Orange County Elections : A Discreet Distance Is Political Key for Irvine Co.

It was a typical campaign fund-raiser at the Irvine Marriott last month, as friends and associates of Irvine City Council candidate Tom Jones nursed cocktails, savored elegant hors d’oeuvres and exchanged political small talk about the June 3 race.

Mixing comfortably with the well-heeled crowd were two Irvine Co. executives. One of them said he came to offer Jones “moral support” and the other said he was there to “pay my respects,” adding, “we are obviously very interested in who gets elected.”

Indeed, as the city’s dominant land owner with 68,000 acres, the Irvine Co. takes more than a casual interest in the city that it created and that shares its name. The company has ambitious and long-term plans to develop its residential and commercial properties in and around the master-planned city, and thus a heavy stake in whether Irvine voters elect officials who favor or oppose faster-paced development and the building of three controversial freeways.

Tough Fights

Still, the giant Orange County real estate developer, faced with an increasingly vocal electorate and ever-mindful of tough political fights over the freeways issue and the building of a community hospital, must walk a fine political line in its backyard.

“I suspect most candidates would not want the monopoly landowner involved in their campaign,” said Mike Stockstill, the company’s corporate affairs director and political watchdog. “Just on the sheer face of it, that has some negatives.”

Accordingly, the Irvine Co., which contributed more money than any other corporation to elected state officials in 1985, has an official “hands-off” policy when it comes to Irvine city elections. The company stresses that it does not make endorsements or corporate contributions to candidates in city races.

Nonetheless, interviews with City Council candidates and Irvine Co. employees portray a company that jockeys quietly but persistently behind the scenes and leaves no stone unturned when it comes to protecting its interests.

As Stockstill summed it up: “The Irvine Co. and the city’s fate are inextricably linked. We are married to each other and there is no possibility of divorce. So when you are in that situation, you have no choice but to work with one another and find common ground.”

Employees Walk Precincts

A savvy reader of the city’s political tea leaves by virtue of its frequent polling and involvement in community affairs, the Irvine Co. acts as political godfather to candidates who seek its unofficial blessings and advice. Moreover, employees are schooled on key city issues and candidates at regular in-house forums.

During campaign time, many of the company’s 1,500 employees--300 of whom live in Irvine--will, as individual citizens, raise money or walk precincts for the candidate of their choice. Said one executive, “We are encouraged to get involved, and get involved we do.”

Jones’ City Council campaign is a case in point.

When the Irvine Chamber of Commerce president began to think seriously about running for a vacant council seat in February, the Irvine Co. was one of his first stops.

“I talked to some people at the Irvine Co.,” Jones said, including Stockstill and Gary Hunt, Irvine Co. vice president and assistant to Chairman Donald Bren.

“I asked them what do you think of the idea and asked them how they saw the race. I’d say the conversations were more dealing with the fact that ‘that sounds great, we would love to have someone with your business background, your balanced approach, on the council.’ ”

Jones is one of 10 candidates hoping to capture one of two seats on the philosophically divided council. June’s winners could determine whether this suburban hamlet, with its rolling hills and manicured lawns, welcomes three new freeways and the further residential and commercial development they would bring--as the Irvine Co. has urged--or a policy that slaps strong restrictions on such growth.

Because the 44-year-old corporate attorney shares many of the Irvine Co.’s views about the city, it is therefore not surprising that many Irvine Co. employees look favorably on his candidacy.

“(The Irvine Co. officials) said, ‘We are not contributors to campaigns. On a personal basis if you want to tell people to call us to (find out) what our evaluation of you in the community is, we’d be happy to do that.’ The main comfort I got from them was the fact that they would not oppose me.”

‘Not Opposing’ Candidacy

Not only is the company “not opposing” Jones, but many of its employees are soliciting campaign contributions for Jones and another pro-business candidate, City Finance Commissioner Hal Maloney.

Charles Wilson, development manager of the Irvine Hotel Co., said he was acting as a private citizen in getting about 20 of his friends to contribute to Jones’ and Maloney’s campaign.

“I have a personal and professional obligation to be involved in the political process of the community I work and live in,” Wilson said. “I believe they (Jones and Maloney) are working in earnest for the benefit of the city.”

Asked whether he thought the company was sending out a contradictory message about its lack of involvement in city elections, Wilson replied, “We are well-read and informed. That’s expected of us. With that we are encouraged to develop our own conclusions and participate in the process.”

Sometimes, however, the company’s tacit blessing can be a curse in disguise.

Worried that he would be branded the Irvine Co.’s candidate by opponents, Jones experienced a case of pre-election jitters last month and dropped political consultants Nelson-Padberg Communications Inc. because the Irvine Co. also uses them.

“Since Nelson-Padberg has done consulting for the Irvine Co., I chose to end that relationship and retain another firm,” Jones told The Times. “Even an appearance of impropriety was unacceptable.”

Involvement Continues

Nevertheless, the involvement of company employees in Jones’ and Maloney’s campaigns has continued.

Wilson’s boss, Jim Kelley, said he didn’t mind that members of his staff were making fund-raising calls on company time, “as long as people get their work done.”

Kelley, who recently left the Hyatt hotel chain in Chicago to head the Irvine Co.’s newly formed hotel division, said, “I am utterly amazed at the amount of community involvement that the company encourages. When key issues are there like state and local elections, or particular issues come before a city council, they say, ‘If you have time we would encourage you to attend.’ The company does an outstanding job of communications.

“I happen to live in Newport and am taking an active role there,” Kelley added. “Charles and some others live in Irvine and we have encouraged them to get involved in Irvine.”

Kelley said the company disseminates information on all the candidates and “encourages us to discuss the candidates with our employees.”

“There’s no score kept by the company on who (which employees) helps and who doesn’t help,” Kelley said. “I think the people themselves feel a source of pride if they can accomplish something on their own.” Kelley added, however, that a pro-growth candidate would obviously be more acceptable to a development company than a no-growth candidate. “But,” he cautioned, “there is no company position on that one.”

The Irvine Co.’s posture in the present election is no different.

Bill Fischel, vice president of project management for Irvine Pacific, the home-building arm of the Irvine Co., said, “We’ve talked to some of our consultants--people who do business in Irvine--in terms of the importance of the election and who is supportive of the city, its development and where we hope the city will be in the future. . . . We have asked them if they would think about contributing.”

Seeking Information

Fischel said Jones and Maloney “are people we have asked our consultants to find out more about, to see if they feel the same way possibly the Irvine Co. feels about them.”

Fischel said he was approached by Irvine Pacific President Roland Osgood a couple of months ago about getting the word out to Irvine Co. associates.

“He said we need to raise the awareness level of the election coming up. . . . Consultants that work for us should be aware and get involved a little more because it affects the future of how we go about living, playing and working in Irvine. It is a very important city.”

Even though they insist that the company does not get involved in local elections, Irvine executives keep close tabs on how all the candidates are faring.

Jean Hobart, for example, heard from Stockstill the day after her “No Growth” potholders hit Irvine mailboxes.

“I got a call from Mike congratulating me on my professional mailer that went out,” said Hobart, who was lead attorney for Irvine residents in their ongoing legal fight against the Irvine Co. and other builders over the construction of the San Joaquin Hills, Foothill and Eastern freeways. “Interestingly, the Irvine Co. wanted to know who the potholders went to. I told them it was confidential.”

Told about the Irvine Co.’s hands-off policy when it comes to city elections, Hobart was incredulous. “Do I believe that when there are billions of dollars on the line in City Council votes that they don’t get involved? I’m sure every one of their employees contributes and subcontractors contribute. My thought is that they never have been uninvolved in the political process. It is their master plan, their buildings, their projects. It’s in their self-interest to get friendly people elected who are favorable to the freeways they need or want,” she said.

Asked why he called Hobart, Stockstill said, “I’ve known Jean for about 5 years. . . . Secondly, I was curious who she sent it to. We got one at our house.

“Don’t get us wrong, he added. “The company follows politics in Irvine very carefully. We are very active observers of the Irvine political scene. (But) there’s a difference between watching and doing. We don’t endorse, and we don’t give company contributions. . . . The policy speaks for itself.”