FORD'S ONCE-UNRULY SON TO BE GOP CONVENTION HOST.

Byline: Matthew Fordahl Associated Press 

Remember Jack Ford?

He's the would-be forest ranger who admitted he once smoked pot and held get-togethers with Bianca Jagger and George Harrison at his dad's house - the White House - back in the 1970s.

Twenty years later, Jack Ford's back on the national scene and he's helping plan another party - this summer's Republican National Convention in his adopted hometown of San Diego.

But don't expect doobies to be passed out to delegates or a Beatles reunion concert at the San Diego Convention Center. If Mick Jagger's ex-wife shows up, it's more likely to be outside with the protesters.

``I think there's a certain maturing process that goes on,'' said Ford, now 44 and wearing suits instead of lumberjack shirts. ``It's one of those things where your priorities change: families, friends, going to bed early at night versus the good old college days when having a good time was more important.''

These days, Ford has taken a leave of absence from his regular job as the president of a private company to work as executive director of the San Diego Host Committee. The nonprofit group raises money, coordinates activities outside the convention center and welcomes the thousands of delegates to the Aug. 12-15 event.

In addition to raising an estimated $11.2 million, the host committee must recruit thousands of volunteers, arrange transportation and play host to delegate parties.

Although the city tapped Ford after the first executive director quit to take another job, officials say he's more qualified for the position than anyone else in San Diego.

``He sees it from the perspective that few people do,'' said Mayor Susan Golding. ``What he's brought is an overall view of what the convention is all about and what it ought to look like when it's done.''

As the second eldest child of the 38th president and longtime House majority leader, Jack Ford has attended every GOP convention since 1964, when he worked as a page.

``I told him he would be dealing with an awful lot of prima donnas,'' former President Ford said in a recent interview. ``He just has to keep his cool and do his best.''

Republican officials say they are not bothered by Jack Ford's past. They note he always remained loyal to his father and the party.

``It's fair to say that overwhelmingly in that generation, young people experiment with recreational drugs,'' said Republican National Committee convention manager William Greener III.

Added the former president: ``As a young person growing up, he had many, many, many more pluses than problems. Whatever problems he did have were typical of young people. It's the process of maturing.''

As a young man, Jack Ford quickly moved up the ladder on his father's coattails. After years of being a page, he organized a massive youth group trip to Miami Beach, Fla., for Richard Nixon's renomination in 1972.

With Nixon's resignation in 1974, Gerald Ford became president and Jack Ford became first son - or stifled first bachelor.

``How'd you like to go out drinking with two 55-year-old (Secret Service) agents on your tail?'' Ford, then 23, told The Washington Post.

Like his mother, Betty, Ford quickly gained a reputation for being candid. He said he never tried ``hard drugs'' but admitted to smoking marijuana and he supported decriminalizing the drug.

Then there was the interview in Andy Warhol's Interview magazine, complete with photographs of Ford with his arms around Bianca Jagger in the Lincoln bedroom.

He also brought a Beatle to the White House. In December 1974, newspapers across the country had pictures showing Ford introducing Harrison to the president in the Oval Office.

``Certainly, there was a change from the Republican stereotype that existed,'' Jack Ford said recently. ``I think there was a whole scene change in terms of the public's perception of the Republican Party, from my mother to me to my dad.''

Unlike first children in other administrations, Ford remained loyal to his father - as son, adviser and campaigner. During a swing through Texas, the 1975 forestry graduate touched on topics ranging from tax reform to natural gas pricing, from African nationalism to strategic arms negotiations.

One student at Lamar University in Beaumont asked him how he became so informed.

``Hanging around the right places,'' he was quoted in The New York Times as saying.

His strong relationship with his father continues today - they talk at least once a week about the 1996 convention. The younger Ford expects his father to play a larger role than usual because presumptive nominee Bob Dole was his running mate in 1976 - and for other reasons.

``He would traditionally come in for only a day and a half,'' Ford said. ``I think he'll come in a little longer to make sure I know what I'm doing.''

After Gerald Ford lost the 1976 election, his son headed to California to help launch Outside Magazine, now the nation's largest outdoors magazine.

In San Diego, he works as president of Infoplace, a private company with revenues exceeding $20 million. It provides customer and marketing services to the shopping center industry.

Ford has not been out of the public eye entirely in the 20 years since leaving the White House.

In 1983, his driver's license was suspended for six months because he refused to take an alcohol breath test. The following year, he was detained for allegedly trying to swipe Olympic Games signs near the equestrian events. He was never charged.

``I don't think anyone would claim that they've been perfect through their life,'' Ford said. ``As long as people can find it in their hearts to recognize the imperfections of mankind, I can feel pretty comfortable.''

He toyed with the idea of running for office in the early 1980s and still keeps that option open. For now, his attention is focused on the 1996 Republican convention.

``This is a wave that's going to hit the beach Aug. 12, and we have three choices,'' said Ford, who surfs. ``We can either miss the wave. We can get crashed on the beach by the wave, or we can ride this wave right on in.

``But there's no stopping the wave. It's coming whether we're ready or not.''

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Photo: Jack Ford

``A certain maturing process''