Democrats pick their man

Congressional candidate Steve Young secured the endorsement of state

Democratic Party officials Wednesday, but he’ll still have to vie

with three other Democrats on Oct. 4 to replace former Rep. Chris

Cox. Of the 39 people who voted Wednesday, 30 selected Young for the

endorsement.

Young, 51, a Newport Beach attorney, prevailed over retired

teacher Bea Foster, 67, of North Tustin; UC Irvine business professor

John Graham, 58, of Irvine; and marketing consultant Tom Pallow, 41,

of Tustin.

“We have been counted as irrelevant in the press,” Young said.

“I’m planning on winning this race.”

How much the endorsement means is up in the air. The conventional

wisdom is that a Democrat stands little chance of winning even an

open seat in the 48th Congressional District. Cox, a Republican, held

the seat easily since first winning it in 1988.

With that in mind, some Democratic voters have said they’ll

consider supporting Republican Marilyn Brewer, who paints herself as

fiscally conservative but socially moderate, supporting abortion

rights and stem cell research, for example.

Republican drops out

The last time a gaggle of candidates was seeking a congressional

seat representing Newport Beach, the race thinned a bit as some chose

to drop out. It happened in 1988, and it may be happening again.

Republican John Kelly, one of 10 from the GOP vying to replace

Cox, announced Wednesday that Marshall Samuel Sanders -- also a

Republican -- has quit the race and is now endorsing him.

Kelly, who owns a men’s store in Tustin, also ran for the seat

back in 1988, along with then-unknown Chuck DeVore, who’s now a state

assemblyman. In the earlier race, DeVore decided to drop out and back

Cox.

Sanders’ departure would leave nine Republicans in the race, but

one would-be candidate has decided to run a write-in campaign. After

failing to gather enough signatures to get on the ballot, Republican

Delecia Holt is continuing to campaign as a write-in candidate.

A press release from Holt’s campaign this week said she’s holding

forums with voters to discuss immigration and how to strengthen child

protection laws and job creation.

Candidates sans professions

Two candidates for the 48th Congressional District seat --

American Independent Party candidate Jim Gilchrist and Republican

Edward Suppe -- won’t have professions listed after their names on

the Oct. 4 primary election ballot.

Both candidates asked for designations that the Secretary of State

said didn’t comply with state law, and neither candidate submitted a

new designation that met requirements by a Monday deadline, Secretary

of State spokeswoman Nghia Nguyen said.

Suppe, who has served in the Coast Guard, wanted to be listed as a

veteran. Gilchrist wanted some mention of the Minuteman Project,

which he founded, on the ballot by his name. An attorney for

Gilchrist on Tuesday filed a court challenge to the Secretary of

State’s decision, Gilchrist campaign manager Howie Morgan said.

The court action prevented the Orange County Registrar of Voters

from having the candidate lists in the sample ballots printed, Chief

Deputy Registrar Neal Kelley said Wednesday. A hearing in the

Sacramento Superior Court has been set for Friday, he said.

Registrar on the sideline

Meanwhile, Neal Kelley has been heading the registrar’s office

since the actual Orange County Registrar of Voters, Steve Rodermund,

was placed on administrative leave Aug. 24 for undisclosed reasons.

County spokeswoman Diane Thomas-Plunk said county officials don’t

discuss personnel matters, but that Rodermund’s leave was unrelated

to the special congressional election being scheduled on Rosh

Hashanah.

At a Wednesday news conference, during which Kelley apologized to

the Jewish community, Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell

reiterated that point, saying, “It did not have anything to do with

this Oct. 4 election date.”

Elsewhere in the election race

And while endorsements are flying thick and fast in the

congressional race, a lone endorsement popped up in another quarter

late last week. The Greenlight committee -- the Newport Beach

slow-growth residents’ group -- announced Friday that it supports the

ballot proposal proffered by another local group, Newporters for

Responsible Government.

Demanding a public vote on whether to spend about $46 million on a

new civic center for Newport Beach, Newporters for Responsible

Government recently proposed a ballot measure that would require

voter approval for any project that necessitates borrowing more than

$3 million or takes more than two years to repay.

The current city charter dictates a public vote only on projects

that will be paid for by selling bonds. City officials have proposed

using certificates of participation to cover the civic center

project.

* ALICIA ROBINSON may be reached at (714) 966-4626.