Posts Tagged ‘Kris Murray’
Posted by Allen Wilson on January 8, 2014


The protracted issue regarding how Anaheim councilmembers are elected has come to an end but with a steep price.
Councilmembers Kris Murray and Gail Eastman has cost the taxpayers of Anaheim at a tune of $2 Million.
The City of Anaheim has already racked up $1.2 Million to defend itself and now must bear the cost of paying the litigants legal bills of over $1 Million, the ACLU and Anaheim Community Activists, who brought the issue to it’s head two years ago.
The Orange County Register reports that Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait says, “the cost of fighting the lengthy lawsuit could have been avoided if the City Council in August 2012 had approved his call for similar ballot measure.”
The two councilmembers joined with then-Councilman Harry Sidhu in 2012 as council majority stubbornly rejected Mayor Tait’s proposal.
The issue centers around Latino activists who echoed the need to change how councilmembers are elected from at-large to districts, because no Latino currently sits on the dais and 52% of the community are Latinos.
The settlement was agreed upon from a case Moreno, et al. vs. City of Anaheim that was slated to go to trail on March 17, 2014 regarding the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA).
The Voice of OC reported that Councilmember Murray called the deal “a win for our citizens, for our residents, for the taxpayers of Anaheim.”
Ironically, the Orange County Register reports that Councilmember Murray says, “I am still opposed to a form of single-member district election. I think this lawsuit and the fees attached to it are unfortunate for this city.”
In the January 8th, 2014 edition of The Anaheim Blog contributor Matthew Cunningham asserts that the ACLU and Jose Moreno are at fault for costing the taxpayers huge legal bills: “The fault lies with the plaintiffs’ stubborn insistence on bypassing the voters in favor of the imposition of single-member districts by judicial fiat.”
Frankly, Mr. Cunningham forgets that Councilmembers Murray and Eastman have an fiduciary duty to protect the city’s assets such as taxpayer funds and settle the issue back in 2012 as suggested by Mayor Tait to let the voters decide how their councilmembers are elected.
Councilmembers Murray and Eastman should realize that the buck stops with them and they have the power by finding a consensus with Mayor Tait instead of fighting against him and the community.
The bottom line is this: consensus is cheap, litigation is expensive.
Posted in Anaheim, California, Uncategorized | Tagged: Anaheim, City of Anaheim, Gail Eastman, Kris Murray, Tom Tait | 35 Comments »
Posted by Newsletter Reprint on September 6, 2013
This came over the wire yesterday from the Diane Harkey for Board of Equalization campaign…
For Immediate Release
Thursday, September 5, 2013
In Case You Missed It:
Harkey Gains Major Endorsement with Support of BOE Incumbent Michelle Steel
(Sacramento, CA) – Board of Equalization Member Michelle Steel announced Monday her support for Diane Harkey to replace her on the Board. Steel is retiring due to term limits and is running for Orange County Supervisor. Michelle Steel joins a long list of Harkey supporters, including:
- Congressman John Campbell
- State Senator Mimi Walters
- Former Senator Marian Bergeson
- Assembly Member Curt Hagman
- Assembly Member Alan Mansoor
- Assembly Member Don Wagner
- Orange Co. District Attorney Tony Rackaukus
- Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens
- Orange County Clerk-Recorder Hugh Nguyen
- Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen
- Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer
- Orange County Supervisor Pat Bates
- Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson
- Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell (ret)
- Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait
- Anaheim City Councilwoman Lucille Kring
- Anaheim City Councilwoman Kris Murray
- Irvine Mayor Steven Choi
- Irvine Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Lalloway
- Irvine City Councilwoman Christina Shea
- Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem Matt Harper
- Huntington Beach City Councilman Joe Carchio
- Mission Viejo Mayor Rhonda Reardon
- Mission Viejo Mayor Pro Tem Patricia Kelley
- Mission Viejo City Councilman Dave Leckness
- Mission Viejo City Councilman Frank Ury
- Laguna Niguel Mayor Robert Ming
- Laguna Niguel Mayor Pro Tem Linda Lindholm
- Laguna Niguel City Councilwoman Laurie Davies
- Former Laguna Niguel Mayor Gary Capata
- Aliso Viejo Mayor Carmen Cave
- Aliso Viejo Mayor Pro Tem Phil Tsunoda
- Aliso Viejo City Council Mike Munzing
- San Juan Capistrano Mayor John Taylor
- San Juan Cap. Mayor Pro Tem Sam Allevato
- San Juan Capistrano Councilman Larry Kramer
- Dana Point City Councilman Bill Brough
- Dana Point City Councilman Carlos Olvera
- Stanton Mayor David Shawver
- Tustin Mayor Al Murray
- Tustin City Councilman John Nielsen
- Tustin City Councilman Allan Bernstein
- Rancho Santa Margarita Mayor Anthony Beall
- Rancho Santa Margarita Councilman Steve Baric
- Fountain Valley Mayor Mark McCurdy
- Laguna Hills Mayor Pro Tem Andrew Blount
- Laguna Hills City Councilman Randall Bressette
- Laguna Hills City Councilwoman Melody Carruth
- Laguna Hills City Councilman Dore Gilbert
- San Clemente Mayor Pro Tem Tim Brown
- San Clemente City Councilwoman Lori Donchak
- San Clemente City Councilman Jim Evert
- Orange City Councilman Fred Whitaker
(Partial List)
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Posted in Board of Equalization | Tagged: Al Murray, Allan Bernstein, Allan Mansoor, Andrew Blount, Bill Brough, Bill Campbell, Carlos Olvera, Carmen Cave, Christina Shea, Curt Hagman, Dave Leckness, David Shawver, Diane Harkey, Don Wagner, Dore Gilbert, Frank Ury, Fred Whitaker, Gary Capata, hugh nguyen, Janet Nguyen, Jeff Lalloway, Joe Carchio, John Campbell, John Nielsen, John Taylor, Kris Murray, Larry Kramer, Laurie Davies, Linda Lindholm, Lori Donchak, Lucille Kring, Marian Bergeson, Mark McCurdy, Matt Harper, Melody Carruth, Michelle Steel, Mike Munzing, Mimi Walters, Pat Bates, Phil Tsunoda, Randall Bressette, Rhonda Reardon, Robert Ming, Sam Allevato, Sandra Hutchens, Shawn Nelson, Steve Baric, Steven Choi, Tim Brown, Todd Spitzer, Tom Tait, Tony Beall, Tony Rackauckas, Trish Kelley | 1 Comment »
Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on March 22, 2013
I was working on a database of the part affiliation of all Orange County local elected officials. Finally, I have completed the project with all of the special districts and county seats being added. I also fixed some errors in the previous versions (here, here, and here) and have combined the database into one post.

We have added a button on the menu bar for our readers to always be able to access this database and use it for whatever research/political needs that they may have. Due to the length of th epost you are going to have to click the below link to read the rest of the post.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in 1st Supervisorial District, 2nd Supervisorial District, 3rd Supervisorial District, 4th Supervisorial District, 5th Supervisorial District, Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Anaheim City School District, Anaheim Union High School District, Brea, Brea Olinda Unified School District, Buena Park, Buena Park Library District, Buena Park School District, Capistrano Bay Community Services District, Capistrano Unified School District, Centralia School District, Coast Community College District, Costa Mesa, Costa Mesa Sanitary District, Cypress, Cypress School District, Dana Point, East Orange County Water District, El Toro Water District, Emerald Bay Service District, Fountain Valley, Fountain Valley School District, Fullerton, Fullerton Joint Union High School District, Fullerton School District, Garden Grove, Garden Grove Unified School District, Huntington Beach, Huntington Beach City School District, Huntington Beach Union High School District, Irvine, Irvine Ranch Water District, Irvine Unified School District, La Habra, La Habra City School District, La Palma, Laguna Beach, Laguna Beach Unified School District, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Los Alamitos, Los Alamitos Unified School District, Lowell Joint School District, Magnolia School District, Mesa Consolidated Water District, Midway City Sanitary District, Mission Viejo, Moulton-Niguel Water District, Municipal Water District of Orange County, Newport Beach, Newport-Mesa Unified School District, North Orange County Community College District, Ocean View School District, Orange, Orange County, Orange County Auditor-Controller, Orange County Board of Education, Orange County Board of Supervisors, Orange County Clerk-Recorder, Orange County District Attorney's Office, Orange County Water District, Orange Unified School District, Placentia, Placentia Library District, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, Rancho Santa Margarita, Rancho Santiago Community College District, Saddleback Valley Unified School District, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Santa Ana Unified School District, Santa Margarita Water District, Savanna School District, Seal Beach, Serrano Water District, Silverado-Modjeska Recreation and Park District, South Coast Water District, South Orange County Community College District, Stanton, Sunset Beach Sanitary District, Surfside Colony Community Services District, Surfside Colony Storm Water Protection District, Three Arch Bay Community Services District, Trabuco Canyon Water District, Tustin, Tustin Unified School District, Villa Park, Westminster, Westminster School District, Yorba Linda, Yorba Linda Water District | Tagged: Adam Nick, Al Jabaar, Al Mijares, Al Murray, Al Salehi, Al Shkoler, Alan Anderson, Alexa Deligianni, Alexander A. Ethans, Alfred A. Coletta, Alisa Cutchen, Allan Bernstein, Allan P. Krippner, Amy Hanacek, Amy Walsh, Anastasia Shackelford, Andrew Blount, Andrew Nguyen, Andy Montoya, Andy Quach, Angelica Amezcua, Anna Bryson, Anna L. Piercy, Annemarie Randle-Trejo, Anthony Petros, Arianna Barrios, Arlene Schafer, Art Brown, Art Perry, Audrey Yamagata Noji, Bao Quoc Nguyen, Barbara Dunsheath, Barbara J. Clendineng, Barbara Kogerman, Barbara L. Kilponen, Barbara Michel, Barbara Quintana, Bert Hack, Beth Krom, Beth Swift, Betsy Jenkins, Betty Escobosa, Betty H. Olson, Beverly Berryman, Bill Brough, Bill Hall, Bill Hinz, Bill Jay, Bill Kahlert, Bob Baker, Bob Gardner, Bob Harden, Bob Moore, Bob Whalen, Bonnie P. Castrey, Brad McGirr, Brad Reese, Brandon Jones, Brett Murdock, Brett R. Barbre, Brian Chambers, Brian Donahue, Brian Nakamura, Brian O'Neal, Brian Rechsteiner, Brian S. Probolsky, Bridget Kaub, Bruce Broadwater, Bruce Whitaker, Candi Kern, Carlos Olvera, Carmen Cave, Carol Downey, Carol Gamble, Carol Sundman, Carol Warren, Carrie Buck, Cathy Green, Cathy Schlict, Cecilia Iglesias, Celia Jaffe, Chad Wanke, Chalynn Peterson, Charles Gibson, Charley Wilson, Cheryl Brothers, Chris Brown, Chris Hamm, Chris Phan, Chris Thompson, Christina Shea, Christine Marick, Chuck Puckett, Claudia Alvarez, Cliff E. Breddon Jr., Connie Boardman, Constance Underhill, Craig Green, Craig Young, Cynthia Conners, Dana Black, Darin Barber, Dave Leckness, Dave Sullivan, David A. Boyer, David B. Lang, David Benavides, David Boyd, David Bridgewaters, David Brooks, David Giese, David Grant, David Gutierrez, David John Shawver, David W. Sloan, Dean Grose, Debbie Cotton, Deborah Pauly, Denis Bilodeau, Denis R. Bilodeau, Dennis Salts, Dennis Walsh, Derek Reeve, Diana Carey, Diana Fascenelli, Diana Hill, Diane Singer, Dick Dietmier, Dina Nguyen, Dolores Winchell, Don Sedgwick, Donald Froelich, Donald Karich, Donna Miller, Dore Gilbert, Doug Bailey, Doug Chaffee, Doug Davert, Douglas J Reinhart, Duane Dishno, Dwight Robinson, Edward A. Erdtsieck, Edward D. Selich, Elizabeth Gapp, Elizabeth Minter, Elizabeth Parker, Elizabeth Pearson, Ellen Addonizio, Ellery Deaton, Eric Padget, Esther H. Wallace, Ethan Temianka, Francine Pace Scinto, Frank Bryant, Frank Cobo, Frank Ury, Fred Bockmiller, Fred Smith, Fred W. Schambeck, Fred Whitaker, G. Henry Charoen, Gail Eastman, Gail Lyons, Gary A. Miller, Gary Kurtz, Gary Melton, Gary Monahan, Gary Pritchard, Gary Rubel, Gavin Huntley-Fenner, Gayle Carline, Gayle Mueller Winnen, Gene Hernandez, George West, Gerard Goedhart, Gerri Lee Graham-Mejia, Gina Clayton, Ginny Aitkens, Glenn Acosta Ed Mandich, Glenn Parker, Gordon A. Shanks, Graham Hoad, Greg Bates, Greg Mills, Greg Sebourn, Gregory F. Griffin, Helen Lee, Helen Walker, Hilda Sugarman, Ian Collins, Irv Trinkle, J. Scott Schoeffel, Jack Bedell, James "Jim" Gomez, James Atkinson, James H. Laird, James Vanderbilt, James Wright, Jamison Power, Jan Flory, Jan Vickers, Janet Nguyen, Janny Meyer, Jeanne Galindo, Jeff Cole, Jeff Lalloway, Jeff Thomas, Jeffrey Barke, Jeffrey P. Brown, Jeffrey T. Rips, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Jennifer McGrath, Jerard B. Werner, Jeremy B. Yamaguchi, Jerry L Haight C.L. Larry Pharris Jr., Jerry McCloskey, Jerry Patterson, Jerry Slusiewicz, Jesse Petrilla, Jill Hardy, Jim Bell, Jim Evert, Jim Ferryman, Jim Fisler, Jim Haselton, Jim Katapodis, Jim Moreno, Jim Reardon, Jim Righeimer, Jimmy Templin, Joan C. Finnegan, Joan Flynn, Joanne Baade, Joe Aguirre, Joe Carchio, Joe Rollino, Joe Shaw, Joel Rattner, John A. McDermott II, John Alpay, John Anderson, John B. Withers, John Briscoe, John Collins, John Dobson, John Dulebohn, John Hanna, John J. Collins, John Marconi, John Moorlach, John Nielsen, John Ortega, John Ortiz, John Palacio, John Taylor, John Woods, Jonathan W. Abelove, Jordan Brandman, Jose F. Moreno, Jose Hernandez, Jose Solorio, Jose Vergara, Joy L. Neugebauer, Judi Carmona, Judith A. Franco Walt Davenport, Judith Edwards, Karen Russell, Karen Yelsey, Karin M. Freeman, Katherine Smith, Kathryn L. Barr, Kathryn McCullogh, Kathy Iverson, Kathy Moffat, Katrina Foley, Keith D. Curry, Kelly H. Boyd, Ken Williams, Keri Ueberroth, Ketta Brown, Kevin Hobby, Kirk E. Bell, Kris Beard, Kris Murray, L. Carole Jensen, Lan Quoc Nguyen, Larry Agran, Larry D. Dick, Larry Kramer, Larry McKenney, Larry R. Lizotte, Laura Parisi, Lauren Brooks, Laurie Davies, Lawrence R. Labrado, Leonard L. Lahtinen, Leroy Mills, Leslie Daigle, Linda Habermehl, Linda Lindholm, Linda Navarro/Edwards, Linda Paulsen-Reed, Linda R. Weinstock, Lisa A. Bartlett, Lisa Collins, Lisa Jordan, Lisette Chel-Walker, Liz Steves, Lori Donchak, Lorraine Prinsky, Lucille Kring, Lynn Hatton, Lynn R. Davis, Lynn Thornley, Manny Ontiveros, Marcia Milchiker, Margie L. Rice, Margie Rice, Mariellen Yarc, Marilyn Buchi, Mark D. Wayland, Mark McCurdy, Mark Murphy, Mark Schwing, Mark Taylor, Martha Fluor, Marty Simonoff, Mary Aileen Matheis, Mary Fuhrman, Mary Hornbuckle, Mary Mangold, Mary Murphy, Matt Disston, Matt Harper, Meg Cutuli, Megan Harding, Melody Carruth, Michael Condiff, Michael F. Henn, Michael Farrell, Michael H. Simons, Michael J. Beverage, Michael Levitt, Michael Matsuda, Michael Maynard, Michael Parham, Michael Vo, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Mike Alvarez, Mike Blazey, Mike Munzing, Mike Safranski, Mike Scheafer, Miller Oh, Milton W. Robbins, Molly McClanahan, Nancy Gardner, Nancy Padberg, Nathan Zug, Nelida Yanez, Noel Hatch, Nora Straight, Pat Bates, Patricia "Trish" Kelley, Patricia Ganer, Patrick Melia, Patrick Ochoa, Paul Bokota, Peer A. Swan, Peter Herzog, Peter Kim, Phil Hawkins, Philip L. Anthony, Phillip B. Tsunoda, Phillip E. Yarbrough, Prakash Narain, Randal Bressette, Rebecca Gomez, Rhoads Martin, Rhonda Reardon, Ric Collett Jon H. Regnier, Richard B. Bell, Richard Barnett, Richard DeVecchio, Richard E. Barrett, Richard Freschi, Richard Murphy, Richard Runge, Richard S. Fiore, Rick Erkeneff, Rick Kiley, Rick Ledesma, Rigoberto Ramirez, Rob Johnson, Rob Richardson, Robert "Bob" Ring, Robert A. Singer, Robert Hammond, Robert Hendler, Robert Ming, Robert N. Hathaway, Robert Ooten, Rodney Todd, Roger C. Yoh, Roger Faubel, Roman Reyna, Ron Joseph Garcia, Ron Shepston, Ronald Casey, Rose Espinoza, Rosemary Saylor, Ross Chun, Roy Byrnes, Roy Moore, Rush Hill, Sal Tinajero, Sam Allevato, Samuel Van Hamblen, Sandi Baltes, Sandra Crandall, Sandra Hutchens, Sandra Jacobs, Sandy Blumberg, Sandy Genis, Scott Colton, Scott Goldman, Scott O Davis, Scott Voigts, Scott William Nelson, Sergio Contreras, Shari Freidenrich, Shari Kowalke, Sharon H. Brown, Sharon Wallin, Shawn Dewane, Shawn Nelson, Stephen R. Sheldon, Steve Baric, Steve Berry, Steve Blount, Steve Dicterow, Steve Harris, Steve Hwangbo, Steve Jones, Steve Mensinger, Steve Nagel, Steve Shanahan, Steven Choi, Steven E. LaMar, Steven H. Weinberg, Susan Henry, Susan Hinman, Suzie Swartz, Tammie K. Bullard, Ted F. Martin, Teresa Hampson, Theresa O'Hare, Thomas Prendergrast, Tim Brown, Tim Jemal, Tim Shaw, Tim Surridge, Tita Smith, Todd Spitzer, Tom Beamish, Tom Lindsey, Tom Smisek, Tom Tait, Tony Beall, Tony Iseman, Tony Rackauckas, Tracy L. Pellman, Tri Ta, Troy Edgar, Tyler M. Diep, Valeri Peters Wagner, Van Jew, Victor J. Kriss, Vince Sarmiento, Warren Kusumoto, Wayne A. Clark, Wayne Osborne, Wayne Rayfield, Webster Guillory, Wendy Leece, William "Bill" Phillips, William Brutton, William C. Poe, William H. Kahn, William Landsiedel, William R. Hart, William VanderWerff, Woody Rickerl | 5 Comments »
Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on March 21, 2013
We are adding a new feature to our humble blog. Readers will soon be able to go to one location to find campaign finance data on all 2012 candidates for local elected office. As far as I can tell no other website currently has this information. While this project will take a while and we will be releasing one city at a time (if we get some donor support) it should be well worth it. Here is a little sample for you to glance at:
We are looking for donors to help us fund this project for every City, School District, and Special District in Orange County. Please send an e-mail to info@custom-campaigns.com if you want to help sponsor this project.
These candidates took in less than $1,000 in contributions thus making them eligible to file a much more simplified disclosure form that does not have donors listed on it:
Duane Roberts
Jennifer Rivera
Rodolfo “Rudy” Gaono
Linda Linder
Here are the rest of the candidates along with a pie chart showing what percentage of their money came from each category of entities:
Jordan Brandman |
Total $$$ |
Individuals |
$ 32,739.00 |
Unions |
$ 18,950.00 |
Businesses |
$ 25,929.51 |
Trade Associations |
$ 9,100.00 |
Political |
$ 6,042.27 |
Total |
$ 92,760.78 |

Steve Lodge |
Total $$$ |
Individuals |
$ 14,985.00 |
Union |
$ 1,800.00 |
Businesses |
$ 17,399.00 |
Trade Association |
$ 7,050.00 |
Political |
$ 1,800.00 |
Total |
$ 43,034.00 |

Brian Chuchua |
Total $$$ |
Individuals |
$ 269.00 |
Union |
$ – |
Businesses |
$ 500.00 |
Trade Association |
$ 250.00 |
Political |
$ – |
Total |
$ 1,019.00 |

Lucille Kring |
Total $$$ |
Individuals |
$ 14,975.00 |
Unions |
$ – |
Businesses |
$ 30,514.00 |
Trade Associations |
$ 5,300.00 |
Political |
$ 1,000.00 |
Total |
$ 51,789.00 |

John Leos |
Total $$$ |
Individuals |
$ 9,046.00 |
Unions |
$ 10,000.00 |
Businesses |
$ 3,600.00 |
Trade Associations |
$ 1,800.00 |
Political |
$ 500.00 |
Total |
$ 24,946.00 |

If you click the link to read more, you can find out who each individual donor was to each campaign broken down by category.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Anaheim | Tagged: Anaheim, Anaheim Campaign Contributions, Anaheim Campaign Donors, Anaheim Campaign Finance, Brian Chuchua, Duane Roberts, Jennifer Rivera, John Leos, Jordan Brandman, Kris Murray, Linda Linder, Lucille Kring, Rodolfo "Rudy" Gaono, Steve Chavez Lodge | 2 Comments »
Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on November 14, 2012
Chris Nguyen did a great job putting together a local database of all party affiliations for candidates running for local office. I thought that I would take the time to expand on his post and show a database of all Orange County Councilmembers (Also OC Board of Supervisors) that will be serving on City Councils starting next month and what party they are affiliated with.
Please note that a couple of races could potentially change based on a close finish and not all votes being counted. This post will be added to our website in a permanent tab that we will be creating at the top of the site.
Here is the database: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in 1st Supervisorial District, 2nd Supervisorial District, 3rd Supervisorial District, 4th Supervisorial District, 5th Supervisorial District, Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Dana Point, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Habra, La Palma, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Orange, Orange County Board of Supervisors, Placentia, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster, Yorba Linda | Tagged: Adam Nick, Al Murray, Alexander A. Ethans, Allan Bernstein, Andrew Blount, Andy Quach, Angelica Amezcua, Anthony Petros, Art Brown, Barbara Kogerman, Bert Hack, Beth Krom, Beth Swift, Bill Brough, Bob Baker, Bob Whalen, Brad McGirr, Brad Reese, Brett Murdock, Brian Donahue, Brice Whitaker, Bruce Broadwater, Carlos Olvera, Carmen Cave, Carol Gamble, Carol Warren, Cathy Schlict, Chad Wanke, Cheryl Brothers, Chris Hamm, Chris Phan, Christina Shea, Christine Marick, Chuck Puckett, Connie Boardman, Constance Underhill, Craig Young, Cynthia Conners, Dave Leckness, Dave Sullivan, David Benavides, David John Shawver, David W. Sloan, Dean Grose, Deborah Pauly, Denis Bilodeau, Derek Reeve, Diana Carey, Diana Fascenelli, Dina Nguyen, Don Webb, Dore Gilbert, Doug Bailey, Doug Chaffee, Dwoght Robinson, Edward D. Selich, Elizabeth Pearson, Ellery Deaton, Frank Ury, Fred Smith, Fred Whitaker, G. Henry Charoen, Gail Eastman, Gary A. Miller, Gary Monahan, Gene Hernandez, Gerard Goedhart, Gerri Lee Graham-Mejia, Gordon A. Shanks, Greg Mills, Greg Sebourn, J. Scott Schoeffel, James "Jim" Gomez, Janet Nguyen, Jeff Lalloway, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Jeremy B. Yamaguchi, Jerry McCloskey, Jerry Slusiewicz, Jesse Petrilla, Jill Hardy, Jim Evert, Jim Katapodis, Jim Righeimer, Joe Aguirre, Joe Carchio, Joe Shaw, John Anderson, John Collins, John Moorlach, John Nielsen, John Taylor, Jordan Brandman, Kathryn McCullogh, Keith D. Curry, Kelly H. Boyd, Kris Murray, Larry Agran, Larry Kramer, Laurie Davies, Leroy Mills, Leslie Daigle, Linda Lindholm, Lisa A. Bartlett, Lori Donchak, Lucille Kring, Mariellen Yarc, Mark Maurphy, Mark McCurdy, Mark Schwing, Marty Simonoff, Matt Harper, Melody Carruth, Michael F. Henn, Michael Levitt, Michael Vo, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, Mike Alvarez, Mike Blazey, Mike Munzing, Miller Oh, Milton W. Robbins, Nancy Gardner, Noel Hatch, Pat Bates, Patricia "Trish" Kelley, Peter Herzog, Peter Kim, Phillip B. Tsunoda, Prakash Narain, Randal Bressette, Rebecca Gomez, Rhonda Reardon, Richard Barnett, Richard Murphy, Rigoberto Ramirez, Rob Johnson, Robert "Bob" Ring, Robert Ming, Roman Reyna, Ron Joseph Garcia, Rose Espinoza, Ross Chun, Roy Byrnes, Roy Moore, Sal Tinajero, Sam Allevato, Sandy Genis, Scott Voigts, Scott William Nelson, Sergio Contreras, Shawn Nelson, Steve Baric, Steve Berry, Steve Dicterow, Steve Hwangbo, Steve Jones, Steve Mensinger, Steve Nagel, Steve Shanahan, Steven Choi, Steven H. Weinberg, Tim Brown, Tim Shaw, Tita Smith, Todd Spitzer, Tom Beamish, Tom Lindsey, Tom Tait, Tony Beall, Tony Iseman, Travis Kiger, Tri Ta, Troy Edgar, Vince Sarmiento, Warren Kusumoto, Wendy Leece, William "Bill" Phillips | 14 Comments »
Posted by OC Insider on November 6, 2012
In her e-newsletter yesterday, Anaheim Councilmember Kris Murray published this response to the op-ed by Mayor Tom Tait published in yesterday’s Orange County Register (it was very, very unusual for the OC Register to provide space for a campaign endorsement op-ed the day before an election):
In an op-ed to bolster his endorsed candidates, Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait irresponsibly compares investment in Anaheim’s resort district to the failed Solyndra solar power deal and says that such investment amounts to “sweetheart deals” and pandering to “special interests.” Does it really need to be said again that forward looking economic investment is is what makes Anaheim unique among cities. Or that our city’s 60-year, mutually beneficial partnership with Orange County’s largest employer is not a special interest?
The truth is that public-private partnerships with the resort district have allowed Anaheim to balance the budget with cash reserves at a time when other cities are bankrupt. Investment in parks, libraries and gang reduction programs are being made at a time when other cities are contracting out basic services they can no longer afford to provide. Mayor Tait’s claim that the Garden Walk economic assistance program is a $158 million give-away is false. In fact, the city’s data is very clear that the action taken by the council earlier this year to amend a long-standing program for $40 million in additional tax reduction was designed to secure a $300 million, four-star hotel development. The Garden Walk hotels will actually raise $187 million over 20 years in new revenue to the city’s general fund – funding that will support police, fire, parks, libraries without raising taxes on our residents or businesses. I encourage Anaheim residents to learn more about the city’s long-standing economic assistance programs on the city’s web page at http://www.anaheim.net/articlenew2222.asp?id=1520.
It’s been said that the OC Register is staunchly Libertarian, supposedly pro-business and supportive of sound fiscal policies, but their attacks on the resorts and on council policy are now becoming a pattern. When I attempted to rebut anti-business language in another recent editorial, I was given 250 words buried a week later under the day’s letters. The placement of a nearly full page op-ed, the day before the election, is clearly an orchestrated effort by the Register’s editorial staff to take aim at Anaheim’s business community – and completes an unprecedented campaign by the Register to impact the outcome of Anaheim’s elections for the mayor’s endorsed candidates. In his op-ed, Mayor Tait claims to be a “free market guy.” Why then are the business community, the resort district, the Anaheim Chamber, OC Tax, Orange County Business Council, community leaders, and many more, endorsing the two opponents facing Mayor Tait’s candidates? Why is the mayor endorsing a candidate who is a vocal supporter of gate taxes at Disneyland, Honda Center and Angels Stadium? I think it’s time that balanced reporting is done on the impacts of Anaheim’s stadium and resort districts – not just in our city, but countywide.
In Anaheim, we’re focusing on improving our community, torn apart not by special interests but by those who support change ushered in with violence and hatred. Politicians who support these anti-Anaheim voices aren’t pragmatic and independent. They’re desperate.
Posted in Anaheim | Tagged: Kris Murray, Tom Tait | 14 Comments »
Posted by Chris Nguyen on November 2, 2012

Democrat Jay Chen is challenging Republican Representative Ed Royce
151,311 voters live in the City of Anaheim: 10,196 voters live in Ed Royce’s 39th Congressional District, 27,431 live in John Campbell’s 45th Congressional District, and 113,684 live in Loretta Sanchez’s 46th Congressional District. You’ve seen Emami’s endless mail count on the Anaheim City Council race, but he has the good fortune to be one of the 27,431 Anaheim voters in CD-45. This is a tale of the mailboxes for the 10,196 Anaheim voters in CD-39.
(For those of you wondering, Gail Eastman lives in Sanchez’s CD-46, Harry Sidhu lives in Royce’s CD-39, and Lorri Galloway, Kris Murray, and Tom Tait live in Campbell’s CD-45. For those of you wondering for even more info, Steve Chavez Lodge lives in Campbell’s CD-45 while Lucille Kring, John Leos, and Jordan Brandman all live in Sanchez’s CD-46.)
Before I get into the mail, I should note there are precinct walkers and phone bankers from both camps scurrying and calling across CD-39.
An OC Political friend passed on a transcript he made of a phone call he received from the Jay Chen campaign in October. The content of this script is clearly geared toward Republicans, and the OC Political friend who transcribed this call is a high-propensity Republican in a pure Republican household.
Here’s the transcript…
Hi. Good afternoon. My name is Andrew and I am a volunteer with the Jay Chen for Congress Campaign.
I’m calling you today to tell you a little bit about Jay and about his campaign for congress in your district.
Jay is a small businessman, a school board member and US Naval Reserves intelligence officer who is running to represent you in Congress.
Unlike his opponent, Ed Royce, Jay volunteered to serve our country and he will protect our veterans when they come home.
Jay was recruited right out of Harvard University to work for Bain and Company, a section of the successful Bain Capital, and he has valuable experience balancing the books and improving results without raising taxes.
Jay is clearly the right person to serve this district in Washington. For more information about Jay or our campaign, please visit our website at chenforcongress.com. And since you are registered to vote by mail your ballots will be arriving around October 8th. Please remember to vote and sent them back in.
Thank you for very much your time and I hope you vote for Jay in the upcoming November election.
Here’s an excerpt from Chen’s 2011 school board re-election campaign biography:
In 2002 Jay joined Bain & Company, a global business consulting firm. While at Bain he worked closely with top executives of Fortune 500 companies to develop and implement crucial business strategies. He managed the roll-out and evaluation of new products for a global logistics company and analyzed the cost-savings for a mergers and acquisition in the technology space with a combined value of over $1 billion. Jay believes his financial and business experience will be of great value to the school board, which manages an operating budget of over $360 million dollars and nearly 3000 employees.
Anyone else find it fun that Democrat Jay Chen is touting his Bain experience while Republican Mitt Romney is getting trashed for his Bain experienced by national Democrats?
Now, on to the money: From July 1 to October 17, Royce spent $1,232,479 while Chen spent $406,351. However, Super PAC America Shining (run by Chen’s brother) has spent $762,316, with $65,894 supporting Chen and $696,162 against Royce.
In other words, between America Shining and Jay Chen, the pro-Chen/anti-Royce spending since July 1 has reached $1,458,478 while Ed Royce has spent $1,232,479.
For both candidates, over 60% of their direct contributions came from individual citizens. However, if you account for America Shining, the pro-Chen/anti-Royce money received has been 52% from PACs, and 33% from individual citizens, while pro-Royce/anti-Chen money that’s been received is 62% from individual citizens and 36% from PACs.
While Emami religiously scans each piece of mail that falls into his hand, I’m just going to take a picture of all the mail. For my father, who is likely in the most coveted demographic group in all of CD-39 (high-propensity Asian independent), this is what $2.7 million of campaign spending looks like:

My poor father was inundated with CD-39 mail
He’s received 36 mailers, and there’s still three more mailing days before Election Day (today, tomorrow, and Monday). I “only” received 15 mailers, and my Republican mother “only” received 8 mailers. Inexplicably, my independent sister only got 1 mailer (it was pro-Royce).
I should note my 52-year-old father was not pleased to receive the America Shining piece entitled, “Senior News.”
Here are other ways to look at the 36 mailers sent to Dad:
- Stacked on top of each other, they are 1/2 inch thick.
- They weigh a combined 1 lb. 7 oz.
- Laid end to end, they are 41 feet, 3 inches long.
They have achieved near-perfect parity in Dad’s collection:
- 18 from Royce’s side, 18 from Chen’s side
- 6 pro-Royce, 4 pro-Chen
- 12 anti-Chen, 14 anti-Royce
From my father’s mail: For every pro-Royce, there were exactly two anti-Chen pieces. For every pro-Chen piece, there were more than three anti-Royce pieces. While both sides have sent virtually the same amount of mail and both have been pretty negative, Chen’s side has sent out more negative mail and less positive mail than Royce’s side.
Apparently, as registered Republicans, my mother and I were each ignored by Chen. All 15 of my mailers and all 8 of hers were from Royce. I received 6 pro-Royce and 9 anti-Chen. Mom received 2 pro-Royce and 6 anti-Chen.
The anti-Chen pieces are making an impact on regular voters: one of my mother’s co-workers dislikes Chen because he seems so creepy because he’s always behind sunglasses in his pictures. None of Chen’s photos have him behind sunglasses, except the one being used on Royce’s anti-Chen pieces.
In CD-39, postal workers and mailhouses are getting together to throw a big party about the post offices saved from closure and the mailhouses’ unexpected 2012 profits, but somewhere, there’s an environmentalist crying about the forests that Chen and Royce destroyed.
On a final note, my father’s siding with the family Republicans: Dad’s voting for Royce.
Posted in 39th Congressional District, Fundraising, Mail | Tagged: Ed Royce, Gail Eastman, Harry Sidhu, Jay Chen, John Campbell, John Leos, Jordan Brandman, Kris Murray, Loretta Sanchez, Lorri Galloway, Lucille Kring, Mitt Romney, Steve Chavez Lodge, Tom Tait | 2 Comments »
Posted by Lassie on September 18, 2012

The Honorable Tom Tait, Mayor of Anaheim
Reading Chris Nguyen’s article about last night’s Central Committee (https://ocpolitical.com/2012/09/17/live-from-oc-gop-central-committee/), I was both pleased and amazed at the deference being given to the Honorable Tom Tait, Mayor of Anaheim.
The mere suggestion that Brian Chuchua might one day get endorsed by Tait was enough to get the Central Committee to vote to endorse Chuchua with an amazing 72.5% of the vote.
Reading about the discussion on the Anaheim endorsement, it was clear that Mayor Tait’s endorsement was the single most important item of discussion in Chuchua’s endorsement request.
What’s also amazing is that Tait has received little blowback from the anti-union Republican Party for endorsing the union-backed John Leos for Anaheim City Council. This is a sign of the great esteem in which Tait is held that Republicans are largely refusing to criticize Tait for doing what many other Republicans have been hanged, drawn and quartered for.
Why is Tait held in such high regard?
It is because, more than any other person, Tom Tait is the conscience of Orange County Republicans.
When the controversial TOT scheme was proposed, Harry Sidhu, Gail Eastman, and Kris Murray fell to big business pressure and Lorri Galloway fell to union pressure. While Galloway voted with him, Tait was the sole councilmember to truly stick to his principles. Tait is a true blue, limited government conservative.
Tom Tait had originally endorsed Steve Lodge, but when he saw Lodge was more of the same big business, TOT supporter type, Tait pulled his endorsement. When Lodge got raked over the coals by the Endorsements Committee, he realized Tait’s principles are the Republican Party’s principles, so Lodge withdrew his request for an endorsement.
That is the power of Tom Tait’s quiet conservative principles.
Anaheimers chose well when they elected Tom Tait as Mayor in 2010, and they did a service for all of Orange County when they elected this noble public servant.
Posted in Anaheim | Tagged: Brian Chuchua, Gail Eastman, Harry Sidhu, John Leos, Kris Murray, Lorri Galloway, Tom Tait | 15 Comments »
Posted by Newsletter Reprint on August 22, 2012
Some of you might have seen the op-ed in the OC Register on Sunday by Anaheim City Councilwoman Kris Murray. This unedited version of that op-ed came over the wire to OC Political from Councilwoman Murray’s office on Sunday…
Over the past several weeks, there has been a very public dialogue questioning how the City of Anaheim is governed and whether the current system should be changed. The media stories following the city’s special meeting on August 8 were rife with sensational headlines claiming that the Council majority had rejected or blocked an initiative that would change the city’s charter to elect council seats by districts from the current at-large system. This is patently false.
In early June, the city was sued by the ACLU claiming that Anaheim is not in compliance with the California Voters Rights Act (CVRA). The city was in the process of responding to that litigation when the officer involved shootings of two suspected gang members in late July ignited the recent unrest in our streets.
There are still many questions to be answered surrounding those shootings and several independent investigations are already underway to do so. Although some have asserted that there may be a correlation between the two issues, the city would be irresponsible to undertake wholesale change of its entire electoral system without first providing an opportunity for extensive citizen dialogue, careful legal analysis, and consideration of the options available to meet voters’ concerns for fair representation. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Anaheim | Tagged: Kris Murray | 7 Comments »
Posted by Mr. Friendly on July 26, 2012
Anaheim Councilwoman Gail Eastman really stepped in it after the recent Anaheim riots. According to the Voice of OC article Eastman declared that, “In spite of how it happened, it was a big time win for all who opposed seeing that placed on the November ballot.” Regardless of how this might have been taken out of context it should not have been said. Eastman is referring to the Anaheim TOT item that was potentially going to be placed on the ballot which I will explain later.
Eastman is the one Councilmember that currently does not live in East Anaheim. Chris Nguyen and Emami constantly refer to this region as Anaheim Hills despite their being no such geographic region as Anaheim Hills. She was elected back in 2008 coming in as the top vote getter over Kris Murray who was also elected out of a field of 14 candidates.
Since I do not actually live in Anaheim I took the opportunity to watch the Council meeting online and was amazed at how much stuff was actually being discussed during public comment. The recent police shootings, Anaheim TOT, and creating districts for City Council elections. Watching the Councilmembers it felt like they were going to get whiplash from all the bouncing around of items during the public comment period.
I felt that most commenters on the Anaheim shootings were professional in the way they laid out their concerns to what is obviously a very frustrating issue for many people in the community. The real problem was the idiots outside of th meeting that were instigating violence. It helped that Tom Tait announced at the beginning of the meeting that the U.S. Attorneys office would be conducting an independent investigation into the actions by the Anaheim Police Department (Hey Fullerton, how do you like them apples).
The second issue up for discussion was the Transient Occupancy Tax discussion over the hotel developer that got a huge subsidy to build a hotel in the Garden Walk area. It appears that a lot of organized labor came out in support of Councilmembers Sidhu, Eastman, and Murray. Due to the riots outside shortening the meeting this item was unable to be voted on (placing it on the ballot). This was the item that Eastman commented on and got herself into hot water.
Creating wards in Anaheim wat the third item that was discussed by people during public comment and it was an absolute circus. The majority of people speaking on the need for wards did not appear to actually live in Anaheim it appeared to mostly be the LULAC crowd that comes to all the meetings to speak when LULAC runs their drill. Although some speakers from Anaheim spoke in a very passionate way as to why Anaheim needed to draw wards for representation purposes others came across as for lack of a better term “Latino Supremacists.” Due to the rioting outside this item was also unable to be placed on the ballot for November.
Eastman clearly did not help her cause but in reality the rioters outside of the meeting are the ones that cost the residents of Anaheim the ability to vote on 2 items that I believe they should have had the opportunity to vote on.
Posted in Anaheim | Tagged: Gail Eastman, Harry Sidhu, Kris Murray, Lorri Galloway, Tom Tait | 2 Comments »