Favorites turn up in the queue for empty seats

S.J. CAHN

So, not too much has happened since the last column. Really, I can

think of only two things of much interest.

First, Newport Beach Mayor Steve Bromberg got his long-awaited

appointment to a judgeship -- on the Orange County Superior Court.

Tuesday was his final council meeting, and he’ll be “enrobed” on June

24.

As a result, on Tuesday the council will try to appoint its third

member in the past three years. The six hopefuls who applied are

largely familiar faces, including three recent council candidates:

Pat Beek and Robert Schoonmaker, who ran against Bromberg in 2000,

and Bernie Svalstad, who ran against Councilman Dick Nichols in 2002.

The other three applicants are Planning Commissioner Ed Selich,

businessman Lloyd Ikerd and real estate broker Donald Abrams.

I hate making predictions on such slippery subjects: mainly

because if you’re right, no one remembers, but if you’re wrong, no

one forgets.

When handicapping the field, though, Beek, Selich and Svalstad

stand out.

Beek has been involved in the community, serving on the parks,

beaches and recreation commission and is married to Balboa Island

ferry operator Seymour Beek, who was just named Newport Beach Chamber

of Commerce Citizen of the Year. She makes for an interesting pick

because she ran as a Greenlight candidate in 2000, but is married to

a notable businessman in town. Could she be the bridge between these

two factions?

As a final, interesting reminder, years after the 2000 race, Beek

acknowledged that she believed she had been the victim of a

dirty-tricks campaign. Just before the vote, a call went out to

Newport Beach proclaiming that Beek wasn’t the true Greenlight

candidate.

It said Schoonmaker was.

Bromberg, when the story about the calls came out, said he had no

knowledge of the calls and had nothing to do with them.

Bromberg, by the way, won the election with 44.4% of the vote.

Beek got 41.8%, and Schoonmaker won 13.4%.

Selich’s strength is his long service on the city’s Planning

Commission. And I don’t believe I’ve heard one bad word about him --

and usually someone will say something bad about somebody else. I

wonder, though, if the council will pick another member of the

commission -- they plucked Councilwoman Leslie Daigle from there,

remember.

Svalstad’s strength is, well, political. He’s been in the game a

long time -- his two references on his application are Buck Johns and

Chip Stassel -- but hasn’t been in Newport nearly as long. I believe

he’s cultivated good ties with the powers that be in town, but we all

know those powers that be love nothing more than deep, deep community

ties.

Ikerd’s story, I think, is similar to Svalstad’s. An interesting

note: One of his references is Bromberg’s wife, Ronnie. Ikerd’s

pretty involved in city affairs right now, but his roots aren’t as

deep as some.

Abrams I’m going to proclaim as the wild card. Don’t ask me why.

Just wait.

Schoonmaker won’t make the first cut.

WHY DON’T YOU RUN?

As exciting as the potential appointment is, it’s kind of becoming

old hat. So it was a nice political boost when President Bush

announced his appointment of Rep. Chris Cox to head the Securities

and Exchange Commission.

There’s been plenty written about the machinations, and you can be

assured that for every word you’ve read, 100 more have been exchanged

behind the scenes. It’s not worth rehashing all the changing faces,

beyond pointing out that state Sen. John Campbell, who initially said

he had no intention of running, is now the front-runner, and one with

plenty of money to spend on the race.

Thing is, it doesn’t look like there will be a need to. Unlike the

last time Cox was rumored to be leaving his seat, when handfuls of

people talked about running, this time there’s almost no one publicly

wanting Cox’s seat.

I’m sure I’m not the only one baffled by this. Perhaps people are

waiting for Cox to officially be out before announcing, though they

didn’t wait last time. Perhaps Campbell has more than enough

influence (he certainly has the money) to keep challengers out. After

all, he kept would-be members of the Assembly at bay before the 2000

race.

The story on how he manages to do so again, if he does, will be

one worth reading. After all, this is a political job a person pretty

much can keep as long as he or she wants it.

* S.J. CAHN is the managing editor. He may be reached at (714)

966-4607 or by e-mail at s.j.cahn@latimes.com.