SHORT VERSION
Vern here. Greg obviously put a lot of thought and research into this guide, and on the races I’m familiar with I MOSTLY agree with him. And in the others I would CAUTIOUSLY trust his judgment. But I think for this to be a useful voters’ guide, I need to condense it up here first. Then if you want to know the reasoning behind these choices you can read the essay below. Let’s hear some input from our Republican and independent friends!
Also, now that I’ve seen how long and pointless even this condensed version is, I’m going to delete most of the PRIMARIES that have only two or less candidates, because it doesn’t matter how or even IF you vote on those in June. So, we give you the Orange Juice June 2014 Primary Voter’s Guide:
State Executive Offices
- Governor – the Governor! (Jerry Brown.)
- Lite Guv – who cares? Vern has no problem with Gavin; Greg does.
- Secretary of State – Derek Cressman. We’re talking June primary. He won’t make it thru, but he’s the best.
- Controller – Betty Yee for sure!
- Treasurer – John Chiang for sure!
- AG – We want Kamala of course, but Vern finds it amusing (and edifying) to help Orly Taitz make it to spot 2 in June.
- Insurance Commissioner – Dave Jones for sure!
- Superintendent of Public Instruction – Tom Torlakson.
- Our Board of Equalization Member – ANYONE BUT HARKEY! (Democrats should vote Shahatit; Republicans should vote Van Tran.)
Judicial Offices
- Office 14 – KC Jones for sure.
- Office 20 – Helen Hayden! (see comments below, this Daniel Lamb article, and Greg’s final conversion.
- Office 27 – Joanne Motoike for sure.
- Office 35 – Carmen Luege for sure!
County Offices
- Assessor – Jorge Lopez.
- Auditor-Controller – Frank Davies.
- Clerk-Recorder – Vern says Hugh Nguyen; Greg says Gary Pritchard, but has no problem with Hugh.
- DA – Greg Diamond for sure!
- Supervisor District 2 – Jim Moreno. Republicans and anti-labor people vote Mansoor. In short, ANYONE BUT STEEL.
- Supervisor District 4 – Shawn’ll win; but give underdog nice guy Rudy Gaona a vote to shake Shawn up a little!
- Supervisor District 5 – Lisa Bartlett.
- Board of Education District 2 – David Boyd for sure!
- Board of Education District 5 – Liz Dorn Parker for sure!
Congress
- CD 38 & 46 – Las Sanchez Sisters. Republicans, YOU pick your own sacrificial lambs.
- CD 45 – ANYONE BUT MIMI. Democrats vote Drew Leavens, Republican vote Greg Raths.
- CD 48 – ANYONE BUT DANA, as quixotic as that sounds. Republican Wendy Leece or Democrat Sue Savary.
State Senate
- SD 32 – Tony Mendoza.
- SD 34 – Jose Solorio. Or, if you’re a Republican, Long Pham. ANYONE BUT JANET.
- SD 36 – You got no choice. [UPDATE 5/30: WAIT! WAIT! There’s now a write-in candidate against Pat Bates! His name is GARY KEPHART! No, not “Garry Capart.” Not “Gray Kapheart.” Not “Gerry Capehurt,” either. No, “Gephardt” was someone else. Look, why don’t you go get something to write this down? We can wait. OK: ready? G-A-R-Y. “Gary.” One “r.” K-E-P- … wait a sec … um … H-A-R-T. We thought that there was a “D” in there, but Gary wrote in and says that there’s no “D.” Don’t worry, it will count either way, “D” or no “D.” Yes, I’m sure. He’ll be on the ballot in November, using the name “Not Pat Bates.”]
Assembly
- AD 55 – Gregg Fritchle.
- AD 72 – Joel Block.
- AD 73 – Wendy Gabriella.
- AD 74 – Greg likes Anila Ali, Vern likes Emanuel Patrascu; but Huntington Beach wants you to vote for Matt Harper so they can replace him on City Council. (Greg: Do not give in to Surf City selfishness!)
Yes on both Propositions 41 and 42!
NO on Orange County Measure A! (see comments below)
And Anaheim, No on measure D, another kleptocrat attempt to chip away at the Mayor’s strength and independence! (Vern’s addition).
Also in Anaheim (this from Greg): NO on MEASURE C — because in a package of otherwise unobjectionable technical reforms they’re trying to sneak through a proposal to combine the positions of City Treasurer (who protects city money) and City Finance Director (who plans how to spend it) into one job — and that would make corruption more likely by watering down the Treasurer’s watchdog function. AND IF YOU CAN’T UNDERSTAND A CHARTER REVISION PROPOSAL, VOTE “NO”!
OK, LONG VERSION. By Greg.
CA-45 candidates Greg Raths and Drew Leavens would offer voters a cordial, honorable, and issue-based campaign in November — if they can only both make it past Schemin’ Mimi Walters!
Now that (barring a successful appeal) I’m no longer a Vice-Chair of the Democratic Party of Orange County, I’m able to give ballot recommendations that include people other than endorsed Democrats. I’m still a Democrat, though, so don’t expect me to go wild. So let’s go! (I’m not going to dwell on the “one-on-one” contests like AD-65, AD-69, and CA-39 where both candidates will definitely go on to November.)
State Executive Offices
Governor: I’ll vote for Jerry Brown. He can be frustrating, but he did pretty much save the state by supporting Prop 30 and eliminating Redevelopment. Some other Democrats want to intervene in the Republican’s Governor’s race by supporting either Tim Donnelly or Neel Kashkari. I don’t feel like doing that. For those intent on supporting a lefty third party, I prefer Luis J. Rodriguez rather than Cindy Sheehan. Libertarians will do what they want to, no matter what I say.
Lt. Gov.: Given the number of excellent (but likely to be less well-funded) alternatives without my party, I don’t want “Business Democrat” Gavin Newsom to run for Governor — ever. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that I will vote for the other Democrat running, Eric Korevaar. I’ll have to read that link!
Secretary of State: Moderate Alex Padilla will probably be the only Democrat in the runoff, facing either Republican Pete Peterson or once-and-covertly-still-Republican Dan Schnur. I’ll vote for Padilla in November; for now, I’m happy with Democratic good-government reformer Derek Cressman.
Controller: Everyone, from whatever party or no party, should support grassroots hero Betty Yee. I’ll support John Perez in a runoff against Ashley Swearingen, if it comes to that, but I hope that it doesn’t. Betty needs your votes! ALL of your votes!
Treasurer: Current Controller John Chiang is one of the bravest and best Democrats that we have in state Government. Of course I’ll support him — and that reminds me, I need to read about Eric Korevaar.
Attorney General: Orange County, with its Democratic Party leadership diffident about her campaign (and perhaps even supportive of the Republican candidate, Steve Cooley) almost caused Kamala Harris to lose her race four years ago — luckily, she won. She’ll be re-elected easily. (I should definitely read up on Eric Kolevaar!) If, unlike me, you’re not a Harris fan, you’re pretty much screwed. Orly Taitz is the biggest name on the ballot against her, running as an independent. (Expect some Democrats to support her as a means of making the Republican Party whence she comes look bad.) Republicans completely failed to recruit a decent opponent, running one has-been and three never-weres, enough to split the vote and let someone like Orly or even Libertarian Jonathan Jaech make the runoff. Having Jaech make the race would be an interesting twist.
Insurance Commissioner: Incumbent Dave Jones is another Democrat who is about as good as they get — and another reason to look at Eric Kolevaar. He deserves unequivocal support.
Superintendent of Public Instruction: I know that Tom Torlakson doesn’t appeal to the “destroy universal public education” crowd, but I think highly of him.
State Board of Equalization, 4th District: I’ll vote for the only Democrat, Nader Shahatit from the Inland Empire. If I were a Republican, I’d vote for whoever could beat out ethical calamity Diane Harkey. Apparently, that’s most likely to be Van Tran. I might hate myself for voting for him — but I’d do it.
Judicial Offices
Office 14: This is the race with four contestants: Fred Fascenelli, Kevin Haskins, K.C. Jones, and Thomas Martin. If Martin is still actively campaigning, I haven’t seen it. I’ve appeared on one panel with everyone else; two with Jones. Haskins, the Republican party endorsed candidate who works for (and seems to reflect) Rackauckas, seems to be the front-runner, but Jones, who has the Labor Fed endorsement, seems like a strong candidate as well — and showed impressive credentials and values. My guess is that those two go into a November runoff — where Jones will have a serious shot. Fascinelli seems similar to Haskins — and I’d think will probably earn enough support to deny Haskins 50%, but not enough to overtake Jones, who will have my vote. All, so far as I know, are Republicans.
Office 20: This is the race between Judge Derek Johnson and Helen Hayden, who is among other things the wife of the man who ran against Loretta Sanchez in 2012. Johnson has the support of somewhere verging on all incumbent judges, who don’t like challenges from usurpers; Hayden, among other things, has the KFI Talk Radio vote, where she has aired blistering ads about Johnson’s character. Hayden is a very pleasant woman in person, and while she makes a plausible cases that she’s not too light in the resume to ascend to the bench, it’s a serious question in my mind. With Johnson, the overriding issue is off-the-cuff remarks that he made in a rape case, where he characterized the rape at issue before him as not as serious as one in which one would see vaginal bruising and tearing, suggesting some retrograde attitudes about resistance — venturing into Todd Akin “the body has ways” territory. He knew that this was a blunder almost immediately — but that’s not enough for many of us. I’m very torn here because I’m likely to be more favorable to Johnson’s (other) decisions than Hayden’s, but I don’t know that I can cast my vote for him. The Democratic Party did not endorse him, so I have plenty of company there.
Office 27: This is “every cloud has a silver lining” territory. Newly appointed Judge Joanne Motoike must have been unnerved when she found that she had an opponent, Wayne Phillips, in this race. So she has had to go out and campaign — and is probably the single most impressive candidate I’ve seen: wonderful background, temperament, intelligence, and communication skills. Phillips hasn’t been seen around, and even the Register endorsed her, despite her being a registered Democrat. So for the price of a challenge, she has gained widespread respect. If for some reason she loses, it will be a terrible commentary on Orange County voters., because there’s no reason I can see not to support her. I’ll vote for her this year and if I win my election and wants my seat in 2018, I just might have to give in to her.
Office 35: This is a face-off between Jeff Ferguson, another OCGOP-endorsed Rackauckasian from the OCDA’s office, and Carmen Luege, an OC Register-endorsed Commissioner (sort of like a “junior judge”) who has widespread support from the sitting judiciary based on her skills. Both are Republicans. Ferguson is advertising all over the blogosphere and, I learned this week, at gun shows; I had presumed that he must be a lock. I’ve since heard that lots and lots of people really love Luege because she’s already shown a great judicial temperament on the bench — so when I vote for her it looks like I may be supporting a winner.
County Offices
Only four countywide seats have competitive races. Supervisor seats 2, 4, and 5 and County Board of Education seats 2 and 5 are up as well. Your Sheriff (Sandra Hutchens), Treasurer (Shari Friedenrich), and County Superintendent of Schools (Al Mijares) are already set.
Assessor: Four years ago longtime incumbent Webster Guillory edged out former Board of Equalization member Claude Parrish to stay in his role. This race is a rematch — with a twist. A third candidate, longtime Assessor’s Office manager Jorge Lopez — he’s OK with your pronouncing it “George” — is in the race, and is by far the best equipped to run the office. He’s a reformer who has the distinction of being shown the door a few years ago because he blew the whistle on improper and unfair office practices that cost the taxpayers dearly — and the OCDA’s office kindly looked the other way. Parrish has the Republican Party endorsement, and as he doesn’t seem like obvious Assessor material is probably expected to just make sure that the wealthy property owners in the county never have to pay their fair share. But some Republicans seem to hate Parrish, which is why Denis Bilodeau was floated as a candidate against Parrish in the last week until Guillory agreed to run again at the last minute. By supporting the vigorous, experienced , and non-ideological Lopez, people can avoid whatever drama is going on among the bull elephants. He is the endorsed Democratic candidate, but was endorsed — after I made a stink about his being overlooked — on the basis of competence rather than ideological slant. Lopez will simply, respectfully, and quietly do a great job.
Auditor-Controller: Four Republicans (so far as I can tell) face off against Mike Dalati, who says he’s a Democrat but whom Democrats don’t believe is one, which is why he didn’t get the Democratic endorsement. (In fact, he didn’t even get a chance to deny that he was not a Democrat, which I thought was harsh. Like his fiancee, Assembly candidate Karina Onofre, he seems to be part of the “Art Pedroza slate,” which seeks to place conservative, mostly Republican, Latinos in office wherever possible and even when impossible.) Dalati seems affable, but didn’t list much in the way of qualifications. The establishment GOP Candidate, for those of you who think that Orange County is currently run well, is Eric Woolery. He has gobs of money, on top of the party endorsement, and will either win outright or make the runoff. Of the remaining ones, John Wayne Willard appears not to be active. That leaves Frank Davies — like Jorge Lopez, he’s a guy who has spent about three decades of his career in the office, but in this case also has the endorsement of the technocratic caretaker appointee Jan Grimes — and James Benuzzi, who impressed me when we were on a panel together but doesn’t seem to have as strong of a resume for the job. I could see myself voting for either, but am leaning towards the apolitical technocrat Davies. I’d support either of them or Dalati over Woolery in November, because if the Republican power structure prefers Woolery over Davies, it’s likely to be for a reason that would bother me greatly if I knew it.
Clerk-Recorder: The incumbent, Republican-endorsed Hugh Nguyen, seems to have done a decent job. His Democratic-endorsed opponent, Capistrano School Bopard member Gary Pritchard, is one of the good guys in our party — and would probably also do a decent job. I’ll support Pritchard, but won’t wail if Nguyen wins — and isn’t it nice to have at least one race like that this year? Monica Maddox, wife of Ken — and both have at times been Lopezes as well — is also running, as is Steve Rocco. I think that Maddox takes enough votes from Nguyen to force, but not herself make, a runoff.
District Attorney-Public Administrator: I recommend voting for me. (You were in suspense, right?) I’m the one who’s done more to oppose public corruption over the past year as a volunteer and in my private practice than my opponent has in 16 years of getting overpaid in public office.
Supervisor District 2: I’d vote for Jim Moreno. He has good values and he knows his stuff. If I were a Republican, I would not vote for Michelle Steel from the Palisades (or wherever), just giving even more power to her husband Shawn. Of the other two, I know Joe Carchio a little better, but at this point I’m sort of interested in knowing what Allan Mansoor would be like if he didn’t owe anybody. Other people will have to tell you which of them has a better shot of beating Steel.
Supervisor District 4: I’ll vote for Rudy Gaona. I’ve long considered Shawn Nelson pretty bearable, but he seems to have been headed in an unpleasant direction, from party dissident to party stalwart. His stupid and gratuitous abstention on the Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery — now being smothered by Irvine Mayor Steven Choi (a story I’ll tell later) — on the grounds that it was not the County’s business (and besides, we don’t want Sharon Quirk-Silva to get credit for it) was a turning point for me. Gaona’s a veteran, pro-cemetery, and a bright and decent guy. He’d be a boon to the Board — and Nelson might be improved by a little smackdown to remind him that it’s not so good to be a typical politician.
Supervisor District 5: An interesting race from a Democratic perspective — four candidates, all Republican. I had expected to support Deputy DA Joe Williams, who doesn’t seem to have a chance, but as I’ve watched the Republicans fight I’ve decided that I actually do have a horse in this tight three-person race — not as a matter of ideology, but as a matter of who I think has been treated most unfairly. The nasty things said about frontrunners Robert Ming and Frank Ury by each others’ partisans seem, so far as I can tell, to be true. The charges made against frontrunner Lisa Bartlett, by contrast, seem to be pretty sketchy. Her answers to the smear over the Transportation Corridor Agency contract “scandal” seemed fair. I know that this district is going to be represented by a Republican conservative, but maybe it’s better that that be someone who has been slammed and smeared unfairly by their own party. It may lead to a more independent set of eyes on the Board — and that would be good for the county. So, tentatively, I’m rooting for Bartlett rather than Williams.
OC Board of Education District 2: First, you need to get the lay of the land: for years, the OC Board of Education has been led by a moderate Republican-leaning coalition including Dr. John Bedell (District 4), Long Pham (District 1) and the two people up for office this year: Liz Parker, who is discussed below, and David Boyd, the incumbent in this seat. They did a competent, “adults in the room” type job and did not often make the headlines, which is good. But some people wanted a more radically activist and religious — and if you think we’re getting into “science vs. religion in textbooks territory, you’re right — conservative Republican Board. Then, in 2012, the moderate candidate in District 3 died, and radical conservative Ken Williams Jr. took office. Then, in District 1, radical conservative Robert Hammond got shunted by the party into the race against Long Pham. He likely would have lost that race except that Art Pedroza decided to run against him, bringing in Eleazar Elizondo to split Pedroza’s Latino vote, because he did not want Pedroza elected. In the resulting vote splitting, Hammond was elected — and he and Williams have been in a 3-2 minority on important issues related to moderate and competent education versus extreme and ideological education. Tom Pollitt wants to be the third vote in that coalition (or, see below, the fourth.) That’s why it is very very important that if you live in the Second District, you vote for David Boyd. We want competence from our County school board, not headlines about their bringing lawsuits and such.
OC Board of Education District 5: Read the above paragraph on District 2 for background on the OC Board of Ed — but this race would be interesting even without it. It pits moderate, competence-oriented, Republican Liz Dorn Parker against Laguna Niguel Mayor looking for a new gig Linda Lindholm — who happens to be the wife of the Chair of the conservative activist Lincoln Club. Despite having a perfectly good 30-year incumbent from their party running, the OCGOP has gone bonkers in its advocacy for Lindholm. With Lindholm as the third vote in the coalition, the board can move towards automatic (rather than sensible and merit-based) approval of charter schools proposals — the OCBE mostly gets proposals that have already been rejected on the merits by individual cities, so it’s not anti-charter so much as anti-bad-proposal — and a swerve towards anti-science activism. And as if that’s not enough, they would love to be able to litigate matters such as exempting OC from Common Core — which, however you feel about those standards on their own or versus No Child Left Behind — is an extremely expensive proposition for which most people don’t even realize they may be voting! You know those races that you look back years later and ask “how the hell did we let that happen?” This is one of those races. If you don’t want expensive bills for quixotic extremist quests, go all of the way down the ballot and vote for Liz Dorn Parker.
Partisan Races
Congressional District 38: Linda Sanchez is running against some Republicans who won’t beat her, no matter which one La Palma voters choose.
Congressional District 39: Ed Royce vs. Pete Anderson race in November, no matter what.
Congressional District 45: The race to replace John Campbell has a clear front-runner — the “ought to be convicted of perjury right along with fellow State Senator Rod Wright” party darling Mimi Walters — and two candidates who are much more worthy of consideration in November: Democrat Drew Leavens and Republican Col. Greg Raths. I’ve seen these guys interact several times — and while I agree more with Leavens I have a lot of respect for Rath’s thoughtfulness and ethical posture. So, here’s what I propose: decide whether you lean more Democratic or more Republican, regardless of whether you belong to a party, and if it’s Democratic then vote for Leavens and if it’s Republican than vote for Raths. This is a race for second place, so if you care about such things you should probably take part in that race even if you actually favor Walters. Surely she can spare the votes, right? And if so many people do that that she somehow finishes out of the Top Two — well, these two guys will put on a high-minded, respectful, and interesting campaign of ideological contrast, and best of all you won’t have a morally compromised member of Congress.
Congressional District 46: Loretta Sanchez will win re-election, but who will be added to the pile of the vanquished? It’s up to you, Republicans, but I’d recommend that if you don’t vote for Loretta, you vote for Ehab Atalla. (Out of fairness, I should note that Atalla is a Democrat.) Between Adam Nick, John Cullum, and Carlos Vasquez — Vasquez is running ads on Pedroza’s site, so make your decision that way.
Congressional District 47: Alan Lowenthal has done a great job and would have my vote. One of the Republicans running is his 2012 opponent Gary DeLong and the other is a libertarian guy whose name I don’t recall. If you’re not supporting Lowenthal, vote for the one who isn’t DeLong.
Congressional District 48: Dana Rohrabacher should be ousted so that coastal OC can begin its process of recovery from having him represent it on a national stage. I’m presuming that Republicans won’t vote for a Democrat, no matter how much I whine, so I’d suggest that they (and like-leaning independents) vote for Wendy Leece, who is conservative but is good-government oriented, fundamentally sane, and has been brave enough to stand up to Costa Mesa’s anti-government vandals. If you are a Democrat, or willing to vote like one, I hope that you will vote for the Democratic Party endorsed candidate, Suzanne Savary. Her opponent Robert Banuelos seems decent as well, but she won’t likely make it if the vote is split. A Leece vs. Savary race in November would assure competent representation and, as in CA-45, would allow for a high-minded campaign about issues. The central coast could, I’m sure, get used to that.
Congressional District 49: Darrell Issa vs. David Peiser is set for November.
32nd State Senate District: I like Tony Mendoza to replace Senator Ron Calderon; others prefer Sally Havice. I don’t know much about Carlos Arvizu, and Irella Perez. The sole Republican is , Mario Guerra. So, central Buena Park — good luck and let us know how it turns out.
34th State Senate District: I’m no big fan of former Assemblyman Jose Solorio, but he’s the only Dem on the ballot, and he’s a good vote on most issues and now knows that we’ll be watching him on every committee vote, and it maintains the Dem supermajority, so that’s how I’d vote. Vern would apparently prefer that everyone wants those who don’t like Jose to vote for Long Pham, see his comment below, with which I expect Jose would agree, largely on the grounds that he is not Republican Supervisor Janet Nguyen. I’ve actually thought that Janet was reasonably tolerable in the past — but the Cal-Optima scandal (and the current DA’s whitewash of it) leave me hoping that she doesn’t make the runoff.
36th State Senate District: Pat Bates is running unopposed on the ballot, but some guy in San Diego is supposedly running a write-in campaign, so she’ll have an opponent in November no matter what you do. If you’d prefer to run you’re own write-in campaign as well, contact the Registrar of Voters for more info. [Update: And Kerry Gephardt — no, sorry, that’s Gary Kephart — did so! You can write in his name!]
55th Assembly District: I will proudly be voting for Gregg Fritchle, and I hope that you do as well. He’s a good, honest, and smart guy — even if he looks and acts like an exaggerated version of me, something that most of you can’t likely even imagine. The race is on the Republican side, between Philip Chen, Ling-Ling Chang, and Steve Tye. I’ve gotten push polls from I think both the Chen and Chang campaigns, which is enough to lead me to recommend that people not sufficiently perspicacious to vote for Fritchle should instead vote for Tye. I do not like push polls. I don’t like Tye either, but at least his name could lead to some funny puns in headlines. Seriously, do whatever you want.
65th Assembly District: Sharon Quirk-Silva vs. Young “The Bigoted Buttkicker” Kim is set for November.
68th Assembly District: Don Wagner vs. Anne “The Non-Bigoted Non-Buttkicker” Cameron is set for November. (Seriously, I’d like to see Cameron debate Young Kim, to make her feel some shame.)
69th Assembly District: Tom Daly vs. Cecilia Iglesias is set for November. [Update: OK, not quite. There’s a third candidate, Sherry Walker, who somehow failed to make an impression on me. So, given all the hype about Iglesias, let’s make that “almost set.” Right, Ceci?]
72nd Assembly District: Travis Allen faces endorsed Democratic candidate Joel Block and last cycle’s last-place finisher, perennial candidate and nominal Democrat Albert Ayala. Vote for Block. And it’s important that you do, because some Allen supporting pranksters may vote for Ayala just to deny Allen a real competitor in November.
73rd Assembly District: I am 100% without reservation for moderate Democrat Wendy Gabriella (and not simply because my daughter serves as her campaign Treasurer.) She’s well-matched to the district and is intelligent and principled enough to do a great job — until she likely got knocked off in 2016 if the Republican Party can nominate someone reasonable. Unfortunately for the Republicans, “regular” conservatives Anna Bryson and Bill Brough (who loses points for being Diane Harkey’s Chief of Staff) and semi-regular conservative Paul Glaab (who loses points for doing an atrocious job of Chairing the OCTA two years ago) are likely going to split the “not entirely crazy Republican” vote, giving the spot against Gabriella to former violent convicted felon (whose record has now been expunged) Rancho Santa Margarita Councilman Jesse Petrilla who has the honor of actually being too violent and extreme even for South OC. I think that Petrilla wins — and then , believe it or not, loses to Gabriella in November. Republicans can handle two years of a moderate, fiscally conservative Democrat while they pick one — only one — non-insane Republican to run against her in 2016. But if young excitable boy Mr. Petrilla gets in, he’s going to be there for 12 long years — and the Republican Party will be paying and paying and paying for the error of not clearing the field for either Bryson or Brough. I won’t actually endorse Petrilla here — he’d be the worst of the lot in Sacramento, and “worse than Glaab” is a strong statement — but if he wins I’ll be giving Gabriella a congratulatory phone call. So: vote your conscience, if you have one!
74th Assembly District: On the Republican side, my sense is that the general expectation seems to be that Keith Curry is leading, Emanuel Patrascu is next (with support from more fringy types, but not in a frightening “Jess Petrilla-like” way), and Matt Harper is running a distant third, which surprises me if so. The Democratic-endorsed candidate, Anila Ali, would easily be able to make the runoff were it not for the presence on the ballot of recent transplant from the Republican Party Karina Onofre. I have publicly wondered whether Onofre, another from the “Pedroza slate,” was simply in the race to take enough votes away from Ali that Patrascu would make the runoff. Having now met and spoken to her a few times, I think that she is sincerely offended by Republican positions on Latinos — and by the Republican interest in her only because she is a Latina whose presence offers them some political cover. So while I would still vote for Ali — Onofre is simply too conservative for my taste, regardless of party — it is without rancor. And if Republican women want to support her, and possibly set up an Onofre-Ali runoff (don’t bet on this outcome), great! The only other recommendation I have for Republican voters is: not Harper. Please, not Harper.
Proposition 41: Yes for veterans’ housing!
Proposition 42: My party says yes, but I can’t really figure it out.
Measure A: Vern says to vote “no.”
Happy voting!
You got me wrong, I’m not voting for Long Pham, I’m supporting Jose. I just read in the Register that the more traction he gets the more Janet and her GOP backers have to spend unnecessarily, and also that he intended to spend I think $200 K in the race, so I thought we ought to have some of it for an ad. Any republicans reading our blog (or anyone who doesn’t like Jose) SHOULD vote for Long over Janet, she is as Zenger has said “the biggest menace to good governance in this County.”
(Which could also be a reason to kick her up to the Senate so we can be rid of her on the 5th floor, but I don’t subscribe to that.)
I don’t know any Dems that are voting for Tim Donnelly. Both Republican candidates are equal disasters in different ways, it’s just fun to watch. On the other hand, you know I’m thinking of voting Orly in June … for more fun to watch. It’s a little different. I guess it’s that … the fun is watching the GOP tying themselves up in knots over Donnelly and the other guy whereas Orly would keep Republicans out.
I should mention that all the Republicans I know, even ones who WERE Donnelly supporters, are very upset with his bringing up Sharia Law in the context of his Hindu opponent. (Hi Allan)
I should say that all my Huntington Beach Democrat (and moderate Republican) friends would really really like to see Matt Harper make the runoff – whether he wins in November or not – because then he would have to leave the city council and be replaced by someone … who’s not Matt Harper. Selfish Huntington Beach people.
Corrections made — deletions in red, additions in blue.
I do know Democrats who have talked about voting for either Kashkari or Donnelly, depending on their feelings about Donnelly. Yes, the Sharia law thing was awful.
I don’t think that Matt Harper has to leave the City Council if he makes the runoff; Sharon, for example, didn’t in 2012. But, basically — don’t be selfish, Surf Citians!
Yes, Matt would have to choose between running for assembly or council, if he makes the June primary for assembly. His 4-year council term is up. Confirmed by HB attorney.
…” she is as Zenger has said “the biggest menace to good governance in this County.”
(Which could also be a reason to kick her up to the Senate so we can be rid of her on the 5th floor, but I don’t subscribe to that.)……”
Absurd! That’s like peeing FURTHER upstream in the river, because you can taste it when drinking nearby! When did “out of Government” get dropped as a trajectory? Did I miss something?
Well, what you missed is that there’s really not much damage a Republican like Janet can do in Democrat-dominated Sacramento.
But then, if she does beat Jose, that would probably signify the end of the Democrat supermajority in the Senate, which I as a Democrat (at heart) wouldn’t want to see.
Overriding all that, the crooked termagant doesn’t DESERVE to be a Senator.
It was only a thought.
In Sacramento she can only do the ol’ shakedown routine and follow toe the party line.
However, she will be poised to COME BACK to the County and try to do more damage. I’m starting to thing the best thing is for her to get termed out and then really have to get to the back of the line.
Nguyen was never tolerable. I know. One of her first acts was to put an utterly incompetent crony on the County Planning Commission.
If she wins the State Senate race, she runs against Al Lowenthal in 2016. That’s “doing damage.”
“Overriding all that, the crooked termagant doesn’t DESERVE to be a Senator.” Vern
I understand that the Supervisor has not been indicted. Tried, or Convicted of any crimes, unlike a growing number of democrats in office.
Always the partisan. Many of those pointing the finger at her are Republicans.
And her biggest apologists were, until very recently, The Liberal OC and OCEA.
Greg you didn’t say anything about the guy in 3rd place in the poles for Governor Glen
Champ (R). I know your running for DA and mentioning a convicted sex offender doing
so well running for governor is disturbing and counter to what any DA would consider as
good news.
I honestly don’t know what to say about that guy. I presume that he’ll lose and I presume that our readers won’t want to support him.
You are right on both counts Greg, but the guy is one of those Bee like
personalities that just doesn’t get it he’s not suppose to fly!
I am cracking up at how many times you mentioned me in this post! Do I really warrant so much love from you?
BMW I endorsed Patrascu not Onofre but I do encourage Democrats to vote for Onofre instead of the Agran is taking Ali.
Lastly Pham vacated his BOE seat when I ran for it. As much as I also dislike Hammond, the other guy was far too liberal and I’m glad he lost. I got 10,000 votes in that race without spending a dime.
So what you’re saying is that you got most of what you wanted out of the result of the DOE race: Pham out, and Hammond rather than Elizondo.
Your position as a “conservative and economic libertarian anti-union Latino” promoter is well-known and well displayed on your page, including the (presumably comped, or else likely really cheap) ads. It’s a position that few others take, so I give you credit for your association with it. (If the candidates consider it a damning association, that’s not my fault.) It’s not “love” for you; it’s giving you the credit (or blame) that you want and deserve.
Convincing Democrats (but not Republicans?) to vote for Onofre is part and parcel with your support for Patrescu, because Patrescu needs to make it past Ali and only Onofre’s success can accomplish that. That’s why I initially believed that Onofre was being cynically used as a guided missile at the Ali campaign. I now believe that that is what you intended, but that she seems pretty sincere about her running to win. You should be careful, though; she says that she doesn’t like being used on account of her race — as you’re doing.
is there an election coming up and, if so, does it really matter
You’ll have to confirm that information with the Registrar of Voters, which I think is listed in the phone book under “Chick-Fil-A.” They may try to deny that they’re the Registrar of Voters, but don’t let them get away with it.
(Note: “mike” and I both know that we’re kidding here.)
Perhaps for another column, (or more) but is there anything in the wind about candidate forums, so the 2012 epidemic of forum cancellations in Anaheim does not repeat itself? Yes, I know of a few conducted already across OC, perhaps not all of them – an idea for a web page? or already done by someone?
I haven’t head of any non-partisan ones. June elections get less attention.
Anila Ali should worry about loading her brain before firing her tounge and less about Karina Onofre. Bad pick on that one. Not surprising though.
One non-conservative out of five? Yes, I presume that my picking her isn’t surprising. I have a lot more respect for her brain than you seem to, though — which is also not surprising.
I was taught respect is EARNED. Not given.
Who cares if they are conservative, liberal, black white, jew, muslim, gay or straight.
Let’s begin to look beyond these PHONY PARTY facades.
Vote for the best CANDIDATE!
Does Tom Tait ring a bell.
I’ve heard her speak; I’ve discussed politics with her privately; I know what she’s done for other candidates. Yes, she has earned my respect — it’s strange to me that you think that it would be otherwise.
*Dr. Greg, wonderful work sir. Good read on the various races. Hopefully you got the Republican endorsement list. As you know, we are offering full endorsement to the following: Downtown Jerry Brown, Gavin Newsome, Duncan Hunter Jr., Ed Royce and Kamela Harris. As far as local races are concerned……pretty amazing really. We are probably going with Michelle Steel….since our good bud Joe Carchio hasn’t set up a web site yet. We too love Wendy, but her 13% will not beat Dana. Keith Curry is going to slide in by a narrow margin – as proscribed by the system engineers. The main thing however is: what a great job you did making the various reads. P.S. Johnny Manziel went to the Cleveland Browns…..thank God! But Poor Cleveland!
Thank you, sir! Your picks are as eclectic as always.
You really pick Leece at 13%? I’d think that she’d do better than that. What does the campaign look on the ground there?
We’ll never agree about Royce, but we’ll always agree about Manziel.
*Interestingly, have not seen any signs for either one. Leece or Rhorabacher. One thing is sure, Dana is tailoring his campaign more toward the center than he ever has. We believe he really wants to stay in office and therefore is leaning to the center. We haven’t seen the rabid rhetoric of the past and don’t forget Rhonda is cute as a button. Wendy is not using the “Crazy Dana” card and unless she does….she may not get all those outraged voters she needs to really challenge hard. We will see. Obviously, we wish her well optimistically.
This goes out to both of you.
You should be EMBARRASSED about Judicial Office 20.
http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2012/12/that-magic-vagina-1/
Helen Hayden. Period.
Voting for the other guy is the vote of a coward. You two should know better than to tolerate that kind of misogyny as “off the cuff” or whatever other half assed excuse you find palatable. That statement should have cost him his seat on the bench.
We cannot, in good conscience, ELECT him to serve the community when he blames rape victims for being raped. Shame on both of you. This is simple.
Kring made an “off the cuff” comment too. And she rightly drew a hail of scorn for it.
People don’t make these sorts of comments unless they mean them. Or perhaps are somehow dangerously medicated. Saying “sorry” doesn’t seem to count for much.
Ryan and David,
Derek Johnson “rightly has drawn a hail of scorn” for his remark as well. And yet, I was surprised to be the only person to confront him about the remark at a recent forum. And I didn’t hear any “sorry” or “off the cuff,” for what that’s worth.
What I heard was this was at a sentencing hearing, where it had already been determined that the rapist was guilty, and Johnson had to decide between the longest possible sentencing, the second longest, and the third longest. And he was explaining his reasoning in giving the SECOND longest – four years I think – instead of longest. That sort of made sense of it, although it was tasteless how he explained his reasoning.
Still I didn’t like Johnson. He seemed furious at me for even bringing it up. I had to drag the above out of him, his first answer was “this was at a sentencing hearing, and that’s all you need to know about that.” He seemed throughout the whole event like a man of pent-up anger, and I wouldn’t want to face him on the bench.
But vote for Helen Hayden, as a protest vote? I don’t know anything about her. She didn’t show up. I may do that if I learn more about her. I know I’m not voting for Johnson.
I enthusiastically endorse those other three, Jones, Motoike, and Luege. Especially Luege who was charismatic and good-humored and has a philosophy that it’s important to explain complex legal issues in a way that regular folks can understand.
Ryan, you’re part of the Orange Juice too, so I’ll put your “Helen Hayden” into the guide. And I’ll clarify mine as “NOT Derek Johnson” in the tradition of “Anyone but Mimi” and “Anyone but Janet.”
And I’ll try to find out something about Helen Hayden.
Thanks for that. So Johnson is not only a pig he is also an arrogant asshole.
Vern,
He selected a sentence for a felon based upon his view of the victim’s effort to resist.
That. Is. HORRIBLE.
It doesn’t make sense. I doesn’t “sorta” make sense. It makes no sense and is an embarrassment to this county, the legal system, and to men everywhere.
He’s completely lost the moral authority to sentence rapists. Why, why, why, why, why would we chose to elect a judge who can’t sit as a judge for a particularly violent crime? What are we going to do? Have him work traffic court for the rest of his tenure?
He doesn’t belong on the bench. It’s not a protest vote; it’s a moral vote.
Apart from looking at Helen, which I’ll do…
I’m not gonna be backed into being Johnson’s defender here, but isn’t there a reason there are three levels of sentencing for rape? What criteria should a judge maybe look at when deciding which level to use?
Any women want to weigh in?
NOT RELEVANT.
“I’m not gonna be backed into being Johnson’s defender here”
Vern, you backed yourself into that corner. Time to come out.
Okay, you guys got me thinking about this, all day, and I guess that no matter how bad (almost) Helen is, it’s the only way we citizens have to remove Derek. And it would be justice to have him beat by a woman.
So I’m switching to Helen, and adding Daniel Lamb who’s one of us now and I just remembered wrote a piece last week praising her.
Uncle! Done.
So nobody here is a ‘Festivus’ observer, then? lol.
Hey, I’m looking at my ballot and there’s a County of Orange Measure A that we haven’t addressed. Should Elected officials be Required to Pay their Own Pensions? What do we all think about that?
I’m inclined against making public office only viable for the wealthy or the stealthy. Meaning inclined to NO. But then I’m a Democrat (at heart) so that’s to be expected. What say the rest of you?
This is just more cheap grandstanding by Nguyen and Spitzer. The employee’s pension share is pretty small which is what we’re talking about here – NOT the whole enchillada.
OCEA members are already paying it.
Then since Ryan said something similarly negative about it to me last night, and in the absence of an opinion from Greg, I’ll put up NO on A.
Vern, absolutely the elected officials should pay for their pensions. The taxpayer has to fund theirs. As I have stated in an earlier post, Irvine which is facing at least $91 million in unfunded pensions. And most recently revealed to me by the IUSD, a $50 million dollar deficit in unfunded pension liabilities. This has to be resolved now not later, it continues to grow every year.
You and Greg’s analyses have clearly outlined the elections pretty well, however, I would like to see Tim Donnelly, Greg Raths, Karina Onofre, Robert Hammond, and Greg to name a few successes and a few new faces.
Cecilia Iglesia, she comes across as a well seasoned candidate, however, she has too many endorsements. When a candidate seems to have so many endorsements it appears they have been bought and paid for as a talking head for the people that have endorsed them, a paid representative.
Karina is interesting she was on my side of the aisle but then moved over to the other side. When we spoke I understood why, it is for the same reason that I have had with my team. “THEY EAT THEIR OWN”, for that reason she was not recognized by her own team and then became part of their feeding frenzy. She is a strong, level headed woman, with some very good ideas, based on our discussions.
I hope that you understand the incredible stupidity that we find it perfectly acceptable to hold a vote to limit compensation and pensions for only one class of employee . . . a class that Americans typically find an easy target and unpalatable.
Assuming pensions really are the oversized anchor that’s weighing down the state, why-why-WHY are we wasting our time voting on the pensions for seven people? We can do this but we can’t hold a vote on 3 @ 50?
It’s effing ridiculous! This watered down symbolic crap has to stop. Spend tens of thousands of dollars to put this on a ballot? Please. We either solve the problem or we don’t.
This is not solving the problem. Not even a teeny tiny piece of it.
The ROV expects a low turn out. Not good news for the demo’s.
Yeah, why are Democrats so retarded that way?
That is retardophobic hate speech Vern.
*The good news is that there are actually more Dem’s than Tea Party members
in “The OC”! Nationally, Trey Gowdy will be trying to drum up support on Benghazi with his 7-5 Kangaroo Inquisition Court. The things he will not be covering are: The multi-national Fatwa issued two weeks before Benghazi which aimed directly at the Anti-Mohammed Film which was released. It won’t mention the deaths of a Dutch cartoonist and a Danish cartoonist because of similar Fatwas along with Simon Rushtie years before. You won’t be hearing about the 20 months of inquiry by Darrell Issa that yeilded nothing, when he should have been investigating the many lacks at the Veteran Administration Hospitals. But hey, those OC Tea Party members are still going to Costco and Walmart so you never know.
*One more thing Trey Gowdy will not be covering: The methods and manner in which the four Consulate personnel were tortured with burning oils and their rape before they died. It won’t mention the names of identities of the bad guys that did it. Trey would rather talk about supposition e-mail possibilities which Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity can show on their show later.
I read an opinion in the OCR on voters ID.
I don’t think the author understands the meaning of “right to vote”.
Maybe that person can get his neighbors phone bill out of the trash and try to vote his neighbors ballot and see what happens.
Hi Greg,
First of all, I am NOT endorsed by the OCGOP. Strike one.
Second, you heard me describe the work I did resolving felony cases and how the defense bar supports me at the North OC Bar Association candidate forum.
Third… you better call up lots of defense lawyers in private practice the the Pubic
Defenders office. They seem to have a different attitude about her demeanor on the bench that you think.
Jeff, I’m glad for you to have your say.
I regret the error regarding the question of your endorsement by OCGOP. I just checked with Chris Nguyen’s article at OCPolitical, and it was indeed a 5-0 vote for no endorsement. Here’s an excerpt from the substantive part of Chris’s recounting discussion preceding that vote.
Yes, you did talk about your work resolving felony cases, and while I have not verified it I have no reason to doubt it. (Obviously, the space I devoted to your race was limited — and I wasn’t taking notes.) As for calling up defense lawyers in the PD’s office; you could be right, but publicizing their views is your job, not mine. What I wrote was what I’ve heard from talking to others about your race, which surprised me because at the time of that event, as I say in the piece, I had thought that you were a lock to be elected. (That’s what I get for paying attention to who advertises in other blogs, I guess.)
I’d be happy to see both you and your opponent provide pieces promoting your candidacies here or even engage in a larger dialogue; nothing but good could come from that greater interaction. If you’d rather we found someone who hasn’t taken a position on the race to curate that project, I’m sure that we could do so.
I appreciate your response. I’d sure like to know who claimed to have appeared before her and had a positive feeling. You were willing to publicize views of people you don’t identify in your blog…. claiming she’s all sweetness and light. You suggest I have to publicize other views… well I have by urging you to look further afield and ask. That’s your job as a blogger, to find out as much valid info as you can before making a call. I happen to support blogging, but if you make a call, YOU have the obligation to search further. My publicizing is just marketing. Yours is supposed to be insight. That’s all I’m saying. If you look at that “blogosphere” I’m all over, you’ll find quite a diverse and eclectic group of supporters. What does that tell you?
Jeff, I think that I just did publicize other views by approving your comment. Now we have reports of unidentified people taking either side, which is fair. (I won’t identify anyone I spoke to because I did not warn them that I might. People can discount that accordingly, if they wish, but I know that my sources exist and I’m sure that yours do as well.)
As for my “job as a blogger” (presumably you mean “in making endorsements”): We both failed to get the Register’s endorsement. In my case, I received a generally kind write-up followed by their saying (and I paraphrase here) that that they asked your boss whether his office was violating constitutional rights, he assured them that it didn’t, and that was good enough for them. Two appellate court decisions and the ongoing hearings in front of Judge Goethal weren’t even mentioned (except by me, in their interview.) And THOSE guys get PAID for what they do!
So I appreciate your concerns, understandable as a candidate, over my doing my “job as a blogger.” But can you imagine how I feel about what they did there? At least I’m trying to even things up by giving you this small forum and offering both you and your opponent a larger one!
Fair enough. Thank you for that. Incidentally, the Register gave me some good comments too in their opinion piece.
“That’s your job as a blogger, to find out as much valid info as you can before making a call”
A most curious description of a blogger’s ‘job’.
Made me laugh out loud. It’s actually a good job description — if it’s a job!
*”HI, I’m Nelley Kashandcarry and I believe in making cuts……..ooops…their goes
Downtown Jerry Brown’s Crazzzzzzy Train …now!”
I was at the Democrat central committee meeting and was shocked to see the disorganuzation and chaos of the whole meeting. People yelled at from across the room, the chairman stepping down, the endorsement of Greg Diamond approved but him kicked out of the board -which was stupid to do so since we need valuable thinkers like Greg inside; Mike Dalati scoffed at and not allowed to state he is a Democrat -in a very disrespectful manner, maybe because of his ad with fellow Art Pedroza that some disagree with, or maybe because of his girlfriend Karina Onofre who recently came back to her roots as a Democrat, and Mike Dalati shouldnt be judged by his affiliations, l heard a lot of good things about him and l am of the belief that endorsing him would have meant supporting one of ours! The party is going nuts.
Greg, I think that you should go sit in Carmen’s court room and see how she handles herself. Her resume may sound good but she really should be out of the public eye and doing research. Ask the people who work with her and attorney’s on both sides of the cases she here’s what they think of her as a judge. Good resumes don’t make great judges.
Sure, why not — it’s not like I have anything better to do — oh, wait, I’m running for office too!
Can you find someone else to do a small sample of attorneys in her courtroom and treat it as definitive?
I have a not so off the wall question?
So we have THREE basic choices for Governor. Brown being the obvious one for most (including me). But, the guy is 78 years old (albeit from good stock), leaving the obvious issues with electing someone that out of touch what happens if he dies in September?
If Donnelly lands as # 2: can he beat a dead guy? Doubtful.
If Neal does, could he beat a dead guy? Maybe.
Now if Brown croaks and then wins, what happens, do we get Gav’s? (with whom I know and like) despite his whoring out to morally challenged candidates, like David Benavides, but, birds of a flock……..back on point? Who becomes gov?
Or is a vote for Brown a vote for Newsome anyway, can he make it to 83? mentally, physically? can he lead effectively. I think so, but so did America when the twice elected Ronald Reagan.
So what is the strategic advantage for Democrats in voting (I like the idea of watching Donnelly further destroy the party. but, don’t be mistaken many GOPR’S will vote for Satan over a democrat, so it doesn’t matter what Tim Donnelly says or does.
So if Jerry Brown is pushing up daisy’s what do we get?
BTW, this happened in North Carolina a week ago and they ended up with America’s Got Talents runner up!
Oh, Joy! They can re-learn the lesson that Schwarzennegger taught (?) CA about electing otherwise meritless celebrities!
Don’t blame me, I voted for Gary Coleman.
Hey! So did I.
fellow anonymous troll, you can add Ronald Reagan to that list too!
Again, on the way elsewhere, I found some (possibly) interesting info on “Quality” of elections in CA- FWIW-
http://www.pewstates.org/uploadedFiles/Flash_Library/PCS/Interactives/ElectionsPerformanceIndex/template.html
went to- “View the Interactive”
http://www.pewstates.org/uploadedFiles/Flash_Library/PCS/Interactives/ElectionsPerformanceIndex/template.html#indicator
went to- “CA Profile” looks like “needs improvement” (?),
http://www.pewstates.org/uploadedFiles/Flash_Library/PCS/Interactives/ElectionsPerformanceIndex/template.html#state-CA
going back later to review methodology behind the rankings-
*Funny stuff about the two Rino candidates for Governor: Donnelly tried to bring a firearm on a plane at Ontario…(he forgot…..because he was so busy). and Nelly Cash&Carry pulled his firearm on a employee. (He didn’t think the gun was loaded!). Quite a pair to draw from…eh?
Got my Mail Ballot today and went straight to firing up Google- With about 2 weeks left, beyond the ‘top 2’ sound bites picked by the media, (and besides all the info HERE AT OJB, thanks to Greg’s hard work!), I hope to at least be able to read all the narratives from the source(s), who took the trouble to post them. Who knows, might find many GOOD IDEAS from the ‘minor’ candidates? (Most so far score higher for entertainment.) About halfway through, tired of retyping names, I dug up –
http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov
HINT: CLICK on the titles in the BLACK or blue blocks for DIRECT, CLICKABLE links make access easier than typing them in from the mailed book!
WARNING- these are ONLY from the Candidates that paid for ballot statements! Many, as well as those of the Pro/Con proposition arguments, don’t have web links. I will try to post any I find to fill the gap, time permitting. So far,I found a handy article in San Jose Mercury News that has ALL 15 links (for Gov) at least- I will forward links for more offices, etc as I find them, (or maybe compile an edited list, we’ll see)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_25687688/californias-very-weird-governors-race
Tell your friends and neighbors to save the Dart Boards, Dice, and ‘Magic 8 Ball’ for picking the Lotto – Cast an INFORMED vote this year! (Hopefully) MORE links to come!
UPDATE: http://www.smartvoter.org/ca/state/
is fairly well organized, least clicks to get to candidate info / website.(where they have one). Another that has a good user interface (select/compare 2 candidates) is the site at The Sacramento Bee- (Statewide Offices only, local tailored for there, of course)-
http://c3.thevoterguide.org/v/sacbee14/race-index.do?
I found the user interface MUCH easier than that of the OC Reg-
MORE to come as I find it!
KC Jones support Tony Rackauckas…How COULD you endorse him?
Fred Fascenelli? At least he won’t have had enough time to be REALLY corrupt!
Having heard both of them talk, I’d prefer KC to Fred even if it weren’t for Fred’s “not qualified” ranking from the OC Bar Association. But where did you see KC Jones listed as supporting Rackauckas? If he did, that’s life, but it’s news to me if so.
Thanks very much. This has been the most helpful guide I found anywhere and helped me with all the county offices I was tempted to leave blank. You did a real service to voters.
HAHA We’re the best. And you’re the best reader and voter, Alison.
I agree with the “thank you”, I have been all over the web to learn about Orange County races and had almost given up and leave them blank. I will share what I have learned with my family and now feel comfortable with my choices next Tuesday.
WE ARE A GODDAMN NATIONAL TREASURE. And you madam are a woman of class and discernment.
There is no “D”. It’s just “Kephart”.
Excuse me, but I think that we’ll need to confer with an expert on this!
(OK, OK — I’ll fix it.)
[Edited to add: fixed!]
I’m concerned about Kevin Haskins running for judge. I watched his wife Lisa Grossman put a young man in prison for 14 years for a crime he did not commit, attempted rape. The attempted rape was added 4 years after the incident happen because the statue of limitations was up on the real crime which was an assult.The guy was a severe drug addict looking for drug money. The DA ,s office changed the charges five times looking for something to fit .Nobody in that office even wanted this case but the victim kept pushing and pushing so Lisa Grossman picked it up and turned this into attempted rape. She denied this guy and his family all the evidence that would have proved what was really wrong with him. There was no attempted rape ,not even by law. The sad part was Judge Lance Jensen let her get away with it.So now we have her husband going into the same position and the cycle keeps going.
If it’s true that “She denied this guy and his family all the evidence that would have proved what was really wrong with him,” you should come forward with the evidence of that.
I’m concerned about how you’d be in a position to know some of the facts you assert, such as that no one wanted the case. I do favor Jones — no relation, right? — over Haskins, but I also favor being fair in criticism. How much of this can be proven?