Carona taking hits from all directions – but will it be enough to sink his battleship?
Incumbent O.C. Sheriff Mike Carona probably thought he was headed for an easy reelection, but this week the sh*t hit the fan – as the Times, the O.C. Weekly and the O.C. Register all took aim and nailed Carona, as follows:
Carona: Laughing his way to victory, O.C. Weekly, at http://www.ocweekly.com/news/news/laughing-his-way-to-victory/24784/. This article chronicles once more all of Carona’s gaffes, and it includes an embarrassing shot of Carona’s derriere.
High Noon Is Near for Sheriff Candidates, L.A. Times, at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-me-parsons26mar26,1,4495809.column?coll=la-editions-orange. Columnist Dana Parsons writes about what might happen if the Assn. of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs endorses Carona’s main threat – Lt. Bill Hunt.
And last but not least, the O.C. Register’s Peggy Lowe sits down with Carona and conducts a pretty tough interview, entitled “Carona responds to his doubters,” at http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/homepage/article_1072781.php. When Lowe asks Carona why he is running despite a campaign promise to serve only two terms, he responds with a rambling diatribe that in fact does not address why he is running. Then, when asked how he could have prevented all of his problems, he blames George Jaramillo, his disgraced and fired aide. That despite the fact that insiders in the deparment warned Carona not to hire Jaramillo – but he did anyway. And of course he blames the media.
Carona is one People Magazine article away from losing his campaign. But will Hunt be able to raise enough money to take out Carona? Is Ralph Martin going to be a factor in this race? Can Martin somehow come away with the AOCDS endorsement? Will Hunt win it – and then go on to blow out Carona? So many questions…I think that the O.C. Weekly’s R. Scott Moxley is correct – a Carona loss will be a huge blow to the local media. Surely no other O.C. Sheriff will every get in as much trouble as Carona.
Just heard Commander Ralph Martin speak at the CDM Republican (CRA). (Hunt was with us a couple of weeks ago.) I just switched my vote to Martin. Where has this guy been hiding?? His experience and grasp of the issues was startling. Great Speaker. He even looks like a sheriff.
All the majority of voters going to the polls are going to remember is, “Carona, I’ve heard that name somewhere.” The majority of voters will overwhelmingly mark their vote for the incumbent sheriff. Carona will beat all three candidates outright in June.
FROM THE OC BLOG
Just heard Commander Ralph Martin speak at the CDM Republican (CRA). (Hunt was with us a couple of weeks ago.) I just switched my vote to Martin. Where has this guy been hiding?? His experience and grasp of the issues was startling. Great Speaker. He even looks like a sheriff.
Art,
Bill Hunt and Ralph Martin spoke together at the TARA meeting last week.
While Ralph did a good job and is a nice man AND would be better than Carona, Bill Hunt owned the night and did a better job at the Q&A. After the meeting, Bill had most of the crowd waiting to talk with him.
At the previous CDM meeting where Bill Hunt spoke, almost everyone endorsed him personally after the meeting, as well as contributed to his campaign.
Both men (Hunt and Martin) are very professional and courteous to one another. It was refreshing to see two real law enforcement professionals answer questions side by side.
Carona was invited, but of course, he knew better than to show up.
Art, 10:23 is putting some heavy spin on his post. I too was at the TARA event and that is not how it went down. Ralph Martin was clearly the more polished of the two and Bill Hunt’s message was primarily Carona is bad. Like with the AOCDS event, Mr. Hunt repeatedly challenged the audience to read his 13 page plan rather than personally sharing the specifics with the group…
And contrary to what 10:23 says, when the program was over there were 3 folks waiting to speak to Hunt who was on one side of the room and 3 waiting to talk to Martin……as a matter of fact I personally pointed out to Mr. Hunt that the three waiting to talk to him were all male and the three waiting to talk to Martin were all female! 1023 is clearly trying to spin the event and if 1023 was really there, will recognize that I am telling the absolute truth!!
Probably defensive after the 1028 pm post in which a poster announced he/she changed his/her vote to Martin after seeing him speak and comparing him to Hunt.
The key for bloggers and readers is to attend these republican club events where they can personally hear the two two speak side by side….
Hey 11:04, Hunt continually touted his 13 page plan, because as he states, he’s the only one with a comprehensive plan to overhaul the department that’s posted for all to see. Both men did a good job during the talking. Hunt did a much better job during Q&A.
Hunt prefers to go to Q&A and let the audience members ask about what’s important to them.
What’s most refreshing about Hunt is that he’ll never duck a question and he’ll never tell you what you want to hear.
1:05, I rest my case, your earlier post was simply spin….
just went to the Ralph Martin web site. I will admit, he is very qualified and brings a ton of experience to the table. I also watched his interview on the AOCDS web page. He is well spoken and clearly talks “Sheriff”. I too think he will be the real challenge to Carona. Clearly, he has a campaign team worth noting, and appears to be picking up steam. This ought to be fun!!