OCROV’s Campaign Milestones Thru 2/20 + COUNTY RACES!

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We MAY need a qualified female OC attorney who is NOT facing license suspension to run against Judge Marc Kelly, just to avoid any unpleasant surprises in June. Karen Schatzle, have you seen this?

Here’s the new news from OC’s daily log of candidate filing activity, produced by the hard-working and ever-pleasant staff of the OC Registrar of Voters!  Having already addressed Congressional races, we’ll focus a little on state executive races, then we’ll finish with what’s going with the County races —  the various county executive races and Supervisor.  But first!:  Some have wanted to know what’s happening in other counties — so, for legislative races, here’s your:

OUT-OF-COUNTY REPORT!

OC shares some seats with Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties.  So here are some highlights from the relevant links on those Filing Logs:

San Bernardino:

Nothing listed for races overlapping OC.

Los Angeles:

AD-55:

SHARON SUZANNE BUTLER, (Republican), took out sigs in lieu

PHILLIP CHEN, (Republican incumbent), filed for nomination

GREGG D. FRITCHLE  (Democrat), filed sigs in lieu, who join OC’s

Democrat MELISSA FAZLI from Yorba Linda (sigs in lieu issued) and

Republican JAMES GERBUS (sigs in lieu filed)

SD-29: no one listed for the recall

SD-34 — no one listed, not even GERI SCHIPSKE, who is supposedly running

San Diego:

[Note that San Diego does NOT show candidates’ party registration status –which: GAHHH!]

CA-49 (ex-Issa)

FIVE candidates have taken out papers; six others appear on the list, TWO of whom are potentially significant players:

TAKEN OUT PAPERS:

Sara Jacobs

David Medway

Craig Nordal

Robert Pendleton

Danielle St. John

NO PAPERS, BUT PROMINENT:

Rocky Chavez

Paul Kerr

NO PAPERS, NOT PROMINENT:

Joshua Hancock, Jordan Mills, Daniel Perlman, Joshua Schoonover

[Note that OC now has nine candidates on its list, and that Doug Applegate has NOT yet filed in either county.]

SD-36

MARGGIE CASTELLANO

BRIAN W. JONES

ANTONIO SALGUERO

[OC has only incumbent Republican PAT BATES listed.]

Castellano appears to be the OC Dems’ choice, so I’m going to hazard a guess that she’s a Dem.

NOW BACK TO THE OC REGISTRAR OF VOTERS’ VASTLY SUPERIOR CANDIDATE LOG!

STATE CONTROLLER:MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, 55th District

KONSTANTINOS RODITIS and his inflammatory surname are in the race for Controller against Betty Yee.  I don’t know of anyone else running against Yee, who is a lock to win, so maybe he’ll have media play through November.

OTHER STATEWIDE OFFICES:

While some people on the OCROV’s candidate log — and remember, this link will show the latest log for whatever day you click on it, not necessarily the Feb. 20, 2018 log being discussed here — are potential players in various statewide races, I don’t think that any of them are from OC, and those from OC don’t seem to be potential “NEEL KASHKARI-level”players in any of the races.  But it’s nice to know that DELAINE EASTIN (Dem for Governor) GAIL LIGHTFOOT (NPP for Senate), GAYLE MCLAUGHLIN (NPP for Lt. Gov), and ALEX PADILLA  (incumbent Dem for Sec. of State) and least came her and dropped off some of their money!

CA39:

SUZY PARK LEGGETT has filed her declaration of candidacy becoming the first Democrat or NPP to have locked herself into the race.  As was explained weeks ago, she is therefore disqualified from being considered for OJB endorsement for this race in June, and possibly (especially if we see an R-on-R runoff) for any future race forever.  (What part of “STAY OUT OF THE RACE!” wasn’t clear?)  The only thing that could salvage her is if she were able to prove that some other candidate paid her to enter the race to screw over another candidate by splitting the women’s, Democratic, Korean, or [insert her place of residency] vote with her.  Then they would get kibboshed instead.

CA-46:

ED RUSHMAN, an NPP, filed his statement of candidacy against HermaphroDem LOU CORREA.  Note that, once Correa is endorsed by the CA Democratic Party convention on Saturday, as a party Central Committee member I will not be allowed to disparage or recommend against him here — so when I talk about his prospering based on independent expenditures from Big Oil it will be intended as a POSITIVE thing reflecting his MODERATION.  Got it?  Vern apparently thinks that he can do whatever the hell he wants, so if he writes about Correa that’s up to him.  In any event, we wouldn’t recommend Rushman over Correa, because he filed first.

CA-48:

NPP EDWARD LOYD has taken out all of his papers but has not yet returned them.  We suggest that you tread very carefully at this moment, Mr. Loyd.  (We also suggest that you buy yourself a second “L” for your surname, and consider using the diminutive “EDD” for your first name.  “EDD LLOYD” — we like it.  “WHAT THE EFF, VOTE FOR EDD!”  You can use that slogan for free.)

AD-74:

In Pub MATT HARPER‘s seat, Dem RYAN TA has taken out papers, increasing the likelihood of an R-on-R runoff to “Condition Goldenrod.”  Democrat COTTIE PETRIE-NORRIS appears to be tsweeping up both activist and establishment support in her party, and seems likely to face off against Harper in November, where Harper may be vulnerable if people confuse him with TRAVIS ALLEN.

What I find most interesting about this race is its features a Republican and a Democrat who are virtual mirror images within their parties.  Democrats largely consider KARINA ONOFRE to be a DINO because of her ambivalence on reproductive rights, while it seems that Republicans largely consider  KATHERINE DAIGLE to be a RINO because of, I don’t know, her willingness to engage with Democrats?  I like them both personally — they are both extremely earnest, for one thing — while having some serious policy differences with both.  (Special to them: “I think that you two should get to know one another, if you haven’t: I think you’d get along!”  (I have nothing to tell readers about Ryan Ta.)

Judges:

Incumbent judges had their candidacies cleared on Tuesday.  The potentially competitive races so far include:

Office 13, where Judge THEODORE HOWARD may be challenged by FRANKLIN DUNN.

Office 15, where Judge M. MARC KELLY (who notoriously failed to throw the entire book at a pedophile, prompting an abotive recall effort by people who love their mandatory minimums and freakouts by members of the criminal defense bar) appears likely to be challenged by … by …

[wipes glasses.  checks again]

uh … by … by … uh …

by … LENORE ALBERT SHERIDAN, whose career interrupting sanction from the CA Supreme Court has not yet been delivered, and if I were on friendly speaking terms with this Counselor I would probably suggest to her that this is NOT the way to wangle one’s way into a lighter sentence.  Anyway, Chumley will surely keep advising her, so at least she’s in … hands.

COUNTY OFFICES:

District Attorney-Public Administrator:

This is a good time to tell you that LENORE A-S has also taken out papers not only for Judge, but also towards a run for District Attorney!  This came onto my radar because BRETT MURDOCK apparently went to the Registrar’s office on Tuesday and paid his fee among other needed moves.  Murdock, however, is NOT running for judge at the same time as he runs for DA!  Slacker — or just a bit conventional?  You decide!  TONY RACKAUCKAS and TODD SPITZER round out the field.  (Hahaha.)  Two of them will make a very likely runoff.

NON-OCDA Races:

County Supe of Schools: No challenger yet for AL MIJARES.  There should be!

BOE Area 2: DAVID BOYD may face challenge by MARI BARKE.

BOE Area 5:  All kinds of crazy going on here in Lincoln Club First Lady LINDA LINHOLM’s seat!  Four candidates preparing to run so far.  I’ll learn what I can and report back someday.

Supe 2: Two potential challengers to MICHELLE STEEL, neither of then a CA-39 wealthy person, certainly not one named Mai-Khan Tran, who will someday come to recognize that she was getting some good advice from this blog.

Supe 4: The most interesting county race by far, with three Democrats and two Republicans likely facing off for the seat being vacated by Shawn Nelson.  Four of them are officeholders, and the fifth is officeholder-equivalent in notoriety.  We’ll address this more in depth at some later time.

Assessor: Two Latino men have begun runs against the non-Latino incumbent.  It never rains but it pours.

Controller: No one’s running against incumbent ERIC WOOLERY so far.

Clerk-Recorder:  HUGH NGUYEN is this year’s ROCCO TARGET!

Sheriff:  DAVID C. HARRINGTON and DON BARNES will be competing to replace SANDRA HUTCHINSON, who once seemed to hold such promise.  A Democrat will supposedly be joining this race, but I’m not going to scoop them.  (Hurry up, though, sir!)

Treasurer & Tax Collector: SHARI L. FREIDENRICH is running for re-election.


About Greg Diamond

Somewhat verbose attorney, semi-disabled and semi-retired, residing in northwest Brea. Occasionally ran for office against jerks who otherwise would have gonr unopposed. Got 45% of the vote against Bob Huff for State Senate in 2012; Josh Newman then won the seat in 2016. In 2014 became the first attorney to challenge OCDA Tony Rackauckas since 2002; Todd Spitzer then won that seat in 2018. Every time he's run against some rotten incumbent, the *next* person to challenge them wins! He's OK with that. Corrupt party hacks hate him. He's OK with that too. He does advise some local campaigns informally and (so far) without compensation. (If that last bit changes, he will declare the interest.) His daughter is a professional campaign treasurer. He doesn't usually know whom she and her firm represent. Whether they do so never influences his endorsements or coverage. (He does have his own strong opinions.) But when he does check campaign finance forms, he is often happily surprised to learn that good candidates he respects often DO hire her firm. (Maybe bad ones are scared off by his relationship with her, but they needn't be.)