[Mike Ortega, Mike Jacobs, Pete Hardin, Bryan Chehock, Boomer Vicente,
David Dodson, Jay Chen, Katrina Foley, Sunny Park, Vince Sarmiento,
Rose Espinosa, Al Mijares, Sherine Smith, Martha Fluor, Kimberly LaSalle.]
When I finally looked at my sample ballot, I can see why so few people “VOTE DOWNBALLOT” – this ballot is 4 pages long, and there’s NOTHING IMPORTANT TILL PAGE 3. (Except David Dodson.) For example, the first thing you see is 26 candidates for Governor, when we all know Gavin Newsom will win re-election. EVERYTHING IMPORTANT this month (except Dodson) is on page 3-4 – from Congress to Supervisor to Judges to Board of Education!
So I’m going to suggest that you start on page 3-4 of your ballot, like I did. And THEN if you have time, go back and get pages 1 and 2 – including David Dodson for Board of Equalization! (If you have a lot of time, you can click here to read Greg’s and my reasoning for each of our choices.) So here’s starting on page 3, and skip “United States Senator” too, Padilla will win re-election easily:
United States Representative
- 38th district: Linda Sanchez (incumbent, not in danger)
- 40th district: Dr Asif Mahmood (good luck to him)
- 45th district: Jay Chen! (this is one of the most important races!)
- 46th district: Mike Ortega!!! (Let’s help this progressive challenger make the runoff!)
- 47th district: Katie Porter! (superstar incumbent, not in danger till the runoff)
- 49th district: incumbent Mike Levin! (Greg prefers Nadia Smalley – but only for the primary)
State Senator
- 30th district: Henry Bouchot
- 32nd district: Brian Nash
- 34th district: Disappointed with incumbent Tom Umberg (D), I am considering voting for Placentia Mayor Rhonda Shader (R) … but you do you. Umberg will still win.
- 36th district: Kim Carr!
- 38th district: Catherine Blakespear!
Member of the State Assembly
- 59th district: Write-in Leon Sit – exclusive interview here!
- 64th district, which is almost all LA county except for La Habra: Greg says Rose Espinoza, I think we should find out more about the four other LA County Democrats.
- 67th district: Sharon Quirk-Silva (who’s safe anyway)
- 68th district: Bulmaro “Boomer” Vicente – VERY IMPORTANT!
- 70th district: Diedre Nguyen – ALSO IMPORTANT!
- 71st district: no endorsement between the two Republicans running.
- 72nd district: Judie Mancuso!
- 73rd district: Cottie Petrie-Norris
- 74th district: Chris Duncan!
Judges of the Superior Court
- Office 5: Kimberly LaSalle!
- Office 9: Joe Dane.
- Office 11: Marc Gibbons!!! (great guy!)
- Office 21: Ray Brown
- Office 22: Fred Fascinelli
- Office 28: Jessica Cha
- Office 30: Michele Bell!
- Office 33: Brett Wiseman
- Office 45: Kevin Brian Jones.
SCHOOLS
Superintendent of Public Instruction: Tony Thurmond
And THESE County Education races are “Game Over” this month – NOT A PRIMARY!
County Superintendent of Schools: Al Mijares!!!!
Board of Education – We must take this Board back from the crazies this month!
- Area 2: Martha Fluor!
- Area 4: Greg says Paulette Chaffee, and I’ve promised not to say anything bad about her this month.
- Area 5: Sherine Smith!
County Executive Offices
- County Supervisor District 2: Vicente Sarmiento!
- County Supervisor District 4: Sunny Park!
- County Supervisor District 5: Katrina Foley!
- Assessor: Richard “Rick” Foster!
- Auditor/Controller: Write in John Moorlach
- Clerk Recorder: Hugh Nguyen
- DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Vote for Pete Hardin, Bryan Chehock, or
Mike Jacobs– they’re all better than the incumbent, and if the incumbent gets over 50% this month it’s all over. UPDATE 6/1 – I love Mike Jacobs, but I’ve just become aware that he’s a 2020 Election Denier, and that is a bridge too far. Shows real bad judgment, and shows surrounding yourself with an ignorant crowd and media. Happens a lot to old Republicans I guess. - Sheriff / Coroner: Write in Duke Nguyen who should have won last time!
- Treasurer: Shari Freidenrich – why not?
Finally, page 1 & 2: Statewide Primary Races
(Remember, these ones ARE primaries, and the Democratic incumbent is all but assured to win in November, so part of our thought process is to give a leg up to Green, Peace and Freedom, and other independent candidates, to help those parties build and stay on the ballot in the future. Again, you can read Greg Diamond’s reasoning behind this line-up here, which I agree with.)
- Governor: Joel Ventresca (D)
- Lieutenant Gov: Mohammad Arif (P&F)
- Secretary of State: Gary Blenner (Green)
- Controller: Malia M. Cohen (D)
- Treasurer: Meghann Adams (P&F)
- Attorney General: Dan Kapelovitz (Green)
- Insurance Commissioner: Marc Levine!!! (D)
- Board of Equalization district 4: David Dodson!!! (D)
- US Senator for California:
John Thompson Parker (P&F)D’OH, Putin apologist! Just give in and put Padilla.
*Chuck Schumer just unveiled “the Litmus Test” for this election cycle: Stand up for Roe vs Wade and Roe vs Casey or don’t. This is going to out every person running for office in this mid-term. The vote in the Senate will be monumental. If Nancy does the same in the House…..the party is over. The Vote in the Senate will come Wednesday…..can’t wait.
Every person from the top of the ticket to the bottom dwellers in so-called Non-Partisan races including Judges need to state their positions and we need the published results in the Register and the LA Times!
Yes, absolutely YES, R & A W
Hi Vern,
Can you pass on to your readers that the election for Orange County Superintendent of Schools -Al Mijares – is final on June 7. There is no runoff, so our votes now are critical. Thanks!
JACKIE IS RIGHT!!!
THIS MONTH IS MAKE OR BREAK FOR NOT ONLY THE OCBOE BOARD, BUT MIJARES VS. BEAN AS WELL! And you can be sure the Bean/Williams/Barke crowd knows this.
Here’s why it works this way – Superintendent would go on to a runoff if nobody gets over 50%, just like the DA race. BUT this year there are only two candidates, so either Mijares or Bean is going to win on June 7. So this month is RED ALERT for ALL the county education races!
I’d better write a piece specifically about this. Thanks, Jackie.
News to me! I had wondered, but I guess it hasn’t come up before because no one bothered to run against the excellent incumbent, Minares.
At times like this, I miss having Neal Kelley on speed-dial.
Yeah, it’d be the same if there was only Hardin and Spitzer running for DA.
This cuts both ways. If Bean gets one more vote than Mijares June 7, the OC Board of Education begins a new rightwing era and Mijares is history. If Mijares gets one more vote than Bean, we can forget that race for four years and things will stay normal.
Things like this should be clearer on the ballot.
First, Greg mentions “the excellent Mijares” we in OC have a short memory. This guy was a DISASTER for SAUSD back in the day of Hernandez, Palacio and Noji! HE BURNED MILLONS OF $$$$$ SORELY NEEDED ADA money, bailed to Nor-Cal Only to return here to run for the OCBOE.
Speaking of Santa Ana, things are getting messy: LOT’S of unkind mail today regarding Pete Hardin, Vince Sarmimento and Jonathon Hernandez (who to my knowledge is not running for anything???). Have not seen a single piece from ANY of the progressive Candidates ( Four of us are registered Dem in a HEAVY DEM district). This maybe a forfeit, but rather a sign of resources.
Something smells in that Supervisor race. Just don’t know what it is yet!
Judge Office 11: Marc Gibbons rated “well qualified” by the OC Bar Association; Shawn Nelson rated “not qualified.”
Checks out.
https://www.facebook.com/MarcGibbons4judge/posts/133344635957821
Amazing Voter guide Vern!
My votes and your votes are in complete alignment.
EXCEPT.
Cottie and Sharon QS and of course Tom, none of these “DINOs” deserve to win their assembly seats because they all collective worked behind the scenes with their insurance company benefactors to kill CalCare Assembly Bill AB1400. WHAT A WFFING DISGRACE! HOW DARE THESE FAKEASS “DEMOCRATS” VOTE AGAINST UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE FOR ALL CALIFORNIAN FAMILIES!!! Disgrace.
Shout-out to my Comrade Mike Ortega! We are going to get rid of corrupt Lou!
Luis
Running for Mayor Irvine (Nov 2022)
Luis Huang 4 Irvine Mayor (2022) FPPC#: TBD
Looks like that one comment from Tony Bushala, which Greg alludes to in the Nelson vs. Gibbons judicial race, was really a thing – my old friend Tony has returned to being a big Shawn Nelson backer for some reason, and Tony and I are just gonna have to agree to disagree for a while.
Why do I say this? Cuz what Tony’s decided to put his time and money into this month is a sign campaign (in his obvious style) reading “NO GIBBONS – L.A. Criminal Lawyer.” Yo Tony! What do you think your friend Shawn was before he became a politician? HE WAS A CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY! (Or “criminal lawyer” in the rude parlance.) I even remember Cunningham and his crowd attacking Shawn for that in his first Supe race, and Tony’s crowd launching spirited, principled defenses of the necessity for defense attorneys.
This is the first time I remember Tony trying to pull off one of his sign campaigns in a county-wide race, so … he’ll have to really make a shitload of these signs if he really wants to make a difference. Meanwhile I’ve become Facebook friends with Gibbons, who graduated from Servite and seems like a real nice guy. And meanwhile Shawn has covered himself in non-glory at least twice recently – denying the allegations against Todd’s dirty buddy LoGalbo, and helping cover up the Whip Walton murder (story coming this week.)
Oh did I mention – the OC Bar Association recently rated Gibbons as “well qualified,” and Shawn as “not qualified.” Sorry, Tony! I know what a loyal friend you are..
I guess he waited ’til he thought I was in Wyoming. But I’m not.
Vern, ask Gibbons to get in touch with me.
I can’t find my post on hardin
Rhonda Shader is a Republican.!!
The Republican Party is The Party of Trump!!
Well we used to like Tait and Vanderbilt, didn’t we? And Cynthia and Denise even before they left the GOP.
Anyway it’s not like Rhonda will win. Just wanna rattle Umberg’s cage a little.
Yes, she is a Republican.
And Democrats tend to be almost as in denial over public pension debt as Republicans largely are about climate change. Anaheim itself may become a horrific example of that problem, if it can’t steer itself away from insolvency.
Vern, remember when inexplicably you suggested Mike Jacobs would be a good choice for DA for some unknown reason. Apology accepted (in advance.)
https://voiceofoc.org/2022/06/how-do-the-oc-da-candidates-see-safety-justice-reform-and-the-death-penalty-here-are-their-answers/
“Yes. I believe the last presidential election was stolen. The book and articles regarding Hunter Biden’s laptop and the new documentary regarding ‘2000 Mules’ has convinced me.”
I disagree with him, and it would make him a bad choice for Registrar of Voters, but it’s possible to hold such a belief and still do a decent job as OCDA.
That said: as a Chehock supporter, my conscience is clear.
I don’t know, it’s embarrassing. I never talked to him about national issues. It actually doesn’t occur to me to discuss Trump shit with local Republicans. He seems like a smart honest guy but this shows real bad judgment, and you don’t want real bad judgment in a DA.
Also, I wanted someone Republicans and tough-on-crime folks could vote for in the primary besides Todd, to keep Todd under 50.
I suppose at this point I’ll have to change my endorsement to just Hardin. I’m also going to write a piece defending Hardin against some of the things LC & other righties have been throwing at him.
Vern quips <>
Dont worry, Love Cameron ♀️ to the rescue. Making Vern’s nightmares come true one vote at a time ️ That one more vote for Bean will be me. Even though I don’t have kids. Just cuz I know it will rattle Vern.