<i> A behind-the-scenes look at Orange County’s political life</i> : Whitewater Inquiry Has Some GOP Congressmen Staying In During Recess

Most representatives left Washington last week for a monthlong recess, but a handful, members of the House Banking and Financial Services Committee, stayed behind to conduct intensely partisan hearings on Whitewater, the Arkansas land deal between President Clinton and James McDougal, owner of Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan.

“I’d rather be here,” Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) said. “It is a chance for the regulators at the Resolution Trust Corporation to tell their story.”

Democrats say the hearings are no more than an attempt to try to discredit Clinton. An investigation by three independent counsels have turned up nothing at a cost of $20 million to taxpayers, they say.

According to Royce, the committee’s overall purpose in holding the hearings is to shed light on the need for better congressional oversight of the executive branch. “So we don’t have a politically driven cover-up in the future,” he said.

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New district: Although Linda Moulton Patterson and her husband, Jerry Patterson, the former congressman from Santa Ana, have moved from Huntington Beach to Fountain Valley--and from the 2nd Supervisorial District to the 1st--she has “no immediate plans” to launch another run for county supervisor.

Moulton Patterson, a former Huntington Beach mayor, councilwoman, school board trustee and California Coastal Commission member, lost a bitter race for the 2nd District seat to Jim Silva last November. In that contest, 1st District Supervisor Roger R. Stanton made no secret of his fervent backing of Silva, despite a longstanding relationship with the Pattersons.

Some insiders thought that might have been enough impetus to spur a Moulton Patterson challenge to Stanton, if he runs for reelection next year. But she says no.

“We moved back to a home I have owned for 23 years,” Moulton Patterson said. “I really think running for supervisor at this time might be masochistic. But I’ve learned never to say never.”

Moulton Patterson could not resist one small shot, however.

“I do hope that if Mr. Stanton runs again, or whoever runs against him, that they will have the courage to cut their salary and their staff. Last October I had proposed a minimum 15% salary cut for supervisors and a 15% cut of their staff. The current supervisors are having a hard time cutting 5%,” Moulton Patterson said.

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Allen update: A group backing Assembly Speaker Doris Allen (R-Cypress) held a press conference Thursday to announce the formation of Citizens Supporting Speaker Allen. The group listed a couple dozen elected officials from cities in the district as Allen backers. They claim to have some 2,800 supporters signed up. Heading the group are Los Alamitos Councilwoman Alice Jempsa and former state Assemblyman Gil Ferguson.

A July 30 poll of 400 high-propensity voters done for Allen by the Washington-based Feldman Group shows a nearly even split--33% support the recall and 34% oppose it. Political consultant Dave Gilliard, who is working for the recall, questioned the validity of the poll because his recent polling numbers show Allen “in serious trouble.”

Gilliard said that as of late last Thursday the recall had gathered just under 16,000 signatures toward a target of 25,606 signatures needed to force a special recall election; about 13,000 of those have already been verified by the county registrar of voters.

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Recall or no: Many people have talked about running, but so far, only one candidate, Republican Haydee V. Tillotson of Huntington Beach, has announced she is a serious candidate for Allen’s seat in the 67th Assembly District, recall or no recall.

If the recall fails, Tillotson said, she would be a candidate next year when term limits force Allen out of office. Tillotson, 56, is a former chair of the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce and a local businesswoman with a property management and real estate development firm.

Tillotson has already lined up some powerful backing. Businessman John Cronin, a Lincoln Club member, serious player in county politics and one of Gov. Pete Wilson’s major financial backers, is her finance chairman. Sacramento’s McNally Temple Associates is helping run her campaign.

Former Assemblyman Dennis Brown, currently the Orange County chief of staff for state Sen. Ross Johnson (R-Newport Beach), and Danielle Madison, an associate of state Sen. Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove), are said to be considering challenging Tillotson.

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New limits: The powerful Lincoln Club, a conservative political organization based in Orange County, is seriously considering drafting a state initiative that would impose term limits on all California county officials, school boards, water districts, community college districts and all council members in general law cities.

The club is expected to make a decision soon. At least one club board member, Howard Klein of Irvine, is convinced it should be done.

“The time has come,” Klein said. “If you are looking for a poster child for term limits, we are living in it in Orange County. The support for term limits crosses party lines. You have people as diverse as Tom Fuentes [chairman of the county Republican Party] and Mark Petracca [UC Irvine professor and Democrat] endorsing this concept.”

UPCOMING EVENTS

* Thursday: A barbecue and fund-raiser for Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the John Crean residence in Santa Ana Heights. Call Diane Stone at (909) 944-9397 for more information.

Complied by Times staff writer Len Hall with contributions from Times political writer Peter M. Warren and States News Service.

Politics ’95 appears every Sunday.