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

Posts Tagged ‘Dick Ackerman’

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Here’s The Updated Clerk-Recorder List 3-5-2013

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on March 6, 2013

We have narrowed down the field of candidates for OC Clerk-Recorder from almost 1,000 names down to 25. Kudos to all of the 25 folks that made it this far. If I remember hearing correctly yesterday the next discussion of these applicants will be in two weeks on March 19th.

I do believe that this list will be reduced to under 10 names at that point. The concept of researching every candidate to get a job title is rather daunting considering that some of these names are rather common. If more information on each applicant is released I will post the info for our readers.

Here is the list of 25:

Dick Ackerman
Dale Anderson
Larry Bales
Andrew Calderon
Alicia Campbell
William Copulos
Ron Davidson
Stewart Davis
Linda Dixon
Elizabeth Fleming
Michael Fox
Ellis Ghasemi-Fazeli
Lydia Lake
Nora Lesnet
Francis Licata
Steve Madoff
Tanya Mayweather
Hieu Nguyen
Chris Norby
Bruce Peotter
Renee Ramirez
Roy Reynolds
Steve Rosansky
Harry Sidhu
Steve Waechter

Posted in Orange County | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Two OC Legislators are the Leading Contenders for Assembly GOP Leader

Posted by Chris Nguyen on February 5, 2013

Don Wagner (R-Irvine) and Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach)

Yesterday afternoon, the Sacramento Bee posted a story about the possible removal of Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway (R-Visalia).

Conway led her caucus into the 2012 elections and into its smallest size since 1883.  (In a ray of hope, while Republicans held 19 seats in 1883, the GOP gained 41 additional seats to reach 60 seats in 1885, thereby flipping a 61-19 majority for Democrats into a 60-20 majority for Republicans in two years).

While Conway’s failings and probable removal were the main thrust of the story,  the more interesting information for our readership is that the two leading contenders in the story to replace Conway are both from Orange County.

Second-term Assemblyman Don Wagner of Irvine and first-term Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach were cited as the two most likely contenders.

In the last 30 years, there have been 18 Assembly Republican Leaders, but only four have been from Orange County:

  • Ross Johnson (1988-1991)
  • Curt Pringle (1995-1996, 1996-1997; the interruption in Pringle’s tenure as Republican Leader is because he was Speaker in 1996)
  • Scott Baugh (1999-2000)
  • Bill Campbell (2000-2001)

In the same time span, there have been 10 Senate Republican Leaders, and three have been from Orange County (and four have represented Orange County):

  • Rob Hurtt (1995-1998)
  • Ross Johnson (1998-2000)
  • Dick Ackerman (2004-2008)
  • Bob Huff (2012-present) – Huff is not from Orange County but represents substantial portions of OC

First elected in 2010, Wagner terms out in 2016.  First elected in 2012, Allen terms out in 2024.  (In both cases, I’m assuming that they are both re-elected the maximum number of terms allowed and serve those terms consecutively.)

In either case, Wagner or Allen would be the first Assembly Republican Leader from Orange County in a dozen years.

The next Assembly Republican Leader has exactly two priorities: protecting seats currently held by Republicans and winning seats occupied by Democrats.  The top three seats the leader needs to protect are Jeff Gorell‘s Ventura County seat, Mike Morrell‘s San Bernardino County seat, and freshman Eric Linder‘s western Riverside County seat.  Target #1 is the Antelope Valley seat held by freshman Steve Fox (D).  Target #2 will be in the leader’s backyard (assuming Wagner or Allen is the next leader) with the North Orange County seat occupied by freshman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D).

Failure to preserve the existing seats 25 seats and failure to gain either of those target seats will result in the next leader going the way of Conway, and let’s not forget Conway became Republican Leader when Martin Garrick stepped down after losing a Republican seat in 2010.

Posted in 68th Assembly District, 72nd Assembly District | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Dick Ackerman Working With Unions In Fullerton

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on September 7, 2012

UPDATED 6:35 PM- Friend For Fullertons Future actually did have the robocall in YouTube format. You can read their article on this issue here.

Although I don’t always agree with Tony Bushalas methods, he has backed Bruce Whitaker and Travis Kiger who have proven to be solid votes on the Fullerton City Council. I was disappointed by the vote that Greg Sebourn made on not looking into putting the police contract out to bid and will withhold judgement on him until after a couple of years in office.

I am way behind on this story as the vote on the police contract took place August 7th but with all this talk of unions and who is working with them lately it is disappointing to see that former Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman chose to work with the Fullerton Police Officers Association and do a robocall on their behalf encouraging residents to come out in support of Fullerton PD.

Friends For Fullertons Future appears to cover this story at length, but I did not see the actual robocall get posted on the website.

On an interesting side not when I was a student at Cal State Fullerton a few years back we had to do a ride-a-long with a local police agency. I not only ended up doing mine with Fullerton PD but actually ended up doing my ride-a-long with Albert Rincon.

The robocall sent out by Ackerman and the Fullerton Police Officers Association was encouraging voters to stand up against Tony Bushala. Apparently it worked because Councilmembers Chaffee, Quirk-Silva, and Sebourn voted together against Whitaker and Kiger on the issue.

A reader earlier today sent me the robocall and I figured why not post the robocall even though it is a bit dated.

Click here to listen to the robocall or read the transcript below:

Hello, this is Dick Ackerman former Fullerton Mayor and Councilmember and State Senate Minority Leader with a very important message.

The Fullerton City Council is being told to outsource our own police department and bring in an outside agency. We need you to attend the City Council meeting this Tuesday the 7th or e-mail or call the City Council to speak out against this terrible idea.

In 1937 George Amerige wrote there is a secret to building a town. It takes a stiff backbone, a spirit of progressiveness, a determination to win out, and a disposition that can stand against all sorts of criticism.

George would know because 50 years earlier he and his brother Edward set the foundations for Fullerton. From the days that oil and oranges dominated the Fullerton landscape until today we’ve been blessed by a pioneering spirit that has moved Fullerton forward together.

Sadly, today one man and his cohorts have threatened to turn back the clock in Fullerton. Millionaire developer Tony Bushala is attempting to bully the City Council and potentially bringing in a new police force.

First he bankrolled the recall election and know he wants a new police force for who knows why. Just last year the Fullerton police, the city employees, and firefighters agreed to a cost savings, pension reform, and cuts of over $1,000,000. That’s over $1,000,000 of savings for Fullerton taxpayers.

Don’t let one person turn back the clock. It’s time to stand up and speak out against Tony Bushala and move our city forward. Fullerton is not for sale and we would like to keep our police department our own.

Local control is the key. Call or e-mail our City Council or attend the August 7th meeting. If you would, please visit our website www.keepfullertonpd.com to sign up and also click the link to like us on Facebook.

Let’s keep our police local and reject Tony Bushalas terrible idea to outsource our police department. And let’s remember what George Amerige revealed many years ago the secret to a successful city is in the strength of its people.

Now is the time to show that strength and stand up for Fullerton. Thank you for listening and thank you for your help.

THIS MESSAGE WAS PAID FOR BY THE FULLERTON POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION.

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

Former Cypress Councilwoman’s Husband Files for Council Seat

Posted by Chris Nguyen on July 23, 2012

Lydia Sondhi

Former Cypress City Councilwoman Lydia Sondhi

Cypress City Council Candidate Jay Sondhi

Lydia Sondhi (R-Cypress) served on her City Council from 1998 until terming out in 2006.  Councilmen Phil Luebben and Todd Seymore are termed out this year, creating the first open seats on the Cypress Council since Sondhi, Frank McCoy, and Mike McGill all termed out in 2006.

Sondhi’s husband, Jay Sondhi, pulled papers for Council on the first day papers could be pulled, Monday, July 16, and then filed them on Friday, July 20.

The Law Offices of Jay Sondhi are located in Cypress. Sondhi graduated from the University of Missouri Law School and was admitted to the California Bar in 1986.  He was a corporate attorney who spent two decades in insurance.  He’s now a legal consultant for insurance companies.  Sondhi is a Cypress Chamber Board Member, the Treasurer of the Cypress Police Foundation, the President-Elect of the Cypress Kiwanis, and a former President of the Cypress Boys & Girls Club.

Lydia Sondhi was Mayor Pro Tem of Cypress in 2001 and Mayor in both 2002 and 2006.  (She was on the Cypress Council during the City’s effort to seize land owned by Cottonwood Church to give to Costco, but she did not vote on the issue due to a conflict of interest from her home’s proximity to the land in question.)  She came in third out of ten candidates for three council seats when Frank McCoy, Mike McGill, and she all won their first council terms in 1998 (future Councilman Todd Seymore came in ninth out of ten).  She came in third out of eight candidates for three council seats when McGill, McCoy, and she were all re-elected in 2002.  She has been a Professor of Consumer Affairs at California State University Long Beach since 1986 and previously served on the executive board of the California Faculty Association, the CSU professors’ union.

It looks like Sondhi will be downplaying his wife’s prior council tenure during the campaign, as the press release announcing his candidacy only made this brief half-sentence mention of his wife: “Jay Sondhi is married to Lydia Sondhi and has lived in Cypress for 26 years.”

Sondhi likely realizes Orange Countians aren’t exactly keen about electing spouses of living elected officials:

  • In 2010, Sandra Crandall didn’t even mention her husband’s name in her campaign biography in her successful bid for the Fountain Valley School Board.  Her husband, Larry, has been on the Fountain Valley City Council since 1998 and was on the school board from 1990-1998.
  • In 2009, Linda Ackerman made an unsuccessful bid for the State Assembly.  The press coverage of that race repeatedly mentioned her husband, former Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman.
  • In 2006, Dianne Harman made an unsuccessful bid for the State Assembly.  The press coverage of that race repeatedly mentioned that the incumbent, Tom Harman, was her husband.
  • In 2004, Gayle Pacheco made an unsuccessful bid for the State Assembly.  Bob Huff came in first in all three counties but Pacheco came in third in Orange County while coming in second in both Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties.  (Villa Park Councilman Bill MacAloney came in second in Orange County and third in the other two.)  Her campaign’s press releases repeatedly mentioned that the incumbent, Bob Pacheco, was her husband.
  • In 1980, Beverly Nestande made an unsuccessful bid for the State Assembly seat vacated by her husband, Bruce, when he won a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

(Widows and widowers are rarely tested, as relatively few Orange County officials have died in office in seats where special elections were held to fill the vacancies; OC’s dead elected officials have generally held offices where vacancies are filled by appointment.)

While a number of political spouses have been successful in California politics (George and Sharon Runner, Tony and Audra Strickland, Judy Chu and Mike Eng, and Ted and Beth Gaines), few have been successful in Orange County.

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

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