No clear future for Cox’s seat

S.J. Cahn

NEWPORT BEACH -- Right now, they’re just rumors.

Rumors that Rep. Christopher Cox’s office is officially saying “no

comment” to.

But the word in Washington is that Newport Beach’s Cox is one of

President Bush’s choices to fill vacant -- not to mention highly

influential and prominent -- seats on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of

Appeals.

It is of course not the first time the 48-year-old Cox’s name has been

attached to high-level positions.

Beginning almost exactly a year ago, Cox, the fifth-ranking Republican

in the House, was mentioned as a possible vice presidential choice of

Bush. Three years ago he positioned himself unsuccessfully to become

Speaker when Newt Gingrich was forced out. He’s even toyed more than once

with running for the Senate.

But the deal has never been sealed. And until recent days, his name

has been remarkably absent from most speculative short lists for

positions in Bush’s administration. Following a December meeting, Cox and

Bush even appeared to put an end to the possibility of Cox leaving his

office.

Bush wanted high-ranking Republicans to hold their positions, Cox said

at the time.

“He made it clear that the time for campaigning is long since over,”

Cox said. “It’s time for governance and leadership.”

Now it looks like Cox’s time for campaigning is almost over, which

raises a complicated question: What does it all mean for Newport Beach

and pressing issues such as the proposed El Toro airport?

Right now, it’s almost impossible to say, city leaders suggested

Thursday.

“The question is: Where will the new district be?” said Councilman Tod

Ridgeway, referring to looming changes to Congressional boundaries

following the 2000 Census. “I don’t think you know until redistricting.”

Who will run, and how Newport Beach will be represented, is simply up

in the air until then, he added.

One possibility, Ridgeway suggested, is that Rep. Dana Rohrabacher

(R-Huntington Beach), whose district now includes West Newport and the

Balboa Peninsula, will pick up the rest of Newport Beach.

In the El Toro fight, Rohrabacher would be a strong representative for

Newport Beach, said Dave Ellis, a spokesman for the pro-airport Airport

Working Group.

“Dana was the original cheerleader and continues to be the cheerleader

of the Orange County legislators for El Toro,” Ellis said.

But there is no way now to say how redistricting, which is barely

underway, will change Cox’s 47th District, Ellis added.

“If it’s a Newport-north district, you have to be pro-El Toro,” Ellis

said. “If it’s Newport-south, you have to be against El Toro.”

Cox, who’s district mostly includes anti-airport cities in South

County, has sat on the fence in the El Toro debate, publicly saying that

one neighborhood should not force its wants onto another.

In the midst of all the rumors, the one thing that does seem certain

is that a number of hopefuls will think about filling the seat, which

county GOP Party Chairman Tom Fuentes called “an electoral prize of some

consequence.”

Already, he said, there has been a “surge” to draft former Glendale

Rep. Jim Rogin, who was among the Republican leaders during the

impeachment of President Clinton.

Other names being mentioned include Supervisor Todd Spitzer,

Assemblyman Bill Campbell (R-Villa Park) and state Sen. Ross Johnson

(R-Irvine). An election would come at least six weeks after Cox had

officially vacated his seat.

Wildcards could also jump into the race, especially from Newport Beach

where there are individuals who could finance their own campaigns,

Fuentes said.

However the rumors shake out, Cox would be a tough man to follow, said

Councilman Dennis O’Neil.

“He’s obviously been very accessible and very responsive to many of

the issues we have concerns with that require federal involvement,”

O’Neil said. “I think it would be a great loss.”