Clintons, Obama coming to area

Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Bill Clinton are expected to visit Newport Coast this month, as the Democratic Party of Orange County has sponsored a pair of presidential campaign fundraisers at private homes.

Melahat Rafiei, the interim executive director of the Democratic Party of Orange County, said Obama is scheduled for a breakfast appearance at 8:30 a.m. Monday, while the Clintons plan to visit another residence for a luncheon at 2 p.m. on June 24. Neither event is posted on the organization’s website, and Rafiei said both were closed to the media.

Rafiei added that her group, which has not endorsed any presidential candidate, hoped to host Sen. John Edwards later this month in Irvine.

“We’re going to help every single presidential candidate who comes to us asking for help,” she said.

Frank Barbaro, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Orange County, said all the money raised at the events would go straight to the candidates’ campaigns.

“We’re opening our doors and creating a place for them to feel welcome and spread their message and solicit support,” he said.

Tickets for Obama’s appearance are $1,000, with a maximum contribution of $2,300. Tickets to the Clintons’ fundraiser are $750 per person and $1,250 per couple for cocktails and $2,300 per person for lunch, with a $4,600 maximum contribution.

The appearances will mark the first Newport-Mesa appearances for Democratic presidential candidates this year. Sen. Clinton appeared at a fundraiser in Laguna Beach in March.

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain is also scheduled to appear at a fundraiser Tuesday at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach. Admission, according to the candidate’s website, is $1,000 for the general reception and $2,300 for a VIP reception.