Buena Park Pastor Asks His Flock to Pray That God Gives Council Hell

Buena Park Councilman Donald L. Bone has seen a lot in eight years in public office. But he considers the recent actions of the Rev. Wiley S. Drake “something brand new. It almost leaves me without words.”

Bone spoke of a faxed plea Drake sent to his parishioners at the First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park. Drake asked his congregation to pray for God to “persecute [the City Council] with thy tempest. . . . Let them be confounded and troubled forever; yea, let them be put to shame and perish.”

Drake, a former council candidate, is upset because he has been cited by city officials for letting homeless people camp on church grounds, a violation of zoning laws. Bone said he can appreciate Drake’s right to free speech, but said he was “shocked” by the prayer.

“As a Christian, the normal reaction is to pray for salvation,” he said. “I can say to parishioners that we on the council are simply upholding the standards that have been set for the betterment of all citizens of Buena Park.”

But Drake sees the dispute as a secular attack on his ministry to the poor.

“The word of God regulates this kind of ministry,” he added. “I’m going to look at the law of the land and the law of God . . . and if there is a conflict, I’ll have to go with the law of God.”

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Hot streak: Less than two years ago she was a failed Anaheim City Council candidate. Only five months ago she was considered a longshot in the March primary. Now Democratic congressional candidate Loretta Sanchez has put together a strong early fund-raising effort that has party officials believing she might be able to upset veteran Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) in central Orange County’s 46th District.

“She came out of the primary looking very strong and Dornan has hurt himself,” said Jim Whitney, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a privately funded group in Washington dedicated to winning seats for Democrats in the House of Representatives. “All of a sudden, here is a district we think we have a shot at winning.”

Sanchez is trying to become the first Orange County Democrat in Congress since Jerry Patterson, a 10-year congressman and former mayor of Santa Ana, was defeated by Dornan in a bitter campaign in 1984.

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Turnabout: Sanchez, 36, an Orange County native and graduate of Anaheim’s Katella High School and Orange’s Chapman University, is a former Republican. In fact, Dana Reed, an attorney and GOP campaign finance guru, was her treasurer in her failed run for the Anaheim City Council in 1994.

“She is creating a terrific new trend, county Republicans becoming Democrats,” joked Sanchez’s campaign chairman, Santa Ana attorney Wylie A. Aitken. “Loretta is going to lead the way. I want Tom Fuentes [the county’s GOP chairman] to know that everyone is welcome to change over.”

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Holding on: Along with the Republicans and Democrats, there will be six minor political parties on the presidential ballot in November, with the Natural Law and Reform parties making their first appearances.

They have had difficulty winning converts from the Democratic and Republican parties, registration figures show.

“What we find is that a lot of people will vote for us but don’t want to switch registrations from the Republican or Democratic parties for whatever reason,” said Jack Dean, 48, of Fullerton, a Libertarian candidate for Congress in the 39th District.

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Block vote: Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) came to the rescue last week of the concrete block manufacturing industry and one of his constituents, Rick Muth of Orange, whose family has owned Orco Block Co. for 50 years.

The industry and Muth urged Cox to sponsor the Savings in Construction Act, which passed the House of Representatives unanimously. Orco objected when federal agencies asked contractors to bid for jobs using only strict metric measurements, a requirement that would have forced the block industry to build new metric-sized blocks and completely revamp its manufacturing process.

Cox’s bill amends the national Metric Act of 1975, allowing small businesses such as the concrete block industry to continue using their standard measurements in inches, but to list them in their centimeter equivalents.

“It seemed to go a bit overboard and was threatening small businesses, including one in our district,” said Vincent Sollitto, a spokesman for Cox.

UPCOMING EVENTS

* Today: Secretary of State Bill Jones will be guest speaker of the Leisure World of Laguna Hills Republican Club at 1:30 p.m. in Clubhouse 5. Information: Tom Beckwith at (714) 583-9334.

* Thursday: A beach party fund-raiser for Assemblywoman Marilyn C. Brewer (R-Newport Beach) will be held at 5:30 p.m. at Newport Dunes resort. Information: Diane Stone at (909) 944-9397.

* Sunday: A Latino community rally for President Clinton will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Festival Hall, 220 E. 3rd St., Santa Ana. Information: (714) 537-5711.

Compiled by Times staff writer Len Hall with a contribution from correspondent Lesley Wright.

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Here are the county registration figures for minor political parties.

Minor Party Registration

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Party November 1994 Current American Independent 19,417 21,580 Libertarian 7,048 7,228 Peace and Freedom 3,685 4,232 Green 3,116 3,422

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Source: Registrar of voters; Researched by LEN HALL / Los Angeles Times