The message that Machiavelli left

One of the many interesting political stories bumping around the

nation’s capitol is the back-pedaling of former President Bush aide

John DiIulio from comments he made to Esquire magazine.

DiIulio is in trouble for saying the White House is being run by

the politicos employed there, folks he called the “Mayberry

Machiavellis.”

This week, DiIulio, a University of Pennsylvania professor, issued

an apology and said he was “deeply remorseful” for his statements in

the January issue of the magazine.

In Newport-Mesa, the local political scene’s leading

“Machiavelli,” campaign consultant Dave Ellis, has offered about the

same concerning phony phone calls (a phrase that rolls off the

keyboard like “Mayberry Machiavellis”) made during this fall’s

Newport Beach election.

The latest twist to this story is that similar calls were made

during the 2000 election, in the race among now-Mayor Steve Bromberg,

Pat Beek and Robert Schoonmaker for the council district that

includes Balboa Island.

The calls, for those who’ve missed the news, are essentially

“misdirections.” The one this year urged a Greenlight vote for Ron

Winship, when the candidate supported by Greenlight was Rick Taylor.

Both were running against Councilman Gary Adams, who won reelection.

Reporter June Casagrande and I heard the anti-Taylor message,

which included a reference to a nonexistent “new Greenlight

committee.”

Two years ago, apparently, a call urged a vote for Schoonmaker and

added what Beek says are lies about her having talks with the Irvine

Co.

Of course, Bromberg -- who says he knew nothing about the calls --

narrowly beat Beek for the seat in what amounted to the first round

of “Greenlight” elections.

Ellis did some work for Bromberg during that race, leading many to

surmise that a tactic he had at the ready this year was also employed

in 2000. Ellis is out of the country and unavailable for comment on

the 2000 race.

The continuing revelations that -- gasp! -- there are dirty

campaign tricks being played in Newport-Mesa have riled up many

residents. There have been demands for a revote in the race between

Taylor and Adams. A few people have suggested that Adams step down.

Most saliently, there have been calls for tougher laws governing

Newport Beach’s elections and questions of why those sitting on the

dais have not spoken out more harshly against deceptive campaign

practices.

Without trying to piece together what any Newport Beach councilman

(as of this week, there are no women among the city’s elected

leaders) is thinking, the answer to that question, as well as to why

tougher laws aren’t likely, is the same as the answer to why it was

so difficult to get even minor campaign finance reform completed on a

national level: The playing field, as it stands, favors those in

office.

Therefore, there is no compelling reason for them to want to make

changes, and no compelling reason for them to find much wrong with

how they got elected (after all, they won).

Of course, it was residents’ perceptions that city leaders saw no

compelling reason to listen to them on issues such as traffic,

development, hotels, etc. that led to the Greenlight movement.

Whether that alone amounts to a compelling reason for city leaders

to wash their hands of any tough-minded campaign strategy is a

question, however.

Greenlight’s leaders have, after all, had most success when

sticking fairly closely to traffic and controlled-growth issues. When

they have stepped up their rhetoric to include how city leaders treat

residents or tackled policy issues such as how the budget is being

handled, the effect of their message has been diluted.

That dilution may have contributed to Greenlight only pulling one

victory among the four council races this fall.

Now a question is whether the nastier nature of those races will

turn out to be another cause Greenlight can take up successfully.

Thus far, there is a lot of yelling and generic noise. Greenlight

leaders -- or anyone else angered enough to desire different

practices in City Hall -- will need to turn down the volume and find

one compelling message they can stick to if they hope to see change

happen.

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

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