisor,” he said.

Plus, O’Neil noted, Newport is now a small piece to the district.

“I don’t think Newport Beach has the political influence it once

had,” he said, while adding that such power ebbs and flows.

Seemingly, that power has ebbed for the time being.

Where Newport will always have influence is in the pocket book, of

course. An extremely well-financed candidate from the city could best

an open field by sheer strength of spending.

Such an election would break down into a terrific internecine

battle. We’ll have to see if the powers-that-be are able to avoid

such a brawl in 2006.

A VIEW FROM SACRAMENTO

On another front, I received a first-hand account of Gov. Arnold

Schwarzenneger’s inauguration from Corona del Mar’s Laura Dietz.

“It went off without a perceptible hitch,” Dietz told me in an

e-mail. “The clouds kept the sun off the crowd, who was told to

assemble early.”

Security, she added, was incredibly tight.

“They even confiscated my towel (just in case the seats were wet),

which is a first, at least for me,” she said.

Dietz also saw at least one reporter of note: “Judy Woodruff of

CNN was wearing a red suit, chatting away with everyone she could,

like columnist Dan Walters.”

And then, there was this:

“Almost humorously, during a very quiet moment during the

ceremonies, I and others felt a little shaking of the platform,

concluding that it was a very, very mild earthquake as there was no

other visible reason for the ‘swaying,’” she said.

“Overall, though, the ceremony was, as suggested, ‘low key,’ and

the content of Arnold’s speech was excellent,” Dietz said.

Dietz also was impressed by the non-Republican in the

Schwarzenneger home.

“The reading of a poem by Maya Angelou by ‘Mrs. Arnold’ -- Maria

Shriver -- was something of a surprise. (I don’t know historically if

other first-ladies-to-be did the same thing, making some comments

during the swearing in ceremony),” Dietz said. “They are a very

intelligent, savvy couple.”

* S.J. CAHN is the managing editor. He can be reached at (949)

574-4233 or by e-mail at [email protected].