I was working on a database of the part affiliation of all Orange County local elected officials. Finally, I have completed the project with all of the special districts and county seats being added. I also fixed some errors in the previous versions (here, here, and here) and have combined the database into one post.
We have added a button on the menu bar for our readers to always be able to access this database and use it for whatever research/political needs that they may have. Due to the length of th epost you are going to have to click the below link to read the rest of the post.
As promised, I have now put together a database for the School Board members and their party affiliation based on who will be serving post election. Based on results in a couple of races being close, this list may change before it goes up on the website permanently.
If anybody reading this finds an error (like the situation where I thought Wendy Leece ran unopposed for NMUSD) please let me know so I can fix it.
Prop 29 went down in defeat in June with 2,592,791 voting against the measure and 2,568,715 voting for the measure (a 50.2%-49.8% margin or 24,076 votes), according to the results certified by the Secretary of State on July 13.
Four days before certification, on July 9, Dr. John Maa (D-San Francisco) filed a request for a partial recount of the results. Maa is being represented in the recount by attorney Brad Hertz (R-Woodland Hills) of the Sutton Law Firm. Maa indicated he would spend up to $250,000 to pay for the recount (remember, under California law, anyone requesting a recount must pay for it; a refund will occur only if they succeed in overturning the election results).
On July 16, the partial recount commenced in Los Angeles County. The recounting continued until August 11, at which point Maa’s recount added 464 “Yes” votes and 246 “No” votes, a net gain of 218 votes for the “Yes” side.
On August 6, the recount commenced in Placer County, but with Steven L. Heilig (G-San Francisco) rather than Ma as the person requesting the recount. The recounting continued until August 13, at which point Heilig’s recount subtracted 10 “Yes” votes and 18 “No” votes, a net gain of 8 votes for the “Yes” side.
The recount is now rolling into Orange County, with the Registrar of Voters announcing the recount will commence on Wednesday, September 5.
Although the No on 29 side is gaining votes in the recount, it seems unlikely that they’ll achieve enough to overturn 24,076 considering they’ve only netted 226 votes so far.
If Maa sounds familiar, he was in a “Yes on 29″ commercial:
Since we’re showing Prop 29 commercials, click here to see Orange County’s own Dr. Ken Williams (R-Villa Park) in a No on 29 commercial.
Lee M. Lowrey
ChairmanChandra Chell
Vice ChairmanDave BartelsJohn Draper
Mary DreyerKurt English
Kathryn FeatherJoe Ludlow
Jeff Mathews
Walter Myers III
Ben Pugh
Stephanie Olsen
Sarah Soss
Mike Tripp
Candidate Forum
Dear,
With the June Primary Election just around the corner, Atlas PAC has updated our list of endorsed candidates for local, state and national elected office. As always, we will continue to present to our membership candidates that practice our core values of limited government, free market, low taxation, and individual liberty.
Join us this month as we host a fundraising reception for the Stop the Special Interest Money Now Initiative featuring columnist Steve Greenhut and Chapman Law School Professor John Eastman. Please mark your calendar for our upcoming events and we hope to see you soon.
Atlas PAC Mission Statement
The Atlas PAC mission is to create an environment of business professionals that believe in the ideals of limited government, free market enterprise, low taxation, and individual liberty to associate, network, and socialize with like-minded individuals. Through this association, the Atlas PAC supports like-minded candidates and issues through its monetary and political support.
65th AD - Baron Night, Shawn Nelson, Greg Sebourn, Steve Hwangbo, Henry Charoen, Pat Shuff
68th AD - Jon Dumitru, Ken Williams, Lynn Schott, Walter Myers III, Mark Bucher, Denis Bilodeau
69th AD - Thomas Gordon, Charles Hart, Robert Hammond, Lupe Moreno, Cuong Sinh Cao
72nd AD - Janet Nguyen, Dean Grose, Matthew Harper, Mark McCurdy, Dennis Catron, John Briscoe
73rd AD - Chandra Chell, Mike Munzing, Mary Young, Tony Beall, Linda Barnes, Greg Woodard, Jon Fleischman
74th AD - Pick among the following: John Draper, Jeff Mathews, Allan Bartlett, John Warner, Bill Dunlap, Scott Baugh, Scott Peotter, Rhonda Rohrabacher, Emily Sanford, Christina Shea, Don Hansen, T.J. Fuentes
Atlas PAC Director Featured on Rick Reiff’s SoCal Insider Show
Walter Myers III Participates in Occupy Vs. Tea Party Debate
Click to watch video
Atlas PAC Director Walter Myers III debates with an Occupy Los Angeles activist. Watch as they discuss what their protest movements represent as well as their respective sides’ take on taxes, government, and capitalism. Decide for yourself who the clear winner is for this debate.
About Atlas PAC
Atlas is a politically based membership organization made up of business, political, and community professionals who share a passion for free enterprise, limited government, reduced government regulatory burdens, low taxation, and individual liberty. Atlas furthers its ideals by funding candidates and causes who aggressively advocate the values of Atlas.
In the Orange County Board of Education, Trustee Area 3 race Ken Williams has had the first mailer go out to voters today (Full Disclosure:Custom Campaigns is the lead consultant on this race).
It is always tough to do mail in a race for a seat that is the size of a County Supervisors but draws far less attention. Here is the mailer which is on a 8.5 x 5.5 size piece of cardstock:
While we are on the topic of the Williams campaign. This press release just came across the wire:
District Attorney Tony Rackauckas Endorses Dr. Ken Williams for Re-Election to OC Board of Education Read the rest of this entry »
I was reading the information about the application for Orange County Superintendent of Schools, and I found a rather odd requirement in the application process. I’ve excerpted three key paragraphs and bolded the odd requirement.
The first paragraph reads:
“William M. Habermehl has announced his retirement as Orange County Superintendent of Schools effective June 29, 2012. A successor will be appointed by the County Board of Education to complete the term which expires on January 5, 2015 at 12:00 noon. The successful applicant will be expected to run for the office at the end of the appointed term. The election will take place in June 2014.”
The final two paragraphs read:
“Candidates must submit a resume accompanied by no more than three letters of reference along with a written commitment to run for the office at the end of the appointed term, to Richard Nagle, Selection Consultant, Orange County Board of Education at 200 Kalmus Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, no later than 12:00 p.m., Thursday, May 24, 2012. All resumes, letters of reference, and a written commitment to run must be on file by the deadline date. Resumes, letters of reference, and a written commitment to run not received by May 24, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. will not be accepted regardless of postmark date. Resumes, letters of reference, and the written commitment to run will be public information and available for review during normal business hours at the County office located at 200 Kalmus Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.
Resumes, letters of reference, and the written commitment to run, will be reviewed by two Board members designated by the Orange County Board of Education. Those candidates who successfully complete the initial screening process and are recommended for interviews will be sent a candidate packet by May 30, 2012. The Board will interview the identified candidates in public on staring on June 6, 2012. If necessary, the process may continue on June 7, 2012. The Board may make its appointment and determine compensation on either date. The successful applicant will be expected to run for the office of the county superintendent at the end of the appointed term. The election will take place in June 2014. The candidate who prevails in the election will assume office on January 5, 2015 at 12:00 noon.”
Obviously, the Orange County Board of Education does not want to appoint a caretaker. What is truly odd is the demand that the applicant must commit in writing to seek election to a full four-year term to the post. Why not have candidates commit in writing to serve the full four-year term when they seek election to the post?
Like his yet-to-be-named successor, Habermehl gained the elected Superintendent post via appointment. In February 2001, Superintendent John F. Dean announced his resignation, effective April 2001, even though his term did not expire until January 2003. Then-Associate Superintendent Habermehl was appointed to replace his boss, Superintendent Dean, in a 4-0 vote. At the time, Elizabeth Parker called Dean’s resignation a “selfless act” to allow the board to name his replacement, instead of leaving it to the voters to name his replacement. Ken Williams abstained on the Habermehl appointment expressing his concern that the appointment would give Habermehl an unfair advantage with the power of incumbency without ever having run for the post. (Parker and Williams are still on the board, but the other three members of the board are no longer in office.)
This appointment by the board with a pledge to run is reminiscent of El Dedazo used by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional or Institutional Revolutionary Party. (The PRI, which held the Mexican Presidency for seven decades, allowed the incumbent president to appoint his party’s nominee to be the next president, who would invariably win the presidency. The PRI stopped using El Dadazo in 1999, and promptly lost the 2000 presidential election, allowing another party to win the presidency for the first time in 72 years.)
If the Orange County Board of Education keeps appointing people to fill the post of Superintendent of Schools, instead of leaving it to the voters, perhaps, it is time for the post to be appointed, rather than elected, because the election is a farce. The boards of local school districts all appoint their superintendents. The Los Angeles County Board of Education and San Diego County Board of Education both appoint their departments’ superintendents.
Government Code Sections 24000(k) and 24009(b) together permit the Board of Supervisors to place a measure on the ballot to make the County Superintendent of Schools an appointed post. The Orange County Board of Supervisors has already placed Measure A on the ballot to make the Orange County Public Administrator an appointed post, so in the next election, they could just as easily place a measure on the ballot to make the County Superintendent of Schools an appointed post.
(In the interest of full disclosure, Custom Campaigns is doing the consulting work on the County Board of Education campaigns of Ken Williams and Robert Hammond. I have not discussed the Habermehl replacement process with either candidate since the news only broke yesterday.)
This just came across the wire from the Ken Williams for Orange County Board of Education, Trustee Area 3 campaign (Full disclosure: Custom Campaigns is the consultant on this race):
Dr. Ken Williams Opposes Munger/PTA Tax Hike
Orange County, CA (April 30, 2012) – Orange County Board of Education Member Dr. Ken Williams has announced his opposition to the Molly Munger/PTA initiative that would impose $10,000,000,000 in taxes on Californians.
The initiative, which has qualified for the November ballot, would not only increase income taxes on all California couples making $17,500 a year or more but would also increase the collection of private parental and student information from all families in California.
“Collecting private family information and raising taxes on Californians is not the solution. It is wrong to overspend the people’s money on wasteful bureaucracy and collect private and personal information on families,” Williams said. “It is time for Sacramento Democrats, politicians, and Governor Brown to limit the scope and size of government and start making fiscally responsible decisions and finding ways to balance the budget without raising taxes.”
As a member of the Orange County Board of Education, Williams has led the Orange County Department of Education as the proven fiscal conservative on the board. His voting record as a governing county board member reflects his pledge of “No New Taxes” and the financially strong fiscal viability of the county department of education.
Williams serves his constituents as their consistent conservative voice on the board, promoting traditional family values, public safety and safe schools, high academic standards, educational accountability, parental rights, and a “back to basics” approach to education.
During his first campaign for office in 1996, Williams defeated a twenty-year incumbent by running on a “back-to-basics education” theme that resonated with the voters of Trustee Area 3. A home-grown community leader, he is an Orange County native who graduated from the county’s public schools. He is a family physician in private medical practice since 1986 and is on the medical staff at St. Joseph Hospital, Hoag Hospital, and family practice department chairman at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.
Trustee Area 3 consists of the cities of Brea, Irvine, Orange, Villa Park, and Yorba Linda; the communities of Anaheim Hills and North Tustin; and portions of East Anaheim, Lake Forest, Tustin, and Orange County’s canyon communities.
This just came across the wire from the Williams for OCBE campaign (Full disclosure: Custom Campaigns is the consulting firm running this race):
Dr. Ken Williams Signs Pledge to Never Raise Taxes
Irvine, CA (April 9, 2012) – Orange County Board of Education Trustee Ken Williams has signed a pledge, promising never to raise taxes on his constituents. Dr. Williams has also consistently voted to never raise taxes during his tenure on the Orange County Board of Education
“I have always felt that the government has been overtaxing the people,” Williams said. “I have fought to make sure that the County Board of Education doesn’t place tax burdens on our constituents. I will continue to be the only taxpayer advocate running for this office.”
As a member of the Orange County Board of Education, Williams has served his constituents as their consistent conservative voice on the board, promoting traditional family values, public safety and safe schools, high academic standards, educational accountability, parental rights, and a “back to basics” approach to education.
During his first campaign for office in 1996, Williams defeated a twenty-year incumbent by running on a “back-to-basics education” theme that resonated with the voters of Trustee Area 3. A home-grown community leader, he is a native of Orange County who graduated from the county’s public schools. He is a family physician in private medical practice since 1986, and is on the medical staff at St. Joseph Hospital, Hoag Hospital, and family practice department chairman at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.
Trustee Area 3 consists of the cities of Brea, Irvine, Orange, Villa Park, and Yorba Linda; the communities of Anaheim Hills and North Tustin; and portions of East Anaheim, Lake Forest, Tustin, and Orange County’s canyon communities.
This just came across the wire from the Williams for OCBE campaign (Full Disclosure: Ken Williams is a Custom Campaigns client):
California Republican Assembly Unanimously Endorses Dr. Ken Williams for Re-Election to OC Board of Education
Irvine, CA (March 28, 2012) – This last weekend, the California Republican Assembly unanimously voted to endorse Dr. Ken Williams for re-election to the Orange County Board of Education Trustee Area 3 seat in the June primary. Read the rest of this entry »
Many of you probably read the post recapping the crazy day of candidates being endorsed by CRA. Before Chris Nguyen and I left we grabbed as many different pieces of candidate literature as possible, although some pieces were definitely gone.
This week I will be posting a different piece each day starting with Ken Williams , candidate for Orange County Board of Education-District 3. In order to provide full disclosure, Ken Williams is a Custom Campaigns client.
Prop 29 went down in defeat in June with 2,592,791 voting against the measure and 2,568,715 voting for the measure (a 50.2%-49.8% margin or 24,076 votes), according to the results certified by the Secretary of State on July 13.
I was reading the information about the application for Orange County Superintendent of Schools, and I found a rather odd requirement in the application process. I’ve excerpted three key paragraphs and bolded the odd requirement.
