THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:

Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach could have to step up security at his Santa Ana office after receiving angry e-mails about his recent efforts to suspend a $300,000 payment to Planned Parenthood for health education, he said Wednesday.

“I’m getting plenty of e-mails and phone calls,” Moorlach said Wednesday. “The vast majority were from people opposed to Planned Parenthood and I’ve gotten somewhat harsher responses from people who support Planned Parenthood. We may need to ask for more security from the tone of some of them.”

Voicing concerns over Planned Parenthood’s abortion services, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously earlier this week to suspend a contract with the organization for health education.

Funded with money from tobacco settlement revenues, the educational program includes information about anatomy and sexually transmitted diseases for teenagers and preteens.

Moorlach placed the item on the supervisors’ agenda after he said was surprised to learn the county was providing funding to an organization that provides abortion.

“I don’t think it’s the business of governments to be funding abortions,” Moorlach said.

TRICKY NEGOTIATIONS AHEAD FOR COSTA MESA

When it became clear to Costa Mesa’s financial advisors that the city was going to have to dig deeper than it had anticipated into its reserves to pay this year’s bills, City Manager Allan Roeder told the managers of every department to shave 5% from their budgets.

Roeder had already called for the same managers to make cuts wherever possible late last year when the numbers were already looking grim and the city managed to cut millions from its budget by leaving positions vacant, deferring replacement of vehicles and supplies and stalling construction projects.

Even after the prior cuts, the departments were successful in complying with Roeder’s latest request, he said Tuesday night. Each department came through more-or-less, with some far exceeding the 5% expectation.

Unfortunately, the economy’s deterioration seems to always stay one step ahead of the city’s response.

“That’s not going to get us even close to where we have to be based on the most recent financial projections,” Roeder said.

Because renegotiating contracts with the unions representing Costa Mesa’s employees becomes more likely every week, a consultant was brought in to Tuesday night’s City Council study session to advise the council of the numerous pitfalls inherent in the process.

Peter Brown, an expert in labor relations laws, told the council that even seemingly harmless actions like reassigning duties from one employee to another could wind up causing a lot of trouble if extreme care wasn’t taken.

Employee contract negotiations are governed by a state law called the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act. The law says, for instance, that if a city wants to lay off employees it needs to give them 30 days notice (in most cases) and in the meantime negotiate how other employees are going to cover the extra work created for them.

Council members asked plentiful questions about this provision in particular, and also about the possibilities of ordering department managers not to allow anymore overtime or instituting furloughs.

IRVINE COUNCILWOMAN MAKES BID FOR CAMPBELL’S SEAT

Irvine City Councilwoman Beth Krom will challenge U.S. Rep. John Campbell for his 48th District congressional seat in 2010.

A Democrat, Krom was first elected to the Irvine City Council in 2000. She has served two terms as mayor in Irvine. Krom will kickoff her campaign with a fundraising event from 2 to 4 p.m. March 22 at the home of Mansoor Shah in Shady Canyon. U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) is slated to attend.

Reporter BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com. Reporter ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com.