<i> A behind-the-scenes look at Orange County’s political life</i> : Labor Day: It’s No Picnic for a Regular Member of the Cast

The county Democratic Party’s annual Labor Day Picnic in Placentia on Monday will be absent a traditionally significant part of its membership, particularly on the holiday: the Orange County Central Labor Council. Local union officials say they are not officially boycotting.

Instead, the council is sponsoring its first Labor Day breakfast in Anaheim. Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez will speak.

Bill Fogarty of Irvine, the council’s executive secretary-treasurer, said the problem lies with new Democratic Party Chairman Jim Toledano.

“Organized labor and the Democratic Party in this county do not have a relationship,” Fogarty said. “It’s more a problem with the chair of the party than the party itself. This is a chair who does not appear to support labor in this county, so the feeling is, ‘Why support him?’ ”

Toledano, an Irvine attorney, said he believes the problem stems from his opposition to Measure R, the failed bankruptcy recovery initiative.

“I’m very disappointed,” Toledano said. “I am perfectly happy to sit down with them and talk, any time and any place.”

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Call him Denni$ Carpenter: It’s nothing new. The Sacramento lobbying firm controlled by Dennis Carpenter, a former state senator from Orange County, was the top money earner among the “Third House” during the first quarter of the year. Carpenter, Snodgrass & Associates pulled in just short of $600,000 during the period.

What’s a little more surprising is that Orange County remains Carpenter’s biggest benefactor, despite its monumental cash-flow problems in the wake of bankruptcy. The county gave the firm more than $75,000 for its services during the first quarter. The Orange County Transportation Authority chipped in an additional $28,500.

For Carpenter, it’s been a bit of balancing act. The county and the transportation authority have largely been on opposite sides in the bankruptcy tussle, with the county seeking to raid the agency’s coffers. Fearing a conflict of interest, the agency has hired a new lobbyist to handle the bankruptcy. However, Carpenter’s firm is still handling the agency’s other issues in the Capitol.

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Brown’s town: Did anyone notice that the lawsuit to halt the recall effort against Assembly Speaker Doris Allen (R-Cypress) was filed in San Francisco, not Sacramento or ultra-Republican Orange County? That venue might have given the lawsuit a little better chance of success, said Carlos Negrete, a San Juan Capistrano attorney who filed a similar suit, unsuccessfully, on behalf of recalled former Assemblyman Paul Horcher.

The key to such lawsuits is often the judge chosen to hear the case, Negrete said. San Francisco is the hometown and political base of Democratic Assemblyman Willie Brown.

Clearly, the recall forces noticed. On Friday, a Superior Court judge in San Francisco granted their motion to move the case, which challenges the validity of the language on recall petitions, to Sacramento Superior Court.

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Term limits: An important piece of legislation was signed into law last month with little notice, says UC Irvine political scientist Mark P. Petracca. The passage of this new term-limit legislation, SB2 sponsored by state Sen. Quentin Kopp (I-San Francisco), now makes it possible for any elected body to adopt term limits, he says.

“It was clear that, even in light of Proposition 140, the state Supreme Court was not going to give general-law cities the authority to impose term limits,” said Petracca, who favors term limits at all levels of government, but believes each group of elected officials should decide for themselves. “People in favor of term limits have been asking for this.”

UPCOMING EVENTS

* Monday: The Orange County Democratic Party’s annual Labor Day picnic from 2 to 6 p.m. at Tri-City Park in Placentia. Information: (714) 835-5158.

* Wednesday: Fund-raiser for Haydee V. Tillotson’s campaign for the 67th Assembly District at the Old World Mall in Huntington Beach. Information: (714) 895-9652.

* Thursday: The Orange County Young Republicans board meeting at 6:45 p.m. at party headquarters, 245 Fischer Ave., Suite C2, Costa Mesa. Information: Leon McKinney at (714) 536-0289.

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OC Ticker: Who’s Hot (And Who’s Not)

(Up Arrow) Sen. Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove): Helped finance the failed Machado recall, but overcomes that debacle to become new Senate boss. Money can buy you love.

(Up Arrow) Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove): You’ve come a long way, baby. But new Assembly GOP leader shouldn’t start measuring draperies in the Speaker’s office.

(Down Arrow) Assembly Speaker Doris Allen (R-Cypress): Emerges from bunker to talk feisty. Compares self to Indira Gandhi; recall forces may see more of a Mata Hari.

(Up and Down Arrow) Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange): Wants gubernatorial appointment to supervisor’s seat. Gov. Pete will say no. Why would he want the job anyway?

(Down Arrow) Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez: Pre-bankruptcy: One of the state’s Latino political stars. Post-bankruptcy: Hello, Orange police? Any job openings?

(Up and Down Arrow) Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-Irvine): Up because he showed up in his county district last month. Down because he probably needed a map to find his way.

Politics ’95 was compiled by Times staff writer Len Hall, with contributions from Times staff writer Eric Bailey.

Politics ’95 appears every Sunday.