Hypothetical: Giuliani-Style Mess in O.C.

Would Orange County voters care if a popular local politician running for office acknowledged that his marriage existed in name only? And, on top of that, that he had a relationship with a “very good friend” not his wife?

In other words, what if we were treated to a local version of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who’s running for U.S. Senate against Hillary Clinton and last week finally confirmed what had been an open secret about his private life?

There’s only one way to find out, but I doubt we’ll get any volunteers.

Nor do we have any recent precedent from which to draw. That’s not to say all of our local politicians are purer than the driven New York mayor; it’s just that none of their real or rumored dalliances have come to light.

“I don’t think there’s any local analogies I can remember that were ever made public,” says Elaine Padberg, an Irvine political consultant who has worked on scores of Orange County races over the years. “But I don’t think it ruins a career or a campaign. The way they’re handled is what makes an impression on the public’s mind. People always are willing to say, ‘There but for the grace of God go I.’ ”

No politicians want to be in the position of having to “handle” such situations. Makes you wonder why they jeopardize themselves in the first place, but the answer to that lies somewhere in the definition of “human nature.”

Harvey Englander is a political consultant in Los Angeles, but he worked for years on Orange County campaigns. He recalled the prominent local officeholder who was often seen in the company of another woman, uh, not his wife.

“I wouldn’t call it an open secret,” Englander says, “but a lot of friends of his knew it was occurring. But that doesn’t mean his wife knew. He was already in office, he wasn’t seeking higher office and I don’t think it would have had any effect on a campaign, because he was very popular.”

Is It Public or Private? Both

I ask Englander and Padberg, Should it matter?

“This is going to sound like a double standard, but I think if a woman had an affair, it would be worse than if a man had one in Orange County,” Englander says. “People pretty much believe in Orange County that private life is private life, but they also believe a vow is a vow. It’s one of the fun things about living in Orange County.”

Englander acknowledges the paradox of that statement, but it’s one that Padberg echoes.

“I personally look at a person when I’m getting ready to vote not only on the issues but on their general level of integrity. And I think that [an affair] speaks to someone’s integrity, but it’s never a public thing.”

She then called the roll of a few state legislators who “had girlfriends for years” while married. “Did the general public know it? Did it appear in the papers? No, but everybody knew about it in Sacramento.”

So should the press report them? “I don’t think it’s anybody’s business,” Padberg says, even while conceding she’d factor that information into her voting decision.

In general, Englander says, candidates fight to protect their image as happily married pols--until they don’t have to. “There have been a lot of elected officials who have gotten divorces after getting elected or gotten them when they stopped being elected officials,” he says.

Like Padberg, however, Englander says extramarital flings matter to voters. “I don’t think they should matter, but I know they do,” he says. “The old line we consultants use with candidates is, ‘Don’t say or do anything that you don’t want to see in the paper the next day.’ I’m a believer that if you’re going to have an affair and your marriage is that bad, leave the marriage, because no one comes out looking good when their affair is made public.”

Englander thinks Giuliani’s recent revelation, coupled with his estranged wife’s allegation that he had an earlier affair, will doom his candidacy. Padberg disagrees.

My suspicion is that voters’ tolerance for such things floats on the political winds. Many of those aghast at Bill Clinton’s indiscretions went strangely mute when their own party’s leaders were similarly exposed.

But fret not, dear voter. Englander offers this reassuring note about Orange County pols in recent times.

“For the most part,” he says, “the people running have been happily married.”

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Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821 or by e-mail to dana.parsons@latimes.com