O.C. Man and Woman of the Year

I heard today that Time Magazine has chosen the entire Internet community as their “Person of the Year.” I am flattered to be a part of that group, as a resident of the blogosphere, however -is it really that hard to pick one person?

I do however like the idea of talking about the most influential/important people of the year. In that vein, he are my picks for “O.C. Man” and “O.C. Woman of the Year:”

O.C. Woman of the Year

New Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez stands out in a very crowded field. She has come a long way from a very hard childhood and in the process she has become an inspiration to many. Now that she is on the Santa Ana City Council she has stuck to her guns and even brought up mayoral term limits in one of her first meetings. Way to go Michele! She also defeated a very well-funded candidate, in Pulido puppet Tino Rivera, and two other ladies with significant grassroots support – Evangeline Gawronski and Tish Leon. Martinez has also been a gracious winner – she is working with both Republicans and Democrats. Her election, along with that of Sal Tinajero, has brought new hope to Santa Ana for reform and the hoped for end of the Pulido reign.

Other OC women who rose to the occasion this year include termed-out Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher, who almost pulled off a major upset in the 34th Senate District; new OC Supervisor Pat Bates, who had to fight hard to defeat a very wealthy opponent in Cassie DeYoung; Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, who rolled to victory again and suddenly found herself in the majority party in DC; new Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche; and Anaheim Councilwoman Lucille Kring, who prevailed against well-funded opponents and is now going to be a thorn in Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle’s side – go Lucille! I’m sure I am forgetting several others – if so I hope our readers will mention anyone I overlooked. I should probably have added political consultant Kim Ward and new O.C. Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson to the list…

O.C. Man of the Year

No contest – this award goes to new OC Supervisor John Moorlach. In one fell swoop he has changed the dynamic of the O.C. Board of Supervisors. And he won by over 70% against a candidate who wasted thousands of dollars of public employees’ union money! I am hopeful that Pat Bates will team with him and fellow Supervisor Chris Norby to overturn the squishiness of their peers on the Board of Supervisor – particularly with regard to labor issues.

Other O.C. men who grabbed the headlines in 2006, include: new State Senator Lou Correa, who sweated out a very hard fought victory against a well-funded opponent in Lynn Daucher; new Santa Ana Councilman Sal Tinajero – the subject of perhaps the most vile political attack mailers I have ever seen – he won despite being outspent by Pulido puppet Jennifer Villasenor; new Brea Councilman Ron Garcia – even though his own party turned against him, unfairly in my opinion, he ran a great campaign and came in just behind the mayor in a very crowded field; Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor, who fought off a very well-organized opposition effort by Democrats and moderate Republicans; new Assemblyman Tom Harman – he was outspent but he won by reaching out to minority voters who were ignored by his opponent; Cypress councilman Mike McGill – he lost to Jim Silva in their contest for the 67th Assembly District, but he proved he was ready for prime time by coming close despite being vastly outspent. I’m sure I left off a few names here that deserve to be included. Again, I will rely on my readers to set the record straight.

Congratulations to all the men and women who worked hard in Orange County this year in the political trenches! Navigating the political waters behind the Orange curtain is never easy – and yet many of the these politicos made it look easy in 2006. Keep up the good work Councilwoman Martinez and O.C. Supervisor Moorlach! And may all of you have a very Merry Christmas/Channuka/Kwaanza/Festivus/etc…

About Admin

"Admin" is just editors Vern Nelson, Greg Diamond, or Ryan Cantor sharing something that they mostly didn't write themselves, but think you should see. Before December 2010, "Admin" may have been former blog owner Art Pedroza.