OC GOP should not be endorsing non-partisan candidates
I have been thinking a lot about the ongoing disaster that is the current OC GOP endorsement process, with regard to non-partisan incumbents. I don’t think the current system can be fixed.
Currently the OC GOP Central Committee is asked to consider a list of all Republican non-partisan incumbents. We are given several weeks to determine which of the incumbents we would like to pull off the list, and we can ask to pull them without giving any reasons.
The revised list is then presented to the full Central Committee and they are asked if they want to pull anyone else. Barring that, they then are asked to vote in one motion to endorse all of the remaining incumbents.
The current system is rife with problems. For one thing, lobbyists and consultants can pull their clients’ enemies off the list with no explanation. Also, it is impossible for the members of the Central Committee to know enough about all the candidates. Inevitably, we will end up endorsing some bad seeds.
Matt Cunningham, over at the OC Blog, posting under his alter-ego of Jubal, recently confirmed this when he described various incumbents who should have been pulled from the list:
I looked at the list of people who didn’t get pulled — and there were some I’d have pulled if I’d been a Central Committee member. The fact that they weren’t doesn’t make them sterling Republicans.
I don’t know why no one else pulled them off. Maybe you should ask the other Central Committee members?
\Why didn’t anyone pull Carmen Vali-Cave’s name? After all, she endorsed the re-election of her council colleague Karl Warkomski — who’s a registered Green Party member.
Why didn’t anybody pull Brea Councilman John Beauman’s name, despite his anti-property rights record?
Why didn’t anyone pull Huntington beach Councilwoman Cathy Green’s name, even though she was one of only two OCTA Board members to vote against discontinuing OCTA’s $1.5 million pro-Measure M “informational” campaign?
Exactly Matt! Obviously the current system is allowing truly bad Republicans to obtain the OC GOP endorsement. Let’s think about that. Endorsements mean a lot. They should not be handed out like Halloween candy. The current process is a joke!
The answer to all this is obvious – we should not be endorsing non-partisan candidates. Period. Let the grassroots organizations like the CRA and CCR do it. They generally ask candidates to fill out lengthy questionnaires. Then they read their answers, and sometimes interview the candidates. When they decide to endorse, it means something. The endorsements are earned.
Moreover, I don’t think it is a good idea for county parties to weigh in on non-partisan races. Are they or are they not non-partisan races? You can’t have it both ways!
Yes, it is legal for county parties to endorse non-partisan candidates. I would argue however that it is generally a bad idea. We need to stop this and let the constituents of the incumbents determine for themselves the viability of these politicians.
Not to mention the fact that three out of the four Newport-Mesa Unified School District Trustees have been pulled for no apparent reason. One of them is Tom Egan, the man who beat Wendy Leece four years ago. Also all three pulled have endorsed Return to Reason candidate Bruce Garlich. Wendy Leece’s political papi is Allan Mansoor. It seems the only reason the three were pulled was for political payback.
In the meantime Allan Mansoor got the blessing of the party. Most sickening of all, not a single Republican questioned his ties to Martin Millard. So three school board members get pulled for no reason but Mansoor gets to stay on the consent calendar despite being supported by a rabid White Supremacist. Who wil the Reps blindly support next, a man with ties to pedophiles. Oh wait, that man was their chair for 19 years.
Art,
Have you ask yourself if you gaining any political power by your anti-GOP rant?…… or are you just spinning wheel.
Even National Socialist Claudio is agreeing with you.
I was just checking the DPOC’s bylaws about endorsements. We don’t do endorsements until after the filing period closes. I think that’s reasonable and the OC GOP might consider doing the same.
I dislike term limits in general, but I understand the frustrations that caused them to be implemented. I think the near-automatic endorsement of incumbents is part of what brought us the problem of officeholders who seemed to be planning to keep their seats for life.
Furthermore, the Central Committee aren’t likely to have members from every single city in OC. The 73rd AD where I live encompasses all or part of 6 cities, and the DPOC central committee has no members from Dana Point, for example. If there were serious problems with a city council member from Dana Point it’s a conceivable no Central Committee member would be aware of it. Likewise if someone really terrific was about to run for Dana Point city council we probably wouldn’t know about it.
No one party was better than the other, this last election. I was disguisted to see Joe Dunn and Lou Correa and Miguel Puildo on a Friends of Mike Carona Flier. Saying LEADING DEMOCRATS ENDORSE SHERIFF MIKE CARONA. That made me sick to my stomach. Now it is a non-partisan office but ulike them I backed the Rank and File of the Deputies!
But my leading Democrats,(those of whom I had truly respected),on the front of a republican flier is night and day different!
They did endorse Carona to. But to say I did as a Democratic made me sick. I called them on it as Central Comm. Member and all they said was they had never given anyone the right to use thier face on a mailer!
But if that was truly the reason those, like me, would have been in Mike Carona’s face in a heart beat, and telling them to pull it NOW!
So yep, I think it should all be pulled period, and take the endorsing away from Central Comms.
Stanley,
I am not interested in accruing power. My interest lies in fostering good governance. We Republicans are supposed to be the good guys, but here in the OC our leadership is corrupt. We can change that, but it will take time.
Art,
I know, that you are not interested in accruing power, me neither.
I also know that your interest lies in fostering good governance, mine too.
I am just remaining you and to myself that according to Machiavelli we are not good politicians unless our disinterest in accruing power and interest in fostering governance would give us more power.
Enjoy.
Hey Claudio
The NMUSD trustees were probably (I don’t know for sure) pulled because they promoted a bond (which raises taxes) to pay for some new buildings (which they probably needed).
Is there a councilman around more conservative than John Paul Ledesma? He is about as solid as you get. Why would he be pulled? Maybe Frank Ury is on another power trip.
ledesma is kinda of scary…
Is there a councilman around more conservative than John Paul Ledesma?
You’ve gotta be kdding about Ledesma. He talks a good game, but he’s cast some horrible votes on the fiscal front.
The DPOC needs to start fielding more candidates in the non-partisan offices such as water district or school board. I believe in local representation in our communities and I think the lack of effort on DPOC to recruit more candidates for non-partisan offices really hurts us in the long run. The RPOC has a well maintained machine working on this effort full time. And they got people rising through the ranks due to term limits getting name recognition and experience. We really need to start focusing on local non-partisan offices more as a party. Otherwise we are going to have more scandals like Westminister School Board with Dr Nguyen Lam and the CUSD fiasco. Absolute power corrupts.
I have to agree with Art on this…non-partisan races should be just that–non-partisan. Virtually all the local decisions have nothing to do with ideology. Congress & the Legislature are usually dysfunctional, paralyzed by partisanship…no need to encourage the spread of this disease to the local level.
I as a Rep have gotten more support and encouragement from my Dem Councilmember Mike Garcia tan I have from the RINO’s like “rising star” Bustamante and Christy.
Have you seen Ury’s votes on low income housing. If Ury had his way then MV would be building 900 low income apartments using taxpayer dollars. Maybe Frank should stop eating his victim pie.