A behind-the-scenes look at Orange County’s political life

She hasn’t officially won yet, but for the moment, official Washington is treating Democrat Loretta Sanchez like the winner of the 46th Congressional District race against incumbent Republican Robert K. Dornan.

She hit the talk show circuit, received telephone calls from very important people and participated in House freshmen orientation sessions.

Word is that President Clinton was downright gleeful when he learned of Sanchez’s lead over Dornan. The prez himself telephoned his California campaign manager, former Orange County Assemblyman Tom Umberg.

Vice President Al Gore dialed up Sanchez personally. “He wanted to call and tell her congratulations and welcome her to Washington in the new year,” said Ginny Terzano, Gore’s spokeswoman. “It was an important race to the party. It was considered a big upset.”

But the most important relationship in the coming months may be between Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Bakersfield) and Orange County attorney Wylie A. Aitken. Yes, the same Wylie A. Aitken who was the backbone of Sanchez’s campaign.

Should Dornan lose the election and ultimately appeal the results to the House, the matter would be heard by the powerful House Oversight Committee, which is chaired by Thomas.

“Bill Thomas and I went to high school together. We went to Garden Grove High School and then to Santa Ana College,” Aitken said, adding that Thomas headed the campus’ Republican group and Aitken led the college Democrats. Back then, Aitken added, they were “debating Jack Kennedy versus Richard Nixon.”

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Who’s been sitting in my chair? Members of Congress last week began competing for office space for the 105th session, which begins in January. The most senior members are given first choice of offices being vacated by those who are retiring--or were retired by voters. Once they choose, their current space becomes available for less senior members, and so on down the line, until the freshmen choose among the leftovers.

Congressman Dornan was pleased two years ago when he won his current suite with a close-up view of the Capitol, because it was being vacated by none other than House Speaker Tom Foley (D-Wash.), who lost both his speakership and his seat amid the GOP takeover of Congress.

But folks are already eyeing Dornan’s digs, even though he has not officially lost his reelection bid. A Washington newspaper reported Thursday that staffers for Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) looked over Dornan’s suite the day before, when the bidding for offices began.

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Bob who? By Thursday morning, virtually every major newspaper and television network was carrying the news of Dornan’s possible ouster. Some examples:

* NBC’s “Today Show” host Katie Couric: “ . . . the biggest upset of this year’s congressional elections . . . “

* CNN’s Bernard Shaw: “Dornan made a national name for himself, in large part by throwing accusations and calling other people names.”

* CBS’s Bob Schieffer: “If the lead holds as expected, it’s a win all the sweeter for Democrats, coming as it does in heavily conservative Orange County at the expense of Congress’ leading Clinton basher. At the White House, they could hardly believe it. . . . Experts call Dornan’s apparent defeat another sign of the increasing power of a growing Hispanic population that voted in record numbers.”

The American Political Network’s “Hotline”: “Sanchez will be the 50th woman in the House, an all-time high. . . . If Rep. Bob Dornan (R-Ca.) loses to Loretta Sanchez (D), he will become the first House member to lose a bid for the presidency and reelection to the House in the same year.”

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Dornan backer: Can anyone guess which of the county’s three prominent Democratic mayors did not endorse Loretta Sanchez for Congress? Was it Santa Ana Mayor Miguel A. Pulido Jr., Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly or Garden Grove Mayor Bruce Broadwater?

Kudos to those who said Pulido, who confessed that his longtime friendship with Dornan prevented it.

Politics ’96 appears every Sunday. Items can be mailed to Politics ‘96, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or faxed to (714) 966-7711.