An Open Letter to Walter Myers on Scott Baugh’s Run for the 48th Congressional District
Posted by Mark Bucher on March 23, 2018
Walter,
I read your post about feeling slighted by Scott Baugh as Chairman of the Orange County Republican Central Committee when you were not chosen as the replacement for Jack Anderson (not John Williams), who resigned from the Committee because he was moving. You and I recall these events very differently. I remember well that you were upset, but Chairman Baugh had little involvement in that event. And it was not, as you claim, driven by race, racial insensitivity, or anything else about you personally.
When a Central Committee member resigns, the by-laws of the Central Committee require the remaining five members of that district (in this case, Jon Fleischman, Marcia Gilchrist, Tony Beall, Todd Spitzer and me) to select and recommend a replacement. After Mr. Anderson notified us that he was resigning, a fellow Central Committee member recruited Greg Woodard to replace Mr. Anderson and lobbied for him to be appointed.
The decision regarding whom to recommend was not made in a vacuum – these were tumultuous times on the Central Committee. As treasurer, I had been falsely accused of committing financial crimes involving the Party’s books by Francis Akhavi and others who were supported by her. (We now know why she was convinced I was cooking the books – Akhavi recently went to prison for stealing and keeping separate books. That irony is rich.) At the time, Jon Fleischman and I, and others in our assembly district caucus, wanted to make sure the replacement was somebody we knew and was not part of Akhavi’s scheme. We knew Mr. Woodard well, and simply did not know for sure where you stood. It is as simple as that. I do not recall then Chairman Baugh playing any substantial part in the decision. In fact, Mr. Woodard will confirm for you that he never even met Chairman Baugh until after he was sworn in as a new member. Nonetheless, Chairman Baugh followed the by-laws and put our recommendation to a vote of the entire Central Committee for approval.
Walter, if there is anyone you should be upset about for not being appointed to the Central Committee, it is Jon Fleishman and me, or even the entire Central Committee who voted for Mr. Woodard instead of you. But it is simply wrong for you to claim these circumstances constitute ethnic insensitively by Chairman Baugh.
With respect to your other claims that Chairman Baugh had no interest in minority outreach or is ethnically insensitive, nothing could be further from the truth. On many occasions Chairman Baugh championed ethnic outreach, including recruitment of candidates reflecting the great ethnic diversity of Orange County. He has been a fierce supporter of then Supervisor and now Senator Janet Nguyen, and stood up to powerful elements within the party to do so. He recruited and was an early supporter of Assemblywoman Young Kim, helped elect Michelle Steel and held her first fundraiser at his home when she was running for Supervisor, and led the Central Committee to an early endorsement of Andrew Do that helped lead to his election. In Santa Ana, Chairman Baugh was a leading advocate for Cecilia Iglesias for the School Board and he personally recruited Maribel Marroquin for the Central Committee in 69th Assembly District. He was also a leading proponent with the Lincoln Club for outreach to Santa Ana with Teresa Hernandez by walking precincts in an off election year to hear the concerns of the residents of Santa Ana, and even led the charge to have two Central Committee members removed who circulated racist materials.
I could go on and on recounting other efforts undertaken by Chairman Baugh, but I think the point is clear – Chairman Baugh was not responsible for you not being on the Central Committee, and has been a champion to be praised and emulated with respect to outreach to minority and ethnic communities.
Walter, you and I are friends, and I sincerely hope you are not offended by what I am saying. I just know for certain that the claims you are making against Scott Baugh are not true, and I felt it is important to set the record straight.
Mark Bucher
Elected Orange County Republican Central Committee Member
Former Treasurer, Orange County Republican Central Committee
OC Political 
mrschnickles said
I can concur that Baugh was all about mintory outreach. He was pushing amnesty along with the Lincoln Club. He also enthusiastically supported democrats masquerading as republicans like Kim. It was never about race, it was about weakening the party and proping up establishment candidates at the expense of the party itself. Take a look at the plummeting reistration numbers for republicans in Orange County. This is a parting gift from Baugh, the Swamp Monster Supreme, and it just keeps giving.
Walter Myers III said
Mark, thank you for your reply. I am not offended, but we will just agree to disagree. I apologize that I was mistaken about Jack Anderson as opposed to John Williams.
In my post, I noted that I was given the cold shoulder by both Baugh and the members of the district, and of course, that is human and subjective. I never stated or implied that Baugh met with Mr. Woodard, but only noted my experience with Baugh. I felt he had some influence on the process, but it was ultimately up to the members of the district. As far as tumultuous times and Francis Akhavi, I was never involved in any of Francis Akhavi’s schemes, and I had no part in any discussion about you committing any financial crimes. I was not a part of the tumult but served faithfully and when called upon to vote always voted based on my strong conservative principles.
Now as I had been an alternate for a few years, it is not the case that you didn’t know me or at least know who I was because I attended virtually every meeting even when John was in attendance. I always felt I was friendly and cordial, but I didn’t feel that was reciprocated by either you, Jon or Marcia for whatever reasons. And the truth is I called both you and Jon to discuss the open seat but neither of you bothered to call back. So if neither of you would return my calls, and you wouldn’t reach out to me to even ask my position on things during your deliberation, then, of course, you couldn’t possibly know where I stood. All you had to do was ask. The only person who showed any interest in talking to me was Todd Spitzer, and of course John Williams for whom I was alternate at the time. Todd was the only one who acknowledged the work I was doing and said, “Walter, the party needs you.”
And what you did not rebut was that Scott was dishonest with me about the slate mailer. Also, you cannot rebut that I was leading an active outreach committee that met regularly and was actively reaching out to the Hispanic, Korean, and Taiwanese communities. So that incident was simply the last straw for me.
Now, as to what other things Baugh did afterward, I cannot speak to those or how dynamics may have possibly changed after I stepped down from active involvement in the party. Perhaps Scott was finally convinced that outreach was important when it is clear he didn’t believe it before. All I can speak to is how I was treated.