Correa going it virtually alone again – but don’t underestimate him
Orange County Supervisor Lou Correa is once again taking on the Democrat establishment, and I have a feeling that he is not concerned at all. I spoke to Correa quite a bit, back when he first defeated Republican Jim Morrissey, who had previously held the 69th Assembly District. At the time, which was in 1998, Correa did not enjoy much support from the Democrat establishment, which for the most part was enthralled with Loretta Sanchez, who had two years prior defeated Bob Dornan. Correa had run in 1996 as well, and his party figured he was going to turn into a perennial candidate. How wrong they were.
Back then, Morrissey was firmly plugged into the Orange County Republican political machine. He felt untouchable, but I know he was worried about Correa because of the changing demographics in Santa Ana and Anaheim. Morrissey went as far as to hire a Democrat political consultant, and his chief of staff was likewise a Democrat, but he could not out-Democrat Correa, who deftly talked to area voters about crime, health and education. Correa ulimately prevailed, although Morrissey spent a ton of money against him, and without much help from his fellow Democrats.
Correa backed a protege of his, Santa Ana Council Member Claudia Alvarez, in the last election for the 69th Assembly District, but carpetbagger Tom Umberg swept in from Villa Park and defeated Alvarez, who ran a terrible campaign. I know that did not sit well with Correa, and when Umberg blew it by cheating on his wife during his campaign, and the news of that leaked, the path was clear for Correa to get revenge for Alvarez by defeating Umberg for the 34th State Senate seat. As such, I was not surprised when Correa announced this week that he was running.
However, as has been pointed out at OC Blog, and within the pages of the Times and the O.C. Register, Correa has angered the public employees’ unions, who would have preferred that he stay on the O.C. Board of Supervisors. Moreover, they were already backing Umberg, and will continue to do so. Their mistake. Correa is very well-liked in Sacramento, and not just by his fellow Democrats. He is very popular with many business PACS and lobbyists, who view him as a moderate, particularly compared to the liberal Umberg. Correa will have as much money as he needs to prevail in the primary.
Locally, Correa’s fellow Democrats are not very happy about his State Senate campaign. Those who plan to stick with Umberg include Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, who has never been very warm to his fellow Latino candidates; State Senator Joe Dunn; and former Anaheim Mayor and current O.C. Clerk-Recorder Tom Daly. Umberg is also supported by current Democrat Assembly Leader Fabian Nunez and State Senator Richard Alarcon. Fools. They will be sorry, when Correa prevails. He will instantly become the frontrunner for the 34th, in the general, despite the presence of GOP conservative favorite Van Tran. And Correa will then stand a very decent chance of prevailing in the general election.
While I disagree with most of Correa’s views, which tend towards big government, I have come to know him quite well over the years. His sons have compteted against my oldest son in Santa Ana’s Little Leagues, and Correa and I have crossed paths in both Santa Ana and Sacramento countless times. He is one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet in politics, and his critics in the Democrat ranks do themselves no favor by counting him out this time around. Correa always finds a way to outlast his opponents, and in a few months Umberg will no doubt become the latest guy to understimate him. A word of warning to O.C. Democrats – get on Correa’s train now or you will be sorry. Guaranteed.
As of now, i am still on the Umberg train. But mark my words, and this is a message to all Democrats. If Correa beats Umberg, and we know on election night, I will be the first to stand up and announce my support for Correa. We need to circle the wagons and go all out for whoever the Democratic nominee is. We must put petty squabbles aside and back up our nominee 110%. Correa, I may not be on the train yet, but should you win the primary, count on my full support to help you win.
Loyal OC Dem
My advice to you Anonymous, is to dump Umberg and hook up with Correa. In the general and thereafter he will remember who his friends were…
Personally, I’d like to see Umberg win the Democratic Primary.
Tran can beat him, and Umberg will be embattled anyway from trying to defeat an opponent from the same party.
Plus, the Reps pick up a Senate seat.
Let me know when you guys stop dreaming.
It is going to be very difficult if not impossible for the 47th, or the 69th to be in the hands of a republican. There simply is not enough reps in the district to win, unless there are a significant numbers of dems on the fence, which I honestly doubt.
sure thing! 🙂
Luis,
The post in question had to do with the 34th State Senate District, which is in play. However, the 47th might be interesting this time around. It’s not like Loretta has accomplished anything while in Congress.
Most Democratic activits think of Lou like Art thinks of Daucher. They will not have any enthusiasm for him. Especially his jumping into the race….it was an early Christmas present for Scott Baugh. If Van Tran wins the Dem rank and file may stick with Lou but if Daucher is the nominee, they’ll drop him as fast as Art drops Lynn. Odd, maybe Lou and Lynn will do better with the other party’s members then their own.
Lou may beat Umberg because of Tom’s self-inflicted wounds but I would not bet on it.. Umberg is tough campaigner, beat Pringle and Claudia. Lou has big time voting issues in this district. If Umberg doesn’t beat him its likely the Republican nominee will, especially if tis Daucher. But can she win her primary? Probably not.
Even local Democratic party leadership wants Correa to back off.
It’s pure arrogance and ego on Correa’s part to try and screw another Democrat. Umberg is well connected in Sacramento (on both sides of the aisle), so what can Correa really do for the district that Umberg can’t?
When he was elected as a supervisor, Correa took an oath to serve the people of this district. The people who supported him expected him to do that for the full term. Maybe he should focus on that instead of spending time campaigning for other offices.
Correa seems to be just a career politician always looking ahead to the next job on the public dole.
Anonymous,
That is funny that you would use the words “Umberg” and “screw” in the same paragraph. I am sure that the humor was unintentional.
Let’s face it, Umberg is damaged goods. Correa is frustrated with a board that is chock full of Republicans. He knows he can move his agenda better in Sacramento. From a GOP perspective, I hope that it gets very ugly between these two. All the better for Tran when he faces the damaged victor in the general.
Art,
My point and perhaps a shameful one, is popularity wins elections, not necessarily issues. Proof is in the pudding, Arnold got elected!
Loretta has the same chance of winning an election because she has name ID and latinos will remain loyal to her. It will be the same for the 69th.
Any newcomer, whether dem or rep, must form themselves in such a way they become substantially noticed in order to get elected. Another situation would be an open seat where more likely the politicians whom get elected comes from the majority political party in the area. Let the dog and pony show begin!
All Democrats should be happy that Lou is Running.
It is my strongly held belief that if Umberg is the nominee then the seat will be lost to a Republican.
Revenge is not Lou’s Style, keeping a dem in the senate from Orange county os the goal.
Oh please……this is about Lou, not the Democratic Party. Art’s right about Lou getting tired of getting boxed out at the Board–in Sacto he’s one of the guys who can call the shots. But most of the Dem. Party honchos have made it real clear to Lou that he should stay put. The only possible scenario for him winning the primary is to stay below the belt early and often–Umberg will have too much money, too much labor support and support from activists to let Lou win unless the public buys into his attacks. Its possible even though they re-elected Slick Willie but not probable. What is probable is that Umberg will zero in on Lou’s voting record–which is not the kind of voting record that Art likes-and Lou will respond in kind. Result—-either Daucher or Van Tran are the favorite come November.
If the goal is to keep the 34th seat Democratic, then why aren’t the big boys of the Democratic Party supporting Correa?
Voters of the 1st Supervisorial District voted Correa in and he
should fulfill his term.
Art’s obsession with serial adulter Umberg is humorous. He should consider describing W2
as the coke and alchol friendly President.
Did anyone else notice how fast Art dropped Rosie Avila for Tan?
Could it be she did not include a
photograph of the husband in her letter?
Anonymous,
You need to cut back on your caffeine intake. I have not dropped Rosie for Tan. In truth, I have not endorsed either candidate, although I do think Rosie has a better chance than Tan.
Re Umberg and Bush, to my knowledge the latter is a recovering alcoholic, as is Kerry, if I recall correctly. Umberg may not be fully recovered from womanizing, although I am sure we all hope that he will get himself under control, if not for his sake, then for his family.
As for Correa, he is being backed by many in Sacramento. The OC Democrats are mad at him, and justifiably so, because they want to hold onto a token seat on the Board of Supes. Correa is doing them a favor by running as he has a far better chance against Tran then Umberg does. Now if Umberg had not damaged himself, that might not be true, but he did, and you cannot get past that. It happened too recently.