Fullerton, Capistrano Rate Whistle Stops on GOP’s ‘Victory Train’

The state GOP’s “Victory Train” will chug through Orange County Saturday on the eve of the Republican National Convention in San Diego.

The train will set out from Oakland at 4:45 a.m., stop for rallies in San Luis Obispo and Glendale, then pull into Fullerton for a gala rally at 4 p.m. A brief stop will also be made in San Juan Capistrano before the train heads on to San Diego, site of the GOP convention.

Contributors are paying $350 to board the train or $1,500 to ride in the speaker’s car along with Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and state Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove), among many others.

More than a dozen major donors have also paid $5,000 to sit in the presidential car--which, despite efforts to recruit him, probably will not contain presumptive GOP nominee Bob Dole--said state party Chairman John Herrington.

“I’m trying to create a fun environment for people to ride down there,” Herrington said. “You will have stuff to tell your grandchildren about.”

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Make way for Mr. Johns: Speaking of major donors, Bob Dole’s visit to Orange County brought out a bevy of heavyweights last week, but no one’s presence at the Orange County Forum event was more pronounced than developer Buck Johns. His company commandeered six tables near the center of the room, by far the largest contingent in the Irvine Marriott’s grand ballroom.

Asked why Johns bought so many seats, his close friend, Lincoln Club Chairman Doy Henley, quipped: “It’s easy, the tickets were cheap.”

For the record, the ticket prices were $25 for forum members and $35 for nonmembers.

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Ready or not: The timing of the Dole affair became cause for consternation, if not near panic, for Orange County Forum officials. The speech was billed first as a breakfast, and 700 tickets were sold before the Dole campaign announced four days in advance of the event that it would be a luncheon instead.

That meant Executive Director Nancy Dooley had to make 700 phone calls over the weekend to warn people that the time of the event had been changed to noon. Then the Dole campaign tripped up organizers up by arriving early and insisting the event begin at 11:30 a.m., while guests were still filing through heavy security into the ballroom.

“I was shocked,” said Dooley. “I’m a Dole supporter and I’m thinking, ‘Goodness, someone should have coordinated this a lot better’ . . . It was very hectic.”

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Loose lips: Laguna Niguel City Councilman Mark Goodman spoke out strongly last year against Measure R, even though the sales tax initiative would have meant $17 million to his employer, the Orange County Transportation Authority.

Measure R failed and last month Goodman was among the 45 employees laid off by the OCTA. Coincidence?

“I’m not going to say [speaking out] cost me my job, but it didn’t make me the most popular guy in the world,” Goodman said.

Said Stan Oftelie, OCTA chief executive: “Mark Goodman was a fine employee and worker for the OCTA. There was no correlation” between Goodman’s views on Measure R and the layoffs, he added.

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Treasurer anyone? Candidates are not exactly standing in line for the office of San Clemente city treasurer, an elected post that is considered part-time and pays just $375 a month. For that sum, the treasurer is responsible for managing and investing a whopping $70 million in city funds.

So far, the only taker is Paul Gudgeirsson, the city’s director of finance and administrative services, who was appointed interim treasurer last year when treasurer Ken Carr resigned. State law allows a city staff member to be an elected city treasurer.

“It’s probably better to have [the treasurer’s role] as part of my full-time duties,” Gudgeirsson said. “We are keeping a close watch on the money.”

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Cox delivers: President Clinton has signed a new “Taxpayer Bill of Rights II,” which makes life easier for taxpayers involved in disputes with the IRS.

One of the provisions, sponsored by Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), removes the requirement that tax returns carry a U.S. postmark to prove the date they were sent. Under the Cox amendment, taxpayers can also use private mail carriers such as Federal Express and UPS for overnight delivery to prove in court the return was mailed on time.

UPS, by the way, was the single largest political action committee donor during the 1993-94 election cycle, when the GOP took control of Congress. It gave a total of $2.6 million, but Cox was not among recipients of the largest amounts.

UPCOMING EVENTS

* Tuesday: A party for Assemblyman Jim Morrissey (R-Anaheim) hosted by the Discovery Science Center will be held at 10 a.m. at Garfield Elementary School in Santa Ana. Information: (714) 540-2001.

* Thursday: A fund-raiser for Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) will be held from 6-8 p.m. at Raffaelo’s Ristorante in Orange. Information: Call Mike Williams, (909) 686-1996.

* Friday: A fund-raiser for Garden Grove City Council candidate Ho Chung will be held from 6:30-9 p.m. at the Garden Grove Community Center. Information: (714) 539-2255.

Compiled by Times staff writer Len Hall with contributions from Times staff writer Gebe Martinez and correspondent Frank Messina.

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