Gore’s O.C. Tour Serves Agenda

SANTA ANA — Vice President Al Gore’s visit to Orange County today is a many-edged weapon.

It is designed not only to pay dividends for him in a crucial battleground, but to boost a national Democratic Party favorite, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove). At the same time, the official visit links the administration and Sanchez to potent themes: aid to education and science for the next generation.

California, of course, is an essential part of any Gore plan to win the Democratic nomination in two years, let alone the presidency. And doing well in Orange County is a key part of the strategy.

“President Clinton’s success [in California] was tremendous, and part of it was his ability to do reasonably well in Orange County,” said Bill Carrick, who ran Clinton’s California campaign in 1996. “The vice president or anyone else who wants to be the Democratic nominee should pay attention to the Clinton playbook for California.”

The Golden State has been a coveted hitching post for the president. He has visited it repeatedly, nurtured friendships and steered federal dollars its way--all part of a campaign to capture California’s cache of 54 electoral votes and cultivate its huge delegation in Congress.

Yet now, as Gore arrives in California for his fourth visit in six weeks, a far-reaching shift is in the air. Increasingly, it is Gore rather than Clinton who is popping up in the state to announce new programs, sympathize with disaster victims or meet with groups ranging from Latinos to teachers.

And today at Ball Junior High School in Anaheim, it is Gore who will be standing beside Sanchez and plugging her bill to help California school districts issue $112 million in bonds. The bonds, which would be used to modernize facilities, are part of a larger proposal for $2.3 billion in state and local school bonds. He also will speak, again with Sanchez at his side, at the groundbreaking for the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana.

“The vice president is trying to get to the point where his ties and his relationships in the state are as strong as the president’s have been,” said Ron Klain, Gore’s chief of staff.

In a frenetic, two-day rush here and in Los Angeles, Gore plans sessions with teachers, African American business people, pro-Israel advocates, police officials and Democratic activists. On Saturday, he will deliver the keynote speech at the state Democratic convention.

Gore has gone from a supporting role on the administration’s California stage to lead actor.

“It’s like a CEO getting ready to retire and give the business to his son,” said Republican strategist Dan Schnur. “Now Clinton is giving Gore the California account. It’s a smart thing to do. Gore will benefit by spending time in California.”

Orange County is a key part of the strategy.

While Los Angeles and San Francisco are the powerhouses for Democratic victory margins, Orange County plays a big role. It has 377,000 registered Democrats, 130,000 more than San Francisco.

In winning California handily in 1996, Clinton kept the Republican margin to under 120,000 votes here. For a Republican to win the state, the GOP candidate must take Orange County by at least 250,000 votes to offset Democratic margins in Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

Ken Khachigian, who advised Bob Dole’s unsuccessful California campaign in 1996, said he thinks it unlikely that Democrats will see the 1996 phenomenon repeated in Orange County. Nevertheless, he said, Gore has begun the effort, mirroring what Clinton did in 1991 when as a candidate for the Democratic nomination he came to Orange County early looking for support.

“Gore will pick up some chips during his visit,” Khachigian said.

In addition to the public stops, Gore will be speaking at a Sanchez luncheon at the Disneyland Hotel, where her campaign expects to raise from $150,000 to $180,000, a spokesman said.

Sanchez has been a particular favorite of the administration, at least in part because she defeated Rep. Robert K. Dornan, who made Clinton a frequent target.

Clinton is not abandoning the Golden State entirely, either. He will be here again in early May. During that visit, he plans his own appearance for Sanchez on May 3 at the home of developer Eli Broad, Democratic Party officials announced Thursday.

Both the Gore and Clinton visits will show Sanchez’s “national significance” and the administration’s commitment to getting her reelected, said her campaign chairman, Wylie Aitken.

Khachigian said the Democrats have no alternative.

“Sanchez is a favorite of theirs,” he said. “The Democratic Party has a huge investment in Sanchez, and the losses if she were defeated by anyone, much less Bob Dornan, would be monstrous.”

*

Warren reported from Orange County, and Peterson from Washington, D.C.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Gore’s Visit

Vice President Al Gore will spend the day at several sites around the county. When and where to see him:

* 9:20 a.m.: Discovery Science Center, 2500 N. Main St., Santa Ana

* 10:30 a.m.: Ball Junior High, 1500 W. Ball Road, Anaheim

* 1 p.m.: Disneyland Hotel, 1150 W. Cerritos Ave., Anaheim

* 2:45 p.m.: Bren Events Center, UC Irvine, West Peltason Drive and Mesa Road, Irvine

* 4:25 p.m.: Air Force II departs El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, main gate, Trabuco Road, Irvine

TRAFFIC ALERT

Traffic delays will occur from 7:30 a.m. to noon today during Gore’s visit to Santa Ana. Northbound Main Street and Broadway offramps from the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) will be closed for two hours beginning at 8:30 a.m., and all Main Street traffic will be diverted to Broadway

Source: The White House

Researched by ESTHER SCHRADER / Los Angeles Times