THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:

Economic sanctions should be enough to discourage Iran from developing nuclear weapons, but the U.S. still should be prepared for military action, Newport Beach Rep. John Campbell said this week.

Speaking to Congress last week about the situation in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus said Iran is providing weapons to Iraqi militias but he is not pursuing military action there at this time.

Campbell said he was pleased to hear Petraeus say conditions in Iraq are improving.

The congressman said the U.S. likely would have backing from the “world community,” particularly France and Germany, for more widespread sanctions against Iran to halt its nuclear program.

“I have said since the first day I ran for office that I felt Iran was the biggest threat to peace and stability in the world that existed at that time, and it is still the biggest threat,” Campbell said. But military action doesn’t look to be necessary yet, he added.

“I think we can do it in other ways, so I don’t think it’s likely at this point, but we have to be prepared,” he said.

HARMAN NOT OFFICIALLY GOP NANNY

File this one under follow-up, something reporters occasionally forget to do though they don’t like to admit it.

Huntington Beach state Sen. Tom Harman did not win the “who’s your GOP nanny” contest held earlier this year by the California Republican Assembly.

Back in July, the conservative GOP group announced Harman was one of five nominees for the dubious honor, based on bills he proposed that the group said would expand government.

The votes were tallied and the winner, announced at the group’s convention last weekend, was Bonita Assemblywoman Shirley Horton, according to the California Republican Assembly’s website. Horton was chosen because she supported a ban on teen tanning and mandates for water-efficient urinals and a particular kind of lightbulbs.

California Republican Assembly President Mike Spence said Harman was nominated because of several bills, including one that would require training for homeowners association members and another that would make community service a high school graduation requirement. The latter bill was actually a suggestion from a high school student, yielded by a contest Harman’s office ran. By the way, Spence said, in the nanny contest Harman came in second.

SUPERVISORS CHOSE LAWYER FOR PENSIONS

Orange County Supervisors this week chose lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis, which has offices in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, and other cities, to pursue a challenge to a retroactive pension benefit granted to sheriff’s deputies.

Supervisor John Moorlach, who first suggested the benefit violates the state constitution, still won’t talk about a memo from another firm summing up the county’s chances in a lawsuit, though he confirmed the memo wasn’t favorable to his case but that so far hasn’t deterred him.

The county will hear from Kirkland & Ellis before deciding whether to challenge the deputy pensions.

Moorlach said Wednesday one reason he felt comfortable with that firm was, “If they determined it [the case] wouldn’t be viable, they would tell us.”

An attorney from Morrison & Foerster, which is representing sheriff’s deputies on the issue, told supervisors Tuesday his firm’s research indicates the county’s position “is unsupported by law.”

ROHRABACHER PROPOSES NOAA SCHOLARSHIP BILL

Huntington Beach Rep. Dana Rohrabacher got his colleagues’ approval this week for a bill that offers scholarships to students interested in science careers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service. Under the program, students could earn scholarships for up to four years of school, and for each year covered by the scholarship students would commit to two years of working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“Far too often capable students are opting out of science related fields such as meteorology and climatology in lieu of other fields,” Rohrabacher wrote in a letter to fellow House members. “With the rising price of education, the NOAA scholarship program offers a major incentive to study in these difficult areas while providing sorely needed scientists.”

The measure passed Monday on a 360-16 vote.

ALICIA ROBINSON may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at [email protected].