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Is Anaheim ready for more Sidhu-masochism? Harry Sidhu (at left) with his former Anaheim Council partners-in-crime Gail Eastman and Kris Murray.
Businessman and Former Anaheim City Council Member Harry Sidhu
Announces Campaign for Mayor
“Together We Can Make Anaheim Shine”FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Harry Sidhu
July 12, 2017 (714) 390-5505Anaheim, CA – Today, longtime Orange County business owner and former Anaheim City Council Member Harry Sidhu formally announced that he will be a candidate for Anaheim Mayor in the November 6, 2018 General Municipal Election. “We need innovative problem-solving and experienced, common sense leadership to meet the needs of our community and keep our great City of Anaheim moving forward in a positive direction,” said Sidhu. “That’s why I’m running for Mayor – Together We Can Make Anaheim Shine.”
Harry Sidhu served for eight years on the Anaheim City Council, and as Mayor Pro Tem in 2012 and from December 2009 through December 2011. During his tenure on the City Council, Sidhu established a strong reputation and proven track record for protecting the taxpayers, promoting public safety, expanding city services to improve neighborhood quality of life, being a champion of small businesses, streamlining regulations, and encouraging a thriving business culture and economic development for local job growth. Sidhu also introduced forward-thinking initiatives to benefit the community, including an annual Anaheim/OC Job Fair and Expo – helping over 1,700 people get back to work during the recession, and a “free” annual Anaheim Health Fair – providing much needed medical, dental, and vision care services to tens of thousands of men, women, and children. Private property owner rights were strengthened through his support of a City Charter Amendment prohibiting eminent domain abuse. And, as an Orange County Water District Board Member and Alternate Commissioner for the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority, Sidhu advocated for sensible water policies to protect and ensure the future sustainability of our vital local groundwater supplies.
A Licensed California Professional Engineer, General Contractor and Real Estate Broker, Sidhu has owned and operated numerous local businesses employing thousands. He is involved in many philanthropic efforts and a supporter of children’s sports, the arts and education, and many civic activities.
As Sidhu prepares to assemble his campaign team, his candidacy has garnered broad support from longtime Anaheim residents, community leaders, business organizations, public safety officers, and elected officials.More information will soon be available on his campaign website: www.harrysidhu.com.
Notwithstanding last year’s Assembly Candidate Harry Sidhu’s relentless and overweening ambitions, at last (and that’s recent) report his fellow Republican Paul Kott is still interested in running for Mayor if he can get certain buy-ins — ones that Sidhu’s entry into the race are more likely to stoke than to chill. On the Democratic side, Ashleigh Aitken — an attorney of no lesser reputation than Kott’s as a Realtor and Sidhu’s as a fast-food chicken magnate — has already announced for Anaheim Mayor as well. Notably absent so far is any candidate who is on the record as sharing term-limited Mayor Tom Tait’s views on resisting the blandishments and inducements of Disney, the Angels, the Ducks, the Building Trades, OCTA, and other “Masters of the Universe” (or at least of our corner of it.) I think that Aitken has potential, but she’s reportedly very close friends with Disney’s Carrie Nocella, which is cause for caution. I’ll reserve my speculation for now.
But let’s presume that Kott doesn’t run and no Tait-endorsed candidate does either. Who would win in a Sidhu-Aitken face-off? (Or a Sidhu-Aitken-William Denis Fitzgerald one, if he files again?) I have my own thoughts, but at this point I’m just here to listen and learn. Readers, how would you handicap it?
(Send us your sightings of Slavering Harry on the campaign trail, too!)
Sidhu:
2002 Anaheim Council. Lost.
2008 State Senate. Lost
2010 Supervisor (not in the district where he lived). Lost. Twice.
2013 County Clerk appointment. Laughed out of Building 10 despite Janet Nguyen.
2016 State Assembly. Lost.
In other words this clown hasn’t won an election as a non-incumbent since 2004.
I’m loathe to discourage anyone from running for public office.
That being said, who is giving this guy money to campaign? Seems like the electorate has said its piece.
He is self-funded to the extent he spends anything directly. In 2010 the OCDS union was all in for Sidhu and wasted hundreds of thousands trying to make him look like a plausible candidate. It didn’t help.
After the June 201 election Cunningham, in a fit of pique, related how cheap Sidhu was when it came to spending his own fortune.
Must be nice to have money to burn.
I can think of a few ways that would be much more enjoyable though. Campaigns aren’t exactly fun.
See my comment below, coming soon, which begins: “The key word in the headline is ‘Apparently’.”.
I had posted a related comment in the WOT : What about this for a slogan inspired by the Pringle PRs : “Together We Can Make Anaheim Shine. ” (by taking the bus benches away from the Resort district….)
David’s reply : Broad support of his candidacy? What, did a convention of assclowns just pull into the Convention Center?… I wonder if replacing benches with “stools” is a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act. I know. let’s ask Kris Murray or Jerbal Cunningham.
Check the follow up conversation in the WOT.
The key word in the headline is ‘Apparently.”. David and Ryan give good reasons to think that Sidhu will be a lousy candidate. If so, we let’s presume that he’ll lose. Where would that leave Disney and Pringle?
Arguably, if Aitken really is a pro-Disney and Pringle-simpatico candidate, as some fear, not only do they not care, but they may be counting on it.
If so, then — as soon as it’s too late for anyone else to make adjustments and enter the race with sufficient fundraising and advance spadework to compete — they drop all pretense of supporting Sidhu, much as more or less happened with Kring in the 2014 race, and let the chips fall where they may. Or maybe they weigh in on Aitken’s side. (Most likely, they apply their “lessons learned” to winning the Council race.)
Or maybe, if Aitken won’t play ball with them to their satisfaction, they put up Brandman against her, hoping that either he’ll win or will tip the balance to Sidhu.
In the puzzle of who runs where for what in 2018, we still have at least three primary Kleptocratic figures unaccounted for: Murray, Brandman, and Fullerton’s Jennifer Fitzgerald. Maybe none of them make a move for ANY 2018 seat, but that seems to be betting against historical trends.
I suspect that it’s quite early for us to conclude that what we now see before us is what we’ll see a year — and especially a year and a month or two — from now. Disney & Pringle got stung twice last year, in Districts 1 and 3, and they’re not likely to get caught so flat-footed again.
I always thought the Disney dollars would go to Paul Kott, but he has not announced despite the others coming out publicly. Paul has been with SOAR from minute one. The only time he broke ranks with the corporatists was Angels, the deal so bad that nobody with any hope of being taken seriously in the future would ever support. Otherwise Kott is extremely likable, an entertainer with passes to the Magic Castle and the ability to use their stage with confidence, so he really connects with people and will make a formidable candidate. He has has insane name recognition. He also is not quick to do his homework on where the money comes from and flows out to the pockets of those he champions, something I beleive is from confidence in those feeding him the PR line and not pure evil, but an obstacle to overcome in getting resources into neighborhoods if he continues to look the other way because he is told to. I like Paul, I don’t want him as a Mayor but I like him.
So SOAR, aka Carrie, needs to figure out which baby gets left on a doorstep; Kott or Aitken? Aitken is a fellow Dem like Carrie, Kott bleeds SOAR when nicked by the razor in the morning. Sidhu is a lost cause, which won’t stop some in the inner power structure at the GOP from backing him, based solely on his fundraising for the GOP, and I can only pray that Central Committee has learned the habit of pushing bad people onto a community’s voters simply because they have an R behind their name and a checkbook ready for their connected consultants to raid is not how we build a party. Indeed that habit has cost the GOP the stronghold of Anaheim, and voters have not become Dems, they simply don’t want the leaders from the party they used to belong to. Sidhu is a prime example. I can only pray we don’t commit the same mistakes. On the other hand, I don’t have a lot of alternative plans to offer up. It’s a pretty dismal field out there. But until we hear directly from Kott I wouldn’t count him out.
I hear Brandman is running for Josh Newman seat as the default if the recall succeeds.
No I am not.
Phew. I was worried that Sidhu would forget to mention that he is a Licensed California Professional Engineer, but I’m glad to see that he worked it in at the last minute. You don’t want your local El Pollo Loco to be owned by just any uncredentialed yahoo!
*Follow the Southern California Car Dealers money……. Meanwhile, the Happiest Kingdom can Register New Voters while they are waiting in line to get in the park.
This guy just cannot quit can he?