A conservative endorsement with considerable weight

Paul Clinton

By securing the support of former Assemblyman Gil Ferguson, Marianne

Zippi has raised her profile considerably in what should be a

hard-fought race for the area’s state Assembly seat, the candidates

for the office say.

Zippi, who unsuccessfully ran for Newport Beach City Council in

2002, is in the hunt for the 70th Assembly District now held by John

Campbell, who is running for the state Senate.

Ferguson’s endorsement carries some weight, the candidates and

observers agreed, since he held the seat for five terms, from 1984 to

1994. Ferguson left politics after losing a senate race to state Sen.

Ross Johnson.

“I think Ferguson’s endorsement of Zippi makes this a three-person

race,” said Mark Petracca, who heads UC Irvine’s political science

department. “He’s still got a following.”

Ferguson not only has endorsed Zippi; he and wife Anita are

essentially running her campaign. They are her “strategic advisors,”

Zippi said.

The Fergusons, who are still actively involved in volunteering to

help Republican candidates win elections, recruited Zippi to run for

the seat after her unsuccessful City Council bid. They met her and

endorsed her in that race.

“Gil has a following of people who have been impressed with him

while he was in office,” Zippi said. “I think his endorsement is

priceless, especially in this conservative community.”

Zippi is running against three other candidates who have announced

their bids to win the seat -- Corona del Mar resident and

businesswoman Cristi Cristich, GOP activist and aerospace executive

Chuck DeVore and Irvine businessman Don Wagner.

In an earlier statement, Ferguson said he supports Zippi because

she is “a stand up representative.”

“The last election again revealed that the GOP must attract more

women voters and more women candidates,” Ferguson wrote. “Zippi is a

well-educated, business woman and a real conservative; she fits the

bill perfectly.”

In the battle to win top endorsements, each candidate can boast at

least a few top names. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher has thrown his support

behind DeVore. Supervisor Jim Silva has offered a split endorsement

of DeVore and Cristich. Rep. Chris Cox and Campbell have not endorsed

anyone.

The arch conservative DeVore, who said he admires Ferguson,

downplayed his endorsement.

“I have the highest respect for Gil Ferguson,” DeVore said. “He

has been out of office for 10 years; the district has moved on.”

Ferguson’s prior endorsement for the seat, in 1994, didn’t go his

way. He endorsed conservative Tom Reinecke over Barry Hammond and

Marilyn Brewer, who won the seat. Brewer and former state Sen. Marion

Bergeson have endorsed Cristich.

“There’s really not one single endorsement that will win this

race,” Cristich said. “This race will be won in the living rooms, on

the soccer fields and in the coffee shops of this district.”

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment, business and politics. He

may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

[email protected].