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Charles Munger Dipping His Financial Finger Big Time into South Orange County

Posted by Craig P. Alexander on May 21, 2014

It is no secret that Palo Alto physicist and political financier Charles Munger likes to put his money into Republican v. Republican races.  What is his goal?  In my opinion to remake the California Republican Party in his own liberal / moderate image complete with a platform that takes no position on social issues (or takes pro-abortion / pro-homosexual marriage positions).  Thus  you can count on the candidates he backs to appoint delegates to the CRP who will be Charles Munger approved and vote they way he wants.

In the 73rd Assembly District (where I live) there are four Republicans and one Democrat running to replace Diane Harkey who is termed out (and running for the State Board of Equalization).  One of the Republicans is CUSD school board trustee Anna Bryson who I used to support.  However after she won re-election in 2010 she took a sharp turn towards the teachers union and started voting for their causes and positions.  I have posted about this before: Why Does the Teachers Union Love Anna Bryson?  Due to these votes, I and many others who supported her previously do not support her for any elected position including this one.

Now her major financial backer, Charles Munger, has put into his Spirit of Democracy PAC $250,000 to support Ms. Bryson in her quest for the 73rd Assembly seat. John Harbe over at CalNewsroom.com blog has posted an excellent article outlining how Mr. Munger has spent $322,713 (inclusive of the recent $250,000 into his PAC for her) in support of Ms. Bryson (73rd Assembly: Charles Munger).  This is more than all of the candidates have raised for this race combined.

Apparently those of us living in the 73rd Assembly District will now be subjected to TV and other media ads for Ms. Bryson.  While she touts herself as a conservative – her voting record (as I have posted about in the above link) tells a very different story.  In addition, she recently lost a challenge to her ballot statement when the judge found she had made a false and misleading statement in it (and it was stricken and amended by the judge).  I posted on this blog twice about that.  Breaking News & Follow Up the latter post including a link to an excellent article by Katy Grimes over at the Flashreport on this subject.

What is particularly disappointing to me are the number of conservatives who have either not vetted her record, spoken to local activists like myself or simply don’t care about her record and endorse her anyway.  These include people like Edwin Meese, III, George Shultz, Hugh Hewitt and Assemblyman Don Wagner.  I note that none of them live in the 73rd Assembly District.  I don’t know if these conservatives realize it, but by supporting someone like Anna Bryson, they are supporting someone who is now extremely beholden to Charles Munger.  She will likely join him in making the CRP are much more liberal place where conservatives like them are not welcome.  This is in addition to adding her wobbly voting record to the floor of the State Assembly.

For me, I will continue to support the real conservative in the race for the 73rd Assembly District: Dana Point City Councilman Bill Brough. (Why I Am Supporting Bill Brough) I should note that the California Republican Assembly endorsed Bill Brough (CRA RECAP) and he was featured in our recent mailer which Chris Emami just reported on (CRA Newspaper).  Anna Bryson did not even show up to the CRA endorsing convention to ask for the endorsement or defend her voting record – even though she was invited to do so.  Naturally I hope that Charles Munger cannot buy this seat for her and Bill Brough will be one of the top two to advance to November.

Posted in 73rd Assembly District, Capistrano Unified School District, Dana Point, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Petrilla and Bartlett Mailers Stir Controversy

Posted by Greg Woodard on May 16, 2014

Allan Bartlett over at Powder Blue posted two mailers he recently got a hold of (see below), one from Jesse Petrilla running for the 73rd Assembly District, and one from Lisa Bartlett running for OC Supervisor in the 5th District.  Bartlett maintains that the Petrilla mailer is deceptive because it contains a quote from OC GOP Chairman Scott Baugh and the OC GOP logo, implying that the party has endorsed Petrilla, which it has not.  The quote, which addresses the influence of public employee unions, is prominently displayed at the top of the mailer in which Petrilla purports to advocate for reforming government pensions.  In a comment on the Powder Blue posting, Mission Viejo activist Larry Gilbert, a Petrilla supporter, disagrees and states that the quote simply connects Chairman Baugh to the OC GOP. The OC GOP only allows endorsed candidates to use the party’s logo.  Petrilla is not endorsed by the OC GOP, and he did not ask for permission to use the party logo.

Also interesting is that Petrilla’s mailer includes a comparison between Petrilla and two other candidates, Anna Bryson and Paul Glaab.  Petrilla attacks Bryson and Glaab as beholden to the unions.  However, Petrilla omits a third major candidate, Bill Brough, from the mailer (for full disclosure, I am supporting Brough in the 73rd).  That raises the question of why Brough was omitted.  Is it because Petrilla cannot attack Brough on union issues, is it because Petrilla sees Brough as his biggest threat and he does not want to give Brough any extra publicity, or is it for another reason?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Over in the race for OC Supervisor, 5th District, Lisa Bartlett has put out a mailer stating that she is the “The Endorsed Conservative Republican” with a letter from Congressman Darrell Issa prominently displayed on the front (more disclosure, I am supporting Robert Ming in this race, though I have little experience or knowledge of Bartlett).  The letter from Issa states that he is endorsing Bartlett’s campaign.  Allan Bartlett contends that the mailer is deceptive because it implies that Bartlett is endorsed by the OC GOP, which she is not.  I have to agree that this mailer is more deceptive than Petrilla’s in that it could lead some to believe that Bartlett is endorsed by the OC GOP simply by its vague wording.  (I will note that the other Republican candidates for the 5th District are also endorsed by many, meaning that they are also “endorsed conservative” Republicans, making her statement false on its face.  She should have put “An Endorsed Conservative Republican” or “The Issa Endorsed Conservative Republican” to be accurate.  I know I am splitting hairs here, and we are talking about mailers which often like to be vague and deceptive for effect, but it still fun to do.)

Both the 73rd AD and 5th District Supervisor races appear to be close.  It remains to be seen whether these mailers and their statements will have any negative impact on either Petrilla or Bartlett, or they are relegated to inside baseball status like so many other of these issues.  We are less than three weeks from the June 3 direct primary election, and it seems that the candidates are ramping up their mail and their message.  It should be a fun election season!

jessepetrilla bartlett

Posted in 5th Supervisorial District, 73rd Assembly District, Orange County Board of Supervisors, State Assembly | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Followup on The Anna Bryson Loss in Court

Posted by Craig P. Alexander on April 1, 2014

As I reported last week, 73rd Assembly candidate Anna Bryson was found by a Superior Court Judge in Sacramento to have made a false and misleading statement in her ballot statement.  Here is my post about that: Sacramento Judge Rules.

Today Katy Grimes (a Flash Report Senior Correspondent) did a through post over at the Flashreport about this situation including the various press releases from the Bryson campaign in which Ms. Bryson tries to spin a loss into a win.  Ms. Grimes’ article (which includes some quotes by this blogger) is at AD73: Bryson Campaign Tries…  and it is obvious Ms. Grimes put in a lot of time researching this article including speaking with various members of the Bryson campaign including Anna Bryson herself.  Katy also includes a copy of the Court’s order which clearly states the Judge found Ms. Bryson’s original statement to be false, misleading and inconsistent with the Elections Code by clear and convincing evidence.

I highly recommend you read Ms. Grimes article and her insights into the Bryson’s campaign’s attempts to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

Again, for full disclosure I am supporting Dana Point City Councilman Bill Brough who is running to be my next Assemblyperson from the 73rd Assembly District.  I recommend you check out Bill Brough and contact him through his web site at:  http://billbrough.org/  Bill’s next event will be on at 5:30 p.m. on April 22nd at Paradise Automotive in San Juan Capistrano.  For more information contact gina@zariconsulting.com or 714-388-6515.  If you met Bill and talk with him about the issues and his background, I believe you will come away supporting him as I am.

Posted in 73rd Assembly District, Capistrano Unified School District, Dana Point | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Auditor-Controller Race: Frank Davies Loses “Deputy Auditor-Controller” Ballot Designation, Will Use “Property Tax Director” Instead

Posted by Chris Nguyen on March 31, 2014

There have been five lawsuits related to the June Primary election ballot for Orange County. The meat of this article is after the bullet list. The bullet list just recaps the prior cases.

  • In the Second Supervisorial District, Allan Mansoor successfully sued the Registrar of Voters to change Michelle Steel‘s ballot designation of “Taxpayer Advocate/Businesswoman” and she is now required to use “Board of Equalization Member” instead. This case was covered here on OC Political, in an article in the OC Register, and in an article in the Daily Pilot.
  • In the Clerk-Recorder’s race, Troy Edgar‘s lawsuit against the Registrar of Voters to get on the ballot was rejected by the Orange County Superior Court. Edgar’s lawsuit against the Registrar of Voters also sought to toss Assessor Webster Guillory and Superintendent of Schools Al Mijares from the ballot, and this effort was also rejected by the Superior Court. Consequently, Edgar fails to make the ballot while Guillory and Mijares stay on the ballot. Here’s OC Political’s coverage, including the only online copy of the full text of the judge’s ruling. The judge’s sweeping ruling used “failed” or “fails” six times in reference to Edgar and even uses “without merit” in reference to one of Edgar’s arguments.
  • In the 73rd Assembly District, Mission Viejo resident Dale Tyler sued the Secretary of State to challenge a sentence in AD-73 Candidate Anna Bryson‘s ballot statement, “On the school board, I returned $59 million to taxpayers.” Tyler sought to have the sentence struck entirely, but the Sacramento County Superior Court judge issued a compromise, so it now reads, “On the school board, I voted to save taxpayers approximately $59 million.” Here’s OC Political’s coverage, and here’s the text of the judge’s ruling.
  • In the Auditor-Controller’s race, candidate John Wayne Willard sued the Registrar of Voters in an unsuccessful effort to challenge Eric Woolery‘s “Orange Treasurer/CPA” ballot designation. Consequently, Woolery remains “Orange Treasurer/CPA” on the ballot. Here’s OC Political’s coverage, including the only online copy of the full text of the judge’s ruling. When the judge includes strong language along the lines of “The evidence is undisputed that Woolery was appointed to the position of Treasurer…” you know it’s a sweeping ruling.
  • Oddly, the fifth lawsuit has yet to have any coverage anywhere despite being the first case to be completed, having been resolved way back on Tuesday, and it’s also likely the most significant case in terms of impact on a race. That case will be the focus of this article.
Auditor-Controller Candidates Eric Woolery, John Wayne Willard, Frank Davies, and Mike "Mike" Dalati. OC Political was unable to find a photo of James T. Benuzzi.

Auditor-Controller Candidates Eric Woolery, John Wayne Willard, Frank Davies, and Mike “Mike” Dalati.
OC Political was unable to find a photo of James T. Benuzzi.

Laguna Niguel resident Todd Nugent challenged the ballot designation of Auditor-Controller candidate Frank Davies. Davies requested the ballot designation of “Deputy Auditor-Controller” for his bid for Auditor-Controller.

Nugent challenged it on the grounds that this was an effort by Davies to game the system by playing working title musical chairs, as he was not the Chief Deputy Auditor-Controller. Denise Steckler held both the job classification and working title of “Chief Deputy Auditor-Controller” before the candidate filing period. Frank Davies held the job classification of “Administrative Manager III” and the working title of “Director, Property Tax” during that time. Then in the middle of candidate filing, after Davies had pulled papers for Auditor-Controller and shortly before he filed them, all four Directors at the Administrative Manager III level in the Auditor-Controller’s office had their working titles switched from “Director” to “Chief Deputy Auditor-Controller” instead (while still remaining in the job classification of “Administrative Manager III”). Chief Deputy Auditor-Controller Denise Steckler then switched to the working title of “Chief of Staff” (while still remaining in the job classification of “Chief Deputy Auditor-Controller”).

Nugent filed suit in Superior Court and succeeded in having “Deputy Auditor-Controller” dumped as Davies’s ballot designation. Consequently, Davies is now “Property Tax Director” on the ballot.

In an obscure down-ticket race like Auditor-Controller, having a ballot designation of “Deputy Auditor-Controller” would have made Davies the frontrunner. Nugent’s challenge was critical in putting Orange Treasurer/CPA Eric Woolery back in the driver’s seat for the Auditor-Controller’s seat. Defeating Willard’s challenge was also critical for Woolery’s frontrunner position.

Here’s how the candidates will appear on the ballot:

(No, that’s not a mistake. Mike “Mike” Dalati is how he requested to be on the ballot. His fiancée, Karina “Karina” Onofre, is a Democratic candidate for AD-74. I have no idea why this couple decided to double-state their first names on the ballot.)

The three strongest ballot designations belong to Woolery, Benuzzi, and Dalati while the two weakest ballot designations belong to Willard and Davies. However, Benuzzi and Dalati failed to obtain ballot statements. Woolery is the only one of the five to wield both a ballot statement and a good ballot designation.

Woolery also bought up most of the slate mailers and wields the most aggressive online presence. He also has the highest name ID having been a former member of the Orange County Board of Education and the current Orange Treasurer. Additionally, he has residual name ID from his wife, Lisa Woolery, a former member of the Rancho Santiago Community College District Board. Eric Woolery also dominates the endorsement arena, wielding the endorsements of the Orange County Taxpayers Association, the California Republican Assembly, and numerous elected officials.

With tens of thousands of dollars, Woolery also has a larger warchest than all of his opponents combined with $50,200. He spent $38,701, on a combination of the ballot statement, candidate filing fee, slate mailers, campaign literature, and consulting fees.

Davies spent his entire $16,476 on the ballot statement and candidate filing fee.

Willard has $16,438, which was presumably spent on the ballot statement and candidate filing fee (he filed a Form 497, but not a Form 460); presumably the other $38 was wiped out by signatures-in-lieu.

Benuzzi raised $2,400 from Anthony Benuzzi and Ronald Benuzzi but had to refund $200 to Anthony Benuzzi when they discovered they had exceeded the campaign contribution limit; with his remaining $2,200, he paid the candidate filing fee and $280 of campaign literature.

Dalati did not file a campaign finance report for the January 1-March 17 reporting period.

In the interest of full disclosure, Woolery is a client of Custom Campaigns, the consulting firm that owns this blog.

Posted in 2nd Supervisorial District, 73rd Assembly District, Orange County Auditor-Controller, Orange County Clerk-Recorder | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Breaking News – Sacramento Judge Rules A Portion of Anna Bryson’s Ballot Statement is False and Misleading

Posted by Craig P. Alexander on March 28, 2014

Today Judge Shelleyanne W.L. Chang ruled that 73rd Assembly candidate Anna Byrson made a false and misleading statement in her campaign statement.  The judge ruled that the statement “On the school board, I returned $59 million to taxpayers” was false and misleading and ordered the statement stricken and re-written.  In this type of ballot challenge the burden of proof the person challenging the statement is “clear and convincing” not the easier to prove “preponderance of evidence” standard.  The petitioner, Mission Viejo resident Dale Tyler, via his attorney Chad Morgan, was successful in submitting clear and convincing evidence that Ms. Bryson’s statement was both false and misleading to voters.

Ms. Bryson, as part of her opposition, submitted a declaration by her fellow CUSD Trustee John Alpay wherein he stated (among other things) that Ms. Bryson was “instrumental” in returning $59 million to taxpayers.  Yet the Court still found the statement false and misleading!  I represented Greg Powers in his challenge to Mr. Alpay’s ballot statement when he challenged former Trustee Mike Winston in the recall election of 2010.  The Court at that time struck two statements contained in Mr. Alpay’s ballot statement as being false and misleading.  So it is no surprise to me that Judge Chang found Mr. Alpay’s declaration in support of Ms. Bryson to not be convincing either.

Full disclosure: I am supporting 73rd Assembly candidate Bill Brough  (who currently serves on the Dana Point City Council).  I was a supporter of Ms. Bryson in the past, but not any longer due to her voting record: Why to the Teachers Unions Love Anna Bryson?   Check out Bill’s web site at Bill Brough for Assembly.

Posted in 73rd Assembly District, Capistrano Unified School District, Dana Point | Tagged: , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

AD-73: Petrilla Has Double Cash-on-Hand of All Opponents Combined, Bryson & Brough Nearly Tied, Glaab Deep in Debt

Posted by Chris Nguyen on March 27, 2014

I’m pretty much going to quote my opening paragraph from my January post on the AD-73 race because it serves to remind us of this chaotic year:

Next up in OC Political’s ongoing in-depth analysis of campaign finance figures is the race for the 73rd Assembly District seat being vacated by the termed out Diane Harkey, who is running for the Board of Equalization seat being vacated by the termed out Michelle Steel, who is running for the Second District Supervisor’s seat being vacated by the termed out John Moorlach, who is running for the 45th Congressional District seat being vacated by John Campbell, who voluntarily retired.  (That incredibly long sentence demonstrates a recurring theme in 2014…)

Republican AD-73 Candidates: Jesse Petrilla, Anna Bryson, Bill Brough, Paul Glaab

The four Republican AD-73 Candidates: Jesse Petrilla, Anna Bryson, Bill Brough, Paul Glaab

I’ll also quote the second paragraph from my January post:

There are four announced Republican candidates in AD-73: Rancho Santa Margarita Councilman Jesse Petrilla, Dana Point Councilman Bill Brough, Capistrano Unified School District Trustee Anna Bryson, and former Laguna Niguel Councilman Paul Glaab.  One Democrat, Attorney and Irvine Valley College Professor Wendy Gabriella, has announced for the race.  Gabriella’s entry in the race virtually guarantees a Republican vs. Democrat general election, with the Republican winning handily and spareing South County Republicans an AD-73 general election intraparty bloodbath.

What can I say?  Conditions in AD-73 have been fairly stable.  The announced candidates are exactly the same candidates who qualified for the ballot.  Now on to the latest numbers, which really haven’t moved all that much…

Petrilla’s fundraising slowed in this reporting period ($15,824, second behind Bryson), but his dominant lead ($104,839) from 2013 maintained his position as the AD-73 candidate with the most money raised, with $120,663.  He was the only candidate who raised more than he spent in this reporting period with his $15,228 in expenditures. This brings his total overall spending to just $23,410, and his tight-fisted spending has him actually fourth in expenditures.  Consequently, he has nearly $100,000 cash-on-hand, once loans and unpaid bills are accounted for, with $97,577, to be exact.  Republican Bryson, Republican Brough, and Democrat Gabriella have a combined $49,561 in that category (about half Petrilla’s figure), though adding the deeply-in-debt Republican Glaab leaves Petrilla’s opponents at a combined $14,550, which would mean Republican Petrilla has almost seven times the combined cash-on-hand of his opponents.  It’s not unreasonable to leave Glaab out and note that Petrilla has twice the combined cash-on-hand of his non-indebted opponents.  The biggest question is: why is Petrilla hoarding his money?  I think the most logical conclusion is that Petrilla plans to dominate the AD-73 direct mail.

Bryson raised more than her opponents this reporting period with $29,822, but she spent more than she took in, spending $32,514.  She also has $14,279 in unpaid bills.  Plus, she still lags behind Petrilla in overall funds raised.  She spent half her money on her consultants.  It’s not that her consultants are charging exorbitant rates – it’s simply that she has numerous consultants.  She’s raised $114,965 overall but already spent $75,224; after accounting for that $14,279 in unpaid bills, Bryson is left with just $25,463 cash on hand, assuming she has no plans to spend her $69,600 loan.  Her consulting fees are quickly eating up her once-sizeable warchest.

Bob Dole with AD-73 Candidate Bill Brough

Bob Dole with AD-73 Candidate Bill Brough earlier this month

Brough raised $10,297 this reporting period, bringing his total funds raised to $61,240.  He spent $18,084 this reporting period, bringing his total spending to $39,744.  He has a healthy mix of spending, with no one area jumping out to dominate his spending. He remains the candidate with the smallest loans, by far, at just $100.  He, Petrilla, and Gabriella have no unpaid bills.  Among AD-73 candidates, Brough definitely has the most interesting campaign contributor, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, who was the Republican nominee for President in 1996.  The Brough campaign had announced the Dole endorsement two weeks ago, and Dole gave Brough’s campaign $500.

Glaab raised $8,899 this reporting period, bringing his total funds raised from other people to $36,985.  However, he also donated $22,000 to his campaign in 2013 (not loaned, but truly donated), bringing his total funds raised up to $58,985.  He spent $40,053 this reporting period, bringing his total expenditures to $90,072, the highest level of expenditures of any candidate in AD-73.  While Glaab has a mix of spending, he has spent a fortune on slate mailers.  With the least raised and most spent among the Republican candidates (even after accounting for his self-contribution of $22,000), Glaab is deeply in debt, to the tune of $35,011.  He’s clearly banking on the slate mailer strategy for this race, but he didn’t secure all the slates.

On slates, in my January post, I said, “Glaab secured the vast majority of slate mailers.  There are five major slate vendors, with Glaab grabbing three of them, including the two vendors who produce the most slate mailers.  Bryson grabbed one vendor.  It appears the fifth vendor is up for grabs still.”  Well, Brough has since nabbed the fifth vendor.  Slate mailers are now divided in this race, with three candidates nabbing the major slates, though Glaab has the lion’s share.

Nothing new regarding loans or candidate self-funding, so here’s the paragraph from my January post on that:

Here at OC Political, we’ve railed repeatedly against the $100,000 paper tiger loans.  (These loans of $100,000 or less are frequently used by candidates to artificially inflate their warchest numbers.  While OC Political has many posts about those, this one is probably the seminal post on the issue.)  I will give Paul Glaab credit for actually spending his own money. Glaab put his money where his mouth is, and donated $22,000 to his own campaign beyond the $100,000 loan he made to his campaign.  State campaign finance regulations put that $22,000 forever out of Glaab’s reach; it is nonrefundable, and he must spend it on the campaign.  Glaab was well aware of this regulation and properly reported the $22,000 as a contribution, not a loan.

Democrat Wendy Gabriella raised $4,592 this reporting period, bringing her total funds raised to $16,703.  She spent $9,507 this reporting period, bringing her total expenditures to $14,089.  (Interestingly, top fundraiser Petrilla’s spending is so low that his expenditure levels are closer to dead-last fundraiser Gabriella’s than to any of his Republican opponents.)  With no unpaid bills and a candidate loan of $1,196, Gabriella’s cash-on-hand is $2,614.

Here’s the chart:

Candidate 2013
Contrib.		 1/1/14-
3/17/14
Contrib.		 Candidate
Contrib.		 Total
Contrib.		 Candidate
Loans		 Unpaid
Bills		 2013
Expend.		 1/1/14-
3/17/14
Expend.		 Total
Expend.		 Cash-
on-Hand
(COH)		 COH
Minus
Unpaid
Bills		 COH
Minus
Unpaid
Bills &
Loans
Petrilla $104,839 $15,824 $0 $120,663 $3,500 $0 $8,182 $15,228 $23,410 $101,077 $101,077 $97,577
Bryson $85,143 $29,822 $0 $114,965 $69,600 $14,279 $42,710 $32,514 $75,224 $109,342 $95,063 $25,463
Brough $50,943 $10,297 $0 $61,240 $100 $0 $21,660 $18,084 $39,744 $21,584 $21,584 $21,484
Glaab $28,086 $8,899 $22,000 $58,985 $100,000 $3,925 $50,019 $40,053 $90,072 $68,914 $64,989 -($35,011)
Gabriella $12,111 $4,592 $0 $16,703 $1,196 $0 $4,582 $9,507 $14,089 $5,693 $5,693 $2,614
Notes: Figures may be off by one dollar due to rounding.

Campaign finance reports for January 1-March 17, 2014 were due Monday.

Posted in 73rd Assembly District | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Petrilla Named Most Recent Pathfinder Candidate By California Trailblazers: Joins 5 Other OC Candidates

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on March 24, 2014

I have been meaning to write about this for a while but got behind with a ton of work that had piled up on my desk.

petrilla

Orange County has a number of candidates that have advanced to ‘Pathfinder’ status by the California Trailblazers. Jesse Petrilla (AD 73) joins Janet Nguyen (SD 34), Pat Bates (SD 36), Ling-Ling Chang (AD 55), Phillip Chen (AD 55), and Young Kim (AD 65).

In order to explain a bit more about how the California Trailblazers program works, here is an excerpt from a press release that they issued:

California Trailblazers Announces Four ‘Pathfinder’ Candidates
http://www.catrailblazers.com/news/40/15/California-Trailblazers-Announces-Four-Pathfinder-Candidates/

Senate and Assembly candidates surpass rigorous campaign goals and earn distinction

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Trailblazers today announced another round of Republican candidates who have advanced to ‘Pathfinder’ status, the first level in the program’s three-tier structure. The Trailblazers program is off to a strong start with a majority of state Assembly and Senate candidates enrolled in the program. With today’s announcement, 13 candidates have reached ‘Pathfinder’ status. The Trailblazers program successfully helps candidates strengthen their campaigns by providing resources, training opportunities and practical skills so they are equipped to build and run winning campaigns.

“To renew and rebuild the Republican Party, we need to help develop quality Republican candidates who represent their districts’ values and are well-positioned to connect and engage with voters. Our goal is to elevate candidates and strengthen their campaigns by encouraging them to achieve specific benchmarks throughout the campaign cycle,” said California Trailblazers CEO Jessica Patterson. “Candidates move up the ranks as they reach aggressive benchmarks and develop a strong campaign infrastructure.” Re: CA Trailblazers Announce Petrilla as ‘Pathfinder’ Candidate Page 1 of 3

The three-tier structure encourages candidates to advance through the levels of ‘Pathfinder,’ ‘Rising Star’ and ‘Trailblazer’ by providing tools and resources for candidates to develop successful campaigns.

California Trailblazers distinguishes candidates as ‘Pathfinders’ once they’ve established the foundation for a robust and winning campaign. ‘Pathfinder’ candidates have raised more than $100,000 in campaign contributions, identified local volunteers and precinct captains and created a substantial online presence through a dynamic website and active social media effort.

This is big news for Petrilla who is likely fending off CUSD Trustee Anna Bryson to advance to the November General Election. Petrilla is already the leading fundraiser in AD 73 and has always been known for having a large amount of grassroots supporters. A combination of his being named a ‘Pathfinder’, raising the most money, having a strong grassroots network, and his military background are leading me to believe that he will be tough to beat in June.

Petrilla finished in first place in the 2010 Rancho Santa Margarita City Council race (impressively finishing ahead of 2 incumbents):

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA Member, City Council                                   
Number To Vote For: 3
Completed Precincts: 31 of 31
                 Vote Count                 Percentage                
JESSE PETRILLA 7,396 22.9%
STEVEN BARIC 6,915 21.4%
* GARY THOMPSON 6,843 21.2%
* NEIL C. BLAIS 6,823 21.1%
LAWRENCE (LARRY) MCCOOK 4,326 13.4%

* Indicates Incumbent Candidate, if any

Ironically, I believe that Wendy Gabriella will come in first in June due to the Republican vote being split amongst four candidates. Whoever emerges from this brutal primary will likely coast in the November election against Wendy Gabriella.

Posted in 73rd Assembly District | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

State, County, Schools: Who’s on the Ballot

Posted by Chris Nguyen on March 8, 2014

Here’s the comprehensive run-down on all non-federal and non-judicial races on Orange County’s ballots for the 2014 primary election.  With regard to State races, I’m only posting Board of Equalization and legislative because statewide races require that I check 58 Registrars, which is a task too onerous for this blogger; going through five Registrars for BOE was annoying enough.

Extensions

Three races have had their filing deadline extended to Wednesday, as an eligible incumbent did not run for re-election:

  • 45th Congressional District (Incumbent John Campbell decided not to run for re-election)
  • 74th Assembly District (Incumbent Allan Mansoor filed for Supervisor)
  • Auditor-Controller (Appointed Incumbent Jan Grimes decided not to run for an elected term)

Unopposed

36th Senate District: Supervisor Pat Bates (R) is unopposed.  Ken Lopez Maddox (R) pulled signatures-in-lieu but did not file those papers nor pull any others.  No one pulled papers, let alone filed papers, in San Diego County.

Sheriff-Coroner: Sandra Hutchens (R) is unopposed for re-election.

Superintendent of Schools: Appointed Incumbent Al Mijares (R) is unopposed in his bid for his first elected term.

Treasurer-Tax Collector: Shari Friedenrich (R) is unopposed for re-election.

Complicated

Board of Equalization: Assemblywoman Diane Harkey (R), former Assemblyman Van Tran (R), Accountant/Realtor Lewis Da Silva (R), Store Owner/Businessman John F. Kelley (R), and Government Auditor Nader Shahatitt (D) are all running.

Assessor: Incumbent Webster Guillory (NPP) pulled papers and filed them on the last day.  His opponents are Consultant/Appraiser/Businessman Jorge O. Lopez (D) and former Board of Equalization Member Claude Parrish (R).

Clerk-Recorder: Incumbent Hugh Nguyen (R) faces a trio of opponents: former Orange Unified School District Trustee Steve Rocco (NPP), Capistrano Unified School District Trustee Gary Pritchard (D), and Businesswoman Monica Maddox (R), who is married to former Assemblyman/former Capistrano Unified School District Trustee/former Garden Grove Councilman Ken Maddox (R).  See this post from OC Political on the bizarre story of Los Alamitos Councilman Troy Edgar’s (R) failure to qualify that required the Registrar of Voters to examine surveillance camera footage.

Minor developments

69th Assembly District: As expected, Assemblyman Tom Daly (D) is being challenged by Santa Ana Unified School District Trustee Cecilia “Ceci” Iglesias (R).  Inexplicably, Sherry Walker (R) who only registered to vote in AD-69 recently, filed to run.

5th Supervisorial District: As expected, Orange County Businessman/Councilmember Robert Ming (R), Councilmember/Businessman/Engineer Frank Ury (R), and Mayor/Businesswoman Lisa Bartlett all filed.  Unexpectedly, Deputy District Attorney Joe Williams (R) filed.

As expected

34th Senate District: Supervisor Janet Nguyen (R), RSCCD Trustee Jose Solorio (D), and former OCBE Trustee Long Pham (R) are running.

55th Assembly District: Councilwoman/Educator/Executive Ling-Ling Chang (R), Small Business Onwer Phillip Chen (R), Councilmember Steve Tye (R), and Social Worker Gregg D. Fritchle (D) filed.

65th Assembly District: Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D) and Small Businesswoman Young Kim (R) are the sole candidates.

68th Assembly District: Assemblyman Don Wagner (R)is being challenged by Psycotherapist Anne Cameron (D).

72nd Assembly District: Assemblyman Travis Allen (R) is being challenged by Retired Police Commander Albert Ayala (D) and Joel Block (D).

73rd Assembly District: The five expected candidates all qualified.  Here’s a list of them with their party affiliation and ballot designation:

  • Bill Brough (R), Businessman/Dana Point Councilman
  • Anna Bryson (R), Capistrano Unified School District Trustee
  • Jesse Petrilla (R), Councilman/Military Officer
  • Paul Glaab (R), Small Business Owner
  • Wendy Gabriella (D), Teacher/Constitutional Attorney

2nd Supervisorial District: The four expected candidates filed.  Here’s a list of them with their party affiliation and ballot designation:

  • Michelle Steel (R), Taxpayer Advocate/Businesswoman
  • Allan Mansoor (R), California Assemblyman
  • Joe Carchio (R), Councilman/Retired Businessowner (this ballot designation won’t last long, as you cannot legally have both a retired occupation and a current occupation in a race)
  • Jim Moreno (D), Governing Board Member, Coast Community College District

4th Supervisorial District: Supervisor Shawn Nelson (R) is being challenged by Small Business Owner Rudy Gaona (D).  Gaona has made two unsuccessful bids for Anaheim City Council, and in both instances came in close to finishing last.

District Attorney-Public Administrator: DA Tony Rackauckas (R) is being challenged by Attorney Greg Diamond (D).

County Board of Education, Trustee Area 2: Incumbent David Boyd (NPP) is being challenged by Orange County Small Businessman Tom Pollitt (R).

County Board of Education, Trustee Area 5: Incumbent Elizabeth Parker (R) is being challenged by Orange County Businesswoman/Mayor Linda Lindholm (R).

Irvine Unified School District Special Election: Ira Glasky (R) seeks a return to his former seat on the Irvine School Board.  He is being challenged by Bob Vu (R) and Carolyn Inmon (D).

Congress

I will be back to update the Congressional races.  There’s something screwy in the log from one of the other counties on one of the multi-county Congressional races that include parts of Orange County; I’d like to confirm if it’s a clerical error, I’m misreading something, or it’s something more serious.  I will post later on the Congressional races.

Posted in 2nd Supervisorial District, 34th Senate District, 36th Senate District, 4th Supervisorial District, 55th Assembly District, 5th Supervisorial District, 65th Assembly District, 68th Assembly District, 69th Assembly District, 72nd Assembly District, 73rd Assembly District, 74th Assembly District, Board of Equalization, Irvine Unified School District, Orange County, Orange County Auditor-Controller, Orange County Board of Education, Orange County Clerk-Recorder, Orange County District Attorney's Office, Orange County Public Administrator, Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector | 1 Comment »

Petrilla Makes Statement to CRA About 2001 Arrest – Double Wow!

Posted by Craig P. Alexander on March 4, 2014

As Chris Nguyen accurately reported over the weekend (Live From the CRA Endorsing Convention), Jesse Petrilla made a statement to the delegates at the California Republican Assembly’s Orange County endorsing convention about his past criminal problems.  He did it via a spokesperson who explained that he was away at National Guard training last weekend.  Part of that statement was his defense from those “attacking him” regarding his 2001 felony convictions.  Part of his statement was that he beat the charges.  I was there and serving as the Parliamentarian for the group so I was right next to the podium when the statement was read. Since he told a different story to the Orange County Register the day prior to the convention (See: Does a conviction matter?) – either Mr. Petrilla isn’t keeping his stories straight or his spokesperson did not read the correct statement to the delegates.  Either way this does not bode well for him.

Assuming the statement that was read to us at CRA was the one Mr. Petrilla wished us to hear, the statement is shocking.  I am an attorney although I do not practice criminal law. However, I do know and understand that when you plead no contest and the judge explains to you that such a plea is the same as a guilty plea (and you state you understand that as Petrilla did) – that is not “beating the charges” but admitting to the crime.  That is why I was so shocked by his prior statement of only a few weeks ago in my post about this: Petrilla Statement – Wow!  The Rancho Santa Margarita Patch also carried a story about his prior statement of a few weeks ago which includes copies of the actual court documents from his criminal case confirming his plea bargain and sentence (Did Petrilla Lie?)

Now at the CRA convention he apparently doubles down by having a statement read to us in which he claims to have “beat the charges!”  I guess Jesse Petrilla and some of his supporters don’t understand something extremely important – that Mr. Petrilla’s statements about this incident in which he essentially denies that he plead no contest (i.e. guilty) to two felony charges were only four weeks ago and last Saturday!!!  It is his truthfulness now that concerns me more than what happened in 2001.

Am I glad he served his time and apparently got his two convictions expunged from his record – Yes!  Am I glad he is proudly serving in the U.S. Army – Yes and thank you for your service Mr. Petrilla!  But that does not excuse him from giving out statements like those referenced above to try and make people believe he “beat the charges” or “they were all dismissed” implying he was never convicted of a crime.  As with my prior posts about this issue – don’t take my word for it – go to the Patch post linked above, read the article and the attached pages and make the judgment for yourself.

Perhaps Mr. Petrilla needs to spend a little money and time to consult with a criminal defense attorney about what a “no contest” plea means and what his obligations are under California Penal Code Section 1203.4 in a political campaign (I will leave it to Mr. Petrilla to consult with his attorney about that section of the law).

I am and have been supporting Bill Brough for the 73rd Assembly.  See: Why I Am Supporting Bill Brough for the 73rd Assembly.

Posted in 73rd Assembly District, Rancho Santa Margarita, Uncategorized | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

CRA Recap: Bates, Ming Unanimously Endorsed; Steel, Brough, Harper Endorsed; CD-45 Deadlock

Posted by Chris Nguyen on March 1, 2014

CRA Logo

OC Political live-blogged the Orange County CRA endorsements this morning.  Here’s the quicky recap for those of you who just want the results:

CRA Endorsements

  • Supervisor Patricia Bates was endorsed by unanimous consent for the 36th Senate District.
  • Laguna Niguel Councilman Robert Ming was endorsed by unanimous consent for the 5th Supervisorial District.
  • Board of Equalization Member Michelle Steel was endorsed for the 2nd Supervisorial District, defeating Assemblyman Allan Mansoor 28-9.
  • Dana Point Councilman Bill Brough was endorsed for the 73rd Assembly District, defeating Rancho Santa Margarita Councilman Jesse Petrilla 12-3, with former Laguna Niguel Councilman Paul Glaab receiving no votes.
  • Huntington Beach Mayor Matt Harper was endorsed for the 74th Assembly District, defeating Newport Beach Councilman Keith Curry 14-3.
  • In the 45th Congressional District, Supervisor John Moorlach and Senator Mimi Walters fought through three rounds, but the convention deadlocked, so no endorsement was made in this race.  In the first round, Walters got 13 votes while Moorlach got 12, and retired United States Marine Corps Colonel Greg Raths received no votes.  Walters and Moorlach advance to a second-round run-off, in which they tied with 12 votes each.  In the third and final round, Walters got 14 votes while Moorlach got 9 votes.  It required a 2/3 vote to endorse, so CD-45 failed to produce an endorsement.

All other races on the June ballot will be considered in three weeks on Saturday, March 22.

Posted in 2nd Supervisorial District, 36th Senate District, 45th Congressional District, 5th Supervisorial District, 73rd Assembly District, 74th Assembly District | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

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