OC Political

11:25 AM– We are now on to Bruce Peotter who at this point I think I would call the favorite if his interview goes above average.

11:26 AM– I am now onto my iPad as computer battery died. Peotter thanks the Supervisors for the opportunity. He talked about his experience running against Tom Daly back in 2002. His family was introduced through his brief biography of himself. He has experience working for Orange County along with private sector experience.

11:29 AM– iPad is way easier to blog from than computer. Technology is a focus of his introduction and he says that he plans to move the office forward from a technological standpoint. He talks about his experiences in the public and private sector.

11:31 AM– He made a pledge to not seek out higher office.

11:32 AM- He has a business degree from Arizona State and a law degree from UC Hastings. This was in response to a question from Supervisor Nguyen. Experience in the office of OC Public Administrator-Guardian were crucial to his knowledge.

11:33 AM– Per a follow-up question he will not seek election to the seat if he is not appointed. He wants to focus on stepping up the technology in Orange County where he feels that we are lacking.

11:36 AM– Supervisor Spitzer talked about his timeline of doing things and asked about what he knows now that he didn’t when he ran. Peotter answered that the timing seemed right although things didn’t work out. He was asked to join the office of Orange County Public Administrator-Guardian after he ran for office.

11:38 AM– Spitzer asks why not run if he is not appointed. He stated that he might consider it although he believes in the process. A slight hiccup here as he brought party affiliation into it.

11:39 AM– Supervisor Bates asked about the financial issues in the internal audit. He answered with details about the Fund 12D and the failings of Tom Daly. Budgeting transparency was a point that he brought up.

11:40 AM– Supervisor Moorlach asked his series of questions:

1) Are you receiving a public pension?

No.

2) What is your highest level of education?

A J.D. from UC Hastings

3) Have you been involved in litigation with the County of Orange?

As a private attorney he has been involved in election law suits that involved Registrar of Voters being sued in order to deal with ballot designations.

4) Have you ever been subject to any political investigation?

When he ran for Clerk-Recorder he forgot to do the right size disclosure on a fundraising mailer which resulted in a FPPC fine.

5) Have you run for office before? If so, how many times and for what offices?

He’s run for three other offices Irvine City Council, OC Clerk-Recorder, and OC Assessor.

6) Do you believe that the office of Orange County Clerk-Recorder needs satellite offices?

He does support online services replacing the satellite offices.

11:46 AM– He talked about why he stopped working for Public Administrator John Williams due to philosophical differences and the uses of HR during his tenure.

11:48 AM– It appears that he is also applying for the vacancy in the office of Orange County Public Administrator and seems to be in favor of consolidating the offices.

11:51 AM– He discusses increasing the technology usage by residents thus decreasing costs on staff and office space. The Phoenix Project used in Maricopa County is the program that he keeps pointing to as an example.

11:54 AM– Supervisor Nguyen asked about people who don’t have access to the Internet or do not like it. Peotter answered that he is not going to immediately shut down anything. His point is to decrease the needs for satellite offices and eventually try to direct people to the main office.

11:57 AM– He agreed to support the Board of Supervisors if they decided not to consolidate the office of Clerk-Recorder and Public Administrator.

11:58 AM– Spitzer asked the marriage question. Peotter answered that he supports keeping marriages together and supports strengthening marriages through information about pre-marital counseling. Once the question was clarified he stated his support for traditional marriage. As a Clerk-Recorder he will follow the law and grant marriages to anybody if the Supreme Court overturns Prop 8.

12:03 PM– In closing, he talked about his management style and ability to advance the office. He admitted to not being perfect but learning a lot along the way. His ability to listen and use persuasion are assets that he will bring to the table. The ability to get re-elected was another factor that he brought to the table.