Diversity Won’t Hurt Party, O.C. Delegates Say

Because many of their votes in local races go to losing candidates, it’s no surprise that Orange County Democrats are looking forward to their party’s national convention this week as a place where their voices can finally be heard.

At the convention in New York City, Orange County’s delegates will represent a pool of 370,000 voters--more registered Democrats than in a dozen states. And in the national election, Democrats know that a ballot cast in Orange County counts just as much as one from the party’s stronghold in San Francisco.

So, with intrepid determination and a sober focus on the nation’s future, Orange County sent more than two dozen delegates and alternates to New York this week to participate in the adoption of a Democratic Party platform and the selection of a nominee for President.

They are a group that spans the party’s political and geographic spectrum in Orange County, from Laguna Beach environmentalists to Santa Ana laborers and Newport Beach professionals. As a result, the delegation also represents a range of ideas about the 1992 candidates and issues that the party is cautiously trying to mold into a cohesive campaign.

In recent weeks, party leaders have called a series of “unity meetings” in hopes that the delegates might smooth out some of the differences before they reach New York.

Ten of the county’s delegates are already pledged to former California Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. and some of those supporters said they are not happy with the party’s expected nominee--Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton. Clinton has 14 delegates from Orange County, based largely on the results of voting in last month’s primary.

Brown supporters have complained that the party platform does not do enough to protect the environment or scale back the military. Several said they intend to vote against the plan when it is considered by the convention on Tuesday.

“We do not need a second Republican Party,” said Bill Honigman, a Brown delegate from Laguna Hills who attended the first delegate meeting on June 20. “We intend to take (our) principles to the convention and beyond.”

Howard Adler, chairman of the Orange County Democratic Party, told the delegates that it’s important for the party to be unified if President Bush is going to be defeated in November. “I hope we remember that we share common values,” said Adler, who will attend the convention as an unofficial observer.

This week, however, after the two sides had met for several hours of talks, delegates pledged to both Clinton and Brown said they were optimistic that the differences among the activists will not damage their party’s campaign in November.

“The people who I work with are not pro-Clinton, but they’re definitely anti-Bush and anti-(Ross) Perot,” said Brown delegate Tim Carpenter of Santa Ana. “That’s going to be what will unify us. But it’s premature to talk about Brown people supporting Clinton. We’ll see what comes out of New York.”

John Hanna, a Clinton delegate and former chairman of the county Democratic Party, said he also expects harmony after the convention. He described the differences as stemming from a split over how much change is needed in government.

“The Clinton people want change, but maybe not as extensively as the Brown people,” Hanna, a resident of Santa Ana, said. “There is a lot of new blood in the Brown campaign, a lot of people who have never been involved in politics before.”

The one thing the county’s delegates share is the belief that they are players, not observers.

They come from all different segments of the work force--management and employees, blue-collar and white-collar, office staff and construction workers. There is a lawyer, a doctor, a developer, a carpenter, a consultant, an engineer, a technician and a mail carrier.

Several said the problems facing the nation today are so severe, they felt compelled for the first time to participate in finding political solutions. Most of the delegates have never attended a national convention and, for this one, they’ve had to dip into vacation time and savings accounts to attend.

“Our country is in such disgusting shape right now and I’m not really the type to sit down and watch,” said Dorianne Garcia, a 33-year-old Brown delegate from Cypress who works for Pacific Bell. “I see a problem and I want to get right in and help.”

Garcia, who is also a Democratic candidate for state Senate in Orange County, said she likes Brown because he’s a straight-shooter who doesn’t “dance around the issues.” But she added that she will work for Clinton if he wins the nomination. “My No. 1 goal is to beat Bush.”

On the liberal side of the delegation, Carpenter has been a peace and anti-nuclear activist for nearly 20 years. He said he favors a 50% reduction in the military, an end to nuclear power and strict environmental measures to combat global warming.

“Jerry Brown has been very inspirational to me and my generation,” Carpenter said. “Clinton is more of an administrator than a prophet. Too often we spend our time voting for the lesser of two evils.”

In contrast, Hanna said he considers himself one of the moderate voices in the delegation. He supported the Persian Gulf War, he backs Clinton’s proposal for a capital gains tax reduction and he favors work requirements for welfare recipients.

In Clinton, Hanna said he has found a candidate with a “grasp of the issues.”

“I’m all for change, but we’re electing somebody to run the most important country in the world,” he said. “I don’t want to put somebody in there who doesn’t understand how government works.”

Linda Moulton-Patterson, a Clinton delegate who serves on the Huntington Beach City Council, said she also falls on the moderate side of the Democrats’ political spectrum. “I’m very supportive of the environment, but I’m also pro-business, and I think you can be both,” she said.

Unlike most Democratic presidential candidates, Moulton-Patterson said Clinton understands that businesses need to prosper and help the economy.

“I think Clinton is the strongest Democratic nominee that I’ve seen in a couple of decades,” she said. “I’m real excited about this.”