Dornan’s Gay Ex-Aide Finds Support and Media Deluge

One of the first calls Brian O’Leary Bennett, former chief of staff for ex-Rep. Robert K. Dornan, received Thursday on the morning after he publicly acknowledged he was gay came from John Bryson, chief executive officer of Edison International.

Bryson congratulated Bennett, an executive at Southern California Edison, for his courage in telling his story to The Times.

Bennett also was deluged with calls from radio and television stations and newspapers across the country. NBC’s “Today” show invited him to appear live this morning, but he declined, saying he was stunned by all the attention.

“It’s really overwhelming,” said Bennett, who admitted to be “frankly a little scared” by the attention. “I’ve been so overwhelmed by the emotional friendship and support I’ve gotten from 50 phone calls so far and 12 pages of electronic mail. I have not gotten one negative phone call.”

Meanwhile, Dornan, Bennett’s boss from 1977 to 1989, was fielding interviews all day at his Garden Grove home. One of the most vocal opponents of homosexuality when he was in Congress, Dornan was upset that Bennett decided to go public with his private life.

“This is all Brian’s self-indulgence,” Dornan said. “No one would know who he was if not for Bob Dornan. He was dating women the whole time he worked for me. When he left, he was dating a general’s daughter.”

Civic and political leaders say that only time will tell how Bennett is accepted within conservative circles and within the gay community. He told his family and selected friends beginning in 1995 that he is gay; he told Dornan, who lost his seat in November, in February 1996.

Frank Ricchiazzi of Laguna Beach, founder of the Log Cabin Club for gay and lesbian Republicans, welcomed Bennett but warned him of liberal Democrats with vastly different political views who might seek to exploit him to promote an image of nonpartisanship. Bennett said one reason he spoke publicly was because he will be installed this month onto the board of the nonprofit group that runs the Gay & Lesbian Center of Long Beach.

“It usually doesn’t take long before the Republican on boards like these say, ‘I don’t really belong on this board,’ ” Ricchiazzi said. “I hope that if he wants to be helpful to himself and the Republican Party, he’ll get involved with Log Cabin.”

Jack Newby, executive director of the Long Beach group, said his nonprofit board should reflect all segments of the community and praised Bennett for his professionalism.

“The conservative viewpoint is something we need on our board,” he said. “The fact that he worked for Robert Dornan and is coming out, I can only respect him more for that.”

Jo Ellen Allen, vice chairwoman of the Orange County Republican Party, who now works for Bennett at Edison in Orange County, said “only time will tell” how he is accepted within party ranks, especially among those who don’t know him.

“There will be some people, like me, who’ll say that as a Christian and an advocate of traditional family values, I have problems with that lifestyle,” she said. “But I love Brian as a friend and that doesn’t change. I’m not his judge, I’m his friend.”

Some in the GOP said Bennett would have a tough time running for office or persuading others that he is a committed conservative living as a homosexual. Others said he would make a good future political candidate.

“It’s not so much what would be said, but what would not be said,” commented Doy Henley, chairman of the Lincoln Club of Orange County, a conservative fund-raising group.

Sam Roth, public affairs director for the Orange County Medical Assn., said the organization considered supporting Bennett when he briefly announced for a state Senate seat in 1993 and “we’d do it again.” Bennett bowed out of that race before the election.

“He’s a viable future candidate for public office,” said Roth, who met Bennett in the 1980s when Roth worked for former Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress). “Brian has always been viewed as a pragmatic conservative. He’s among the best at what he does. All this will do is let Brian know who his real friends are.”

Political consultant Eileen Padberg said Bennett is a solid political strategist who always has been viewed as an independent conservative not beholden to the county’s GOP power structure.

“His being gay doesn’t bother me in the least. It was his loyalty to Bob Dornan,” said Padberg, who verbally sparred with Dornan in 1992 when she ran Republican Judge Judy Ryan’s unsuccessful primary challenge against the longtime incumbent. “Brian will overcome all of this and continue to be successful in life.”