New President May Bring His Own Traditions to Lincoln Club

After 12 years of leadership by Coalson Morris, the prestigious Lincoln Club of Orange County has a new president: Gus Owen, a self-effacing, up-from-the-ranks, establishment Republican who is nevertheless known for his independence and outspokenness.

Owen is expected to carry on the traditions of the 26-year-old club to find conservative and moderate Republican candidates, get them elected and keep them in office--all with the aid of substantial contributions financed by $1,000-per-year membership dues.

But, if past is prelude, Owen also will speak out strongly when GOP officeholders fall short in carrying out the pro-business agenda endorsed by the club, which counts among its founders and members the county’s foremost business leaders.

Last year, the 54-year-old Owen led the club’s charge against the county’s Assembly delegation for its refusal to vote for a bill designed to bring transportation money to the county. The bill got tangled in partisan politics and died at the end of the legislative session, fueling fears within the club that the citizenry would take out its frustrations over traffic congestion by passing a slow-growth initiative.

In an angry warning to the delegation at the time, Owen said: “The message is: If you are going to oppose the bill, then don’t come to the business community for contributions to fund (your) campaigns. . . . “

Two years ago, Owen endorsed Newport Beach businessman Nathan Rosenberg’s primary election challenge to Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach). Like many in his party, Owen long had been unhappy with Badham’s perceived lack of leadership in Washington, but he was one of the few establishment Republicans to go so far as to abandon the incumbent.

Now, Owen says, he knows that as president of the Lincoln Club, he cannot endorse his favorite candidates in the June primary.

And judging by what he said last week, Owen also is toning down his rhetoric in other areas. He said that while he believes it is the club’s

responsibility to speak out from time to time on issues, he could not foresee a time that the membership “would ever differ to the extent that we will walk away from” Republican incumbents in a general election.

Owen, who is from Oklahoma, moved to Orange County in the 1950s after a stint with the Marines during the Korean War. Now a San Juan Capistrano resident, Owen is what he calls a “small developer.”

Beginning his involvement in GOP politics as the president of Newport-Costa Mesa Young Republicans, he eventually became executive director of the county Republican Central Committee, held leadership positions in Ronald Reagan’s gubernatorial campaigns and was a staff member for the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee.

Eighteen years ago, he joined the Lincoln Club and began moving through the ranks until he became the natural choice for the presidency when the board met earlier this month and chose a replacement for Morris, only the third president in the club’s history.

While Owen can be expected to take his leadership cue from Morris, whom he much admires, he is considered likely to leave his imprint on the club.

“Gus is a more aggressive personality,” Lincoln Club member Paul Hegness said.

That does not mean, however, that he is abrasive. Owen has a reputation for speaking his opinions “in a way that isn’t grating,” said his predecessor, Morris.

Yes, Owen has strong opinions, Morris noted. “So do we all,” he said. “But when he has a strong opinion, he is quick to admit he isn’t the only one who might be right.”