2018 ELECTIONS: Your Complete Report on Where We Stand After Friday’s Candidate Filings

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Final OC ROV Report for Races Not Being Extended

The final report from the OC Registrar of Voters Office came in at 10:00 p.m. on Friday night.  [UPDATE: Well not exactly “final” — but the report =that appeared Saturday at around 5:00 p.m. didn’t change the topline numbers for any race, so barring one candidate being added while another was subtracted the final lineup should be the same.] (Races where an eligible incumbent didn’t file will continue to accept filings until next Wednesday.  No, despite the potential tactical advantages outlined on this site, neither Ed Royce nor Darrell Issa returned from the dead to file in their old districts.  Yes, I checked the San Diego filings.)  The answers to my most pressing questions are: yes, Travis Allen did file for Governor and yes, Dave Min did file for CA-45.

With the possible exception of some late filing reports due from from Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San Diego Counties, this is the most recent final full report of where things stand after the last non-extended day of filing for OC’s June primary races.

Names of races that are extended will be presented in turquoise, because it goes well with orange.

Our review will start with the state executive races and work our way all the way down past AD-74 to the final County race (it’s Treasurer-Tax Collector, if you’re the type to skip ahead to the last page.)

The Registrar of Voters Lobby at around 5 p.m. at about this date in 2016: unexpectedly uncrowded.  I had planned on being there on Friday at 5:00 for the fun, but in the intervening two years I’ve become an on-duty grandparent, and some things (like playing with grandchildren) are even more fun than mingling with frenzied politicians.

Monday Morning Update:  The only change I could find is that Brandon Perkins is now shown as on the ballot for the 2nd District Supervisor’s race, which must be a relief.

STATE EXECUTIVE RACES

Travis (“Peacock”)  Allen, after building the anticipation (among me, although possibly in no one else except maybe his now-opponent Republican John Cox) did file to enter the Governor’s.  Travis, fourteen months (appropriately enough) after accusing Democratic legislators of supporting teen prostitution — before dropping mention of this (alleged) atrocity because apparently Travis Allen doesn’t care enough about stopping teen prostitution to continue talking about it once the photo shoot is over.  We look forward to asking Travis about teen prostitution and other bogus claims of his a lot.

In other OC takes on state races, Konstantinos Roditis is definitely in the race against State Controller  Betty Yee.  But let’s have a formal entry for the …

4th District Board of Equalization

This is a Board from which  the legislature has stripped most of its power — in which Republican Greg Raths (who is NOT yet on the ballot)  and Democratic-ish Ken Lopez-Maddox (who is) seek to succeed OC’s Diane Harkey.  If you don’t see a name you like in OC —  Democrat David Dodson and Republican John F. Kelly are also on the ballot — San Diego has Republican Joel Anderson (a former State Senator  and a guy who sound like a Democrat — Healthcare Equality Advocate Jim Stieringer — on the ballot and San Bernardino has Nader Shahatit.  Raths has missed his chance to run in CA-45 if he doesn’t run here, so unless he’s going to run for Royce’s or Issa’s seats (nahhh…) or for Sheriff (nah … right?  Is he qualified?  I could believe it ….) it looks like it’s this or nothing in for him June.)

OK, on to the races that matter more to OC:

CONGRESS

Yes, Congress!  It’s all about Congress this year — ask all the damned candidates!  “It’s all about Congress” will be written on 2018 Democratic Party tombstones.  (Do you doubt me?  Just wait until we get to CA-48!)

39th District [extended filing]

This race is not as bad for Democrats as it once seemed it would be — but only because Republicans have their own glut of candidates to split their vote.  Because incumbent Ed Royce was eligible to file but didn’t, filing this race will be open through Wednesday — some of the biggest names have not yet entered the race.  For now, those who either have already been declared as qualified or who have completed all of the steps that would be considered necessary from OC (when not specified, or from LA or San Bernardino where indicated) include:

  • Democrat Suzi Park Leggett
  • Democrat Mai Khanh Tran (who also, and unnecessarily, filed for nominsation in LA)
  • Democrat Gil Cisneros
  • Democrat Andy Thorburn
  • Democrat Sam Jammal (also filed candidate statement in LA)
  • [LA] Democrat Camilla Kuo Liou
  • [LA] Democrat Ted Rusk
  • [LA] Democrat Cybil Steed
  • Republican Young Kim
  • Republican Shawn Nelson
  • Republican John Cullum
  • Republican Steve Vargas
  • [LA] Republican Andrew Sarega
  • NPP Phil Liberatore
  • [SB] NPP Steve Cox

But wait — there’s more!  NOT YET filing as of Saturday, March 10:

  • Democrat Herbert Lee, who has filed in LA but claims to live in Fullerton, so as I understand the rules of where one must file is probably in for a rude surprise
  • Democrat Phil Janowicz
  • Democrat Nathan Troutman
  • [LA] Democrat Jay Chen
  • Republican Mark Gaouette
  • Republican Michael McKay
  • [LA] Republican Bob Huff
  • American Independent Sophia Alexander
  • [LA] NPP Melissa “Sharkie” Garza

Janowicz, Chen, and Huff are the names on that list that could make a significant difference.  Add those three from the bottom list, and take out the names who have filed but who seem unlikely to influence much —  Liberatore, Steed, and Liou (while leaving in CullumCox, Leggett, and Rusk, even though they are likely to serve only as spoilers) — and we’re left with eight Democrats and five Republicans who will be dividing up non-trivial numbers of votesin their parties, with Cox also likely some votes taking from Democrats.

Oh — and factor in one more candidate, of course.  Karen Lee Schatzle’s presence in the race will test the notion that, with perhaps 13 “main” partisan candidates and six stragglers, an NPP who specifically rejects the partisan system can grab a toehold with enough of the electorate to make the Top Two.  I think that she can and very possibly will — as a co-favorite with Nelson and Chen, and probably with Cisneros and Thorburn (especially if they run negative campaigns to ruin other Democrats), Janowitz (whose popularity with activists give him power in such a large field) and Kim (if her appeal to Asian women isn’t sapped by the presence of three other Asian women in the race.)  Among other plausible winners, I don’t think that Tran has done enough in the district to be elected, Huff seems to be sleepwalking at best, and Sarega and Vargas will cancel each other out, as if they’d have had a chance anyway.

I think that leaves plenty of votes for Schatzle, who will likely run a persuasive anti-partisan pitch.  Democratic insiders got upset at me for giving Michelle Duman a sad for her squeezing Schatzle — a decent NPP who would  probably be the most Democratic-friendly elected we could get out of AD-68 — out of an unwinnable-for-Dems race.  Barring a huge #metoo-type scandal against Stephen Choi, Duman will lose —  while Schatzle could have won if allowed a 1-on-1 run against Choi.  That wouldn’t bother me if Schatzle hadn’t been displaced into the CA-39 race — a much more important contest, and one where she has a decent chance of making the runoff against one of the Republicans.  So far as I can tell, not one Democrat who has dismissed Schatzle as a candidate has ever even heard her speak, as I have, so it’s very hard to argue her merits with them.  I hope that some Dem like Chen or Thorburn will make the runoff against Nelson — but if it’s Schatzle , then Dems will have retained at least half a loaf after having done their best to fumble the whole thing.

My hope is that Sharkie Garza will reserve her resources for a Presidential race against Trump — who, as we all know, is extremely afraid of Sharkies.

45th District

Seven candidates got onto the board in this race, and six of them — all but unknown Dem James Baxter  are now on the ballot.  They are:

  • Republican incumbent Mimi Walters
  • NPP John Graham
  • Democrat Kia Hamadanchy
  • Democrat Katie Porter
  • Democrat Brian Forde, and, as of yesterday
  • Democrat Dave Min, who waited until the last day to jump in.

The obvious question here is: one you take out Mimi Walters’s share of the Republican and GOP-leaning vote, does NPP John Graham have the appeal to out-poll the top-vote-getting Democrat.  I highly doubt it, even with some mischievous Republican money behind him.  So if we count him out, then what we have here is really an old-fashioned uncontested Republican primary with a Dem primary going on in parallel — with scant chance of a R vs. R runoff.  (I will never understand why Greg Raths chose this year not to take on this race.)

CDP Chair Eric Bauman — who assured Min’s endorsement at the convention by ignoring my call for a division of the house after a voice vote, leading to my filing a complaint against him and seeking to void that endorsement — put out an ad today fundraising for Min and seven other endorsed Dems.  This is notable because Min has been accused of assaulting and blocking at least two women and one young man in a wheelchair who were trying — or suspected of trying — to gather petitions to force that vote on Min’s endorsement, putting Democrats in an enviable PR position likely to reap benefits for us statewide.

One can make a case for any of the four Democrats winning their primary-within-a-primary.  Min has the party endorsement, but also the engaging in violence against women and the disabled hanging around his neck.  (Plus Porter wants to destroy him.)  Porter has influential PCCC (“Progressive Change Campaign Committee”) endorsement due to her involvement with PCCC’s godmother (if not g0d-figure) Sen. Elizabeth Warren, but also lost the pre-endorsement vote and got very nasty as a result, with the reaction to the vote harming her more than the vote itself.  Forde has raised a lot of money and has activist support, as does Hamadanchy.  If one of the latter two drops out of the race and endorses the other, I think that the one who remains becomes the favorite to join Mimi in the runoff.  But I also, in the spirit of this year, don’t expect that to happen.

46th District

Four candidates completed the requirements to qualify for the ballot:

  • Incumbent Democrat Lou Correa
  • Republican Russell Rene Lambert, a fraud investigator/businessman
  • NPP Ed Rushman, an IT Project Manager
  • NPP Will Johnson, a driver/caregiver

So let’s say goodbye to … nah, not worth naming them.  Maybe one of the NPP candidates — and I suspect that would be Rushman — will surprise us with a strong campaign, but I think that we can pencil in Correa vs. Lambert in November.

47th District

Nobody has qualified by filing in Orange County.  From LA:

  • Incumbent Dem Alan Lowenthal is on the balloy
  • Republican John Briscoe seems to have qualified
  • Republican David Michael Clifford, filed nomination papers

Peace & Freedom Party’s Lee Harrison Chauser apparently didn’t file.  So, just those three: Lowenthal vs. Hapless Republican yet again.

48th District

The most newsworthy development in the election happened in this race, where former OC Republican Party Chair Scott Baugh, who had said that he was filing in the race only just in case incumbent Dana Rohrabacher didn’t run, turned out to be lying through his teeth.  After Dana filed, Baugh did the same.  This makes the very likely outcome of the primary to be a race between Rohrabacher and Baugh.  (By the way, doofus Mother Hones reporter Brian Schatz totally missed the entry of Baugh in the race in the online — and therefore easily fixed — in an article that came out today declaring Democrats assured of a spot in the runoff.  How the mighty publications have fallen!)  The real question, if Dems are shut out, would become:  for whom do Democrats vote, in such a runoff?

Easy!  Why, for Dana — of course!  Dana will be there a mere handful of more years, tops.  Baugh would likely be there for decades — and 2020 may still be a good year to beat Dana even if we Dems have completely munged up 2018 in CA-48.  And a Treacherous Baugh vs. Dangerous Dana race would create enough enmity among the GOP that Dems might — even without being in the runoff — benefit downballot (where most of those eight candidates ought to be.)

But let’s hold on to the hope that the Democrats might have a chance to win.  How does the race play out?  Ha-ha — you’ll be sorry you asked!  Here’s the roster for the 16 candidates on the ballot:

  • Incumbent Republican Dana Rohrabacher
  • Republican Scott Baugh
  • Republican Stelian Onufrei (poor abused Stelian!)
  • Republican John Gabbard
  • Republican Shastina Sandman
  • Republican Paul Martin
  • Democrat Hans Keirstead
  • Democrat Harley Rouda
  • Democrat Rachel Payne
  • Democrat Laura Oatman
  • Democrat Omar Siddiqui
  • Democrat Tony Zarkades
  • Democrat Michael Kotick
  • Democrat Boyd Roberts
  • Democrat Deanie Schaarsmith
  • Libertarian Brandon Reiser
  • NPP Kevin Kensinger

Stelian will pick up some Republican partisan or leaning votes; as may Reiser. Gabbard, Sandman, and Martin can safely be ignored.  So that’s seven Republican (including the Libertarian) candidates  dividing up the vote a little less than three ways.  Let’s be harsh on the GOP and call it 20% each for Dana and Baugh, 4% for Stelian. and 2% for Reiser.  So that leaves Democrats (ignoring Kensinger) vying for 54% of the vote.

Four of the nine Dems — Tony Z, Kotick, Roberts, and Schaarsmith (“schaar” means “scissors” in Dutch, by the way) — seem to be pretty much hopeless (although some argue that Kotick has some juice), but without a single big name in the race candidates can get 1% of the vote just by accident, so let’s assign them each that.  Now we’re down to five candidates — Keirstead, Rouda, Payne, Oatman, and Siddiqui — splitting up what we’re pretending is as high as 50% of the non-fringe Democratic vote.  Keirstead and Rouda probably have both the highest positives, and almost surely have the highest negatives.  For one of them to get 20% of the vote, the other four candidates have to muster no more than 30% combined.  None of these candidates is a pushover; I just don’t see that happening.  Could be — but you’ll see big push-back against both front-runners.  The temptation to throw the fish back into the water and wait until 2020 is likely strong enough for candidates and their supporters not to concede the race to Harley and Hans.

A strong Democratic Party perceived as a fair broker could convince voters to coalesce — but while the DPOC can threaten delegates into not supporting anyone but their favorite (or even their favorite or Rouda), we seem to be out of stock on that commodity.  I suggested that it might be necessary for people to coalesce behind Keirstead, and I literally had people laughing at me.  There’s a reason that smart party leaders show respect to followers — and it’s at times like this that parties reap what they have sown.

49th District [extended filing]

Because Darrell Issa did not run for reelection here, filing for this race will be extended through Wednesday.  Four candidates have qualified for the ballot from OC, and and it looks like nine from San Diego.  The big news is that Kristin Gaspar is not among the San Diegans — but that could change. Those qualifying, along with their filing dates, are:

  • [SD] Democrat Doug Applegate (3/7) (also has a candidate statement in OC)
  • [SD] Democrat Sara Jacobs (3/9)
  • [SD] Democrat Paul Kerr (3/9)
  • [SD] Republican Rocky Chavez (3/9)
  • [SD] Republican Craig Nordal (3/8)
  • [SD] Republican Joshua Schoonover (3/5)
  • [OC] Democrat Mike Levin (3/1)
  • [OC] Republican Brian Maryott (2/27)
  • [OC] Republican Diane Harkey (3/7)
  • [OC] Republican Mike Schmitt (3/6)
  • [SD] Peace & Freedom (?) Jordan Mills (3/9)
  • [SD] K9 Party’s Robert Pendleton (3/8)
  • [SD] ??? Danielle St. John (3/9)

Of hose who have filed some substantive papers, taken out nomination papers, but not yet returned them, all but one are from San Diego.  They include:

  • Republican Kristin Gaspar
  • Republican Joshua Hancock
  • ??? David Medway,
  • ??? Andrew Zelt
  • [OC] Democrat David Goodman

So that’s four Dems and one Peace and Freedom fighting for votes, and six Republican fighting for votes, with a K9 Party member and Danielle St. John figuring in somewhere.  Democrats looks like they’ve reached their limit, except possibly for the unknown Goodman, while Republicans would face a significant additional slice into their shares if Supervisor Gaspar enters the race.

On the other hand, all four Dems — Applegate, Jacobs, Kerr, and Levin — are serious candidates fighting over not much over 50% of the vote, while Republican candidates other than Chavez, Harkey, and Gaspar (if she enters) aren’t.  So let’s give Applegate and Levin 16% of the vote each (I’m bending over backwards to be fair to Levin here) and 8% to Jacobs and Kerr, with 2% to Mills.  For the GOP, let’s make it 18% each to Chavez and Harkey with 14% spread out out among the others, without Gaspar in the race — but only 14% each to Chavez, Harkey, and Gaspar, with 8% spread among the others, if Gaspar is in.  This is as hard to call as they come: either major party could take both spots in the runoff, one of them, or neither of them.

STATE SENATE

29th District (Replacement if Recall Succeeds) [later deadline by statute]

Democrat Kevin Carr

Unclearly affiliated small-“l” libertarian Joshua Ferguson

Republican Bruce Whitaker

And two more names come from the sleuthing of our Ryan Cantor, who also reports that the filing deadline for this race is April 4.  I HAD looked Ling-Ling up by name earlier, but she hadn’t been listed on the LA site.

[LA] Republican Ling-Ling Chang

[LA] Republican George Shen

Josh Newman has not wanted any Democrat to file against him.  Tax-fighter Carr doesn’t have much of a following within the party, so this is as close as he will come to getting his wish.  Watching Chang, Whitaker, and Ferguson fight it out should diminish appetites for a “yes” vote.  Hell, since the OCGOP has endorsed LA County’s Ling-Ling, that itself might be enough to give some proponents pause.  Did recall proponents do all this work just to elect a liar, dilettante, and fool?

32nd District — unexpired term

  • Democrat Tony Mendoza — running for his own unexpired term!
  • Democrat Vicky Santana
  • Republican Ion Sarega
  • Republican Rita Topalian

32nd District — full new term

Four Democrats from LA have filed candidate statements in OC to accompany their filings for Tony Mendoza’s seat.  They are:

  • [LA] Democrat Tony Mendoza (attempting to reclaim the seat from which he just resigned)
  • [LA] Democrat Bob Archuleta
  • [LA] Democrat Rudy Bermudez
  • [LA] Democrat David Castellanos
  • [LA] Democrat Vanessa Delgado
  • [LA] Democrat Vivian Romero
  • [LA] Democrat Vicky Santana
  • [LA] Democrat Ali Taj
  • [LA] Republican Ion Sarega
  • [LA] Republican Rita Topalian

Looks like a strong R-vs.-R runoff possibility in a Dem seat, largely due to the credibly accused sexual-harasser incumbent peeling off Democratic votes.  Thanks, Tony Mendoza!

Have fun with it, central Buena Park!

34th District

On the ballot:

  • Incumbent Republican Janet Nguyen
  • Democrat Tom Umberg
  • [OC] Democrat Jestin Samson (not yet officially noted, but filing completed)

Also on the board:

  • [LA] Democrat Akash Hawkins of Long Beach., seems to have qualified

36th District

  • [OC] Incumbent Republican Pat Bates is on the ballot
  • [SD] Democrat Marggie Castellano appears to have qualified

ASSEMBLY

55th District

Three candidates are officially on the ballot from OC, plus two from LA:

  • [LA] Incumbent Republican Phillip Chen
  • [OC] Republican Scott Lebda 
  • [OC] Republican James Gerbus
  • [LA] Democrat Gregg Fritchle
  • [OC] Democrat Melissa Fazli

65th District

  • Incumbent Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva is on the ballot
  • Republican Alex Coronado is on the ballot.

Barring a stupendously effective write in campaign, his contest is set for November.

68th District

  • Incumbent Republican Steven Choi is on the ballot
  • Democrat Michelle Duman is on the ballot

This race is set for November.  Good luck to Duman.

69th District

  • Incumbent Tom Daly has paid his fee and filed his nomination papers., but is not yet on the ballot
  • No one else is even on the board.  There will presumably be a write-in to set the field for November.  Another Democrat should run, because otherwise it will probably be a white supremacist or something.  This is not an argument against Daly, but an argument against letting white supremacists onto the November ballot.

72nd District

Travis is running for Governor instead, where one hopes that John Cox will smoke him.

Four candidates are already on the ballot, but this one will extend until Wednesday:

  • Democrat Josh Lowenthal
  • Republican Greg Haskin
  • Republican Tyler Diep
  • Republican Long Pham

Again, the OCGOP has endorsed creepy grifter Tyler Diep over decent guy Long Pham.  They should be made to pay for that decision.  This reminds me: OJB needs a full-time reporter, unpaid of course, assigned to the Tyler Diep race.  Apply to Vern.

73rd District

Three candidates are on the ballot:

  • Incumbent Republican Bill Brough
  • Republican Ed Sachs
  • Democrat Scott Rhinehart

Sachs has come out of nowhere here to parachute into the race in its closing moments.  OK with me: it just motivates Dems in the primary to ensure that decent guy Rhinehart makes the runoff!

74th District

It was so easy a few days ago, when only two candidates were on the ballot:

  • Incumbent Republican Matthew Harper
  • Republican Katherine Daigle
  • Democrat Karina Onofre
  • Democrat Cottie Petrie-Norris
  • Democrat Ryan Ta

I can easily see an R vs. R runoff here. Daigle will put up points against Harper .  Petrie-Norris is very popular among both party people and activists in the district, but Onofre’s name is recognizable on ballots by now and Ta is distinguishable by gender and race.  Cottie will likely be the top vote-getter, but Daigle starts with an advantage in available vote share.

JUDGES

  • In Office 13, Judge Ted Howard and Franklin Dunn are both on the ballot.
  • In Office 15, Judge Marc Kelly  a free pass as Lenore A-S drops out.

COUNTY OFFICES

County Superintendent of Schools

Incumbent Al Mijares has qualified for the ballot and is unopposed.  Teacher’s unions, explain this to us sometime.

County Board of Education Trustee Area 2

  • Incumbent David Boyd, Mari Barke, and Matthew Nguyen are all on the ballot.  I just happened on Matt Cunningham’s blog today and it seems like David Boyd is his new bete noir, meaning that Cunningham’s sponsor Dishonest Dave Gilliard (or Cunningham himself) must be getting paid by his charter school clients to knock him off.  My guess is that the candidate he wants is Nguyen, whose proposed ballot designation is “Education Rights Advocate.”  (If I were leading a teacher’s union, I’d be tempted to challenge that — which has to happen very soon.)  OJB will be very, very pleased to learn more about this race, about Cunningham’s sponsorship, and to serve as a unpaid counterweight.

Remember, there is no runoff for these races!  Plurality winner in June wins!

County Board of Education Trustee Area 5

There is no sign that incumbent Linda Lindholm is running, so I believe that filing for this race will be open until Wednesday.   Four candidates are already on the ballot:

  • Lisa Sparks
  • Kimberly Clark
  • Mary Navarro
  • Mike Dalati

Dan Draitser DID NOT QUALIFY for the ballot.  Unless time has expired in the race, this is probably an issue with collecting nomination isgnatures.  Sorry, anonymous OJB commenterwho was touting him!

OC BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

District 2

  • Incumbent Republican Michelle Steel is on the ballot
  • Suddenly, so is Michael Mahony.
  • Brendon Perkins IS NOW LISTED as being on the ballot as of the Monday morning update, after I apparently panicked him this weekend by reporting that he wasn’t on the Saturday update.  “Oops,” I suspect — but not from me.  (Hey, they have a lot of work to do out there in the ROV’s office; it happens.)  Mahony’s presence in the race is good news for Perkins, as he increases the (not great, but non-zero) likelihood of keeping Steel below 50% in June.  Perkins and Mahoney should be barnstorming the district debating each other every night, always inviting Steel, who will never show up.  (And woe unto her if she does, with her record!)

District 4

Shawn Nelson is termed out here, which means that filing for this race has ended.  (Too late, from a Democratic perspective, to keep selfish Doug Chaffee from mucking up the race.)  All six candidates who made it onto the board are now n the ballot:

  • Democrat Cynthia Aguirre
  • Democrat Doug Chaffee
  • Democrat Rose Espinoza
  • Democrat Joe Kerr
  • Republican Lucille Kring
  • Republican Tim Shaw

The late entry of Chaffee into the race make an R-vs.-R runoff pretty likely, given that the other Democrats look fairly evenly matched.  If Chaffee’s entry leads to a Lucille Kring victory — well, he will become famous for a very bad reason.

District 5

The sole candidate in this race — incumbent Lisa Bartlett — is now on the ballot,  Any write-in campaign against her is futile, because this race does not go on to November unless no one gets 50%+1 of the vote — which ain’t happening.  Congratulations, South County Dems!  Baetlett is now free to campaign for Republicans in AD-73, SD-36, and most importantly in CA-49.  Next time you’re having recruiting trouble, give me a call, huh?

Assessor

All three candidates — incumbent Claude Parrish, Richard B. Ramirez, and Nathaniel Fernandez Epstein, are now on the ballot.  Only Epstein lacks one of those very expensive candidate statements.

As with other County offices, a majority in June means no election in November.

Auditor-Controller

Incumbent Eric Woolery is on the ballot, joined by Toni Smart, the office’s former ethics assistant who I learned today is suing his office for retaliation.  I want to know more about this!

Clerk-Recorder

  • Incumbent Hugh Nguyen is on the ballot.
  • Perennial candidate Steve Rocco is on the ballot.
  • No one else is running, so this will be over in June, unless it’s a tie.  Which it won’t be.

District Attorney-Public Administrator

Incumbent Republican malfeasor Tony Rackauckas, his former top aide turned longtime nemesis Todd Spitzer, former Brea Mayor and sane and stolid Democrat  Brett Murdock, and woman with a recent track record of running for office to aide a powerful man from whom she then received professional favors Lenore Albert-Sheridan have all qualified for the ballot.  (Miji John Vellakkatel did not enter the race.)

No word yet, as best I can determine, from the California Supreme Court about its accepting or rejecting the official recommendation for Lenore A-S’s suspension from the practice of law, by the way.  We will have so, so, so much more about Lenore A-S — and anyone foolish enough to have made arrangements with her — between now and June!  We’ll also publish all of her demand letters to take down items like this — please don’t imagine that they’re confidential, Lenore — although we’ll probably save our public rebuttals for the anti-SLAPP motion.

Meanwhile, now that she’s SUCH a public figure, I’d like to hear from anyone who hired Lenore A-S to handle problems with their mortgages during the recent crisis — when I referred poor Occupy Orange County project Trang Che to her based on what I was told was Lenore A-S’s good reputation — by people who later recanted.  Note that nothing that Lenore A-S has done would justify anyone trying to take a paperweight or ashtray or whatever and throw it at her or try to hit her over the head with it — there are other, better, more legal ways to handle any grievances — which will also be discussed.

Sheriff-Coroner

With incumbent Sandra Hutchens departing in what she would probably deny is disgrace, unless I miss my mark this position will be open until Wednesday.  Three candidates are in the mix; all are already on the ballot:

  • Don Barnes is, if I recall correctly, Hutchens’ chosen successor.
  • David Harrington is, with the same caveat, the Republican who ain’t her choice.
  • Duke Nguyen is the Great Democratic Hope in this race.

Treasurer-Tax Collector

Incumbent Shari Freidenreich is the only one on the ballot — and, in fact, the only one running.  OJB will consider endorsing her, but of course we’ll want to interview her first.

 


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.)