INSIDE TRACK: One way to sew up...

INSIDE TRACK: One way to sew up an election: Get the highly popular retiring incumbent to endorse you early. . . . When Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) announces today that she’ll run for the 5th District supervisorial seat next year, 5th District Supervisor Thomas F. Riley will be by her side. “Highly enthusiastic,” is how Riley describes his endorsement: “She’s been a great friend to this county (from Sacramento) for years.” Riley declines to say more: He’s saving it for his speech today.

PAVEMENT POUNDING: Supervisor Harriett Wieder doesn’t plan to sit at home after retiring from the board next year. She recently wrote to business types seeking positions on corporate boards. “The unique skills and perspective of leadership I’ve acquired during my years in public service would be a valuable asset to the corporate world,” Wieder writes. . . . The two-page letter depicts her supervisorial letterhead, but also states: “Not printed or prepared at taxpayer expense.”

SWEET VICTORY: Maria Contino, a 21-year-old Cal State Long Beach junior from Orange, laughs off critics of beauty contests. In Sunday’s pageant to choose a local representative to run for Miss USA/Miss Universe, she says that “all 18 of us were nervous on that stage. But we all left with much higher self-esteem.” . . . . Contino’s esteem might have grown a notch even higher--she won. Pageant director Tanya Ware likes Contino’s chances for the next step, Miss California: “She’s really sweet, just adorable.”

SONGBIRD? Richard Chamberlain has never been typecast: TV’s Dr. Kildare, stage and screen roles, and tonight it’s double duty. . . . He opens as Henry Higgins in “My Fair Lady” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, or you can catch him as the priest in ABC-TV’s repeat tonight of “The Thorn Birds.” . . . . Chamberlain’s answer to those who wonder if he can sing: During his Kildare days, he cut a record of standards, but admits, “really, pretty forgettable.”