Dornan Announces He’ll Run for a 9th Term in Congress

After months of apparent indecision, Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) announced Friday that he will seek reelection to a ninth term in Congress.

The announcement by the combative conservative to run again in central Orange County’s 46th Congressional District means a postponement of his plans to seek higher office or to begin a career as a talk show host.

Although Dornan publicly had been coy in recent weeks about his political future, his plans were revealed several weeks ago in a fund-raising letter sent to his supporters in which he underscored that this would be his “final race for Congress.”

“I ask my supporters to ride with me one more time toward the thunder of the political battlefield,” he said in a campaign statement Friday.

Instead of the usual hoopla that accompanies campaign starts, Dornan’s announcement was low-key and limited to a two-page press release. Dornan was not available for comment, and his statement did not repeat his commitment to make this his last campaign for Congress.

However, Dornan’s press secretary, Brian Keeter, said the congressman strongly backs term limits and will honor his pledge to step down after the next term, should he be reelected.

In his statement, Dornan said he is running again because he believes Congress “will be the primary battlefield” in the conservatives’ fight against the Clinton Administration.

Describing himself as a “positive and unrelenting force” in Congress for jobs creation, a strong national defense and anti-crime measures, Dornan said he wants to return to Congress “because I believe that there is still more that I can do to improve the quality of life for the citizens of the 46th Congressional District and our wonderful country. . . .”

He did not explain his rejection of options he had once considered. These included a run for President in 1996, going after the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Dianne Feinstein, or seeking a broadcasting contract.

“It’s clear he waited until the last minute because this was the last thing he wanted to do,” said Howard Adler, former chairman of the Orange County Democratic Party, who is now head of Beat Bob Inc., a fund-raising committee organized last year to defeat Dornan.

“He does not want to represent the people of the 46th,” Adler said. “He has devoted all of his energy to finding another job. . . . I don’t think he deserves to keep” the seat.

Orange County Democrats said they are determined to make Dornan’s current term in Congress his last.

The 46th District, which takes in Anaheim, Garden Grove and Santa Ana, is the only congressional district in Orange County in which Democrats outnumber Republicans in voter registration--by a margin of 47% to 41.5%.

Democrats see this year’s election as an opportunity to capture a seat that they lost only narrowly in the 1992 election.

Bruised in the 1992 primary contest against moderate Republican Judith M. Ryan, Dornan barely held on to win the November election. He received just over 50% of the vote, even though the Democrat, Robert John Banuelos, rarely campaigned and spent only $5,000.

Local Democratic Party officials have since conceded that they mishandled that election by ignoring Banuelos.

Dornan “may have been able to slide through the last election; I don’t believe he will be that lucky this time,” Orange County Democratic Party Chairwoman Dorianne Garcia said. “I believe the voters in Orange County have wised up to just how much he does not represent their interests.”

Referring to Dornan’s claim that fighting crime will be his top domestic priority, Garcia said: “He does not do anything except get on radio or get in the news and say he’s anti-crime. I would like to see him on the streets of Santa Ana or Anaheim doing something about it.”

Dornan is not expected to face major opposition in the June 7 primary. Santa Ana Mayor Daniel H. Young, who announced last year that he would not seek reelection, began raising money to enter the Republican primary should Dornan step down. As of Friday, no other Republican had filed nomination papers. The filing deadline is March 11.

In the Democratic primary, three candidates have filed so far: Placentia Mayor Norman Z. Eckenrode, who ran unsuccessfully for the seat in the Democratic primary two years ago; Michael P. Farber, a former San Diego County businessman who was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee against Rep. Ron Packard (R-Oceanside) in 1992; and Don Payne, an Anaheim resident.

Banuelos has announced his intention to run again.

Although the Democratic Party will not officially endorse a candidate in the primary, Adler and former state Democratic Party Chairman Richard O’Neill are expected to back Farber.

“I think Mike Farber is setting up to be the strongest candidate we have had there in years,” Adler said. “I think he will have a successful campaign.”

The Beat Bob committee set $300,000 as its national fund-raising goal to defeat Dornan. By the end of 1993, the group had received and spent about $40,000, Adler said. More fund-raisers will be held this spring.

Adler said the campaign came to a standstill at the end of 1993, partly because of his poor health.

Dornan’s spokesman said the Democratic Party’s inability to carry out fund-raising shows that there is no steam behind the anti-Dornan campaign.

Dornan himself dismissed the Beat Bob organization when it was formed. In his recent fund-raising letter, however, he called it a “potentially destructive assault.”

“Even though this organization is so low-life, I must say I’m impressed at their determination,” Dornan stated in his letter seeking campaign contributions.