OC Register columnist Frank Mickadeit took Lynn Daucher to task in his column today for sending her campaign manager, Bryan Lanza, to last night’s OC GOP Central Committee meeting, where he asked the party to reconsider the proposed endorsement of Brea City Council candidate Steve Vargas. Mickadeit summarized the meeting well enough, but he missed a lot of the nuances of this story. Allow me to set the record straight.
Vargas is an old friend of mine. We worked together in the ill-fated OC chapter of the RNHA (Republican National Hispanic Assembly) back when I was the OC GOP Hispanic Outreach Director. Vargas took on the Brea establishment and eventually they ended up recruiting a police officer to run against him. Vargas was abandoned by most of the powerful Republicans in northern OC. He used to work for Todd Spitzer, but they parted in a bad way, and so Spitzer did not support the Vargas reelection effort.
Dick Ackerman and Lynn Daucher also did not support Vargas. In fact, Vargas alleged one night that Daucher’s husband took a swing at him at a Brea outdoor festival. There were no witnesses. After having met Mr. Daucher recently, I cannot imagine him taking a swing at anyone. He is very amiable and I enjoyed meeting him. Garcia actually introduced me to the Dauchers at his campaign kick-off.
Vargas lost. Now he is back, some years later, and now he has the conservative wing of the party behind him. However, he is now facing another Latino Republican, Ron Garcia, as they both vie for one of the three available seats on the Brea City Council.
Mickadeit faulted Daucher for trying to stop the Vargas endorsement – but the fact remains that Vargas doesn’t have anywhere near the local support in Brea that Garcia enjoys. Furthermore, the conservatives who are so enamored of Vargas now did not help him last time around. Will they contribute to his campaign this time?
Garcia has raised a lot of money, and he has a lot of community endorsements. I think he is going to win easily in November. I hope Vargas wins too. I would love to see more local elected Latino Republicans in office.
Lastly, I was shocked at how laudatory Mickadeit was towards Michael Schroeder, the Chairman of the OC GOP Endorsement Committee. Schroeder has cleaned up his act of late, and I was appreciative when he and the others on the committee endorsed the local Republican candidates in Santa Ana, however he made a mess of things during the Carona campaign.
Mickadeit wrote about Schroeder schooling the next generation of Republican politicians. I would rather that they learn how to better serve their constituents and their cities. If they support the party, that’s great, but that should not be their primary objective.
Also, Michadeit ripped Daucher for standing up for Garcia, even though ultimately Vargas won the GOP endorsement. Give me a break! The conservatives are not going to walk for Daucher. They never intended to. If she is going to win, she will have to do it on her own.
By the way, a blogger at Red County/OC Blog wondered why I am supporting Daucher now. Yes, I ripped her without mercy during the primary. I was managing the campaign of her conservative opponent, Lupe Moreno. However Moreno lost, and left the GOP thereafter. And I was elected to the OC GOP Central Committee. As such I have to play ball now. The primary is behind us and the general election is looming on the horizon. The GOP cannot aford to get mired in infighting. We have to focus on winning, going forward.
I heard tonight that Daucher’s Democratic opponent for the 34th Senate District has replaced his chief of staff. Can anyone verify that? I think that his internal polling is showing that Daucher is doing very well, and he is starting to panic. Now is the time for OC Republicans to back their candidate and do whatever it takes to defeat Correa.
http://www.PaulLucas2006.com
“Has Mickadeit become a tool of the OC GOP machine?”
Congratulations on pulling your head out of the sand Art.
As far as Lou replacing his chief of Staff, I have not heard anything about it. I was at a fundraiser for Lou last night. It was a nice evening, and a good setting at a beautiful home in the Floral Park neighborhood of Santa Ana.
Lots of local electeds were in attendance. A few Reps as well.
I saw Tammy Tran and Lou
Are either Daucher or Correa going to support Prop. 85? I have not seen either of them take a public position on this important issue. I don’t think that Marilyn Brewer will be happy if Daucher supports Prop. 85.
Art:
I thought we are supposed to stop the infighting? Lead by example.
“After having met Mr. Daucher recently, I cannot imagine him taking a swing at anyone. He is very amiable and I enjoyed meeting him.”
Art’s naivete is almost touching sometimes. He’s obviously never seen Don Daucher’s dark side.
Art…
You write: Mickadeit wrote about Schroeder schooling the next generation of Republican politicians. I would rather that they learn how to better serve their constituents and their cities. If they support the party, that’s great, but that should not be their primary objective.”
Good on ya, mate! My belief is that many of the GOP Central Committee’s endorsements are the progeny of feckless – and wreckless – party muscle flexing to inject partisanship into municipal elections. Costa Mesa is a classic example. The party’s endorsement of Mansoor and Leece is simply a selfish initiative to use Costa Mesa as an incubator to groom candidates for a larger stage. Mansoor and Leece are not nearly as well equipped to “better serve their constituents” than Planning Commissioner Bruce Garlich.
How low can you go. Who on God’s earth would want to be a tool of Steve Sheldon, Adam Probolsky and John Flashboy.Does this guy have no shame or did he leave it at the doorstep when he discribed Aunt K’s problem. Hey Frank, where were you? Why didn’t you help her? Oh. you did when you determined it would make a good weeks worth of articles. You are worthless. My name is Frank and I am the lap dog to people who make $70 k a year. loser. I bet your parents are proud of you. You are the OC Registers policial gossip monger. How sad you are. Maybe if you went to a weekly you could report on real news.