Assembly run is next move for supervisor

Paul Clinton

A few months after taking over as chairman of the Board of

Supervisors, Tom Wilson now says he’s ready to take a bigger step up

the political ladder. He’ll seek a chair in the state Assembly.

Wilson, who represents 3,500 residents in Newport Coast, announced

the decision to seek the 73rd Assembly District seat on Monday in an

e-mail to his supporters.

“This was a difficult decision, because I love what I do,” Wilson

said in the e-mail.

“I’m looking forward to continuing my strong leadership on the

board while pursuing the Assembly seat,” he added.

In the March primary, Wilson is expected to face Laguna Niguel

Councilwoman Mimi Walters, who has also announced she will run for

the seat.

Wilson said he won’t need to relinquish his seat on the board to

run for the Assembly. In November, Wilson won his second full term

for a seat he has held since 1996. Gov. Pete Wilson appointed him at

the time.

Tom Wilson will seek the nomination of the Republican Party to

replace Assemblywoman Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel), who has

endorsed Walters.

Dave Gilliard, Walters’ campaign consultant, said the announcement

was “bad news” for Orange County.

“The county has some major issues it’s facing this year,” Gilliard

said. “It’s a full-time job to run for the Assembly, and it’s a

full-time job to deal with the issues facing the county.”

However, others said Tom Wilson is well-suited to run for the

state post. Dave Ellis, a consultant with the Airport Working Group

who often found himself on the opposite side of Wilson on airport

issues, lauded the decision.

President George W. Bush held the Texas gubernatorial post while

he ran for the nation’s highest office in 2000, Ellis said.

“Using that logic, how can George W. Bush be a sitting governor

and run for president,” Ellis said. “He managed to do both very

well.”

Tom Wilson got his start in politics as an activist for Laguna

Niguel cityhood. He served on the Citizens for Cityhood Committee in

that city in the late 1980s and, about a month before that city won

incorporation in December 1989, won a seat on the first City Council.

In 1992, Tom Wilson was named mayor of Laguna Niguel. He left the

council when Gov. Wilson named him to the Board of Supervisors.

From 1996 to 2001, Tom Wilson represented Newport Beach and

Newport Coast in the so-called “Fabulous 5th” supervisorial district.

During reapportionment, supervisors removed much of the city from his

district, moving it to the 2nd District and Jim Silva’s bailiwick.

Tom Wilson said he isn’t worried about the campaign taking his

focus away from important county business.

“I don’t believe that running for higher office is going to

distract me from doing a fine job on the Board of Supervisors,” Tom

Wilson said Monday afternoon. “I’m a good time manager.”

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment, business and politics. He

may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

paul.clinton@latimes.com.