Newport woman seeks GOP nod for Assembly race

June Casagrande

Marianne Zippi, who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Mayor Tod

Ridgeway for his District 1 seat on the City Council in November, is

seeking the Republican nomination to run for Assembly.

Zippi will vie for the 70th District Assembly seat that John

Campbell will vacate so he can run for the state Senate in 2004. The

Balboa Peninsula businesswoman said that her run for Newport Beach

City Council convinced her to run for higher office.

“After the election, I got a lot of positive feedback from a lot

of groups of people,” Zippi said. “I was encouraged to go for this

seat, as long as Campbell runs for Senate. One thing I did learn in

the City Council race is, don’t go up against an incumbent.”

In that race, Ridgeway received 13,541 votes, or 55.8%;

Greenlight-supported candidate Madelene Arakelian got 8,090, or

33.3%; and Zippi tallied 2,649, or 10.9%.

Zippi, 58, said her main goal is to support the Republican agenda

in the state Legislature. Topping her list of pet issues are fiscal

solvency at the state level, fostering a business environment that

attracts investment and creates jobs and a range of issues affecting

families.

“As a woman who’s been in business, raised children and

grandchildren, issues affecting families are paramount at the

Legislature,” Zippi said.

Zippi is a former marketing executive who now works overseeing

family assets, including real estate holdings and securities. She

earned a bachelor’s in English from Cal State University Los Angeles.

The county Registrar of Voters will accept candidates filing

papers in the fall, at which time the full slate of aspirants --

likely to be crowded with hopefuls -- for the 70th Assembly seat will

be known. Anaheim businesswoman and Republican party fund-raiser

Cristi Cristich and former Irvine Community Services Commission

Chairman Chuck DeVore have also announced that they will compete for

the Republican nomination in the primary, which will be held in March

2004.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.