Silva slams the door on Correa

I reported a few months ago in this space that Orange County Supervisor Jim Silva had endorsed State Assemlyman Lou Correa (D-Anaheim) for the supervisorial seat being vacated by Chuck Smith (1st District). I heard today from one of Silva’s staffers that he has not in fact endorsed anyone, and that he is also on friendly terms with both of the Republican candidates – Brett Franklin (Santa Ana City Council) and Kermit Marsh (Westminster City Council). I was glad to hear that! Apparently Silva is not endorsing anyone because both Franklin and Marsh have supported him in the past, and as I stated, they are both friends of his. That said, I do hope that Silva will vote against renewal of the Orange County PLA (Project Labor Agreement) when it comes up for renewal in 2005. The O.C. PLA shut non-union contractors out of bidding on all county public works, after Smith and former Supervisor Cynthia Coad cut a deal with the local labor union bosses in order to get their support for the El Toro commercial airport, which has since been voted down.

In related news, my sources indicate that Marsh is picking up steam, but the greater concern is that Correa, who is leading the pack, will end up in a runoff with the other Democrat in the race, Garden Grove Mayor Bruce Broadwater, shutting the Republicans out of the bargain. That would be a disaster. I hope that Orange County’s Republican leaders will come to their senses and get behind one of the Republican candidates and make sure that voters in the First District have a true choice come runoff time. If all they had to vote for were Correa and Broadwater, it would not be worth voting at all.