OC Political

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

Posts Tagged ‘Sharon Quirk-Silva’

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 »

Quirk-Silva Wants to Raise Taxes

Posted by Steve Sarkis on September 5, 2012

Chris Emami wrote last week on this blog about Sharon Quirk-Silva’s lack of support and mentioned my letter to the editor in the Orange County Register.  If you missed it, here’s my letter again:

Mayor Sharon Quirk-Silva, a Democrat, complained about “partisan gridlock” in Sacramento [“Assembly race called key to state power balance,” Local, May 21]. What partisan gridlock? She is a Democrat. Her party controls the entire California state government.

The governor, attorney general, controller and all other statewide officers are Democrats. Nearly two-thirds of the seats in each house of the Legislature are held by Democrats: 52 out of 80 Assembly seats and 25 out of 40 Senate seats. It doesn’t even require a two-thirds majority to pass the budget anymore, thanks to Proposition 25 (passed in 2010) allowing budgets to be passed by a simple majority.

What partisan gridlock is Quirk-Silva talking about? Every lever of power in Sacramento is controlled by Democrats.

Taxes are just about the only thing left that requires a two-thirds vote. Electing Quirk-Silva would give Democrats the two-thirds majority they need to raise taxes on the hardworking people of California. It’s clear that there is one thing Quirk-Silva means when she talks about ending the partisan gridlock: she wants to raise taxes.

Posted in 65th Assembly District | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Quirk-Silva Campaigns In Santa Ana Which Doesn’t Even Border AD-65

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on August 30, 2012

AD-65 candidate Sharon Quirk-Silva is campaigning in Santa Ana today: she’s holding a meet and greet at the Martinez Book Store at 216 N. Broadway at 5 PM.

Why?

AD-65 is Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Fullerton, La Palma and Stanton.  None of those cities even border Santa Ana.

Credit goes to Meridian Pacific for posting these maps on their website.

Maybe she’s in Santa Ana because she wants to be Loretta Sanchez’s successor.  That would make sense since Santa Ana is completely in CD-46.  She’s sharing campaign offices with Sanchez, too.  Maybe that’s what this AD-65 campaign really is about.  She’s trying to raise her profile to run for CD-46.  CD-46 doesn’t include Buena Park, Cypress, Fullerton, La Palma, or Stanton, by the way.

Maybe Quirk-Silva’s campaigning in Santa Ana because they’ll be friendlier to her pro-tax message there than they will be in AD-65.  She must be supporting Governor Jerry Brown’s Prop 30 sales tax and income tax hike.  Prop 30 will probably fail miserably in AD-65 but pass in Santa Ana.  As Steve Sarkis pointed out in the OC Register, Quirk-Silva’s entire “ending partisan gridlock” argument is just code for increasing taxes.  See Steve’s letter (third one down): http://letters.ocregister.com/2012/05/26/primary-distinctions-between-candidates/

Maybe Quirk-Silva’s campaigning in Santa Ana because she has as many Santa Ana City Councilmembers endorsing her as she does in all of AD-65.  She has four Santa Ana Councilmembers endorsing her (David Benavides, Michele Martinez, Sal Tinajero, and Vince Sarmiento).  Of the four AD-65 Councilmembers endorsing Quirk-Silva (Anaheim’s Lorri Galloway, Fullerton’s Doug Chaffee, and tiny La Palma’s Ralph Rodriguez and Steve Shanahan), Galloway can’t even vote for her since she lives in AD-68 (Anaheim is split into AD-65, AD-68, and AD-69).  By the way, Norby has 21 endorsements from AD-65 City Councilmembers.

Maybe Quirk-Silva’s campaigning in Santa Ana because she’ll hope it’ll get the Assembly Dem leadership’s attention by pretending to run in a Dem city like Santa Ana.  I wrote a couple weeks ago in my post “Leading Assembly Democrat Headlines Norby Fundraiser” that “She isn’t endorsed by the Speaker or the Assembly Majority Leader either.  It looks like the Democrat leadership is abandoning Quirk-Silva.”

It looks like the Democrat leadership is abandoning Quirk-Silva.  On Monday, the Assembly’s top Democrat, Speaker John Perez, announced the Dems’ November target list: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/08/assembly-democrats-target-four-races-for-november-election.html

Quirk-Silva wasn’t on it.

Has Quirk-Silva given up on even campaigning in AD-65?

Posted in 46th Congressional District, 65th Assembly District, Santa Ana | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Leading Assembly Democrat Headlines Norby Fundraiser

Posted by Chris Nguyen on August 15, 2012

Isadore Hall III (D-Compton), Speaker at Fundraiser for Chris Norby (R-Fullerton)

Isadore Hall III (D-Compton), Speaker at Fundraiser for Chris Norby (R-Fullerton)

An invitation to Assemblyman Chris Norby’s fundraiser for the 65th Assembly District came in a while ago.  It is called the “Day at the Races” fundraiser on Friday, August 17 from 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM.  I was surprised to learn that the Los Alamitos Race Track isn’t in Los Alamitos, it’s in Cypress (in the 65th district).  The 65th District is Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Fullerton, La Palma, and Stanton.

I saw the main speakers headlining the fundraiser were Congressman Ed Royce, Assemblyman Isadore Hall III, and Assemblyman Brian Nestande.  Royce is the Congressman who covers most of Norby’s district.  Nestande is a Riverside Republican.  But Hall is a Compton Democrat!

I looked Hall and Nestande up since neither one of them is an OC guy, and I saw they are the Chair and Vice Chair of the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee.  That boring-sounding committee is immensely powerfull, with power over “alcohol, Indian gaming, horseracing, gambling, tobacco, public records, open meetings laws, state holidays, outdoor advertising and emergency services/natural disasters.”  If I remember my PoliSci classes right, this is one of the “juice” committees, so the Chair and Vice Chair of a “juice” committee are headlining the Norby fundraiser.

As Chair of the Governmental Organization Committee, Hall is one of the most powerful Democrats in the State Assembly.  What a slap in the face to Sharon Quirk-Silva!  She isn’t endorsed by the Speaker or the Assembly Majority Leader either.  It looks like the Democrat leadership is abandoning Quirk-Silva.  Norby’s endorsed by every Republican in the Assembly and Senate.

It’s not just Sacramento either, look at Orange County: Quirk-Silva has four current Councilmembers in the entire 65th District.  Norby has every 65th District Mayor not named Quirk-Silva, even Stanton Democrat Carol Warren.   Norby has every Mayor Pro Tem in AD-65.  Quirk-Silva and Norby each have half of tiny La Palma (Norby has Mayor Henry Charoen and Mayor Pro Tem Steve Hwangbo while Quirk-Silva has Councilmen Ralph Rodriguez and Steve Shanahan; anybody know where Councilman Mark Waldman stands?).  Other than La Palma, Norby is endorsed by the majority of every City Council in AD-65.

Here are the endorsement lists from their web sites.

Quirk-Silva Endorsements: http://www.sharonquirksilva.com/endorse/endorsements

Norby Endorsements: http://www.chrisnorby.com/endorsements/

Here’s the fundaiser info.

“Day at the Races” Reception for Assemblyman Chris Norby
Keynote Speakers: U.S. Representative Ed Royce (R-Fullerton), Assemblyman Isadore Hall III (D-Compton), and Assemblyman Brian Nestande (R-Palm Desert)
Friday, August 17
5:30 PM-8:00 PM

Los Alamitos Race Track
4961 Katella Ave.
Cypress, CA 90720

Posted in 65th Assembly District | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Democrat Quirk-Silva Gets $200 from RINO Pat McKinley

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on May 25, 2012

In News that should come as no surprise to anyone RINO Pat McKinley appeared on the campaign finance report of Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva as a $200 donor. This tells me that McKinley recognizes that he is out the door after the June election.

It should be noted that Kelly’s Army has begun turning on Quirk-Silva because apparently they feel that she used them to attain the Mayorship to give herself a boost for her Assembly campaign.

The $200 check from McKinley was given to the Quirk-Silva campaign on April 6th.

McKinley was police chief for 16 years from 1993-2009 and appears to have been behind the hiring of all of the officers involved in the Kelly Thomas case. Even though he is a Republican, I would argue that he is more liberal than Quirk-Silva in his voting pattern. Bruce Whitaker is truly the gold standard for conservatism in Fullerton. some might even argue that McKinley is the one who created the culture that existed up until recently within the Fullerton Police Department.

Interestingly McKinley is the one who nominated Quirk-Silva to be Mayor. She was selected Mayor unanimously on a 5-0 voice vote (one of the few mistakes that Bruce Whitaker has made in my opinion). Whitaker might have been hoodwinked on this one though, because in fairness Quirk-Silva did nominate Whitaker to be Mayor Pro Tem though the motion was defeated 3-2.

Quirk- Silva is in a tight race for the Assembly against well known Republican Chris Norby. A contribution from McKinley is not a great thing to have turn up in her reports. (In the effort of full disclosure, Custom Campaigns has been hired to do some website work for the Norby campaign).

Posted in 65th Assembly District, Fullerton, State Assembly | Tagged: , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Useless, Meaningless, Ridiculous Campaigns In June

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on April 16, 2012

One of the major flaws that I have found in Prop 14 is the way t moves candidates from June to November. As an example, if Troy Edgar was running for Supervisor with the same field that he had in the Assembly race, and received over 50% of the vote he would win and no November election would take place.


(Infamous Abel Maldonado)

However, if that same race was to take place for a seat in the California State Assembly the race under the new Prop 14 rules even if a candidate received only 1 vote they would still advance to November in a head to head race. This therefore creates a number of races that essentially are glorified polls in June.

Races that would fall under this category include:

SD 29- A race between State Senator and Workers Rights Attorney Greg Diamond. I am hoping that Huff wins this race based on his policy decisions (Even though he is a bit of a squish on certain issues.). Greg Diamond is an Orange Juice blogger, a very smart man (he will let you know it, too) with an education that would rival my fellow blogger Chris Nguyen, and his best quality is that he reads this blog.

SD 37- This race is between sitting Senator Mimi Walters and perennial candidate Steve Young. Walter s is running for reelection after having defeated Harry Sidhu in her first race for Senate. Steve Young appears willing to run for any seat as I believe this is the 3rd campaign I have seen him run.

AD 55- Curt Hagman against Greg Fritchle. This race is a true yawner as it involves a district that covers Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino. Hagman is a former Chino Hills City Councilman that defeated Larry Dick for this seat back in 2008. He is now running for his last term in the Assembly. (Did I mention that I am happy to have Don Wagner as my Assemblyman).

AD 65- Chris Norby is running against Sharon Quirk-Silva for this seat. This race actually does matter in June, despite the fact that both candidates will advance to November. If Quirk-Silva does well in June, we could see some more Democratic resources be poured into this race. It is important for Norby to crush her in June.

AD 68- Assemblyman Don Wagner is running against perennial candidate Christina Avalos. The new AD 68 is pretty awesome and a huge step up for Anaheim Hills from the old AD 60. Wagner is in probably the safest seat for any Republican Assembly member in California, although I may be wrong on this particular statistic.

AD 73- This one will be interesting to watch in terms of the mail that gets sent out with Assemblywoman Diane Harkey facing off against infamous Capistrano Unified School District teacher James Corbett. The question comes down to whether or not mail gets sent out in June, or if it is held off until the November election.

1st Supervisorial District-  Some of you may think that you have caught me slipping up, as this race will be decided in June. However read the title and you will understand. This race will be a good one to chuckle over. Rocco is best known for his conspiracy that he is part of a murder plot concocted by Albertsons, Smokecraft Sausage, and Kodak.

I would say to sit back and enjoy watching the races to see who wins, but in this case nobody actually wins. This is with the obvious exception of the 1st Supervisorial District.

Posted in 29th Senate District, 37th Senate District, 55th Assembly District, 65th Assembly District, 68th Assembly District, 73rd Assembly District | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Republicans Will Have A Candidate In AD 69. Or Will They???

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on March 15, 2012

Despite being sick yesterday and having to cancel most of my meetings I was stuck going to the Orange County Registrar of Voters to assist a client with filing his paperwork. As many of our readers may already know, yesterday was the close of the filing period for races that went into extension. It turns out that we had another game of “Beat The Clock” on our hands.


Republican candidate for AD 69 Jose Moreno got in the door at 4:54 PM and told the person helping him file his paperwork that he only had 20 signatures and had an associate that was bringing more signatures.

Sure enough at just a few seconds before 4:58 PM Central Committee Member Tim Whitacre ran in the door with 22 more signatures. This however left them with just 42 signatures and this is before the validation process began.

After the doors were already locked it appears that Lupe Moreno arrived and I believe she had some more signatures in her hand but I cannot be certain.

Getting 40 out of 42 signatures proven to be valid is not an easy thing to do, so it is very possible that Moreno will not actually qualify for the ballot.

With no Republican in the race it would not be a bad thing for the party as it forces a lot of Democratic Party money to be squandered in this race (Kindee Durkee would be proud). If a Republican jumps in the Democrats will not spend anything leading up to November and will focus on supporting Quirk-Silva in AD 65 and possibly even Daigle in AD 74.

We should have an answer by later today.

Posted in 69th Assembly District, 74th Assembly District | Tagged: , , | 8 Comments »

Norby Vs. Quirk: Most Interesting Race in Orange County

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on March 13, 2012

A surprise race that I did not think would happen this election is Fullerton Mayor Sharon Quirk-Silva challenging sitting Assemblyman Chris Norby.

The banner for Chris Norby:

The banner for Sharon Quirk-Silva.

What surprised me the most about this matchup is that Sharon Quirk-Silva will have to give up her council seat to run for this office. Most elected officials wait until midterm or when they are termed out to run for higher office. It wouldn’t be that important were it not for the fact that Fullerton has become a major fight between Republicans and Democrats.

Quirk-Silva was the last remaining Democrat on the City Council, although she was a bit more conservative than the trio that will likely be recalled in June. With my prediction being Greg Sebourn, Travis Kiger, and Barry Levinson winning the three council seats after the recall.

Republicans hold a 2 point registration advantage in AD 65 and Fullerton is the hub of this district. The problem for Quirk-Silva is that Norby is also from Fullerton and he is known outside of Fullerton as well. With DTS voter leaning a bit more conservative in this area I would have to say advantage Norby.

Norby has been one of the staunchest supporters of eliminating RDA’s and he was successful this year in eliminating them. He has also been a solid conservative voice in the Republican circles up in Sacramento. I figure that with AD 69 facing a Democratic Party money war this will free up more Republican money for this seat.

Norby should by no means rest on his laurels, but if I were a betting man I would bet on Norby to beat Quirk-Silva in June and that the Republicans will control all 5 council seats in Fullerton.

Posted in 65th Assembly District, 69th Assembly District, Fullerton | Tagged: , , , , | 8 Comments »

Battle for Fullerton: Rands, Reid, Kiger, Sebourn, Georgieff, and Anonymous Candidate Pull Papers for Council

Posted by Chris Nguyen on February 27, 2012

Fullerton City Council MeetingOn Tuesday, the Fullerton City Council voted to consolidate the recall elections with the June 5 Primary.  Fullerton voters will decide whether or not to recall Republican City Councilmen Don Bankhead, Dick Jones, and Pat McKinley.

Fullerton’s voters will also vote on replacements for each councilman should one, two, or all three of the recalls succeed.  (Remember, the recalls are not an all-or-nothing proposition.  The recalls of Bankhead, Jones, and McKinley are technically three separate elections, so it is possible that rather than all three surviving or all three being recalled, one could survive with two recalled or two could survive with the other recalled.)  Most people do expect an all-or-nothing result since the recalls seek to remove the three for the same reason, but that doesn’t necessarily have to happen.

In November, the other two councilmembers, Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva and Republican Bruce Whitaker, are up for election.  If his recall fails, Jones is up for election in November.  If his recall succeeds, Jones’s replacement is up for election in November.

If their respective recalls fail, Bankhead and McKinley are each up for re-election in 2014; if their respective recalls succeed, their respective replacements are each up for re-election in 2014.

Now, here’s a look at the Fullerton Council candidates (thus far) in the recall replacement elections…

Wednesday, February 22 was the first day Fullertonians could pull papers to run in the recall replacement elections.  On that day, two candidates pulled papers:

  • Jane Rands: The Chair of the Fullerton Bicycle Users Subcommittee and Treasurer of the Green Party of Orange County, Rands pulled papers for all three seats.  She ran for the State Assembly in 2010.
  • Roberta Reid: Registered as No Party Preference (Decline-to-State in the pre-Prop 14 parlance), Reid pulled papers for all three seats (but filed for Jones’s seat the following day).

On Thursday, February 23, two more candidates pulled papers to run:

  • Travis Kiger: A Republican Fullerton Planning Commissioner and blogger at Friends for Fullerton’s Future, Kiger pulled papers for Jones’s seat.
  • Greg Sebourn: The Chair of the Fullerton Citizen’s Infrastructure Review Commission and Assemblyman Chris Norby’s Alternate on the Republican Central Committee, Sebourn pulled papers for all three seats.  He ran for the City Council in 2010.

On Friday, February 24, one candidate pulled papers:

  • Glenn Georgieff: A Democrat and former Fullerton Library Trustee, Georgieff pulled papers for Jones’s seat.

Oddly, the candidate filing log notes, “In addition, one person has pulled papers for all three seats, but has not yet provided contact information.” (The bolding is in the original log and was not added by me.)  This anonymous candidate will need to reveal himself/herself by the close of filing, of course.

In a nutshell for those keeping track, all six candidates (Rands, Reid, Kiger, Sebourn, Georgieff, and the anonymous candidate) pulled papers for Jones’s seat (and Reid already filed for that seat).  Rands, Reid, Sebourn, and the anonymous candidate also pulled papers for Bankhead and McKinley’s seats (Kiger and Georgieff did not; and of course, Reid has filed for the Jones seat).

To reiterate for those keeping partisan scores of the councilmembers and candidates, Rands is a Green, Reid is a No Party Preference, Georgieff and Quirk-Silva are Democrats, while the rest (Bankhead, Jones, Kiger, McKinley, Sebourn, and Whitaker) are Republicans.  Remember, Councilmembers Quirk-Silva and Whitaker are not recall targets.

Candidate filing for the Fullerton Recall ends on March 9, the same deadline as most other offices on the June Primary ballot.

(As you might note, I’ve played it straight, reporting just the facts on this post, rather than doing any analysis.  In the interest of full disclosure, I should note my day job is working in the Fullerton office of Assemblyman Chris Norby, who served on the Fullerton City Council from 1984-2002.  One of my co-workers in the office is Fullerton City Councilman Bruce Whitaker, who was elected in 2010 and is not a target of the recall.)

Posted in Fullerton | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Fullerton Officials Have Got to Go

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on January 31, 2012

Some big news recently has been with the potential recall of three Republican council members in Fullerton. This story has been covered very well by the bloggers at www.fullertonsfuture.org. People have asked me what my take is on the recall since the recall is targeting Republicans.

Usually my thought is that Republican money could be better spent targeting Democrats in the upcoming election. In this particular case though I am advocating that we do need to recall all three of these council members because they are hurting the Republican brand. The lone Democrat on the council Sharon Quirk-Silva is more conservative than the three targeted by the recall. Nobody on that council compares to Bruce Whitaker though who is a solid Republican on all issues.

I may not agree with Tony Bushala on every issue, but no matter what his motives are behind the recall these council members have simply got to go.

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