OC Political

A right-of-center blog covering local, statewide, and national politics

Breaking News: Shawn Nelson to Take on Young Kim for CD-39 Republican Mantle

Posted by Chris Nguyen on January 9, 2018

Cross-posted to OC Daily…

Shawn Nelson

Shawn Nelson

Less than 36 hours after Congressman Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) unexpectedly announced his retirement after 13 terms in Congress, there are now two major Republican candidates to succeed him in the 39th Congressional District: former Assemblywoman Young Kim (R-Fullerton) who announced her bid early tonight and Supervisor Shawn Nelson (R-Fullerton) who announced his bid late tonight to City News Service.

As OC Political noted this morning in our analysis of potential candidates for CD-39:

Supervisor Shawn Nelson represents 45% of the voters of the 39th Congressional District.  Of the 367,000 registered voters in CD-39, Nelson represents 166,000 of them, who reside in the 4th Supervisorial District’s overlap with CD-39.  Nelson has deep roots in the district, having grown up in Fullerton, graduated from high school there, and even graduating from law school there.  He’s also a member of countless civic organizations in CD-39.  Nelson won three elections to the Fullerton City Council and two to the Orange County Board of Supervisors (and raised the necessary money to wage those campaigns).  As it happens, he is termed out from the Board in 2018.

Conventional wisdom would have Republicans coalesce behind one candidate.  However, with the top-two primary, having both Kim and Nelson could work (assuming that obscure La Mirada Councilman Andrew Sarega pulls out and perennial candidate John Cullum does not jump in; I would note La Mirada is not in CD-39).

In CD-31 in 2012, with four Democrats and two Republicans running, the top-two primary allowed Congressman Gary Miller and State Senator Bob Dutton to advance to an all-Republican run-off in a tough swing seat.  In CD-39 in 2018, there are currently six Democrats running.

Posted in 39th Congressional District | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Breaking News: Young Kim Enters CD-39 Race with Royce Endorsement

Posted by Chris Nguyen on January 9, 2018

Young Kim

Young Kim

Cross-posted to OC Daily…

Less than 36 hours after Congressman Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) unexpectedly announced his retirement after 13 terms in Congress, former Assemblywoman Young Kim (R-Fullerton) has entered the race to succeed Royce and dropped out of the race to succeed termed out Supervisor Shawn Nelson (R-Fullerton).

As OC Political noted this morning in our analysis of potential candidates for CD-39:

Former Assemblywoman Young Kim represented 35% of CD-39 voters, with 95,000 of the 367,000 CD-39 voters residing in AD-65.  However, Kim also holds the unique distinction of having worked for Royce for nearly 20 years before her election to the Assembly.  She had been his Director of Community Relations and Asian Affairs.  In 2014, Kim defeated Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva’s re-election bid, but in 2016, Quirk-Silva avenged herself by defeating Kim’s re-election bid.  Kim is certainly familiar with what a swing seat campaign entails, with her sheer number of volunteers and staff.  She raised $2 million in each of her two Assembly campaigns.  Kim is currently in the midst of her bid to replace the termed out Nelson to represent the Fourth District on the Board of Supervisors.  If Kim switched to the Congressional race, it would leave La Habra Mayor Tim Shaw the sole Republican candidate facing off against Democrat Joe Kerr, a former long-time firefighters’ union president, for Supervisor (other Democrats running for the seat would presumably be eliminated by the voters in the June primary).

The switch to Congress was so quick that Kim’s campaign committee does not yet have a Federal Election Commission (FEC) ID number, as seen by the disclaimer at the bottom of her web site:

Paid for by Young Kim for Congress. FEC ID# C00XXXXXX

In endorsing Kim, Royce said:

“We have an opportunity to elect an outstanding community leader to Congress – Young Kim. I can attest to Young’s dedication and abilities because she worked for me for almost 20 years, serving as a key advisor and community liaison. She knows our district, its people and its needs. She is a tireless and dedicated public servant. In Congress, Young will be an effective voice for middle class families and for policies that keep our country secure, grow jobs and increase economic opportunities for the people of our 39th district.”

The question now is: will Kim clear the field of any other Republicans, or will another formidable Republican jump in?  Conventional wisdom would have Republicans coalesce behind one candidate.  However, with the top-two primary, there is a scenario where two Republican candidates could work well.

In CD-31 in 2012, with four Democrats and two Republicans running, the top-two primary allowed Congressman Gary Miller and State Senator Bob Dutton to advance to an all-Republican run-off in a tough swing seat.  In CD-39 in 2018, there are currently six Democrats running.

Posted in 39th Congressional District, 4th Supervisorial District | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

CD-39: Which Republican Will Run for Ed Royce’s Seat?

Posted by Chris Nguyen on January 9, 2018

Cross-posted to OC Daily…

Congressman Ed Royce (R-Fullerton)

Congressman Ed Royce (R-Fullerton)

A political earthquake shook Orange County yesterday afternoon when Congressman Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) unexpectedly announced that he would not be running for re-election this year.  First elected to the California State Senate in 1982 and to the United States House of Representatives in 1992, Royce is the longest currently-serving elected official in partisan office in Orange County (and the third-longest currently-serving elected official in the County as a whole*).

There is a running joke in political circles that there must be Royce is secretly twins or triplets because of his ability to be in two or three places at once in his district.  Royce always kept a jam-packed calendar whenever he was returned to the district from Washington, DC.  His hard work in the district managed to allow him to win by double-digit margins in this swing district.  He developed his work ethic from his first election when he won a swing seat in the State Senate.  In every campaign for re-election to Congress, Royce would set up one of the largest campaign apparatuses in Orange County.  Royce also currently has the largest campaign warchest in Orange County, standing at $3.5 million.

So significant is Royce’s strength in the district that when he announced his retirement yesterday, the Cook Political Report moved CD-39 from “Leans Republican” to “Leans Democrat” skipping the “Toss Up” label entirely.

With the unexpected retirement of Royce, an Orange County political institution for over a quarter of a century, North Orange County and Southern Los Angeles County politicians (and perhaps some Chino Hills politicians) from both parties are scrambling to determine if they can run a viable campaign for this seat and if they’re willing to give up their existing seats in 2018.  While six Democrats were challenging Royce for CD-39, none have ever held elected office, so Democrats in elected office in CD-39 are now likely examining the chance to go for an unexpectedly open CD-39.  No Republican elected official was looking at CD-39 since Royce was expected to run for re-election.  Today, let’s look at the Republicans:

Shawn Nelson, Michelle Steel, Bob Huff, Phillip Chen, Ling-Ling Chang, Young Kim

Supervisor Shawn Nelson, Supervisor Michelle Steel, Former Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff, Assemblyman Phillip Chen, Former Assemblywoman Ling-Ling Chang, Former Assemblywoman Young Kim

  • Supervisor Shawn Nelson represents 45% of the voters of the 39th Congressional District.  Of the 367,000 registered voters in CD-39, Nelson represents 166,000 of them, who reside in the 4th Supervisorial District’s overlap with CD-39.  Nelson has deep roots in the district, having grown up in Fullerton, graduated from high school there, and even graduating from law school there.  He’s also a member of countless civic organizations in CD-39.  Nelson won three elections to the Fullerton City Council and two to the Orange County Board of Supervisors (and raised the necessary money to wage those campaigns).  As it happens, he is termed out from the Board in 2018.(The Supervisor who represents the second largest chunk of CD-39 behind Nelson is LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, representing 82,000 CD-39 voters, or 22% of the district.  Considering that Hahn just left a safe Democratic Congressional district in 2016 to run for Supervisor, there is zero chance she runs for this seat.  Todd Spitzer, Curt Hagman, Hilda Solis, and Michelle Park Steel split the remainder, and no one expects Spitzer, Hagman, or Solis to run for this seat.)
  • Supervisor Michelle Park Steel is well-known in the large Korean-American community in CD-39 as well as in the district’s large Asian-American community.  She represented the Orange County and San Bernardino County portions of CD-39 when she won two elections to the State Board of Equalization.  Additionally, she is one of Orange County’s most prolific fundraisers and would have little trouble raising the significant sums of money needed to wage a campaign in one of the nation’s top swing seats.  (Of course, millions of dollars will pour into this seat on both sides, from IEs/SuperPACs, DCCC, NRCC, DNC, RNC, but it always helps when the candidate can raise significant sums.)  To run for CD-39, Steel would have to abandon her bid for re-election to the 2nd Supervisorial District, setting off a scramble for that seat.
  • Former State Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff represented 71% of CD-39 voters, with 262,000 of the 367,000 CD-39 voters residing in SD-29, which Huff termed out of in 2016.  Huff won three elections to the Diamond Bar City Council, two to the State Assembly, and two to the State Senate.  Diamond Bar is the largest LA County city in CD-39.  Though he lost his bid for the LA County Board of Supervisors, there are less than 200 voters who are in the overlap between CD-39 and that supervisorial district.  As a former Senate Republican Leader, he’s certainly capable of raising funds for this seat.
  • Assemblyman Phillip Chen represents 61% of CD-39 voters, with 225,000 of the 367,000 CD-39 voters also residing in AD-55.  Prior to his election to the Assembly, Chen won two elections to Diamond Bar’s Walnut Valley School Board.  Chen raised several hundred thousand dollars in his unsuccessful 2014 bid for AD-55 and his successful 2016 bid for AD-55.  However, Chen would be giving up a safe Assembly seat for a swing seat in Congress.  Chen is an Assemblyman because his predecessor gave up this safe Assembly seat for a swing seat in the State Senate.  Chen switching to CD-39 would also set off a scramble for AD-55.
  • Speaking of Chen’s predecessor, former Assemblywoman Ling-Ling Chang represented the same 61% of CD-39 that Chen does.  71% of CD-39 voters may recall Chang’s bid for SD-29 in 2016, when she narrowly lost to now-Senator Josh Newman.  Before her 2014 election to the Assembly, Chang won one election to the Walnut Valley Water Board and two elections to the Diamond Bar City Council.  She raised several hundred thousand dollars in her successful 2014 bid for AD-55 and a whopping $3 million in her unsuccessful 2016 bid for SD-29.  Chang grew up in Diamond Bar and is a graduate of Diamond Bar High School.  Chang is currently in the midst of her bid to be the replacement if Newman is recalled on June 5.  If Chang switched to the Congressional race, it would leave Fullerton Councilman Bruce Whitaker the leading Republican replacement candidate for Newman.  While legally possible to run in both the recall and the Congressional race, it is politically impossible to do so.
  • Former Assemblywoman Young Kim represented 35% of CD-39 voters, with 95,000 of the 367,000 CD-39 voters residing in AD-65.  However, Kim also holds the unique distinction of having worked for Royce for nearly 20 years before her election to the Assembly.  She had been his Director of Community Relations and Asian Affairs.  In 2014, Kim defeated Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva’s re-election bid, but in 2016, Quirk-Silva avenged herself by defeating Kim’s re-election bid.  Kim is certainly familiar with what a swing seat campaign entails, with her sheer number of volunteers and staff.  She raised $2 million in each of her two Assembly campaigns.  Kim is currently in the midst of her bid to replace the termed out Nelson to represent the Fourth District on the Board of Supervisors.  If Kim switched to the Congressional race, it would leave La Habra Mayor Tim Shaw the sole Republican candidate facing off against Democrat Joe Kerr, a former long-time firefighters’ union president, for Supervisor (other Democrats running for the seat would presumably be eliminated by the voters in the June primary).

Let the games begin!

 

*The longest-serving elected official currently in office in Orange County is Orange County Water District Director Phil Anthony was elected to the Westminster City Council in 1962, Mayor in 1972, County Supervisor in 1976, and water board in 1981, where he’s been ever since.  In second place is Westminster Councilwoman Margie Rice, who was elected to the School Board in 1977, City Council in 1994, Mayor in 2000, and back to the City Council in 2012.

A notable mention is Coast Community College District Trustee Jerry Patterson was elected to the Santa Ana City Council in 1968, Mayor in 1972, and Congress in 1974, but he had a hiatus from elected office from 1984 (when he lost his Congressional seat to Bob Dornan) to 2000 (when he won his current college board seat).  Patterson was elected before Rice and Royce, but his long hiatus places him behind them for years in office.

Posted in 39th Congressional District | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Recall Certified

Posted by Brenda Higgins on January 5, 2018

Secretary of State Alex Padilla today, certified enough signatures such that the recall of Senator Josh Newman may proceed.

Josh Newman was elected in a nail biter of a race against Ling Ling Chang in the 29th State Senate district in November 2016. Josh Newman voted with his party, the Democrat super majority, in pushing forward a new gas and vehicle licensing tax that has prompted voter outrage.

Republican activist Carl DeMaio form San Diego, rallied that anger into a move to recall the Freshman senator from Orange County. The recall of Senator Newman will not make any affirmative change to the gas tax, and that has been a large part of the Newman opposition messaging. People who signed the recall petitions have said that they were not aware it was for the recall of the Senator but believed that the petition they were signing would in fact repeal the gas tax. In spite of some disgruntled signers of those petitions, still, today, according to the California Secretary of State, there are enough valid signatures for it to proceed.
The governor will need to schedule a Special Election to determine 1) if Josh Newman will be recalled and 2) If recalled, whom will replace him. Thus far, Newman has had his campaign in motion for many months to combat the recall and fight for re-election. So far, Fullerton Mayor, Bruce Whitaker and Newman’s former opponent, Ling Ling Chang, are the prominent Republicans poised to challenge him. The election could proceed as early as March, but will likely be consolidated with the primary in June.

 

Posted in 29th Senate District, Fullerton, La Habra, Orange County, Placentia, State Senate, Yorba Linda | Tagged: , | 2 Comments »

The Trouble with Josh Newman

Posted by Brenda Higgins on October 20, 2017

 

Josh Newman is the California State Senator elected to the 29th district, which includes North Orange County, Fullerton to Yorba Linda and adjacent communities in San Bernardino county and Los Angeles County.

Click to access map_20110815_ap_sd_29_certified.pdf

Newman was elected in November 2016. The election of Newman created a super-majority of Democrats in Sacramento. His election was the closest one in the state and was the last one to be finalized and certified. This seat has been easily won and held by Republicans for many years.

SB1 is also known as the “Gas and Car Tax”. It increased the tax that Californians pay on a gallon of gas from $ 0.18 to $ 0.31, a $ 0.13 increase. The effort to recall Newman began shortly after that with San Diego activist, Carl DeMaio leading the effort.

A website was up during the time that the signatures were being gathered, as well as a Facebook page. “Stop the Gas Tax” was the mantra, the battle cry, the motto, the slogan emblazoned on the signs. The name of the website has now been changed, as has the name of the Facebook page. However the Facebook page has merely added “Recall Senator Newman” to its original title “Stop the Gas Tax. Now, it is hyphenated.
The first challenge to be mounted to the recall effort was litigation targeting the deception. The phrase that populated everything that came from the organization was “Stop the Gas Tax”. No mention of Newman. No mention of recall. Stop The Gas Tax.

Recalling Newman will not repeal the gas tax.

Further, Newman was not the “deciding vote”, as has been stated in some of the promotion of this effort.

https://ballotpedia.org/Verbatim_fact_check:_Was_Sen._Josh_Newman_the_deciding_vote_on_California%27s_gas_tax_increase%3F

The lawsuit filed on behalf of Newman, names as defendants, the Cal State Fullerton students who were gathering signatures, accusing them of misrepresenting the nature of the petition that they were having people sign. In discussing this with professionals who deal with these election law matters, they have insisted that this litigation is not going anywhere, as the description on the petition itself is the only relevant consideration in legally determining if signers have been mislead. It is hard to believe, that the signage, and name of the website and Facebook page don’t matter. Time will tell, that litigation is still pending. The legal issue may be resolved in the manner that the involved Republicans believe, but they seem to be a tad short sighted in assuming that voters do not care about being deliberately mislead.

In the meantime, the Democrats with their super majority and governor, have passed additional legislation, to delay the recall. The legislation would provide a 30 day grace period, for people to change their minds and ask that their signatures be removed from a petition. They passed the legislation in June, it was shortly thereafter blocked by an appeals court. A new bill, was then passed and quickly signed by the governor, would require that every single signature be verified, rather than just verifying a random sampling of the signatures. This of course delays and lengthens the time it potentially takes to get a special election on the calendar. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers have filed a petition in court to fight this new law. That litigation is also pending.

The score so far is this, California consumers will be paying 13 cents more for every gallon of gas, 20 cents on diesel fuel, starting November 1, 2017. California vehicle owners will be paying an additional $25 to $175 on vehicle registrations. That is just on the SB1 legislation that Republicans are blaming Senator Newman for.

It is estimated that these new taxes, on this legislation alone, will generate $52 billion over the next ten years, to be used for road improvements. I don’t think there is anyone who disputes that road and infrastructure is badly in need of attention in our state. However, the government in California has been notoriously untrustworthy in using allocated budget funds to repair and maintain our roads. This time, it seems they pinky promise or some other super-duper assurance that these funds, really will be used for roads.

The problem with hanging this albatross around the neck of Newman, is that watching all of the activity in Sacramento, it is impossible to fathom that an extra republican in the Senate would have made a difference. Nowhere in the propaganda accompanying this farce of a recall does it inform voters that there was a Republican who voted for this gas tax, and there was. That republican is not being targeted for recall. The fact checker (link is above) from Ballotpedia (Non-partisan source) says that the claim of Newman being the “deciding vote” is patently false. 27 Senators in the State Senate are Democrats. 27 Senators voted for the “Gas Tax” (SB1), the no votes were not tallied, and there were two Senators who did not vote. One of the affirming votes was from a Republican Senator.

After the recall was well underway, California Cap and Trade legislation came up for vote. The Republican minority leader voted for the legislation, which will raise taxes on a gallon of California by about 63 cents. The Republican leader, also convinced 8 other Republicans to vote along with him. Neither the Republican leader, nor any of the legislators who voted with him are being targeted for recall.
So the real trouble with Newman, is that he is a democrat, in a seat the Republicans perceive to be at risk. The issue never was the gas tax. Had we elected a Republican in SD29, I can imagine based upon voting history and party behavior, we would be having a very different conversation about this gas tax. It would go something like, we really, really need to fix the roads and there is no other way but to implement this new tax. The newly elected Republican Senator would be making the lunch and coffee meeting rounds to explain how hard it is to be in the minority in Sacramento and why she had to vote for the tax. It is all about the constituents and I was looking out for you, for our roads.

Newman, at least voted in the way anyone and everyone anticipated him to vote and makes no apology therefore. The false flag does not change this and it is not a far stretch to know that the Republican who would have occupied that seat, likely would have voted the same way and make excuses for it.

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

So what did taxpayers get from CUSD’s financing of Former Trustee Lynn Hatton-Hodson’s Financial Conflict of Interest defense? Nothing! Part Two of Two.

Posted by Craig P. Alexander on August 28, 2017

In Part One we outlined how the taxpayers came to pay for Former CUSD Trustee Lynn Hatton-Hodson’s conflict of interest non-disclosure legal defense. In Part Two we find CUSD is blocking the public’s access to what the taxpayer dollars were spent for and a long list of serious unanswered questions.

Even More Taxpayer Education Dollars to The Olson Law Firm and the Blocked Entries of the Descriptions of Services

In December the Board authorized a $10,000 increase in the allowed cost for the Olson firm (for total legal fees of $25,000.00).  [12-6-16 More Money for Olson Authorization]. Then in February 2017 the FPPC closed its file.  The Olson firm did not submit another invoice to CUSD until April 30, 2017 for $937.50.  When CUSD finally disclosed this invoice in late July (after several requests by CPC) it contained the similar redactions as in the 10/31/16 invoice. [4-30-17 Olson Invoice]

As an attorney myself I understand and value the need for the attorney client communication privilege.  However in this case we have taxpayer funds being spent for the legal defense of a  financial disclosure filing which is normally privately funded by the politician themselves.  Therefore it would be proper for the taxpayers to know what they received for their money.  CUSD could waive the Attorney Client Privilege and give us un-redacted invoices.  But it has refused to do so.

Just What Did the Olson Firm Do For The Money?

With all of the Olson’s firm’s billing activity as of October 31, 2016 we would expect there to be letters and e-mails going back and forth between the Olson firm and the FPPC.

But in the responses to CPC by CUSD and the FPPC not one letter or e-mail was apparently exchanged between the Olson firm and the FPPC.  Not. One. Letter. Or. E-mail. Nothing!  And none between the FPPC and the Orbach or Werksman firms either. The FPPC advised me that if they had “phone notes” of any conversations with the Olson firm, those would have been turned over in response to our Public Records Act request.  None were disclosed.

Serious Questions Remain

So after obtaining everything in writing from CUSD (and the FPPC) that they would disclose, many serious questions remain:

Why are there be no written communications or telephone notes of conversations between the Olson law firm and the FPPC?

Why would the Olson firm not bill the District for the time put into the case between Nov. 1st and Feb. 28th until April 30, 2017?

Just what did this Olson firm do for the $16,274.50 taxpayer’s dollars it was paid?

Are there other matters the Olson firm is being paid taxpayer money for by CUSD?   There is an investigation by the Orange County District Attorney’s office into this same matter involving Ms. Hatton-Hodson.  That District Attorney investigation is not mentioned in the 9/26/16 Olson retainer agreement with CUSD.

Is the Orbach firm working for CUSD / Hatton-Hodson on the District Attorney’s investigation?  Why else would they hire the $750 per hour Werksman firm which advertises itself as “Tenacious. Proven. Criminal Trial Attorneys“?  The Werksman firm’s total invoicing (per the records CUSD disclosed) on this matter is $13,972.50 to date.  $2,175.00 for work done in March 2017 AFTER the FPPC closed its file in February 2017.

Why would the Olson law firm retained to assist the former trustee by the District not list Trustee Hatton-Hodson as the Client rather than the District? After all the District did not fail to file the Disclosure form correctly – Lynn Hatton-Hodson apparently failed to do this.  Why were there no written waivers of the obvious potential conflict of interest in the file disclosed to CPC?

What did the Orbach firm do for CUSD that the Olson firm was not already doing after the Board of Trustees hired Olson in late September 2016?

Here is the breakdown of the taxpayer dollars spent on lawyers in the Lynn Hatton-Hodson matter to date:

Olson              $16,274.50

Orbach           $11,728.00

Werksman     $13,972.50

Total              $41,975.00

Who Received What Benefits For The Public’s $41,975.00 Tax Dollars?

What did the taxpayers get for this expenditure of public funds?  Apparently absolutely nothing except dollars that could have been used in the class room are now in the possession of attorneys.  In fact, three sets of attorneys!

What did CUSD and the children it is supposed to service get for this expense?  Nothing.

What did former Trustee Lynn Hatton-Hodson receive? A free taxpayer funded legal defense before the FPPC (and maybe for the District Attorney’s investigation as well).

Perhaps the real question here is what did the other Trustees get for this expenditure of their constituents’ money!  Apparently the comfort of knowing that if in the future they are caught with their proverbial hands in the financial cookie jar they will have taxpayer dollars to defend their actions and mistakes as political candidates.

Craig Alexander is an attorney who represents requestors of information under the California Public Records Act. He is also volunteer General Counsel for the California Policy Center, Inc. a policy think tank that advocates for transparency in government. He is a former candidate for CUSD’s Board of Trustees. Craig can be reached at craig@craigalexanderlaw.com.

Posted in Capistrano Unified School District, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

BREAKING: Democrat Brett Murdock Enters District Attorney’s Race

Posted by Newsletter Reprint on August 24, 2017

Former Brea Mayor Brett Murdock, who unsuccessfully challenged Congressman Ed Royce’s 2016 re-election bid, has become the third candidate to enter the race for District Attorney of Orange County.  District Attorney Tony Rackauckas is running for re-election, and Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer has already announced his candidacy to unseat Rackauckas.

This came over the wire from the campaign of Brett Murdock for District Attorney…

WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOR, LIFELONG ORANGE COUNTY RESIDENT AND ATTORNEY BRETT MURDOCK ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Orange County, CA – August 24, 2017 – Former Mayor of Brea, Brett Murdock, announces his candidacy for Orange County District Attorney, challenging Todd Spitzer and incumbent Tony Rackauckas.

Brett Murdock is running to restore integrity to the office of the District Attorney. He stated, “Orange County has seen a wave of corruption and disgrace in the District Attorney’s office because of Tony Rackauckas’s inability and unwillingness to play by the rules and uphold justice. I am running to restore dignity and trust in the District Attorney’s office.”

Brett Murdock is the former mayor of Brea, former member of the Brea City Council, and owns his own law practice. Given his experience working with county governance, Brett will bring stable leadership that is missing at the District Attorney’s office. Tony Rackauckas’s rule has prompted an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, and, according to the Los Angeles Times, the District Attorney’s office has been “rocked by an ongoing scandal involving the use of jailhouse snitches and a steady stream of headlines about prosecutorial misconduct and overturned criminal cases.”

As an attorney, Brett regularly fights for victims of injustice and helps organizations that serve those in need. Brett has been a business owner for over 20 years. He will work hard to earn the respect of the over 700 professionals in the District Attorney’s office that work every day in the courtrooms and on the streets to protect our communities.

As District Attorney, Brett Murdock will bring a smart, tough, and victim oriented approach to crime and corruption. “It’s time for a change. We must dispense with the political infighting and favoritism that infects the District Attorney’s office and focus on the justice and fairness our county deserves.”

Brett Murdock was born in Anaheim and recently finished three years as an adjunct professor of American Government at Cal State Fullerton. He currently lives in Brea with his wife and two children.

For more information, visit www.brettmurdock.com.

Posted in Orange County District Attorney's Office | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

So what did taxpayers get from CUSD’s financing of Former Trustee Lynn Hatton-Hodson’s Financial Conflict of Interest defense? Nothing! Part One of Two

Posted by Craig P. Alexander on August 24, 2017

Former CUSD Trustee Hatton-Hodson’s Undisclosed Financial Conflicts Of Interest And The FPPC

Last fall it was discovered that elected CUSD Trustee Lynn Hatton-Hodson had an undisclosed financial conflict of interest due to her ownership interest in a vendor to Capistrano Unified School District. She apparently did not disclose this conflict in her required filing with the County known as a Form 700 (Statement of Economic Interest). A citizen made a complaint to the FPPC (the Fair Political Practices Commission) about Ms. Hatton-Hodson’s failure to disclose the obvious conflict.

Normally the filling out and defending of a Form 700 is completely on the shoulders of the person who files it – whether a successful candidate for office like Ms. Hatton-Hudson or the losing candidate who is not elected to office.  In this case the CUSD Board of Trustees had an attorney opine that filling out a Form 700 was an official act of a Trustee and any challenge regarding the form entitles the Trustee to a taxpayer funded defense by attorneys who specialize in this field.

Trustee Hatton-Hodson’s Undisclosed Financial Conflicts of Interest and the FPPC

In September 2016, the Board of Trustees voted 6 to 0 (Ms. Hatton-Hodson did not vote) to retain the law firm of Olson, Hagel & Fishburn, LLP of Sacramento to defend their colleague before the FPPC.  The Board of Trustees authorized the District to spend $15,000.00 of taxpayer money to defend her.

The Olson firm was specifically requested by Ms. Hatton-Hodson in a letter addressed to CUSD’s general counsel Mr. David Huff of the law firm of Orbach, Huff, Saurez & Henderson, LLP. [Hatton-Hodson ltr to Huff].  Interestingly the fee agreement between the Olson firm and the District identified the District as the Client not Ms. Hatton-Hodson. [9-28-16 Professional Services Agreement]. Yet they apparently defended Ms. Hatton-Hodson, not the District, before the FPPC.

Conflict of Interest – What Conflict of Interest!

The California Policy Center, Inc. sent Public Records Act requests to CUSD and the FPPC after the FPPC closed its file in this matter in late February 2017.

Most of the time a contract between a client and an attorney firm is required under Business and Professions Code section 6148.  CUSD disclosed to CPC the agreement between itself and the Olson firm. Again, oddly, this agreement identifies the District not Trustee Hatton-Hodson as the Client of the firm.  The FPPC complaint was the sole scope of work listed for the Olson firm.

In addition, an attorney is not allowed to represent clients with conflicting interests. Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 3-310.  The attorney may represent two clients where the conflict of interest between them is only a potential one.  But the attorney should obtain a written Waiver of the Potential Conflict of Interest.  Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 3-310 (c).

A potential conflict of interest is something that is very foreseeable in this situation and where the interests if the District and Ms. Hatton-Hodson could become adverse requiring the attorney to withdraw from the representation at any time.  However when we received the documents from CUSD, while the 9/26/17 Agreement was produced, no signed off letters or notices to either the District or Ms. Hatton-Hodson of the Potential Conflict of Interest for the Olson firm were disclosed.  Thus it appears no written waiver was obtained even though one Trustee apparently understood this and brought it to the attention to the Superintendent. [9-26-16 E-mail].

Public Records Act requests by CPC to CUSD and the FPPC – Surprise: Three Law Firms for One Matter!

When CPC sought records under the Public Records Act the requests included attorney fee invoices related to the FPPC matter from CUSD.  In documents disclosed by CUSD we received invoices from not one but three law firms.  Importantly there was one invoice from the Olson firm dated October 31, 2016 for just over $15,000 – the entire amount authorized by the Board of Trustees just one half of one month earlier. [10-31-16 Olson Invoice].

But there were two other firms sending CUSD invoices for this matter: The Orbach firm apparently to give legal advice that the Board could spend taxpayer funds to defend Trustee Hatton-Hodson and presumably to watch over the Olson firm.  Also billing on this matter was the law firm of Werksman, Jackson, Hathaway & Quinn acting as an expert to the Orbach firm.  The hourly rate for the Werksman firm’s senior partner is $750 per hour!  [Werksman Invoices]. All three law firm’s invoices were heavily redacted (blocked out) so that we could not read what these law firms did for Ms. Hatton-Hodson’s defense.  We asked CUSD to give us un-redacted versions of these invoices and it refused.

In Part Two of Two – More Public Money for Attorneys, And for What?  Plus Serious Questions Remain from this Episode. 

Craig Alexander is an attorney who represents requestors of information under the California Public Records Act. He is also volunteer General Counsel for the California Policy Center, Inc. a policy think tank that advocates for transparency in government. He is a former candidate for CUSD’s Board of Trustees. Craig can be reached at craig@craigalexanderlaw.com.

Posted in Capistrano Unified School District, Orange County District Attorney's Office, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Live from OC GOP Central Committee: Resolution Against Chad Mayes

Posted by Chris Nguyen on August 21, 2017

We are live from the Orange County Republican Party Central Committee’s August meeting, where the committee is widely expected to pass a resolution calling on Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley) to resign.

Mayes survived an ouster effort by three votes earlier this evening and will face another leadership vote on Tuesday, August 29.  He has been under fire from Republicans across the state for his role in supporting the controversial cap-and-trade bill.

The Lincoln Club of Orange County and OC GOP Chairman Fred Whitaker have already called for Mayes to step down.  Tonight’s resolution will put the OC GOP Central Committee on record in calling for Mayes to resign.

Here is the full text of the proposed resolution (the fast-moving pace of Central Committee votes has increased the number of County Party Chairmen and Central Committees in favor of Mayes’s ouster since the resolution was drafted):

RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF ASSEMBLY REPUBLICAN LEADER CHAD MAYES RESIGNING HIS LEADERSHIP POSITION

August 21, 2017

WHEREAS, the Democrat controlled California Legislature rammed through a ten-year extension of Democrat Governor Jerry Brown’s disastrous Cap and Trade program, perpetuating needless economic devastation and imposing an enormous financial burden on the poor and middle class taxpayers of California;

WHEREAS, the Democrat led Cap and Trade extension will continue the exodus of small business from our state at a greater speed and in larger numbers while artificially increasing the costs of electrical generation and products that are made using fuel or electricity;

WHEREAS, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association projects that the Cap and Trade extension will increase fuel prices by 21 cents per gallon come 2022 and by 71 cents per gallon come 2030, in addition to the 19 cents per gallon hike passed by the Democrats last April;

WHEREAS, Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes turned his back on the Republican Party platform by proudly and publicly supporting the worst of Democratic Governor Jerry Brown’s far-left legislative agenda, and persuaded six of his fellow Assembly Republicans to join with him;

WHEREAS, Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes abandoned his mandate to elect more Assembly Republicans throughout the State of California by giving Democrats like Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva a free pass to vote against Cap and Trade and act more Republican than our leadership;

WHEREAS, Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes continues to be defiant, despite calls for his resignation from RNC National Committeeman Shawn Steel, RNC National Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon, the Lincoln Club of Orange County, several other donor and volunteer groups, seventeen Republican Party County Chairmen and/or Central Committees throughout California, and the vote of the California Republican Party Board of Directors;

WHEREAS, Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes has irreparably harmed his ability to effectively fundraise on behalf of his Republican colleagues, elect Republicans in targeted districts throughout the state, and help lead the repeal of the recent Democrat led gas tax increase;

WHEREAS, Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes has inexcusably penalized Republican Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez for standing on sound Republican principle in opposition to this economically debilitating legislation that will direct billions of tax dollars to the high-speed rail boondoggle overwhelmingly opposed by Californians;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:
The Republican Central Committee of Orange County respectfully requests Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes resign his leadership position immediately and allow another Republican to lead who will present a clear alternative to the Democrats’ crushing tax hikes and burdensome regulatory regime.

After the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, RNC Committeeman Shawn Steel opens by stating there is a cancer growing in the Assembly.  He blasts Chad Mayes for going against his caucus, losing his right to be leader, noting that 17 of 25 members voted against Mayes’s position on cap-and-trade and that Mayes lost three Republican Assembly seats in 2016. He notes that Mayes was proud of his photo with Governor Jerry Brown, Assembly Speaker Chad Mayes, and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon celebrating the passage of the cap-and-trade bill.

Steel notes Mayes’s survival of tonight’s vote in Sacramento and that a new vote will take place next week. Steel notes Orange County has 5 Republican Assemblymembers, which goes a long way toward the 13.  Assemblymen Travis Allen, Matthew Harper, and Steven Choi have been calling for Mayes’s ouster since the cap-and-trade vote. He states Assemblyman Bill Brough also supports electing a new leader, but has not yet picked which leader. Steel says Assemblyman Phillip Chen wants a smooth transition and wants to avoid a bloodbath. Steel calls on committee members who live in the 55th Assembly District to call Chen to pressure him.

Steel notes that Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez and Assemblyman Jay Obernolte are in the race. He says he spoke to Assemblyman Vince Fong, who decided today that he will run for Assembly Republican Leader.

Steel says he does not want to squander time fighting Republican leaders, as he would rather focus on fighting for other things, pointing to the example of his efforts for free speech on college campuses.

Steel thanks Fullerton Mayor Bruce Whitaker for helping with ensuring enough police to protect event goers at the upcoming Milo Yiannopolous speech at Cal State Fullerton on October 31.

Steel thanks Steven Choi for his help in ensuring enough police to protect event goers at the Milo Yiannopolous speech at UC Irvine last year.

Steel thanks Fred Whitaker for being the first County Party Chairman to call for Mayes to resign.

Steel inadvertently curses while blasting Nazis and white supremacists at Charlottesville. He says Trump stumbled and should have simply said, “I hate Nazis!”

Steel blasts white suprenacy as a disease as disgusting as anti-Semitism and speaks of William F. Buckley’s efforts to run the anti-Semites out of the conservative movement.

Steel calls white supremacists and Nazis “our endemic, enduring enemy.” He blasts the Ku Klux Klan. Steel speaks of Abraham Lincoln and the Radical Republicans who fought to end slavery.

Steel calls for the exposure and expulsion of white supremacists, just like Buckley exposed and expelled anti-Semites.

In Q&A, Mike Withrow asks Steel for his assessment of the Virginia Governor’s race.

Steel says the race is dead even despite Virginia’s shift toward Democrats in other ways. He says the New Jersey gubernatorial race is lost.

An audience member asks Steel about the alt-right.

Steel says he had never heard of the alt-right until Hillary Clinton blasted them last year. He blasts them for being totalitarians and white supremacists. He says true Republicans believe in limited government, not authoritarianism.

An audience member asks Steel about efforts to protect Congressman Dana Rohrabacher against six Democrat opponents.

Steel describes Rohrabacher’s campaign and how it is being taken as the most serious election of Rohrabacher’s career. Steel notes his wife is unopposed in her re-election as Supervisor but will still wage a campaign to help Rohrabacher.

Steel speaks of Congressman Ed Royce’s opponents, including the one who dumped in $2 million into the race and the one who won a $266 million lottery jackpot.

Steel notes that Orange County saved Congressman Darrell Issa’s seat in 2016, as Issa lost in San Diego County.

Robert Petrosyan asks Steel about Mayes’s re-election. Specifically, he asks Steel if the California Republican Party will support a primary opponent against Mayes.

Steel states that Gary Jeandron, who lost the primary to Mayes by 100 votes, is taking a hard look at running again. Steel says that Mayes justified socialism in small bites while speaking to the San Bernardino County Central Committee. He speaks of Mayes debating Melendez at the Riverside County Central Committee. Steel says Mayes is “insane.”

Chairman Fred Whitaker calls the roll to establish quorum and determine the number of members present in order to vote on the resolution.

The minutes from the July special meeting are approved.

Whitaker speaks of the various party regional headquarters being set up across Orange County. He says the SD-29 recall will take place in November. Whitaker notes all the Democrats’ efforts to change recall rules are because Democrats know they stepped over the line. Whitaker says this why it is critical to have good leadership in Sacramento. He blasts Mayes for “political malpractice” in giving Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva a “free pass” on cap-and-trade. Whitaker notes Quirk-Silva issued a press release attacking cap-and-trade and looked more conservative than Mayes.

Whitaker says that next week, there are four candidates for Assembly Republican Leader: Obernolte, Melendez, Fong, and Mayes. He calls on Mayes to drop out.

Todd Spitzer moves and John Briscoe seconds to suspend the rules to allow the consideration of the resolution on an urgency basis.

The suspension of the rules passes unanimously.

Whitaker reads the full text of the resolution calling for Mayes to resign.

Andy Whallon moves and Todd Spitzer seconds the resolution for discussion.

Spitzer moves and Mike Munzing seconds for an amendment to add “and demanding the Republican Caucus vacate his seat” in the title and change “respectfully requests” to “demands” in the final paragraph while also adding a demand that the Assembly Republican Caucus oust Mayes as Republican Leader.

The committee votes unanimously and without debate to adopt the resolution with the amendments.

AMENDED RESOLUTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

Deborah Pauly asks Chairman Whitaker to distribute the resolution to all the Central Committee members to pass on to other Republicans and organizations. Whitaker enthusiastically supports Pauly’s suggestion.

OC GOP Secretary Peggy Huang announces the June Volunteer of the Month, summer intern Nicholas Kumamoto from Irvine, an undergraduate at Amherst College. Kumamoto thanks the OC GOP for the opportunity to volunteer. Whitaker, Huang, and Spitzer present certificates to Kumamoto.

Huang announces the July Volunteer of the Month, OCC College Republican Noah Ritter.  Ritter thanks various College Republicans by name and thanks Orange County Republicans collectively.  Whitaker, Huang, and the office of Congressman Dana Rohrabacher present certificates to Ritter.

OC GOP Parliamentarian Kermit Marsh admonishes Republicans who are running against each other to not commit ethics violations. He provides a shorthand of the rules: don’t lie about yourself, don’t lie about your opponent, and don’t use the Republican Party symbols without permission.

Various club announcements are made by audience members.

Whitaker notes the OC GOP headquarters volunteers will be on Fox News tomorrow.

Whitaker reads a resolution in memory of Ross Johnson, former FPPC Chair, former Senate Republican Leader, and former Assembly Republican Leader. The Johnson family asked for donations to Women’s Empowerment or the ASPCA.

The committee adjourns in memory of Ross Johnson at 8:18 PM.

Posted in Republican Central Committee | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Breaking: Mayes Survives for Now by 3 Votes; Another Leadership Vote Next Week

Posted by Chris Nguyen on August 21, 2017

Chad Mayes

Assemblyman Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley)

Embattled Assembly Minority Leader Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley) survived a vote this evening that leaves him in place as head of the Assembly Republican Caucus, according to Chris Megerian of the Los Angeles Times, quoting Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore).  Guy Marzorati of KQED radio reported the same information, with a leadership election to be held Tuesday, August 29.

The 25-member caucus needed 13 votes to oust Mayes, but only reached 10.

Mayes has been under heavy pressure to resign in light of his role in supporting the controversial cap-and-trade program.  The California Republican Party Board, two dozen county central committees, four Lincoln Clubs, and the Impact Republicans have all called for an end to Mayes’s tenure as Assembly Republican Leader.  The Lincoln Club of Orange County and Orange County Republican Party Chairman Fred Whitaker have already called on Mayes to step aside, and tonight, the Orange County Central Committee will be voting on a resolution calling on Mayes to resign.

There have been three rumored candidates to replace Mayes:

  • Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake), who appears to be the frontrunner
  • Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore), who entered the race late last week
  • Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield), who is rumored to have lost interest in the race

This is pure speculation, but it’s entirely possible the split in the race to replace Mayes may be unintentionally keeping Mayes in his position if none of the three can get to 13 votes to become the new leader.  The motion to “vacate the chair” may have failed because members were reluctant to have the position simply sit vacant.  These Republican Assembly members need to coalesce by the leadership vote on Tuesday because each additional failed vote against Mayes makes the caucus look more ineffectual and out of touch with their own base.  Additionally, the longer the caucus remains in chaos, the less time there is spent raising money to win seats.

 

 

Posted in California | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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