THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:Legal reform takes Center stage

State Sen. Tom McClintock, the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, told a group of attorneys, politicos and other community members on Tuesday about the need to reform the justice system.

As McClintock explained at Costa Mesa’s Center Club, he suggests two reforms — separating the award of punitive damages from civil courts and adopting the English rule by which the loser in a court case must cover the winner’s legal fees.

The event was a luncheon in honor of Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week, which runs through Friday. Orange County Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, headed by Corona del Mar attorney Maryann Maloney, sponsored the luncheon.

Maloney said she formed the organization because of the proliferation of lawsuits in the U.S., which costs every American about $886 a year in costs added onto goods and services to cover litigation and liability.

Can’t get over the hemp

Despite Newport Beach Assemblyman Chuck DeVore’s best efforts, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Saturday vetoed the industrial hemp bill DeVore co-sponsored. But DeVore said Wednesday he’ll try again next session.

The bill would have allowed California farmers to grow hemp, which can be made into soap, paper, fabric and other products. In promoting the bill, DeVore stressed the difference between hemp and the related plant marijuana.

“I wasn’t terribly surprised,” by the veto, DeVore said. “I was just mildly disappointed. Frankly, I think election-year politics played some role in this — that and the fact that we weren’t able to get our bill out till the end” of the session Aug. 31, he said.

He expects more success next year because over the long term the governor’s administration would favor the bill’s goal of making California farmers more competitive, DeVore said.

North Dakota’s legislature passed a similar bill, he noted, adding, “It’s kind of embarrassing as a Californian to have North Dakota lead us…. They’re an agricultural state, but so are we.”

Schwarzenegger’s veto pen also put an end to a bill that would have allowed the Coast Community College District to sell the KOCE-TV station to someone other than the highest bidder. The issue arose after the district sold the public television station in 2004 to the station’s own fundraising foundation.

The sale was challenged by the Daystar Television Network, a Christian broadcaster that offered a bid that included more cash than the foundation. An Orange County appellate court earlier this year voided the sale to the foundation, but the college district has not yet taken steps toward another sale.

COUNCIL WON’T VOTE ON ELECTION DAY

The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday voted to reschedule its Nov. 7 meeting to Nov. 14, but not before a brief skirmish.

Councilwoman Katrina Foley voted against Mayor Allan Mansoor’s request to reschedule the Nov. 7 meeting, which falls on election night, to another date. Foley said there was no good reason not to conduct city business on that date just because it is on Election Day.

Conducting the meeting on election night will not interfere with residents getting to the voting booths on time, Foley said. Residents can begin voting on Oct. 9, the day absentee voting begins, she said.

Foley and Councilwoman Linda Dixon voted against Mansoor’s request.

Councilman Gary Monahan also asked for the meeting to be rescheduled.

Monahan, who is running for a seat on the Costa Mesa Sanitary District board, said election night, specifically this year, is an important night for the city. Residents may complain if the meeting isn’t rescheduled, Monahan said.

Foley said this is the second time Mansoor has asked to reschedule the meeting for personal reasons. The other occasion was a GOP Flag Day celebration.

“I don’t really see how we are justifying canceling this meeting,” Foley said. “I think it’s inappropriate. We all have conflicts in life…. I think it’s outrageous that we are doing this.”

Illegal immigration on the agenda

Orange County residents and state legislators will discuss illegal immigration at a Wednesday forum in Tustin.

DeVore, who is co-chairing the state GOP task force addressing the issue, will be among about a half a dozen elected officials who will hear from a panel including Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor, Chapman University constitutional law professor John Eastman, former Assemblywoman Pat Bates, two naturalized U.S. citizens, and others.

Panelists will talk about illegal immigration’s effects on business and hospitals, and what the state can and can’t do to combat the issue. Audience questions will also be answered.

DeVore said Mansoor will explain Costa Mesa’s plan to train police for immigration enforcement.

“Obviously there’s a lot of disinformation out there about what he’s doing,” DeVore said. He’ll also ask Mansoor what he hopes to accomplish with the plan and, “Why does he feel compelled to do it?”

Legislators will use what they learn at the hearing, one of several around the state, to come up with immigration-related bills for the new session beginning in January.

DeVore expects as many as 200 people to attend the three-hour hearing. It will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Tustin’s Clifton C. Miller Community Center, 300 Centennial Way.

WEBSITE REVAMP

In political website news, the Greenlight residents group last week completed a major upgrade of its site that touts Measure X, an initiative that would tighten voter controls on development in Newport Beach.

The website says the city is misleading voters with information on Measure V, the general plan update that Greenlight supporters think will eliminate residents’ ability to control development.

Voters can order a yard sign or read the “facts vs. myths” on Measure V and Measure X at the site, www.newportgreenlight.com.

Get up to speed on November election

More candidates forums are on the schedule this week in Newport Beach: at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Oasis Senior Center, 800 Marguerite Ave., Corona del Mar; and at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Bayside Village South Clubhouse, 300 E. Coast Highway, Newport Beach.

Speak Up Newport will hold a forum on Measure V, the city’s general plan update, from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Newport Beach Yacht Club at Bayside Drive and Jamboree Road.

Putting the Green in Orange COUNTY

The Greens are coming, the Greens are coming! This weekend in Costa Mesa, Green Party candidates for state offices will speak at a fundraiser that includes a raffle for a Hawaii vacation and prizes from small local businesses.

Peter Camejo and Donna Jo Warren, the party’s candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, will discuss their positions, along with other Green candidates.

Billed in a news release as “the most elaborate Green Party event in Orange County history,” the Sunday event will start at 2:30 p.m. with a reception — $20 is the suggested donation — and a free discussion beginning at 3 p.m. at the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Ave. For more information, call (714) 532-3714.

— Ana Facio Contreras contributed to this report.