Irvine Co.’s Hunt Merged Strength, Silence

When Gary Hunt quit the other day, seemingly out of the blue, it was considered big news in Orange County.

To which the average county resident replied, “Who’s Gary Hunt?”

A logical question, because Hunt hasn’t made his name by getting it in the papers a lot. People with one-hundredth the influence are much more visible and much more quotable.

But as a trusted confidant of Irvine Co. Chairman Donald Bren, whose business and political dealings have shaped much of modern Orange County, Hunt’s departure deserved the coverage.

If you live here, he may be the most influential person you never heard of.

Business leaders, school officials, local and state politicians, arts supporters--all people who may never have gained an audience with Bren--knew that Hunt could speak not only to Bren but for him.

Longtime acquaintance Eileen Padberg says Hunt became, over time, “an influence-maker. He would give opinions to Don Bren, and Bren would often take those opinions,” she says. “I knew Gary before he could afford a cup of coffee, but he has stature and, because of his position with the Irvine Co., he grew incredibly and was a shining star in terms of understanding policy.”

This isn’t the place to debate the Irvine Co.’s legacy in Orange County over the last generation--monster developer or master developer?--but there’s no denying its importance. Still, one of the company’s most visible efforts--fighting an anti-growth measure in Newport Beach--ended in defeat.

A Job With the Bush Team?

Typically, not a lot of information spewed from the company about Hunt’s departure, which was announced a day before it became effective last week. Adding to the intrigue is that several of the company’s top people have left recently.

“If you look at what’s happened the last six, eight months [at the company], it looks on the face of it like something’s going on,” Padberg, an Irvine-based political consultant, says. “Will we on the outside ever be privy to that? No. That’s one thing . . . the company [has] always been best at: It has no leaks.”

Former Orange County Supervisor Marian Bergeson knows Hunt so well that it’s hard for her to accept he isn’t widely known to the public. “The insiders, whether they’re local, state or federal, all are very much aware of Gary,” she says. “He’s affected a tremendous amount of state policy.”

Locally, Hunt got some rare publicity in 1995 when he invited Democratic Assembly Speaker Willie Brown to his Orange County home to meet with him, Bergeson and then-Sheriff Brad Gates to discuss the county’s bankruptcy. What made the power-brokered meeting unusual, Padberg says, was that Hunt was willing to be public about his involvement.

Irvine Co. critics notwithstanding, Bergeson says the company has through negotiations dedicated acres of open space and parks. She doubts any of it happened without Hunt’s participation.

So what’s he going to do?

Speculation has centered on a possible job in the Bush administration. The Irvine Co. and Hunt have long-standing ties to Republican administrations, and Hunt was finance chairman for Dan Lungren’s unsuccessful 1998 run for governor.

Padberg has known Hunt since they were in their 20s and working for Republican Party candidates in San Diego. She says Hunt “loves putting things together,” such as a trip on an Irvine Co. plane he arranged in 1986 for U.S. Senate candidate Ed Zschau, who wanted the endorsement of then-Carmel Mayor Clint Eastwood.

“We just spent the day roaming around Carmel,” Padberg says.

At 52, Hunt is a commodity. “Gary has become his own person, a power, an influence unto his own,” Padberg says. “Whether that extends beyond his position with the Irvine Co., that will be interesting to see. He’s nobody’s dummy.”

She insists he won’t go begging for work.

“I’ve offered him a job working for me,” Padberg says, with a laugh. “I’m sure he’s going to call me back.”

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Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821, by writing to him at The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail at dana.parsons@latimes.com.