Primary shows split in GOP

Paul Clinton

A local Assembly primary has reignited a 4-year-old debate about

which ideological view should hold sway in the Republican Party.

Moderate Cristi Cristich is facing off against conservatives Chuck

DeVore, Marianne Zippi and Don Wagner in the 70th Assembly race. The

race is raising deeper questions about whether a candidate who shuns

social stances on abortion, gun rights and other potentially divisive

issues can win in an Orange County Republican primary.

On one side of the issue are leaders of the party’s more moderate

New Majority wing, who say they’re still battling for a seat at the

table of the still socially conservative Orange County GOP.

New Majority President Larry Higby, a Newport Beach resident and

the chief executive of Lake Forest-based Apria Healthcare, bemoans

the nomination of right-wing candidates such as Bill Simon in last

year’s governor’s race. Higby is one of the 26 founders of the group.

“That kind of silliness is what has the Republican Party relegated

to minority status [in California],” Higby said. “The core of the

Republican Party is still clearly part of the old guard.”

While Cristich supported Bill Clinton in the 1996 presidential

race, DeVore walked precincts for Bob Dole. In last year’s governor’s

campaign, Cristich threw her support behind moderate former Los

Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, while DeVore supported conservative

businessman Bill Simon. Cristich also threw her support behind Simon,

when he sewed up the nomination.

Party leaders dispute Higby’s claim that Republican candidates

have leaned too far to the right.

“I reject that contention,” said DeVore, a five-time Central Party

elector. “When we have a weak candidate and a weak economy, it

emphasizes the policy differences we have. ... Mr. Higby, tell me if

there’s a difference between George W. Bush and Bill Simon in terms

of policy.”

Local attorney Anthony Duffy has also typified the way in which

New Majority members often challenge the GOP power structure. Duffy

led the legal suit against Bill Simon. Duffy won a $97 million jury

award against Simon’s company in July. The jury agreed with Duffy’s

contention that Simon’s company defrauded a pay phone company.

Duffy says he has been frustrated that the GOP hasn’t made more

overtures to minorities, women and the working class.

“There have been a power structure [in the state GOP] that has

been reluctant to change,” Duffy said. “For too long, the Republican

Party has tended to see a certain part of the population as not being

part of their constituency. They’ve written them off.”

Even with a handful of victories in statewide elections, including

the election of New Majority Assembly members Tom Harman

(R-Huntington Beach) and Lynn Daucher (R-Brea), the group says it’s

still pushing party elites to support more mainstream candidates.

The New Majority was founded in late 1999 amid much fanfare. Group

leaders established a credo, at the time, to do away with “social

litmus tests” such as abortion, prayer in schools, private school

vouchers and other issues that they see as divisive.

Consisting mostly of business luminaries, the New Majority also

set goals to broaden the party’s perspective and refocus it on fiscal

issues, such as tax reduction, spending caps in government and

bureaucratic red tape cutting.

An impressive roster of Newport-Mesa’s business leaders are listed

as founders of the group.

Among those are Irvine Co. Chairman Donald Bren, a Linda Isle

resident; Costa Mesa apartment magnate George Argyros; Emulex Corp.

Chairman Paul Folino; Newport Beach homebuilder William Lyon;

Broadcom Corp. Co-Chairman Henri Samueli, a Newport Beach resident;

and Costa Mesa-based FileNet Corp. founder Ted Smith.

After accepting a job as President George W. Bush’s ambassador to

Spain, Argyros suspended his membership in the group, since diplomats

aren’t permitted to have ties to partisan groups.

Since its inception, the group has taken an active role in

fund-raising for Republican candidates seeking the GOP’s nomination

for a state office.

Unlike the Lincoln Club, an influential and more traditional

activist group, the New Majority funnels money and endorses

candidates before the primary election.

“They’ve done a very good job supporting candidates who fit their

agenda,” Lincoln Club President Michael Capaldi said. “They’ve been

aggressive and active. They’ve brought a new energy to the Republican

Party.”

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment, business and politics. He

may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

[email protected].