PLACENTIA : Mayor to Run for Dornan’s House Seat

Mayor Norman Z. Eckenrode has announced he will run again in the Democratic primary in the 46th Congressional District, making him the fourth Democrat seeking the seat now held by Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove).

Eckenrode lives outside the district and does not plan to move, he said. Mike Farber, one of the other Democratic candidates, moved to Santa Ana last February. Farber also ran for Congress last year, losing to Rep. Ron Packard (R-Oceanside).

Also declared for the seat is Robert Banuelos of Santa Ana, who ran against Dornan last year after beating Eckenrode in the primary.

The fourth Democratic hopeful is John M. Ivler of Los Alamitos, who will formally announce his candidacy on Thursday.

Federal election laws require congressional candidates to live within the state but not the district they represent. Dornan moved into the district in 1984 to run for the seat.

In declaring his candidacy, Eckenrode said the district--which includes Santa Ana, Anaheim, Garden Grove and parts of Stanton--”is the only competitive seat in Orange County.”

“There are a lot of old-time Reagan Democrats there. The people the Democratic Party has been putting up against Dornan, the ultra-liberals, won’t win there,” he said.

Dornan has not publicly announced his plans, but Democratic leaders have targeted the district as its best chance of capturing a congressional seat.

As of last November, Democrats made up 49% and Republicans 42% of the registered voters in the district.

Dorianne Garcia, chairwoman of the Orange County Democratic Party, said these political numbers and the reputation of the incumbent make the district a target for Democrats.

Eckenrode ran in the primary two years ago and finished fourth in a field of five, but rather than being discouraged, he came away convinced that he should run again.

“I thought then (that) these voters have got to get it right,” Eckenrode said. “I am a blue-collar, conservative Democrat. I’ve gotten a lot of things accomplished.”

This time around, the longtime councilman plans to concentrate more on Santa Ana and spend about four times the $5,000 he spent in the previous contest.