Orange County Elections : Republican Activists Form Support Group for Democrat Sumner

Roger W. Johnson, chairman of Western Digital Corp., insisted Wednesday that he is not “a turncoat Republican.”

As the chairman of a new Republican group supporting Democratic congressional candidate Bruce W. Sumner, Johnson said he is just fed up with the performance of five-term Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach).

“This isn’t Roger and a bunch of really crazy Republicans off in the corner,” said Johnson, who lives in Laguna Beach. “I think there really is discontent with Badham.”

Hoping to persuade other Republicans in the 40th Congressional District to follow suit, Sumner released the names Wednesday of Johnson and the 31 other Republicans who make up Republicans for Sumner.

The 40th District, which stretches from Laguna Niguel to Tustin, is one of the most heavily Republican districts in the nation. As of Wednesday, the Orange County registrar of voters lists 58.7% of the voters there as Republicans and 30.5% as Democrats. Sumner campaign spokesman David Paine said that at least one in four Republicans in the district must vote for Sumner if he is to win.

Nathanberg Supporters

The list of Sumner supporters includes a mix of local celebrities, activists and business people, including Pilar Wayne, John Wayne’s widow; James O’Brien, a past president of the Orange County Bar Assn., and Jean Watt, president of a Newport Beach citizens group called Speak Up Newport.

Several on the list were active supporters of Nathan Rosenberg, Badham’s opponent in the bitterly contested Republican primary last June.

Orange County Republican Party Chairman Thomas A. Fuentes said he did not know most of those on the list and would not call any of them party activists. He added: “I think the party has closed ranks behind Bob Badham.”

“They’re certainly not good Republicans if it’s true that they have endorsed an arch-liberal Democrat like Bruce Sumner,” Fuentes said.

Said John Killefer, a Sumner Republican from Corona del Mar, “I’ve always thought for myself.” In other years, he said, he always kept quiet when he voted for a Democrat, doing so in the privacy of the voting booth. “It’ll be interesting to see what the hard-liners have to say. . . . It’ll be fun.”

Role Not Clear

What Republicans for Sumner will do besides lend their names to his campaign is not clear. They have never met as a group. Johnson said he plans to telephone all of them and ask them to “network and do individual things for Bruce” such as have coffees or lunches.

Sumner said that some will contribute to his campaign and some will organize voters. “They all have constituencies of their own,” he said.

Johnson said he has already been the host for one reception for Sumner at the Center Club and hopes to be involved in more. Sumner’s views on the economy “were compatible with my Republican thinking,” Johnson said.