A quiet campaign so far, but there’s still time

Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway nicely summed up this fall’s

election in an article last week: “It’s been relatively mild,” he

said aboutthe relative lack of dirty tricks.

Heading into the campaign, it seemed a sure bet that a targeted

incumbent like Ridgeway wouldn’t be saying anything of the sort just

days before the final vote.

Political types across Newport-Mesa (not to mention in the Daily

Pilot newsroom) were expecting old-fashioned slugfests in the races

in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, where Councilman Gary Monahan’s

decision to run again seemed to signal interesting developments to

come.

Alas, for those hungry for a constant barrage of news stories on

candidates’ foibles and dastardly doings, this election has been

“mild.”

The latest development is a mailer that came out this week in

Newport Beach. On the front, in uniform, are five good-looking police

and firemen (all males, really). The lines above them read: “The

people that keep Newport Beach safe have an important message ....”

Turns out that is true, and then maybe not so true, depending on

your perspective.

Inside, the Newport Beach fire and police associations reiterate

their support for Ridgeway, fellow Councilman Gary Adams, Don Webb

and Bernie Svalstad.

But those five “people” on the cover aren’t the ones keeping

Newport safe. All five are actors, which, while it may seem

duplicitous, is also the only way this picture could get shot. Safety

personnel are not allowed to campaign in uniform.

It is this sort of brushing of the truth that is dominating the

campaign. Others have passed through the newsroom here, but -- and

this may be the political shock of the day -- most had so little

substance that they never made it to print. The ones that did -- a

poll attacking Costa Mesa candidate Katrina Foley that was done on

behalf of opponents Monahan and Bill Perkins, charges that Newport

Beach candidate Rick Taylor stretched the truth in a mailer,

questions about the Newport Beach fire and police endorsements --

have taken root, perhaps, but are not knockouts for anyone involved.

The quiet is surprising, given the stakes in both cities.

Greenlight could drastically alter Newport Beach City Hall with

wins by its endorsed candidates -- Allen Beek, Taylor, Dick Nichols

and Madelene Arakelian. The passage of the Greenlight

controlled-growth initiative two years ago led to the most expensive

campaign in city history, at about $800,000.

In Costa Mesa, all the candidates are viable winners: Monahan and

Mayor Linda Dixon have incumbency; Foley is the Planning Commission

chairwoman and has raised substantial funds; Allan Mansoor has the

same backers as Councilman Chris Steel, who two years ago used

“bullet voting,” or only choosing one of two possible candidates, to

artificially inflate Steel’s numbers; and Perkins is running with

Monahan in as near a combination as can be found this side of the

term “slate.”

There are still a few days left, plenty of time for a bomb or two

to drop. Greenlight supporters seem certain there’s one coming. And

there’s reason to think so.

During the Greenlight campaign two years ago, the last few days

saw plenty of money dumped into the fray. The Irvine Co., which spent

$427,000 on anti-Greenlight Measure T, put up $40,000 in the final

days. No surprise there, though.

Much more interestingly, the environmental group Defend the Bay

spent $13,000 on Nov. 4, three days prior to the election. It

included more than $11,000 in postage, also on Measure T, according

to the group’s campaign statement for the end of the year. Another

$740 went for paper, $780 on printing.

That has all the makings of a last-minute, anti-Measure T mailer.

It is a sizable amount, especially considering Greenlight raised

less than $100,000 for the entire election.

A call to Defend the Bay head Bob Caustin on whether he has any

plans this time around went unreturned.

HE’LL BE BACK

Just a day after the Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, campaigned

for his after-school program ballot measure at UC Irvine, he made a

stage-front appearance in the Washington Post column penned by David

S. Broder.

Noting that no other state measure has a “bigger star” behind it,

Broder -- known as the “dean of political journalism” and a

straight-shooter whose critics can muster little more complaint than

that he likes smooth running, consensus-minded government too much --

writes that Schwarzenegger “is clearly serious about his cause.” Amid

the expected Arnold-metaphors, he notes that Schwarzenegger’s

Proposition 49 has significant bipartisan support, including L.A.

Mayor James Hahn, San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and Atty. Gen.

Bill Lockyear.

Broder also mentions the common belief that Schwarzenegger is, in

part, using the proposition as an overture to a 2006 run for

governor.

And Broder wonders: Are these die-hard Democrats helping “create a

new Ronald Reagan for the embattled California Republican Party?”

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

574-4233 or by e-mail at steven.cahn@latimes.com.