THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:

The Orange County GOP’s endorsements committee made recommendations Monday on which nonincumbent candidates and issues to support, and several locals made the first cut.

To get the endorsement, they still have to pass muster when the full party central committee votes Sept. 18. That’s where Newport Beach City Council candidate Jack Wu apparently made a misstep: After getting the recommendation of the subcommittee, he announced that it “endorsed” him.

Apparently journalists and English professors aren’t the only ones who split hairs over such things. Orange County GOP Chairman Scott Baugh said Wu’s announcement was premature and could be misleading, though he added that it shouldn’t hurt the candidate’s chances at getting the party endorsement later.

“I would give the same advice to all: that you should let the process play out before you start issuing press releases,” Baugh said.

Wu said Wednesday he wasn’t trying to mislead. He sent out his announcement quickly, he said, and maybe he could have been clearer with his wording. He noted that Baugh had asked to postpone discussion of Newport endorsement recommendations, but the committee didn’t want to wait.

Between now and the full central committee meeting, Wu will be lobbying for the two-thirds vote he needs for the official county GOP endorsement.

“Obviously you don’t take anything for granted,” he said. “You can’t be overconfident.”

In Newport races, the recommended candidates are Wu in District 1 and Councilman Ed Selich in District 5. The party already voted to endorse appointed incumbents Keith Curry and Leslie Daigle, and members decided Aug. 21 not to support Councilman Dick Nichols.

The endorsements committee on Monday also recommended opposing Measure X, also known as Greenlight II, which would require public votes on some development projects in Newport Beach.

In Costa Mesa, the recommended candidate is Wendy Leece, who also has the support of GOP-endorsed candidate Mayor Allan Mansoor.

NEWPORT FORUMS

Campaign activity will pick up in Newport after Labor Day, with the first candidate forum scheduled at 7 p.m. Sept. 7 at American Legion Post 291, 215 E. 15th St., on the Balboa Peninsula. That forum will be held by the Central Newport Beach and Peninsula Point associations, with others set for Sept. 9 by the Little Balboa Island Property Owners Assn., Sept. 13 by Speak Up Newport, Sept. 27 by the West Newport Assn., and two more forums in October.

MILITARY SUPPORT

Spend part of your Labor Day weekend thanking people serving in the military by going to a “patriot party” at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa on Saturday. Irvine resident Shawn Black is holding the event, at which guests will stuff envelopes with pocket-size American flags and cards and letters of thanks for members of the military.

Black, who has served in the Army and law enforcement and is now a security consultant, started “Project Prayer Flag” with his wife in 2002. They gather volunteers — many from Costa Mesa, Black said — to send flags and cards to troops, and they also send Christmas packages.

To date, more than 144,000 flags have been sent to service members, Black said.

The Saturday event will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, 3800 Fairview Rd., Santa Ana. For information call (949) 302-1918 or visit www.projectprayerflag.org.

SUBTRACTING N

The November ballot in Newport-Mesa may seem a mile long, but it got a bit shorter recently. Orange County Supervisors last week withdrew Measure N, which would have changed the term limit for supervisors from two consecutive terms to three terms in their lifetime.

Supervisor Chris Norby, who proposed the measure, said he decided to pull the plug because a statewide initiative to reform term limits never materialized.

“I wanted it on the ballot when there was a statewide initiative … so there could be a general discussion” of the issue, Norby said, adding that 2008 might be a better time to talk about it.

The current term limits at the state level have led elected officials to play musical chairs and engage in back-room job trading, and that has caused a number of special elections, he said.

“I could favor a 12-year term limit on most offices,” he said. “You have some politicians up there [in Sacramento], they’re just constantly changing offices.”

Assembly members now may serve for six years, and the limit in the state Senate is eight years.