Take the money and run

Late last year, this column pointed out that no neighborhoods in

Newport Beach were among the most giving, politically and monetarily

speaking. Washington, D.C. and parts of New York and Los Angeles are

where the big political donors are.

You can’t accuse Irvine Co. chairman Don Bren of not doing his

best to change that.

Final numbers for the 2002 cycle, according to the Center for

Responsive Politics, show that Bren gave $167,450, including $125,000

-- in two separate donations -- to the Republican National Committee.

He accounted for 17 of the 85 donations given from the 92658 ZIP

Code (he had one donation listed in the 92660 ZIP Code), which also

included the Creans, who gave $7,000; Rep. Chris Cox, who personally

plopped down $3,000 in donations; Mr. and Mrs. Dean Koontz, who gave

$1,000 collectively to the Republican National Committee; the Lyons

of William Lyons Homes, who gave $43,000 (second to Bren in this

neighborhood); Peter Ochs of the Fieldstone Co., who gave $20,000 to

the Republican National Senatorial Committee; and J. Thomas Talbot of

the Talbot Co., who gave $15,000 to the Republican National

Committee.

Second to Bren in Newport Beach was Robert Eichenberg, of Ellison

Education Equipment, who gave $134,000 (from the 92662 ZIP Ccode, by

far the largest from that neighborhood).

The 92660 ZIP Code had the most donations, about 1,200, with few

to the individual levels of their neighbors above.

Those that rise fairly high included Donald Koll of the Koll Co.,

at $71,000; Duane and Kelly Roberts of Entrepreneurial Corp. Group,

with $65,250; David Hanna of Hanna Capital Management, $47,000; and

sports agent Leigh Steinberg, $22,000.

Corneliusc Vanderstar, in ZIP Code 92663, gave $20,000.

Other ZIP Codes did not have a significant donor of this level.

In Costa Mesa, the one serious player is Spanish Ambassador George

Argyros, whose donations have been well reported. In the 2002 cycle,

he gave $260,000, including two separate $125,000 donations to the

Republican National Committee.

That Bren and Argyros give so much is not particularly surprising.

What is more eye-opening is where what little money Henry Segerstrom

donated ended up.

In the last election cycle, he gave just $3,000 -- $2,000 of it to

Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez.

And another thing

Two last items of note. Among the members of the Homeland Security

Committee appointed by its chairman, Rep. Chris Cox, is another

California Republican, David Drier. Drier is one of the other handful

of names mentioned as a possible Senate candidate next year. Closer

to home, Orange County’s sole Democrat, Loretta Sanchez, is also on

the committee.

And Rep. Dana Rohrabacher’s Web site is being updated and changed.

See it at www.house.gov/rohrabacher.

* S.J. CAHN is the managing editor. He can be reached at (949)

574-4233 or by e-mail at [email protected].