Cox confirms judgeship talks

S.J. Cahn

NEWPORT BEACH -- Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) acknowledged

Wednesday that he has talked with the White House about a possible

federal judgeship, but he said he is still far from deciding whether he

will leave his congressional seat.

“I have told my colleagues in Congress not to run for my leadership

post just yet,” Cox said. “I have not yet determined my own mind.”

Up until this point, Cox has been noncommittal about rumors that have

circulated all month that he is one of President Bush’s picks to fill

vacancies on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The rumor has sparked considerable interest among would-be

replacements for Cox’s seat, which is the most Republican in the state

and considered among the safest in the country.

The list of hopefuls has become a near who’s who of Orange County

Republicans. Top possible contenders include state Sen. Dick Ackerman

(R-Tustin), Assemblyman Bill Campbell (R-Villa Park) and Supervisor Todd

Spitzer.

Others who are considering a run include former Assemblywoman Marilyn

Brewer, former Rep. Jim Rogan, Newport Beach philanthropist John Crean,

state Sen. Ross Johnson (R-Irvine), Newport Beach Realtor Bill Cote,

former state Sen. John Lewis, Newport Beach physician Don Udall and

Tustin millionaire Mark Chapin Johnson.

Cox said he is weighing both family concerns and input from

constituents as he works toward a decision.

“The feedback I received during the two-week congressional recess that

I spent in Orange County strongly encouraged me to remain in Congress,

and I am certainly weighing that heavily,” Cox said, adding that a

decision could be made within the next few weeks.

If Bush does nominate Cox and the congressman accepts, the road to

confirmation is paved with a couple of Democrats.

One of those Democrats, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and Cox will meet

within the next week to discuss “a variety of issues,” said Howard

Gantman, a spokesman for Feinstein.

The meeting with Feinstein is potentially important because of an old

Senate tradition giving Feinstein and her California colleague, U.S. Sen.

Barbara Boxer, the power to approve any judicial nominees from their

state.

This practice, dubbed the “blue slip” process, is in dispute in the

Senate now, with Democrats charging that Republicans are unfairly

altering the way nominations are handled.

When Democrats controlled the Senate before the 1994 election, they

allowed a nominee to go ahead with the approval of just one home-state

senator. This allowed a nominee by President Reagan, for instance, to go

ahead with the OK of a GOP senator.

After that election, however, the Republican majority changed the

policy so just one senator could hold up a nomination -- a tactic used

most dramatically by Sen. Jesse Helms (R-North Carolina), who allowed

none of President Clinton’s nominees from his state to be confirmed.

Now, Democrats are charging that Republicans are altering the process

back the way it was, denying Democrats the political payoff of holding up

any of Bush’s choices.

Either way, Cox faces the uphill battle of not having a Republican

senator to back his nomination, said Mark Petracca, chairman of UC

Irvine’s Political Science Department.

When word first leaked that Bush was considering Cox, Boxer reacted

coolly to the prospect. Feinstein has made no public comment, Gantman

said.

Cox and Feinstein have some political history. Early in last year’s

election, Cox had considered a run against Feinstein, even moving

$900,000 into a Senate campaign committee. By the middle of 1999,

however, he had given up the idea and transferred the money back to his

congressional campaign chest.

For his part, Cox said it is too early to discuss the possible

confirmation process.

TEASE

BY GEORGE

Costa Mesa businessman and major El Toro airport proponent George

Argyros is nominated by President Bush to be ambassador to Spain. See

story, Page 3.