The top ten stories from the results of the 2012 general election in Orange County:
- 65th Assembly District – With an influx of hundreds of thousands of dollars in union and Democratic Party money, Sharon Quirk-Silva leads by 1,034 votes in her bid to unseat Republican Assemblyman Chris Norby and deliver a Democratic supermajority in the State Assembly.
- 72nd Assembly District – Travis Allen defeats fellow Republican Troy Edgar by 11% to win a seat in the Orange County legislative delegation.
- Irvine (Mayor and 2 Council seats) – After years of trying, Republicans finally defeat Larry Agran to capture the majority of the Irvine City Council, with Councilman Steven Choi defeating Larry Agran for Mayor and former Councilwoman Christina Shea returning to the Council, creating a majority of Choi, Shea, and Jeff Lalloway with a Council minority of Agran and Beth Krom.
- Fullerton (3 Council seats) – Councilman Travis Kiger (R) leads former Councilwoman Jan Flory (D) by 114 votes in their respective bids for new Council terms. If Kiger’s lead holds, he will join fellow Republican election winners Bruce Whitaker and Jennifer Fitzgerald on the Council. Kiger, Whitaker, and Councilman Greg Sebourn are libertarian conservatives, Fitzgerald is a more traditional conservative, and Councilman Doug Chaffee is a Democrat. Kiger’s re-election would cement the results of the recall and maintain Orange County’s most libertarian council.
- Costa Mesa (3 Council seats and Measure V) – Voters delivered a mixed bag by re-electing Republican Councilmen Steve Mensinger and Gary Monahan (two of the 3Ms), but also electing Republican former Councilwoman Sandy Genis and rejecting Measure V. If Monahan’s 319-vote lead over Democrat John Stephens holds, the reform majority will have shrunk from four seats to three seats (Mensinger, Monahan, and Jim Righeimer), yet would still be the majority.
- Anaheim (2 Council seats) – Voters delivered a mixed bag by electing former Councilwoman Lucille Kring (R) from Mayor Tom Tait’s slate and electing School Board Member Jordan Brandman (D) from Councilwomen Kris Murray and Gail Eastman’s slate. Brandman’s election maintains the 3-2 majority that supports allowing the GardenWalk Hotel to keep 80% of its Transient Occupancy Tax revenue.
- 47th Congressional District – Long Beach State Senator Alan Lowenthal (D) defeats Long Beach Councilman Gary DeLong (R), becoming the third Democrat in Orange County’s Congressional delegation, joining the Sanchez sisters.
- Yorba Linda (3 Council seats) – If Gene Hernandez’s 35-vote lead over Councilwoman Nancy Rikel holds, YLRRR will have lost control of the Yorba Linda City Council. Re-elected Councilman Mark Schwing and holdover Councilman John Anderson are the two remaining members of the YLRRR Council coalition. Though originally backed by YLRRR, holdover Councilman Tom Lindsey has broken with the group. Newly-elected Councilman Craig Young is not backed by YLRRR. A Lindsey-Young-Hernandez majority would face off against a Schwing-Anderson YLRRR minority (this entire set of people I’ve mentioned for Yorba Linda are Republicans). If Rikel is overtakes Hernandez, status quo is restored in Yorba Linda.
- Aliso Viejo (3 Council seats) – Voters tossed two incumbents from office, ousting Councilmen Greg Ficke (R) and Don Garcia (NPP) in favor of Ross Chun (D) and Mike Munzing (R). Councilman Bill Phillips (R) was the sole incumbent re-elected.
- Mission Viejo (2 Council seats) – Voters delivered a mixed bag by re-electing Republican Councilmembers Frank Ury and Cathy Schlict, who ran on opposing slates. Schlict leads Ury’s running mate, Republican Wendy Bucknum, by 0.5%. Schlict’s running mate, Republican Ed Sachs, trails by 7.8%.