OC Political

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

Final Thoughts Before the Irvine Council Vote on Great Park Proposal as Lalloway Speaks Out

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on November 24, 2013

Jeff LallowayThis is the third time I’ve written about the Irvine Council vote on the FivePoint proposal to develop the Great Park.  The Great Park is a major issue for this Orange County, considering its pivotal role in putting an end to the battle over the El Toro Airport that tour the County apart in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Additionally, after the gains Republicans had after the 2012 election, I feel this is still a critically important issue, which is why I’ve written three times on it before Tuesday’s meeting.  Until the 2012 election, Republicans had not had a majority on the Irvine City Council since 2000.  The reason Republicans won is Republicans ran promising to develop the Great Park.

Let me also address another issue.  I’ve heard a lot of rumors about me and Jeff Lalloway.  I will be crystal clear: Jeff has been a complete gentleman to me on this issue.  Our conversations on this topic have been absolutely cordial.  Any rumors that I have been threatened or intimidated by Jeff or anyone on this topic are patently false.  No one has been anything but professional to me on this topic.

One of the most impressive things about this proposal is that FivePoint is willing to give up 1,000,000 square feet of commercial space to build additional 4,600 homes.  Reducing the commercial space ensures that there is no increase in traffic from the additional homes.  Additionally, FivePoint proposes to develop most of the Great Park.  This proposal is an incredible deal for Irvine, and really a great deal for Orange County as a whole.  We will finally have the Great Park that the voters expected when Orange County residents voted to end the El Toro Airport in 2002.

I reached out to Jeff with a few questions but did not get a response by the time this article went up.  I did want to hear directly from him about his thoughts and concerns on the FivePoint proposal for the Great Park.  However, he published an excellent op-ed in the Register (it’s outside the paywall!) that outlined his thoughts on this deal.  Here are key excerpts:

I am excited to be able to vote in favor of this project. I look forward to casting that vote.

However, at the time that this complex proposal was brought before the council, it was clear from both the city staffs report and their presentations that they had time to conduct only a partial analysis of the impacts of this offer. In short, more work was required. In fact, the staff report highlights several areas that require “further discussion” and that their review is still a “work in progress.”

Areas requiring more analysis include such critical components as the design features, construction progress, and potential city liabilities. Separately, there are significant policy issues concerning public access to the park, as well as operating and maintaining the park amenities.

I don’t agree with Jeff renegotiating terms with FivePoint from the dais because the city staff had not had adequate time to vet the issues; he should have just let staff get their questions answered instead.  However, it’s clear from this op-ed that Jeff made the motion to delay two weeks, so that vote would allow staff to finish the last 10% of the agreement.  I think this amount of time should have been enough time to allow staff a chance to iron out the final 10%, and Jeff’s op-ed makes it clear he made the motion to allow them to do so.

Along with many other people in Orange County, I am looking forward to this issue being resolved promptly, and I hope that I will get the chance to write an article Tuesday evening that details the final result.

Posted in Irvine | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

A Quarter Billion Dollars and a Decade Later: Where’s the Park?

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on November 21, 2013

Great Park BalloonAs I said in my last post on the topic, I was surprised by the 3-2 vote by the Irvine City Council on November 12 to delay consideration of the Great Park construction plan. Conservative Republican Jeff Lalloway unexpectedly joined liberal Democrats Larry Agran and Beth Krom in voting to delay for two weeks over the dissenting votes of Steven Choi and Christina Shea.

I like Lalloway, and Lalloway is a good conservative. Let me be unequivocally clear: I support Jeff Lalloway’s re-election to the Irvine City Council next year, just as I support Steven Choi’s re-election as Mayor in that same election, and I plan to support Christina Shea’s re-election to the Council in 2016. I just disagree with Lalloway on this one vote. Those who would attack Lalloway need to remember this: he only voted on a two-week delay to have more time to review this plan. I am confident that when he has fully examined the plan, he will be supportive of this effort to build the Great Park.

Lalloway made the motion to delay the item solely to have two more weeks to iron out the plan details. Choi and Shea voted against his motion to move the plan forward. Agran and Krom voted to delay in an attempt to kill this plan.

Irvine has already spent a quarter of a billion dollars and a decade since Measure W stopped the El Toro Airport in favor of the Great Park. What do they have to show for it? A giant orange balloon, a merry-go-round, a farm, an art display, and some soccer fields, ponds, and lawns.

The proposal by developer FivePoint Communities to build the Great Park would be a giant step forward. FivePoint Communities proposes to build 65% of the Great Park with a huge sports park, an 18-hole golf course, an agricultural site, and a woodland “Bosque” area.

What does FivePoint Communities want in exchange for these gifts to the City of Irvine? The right to build more homes on its own land. FivePoint Communities would only build homes on land that FivePoint already owns. This is a property rights issue. Protecting private property rights are a core principle of conservatism. FivePoint should have the right to build on its own land. It wishes to build an additional 4,600 homes on its own land and will construct a substantial proportion of the Great Park for the City of Irvine.

This seems like a very reasonable trade: FivePoint can build more homes on its own land and will build nearly 2/3 of the Great Park for the City of Irvine.

What’s often forgotten in the history of this land is that Lennar bought nearly the entirety of the old El Toro base from the Navy for $649.5 million. Then, Lennar gave 1,347 acres to the City of Irvine for the Great Park. (FivePoint Communities is a spin-off of Lennar.) Many of the significant steps forward that have occurred in the last decade in relation to the Great Park have been driven by the private sector.

My fellow OC Political co-founder, Chris Nguyen, often says, “The public sector exists only to do that which the private sector cannot do.” I believe that’s a core principle of limited government. If the Irvine City Council votes against the FivePoint Communities plan, then they will turn this on its head. That would mean the City of Irvine would try to build the park itself and reject an attempt by the private sector FivePoint Communities to do it.

The private sector generally does things more efficiently than the public sector. FivePoint Communities will not spend a quarter million dollars and a decade like the Agran majority did. Let FivePoint help build the Great Park.

Let’s not forget that the criticisms of the FivePoint plan in both the staff report and from the Council dais are being leveled by the people who spent a quarter billion dollars over a decade to build a balloon, a merry-go-round, a farm, an art display, and some soccer fields, ponds, and lawns. Agran and Krom’s nitpicking perfectionism is reminiscent of the busybody neighbor who calls the homeowners association when someone paints their house eggshell white instead of pearl white.

Agran and Krom are your classic big government liberals who believe in governmental centralized planning of all aspects of our lives. Just listen to Krom’s quote from the November 12 meeting in this Voice of OC video. It’s just frightening what she says about the FivePoint plan’s differences from the original master plan: “If you take the master plan and you blow it up, then the money we invested in the planning, you’re going to tell me we won’t even have a plan. So why would I support you destroying my plan, and then telling me ‘you wasted money on the plan?'”

It was Jeff Lalloway who put it best back in October, when the Orange County Register quoted him saying, “No master plan is sacred.”

Posted in Irvine | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Endorses Ming for Supervisor

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on November 21, 2013

This came across the wire from the campaign office of Robert Ming late last week. With the endorsement of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, it is clear that Ming is the early frontrunner in this race:

Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Endorses Ming for Supervisor

Group famous for protecting California taxpayers backs Robert Ming for OC Supervisor

ORANGE  COUNTY, CA – On the heels of the endorsement of Robert Ming by  Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Shawn Nelson, the Howard Jarvis  Taxpayers Association PAC has announced their endorsement of Robert Ming  for Orange County Supervisor.

The  Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, responsible for saving taxpayers  over half a trillion dollars, has been advocating on behalf of  California taxpayers for the past 35 years.

“We  believe you will be an excellent representative for taxpayers and look  forward to working with you in the years ahead,” said Kris Vosburgh on  behalf of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Political Action  Committee.

“I  am honored to have received the endorsement of the Howard Jarvis  Taxpayers Association PAC,” Robert responded, “their resounding voice  defending California taxpayers for all these years has been an  invaluable weapon against the overreach of government.  I am proud to  have their support in my campaign for Orange County Supervisor.”

In  the City of Laguna Niguel, Mayor Robert Ming has demonstrated how  government can operate efficiently, by reducing government regulation  and encouraging free enterprise.  As a fiscal conservative, Robert has  consistently opposed tax increases, supported balanced budgets and  contracted with the private sector whenever possible.  As Supervisor, he  would continue to protect taxpayers by providing fiscal oversight to  the Assessor’s and Treasurer-Tax Collector’s offices, and appointing  members to the Assessment Appeals Boards that hear appeals on property  valuations and tax assessments.

Robert  Ming is running for Orange County Supervisor in the 5th District,  currently represented by Supervisor Pat Bates, who is leaving due to  term limits.  Orange County’s 5th District includes the cities of Aliso  Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna  Woods, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente,  San Juan Capistrano, as well as Newport Coast, Coto de Caza, Ladera  Ranch, Las Flores, and Wagon Wheel.

For more information about the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, visit their website at www.hjta.org.

# # #

www.robertming.com

Paid for by Ming for Supervisor 2014. ID#1358874.

 

Posted in 5th Supervisorial District | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Mansoor Jumps Into 2nd Supervisorial Race

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on November 20, 2013

allanmansoorAssemblyman Allan Mansoor confirmed longstanding rumors last night by officially jumping into the 2nd Supervisorial District race to succeed the termed out John Moorlach.

First of all, I would argue that Mansoor is actually the front-runner in this race, having been on the ballot before when running for Assembly, as well as during his unusually high-profile tenure as Mayor of Costa Mesa. Michelle Steel, his chief opponent, may have more money but just recently moved into the district and will likely face numerous carpetbagger accusations.  Mansoor takes Steel head-on in his announcement email: “My decision-making process started a few months ago, when I was approached by many residents and local leaders who suggested I run to replace John [Moorlach]. One of their biggest concerns was that the only major candidate for this office recently moved to Orange County from LA for the sole purpose of running for Orange County Supervisor in hopes of furthering her ambition of running for Congress if/when Congressman Dana Rorhabacher retires.”

Mansoor has also proven that he can defeat candidates with gobs of cash, after having defeated a challenge by Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle in 2012 despite her campaign’s vast financial resources from many wealthy contributors, including Charles Munger Jr.

Steel will also likely face accusations of supporting Larry Agran ally and Democrat Sukhee Kang in a past election.

This is the first of what I expect to be a couple of big announcements in the coming weeks with John Moorlach set to officially announce his candidacy for Congress in the very near future. Mansoor sent out an e-mail announcing the following:

Friends:

As you probably know, I’ve been thinking about running for Orange County Supervisor for several months. I want you to be among the first to know that I’ve decided to run.

John Moorlach has been a great voice for the 2nd District. As a longtime Costa Mesa resident and the County Treasurer who helped Orange County recover from the bankruptcy, he has very strong ties to our community, and his thoughtful and reasoned approach has been an asset in the county. I’m sorry to see term limits force him from office.

My decision-making process started a few months ago, when I was approached by many residents and local leaders who suggested I run to replace John. One of their biggest concerns was that the only major candidate for this office recently moved to Orange County from LA for the sole purpose of running for Orange County Supervisor in hopes of furthering her ambition of running for Congress if/when Congressman Dana Rorhabacher retires.

I’ve always been the first to admit that fundraising isn’t my greatest strength, and even though I’ve always raised enough to be be competitive, I’ve been outspent in every election I’ve run. This campaign won’t be any different, especially against a candidate whose greatest strength is her ability to raise money from interests outside the district.

So this wasn’t an easy decision. It required careful deliberation and long talks with family, friends, and supporters.

Ironically, this campaign reminds me of my first campaign for city council. In 2002, I ran against entrenched establishment incumbents because a group of people from my neighborhood felt like city hall didn’t care about what was happening in our community. While everyone wanted to improve city hall, no one wanted to run. I, somewhat reluctantly, stepped up because someone had to. Ever since, I’ve been happy and grateful for the opportunity to make a difference in the community I grew up in.

Now, more than 10 years later, the community I love has chosen me to represent them not only for two terms on the City Council, but also for two terms in the State Assembly. The easiest path would be to cruise to reelection to a third term in the Assembly, but no one else is ready or willing to stand up and fight to make sure that our community has local representation on the Board of Supervisors.

It will be a lot of work. But I’m ready for it, and I hope to have your help and support. You can start by making a financial contribution by clicking here. Whatever you can contribute, whether it’s $10, $100, or $1000 will help. If you’d like to volunteer, or contact your neighbors, or host a coffee, let me know by replying to this email.

With gratitude,

Allan

P.S. If you would rather mail a check instead of making an online donation by clicking here, you can send a check to Mansoor for Supervisor 2014, 2973 Harbor Blvd #571, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.

Posted in 2nd Supervisorial District | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Nathan Fletcher’s Political Career Is Likely Over

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on November 19, 2013

I don’t normally like to write about stuff from outside of OC but this one had so many Orange County activists, Orange County PAC’s, and Orange County Central Committee Members behind it that it has strong Orange County ties.Nathan Fletcher Republican Independent Democrat candidate for Mayor of San Diego has likely seen his political career come to an end this evening. Fletcher started the night in second place but has been trending downwards all night. He is down now by 2,000 votes after having started with a 3,000 vote lead, the most recent results come with 87% of precincts reporting. Here is a screenshot of the results:

Fletcher_Results

Congrats to Kevin Faulconer on advancing to the run-off and we wish him well in his likely race against David Alvarez.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

Orange Planning Commission Controversy Makes National Headlines

Posted by Newsletter Reprint on November 19, 2013

The controversy in the City of Orange over the Planning Commission appointment of Michael Merino makes national headlines, as it was covered by William Bigelow at Breitbart.com this weekend…

CA Veteran Denied Reinstatement on City Commission After Deployment

by WILLIAM BIGELOW 17 Nov 2013

In a rather fishy development, Captain Michael Merino, a member of the city of Orange’s five-member planning commission and a registered Republican, was denied the chance for reinstatement on Tuesday after the Navel reservist took a two-year leave of absence when he was deployed to serve at Guantanamo Bay. The Democratic mayor of Orange, Tita Smith, is refusing to nominate Merino for the now-vacant post. Merino also served in the 1991 liberation of Kuwait and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Councilman Denis Bilodeau, also a Republican, is calling for the City Council to bring up the subject for consideration on Tuesday November 26th, with local veterans groups expected to attend.

Merino served on the Orange Planning Commission from 2006 through 2011.

 

Smith said Merino’s term expired during his deployment and because he had been on the panel more than five years, a new person was needed to replace him.

Bilodeau stated, “I am heartbroken that Capt. Merino answered his call of duty, and we are not honoring that by giving him his position back.”

Merino has asserted that he thought his job on the commission would be protected by federal regulations covering military personnel, but smith said the federal provisions do not cover the jobs on the commission.

Merino, who had run twice for city council, was disillusioned, saying, “I am disappointed by the council’s actions. I have no intention of running for council again. I don’t understand the politics behind this decision.”

Posted in Orange | Tagged: , , , , | 4 Comments »

OC Political Advertisement: Landslide Communications Slate Mail

Posted by OC Political Advertisement on November 17, 2013

Candidates need to communicate with voters when running for office.

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When it comes to slate mail Landslide Communications has some of the most recognizable slates, including; Save Prop 13, Woman’s Voice Voter Guide, National Tax Limitation Committee, Republican Leadership Series, Small Business Action Committee, and California Public Safety Voter Guide.

Visit the website of Landslide Communications today by clicking here, to learn more about the slate mailers that they have to offer.

Landslide_Ad

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OC Political Advertisement: No-Scar Hair Loss Surgery at Orange County Hair Resoration in Irvine

Posted by OC Political Advertisement on November 17, 2013

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Posted in Advertiser | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »

Great Park Vote Gets Delayed

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on November 17, 2013

This last week the vote to push forward on the Great Park was set to take place. I was not initially planning to cover it, but a large number of readers have asked me to weigh in on what took place and to give a brief analysis.

To give a bit of background on the situation, Councilmember Jeff Lalloway voted with Larry Agran and Beth Krom to delay the vote on the Great Park which came as quite a surprise to me and based on the e-mails that I received a large number of readers.

Here is my overall analysis on what this means and what hopefully will happen.

In a year of historic GOP losses, 2012 had a glimmer of hope when Republicans regained majority control of the Irvine City Council. Wresting control from Larry Agran’s majority was the first step in getting the Orange County Great Park on the right track.

After months of negotiation with a development partner, the Irvine City Council had the opportunity last Tuesday to move the Park forward. But, to 688 acres of sports facilities, gardens and wildlife corridor, Republican Councilmember Jeff Lalloway and Democrats Beth Krom and Larry Agran said, “no, not just yet.”

In addition to getting the Orange County Great Park built, the development partner announced that Broadcom was in discussions to move their corporate headquarters to the Great Park, instead of a speculated move to the District in the City of Tustin.

Getting infrastructure at the Great Park, keeping thousands of high-paying, high-tech jobs in Irvine, fulfilling promises to build a world-class destination for Orange County’s enjoyment. Why is Jeff Lalloway stalling? The development deal will expire at the November 26th City Council meeting. With virtually no development fees left to build the Park, this is the last, best and only hope to fulfill the promise of the Orange County Great Park.

Councilmember Lalloway needs to help protect the Republican majority of the Irvine City Council by doing what’s right and advancing development proposals at the Great Park. If he truly wants to protect Irvine’s interests, he will support Mayor Steven Choi and Councilmember Christina Shea in finally moving the Park forward.

Posted in Irvine | Tagged: , , , , | 3 Comments »

Tait Unseats Eastman from OCTA, Brothers Edges Beall for LAFCO After Los Alamitos Flips, and Other Fun City Selection Committee Vote Break-Downs

Posted by Chris Nguyen on November 14, 2013

As those of you who read the blog today know, the City Selection Committee (who are the mayors of each Orange County city) met tonight to fill various seats on regional boards and commissions.  For details on each seat, read my post from this morning.

For those of you reading my live blog of the City Selection Committee, you may have noted the relative lack of vote recording (and indeed several of you emailed or texted me asking for to break the votes down more specifically). That was due to the auctioneer-like speed with which David Vazquez of ACC-OC read off the votes.  Thanks to David and to SCAG’s Kevin Gilhooley for helping me fill in the gaps during and after the meeting, so I can prepare this post below that shows how every single city voted for every single seat (except for a possible mishap in my notes regarding the OC Senior Citizens Advisory Council).

Only OCTA has population-weighted seats; three population-weighted seats and two one-vote-per-city seats are up this year while the other two population-weighted seats and three one-vote-per-city seats are up next year.  All other boards and commissions are appointed on a one-vote-per-city basis.

OCTA 4th District (Population-Weighted Seat)

The big headline of the night from the City Selection Committee is the decision of the 4th District mayors to unseat Anaheim Councilwoman Gail Eastman (R) from OCTA by replacing her with Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait (R).  Buena Park and Placentia voted for Eastman while Anaheim, Brea, Fullerton, and La Habra voted for Tait.

 City Population Percentage Tait Eastman
Anaheim 346,161 48.03% X
Brea 41,394 5.74% X
Buena Park 81,953 11.37% X
Fullerton 138,251 19.18% X
La Habra 61,202 8.49% X
Placentia 51,776 7.18% X
TOTAL 720,737 100.00%

While Tait won the vote 4-2, this was a population-weighted seat, so Tait won 81.44% to Eastman’s 18.55%.

OC LAFCO

LAFCO was the only seat that went to multiple rounds of voting.  This seat expires in June 2014 and fills the vacancy resulting from the resignation of Peter Herzog (R-Lake Forest).  Sam Allevato (R-San Juan Capistrano), Tony Beall (R-Rancho Santa Margarita), Cheryl Brothers (R-Fountain Valley), Dean Grose (R-Los Alamitos), Barbara Kogerman (R-Laguna Hills), and Steve Mensinger (R-Costa Mesa) sought the seat.  Brothers with 13 votes and Beall with 7 votes advanced to the run-off.  Grose had 4 votes while Allevato, Kogerman, and Mensinger each had 3 votes.

Awkwardly, Allevato and Brothers failed to win the votes of their own cities while Mensinger’s city was the sole city that failed to show up for the City Selection Committee meeting.

Allevato Beall Brothers Grose Kogerman Mensinger
Aliso Viejo X
Anaheim X
Brea X
Buena Park X
Costa Mesa
Cypress X
Dana Point X
Fountain Valley X
Fullerton X
Garden Grove X
Huntington Beach X
Irvine X
La Habra X
La Palma X
Laguna Beach X
Laguna Hills X
Laguna Niguel X
Laguna Woods X
Lake Forest X
Los Alamitos X
Mission Viejo X
Newport Beach X
Orange X
Placentia X
Rancho Santa Margarita X
San Clemente X
San Juan Capistrano X
Santa Ana X
Seal Beach X
Stanton X
Tustin X
Villa Park X
Westminster X
Yorba Linda X
TOTAL 3 7 13 4 3 3

 

The second round delivered more intrigue.  In the Beall-Brothers run-off, each achieved 16 votes until it was discovered Placentia had not cast their ballot.  Placentia then voted for Brothers giving her a 17-16 lead over Beall (remember that Costa Mesa was not present to vote).  However, an appointment requires an absolute majority of the 34 cities, so 18 votes were required.

In the second round, all three of Allevato’s votes (Aliso Viejo, Laguna Woods, and Yorba Linda) went to Beall.  Of Grose’s four votes, three went to Brothers (La Palma, Seal Beach, and Villa Park) while one went to Beall (Los Alamitos).  Of Kogerman’s three votes, two went to Beall (Laguna Beach and Laguna Hills) while one went to Brothers (Anaheim).  Of Mensinger’s three votes, two went to Beall (Fountain Valley and Fullerton) while one went to Brothers (Irvine).  Brothers lost Dana Point to Beall.  Beall held on to all of his own first-round votes.

Beall Brothers
Aliso Viejo X
Anaheim X
Brea X
Buena Park X
Costa Mesa
Cypress X
Dana Point X
Fountain Valley X
Fullerton X
Garden Grove X
Huntington Beach X
Irvine X
La Habra X
La Palma X
Laguna Beach X
Laguna Hills X
Laguna Niguel X
Laguna Woods X
Lake Forest X
Los Alamitos X
Mission Viejo X
Newport Beach X
Orange X
Placentia X
Rancho Santa Margarita X
San Clemente X
San Juan Capistrano X
Santa Ana X
Seal Beach X
Stanton X
Tustin X
Villa Park X
Westminster X
Yorba Linda X
TOTAL 16 17

 

Since it requires an absolute majority of 18 votes to appoint, a third round of voting was held, again with Beall and Brothers.  Los Alamitos made the critical flip to give Brothers the critical 18th vote in the third round, allowing her to defeat Beall 18-15.

Beall Brothers
Aliso Viejo X
Anaheim X
Brea X
Buena Park X
Costa Mesa
Cypress X
Dana Point X
Fountain Valley X
Fullerton X
Garden Grove X
Huntington Beach X
Irvine X
La Habra X
La Palma X
Laguna Beach X
Laguna Hills X
Laguna Niguel X
Laguna Woods X
Lake Forest X
Los Alamitos X
Mission Viejo X
Newport Beach X
Orange X
Placentia X
Rancho Santa Margarita X
San Clemente X
San Juan Capistrano X
Santa Ana X
Seal Beach X
Stanton X
Tustin X
Villa Park X
Westminster X
Yorba Linda X
TOTAL 15 18

 

OCTA Districts 2 and 5 (Population-Weighted Seats)

In votes with less intrigue, the OCTA 2nd District seat was easily retained by Matt Harper (R-Huntington Beach).  Harper’s Council colleague, Joe Shaw (D-Huntington Beach), nominated himself and voted for himself, but Harper won all of the other cities’ votes.

City Population Percentage Harper Shaw
Costa Mesa 111,358 18.98%
Cypress 48,547 8.27% X
Fountain Valley 56,180 9.57% X
Huntington Beach 193,616 32.99% X
La Palma 15,818 2.70% X
Los Alamitos 11,626 1.98% X
Newport Beach 86,436 14.73% X
Seal Beach 24,487 4.17% X
Stanton 38,764 6.61% X
TOTAL 586,832 100.00% 48.03% 32.99%

 

The OCTA 5th District seat’s intrigue was second only to that of the 4th District seat.  Incumbent Frank Ury (R-Mission Viejo) survived a challenge by Robert Ming (R-Laguna Niguel).  Ury won the two largest cities (Lake Forest and his own Mission Viejo) Ming won three of the four medium-sized cities, but Ury held on to all the small cities.  For purposes of this, the large cities are populations over 75,000, the medium-sized cities are populations between 35,000-75,000, and the small cities are populations under 35,000.

City Population Percentage Ming Ury
Aliso Viejo 49,477 9.17% X
Dana Point 33,863 6.28% X
Laguna Beach 23,105 4.28% X
Laguna Hills 30,703 5.69% X
Laguna Niguel 64,065 11.88% X
Laguna Woods 16,500 3.06% X
Lake Forest 78,501 14.55% X
Mission Viejo 94,824 17.58% X
Rancho Santa Margarita 48,550 9.00% X
San Clemente 64,542 11.96% X
San Juan Capistrano 35,321 6.55% X
TOTAL 539,451 100.00% 32.84% 67.16%

 

OCTA Districts 1 and 3 (One City, One Vote)

The one-city-one-vote seats in the 1st and 3rd Districts were far less interesting than the population-weighted seats.

The OCTA 3rd District seat had zero intrigue, as Al Murray (R-Tustin) retained the seat in a vote by acclamation.

The OCTA 1st District seat was fairly simple since there’s only three cities that can vote.  Steve Jones (R-Garden Grove) retained his seat by winning the votes of his own city and of Santa Ana while Diana Carey (D-Westminster) won the vote of her own city.

Carey Jones
Garden Grove X
Santa Ana X
Westminster X
TOTAL 1 2

 

OC Housing and Community Development Commission

This one was straight-forward.  Irvine Mayor Steven Choi (R) won the seat by unanimous acclamation of all 33 cities present.

OC Waste Management Commission Districts 1 and 3

In the 1st District Waste Management Commission seat, Michele Martinez (D-Santa Ana) won the seat with the votes of her own city and of Garden Grove while Margie Rice (R-Westminster) won the vote of her own city.  Rice had previously occupied the seat, but Martinez defeated Rice’s bid to return to the commission.

Martinez Rice
Garden Grove X
Santa Ana X
Westminster X
TOTAL 2 1

 

In the 3rd District Waste Management Commission seat, Mike Alvarez (R-Orange) won the seat with the votes of his own city, Irvine, Villa Park, and Yorba Linda while Beckie Gomez (D-Tustin) won the vote of her own city.  Gomez had previously occupied the seat, but Alvarez defeated Gomez’s bid to return to the commission.

Alvarez Gomez
Irvine X
Orange X
Tustin X
Villa Park X
Yorba Linda X
TOTAL 4 1

 

San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy

For the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, Troy Edgar (R-Los Alamitos) retained his seat by the acclamation of all 33 cities present.

OC Senior Citizens Advisory Council

For the OC Senior Citizens Advisory Council, there were more seats than candidates, so every vote was by acclamation:

  • 1st District Seat #1 – OC Political apologizes for illegible notes making this result unclear, but either the seat was continued to the next meeting, or the seat was won by Barbara Barker of Garden Grove, who is not a city councilmember
  • 2nd District Seat #1 was won by Prakash Narain (R-Cypress)
  • 2nd District Seat #2 was won by incumbent Lillian Kammerer of Fountain Valley, who is not a city councilmember
  • 3rd District Seat #1 was won by Beckie Gomez (D-Tustin)
  • 3rd District Seat #2 was won by Gene Hernandez (R-Yorba Linda)
  • 5th District Seat #1 was won by incumbent Kathryn McCullough (D-Lake Forest)

1st District Seat #2, both 4th District seats, and 5th District Seat #2 were continued to the next meeting.

Orange County City Engineers Flood Control Advisory Committee

For the Orange County City Engineers Flood Control Advisory Committee, there was exactly one candidate per seat, so every vote was by acclamation:

  • 1st District: Incumbent Marwan Youssef of Westminster retained his seat
  • 3rd District: Mark Carroll of Irvine regained his former seat
  • 4th District: Jim Biery of Buena Park regained his former seat
  • 5th District: Steve May of Laguna Beach won this seat with no opposition

The City Selection Committee can fill seats on this committee only from the ranks of members of the Orange County City Engineers Association.

Orange County’s California Identification Remote Access Network Board (Cal-ID RAN)

This seat was continued to the next meeting.

Posted in Orange County, Orange County Transportation Authority | 7 Comments »

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