Astounding chismes coming out of the OC GOP… Looks like there is a good chance that State Senator Dick Ackerman will be running for the OC GOP Central Committee next year, with an eye towards taking over the Chairmanship from Scott Baugh.
The story makes a lot of sense. Ackerman already punked Assemblyman Van Tran once when he told him he was not going to receive party support if he ran for the 34th Senate District. Tran annoyed Ackerman by not coming clean about his wife’s legal problems.
Now Tran is snubbing the OC GOP by not stopping his henchman, Trung Nguyen, from taking on incumbent Republican Supervisor Janet Nguyen. Does anyone think that retired OC GOP Chairman Tom Fuentes would have allowed the Tran cabal to take on an incumbent Republican? No way! And Ackerman won’t either.
Too bad for Baugh. He is a nice guy but he is not running his party. Mike Schroeder does what he wants and gets away with it. I also hear that OC GOP Parliamentarian Kermit Marsh is the one making political decisions for the local party.
The Tran cabal better wake up and smell the coffee. Supervisor Nguyen is now part of a solid moderate majority on the Board, with fellow Supervisors Bill Campbell and Pat Bates. The sooner that Tran and his acolytes realize that she is a lot smarter than they are, the better.
Speaking of Van Tran, I received an email today from State Senator Tom Harman, a moderate Republican who has been ripped for years by county conservatives. Apparently, Harman is teaming up with conservative favorite Tran to present a 2007 Community Housing Conference, on August 17, at the Westminster Rose Center.
According to the email release, “With the cost of housing in Orange County being one of the highest in the nation, many young would-be first-time buyers are being left out of the market. The Community Housing Conference will bring together experts from the government and private sectors to discuss topics such as how to increase home ownership in the community and problems and solutions regarding sub-prime mortgages.”
Never mind housing costs! According to my sources, there are a great many local politicians in Orange County who work in the mortgage industry who are desperate to land jobs of any sort, now that the housing market is tanking. Good luck with that…
My advice to those trapped in the mortgage and real estate industries is to consider switching to the occupational safety field. The pay is great and the work is very interesting. And the work is recession proof as you always need safety personnel to manage risk and keep the lawyers at bay, not to mention keeping the workers safe. You can sign up for safety courses at UCI’s extension campus in Orange. Read more about this program at this link.
What ever happened to former Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher? Am I the only one wondering what happened to her? I know that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed her to the position of Director of the California Department of Aging – I did not know the state had such a post. You can read more about Daucher’s post at this link.
I heard today that Assemblyman Bob Huff will be running for State Senator Bob Margett’s seat. I thought Daucher was going to run for that seat. I know she had an interest in it.
Could she maybe run against Gary Miller for his seat on the U.S. House of Representatives? I doubt it. She is too classy to take on an incumbent Republican, even the much-maligned Miller.
Maybe she will wait for O.C. Supervisor Chris Norby to term out and try running for his seat, against likely Democratic opponent O.C. Clerk-Recorder Tom Daly? I think she could give him a run for his money!
Or, she might just fade away. That would be too bad. Daucher has a lot to offer, if her party could find her a seat to run for.
New voters going DTS, not Democratic or Republican. I had an interesting conversation today with a Democratic Party insider. It turns out that the Democrats are picking up more new voter registrations at the Orange County “Newport” Fair, than the Republicans, but by far most of the new voters being signed up countywide are Decline to States (DTS) – by a huge margin!
The California Republican Party won’t let DTS voters vote in the presidential primary. But the Democratic Party will. This is obviously a huge opportunity for O.C. Democrats to reach out to DTS voters!
According to the California Secretary of State, there are 716,285 registered Republicans in Orange County. There are 451,745 Democrats. And there are a whopping 274,504 Decline to State voters.
Another Secretary of State web page indicates that DTS voters have increased from 12.9% to 18.8% since 1999. In that same period, Democrats have dropped statewide from 46.7% to 42.5%. But the Republicans have dropped too, from 35.3% to 34.2% This tells me that a lot of the DTS voters used to be Democrats. As such, they will be inclined to pull Democratic ballots in the presidential primary.
You would think that the California Republicans would rally around their independent-minded Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, but instead their leaders are at odds with him, even though the Public Policy Institute of California recently pegged his approval ratings at 75 percent. What would President Bush and House Speaker Pelosi do for those kind of approval ratings?
Art:
Your “Ackerman taking out Baugh” theory is about the craziest one you’ve spouted yet. And you’ve spouted some doozies.
I heard today that Assemblyman Bob Huff will be running for State Senator Bob Margett’s seat.
That’s been public for months, Art.
Matt,
I am glad my blog was there to entertain you at 1 in the morning!
The theory may be crazy, but it is 100% plausible, and you know it. Your party is out of control – it needs a stern father figure at the helm, not a frat boy.
As for the Huff story, I realize it was not new, I just haven’t tracked it, but I needed an intro to talk about Daucher. That was it. I also know you don’t much like Daucher. I am sure you will be happy to see her move on…
As for State Department of Aging yes it exists. Main role is to pass through federal money for senior meals programs to local agencies (most of which are counties) to provide those services. Also exists to make activist seniors think they have a sounding board for their advocacy. It is a nice spot for wounded politicans to draw a six figure salary without having to work very hard. Other Governors have placed relatives or other cronies in that job, this is not the first time.
As for Tom Daly, he has been manuevering to run for Supervisor for 20 years – ever since he was on the staff of Supervisor Ralph Clark. It would not be a surprise to see him run, then. Someone might ask why he as Clerk Recorder needed to create a new position to handle Community Affairs in his shop. Sounds unnecessary and highly political – could it be an effort to advance Daly’s image at taxpayer expense?
Wow! So Lynn Daucher’s thinking about running in the 42nd CD? If she’s not, then she SHOULD! After all, there’s someone who may challenge both Dirty Gary Miller AND Republican hegemony in the 42nd:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/7/31/0477/64963
So maybe Lynn Daucher would be doing a FAVOR to her party by taking on Dirty Gary in the primary. Either that, or get used to Rep. Ron Shepston (D-Silverado). ; )
The theory may be crazy, but it is 100% plausible, and you know it. Your party is out of control – it needs a stern father figure at the helm, not a frat boy.
Art, it’s completely implausible. You are so far distant from the OC GOP you lack credibility in making such a prediction — or in your characterization of the state of the party. And if calling Scott Baugh names is the best argument you can muster…I think that speaks for itself.
Matt,
Looks like I struck a nerve! Must be close to the mark.
I like Scott Baugh by the way. He is a nice guy. But he has proven that he cannot herd the cats in his party.
There is NO WAY that Trung Nguyen should be allowed to run against Supervisor Nguyen. The Tran cabal should be put on notice that any attempt to do this will result in negative political repercussions for them.
There is precedent for this. Remember what you guys did to Spitzer when he was talking about running for OC District Attorney?
I think it’s great that Trung Nguyen is running for OC Supervisor. Hmmmm. Janet and Trung will split the Vietnamese vote; Claudia will promote her “She’s one of us” campaign and that leaves Joe Dunn to walk away with the election.
Poster 7,
Exactly. The Reeps are hurting themselves while the Dems laugh at their expense.
Poor Claudia Alvarez – looks like she will be out of politics altogether after this latest loss.
I do think that Supervisor Nguyen can prevail, but Trung and the Tran Cabal need to back off – or else risk handing the seat to Dunn.
As usual Art…you are seeing
20-20 and the rest are all wearing
bi-focals. Good, no, great article! We believe what you
say. We will wait patiently…..
and be the first to wave your
flag…when it all comes about.
Looks like I struck a nerve! Must be close to the mark.
In your dreams, Art.
You didn’t strike a nerve. You induced amazement at how wrong you can be. You can’t even back this absurd claim up. Dick Ackerman and Scott Baugh are close friends. Not in a million years would Dick try to muscle Scott aside.
This is just a manifestation of your weird obsession with Van Tran.
There is NO WAY that Trung Nguyen should be allowed to run against Supervisor Nguyen. The Tran cabal should be put on notice that any attempt to do this will result in negative political repercussions for them.
There is precedent for this. Remember what you guys did to Spitzer when he was talking about running for OC District Attorney?
Make up your mind, Art — do you want there to be a Machine or not? You can’t have it both ways.
Supervisor Nguyen is now part of a solid moderate majority on the Board, with fellow Supervisors Bill Campbell and Pat Bates.
I think that would be news to Campbell and Bates.
Matt,
Peggy Lowe made a similar comment – it is obvious that Bates, Campbell and Nguyen get along just fine. That is a good thing.
I saw Peggy’s comment. I’m sure they all get along. But that’s not the same thing as a “governing majority” and Campbell and Bates don’t consider themselves moderates.
Art- it is a free country and certainly the head of the OCGOP cannot dictate what someone else can or cant run for, or fight in court. The OCGOP is not the Mafia as much as you like to fantacize that it is.
Like Jubal said….Make up your mind, Art — do you want there to be a Machine or not? You can’t have it both ways.
Matt/Flowerszzz,
If you guys want your party to self-immolate, that is your problem. Trust me when I tell you that the Dems are laughing at the lot of you.
Meanwhile most new voters in the county are going DTS…I wonder why?
Typical Art — gets caught in a contradiction and when call on it, changes the subject.
Matt,
What are you talking about? I am not changing the subject. The continued Tran attack against Janet is the subject – your party leaders are stupid to allow this to continue. When you end up with a Democrat in the First District seat, go look in a mirror to see who is responsible…it is a miracle that anyone stays in your party!
Run, Lynn Daucher Run!
Even Republicans have said privately, they will support and vote for Lynn Daucher.
10 years of Gary Miller is ENOUGH.