OC Political

I am back at it again today watching a meeting that is not supposed to have anything discussed about OC Clerk-Recorder but I see some potential fireworks over the County CEO, Auditor-Controller procedure, and Cal-Optima.

10:16 AM- Moorlach is questioning the internal audit with regards to the OC Clerk-Recorders office. It is early in the conversation but this could get interesting.

10:21 AM- This conversation appears to be going nowhere, unless Moorlach steps up his questioning a bit. The speaker is telling him that information will become more readily available about the OC Clerk-Recorders office once the audit is complete.

10:25 AM- John Moorlach is pretty heated and is accusing people of telling him half-truths and is blasting an unnamed elected official (guess who). In a twist of irony Moorlach still made a motion to approve the item.

10:28 AM- Supervisor Todd Spitzer is trying to get a reason as to why Tom Daly has his name on a response letter despite the fact that he had apparently already left the office.

10:30 AM- The speaker has said that Tom Daly wanted to have his response included and it was approved by Renee Ramirez to include a scathing letter from Daly.

10:37 AM- They are now approving the Treasurer-Tax Collector Oversight Committee Annual Report. John Moorlach requested to hear from Shari Friedenrich the current Treasurer in order for her to introduce the committee members.

10:39 AM- Shawn Nelson seems frustrated that they are being forced to listen to the report and tried to see if the other Supervisors would agree not to hear the item.

10:48 AM- We are now on item #27 and closing in on some of the more juicy stuff which starts with item #31.

11:01 AM- We are 1 item away from some of the more interesting items in this meeting.

11:04 AM- It appears that each Supervisor will be providing 3 names for interviews in the case of Orange County Auditor-Controller. We have 1 public speaker on this item.

11:06 AM- Rob Richardson is explaining that of the 30 applications that were received only 10 were found to meet the qualifications necessary to hold the office. Todd Spitzer calls out Richard Arrow, Maryhou Amerage (spelling?), and Tony Siberian as unqualified based on either being “double dippers” or having no management experience.

11:09 AM- Spitzer recommends interviewing the other 7 on the list of qualified names.

11:10 AM- John Moorlach recommended that only Jan Grimes be interviewed for the position. I am surprised since she claimed she had no interest in the position based on my recollection.

11:11 AM- Supervisor Spitzer read my mind and also brings up the concern he has with somebody choosing to not finish their term if they get appointed. He is concerned about a candidate being really interested in the position instead of a caretaker.

11:13 AM- Janet Nguyen brings up the fact that Jan Grimes made the statement that she does not want to be elected in 2014 which is why she was not originally appointed.

11:14 AM- We might hear from Jan Grimes as she is in the room. It is up to her according to Supervisor Nelson.

11:15 AM- Supervisor Bates agrees to the idea of interviewing multiple candidates for the position.

11:16 AM- John Moorlach is really pushing Jan Grimes for whatever reason??? He admits that she is only interested in the term ending in 2014.

11:18 AM- Moorlach is concerned that the person appointed will have an advantage in the election and supports a caretaker in order to create an open election for the seat in 2014. I am very confused by this logic???

11:20 AM- Supervisor Nelson agrees with the 3 other Supes that  the remaining 7 candidates should be interviewed.

11:21 AM- If I recall correctly John Moorlach is being a hypocrite. He was appointed to the Treasurer Tax-Collector to fill an unexpired term and then ran for it with the incumbent title.

11:22 AM- FYI I just realized I did not type the 7 names earlier but here they are: George Beck, Jim Benoozi, Jan Grimes, Nick Pham, Gustavo Rodriguez, Eric Woolery, and Alexander Yoo.

11:25 AM- Supervisors Spitzer and Nguyen bring up examples of candidates claiming that they will or will not run and then changing their mind when the time comes to file for office. It is clear that they are both opposed to having a caretaker in the office.

11:26 AM- The item passes 4-1 with Moorlach dissenting to interview the 7 candidates mentioned above.

11:27 AM- I am going to take a quick snack break during the Cal-Optima item and will try to be back before the public speakers are done.

11:54 AM- I am back and have clearly missed more time than I expected. It will be useless for me to blog on this item. Stand by while I wait for the CEO discussion.

12:37 PM- We are into the discussion for the County CEO appointment.

12:42 PM- It appears that the appointment of the County CEO will be discussed in closed session.

12:43 PM- Supervisor Nguyen tried and get an extra public comment session prior to going into closed session due to numerous members of the audience wishing to speak regarding “Latino Health Access.”

12:50 PM- I am calling it a day. Be on the lookout for my starting to follow the OC Auditor-Controller in more detail.