Sen. Bergeson Will Seek Reelection : Politics: The longtime legislator is considered a heavy favorite, despite some unpopular tax votes.

NEWPORT BEACH — State Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach), a veteran Orange County state legislator and one of the county’s best known women politicians, on Friday announced plans to run for reelection, this time in the coastal 35th Senate District.

“I’m terribly enthusiastic about running for reelection and serving this district,” Bergeson said Friday. “I’m very comfortable with it, and I expect it will be very challenging.”

Although Bergeson, 66, came under fire last year for supporting Gov. Pete Wilson’s tax hikes, she has represented county residents in various capacities for more than 25 years and has built a solid core of support along the coast. In her announcement, she cited goals for improving health care, the environment, education, competitiveness, transportation and government ethics.

Bergeson also noted that this will be her last state Senate campaign--a limit that would be imposed on her if a recently passed initiative capping the terms of state officials is upheld in court.

She has already begun rounding up the endorsements of local leaders, and County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, a longtime supporter, said Friday that he enthusiastically backs Bergeson.

“If I had to sit down and come up with a version of what an elected official should be, I couldn’t come up with a better one,” said Riley, whose South County district overlaps with Bergeson’s. “I have the highest regard for her as a person and as an elected official.”

Campaign experts say Bergeson, who won the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in 1990 before being beaten in the general election, will be a heavy favorite to return to office.

“Sen. Bergeson will easily win reelection,” predicted Harvey Englander, a Costa Mesa campaign consultant.

But Bergeson also has her detractors. In October, members of a newly formed Orange County anti-tax group, the Taxpayers’ Action Network, gave her the “TAN Fleece Award.” The award goes to officials that the group believes have not properly protected taxpayers and was given to Bergeson because she voted for most of the Wilson-backed tax hikes.

“That’s the one issue that could hurt her,” said Ray Harbour, a spokesman for the group.

Bergeson said she is “not embarrassed” by her tax votes and added that she believes they will save county taxpayers in the long run.

Although conceding that the tax issue is volatile, Englander and other political experts say it is unlikely to derail Bergeson’s reelection chances.

“There’s always the possibility that someone will run,” Englander said. “But she is so well-liked--she has served her district so well--that the equivalency of the disturbance would be like a flea on an elephant.”