Candidates Rally Around the Environmental Banner

Republicans have conceded the issue before, but concern for the environment has become so important in politics that it no longer belongs only to Democrats, says Orange County’s conservative congressman Robert K. Dornan.

“The root word of conservative is conservation,” said Dornan (R-Garden Grove), explaining why he has recently joined the call for a ban on additional offshore oil drilling.

“I don’t expect any hard-core environmentalists to believe that Bob Dornan has become one of them . . . but now we’re getting to a place where (the environment issue) belongs to everybody,” he said.

As environmentalism blossoms this year in California politics, Orange County may be one of its most unusual gardens. It is the place where a beautiful and threatened coastline is represented in Washington and Sacramento by a conservative delegation that is traditionally pro-business and against government regulation.

According to a Times Orange County Poll, that delegation is hearing an increasingly louder voice from their constituents about protecting the environment.

Ninety-three percent said in the poll that the environment is either “somewhat important” or “very important” when they decide whether to support a political candidate. And there was virtually no difference between Republicans and Democrats.

About 77% in the poll said their interest in the environment has increased in the past few years. Again, there was no statistical difference between the major parties.

At the county level, respondents also gave their county leaders an average grade of C-minus for their performance in managing growth and protecting the environment.

Dornan’s call to place restrictions on oil companies wanting to drill offshore was seen by many as evidence of the power in so-called “green politics.” Dornan attributed his switch to the diminishing threat from the Soviet Union. In a more peaceful world, Dornan said the United States could afford to rely on foreign oil “and not endanger the coastline.”

But Rep. William Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) says the country still needs to be more energy-independent. In a speech last November, Dannemeyer referred to environmentalists as “grass-eaters and daisy pickers” and he called for an increase in domestic oil production, including offshore drilling.

An aide to the congressman said that the public’s focus on environmental issues has not changed his position.

“Every time there is an oil spill it is hyped up considerably by those who oppose offshore oil drilling,” said Brett Barbre, the Dannemeyer spokesman. “But you ask people: ‘How did you get here, did you come by car? How do you cook your food at home?’ ”

All over Orange County, though, the environment has become a banner for politicians and candidates seeking office.

Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress) is sponsoring an initiative drive that would ask voters in November to prohibit fishing fleets from using gill nets because of the risk to dolphin, whales and sea lions. “It’s very personal with me,” she said. “(It’s) because of the animals.”

In Huntington Beach, Mayor Thomas J. Mays is running for the state Assembly as a candidate virtually created by the single issue of the environment. Mays was ubiquitous in the media during the days after February’s tanker spill off Huntington Beach, sparking speculation about his political future.

Barely a month later, when Assemblyman Dennis Brown (R-Los Alamitos) said he would not seek reelection, Mays entered the race for the 58th Assembly District. The seat includes Huntington Beach, Seal Beach and coastal Long Beach.

“As far as my race goes, environmental issues will be a big part of the campaign,” Mays, a Republican, said. “I think especially after the oil spill, we need to start concentrating on the environment a little bit more. It’s pretty obvious how quickly we can lose something valuable.”

Dave Ellis, campaign manager for another candidate in the Assembly race, Republican Peter von Elten, said the Huntington Beach oil spill is a big reason why voters in that area are more environmentally minded in this election.

“The oil spill heightened consciousness, which is why Peter has agreed not to take any money from oil companies or companies involved in tanker shipping, and why he’s come out for double-hulling and frequent mapping of the ocean floor,” Ellis said.

Building tankers with double hulls is believed to help guard against ruptures. Mapping the ocean floor became an issue after the Huntington Beach spill, in which the ship was pierced by its own anchor in relatively shallow water that Coast Guard officials said had not been measured and mapped in more than a decade.

Another Republican candidate in the 58th District race said he realizes that if the race focuses on the environment, he faces a tough campaign. Long Beach City Councilman Jeff Kellogg’s family has run a local onshore oil-drilling company for 50 years, and Kellogg himself has worked for the company as an oil hand and then director of drilling operations during the past 13 years.

“If I were my opponents, obviously I would make it look like I was the captain of the Valdez,” Kellogg said, referring to the Exxon tanker that caused the disastrous Alaskan oil spill last year. Kellogg quit the business to run for the Assembly.

“The fact is . . . we specialized in the past 20 years in drilling in environmental situations. When we came in with our equipment . . . we soundproofed and landscaped everything. We made sure there was no impact on the drill site.”

Kellogg said he could support increased offshore drilling under certain conditions, but not near any environmentally sensitive areas such as the Huntington Beach wetlands. “Even where you allow it, you never compromise your environment,” he said. “You take every precaution in the world.”

Also vying for the Assembly seat are two other Republicans, Long Beach Councilwoman Jan Hall and Long Beach physician Sy Alban, Democrat Luanne Pryor and Libertarian Scott Stier.

In another coastal Orange County Assembly race, one of the legislators targeted statewide by environmentalists is being challenged in a Republican primary by a woman who plans to use the issue as one of her major weapons.

Phyllis Badham, daughter of former Rep. Robert Badham (R-Newport Beach), is running against Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) for a seat that represents some of the county’s most pristine shoreline, including Laguna Beach, Dana Point and part of San Clemente.

In its election-year analysis, the California League of Conservation Voters named Ferguson as one of the state’s “Filthy Five” legislators for having one of the worst records on environmental votes.

“When the assemblyman from the 70th District is named an ecological Neanderthal . . . I’d have to question his concern for the environment,” Badham said. “I am very environmentally minded . . . and will advocate it through my campaign.”

Ferguson was not available this week, but he has dismissed the league’s rating as a partisan attack from a liberal-oriented group.

In one inland Assembly district where two Democrats are battling in a primary, one candidate has laid claim to the environmental vote.

Jerry Yudelson was once appointed to a state environmental panel by former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. and he works as an environmental planning consultant.

“It’s the No.1 issue in the district, no question about it,” said Larry Remer, Yudelson’s campaign manager.

“Every time there is a Valdez or a recall of Perrier, it reminds people of how fragile our complex society really is,” Remer said. “All that stuff is cumulative and has seeped into people’s consciousness over the past 20 years, so there is a sense in the public that the environment is a major problem.”

Remer said Orange County has so far been distinguished by its unwillingness to protect the environment. Even with the increased focus, he said, “I still don’t think we can get a bond measure passed in Orange County for mass transit.”

But he said the electorate is changing. “I would expect to see challenges to the Board of Supervisors in the next decade based clearly on environmental grounds.”

Yudelson is running against a former federal prosecutor who says crime and drugs are actually the biggest issues in the 72nd Assembly District, which includes parts of Anaheim and Garden Grove.

The seat is held by freshman Republican Assemblyman Curt Pringle.

Bob Steins, Prosecutor Tom Umberg’s campaign manager, said he was uncertain of his candidate’s environmental positions and they have not played a large role in campaign strategy. But he countered, “The most effective advocate for the environment is the one who can beat Curt Pringle.”

Pringle also said crime is the most important issue to residents of his district. He said the environment “has the potential” to become a major issue, partly because malathion spraying in the district has sparked active opposition groups.

All three candidates--Pringle, Umberg and Yudelson--have protested the spraying.

But Pringle has not jumped on the environmental bandwagon to call for more regulations to protect the coastline.

“Some of the views we hear from very liberal people are such liberal points of view that the ramifications would be devastating,” he said. “They may look like they’re being environmentally sensitive, but they are representing some very extreme views.”

Newport Beach political consultant Harvey Englander said he believes that the political strength of the environment varies significantly from district to district in Orange County.

“People’s political minds turn to environmental issues when there aren’t other crises being perceived, particularly in the press,” Englander suggested. “It’s an issue that’s going to change in every locality.”

Irvine Mayor Larry Agran is another Orange County politician who has built his career largely around his environmental activism. He has been recognized nationwide for his city’s strict regulations on the use of chlorofluorocarbons.

“I think the level of understanding about our various environmental crises is at an all-time high and the demand for effective political and governmental action is also stronger than ever,” Agran said. “I think it’s a logical recognition by voters that cleaning the air cannot be left to General Motors and cleaning our shore cannot be left to Exxon.”

EARTH DAY--It has moved from the streets to Madison Avenue. A22

GREEN POLITICS

How would you rate the job that county officials are currently doing in managing growth and protecting the Orange County environment? REPORT CARD A: 2% B: 12% C: 42% D: 16% F: 18% Don’t know: 10% When you vote in local or state elections this year, how important is it that the candidate you would support take a strong pro-environment position? Very important: 55% Not important: 7% Somewhat important: 38%