GOP tied to rehab homes

The head of the Republican Party of Orange County works as a consultant for two of the largest rehabilitation home operators in Newport Beach, including a home the city is suing for violating a city moratorium, officials confirmed Friday.

Scott Baugh, chairman of the county’s Republican Party, often communicates with Newport Beach officials on matters relating to Morningside Recovery, Newport Beach Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said Friday.

Morningside is one of two companies in Newport Beach the city is suing for violating a moratorium to keep new rehab homes from opening. The rehabilitation center houses its clients in numerous houses on Balboa Peninsula.

“Oftentimes when I have an inquiry, he [Baugh] will be the one to get back to me,” Kiff said. “If I have a question of Morningside, I will call and leave a message and get a call back from Scott. It hasn’t been a negative interaction. He’s just kind of the guy who calls me back.”

Baugh confirmed Friday he also offered consulting services to CRC Health Group, which owns the Newport Beach-based rehabilitation home Sober Living by the Sea, but declined to comment further.

Sober Living by the Sea is the largest rehabilitation home operator in Newport Beach. The program houses about 85 clients in homes it rents on Balboa Peninsula, according to Sober Living by the Sea officials.

Mayor Steve Rosansky, while on a local radio show, recently blamed Baugh’s influence for a failed senate bill last spring to tighten state laws on rehabilitation homes.

The mayor declined, however, to comment on the matter Friday.

Senate Bill 1000, written by Sen. Tom Harman, would have required some rehabilitation facilities to get state licenses, for which they don’t need to apply. Licensed recovery homes would have had to be at least 300 feet apart under the bill. The senate health committee voted the bill down in April.

“Even the Republicans didn’t vote for it. It got zero votes up there when we tried to get this legislation through because Scott Baugh, the Orange County Republican chairman, is lobbying in favor of theses sober living facilities,” Rosansky said Nov. 28 on the John and Ken Show on KFI-AM (640). According to state legislative records, the bill actually received two votes.

“He’s representing the two largest operators in town,” Rosansky said on the program.

Revelations on Baugh have raised the ire of some local activists. Balboa Peninsula residents say their neighborhood is overrun with rehabilitation homes that cause problems with trash, noise and traffic.

“How sad I am, and what an uphill battle it is to try to clean up the peninsula when we even have the chairman of Republican party working against us,” said community activist Dolores Otting. “I have to applaud Steve Rosansky to bring it up.”