Friends’ Beach House May Draw Clintons : President-elect: The TV producers buy a vacation home in Summerland. They say it won’t be a White House West.

Close friends of President-elect Bill Clinton have purchased a beachside vacation retreat just up the coast from Ventura, and Clinton may be a house guest as soon as the Thanksgiving weekend, The Times learned Thursday.

The country-French house, in the beachfront community of Summerland in Santa Barbara County, has been purchased by television producers Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason.

Clinton and his wife, Hillary, are expected to be guests when they want to get away from the pressures of Washington.

The two couples knew each other for years in Arkansas. The Clintons’ visits to their old friends could make Ventura County a presidential landing pad whenever they decide to fly west on Air Force One for future vacations.

Because it provides the security of a military base, the Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station south of Oxnard has often been the landing point for Presidents flying into either Santa Barbara or Ventura counties.

Former President Ronald Reagan often used Point Mugu as a landing pad when he took vacations from the White House, flying by helicopter to his Santa Barbara-area ranch. President Bush landed at Point Mugu when he came to Ventura County for the opening of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Base officials said Clinton landings would be no surprise. “That’s a possibility, given what Reagan did,” said Alan Alpers, the base’s acting public-affairs officer.

The vacation home purchased by the Thomasons is near another beachfront retreat owned by Los Angeles attorney Warren Christopher, director of Clinton’s White House transition team.

Harry Thomason said he had been looking for a home near the beach “on and off for months.” The couple already own a home in Laguna Niguel, which they plan to sell. The Clintons have visited them there in the past.

“They have used our home in Laguna Niguel from time to time,” Thomason said.

The Thomasons have already moved furnishings into the Summerland house, sources said. Regarding the upcoming Thanksgiving visit, one source said, “this is just friends visiting old friends and bringing their families. It’s kind of just a family reunion.”

Although Thomason suggested that the Clintons might use the house occasionally to kick back for a few days, he said it would not become a White House West.

“I categorically deny that,” he said.

The Clintons now do not own a house. They lived in the Arkansas governor’s mansion for 12 of the last 14 years.

The Thomasons have produced such television shows as “Designing Women” and “Evening Shade,” both on CBS. Clinton’s half-brother, Roger, works as a production assistant on “Designing Women.”

Linda Bloodworth-Thomason has used areas of Little Rock, where Clinton lives as governor of Arkansas, as backdrops for that show.

No other Hollywood political activists were as deeply involved in the Clinton campaign as the Thomasons. Their production company, Mozark, became known as a kind of second campaign headquarters for Clinton.

The Thomason influence was felt during July’s Democratic National Convention in New York City.

The Clinton family’s televised walk to Madison Square Garden was orchestrated by Harry Thomason. And his wife produced Clinton’s highly personal 14-minute campaign film, highlighted by footage of a 16-year-old Bill Clinton in the White House Rose Garden shaking hands with President John F. Kennedy. Bloodworth-Thomason discovered the clip in the Kennedy archives.

Summerland lies between Carpinteria and Montecito in an area populated by such celebrities as Kevin Costner and Michael Douglas.

Should Clinton decide to make frequent use of the Summerland residence, the dozens of White House staff members and reporters who would follow the chief executive might be hard-pressed to find sufficient lodging.

Just over the line in Ventura County is the Cliff House, a popular landmark that has 24 rooms with ocean views and a romantic dining room.

“I’m sure it would boost business here quite a bit,” assistant manager Mary Perkins said of a potential White House retreat nearby.

“I think it’s a great idea” to have the President visit the area from time to time, said Carpinteria Mayor Mike Ledbetter. “A little attention never hurt.”

John Robitaille, president of the Carpinteria Chamber of Commerce, likened the impact of a nearby Clinton vacation retreat to that of the Bush family’s presence in Kennebunkport, Me.

“I think it would be great for business,” he said. “Business has been a little slow.