Sidhu Opens Committee for 68th Assembly District
Posted by Chris Nguyen on July 15, 2013
Harry Sidhu
Lending credibility to rumors swirling in the Spring, former Anaheim Councilman Harry Sidhu opened a new campaign committee this month: “Harry Sidhu for Assembly 2014.”
Sidhu filed a Form 501 (Candidate Intention Statement) for the 68th Assembly District when opening that committee. On the Form 501, Sidhu also indicated he would not accept the voluntary expenditure limit of $544,000 in the primary and $953,000 in the general election.
The only catch with a 2014 bid for AD-68 is a gentleman by the name of Don Wagner.
There are four possibilities for this committee:
- Sidhu is crazy enough to challenge Wagner, who would cream Sidhu in the June 2014 primary
- Sidhu is banking on Wagner running for CD-45 in 2014 (win or lose, Wagner would have to give up his Assembly seat if he chose to run for CD-45 since the elections for the two seats occur concurrently)
- Sidhu is using the Assembly committee as a placeholder to raise funds for another office (Sidhu would then presumably launch a surprise by filing for another office at the last minute and then slide the money over)
- Sidhu is using the 2014 committee as a placeholder for a future vacancy in the AD-68 seat in 2015 (Wagner leaves the seat early) or 2016 (Wagner terms out)
Sidhu has a 2-3 record in the five times he’s sought elected office.
- In 2010, Sidhu ran unsuccessfully for 4th District Supervisor, losing to Supervisor Shawn Nelson 63.1%-36.9%. Just 0.1% of AD-68 voters live in the 4th Supervisorial District.
- In the 2008 general election, Sidhu was the top vote-getter for Anaheim City Council, winning 23.2% of the vote. 16.8% of AD-68 voters live in the City of Anaheim, which is the third-largest city in AD-68.
- In the 2008 primary election, Sidhu ran unsuccessfully for the 33rd Senate District, losing to then-Assemblywoman Mimi Walters in a 74.0%-26.0% landslide. (For comparison, Supervisor Janet Nguyen defeated Steve Rocco 74.2%-25.8% in 2012.)
- In 2004, Sidhu was first elected to the Anaheim City Council, winning 18.4% of the vote, coming in second behind Lorri Galloway.
- In 2002, Sidhu made an unsuccessful bid for Anaheim City Council, winning 10.7% of the vote, coming in fourth behind Bob Hernandez, Richard Chavez, and Bob Zemel.
OC Political 
ocprandemedia said
I believe he has also run for the OC GOP Central Committee.
Jon Fleischman said
When Sidhu ran for Supervisor he was the chosen candidate of the county’s powerful public employee unions, who spent big bucks on his behalf. He was asked to distance himself from the unions, reject their support. He would not do so. This ultimately lead to the Orange County GOP endorsing Nelson and raising and spending big bucks as no one wanted to see someone cozy with organized labor win a Republican seat.
Given the dynamics in Sacramento these days, Sidhu will be hard pressed to explain to the conservative voters in AD 68 why they should send someone to elect them who is comfortable being in bed with public employee unions. There is a real danger here, given Prop. 14, that the unions could try to put a friendly into a GOP seat.
Stay tuned.
Allen Wilson said
Harry flirted a run for Assembly in the old 60th AD in 2007.
Boy, Harry never gives up!
Harry Sidhu Opens Assembly Campaign Committee | Anaheim Blog said
[…] Nguyen at OC Political reports that former Anaheim City Councilman Harry Sidhu has opened a campaign committee for the 68th […]