Campbell leads in poll

Alicia Robinson

If two Republicans and a Democrat were their only choices, most

voters polled over the weekend aren’t yet sure who they’d pick to

succeed Rep. Chris Cox if he leaves Congress to become head of the

Securities and Exchange Commission.

A poll conducted by Adam Probolsky of Laguna Hills-based Probolsky

Research showed 39% of the 325 people surveyed weren’t sure whom

they’d choose to replace Cox. The remainder selected one of three

listed candidates, with 31% favoring state Sen. John Campbell; 22%

choosing UC Irvine international business professor -- and Democrat

-- John Graham; and 8% opting for former Assemblywoman Marilyn

Brewer.

To Graham, those undecided voters look ripe for the picking,

though he’s waiting to see if the Senate confirms Cox before he

officially announces he’s a candidate.

“The key thing for me, I guess, is the 39% of unsure folks,” he

said. “To me, that translates into people that are interested in

seeing some changes because they aren’t satisfied with the kind of

representation they’ve had.”

In the Brewer camp, the poll is considered a meaningless exercise.

Harvey Englander, who is directing Brewer’s campaign, said the more

important questions this early in the game are about issues.

“You’ve got two elected officials named Campbell in the county,”

Englander said. “It’s a pretty common name.”

Cox-seat

contenders, take two

Those candidates may face more competition, though at this point

everyone else seems to be waiting for Cox’s confirmation to jump into

the race. But Newport Beach physician Don Udall, who also ran for

Congress in 2000, said Wednesday he’s 80% sure he’ll go after Cox’s

seat again.

His candidacy will be all about issues: Improving U.S. border

security, encouraging people to put their directions for end-of-life

care in writing, and closing unaccredited law schools are a few of

the subjects he hopes not only to broach, but to get other candidates

to address.

His policy ideas include fining employers who hire known illegal

immigrants and somehow charging the Mexican government to recoup U.S.

costs of handling illegal immigration.

“That’s what they owe us because we’re paying for all those

people’s education and healthcare,” he said.

Udall comes from a political family that sent several members to

Congress, including Mo Udall, who represented Arizona in the U.S.

House for 30 years and ran for president in 1976. Don Udall expects

to decide next week whether he’ll run for Cox’s seat.

And the next domino

In other political-jockeying news, Huntington Beach Assemblyman

Tom Harman said this week he would consider a run for Campbell’s

Senate seat if the other dominoes fall into place. First, Cox must be

confirmed, then Campbell must win the Congressional seat. Harman has

been running for the Fifth District seat on the Orange County Board

of Supervisors.

So, let’s get this straight: If Cox is confirmed, Campbell runs.

If Campbell runs, Harman goes after the Senate seat. A run by Harman

for Senate would open up the field for Orange County Treasurer-Tax

Collector John Moorlach, who is officially running for Orange County

Supervisor but has said he might seek the House seat ...

Tran’s UCI

homecoming

Costa Mesa Assemblyman Van Tran will speak at UC Irvine’s

commencement ceremony Saturday, Tran’s office announced Wednesday.

Tran graduated from UCI in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in political

science and today is the first Vietnamese-American state legislator

in the country.

“Coming from a family full of dentists, UC Irvine is where I found

my passion for public service,” Tran said in a statement. “The school

helped me get involved, served as a conduit for my first legislative

internship, and offered great training for future leadership.”

Campbell parts with governor (sort of)

After talking about it for months, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on

Monday officially called a statewide special election for Nov. 8. The

ballot is expected to include eight initiatives, including a highly

publicized measure to lengthen the time of service teachers need to

get tenure and two measures providing prescription-drug discounts.

Sen. John Campbell has been close to Schwarzenegger in the past,

but the two aren’t in lock step here, perhaps because the governor

backed a proposal to cap state spending that Campbell thought was

watered down instead of one Campbell was carrying.

“Am I supportive of the special election, and do I think people

should vote for the governor’s package and so forth? The answer is

yes,” Campbell said.

But as to the spending cap, he added, “I don’t think it does very

much, and I’ve been clear about that.”

In Campbell’s opinion, the proposals to watch are the

paycheck-protection initiative, which requires employee consent

before union dues can go to political campaigns, and the highly

touted measure to have a panel of retired judges redraw state and

federal voting districts.

Those two initiatives “are huge and they’ll dramatically transform

[Sacramento],” he said.

Bromberg’s

parting words

No tears flowed at Tuesday night’s Newport Beach City Council

meeting, but the threat of a wall of water helped sweep Mayor Steve

Bromberg out of office a little early. After four and a half years on

the council, it was Bromberg’s last meeting -- he’s leaving to become

a judge in the Orange County Superior Court.

The meeting was cut short by a tsunami warning, but not before

Bromberg made some final remarks and was presented with plaques for

his service.

His parting wisdom for colleagues on the council: City residents

elected them -- trust what they’re doing.

“Contrary to some of the things you’ll hear, things you’ll read,

some of the javelins you’ll catch with both hands, there’s no

question the majority of the people in this city support you,”

Bromberg said. “They trust their government.”