State senate race heats up

Paul Clinton

A campaign consultant for Assemblyman Ken Maddox hinted at the

excitement level to come a year from now, when the he and fellow

Assemblyman John Campbell square off in the primary for the state

Senate seat that covers much of coastal Orange County.

Valerie Dichiara, a consultant with Sacramento-based MB

Associates, said the race between Maddox, who represents Costa Mesa,

and Campbell, who represents Newport Beach, is shaping up to be the

“top Senate race in the state this year.”

Both candidates are bidding to replace Sen. Ross Johnson, who is

termed out, in the 35th District.

Maddox hired Dichiara’s firm, along with consultants Johnson,

Clark & Associates, to run his campaign.

Tim Clark, a partner in that firm and Maddox’s campaign spokesman,

agreed that the race will be a barn burner.

“You’ve got a couple of heavyweights going at it,” Clark said.

During a March 4 fund-raiser, Maddox raised “in excess of $60,000”

and said his goal is to raise $500,000 during the campaign.

“California taxpayers deserve a state senator that understands how

to cut waste and keep our taxes low,” Maddox said. “That’s why we’re

so focused on winning that seat.”

In late February, Maddox said he wasn’t impressed with a Campbell

announcement that the Newport Beach representative had raised $32,000

in an unsolicited announcement letter.

“This race shouldn’t be about the money,” Maddox said at the time.

“It should be about the ideas.”

However, Maddox has accepted the state’s $600,000 fund-raising

limit and challenged Campbell to do the same. He has refused.

Campbell held his own fund-raiser on March 5 and raised about

$65,000. Called “A Taste of Scotland,” the event featured Campbell

donning a kilt and sipping scotch with supporters. That event was

held at the Esquire Grill in Sacramento and drew about 50 guests, who

made their donations before the imbibing the liquor.

So far, Campbell has raised $140,000, said Matt Back, his

chief-of-staff.

CONSERVATIVES BANG THE DRUMS FOR WAR

As the nation moves closer to war with Iraq, local

troop-supporting rallies have cropped up more often around town. A

Newport Beach woman, irked by a series of antiwar rallies, organized

what was a well-attended event Saturday.

Jane Altman-Dwan, who lives in the city, said she put together the

“Stand Up for Freedom March,” which went off at the MacArthur

Boulevard and Campus Drive.

Close to 100 people shouted patriotic slogans supporting President

George W. Bush and yelled for passersby to give a cheer for U.S.

troops gathering in Iraq for a potential war to unseat Saddam

Hussein.

An elderly man drew taunts when he drove by and held a “No War”

sign out to the raucous crowd.

Altman-Dwan said she organized the rally as a response to similar

rallies held in Costa Mesa, near South Coast Plaza, that have

protested Bush’s preparations to invade Iraq.

“I’m tired of seeing all these antiwar rallies,” Altman-Dwan told

a Daily Pilot reporter. “It’s like telling our troops they should be

ashamed for what they’re doing.”

On a separate front, the Orange County Young Republicans have

scheduled their own similar rally for noon this Saturday.

The group is asking local drivers to turn on their headlights as a

show of solidarity. They are scheduled to hold their event at the

intersection of Bristol Street and Anton, the same location antiwar

groups use on Friday evenings for their rallies.