.
.
.
Beloved Westminster Councilwoman Diana Lee Carey, protégé of the late great Gus Ayer, and famed for having fought off the OCTA’s 405 Toll Lane dreams years before most of us ever knew they existed, recently wrote this letter urging her fellow Democrats (and I assume independents) to choose Allan Mansoor over Michelle Steel in the upcoming 2nd Supervisorial District election. I, Vern, a Democrat (at heart) have written similar things about this race:
Dear Orange County Democrats:
In conservative Orange County, it’s sometimes hard for people like me, a lifelong Democrat, to choose between two Republicans for local office. But in the campaign to replace John Moorlach on the Board of Supervisors, the choice is easy.
Allan Mansoor is clearly the candidate most engaged with the community and genuinely interested in trying to make Orange County better. Allan is thoughtful and pragmatic. He knows the varied interests of our communities, and he will listen and weigh all concerns before making a decision.
While I do not agree with Allan on every issue, he has been aggressively working to protect Orange County’s middle class and disadvantaged families by stopping taxpayer-funded toll lanes on the I-405.
Allan’s opponent, Michelle Steel, moved here from LA County barely two years ago and is supported by the large corporate interests that want toll lanes on the I-405. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher was the best man at her wedding with Shawn Steel – a former chairman of the California Republican Party – and is among her biggest supporters.
Steel’s husband is a lot like Rohrabacher, who is known for some of his “crazy” statements. At a recent Tea Party meeting, Steel described Democratic State Senate candidate Jose Solorio as a “freak” just because, for health reasons, he is a vegan. Then Steel called being vegan “fascist” and compared it to being part of ISIS. This reminds me of the partisan dysfunction in Washington DC. We don’t need this sort of thing on the Board of Supervisors.
We expect more of our leaders. Agree or disagree, we need someone willing to try and work together on the issues, and never engage in name-calling. This, along with Allan’s willingness to stand up to corporate interests and protect Orange County taxpayers, makes it easy to support his campaign for Supervisor. I hope that you will join me in supporting Allan. He was the first one there for us when no one else was, and he has fought for us for years. Let’s return that favor on Election Day.
Sincerely,
Diana Lee Carey
Westminster City Council member
I=405 Corridor Cities representative.
AND on the flyer in which he used this letter, Allan appended:
“I’ve lived in Costa Mesa my entire life, and my wife and I are raising our family here. I care about our community and want to work with you to improve Orange County. My opponent has spent more than $650,000 to buy this election. Special interests are lying about my record to preserve their power. If you have anything you would like to discuss with me, my door is always open. Please call me at (714) 758-5318.”
“I, Vern, a Democrat (at heart) ..”
What does that mean?
Other of his bodily organs are not Democratic. He has a Republican gall bladder, for example.
It means no matter what party I switch my registration to, I still feel like a Democrat.
I agree – vote Mansoor!
Here we go again – another of those elections where we choose the lesser of two evils. As Willl Rogers is reported to have said, the reason the best man does not win electoins is because the best man does not run! Fast forward to today, and the saying would be about the best man or worman, but hte message is the same-the best people do not run fo public office. So, we are left with a mix of mediocracy and candidates bankrolled by “special interests” that have an agenda that is often not in the best interests of the general public.
The people get the government they deserve. Only 18% voted in the primary.
“Democracy is not broken. People just stopped participating.”
CJ
Yeah, I seem to remember there having been a third candidate in the primary who would have been better than either of them. As I’ve said, it’s a shame that Jose Solorio had the brilliant idea to hoard his money in the primary instead of using any of it to drive Democratic turnout. That candidate could have been on the stump with him this fall, giving eloquent and fiery speeches on his behalf at campaign events. But at least Solorio helped get that unopposed Veterans Housing ballot measure passed!