Posted by OC Insider on March 13, 2012
Many have gotten the wrong impression of AD72 candidate Travis Allen, based only on a strategically timed blog smear over the weekend, timed to try to trip up Allen before the Republican Party’s endorsement confab last weekend.
Travis has been a life-long Republican, and a business owner in Orange County for more than a decade.
He has contributed thousands of dollars to Republican candidates, and tens of thousands to Pro-Israel causes throughout the country.
He has been a Member of both the Lincoln Club of Orange County and the New Majority.
For anyone who has ever met Travis, he is unquestionably a fiscal conservative – seeing both in his own business and with his clients the troubles of big government taxing and regulating too much.
For Troy Edgar of all people to try to attack Allen for having given some money to Democrats is especially rich – as Edgar was himself a Democrat for most of the past decade, only having opportunistically switched over just in time to run for City Council in 2006.
That’s right, for Bush v Gore, in the aftermath of 9/11, for Gray Davis v Bill Simon, for the Gray Davis Recall, for Bush v Kerry, and even up to the Primary of Angelides v Westly – Troy Edgar was a high-propensity Democrat voter. He didn’t even vote in the Primary for the man he is trying to replace. When Jim Silva was on the ballot against Diane Harman and Mike McGill in the Republican Primary in 2006, Edgar cast his vote in the Democrat Primary.
None of those pitched battles or moments in history could convince Troy Edgar to become a Republican, only his own selfish political interests of trying to obtain office in Orange County… Telling, isn’t it?
This race is just getting started. Troy Edgar has a liberal voting record that he has been trying to hide and a record of corruption that is hard to ignore. Of course then it makes sense for him to be slinging mud, trying to paint his opponent into a corner just as he was getting started. He sure doesn’t want people paying attention to his own past.
Unfortunately for Troy, voters will look past a single smear… and that clearly has Edgar scared.
Posted in 72nd Assembly District, Uncategorized | Tagged: Travis Allen, Troy Edgar | 8 Comments »
Posted by Chris Nguyen on March 13, 2012
While Emami was chasing his tail trying to get an explanation from the Orange County Registrar of Voters for why AD-69 and AD-72 had candidate filing extended (as he described in this grammatically-flawed post incorrectly blaming the Registrar), I went to the source of the people actually responsible for the filing extension: the Secretary of State. They were the ones who instructed the county registrars to extend filing on various races. The Secretary of State had sent this memo to the county registrars (h/t to Capitol Alert for that memo, which was oddly placed inside a post about Elizabeth Emken getting the CRP endorsement).
After contacting friends in Sacramento, they inform me that once the filing period extension has been announced, the Secretary of State cannot reverse the decision, as only a judge with a court order can shut down filing. Only a candidate who has already completed filing has standing to launch the lawsuit necessary to get the court order (in other words only Tom Daly, Michele Martinez, Julio Perez, or Paco Barragan can sue to end the AD-69 filing extension, and only Troy Edgar, Long Pham, Travis Allen, Joe Dovinh, or Albert Ayala can sue to end the AD-72 filing extension). If they launched the lawsuit, they’d also have to show that they were harmed by the filing extension (i.e. another candidate filed, but no new person has pulled papers in either AD-69 or AD-72 as of this morning).
Even if a candidate launched the suit, they’d have to be willing to suffer the negative press and the hits from their opponents accusing them of “anti-democratic” action by trying to prevent people from joining the race.
Then in the lawsuit itself, the candidate would then face off against bureaucrats in the Secretary of State’s office who would show some bizarrely liberal interpretation of law justifying the extension. Then, the plaintiff candidate would have to convince the judge that there was enough damage done to themselves and the electoral process from having additional candidates that warranted an injunction (99% chance the judge would not issue an injunction to reduce the number of candidates).
The Orange County Registrar of Voters also sent this out to their e-mail list yesterday:
Explanation for Contest Extensions
March 12, 2012 – Statewide 53 Congressional, Senate and Assembly contests were extended by the Secretary of State to March 14th at 5:00 p.m. This takes place in races “for which no eligible incumbent is seeking reelection”. The key is eligible – according to the Secretary of State they have determined that some districts that appear to lack an incumbent have eligible candidates (who currently hold office) that could have moved into the district, causing an incumbency. Redistricting has contributed to this and In Orange County there are two Assembly Districts (69th and 72nd) that fall into this category.
So it seems that the Secretary of State’s office was encouraging carpetbagging.
- Despite Jose Solorio being termed out and the vast majority of AD-69 being his district, the justification for extending AD-69 is because tiny pieces of Anaheim and Orange from Chris Norby’s old district were included in the new AD-69, candidate filing was extended since Chris Norby chose to run for his hometown’s AD-65 instead of carpetbagging into AD-69.
- Despite Jim Silva being termed out and the only sitting Assembly Member in the boundaries of AD-72, the justification for extending AD-72 is because is because portions of Allan Mansoor’s old district were included in the new AD-72, candidate filing was extended since Allan Mansoor chose to run for his hometown’s AD-74 instead of carpetbagging into AD-72.
Wow. Sometimes the Secretary of State can make even the most cynical people more cynical.
(In the interest of full disclosure, I do work in the office of Assemblyman Chris Norby for my day job. However, I would oppose him carpetbagging into AD-69 even if I did not work for him.)
Posted in 69th Assembly District, 72nd Assembly District | Tagged: Albert Ayala, Allan Mansoor, Chris Norby, Debra Bowen, Jim Silva, Joe Dovinh, Jose Solorio, Julio Perez, Long Pham, Michele Martinez, Neal Kelley, Paco Barragan, Secretary of State, Tom Daly, Travis Allen, Troy Edgar | 5 Comments »
Posted by Chris Nguyen on March 12, 2012
Robert Hammond, Tom Daly, Michele Martinez, Julio Perez, Paco Barragan, Long Pham, Troy Edgar, Travis Allen, Joe Dovinh, Allan Mansoor, Leslie Daigle, Robert Rush, Albert Ayala, Todd Spitzer, Deborah Pauly, Janet Nguyen, and Steve Rocco. Not pictured for space considerations: Matt Harper, Tyler Diep, Bob Huff, Greg Diamond, Mimi Walters, Steve Young, and the 13 Fullerton Recall Candidates
Friday was such a busy candidate filing day that we still haven’t finished all our coverage of candidate filing action here on OC Political, but for those of you who weren’t reading over the weekend, here’s a quick rundown/annotated table of contents of what we’ve covered so far:
The big news that dominated our coverage was the AD-69/AD-72/OCBE chaos:
- OC Democrats’ Worst-Case Scenario Comes True: Coups Benefit Republicans in AD-69 & AD-74
Republicans had long feared an all-Republican battle between Assemblyman Allan Mansoor and Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, which would eat up Republican human and financial resources in both June and November. There were further fears that Democrats would cast their votes for Daigle to oust the more conservative Mansoor. These fears proved unfounded when Democrat Robert Rush qualified for the ballot.
However, the scenario Republicans feared in AD-74 became the scenario Democrats face in AD-69. Republican Robert Hammond pulled out of the AD-69 race, leaving four Democrats to face only each other in a bloody intra-party battle in June. Then the top two of those four will face each other again in a bloody intra-party battle in November. AD-69 will eat up Democratic human and financial resources in November when they could have been spending their time, energy, and money battling Republicans.
(Prop 14 made this possible by eliminating traditional primaries, and requiring the top two candidates from the June primary to advance to the November general election, even if they’re from the same party, even if someone broke 50% in June, and even if there were only two candidates in June.)
- Hammond Enters OCBE Race & Withdraws from AD-69, Producing OC Democrats’ Worst-Case Scenario
Republican Robert Hammond withdrew from the AD-69 race to enter the race for Orange County Board of Education, Trustee Area 1. It was Hammond’s withdrawal from AD-69 that left Democrats in a bloody intra-party war in November, locking up Democratic resources to attack Democrats instead of Republicans. OCBE 1 is held by conservative Republican Long Pham, who made all this possible by vacating his seat to run for AD-72.
- AD-72: Five Candidates (Two Democrats, Three Republicans) Running
The Republicans in the AD-72 race are OCBE Trustee Long Pham, Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar, and Huntington Beach Businessman Travis Allen. The Democrats are Garden Grove Planning Commissioner Joe Dovinh and 89-year-old Tea Party Democrat Albert Ayala.
- Matt Harper opts out of 72 AD race
Not among the candidates was Huntington Beach Councilman Matt Harper who announced his withdrawal on the final day of filing. Just five weeks ago, the Republican line-up in AD-72 was expected to be Harper, Long Pham, and Westminster Councilman Tyler Diep. Now Harper and Diep are out, replaced by Troy Edgar and Travis Allen.
- Bizarre Travis Allen Strategy in AD-72: Alienate Non-Huntington Beach Voters and Declare Los Alamitos to Be “Foreign”
With Matt Harper out and Travis Allen jumping in the race in the final days of filing, Allen certainly made a splash, with a pair of bizarre press releases that attacked Harper for endorsing “Foreign Candidate” Troy Edgar.
After all the AD-69/AD-72/OCBE chaos, how could we forget the legendary Spitzer-Pauly showdown? And Steve Rocco!
- Board of Supervisors: Two Crazy Races on the Docket
The well-anticipated fiery battle for the Third Supervisorial District is proceeding as expected, with former Assemblyman/Supervisor Todd Spitzer and Villa Park Councilwoman Deborah Pauly facing off. I don’t think Supervisor Janet Nguyen will object to being known as the boring candidate in her race, as her sole challenger is convicted ketchup thief Steve Rocco. (For the record, I am not related to Supervisor Nguyen. The last name Nguyen is held by 36% of Vietnamese people.)
Wait, there’s more! The Fullerton Recall!
- Battle for Fullerton: The Field is Set
Thirteen candidates have filed for the three seats up for recall. Rick Alvarez (R), Janes Rands (G), Greg Sebourn (R), and Paula Williams (D) have filed to replace Don Bankhead. Dorothy A. Birsic (R), Glenn P. Georgieff (D), Matthew Hakim (D), Travis Kiger (R), and Roberta Reid (NPP) have filed to replace Dick Jones. Doug Chaffee (D), Barry Levinson (R), Sean Paden (R), and Matthew Rowe (NPP) have filed to replace Pat McKinley.
Still more…
We’re still not done with our candidate filing coverage, but at least, now, dear reader, you’re caught up.
I give South OC the award for most boring region in the 2012 Primary. Things are much more interesting in the North OC and Central OC campaigns. Fear not, South OC, I anticipate fun from you in the 2014 Primary to replace termed-out Supervisor Pat Bates unless Senator Mimi Walters decides to ruin it all by entering and clearing the field for herself, assuming Assemblywoman Diane Harkey continues on her path to the Board of Equalization.
Posted in 1st Supervisorial District, 29th Senate District, 37th Senate District, 3rd Supervisorial District, 69th Assembly District, 72nd Assembly District, 74th Assembly District, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Orange County Board of Education, Rossmoor, Santa Ana, Seal Beach | Tagged: Albert Ayala, Allan Mansoor, Barry Levinson, Bob Huff, Deborah Pauly, Dick Jones, Don Bankhead, Dorothy A. Birsic, Doug Chaffee, Fullerton Recall, Glenn P. Georgieff, Greg Diamond, Greg Sebourn, Jane Rands, Janet Nguyen, Joe Dovinh, Julio Perez, Leslie Daigle, Long Pham, Matt Harper, Matthew Hakim, Matthew Rowe, Michele Martinez, Mimi Walters, Paco Barragan, Pat McKinley, Paula Williams, Rick Alvarez, Robert Hammond, Robert Rush, Roberta J. Reid, Sean Paden, Steve Rocco, Steve Young, Todd Spitzer, Tom Daly, Travis Allen, Travis Kiger, Troy Edgar, Tyler Diep | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Chris Nguyen on March 10, 2012
In AD-72, the withdrawal of Huntington Beach Councilman (and OC Political blogger) Matt Harper has shaken up the field. That leaves millionaire Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar as the Republican front-runner. Orange County Board of Education Member Long Pham will gain most of the substantial Vietnamese Republican vote. Huntington Beach Activist Travis Allen is the third Republican in the race, and judging by the two press releases we at OC Political received this morning (we’ll post those tomorrow), he will be running a Huntington Beach-centric campaign. Huntington Beach is the second largest city in the district, behind only Garden Grove (while Huntington Beach as a whole is bigger than Garden Grove as a whole; most of Garden Grove is in AD-72 while only half of Huntington Beach is in AD-72).
The leading Democrat in the race is Garden Grove Planning Commissioner Joe Dovinh. Dovinh’s wife is Garden Grove City Councilwoman Dina Nguyen. (For the record, I am not related to either Nguyen or Dovinh [or Pham, for that matter]; Nguyen is an exceedingly common last name, encompassing 36% of Vietnamese people.) The other Democrat in the race is 89-year-old Albert Ayala, who is actually a Tea Party Democrat.
To recap, the five candidates on the ballot (along with their parties, cities of residence, and ballot designations) are:
- Troy Edgar (R-Los Alamitos) – Businessman/Mayor
- Long Pham (R-Fountain Valley) – Member, Orange County Board of Education
- Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) – Small Business Owner
- Joe Dovinh (D-Garden Grove) – City Commissioner/Businessperson
- Albert Ayala (D-Garden Grove) – Retired Police Commander
Edgar is a multi-millionaire not averse to spending his own money for a campaign having loaned his previous Congressional campaign $400,000, and some close to Edgar have indicated he is prepared to spend $1 million to win the Assembly seat. Pham is also an affluent candidate, having dropped $100,000 into his Assembly warchest (while most Assembly candidates who loan their campaigns $100,000 are bluffing, Pham is not, as he’s already started spending substantial portions of the $100,000). Allen has informed OC Political that he has $90,000 in pledged support. This is shaping up to be one expensive Republican primary.
Republicans consist of 42% of AD-72’s registered voters while Democrats sit at 31%. 22% of AD-72’s registered voters are No Party Preference while the remaining 5% are registered in third parties.
AD-72 consists of the entirety of Westminster, Fountain Valley, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Rossmoor, and Midway City, along with northern Huntington Beach (north of Ellis Avenue, Garfield Avenue, and Seapoint Street), most of Garden Grove (west of West Street), and a small portion of Santa Ana (west of the Santa Ana River [south of 1st Street] and west of Harbor Boulevard [north of 1st Street]).
Posted in 72nd Assembly District | Tagged: Albert Ayala, Joe Dovinh, Long Pham, Matt Harper, Travis Allen, Troy Edgar | 2 Comments »
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