Will Bustamante take on Solorio in 2008?

It struck me today that the OC GOP appears to have candidates lined up for all the central county legislative seats that come up in two years – except for the 69th Assembly District.

I have a theory that the OC GOP Central Committee’s 69th Assembly District Caucus, under the misguided leadership of its faux Chairman, Tim Whitacre, probably won’t even try to recruit a candidate for this seat.

The incumbent, Democrat Jose Solorio, is part of Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido’s machine. There is NO WAY that Pulido is going to allow Whitacre, who is likewise part of his cabal, to run a serious candidate against Solorio.

That said, Whitacre will be able to prove that he is in fact a loyal Republican by actually recruiting a serious candidate. Here’s an idea – why not go with Santa Ana Councilman Carlos Bustamante? Think about it, Bustamante, by coming in fourth in the recent 1st District Supervisorial race, showed us that he is in trouble, with regard to his council reelection campaign, which comes up in 2008.

Democrat Tom Umberg beat Bustamante in just about every precinct in Santa Ana. This means that there will likely be several notable candidates facing off for Bustamante’s seat in 2008. Obviously, he ought to just ditch the council seat and run for the 69th A.D.

There is however a problem with that notion. Bustamante also answers to Pulido. There is almost no chance that he will run against Solorio. Indeed, I am reminded of the time that Bustamante told Ryan Gene Williams that he could not endorse him for the 69th A.D. without first asking Solorio about it. Will Bustamante have to ask Solorio if he can run against him for the 69th A.D.?

If Bustamante refuses to run against Solorio, he will just end up losing his council seat anyway. Why not go out in a blaze of glory instead? Doesn’t fortune favor the bold? I guess we will have to wait and see if Bustamante is really the Republican he wants us to believe he is.


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.