District race becomes even hotter

Paul Clinton

Yet another has entered the race for the 70th Assembly District.

In what is shaping up to be one of the hottest local contests in

2004, Irvine resident Don Wagner joined a growing field of

competitors to replace John Campbell, who has said he will leave the

seat to pursue the area’s state Senate seat.

On Monday, Wagner announced his intention to join three other

announced GOP candidates, including two Newport Beach residents, in

the bidding for the Republican Party’s nomination during the March

primary.

“The race to succeed John will allow me to campaign vigorously for

the family-friendly, low-tax, pro-entrepreneur and robust education

policies needed to rescue this state from its malaise,” Wagner said

Monday in a statement.

The seat represents Newport Beach, Irvine and Tustin.

Former Newport Beach City Council candidate Marianne Zippi,

Anaheim business owner and party fund-raiser Cristi Cristich and

former Irvine City Council candidate Chuck DeVore, who has been

endorsed by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, are all on record for the race.

Cristich, who has secured the endorsements of former Assemblywoman

Marilyn Brewer, former state Sen. Marian Bergeson and Supervisor Jim

Silva, lives in Corona del Mar.

MORE COMPETITION IN 68TH

The race for the 68th Assembly seat is also heating up. Candidates

will vie to replace Ken Maddox to represent Costa Mesa.

Monday, Garden Grove Councilman Van Tran signaled his intentions

to run for the seat by hiring a team of consultants.

The 38-year-old Tran made headlines in 2000 when he became only

the second Vietnamese American in Orange County to win election.

Maddox, also a former Garden Grove councilman, is termed out of the

Assembly seat and will challenge Campbell and others for the area’s

state Senate seat.

Mark Leyes, another Garden Grove councilman, has announced his

intention to run for the seat. Leyes, a former Democrat, is running

on the Republican ticket.

No Costa Mesa candidates have entered the race for the Republican

primary, which is a year away. Costa Mesa Councilman and Republican

supporter Gary Monahan has said he won’t run for the seat.

On Monday, Tran hired Sacramento political consultant Wayne

Johnson, of JohnsonClark Associates. Maddox also hired the firm to

run his campaign. Tran also hired MB Associates to handle his

fund-raising and campaign research.

“Van is a very strong candidate,” said Tim Clark, a partner in

JohnsonClark. “He’s a fiscal conservative. He’s a self-made man. I

think Republicans all over this district are going to be receptive to

his message.”

Tran is the managing partner at Van Thai Thram & Associates law

firm. Before founding the firm, he served as a staff aide to former

Rep. Robert Dornan and then-state Sen. Ed Royce, who is now in

Congress.

ROHRABACHER DOESN’T WANT FRIES WITH THAT

Rohrabacher must have been glad Tuesday that he doesn’t hold

regular office hours at Unity Hospital in Minneapolis.

A suspicious, rank-smelling letter addressed to “D. Rohrabacher”

arrived at the hospital that day.

Postal inspectors opened the letter, which had a Minneapolis

postmark. It contained a rotten potato and a note reading, “Have a

fry.” Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), on March 11, ordered workers in the

congressional cafeteria to rename French fries to “freedom fries.”

The letter caused a panic. Safety crews donned protective suits

and headed to the hospital’s emergency room. The ER was shut down for

1 1/2 hours.

Troop-supporting rally set for noon Sunday

Amid all the rumblings of war, another in a string of “support our

troops” rallies have been planned for Newport-Mesa.

The Stand Up for Freedom March is scheduled to go off at noon

Sunday, near John Wayne Airport, at the intersection of Campus Drive

and MacArthur Boulevard.

Dorothy Bunn, the wife of a U.S. Marine, is sponsoring the rally,

which follows a number of other rallies that have urged locals to

support America’s war against Iraq.

Antiwar rallies, at an intersection near South Coast Plaza, have

also taken place.