<i> A behind-the-scenes look at Orange County’s political life</i> : As a Waste Appointee, He Wants Not . . . Except, Perhaps, a Senate Seat

Former Republican Assemblyman Robert C. Frazee of Carlsbad, who for 16 years represented part of South County, was appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson to a plum post for ex-politicians: a seat on the California Integrated Waste Management Board.

Frazee, 66, will receive $90,852 a year, if his appointment is confirmed by the state Senate. Not too shabby, considering that the board, which oversees garbage collection in the state, meets 12 times a year.

Frazee, a former mayor of Carlsbad who is considered a moderate and a close friend of Wilson, represented a portion of Dana Point and San Clemente from 1978 to 1994.

The question that remains is whether Frazee really is an “ex”-politician. He is said to be still considering a run for the state Senate seat now held by Bill Craven (R-Oceanside), who is retiring in 1998, which would mean a fierce battle with Assemblyman Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside). Fueling the speculation is the fact that Frazee still keeps an active campaign bank account.

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He’s everywhere: Rumors keep popping up about Westminster Mayor Charles V. Smith and his political ambitions.

Smith, a Westminster councilman since 1984 and the city’s mayor since 1988, was first rumored to be eyeing the Assembly post now held by Doris Allen (R-Cypress). Allen’s post could be vacated soon if she wins this week’s special election to the state Senate in the 35th District.

Then, last week, Smith’s name came up again--along with that of Garden Grove Councilman Mark Leyes--as a possible challenger for Supervisor Roger R. Stanton next year.

For the moment, Smith remains noncommittal.

“I would never rule it out, but I have enough to do right now,” he said of his political possibilities.

Does he ever. The retired aerospace engineer, 62, has his hands full as chairman of the powerful Orange County Transportation Authority, president of the Orange County division of the California League of Cities and vice chairman of the Local Agency Formation Commission, an increasingly important board that rules on annexations and consolidations of special districts.

“It wasn’t really that I sought out all these positions, it just kind of worked out that way,” Smith said. “And now with the county bankruptcy, I have all the work I can handle.”

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Moorlach’s hero: County treasurer candidate John M.W. Moorlach apparently hasn’t forgotten that San Juan Capistrano is one of only two cities in the county--along with Garden Grove--that wasn’t lured into Orange County’s now infamous investment pool.

Last weekend at a prayer breakfast in Sacramento, Moorlach, who ran unsuccessfully against former Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron last June after predicting the county’s eventual financial meltdown, took a moment to track down San Juan Capistrano Councilwoman Collene Campbell.

Campbell said Moorlach tapped her on the shoulder and asked her to pass along his compliments to Cynthia Pendleton, San Juan Capistrano’s treasurer who has emerged as a local bureaucratic savior of sorts.

“Will you go back and tell Cyndi Pendleton that she’s my hero?” Moorlach said, according to Campbell.

“It was cute,” Campbell said, although she didn’t recognize him at first glance. “From his face, I didn’t know him at all.”

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Committee spot: Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has selected former Democratic Assemblyman Tom Umberg of Garden Grove to a committee that helps her make recommendations for federal judge appointments.

Boxer is reportedly trying to make her recommendations more moderate, particularly after several recent appointments have sparked controversy for being too liberal.

Umberg will help Boxer interview potential candidates for the federal judgeships in seven south central California counties, including Orange and Los Angeles counties. Because the appointments are for life, they are highly sought, Umberg said.

Boxer’s recommendations are passed on to President Clinton, who typically accepts the choices of his Democratic senators for local posts.

“Having been a federal prosecutor, I know the selection of U.S. District Court judges is one of the most important things a President does in office,” Umberg said.

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Small political world: The news that campaign consultant Mark Thompson of the Irvine-based Thompson Group will be heading up the supervisorial campaign of Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange)--who wants Board Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez’s job--again shows how tight-knit local politics can be.

For instance, Thompson is also running the upcoming Assembly campaign of Tustin City Councilman Jeffery M. Thomas, who wants Conroy’s seat next year. Last November, Thompson successfully ran the campaign waged by freshman Assemblyman Jim Morrissey (R-Santa Ana).

While Thompson also has run other state Senate campaigns, few people might remember he was the chief of staff only a couple of years ago for maverick Assemblyman Paul Horcher (I-Diamond Bar), now hated by many Republicans in the state for his vote for Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) for Speaker of the Assembly. “It’s an incestuous business,” Thompson said.

UPCOMING EVENTS

* Thursday: The 83rd birthday of former First Lady Pat Nixon will be celebrated at the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace. Times and information: (714) 993-5075.

* Friday: A fund-raiser for presidential candidate Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) will be held at the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel. Information: (800) 96-GRAMM.

* Friday: Assemblyman Jim Morrissey (R-Santa Ana) will have a breakfast club meeting at 7:30 a.m. at Planet Hollywood in Santa Ana. Information: Wendy Cantor at (714) 852-2147.

* Saturday: Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) will have a town hall meeting from 10 a.m. to noon at the Cypress Senior Center. Information: (714) 992-8081.

Compiled by Times staff writer Len Hall, with contributions from correspondent Jeff Bean.

Politics ’95 appears every Sunday.