MONDAY RECAP:
A few noteworthy actions took place in the Registrar of Voters’ race on Monday — but the most important story about the 2014 races took place elsewhere, at John Moorlach’s keyboard. He wrote a long letter to his mailing list — sometimes thoughtful, sometimes combative — conveying that he was dropping out of the CA-45 race against Mimi Walters, Greg Raths, and Drew Leavens. Because Moorlach had stopped short of his final declaration of candidacy and swearing in, he breaks no public oath in doing so. Because John Campbell remains an eligible incumbent, the race remains open for others to file by Wednesday at 5:00.
We’ll have more on Moorlach’s statement below, but first let’s review those two non-Moorlach developments. I’ll continue my numbering from Saturday’s post of the 25 biggest headlines from Friday at the ROV.
26. Harper joins Curry and Ali on the ballot in AD-74
Huntington Beach Mayor Matt Harper, having successfully avoided Friday’s long lines, completed his filing on Monday for the Assembly seat replacing Allan Mansoor, who is running for the 2nd Supe seat. Newport Beach Councilman Keith Curry and Democrat Anila Ali were already in the race. By the way, if Moorlach decided that he didn’t want to leave politics after all — this is where he’d likely land.
27. Mike Dalati files for Auditor-Controller
The County Auditor-Controller position, currently held by mid-term appointee (and therefore eligibile incumbent) Jan Grimes, is the only County position for which registration remains open — which means that a lot of the intrigue we saw on Friday will now focus on this usually low-profile post. James Benuzzi was the only candidate who had completed filing as of Friday. Frank Davies had been the only candidate who had completed all but the “Declaration of Candidacy” step; City of Orange Councilmember Eric Woolery (who has been making the strong substantive argument that he has the most money), had paid his fees; and John Willard had only filed his signatures-in-lieu. On Monday, Mike Dalati came in and ran the gamut from paying filing fee to submitting his declaration of intent and swearing in. (His name currently reads as “Mike ‘Mike’ Dalati,” which is certainly noticeable, but will presumably be fixed.
28. Steel and Young Kim face ballot designation battles
Ballot designations for Michelle Steel (hers is no longer visible, but as I recall it seemed comical) and Young Kim (who styles herself a “Small Businesswoman” — and is half right, in that she is small) are being challenged. (On the same topic: I am currently wrestling with the Registrar’s Office about my own designation; if I lose, I’ll be “Attorney/Business Owner,” which would be OK, but I’d rather highlight the area where I’m currently spending most of my effort: “Government Accountability Attorney,” which involves Brown Act/Open Meetings Act, Public Records Act, Political Reform Act, and some others. If Young Kim somehow wins her battle, I’m thinking of trying to change mine to “Portly Businessman.”)
29. The Moorlach recedes from public view
I disagree with John Moorlach about a lot of policy, while I find him a great ally (through Vern) on matters like the 405 Toll Roads issue, but one thing I’ve continually liked about him is that he’s a very good writer with a good sense of humor. (If you’re reading this, Supervisor, I just want to say: I really do think that you have the makings of an Orange Juice blogger when your term is done. Yes, you should aim that high!) So without further ado, here’s what a lot of people found in their inboxes yesterday:
MOORLACH CAMPAIGN UPDATE — It’s About Time — March 10, 2014
Posted on March 10, 2014 by John MoorlachAt the February 25th Board of Supervisors meeting, one of my colleagues, when considering the opportunity to serve on one more Board, explained how busy he already was. He cited the number of major issues being addressed on the numerous boards he sat on. He wondered aloud where in the day he could eke out the time required to participate on an additional board. He lamented that his plate was incredibly full and how stretched each Supervisor must be right now.
I do not believe he was complaining. He was just explaining that a County Supervisor’s days are completely full and that adding another commitment is not an easy thing to do. It’s about having the necessary time to be effective. After all, even the best delegator has to know when to say “no.”
I have run for elected office nine times. Running for Congress will be my tenth. I know how to campaign and what is involved. I consider myself an excellent time manager. But, I too am maxed out with the many components of this job of Supervisor.
Fortunately, I have been able to drop my involvement in two Commission Chair assignments (two involvements that I really enjoyed). But, my loyalty to the responsibility of my current job has made allocating major chunks of time to the campaign very difficult. I have made a fraction of the calls that I have wanted to, whether for asking for funds or for endorsements. If I called you, consider yourself fortunate. If I have not, rest in the knowledge that you are on the list.
The filing period closes on Wednesday and I find myself with two choices. The first is to file and continue to eke out time to campaign, including raising money, and hope that those efforts are successful. The second is to fold up the tent and drop out of the race.
I believe I am the best candidate for the 45th Congressional District. The polling shows that I’m in the lead. This is my race to lose. But, without satisfactory resources in the bank, I will find myself being hammered by negative mail on a weekly basis by one of the other candidates in the race. As she doesn’t have much of a record to boast upon, then going negative will have to be the only strategy left. And she hasn’t given any reason to think otherwise by the barbs that have been thrown my way to date.
I’m not afraid of negative mail. I endured plenty of it in my first run for County Supervisor from the independent expenditures made by local public employee unions and their brethren up and down the state. It’s not fun. But, you need to respond, as claims made by this one candidate in one recent e-mail were false and should deserve a response.
I’m also not a quitter. But, my family and I have given the County twenty years of our lives. The sacrifices made have been more than enough. Working long days every day of the week do have a way of wearing you down. I love the work and I love problem solving. I’ve had a ball as your County Treasurer and your Second District Supervisor. There have been plenty of problems to solve. The list of accomplishments I’ve been able to compile gives me great personal satisfaction of a job well done. It’s been about fiscal issues, and I’ve addressed most of them, some before they became ubiquitous.
We both know that our nation is headed in the wrong direction. The inability to balance annual budgets, the assumption that the federal government can run health care, the ever growing national debt, and municipalities choking to death on their pension commitments without leadership from Washington, D.C. are heartrending.
We are admonished by the Apostle Paul to run the race in order to win. Although I am spending numerous hours every day on the campaign, I am not allocating the amount of time needed to be a successful candidate. The job of a County Supervisor is just that time consuming. And my DNA will not allow me to neglect the responsibilities that I was elected to perform.
These past few months have been exhilarating. When someone says, “I wish there were more elected officials like you” or “you’ve got my vote,” it is most gratifying. One of the highest compliments I’ve received is that I’m well liked because I don’t “impose” on anyone. I have not imposed on you and others, and the campaign’s cash balance indicates it. Below is an article on the campaign from Womens ENews, showing the December 31st report totals.
Therefore, I’m letting the dream of serving in the United States Congress go. I will enjoy my final year as Supervisor and then return to the private sector; grateful for the opportunity to have served this wonderful County and its three million residents. I’ve been blessed. It’s about time I finish my tour of duty in public life. It’s about time I stop making my amazing wife endure countless hours of waiting for me to come home from the job. It’s about time I give myself some time.
Thank you for making the experiences over the past two decades so worthwhile and fulfilling. I deeply appreciate your support and encouragement! Thank you and God Bless you!
That article to which Moorlach alludes says this:
A California state legislator, Mimi Walters, will face two GOP challengers in the June 3 primary for the seat of Campbell, who emphasized decreasing earmarks and reducing government spending.
All three are fiscal conservatives. John Moorlach, an Orange County supervisor, sounded the alarm before Orange County went bankrupt in 1994. A retired marine colonel, Greg Raths’ website says he would be “open to curbing expensive weapons systems, like the F-35 fighter jet, a $137 million plane which is not performing.”
…
Walters ran for state treasurer in 2010 and gained name recognition. She also has the endorsements of two influential California Republicans–Rep. Darrell Issa, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Rep. Ed Royce, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
…
So far, Walters has the edge in fundraising. The Center for Responsive Politics reports that by the end of 2013, she had raised $623,760, Raths $132,729 and Moorlach $46,316.
In February, Walters was endorsed by the New Majority California PAC, the largest GOP PAC in the state. The Center for Responsive Politics reports that the PAC contributed $1,107,798 to candidates from 2006 to 2012.
That sort of funding discrepancy is a serious problem (although, um … I’ve seen worse.) But it’s that last paragraph, combined with the results of the recent CRA vote, that strikes me as possibly even more telling. And maybe some edict has come down from Republican Central that the party wants to burnish its image by including more women among its candidates. We certainly see it all over Orange County this year. It’s sort of a cynical ploy — but politics is one of the areas where, at least to practitioners, “cynical” is not a dirty word. And so, unless retired Col. Greg Raths catches fire or Democrat Drew Leavens can beat back the demographics, with the accountant out of the way Mimi Walters stands to become Congress’s replacement for retiring Michele Bachmann.
TUESDAY RECAP:
Pretty much nothing. Al Salehi is closer to running in CA-45. Some administrative items. Apparently if there will be any fireworks left, they will be tomorrow.
*Pappa John still has one more day…….are you sure Dr. Greg that “The Great One” is going to be stepping back into the shadow world along with our other favorite Chris Cox and back into the iginomenious Private Sector? Hey, Mimi is great and has grown into a fine figure of a woman politician. What can you say……with big issues to challenge with no reasonable reward in sight…….what would you do? John loves being the local gentry in Costa Mesa and will undoubtedly be able to help position new folks into the fray…if he chooses to. Maybe one of his kids…..heck, you never know.
Mimi is GREAT? What is great about Mimi, I hesitate to ask?
My insider-Republican facebook friends are predicting a battle royale for the open state senate seat once mimi is crowned the new Bachmann … between Scott Baugh and Don Wagner! That’ll be fun to see… although these OC Republicans do tend to have ways to avoid those bloodbaths so maybe my friends are wrong…
“Next Bachmann” though, come on … she doesn’t have the charisma, the chutzpah, or the pinwheel eyes. She’s just another boring hater.
You don’t know DC. They have teams of political surgeons there who can transplant in chutzpah and pinwheel eyes. Obviously, as you can tell from Bachmann, there are sometimes terrible side effects. We should want to spare poor Mimi such horrors.
Just talked to John. He has no political plans. He’s feeling liberated actually. He joked about blogging with us – I THINK he was joking? – and hanging out some time.
And it’s already on record that Michelle Steel is the LAST person he wants to see in his old seat.
I don’t see much combat in John’s letter, What I see is an awakening by him that being a County Supervisor who pays attention to detail is a killer job, and that people who covet higher political office tend to devote 24/7 to schmoozing, fund raising, and everything that comes with politics – including hiring mud-slinging consultants – and that in his view it is not worth it. He is right, and should be congratulated for having the guts to say it. Of course, this leaves us to wonder what kind of character flaw it is that drives the declared candidates to such depths to try and capture an office like this Congressional office.
Well said. My only quibble is that surely none of this could have been news to him.
Dunno. Between you, me, and the gatepost, That Old Moorlach is an odd mix of smart, dumb, and deluded.
Like us all? But bigger?
*Your answer is simple..sadly: Disney did a great job about the life of Davey Crockett…..from Killin a Bar’ to his last days at the Alamo. At one point in the series…..a whole bunch of male drunken rich folks are in a bar…….they yell out,
hey….we are going to be a state….who should we run? Heck, Davey would be perfect……..what do you say Davey……?” He probably had Kenny the Printer too!
Do I remember reading somewhere that Moorlach was a relentless supporter of the Orange County Sheriffs department and perhaps even Mike Carona?
He made lots of mistakes over the years, most of which he’s admitted to and pledged to learn from. I don’t remember if Carona was one of them. Chriss Street and John S Williams were.
My observation is it was usually falling for phonies who professed strong Christianity.
*Error…..it was in fact Dr. Moorlach that led the effort to indict…..and with relentless effort….made sure the heat never went away from Sheriff Mike.
yeah! thought so!