Democrats are out. What about Angel fans?

I called Mike Scheafer on Tuesday after I read in the Pilot that he

was one of two finalists for the vacancy on the Costa Mesa City

Council. I wanted to ask him if he thought a recommendation from me

might be counterproductive since there are rumors around -- totally

unfounded -- that I once voted for a Democrat.

Turns out that Scheafer and his family are off on a vacation

cruise and out of touch -- strange timing, indeed, when the New York

Yankees are in town.

But I decided to go ahead with this anyway, since time is short

before a decision is made, and I don’t think I can cause any real

harm. It might even help.

Scheafer has taken care of my insurance needs since I moved to

Newport Beach shortly after the Civil War. The length of our business

relationship would certainly suggest how satisfactory it has been for

me. I’ve never talked to Scheafer much about politics, although I’ve

always assumed his Republican credentials to be impeccable. And we

can’t go too wrong with a guy who goes out on a limb to save the

annual Costa Mesa Fish Fry or to build a skateboard park.

But there is one area in which Scheafer and I have talked at great

length in which I find his grasp especially admirable. Since it may

not come up in discussion of his qualifications, I’d like to mention

it here.

Scheafer, without reservation, is the most devout, loyal and

knowledgeable supporter of the California Angels in my acquaintance.

I don’t know how many times I’ve run into Scheafer departing Edison

Field after an Angel game, usually with his family. I can attest that

he seldom leaves early and has a clear and precise working knowledge

of why the Angels won or lost -- all qualities that would serve him

well on the City Council.

My concern about mentioning my relationship with him comes out of

a spate of recent quotes from local Republican leaders suggesting

pretty ominously that any close social or philosophical contact, past

or present, by Republican office-seekers with Democrats can only be

construed as a kind of political leprosy requiring isolation -- even

when the offices being sought are allegedly nonpartisan.

Costa Mesa Councilman Gary Monahan, for example, told the Pilot he

was getting a lot of calls about the party affiliation of City

Council candidates. Planning Commissioner Katrina Foley was shot down

in the council election last November by a phone campaign identifying

her as a registered Democrat. Mayor Chris Steel in a recent letter to

the Pilot stressed the need for a Republican to fill the council

vacancy “to move to a conservative, sensible direction.”

On a broader scale, we have Cristi Cristich, who will be running

in next year’s Republican primary -- tantamount to election -- for

John Campbell’s 70th Assembly District seat.

From all indications, she is highly qualified for the job except

for one fatal flaw: she voted twice for Bill Clinton, attracted, one

suspects, by a balanced budget, environmental sensitivity, booming

prosperity, support for a woman’s right to choose and international

co-operation. She fled the Democrats after the Monica Lewinsky

debacle and is now putting distance between herself and Clinton.

But this history, GOP stalwart Buck Johns said, is a “downtick,”

which may be one of the few understatements in political rhetoric

history. More typical is the reaction of one of her opponents, who

calls the Clinton endorsement “unpardonable.” To repatriate herself,

she supported Clinton’s impeachment and the candidacy of Bill Simon,

but that apparently hasn’t obliterated the red “D” with which she has

been marked.

Over in Newport Beach, the two-party system has long ago morphed

into three, with the Democrats a distant third. The two parties that

count are (1) the conservative Republicans and (2) the

ultra-conservative Republicans. Democrats have tried to come in under

this radar wearing various disguises.

I once knew a Newport Beach Democrat who made it to mayor while

staying firmly in the party closet. Those who surface risk the fate

of attorney Richard Taylor, who was zapped seeking a seat on the

Newport Beach City Council last November by phone calls identifying

him -- among other things -- as a card-carrying Democrat.

This would appear to be a moot issue in the choice the Costa Mesa

City Council must make in the next two weeks between the two

remaining candidates for Karen Robinson’s seat.

If Scheafer is the one chosen, I hope it doesn’t cut into his

baseball time. I can’t think of any place more conducive to a clear

head in dealing with the multiple problems of Costa Mesa than regular

visits to Edison Field during the heat of a pennant race.

* JOSEPH N. BELL is a resident of Santa Ana Heights. His column

appears Thursdays.