The endorsements are flying on the GOP side of the race for the 1st Supervisorial District.
The latest news has former Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher endorsing Garden Grove School Board member Trung Nguyen; while Nguyen’s erstwhile ally, Westminster Councilman Andy Quach, has endorsed his peer, Westminster Councilman Kermit Marsh – as has the California Republican Assembly, the most successful conservative grassroots Republican volunteer organization. And Garden Grove Councilwoman Janet Nguyen picked up the endorsement of Garden Grove Mayor Bill Dalton. I am told that she also just picked up the endorsement of the ABC – the Associated Builders & Contractors.
However – there are six Republican candidates and only four Democrat candidates – and only one Latino Democrat, in the form of Garden Grove’s Benny Diaz. The 1st District swings Democrat – and it has a lot of Latino voters, giving Diaz a huge edge.
Most Democrats seem to be fixated on former Assemblyman Tom Umberg – and he is no doubt the leader of this pack – but assuming he gets white votes from throughout the district, the question is, can he win with so many other candidates in the race vying for the white vote?
In Westminster, Marsh is doing a lot better than anyone thought – he will dominate votes in that city. In Garden Grove the votes will be split amongst Janet and Trung Nguyen, as well as Councilman Mark Rosen. In Santa Ana former Councilman Brett Franklin will dominate votes in the northern and southern parts of the city.
So what about the Latino votes? Sixty percent of the district’s voters hail from Santa Ana – and that city is 90% Latino. Will these voters, who are mostly Democrats, vote for Republican Councilman Carlos Bustamante? I think not – even if he can wrest a few votes away from Franklin, he faces the specter of conservative anti-immigration activist Lupe Moreno. It does not look good for Bustamante.
Which leaves us with Diaz. This is his race to lose. Can he raise the money and pull together enough volunteers to win this? He thinks so. I think he could be right.
Diaz is an unknown quantity in the OC Blogosphere – but Latinos know him. He arrived in Orange County in 1980 – after leaving his country of birth – Peru. His first job was at a McDonald’s restaurant. He worked nights cleaning offices and medical facilities – which is exactly what I did while helping my father as a youngster.
Diaz also worked at Disneyland at night – and he went to school, first to learn English. Later he graduated from Fullerton Junior College. While at that campus he was elected to the student government – whetting his growing appetite for politics. In 1983 he completed a degree in political science. In 1986 he graduated from UCI with a BA in political science and economics.
Diaz later earned a real estate license. He also got a job with the Marriott Corporation – and he found his calling in Human Resources.
In 1987 Diaz became a U.S. citizen. A few years later, in 1992, he got a job with the California Employment Development Department. Later he moved over to the California Department of Industrial Relations and became a research analyst. He is still there, working as a compliance officer in the worker’s compensation industry.
Diaz remains very involved in the community. He is a mentor to young people and an active member of the University of California Alumni Association. He is also one of the founders of the UCI Chicano Alumni. Diaz is also a longtime member of LULAC – the League of United Latin American Citizens.
We saw a glimpse of what Diaz is all about today when he read in this blog about the Santa Ana Unified School District’s apparent reluctance to post the names of the candidates to replace Sal Tinajero. So he picked up the phone, called the District and sure enough they posted the names of the candidates on their website.
It is telling that Diaz took the time to make that call – none of the other Supervisorial candidates even noticed what was going on. Does anyone really think that will change if one of them becomes our next Supervisor in the 1st District?
Is Diaz a longshot? Sure – but so what? So was Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez. She has endorsed Rosen. I hope she will reconsider.
OC Democrats are uniting behind Umberg – but the Latinos in their midst need to take a long look at Diaz. He has always been there for them. Now he needs them to return the favor. If they do, he just might pull this off.
Diaz’ campaign signs will proudly proclaim that he is a Democrat. Will that be enough to pull off the victory? Who knows? It won’t hurt though. I won’t bet against him.
Diaz has a great resume and will be the top Latino candidate when the votes are counted. No doubt about that!
Benny caught my attention when I read about his involvement in getting SAUSD to respond to the public’s request for information.
Tom, I’m rethinking my Feb 6 vote.
Mr. Diaz has an impressive resume. He is a great representative of what the American dream is all about. I think voters should give him a serious look.
A friend told me he saw Diaz volunteers walking in Central Santa Ana yesterday About 10 people. Did anyone else get the brochures? Seems like they were not stopping at every house but just some houses. Who is walking for Benny? They all seemed to speak Spanish.
We also had Diaz supporters knock on our door last week and leave a flyer. We live near near Santa Ana high.
Art–I hear what you’re saying….votes for Benny would go normally to either Umberg or “Miguel mini me” Bustamante, if they vote at all. Benny has neither the funds nor the institutional support to mount a significant effort but could be a spoiler. Who benefits the most by votes drained from Umberg or Bustamante? if she can survive the family feud, Janet Nguyen. And Art Pedroza is backing……..
Diaz people dropped a brochure off at my house Thursday. Did anyone else get the flyer????
The problem is getting out the vote. You can have a majority registered, but if they don’t vote, you don’t win.
Bladerunner,
The problem with anon posters is that we don’t know if you work for Umberg, do we? On the other hand, everyone knows I am not working for ANY of the candidates. Yes, I like Janet Nguyen – but I think Diaz is also a fine candidate. I will be happy if either one wins – and happier still to see Bustamante and Umberg lose.
I am not working for Umberg. I am supporting Umberg. Are you supporting Nguyen or Diaz? Are you encouraging voters to support Diaz?
Art-
Two simple questions which should warrant very simple answers from you:
1) Has Janet Nguyen EVER voted for eminent domain?
2) How sure are you about your answer? (% wise)
Bladerunner,
I am supporting both. I am encouraging voters to vote for either one. I believe most Latinos will favor Diaz.
Si se puede, Benny! Umberg who?
Mr Diaz showed by his actions that he is a candidate for the people.
Mr Diaz works for the people, unlike Mr Umberg who think the people work for him.
Benny seems to be the candidate of the “people’. His actions have demonstrated it. The clock is ticking… If you really support change in the First District then write your check to Mr. Diaz now. The earlier he gets his message across the better. I ‘ve donated to Benny in the past and will do so in this campaign.
Walk Benny, Walk!
Umberg has consistently turned his back on Latinos.
Recently, he used the wedge “license and illegals” issue to garner support from the remaining pro-minutemen democrats but was shown the door by pro-immigrant demonstrator Correa.
Word on the street is that Umberg changed his party registration in 2000 because of hostilities with Latino caucas members and other Latinos.
Then, there is the reality that Umberg obviously feels more comfortable in White-bread Villa Park.
Umberg. He doesn’t get along with Latinos. He doesn’t live with them but Bladerunner believes that he deserves the latinos support.
I’m voting for Benny. And the More Bladerunner talks s*&^ the more I’ll walk the east Garden Grove area for Benny.
Don’t be fooled by Bladerunner. He is more closely associated with Umberg then we are all led to believe. Don’t worry, BR. I’ll keep your secret! 🙂
I don’t give a rat’s @$$ about keeping anybody’s secret.
It’s already well-known that the person who posts as “Bladerunner” is in fact George Urch, longtime Umberg aide, confidante, and apologist.
Mr. Urch has worked for Tom in his first terms in the State Assembly, for his failed bids for Attorney General and Insurance Commissioner, as his Chief of Staff in his final term in the Assembly. He was an integral part of Tom’s bid for State Senate, and has been a guiding force in his current campaign. George was present at the OC Registrar’s office to guide Tom through the filing process, and has staffed Umberg at numerous endorsement meetings.
The Umberg campaign has yet to file a campaign report, so it *may* be true that Bladerunner is “not working for Umberg.” But he has a great deal to gain from an Umberg victory – a cushy office on the 5th floor for 6 years, I’m guessing.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Anon 12;40
As an administrator of this blog, I can tell you that Bladerunner is NOT George Urch. I will not reveal the identity but I can confirm who he is not. Keep up the guessing game.
Cludio,
It doesn’t sound like being an aministrator has anything to do with knowing the identity of “bladerunner”.
Considering Art’s statement, “The problem with anon posters is that we don’t know if you work for Umberg, do we?” it really sounds he has no clue either.
I believe he’s also an adminstrator, right?
Please explain?