OC Political

This press release came across the wire from the Leslie Daigle for Assembly campaign. It appears that the gloves are off in the AD 74 race:

From the Desk of Leslie Daigle

March 28, 2012 – Allan Mansoor has an ugly history of demonizing his way to elective success to hide his own shortcomings.  It’s a distasteful brand of “leadership.”

In his latest version, he accuses me of being a liberal stooge for union bosses to scare his supporters into doing something they haven’t done:  Write him a check.

It’s what’s wrong with our politics today.  I don’t think it will work.  It shouldn’t.

First, no one who knows me, my personal history or my record of public service would believe for a minute I’m a liberal.

And the public employee unions with which I have dealt would find it both laughable and unbelievable that I’m in their pocket.

In fact, my record — in direct contrast to Allan Mansoor’s — has been to push for reforms in areas where the pendulum clearly has swung too far to public employees and away from taxpayers.

Our city has negotiated lower salary and benefit increases, a bigger pension contribution from employees, contracting out of some services where it made sense, and new work rules to maintain high service levels.

Our staff size has been reduced, as has our city spending and employees are paying a greater share of their pension costs.

We’ve done it at the bargaining table, not by blustering in emails or news releases.  We did it through hard work, persistence, and negotiation.

For all his bullying, Allan Mansoor never pursued a major reform of this kind when he was mayor and a councilman in Costa Mesa, let alone achieved one. That’s why he left such a fiscal mess for his successors. 

Nor has he a single accomplishment in this area during his brief tenure in Sacramento.

Perhaps there is a reason: Allan Mansoor was a long-time public employee, a jail guard who, in less than three years, will qualify for one of those gold-plated full retirement at 50.   Allan Mansoor did not pay a dime into his lucrative defined benefit retirement.

That’s why we don’t hear much about serious public employee pension reform from Allan Mansoor, and why he has the temerity to suggest that I will do the “bidding” of the SEIU and other public employee labor unions.

I have a word for this approach:  Pathetic.

From Allan Mansoor for Assembly:

“Please join us for a campaign kick-off and precinct walk this Saturday, March 31 at 9:30a.m. The SEIU has recruited a liberal Republican to run against me in the open primary and I need your help….No one will be surprised if union bosses spend several hundred thousand dollars in their attempt to replace me with someone who will do their bidding.”

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Paid for by Daigle for Assembly 2012, FPPC ID #1339905 P.O. Box 11922, Newport Beach, CA 92658 www.votelesliedaigle.com