OC Blog News Roundup -- May 28, 2006

Today's top stories and commentary from behind the Orange Curtain:

OCR's Greenhut on Cassie DeNimby "using her personal wealth to attack (Pat) Bates for being too liberal and too conservative": Answers to your election questions*.    Quoting the boss,

"There must be a certain freedom in having no philosophical core or fixed political principles other than the pursuit of political power for its own sake," writes Jubal (aka political consultant Matt Cunningham) in a recent OC Blog post. "Welcome to the world of the Cassie DeYoung for Supervisor. Is she a conservative? Is she a liberal? Is she a moderate? I don't think DeYoung is any of those things. She's more like the political equivalent of a free radical – a highly-reactive, unpaired political electron floating along in search of combustible issues to ignite."

OCR: Placentia's on-again, off-again rail project, OnTrac, could receive a funding boost.  Fwiw, we love it when the Register goes the extra mile and does these great graphics.

OCR on Van Tran: Politics shift meaning of 'home'.

With the peak selling season on, OCR on the top local realtors, and the 8,643 who haven't sold a thing: Real estate's real deal and Mackenzie sells the most homes in the county.

My generation's still marching in Seal Beach (OCR): War draws older generation to streets.

OCR's Seiler on none of the above: Left and lefter.  Or Dumb and Dumber?  Related from the Times: Angelides Pulls Even With Westly.

LAT: Hugging the hills in Arch Beach Heights.

*More from the Greenhut column on the McGill/Silva/Harman race,

I also hate when voters are left with all bad choices. One of the strangest Assembly races is the 67th Assembly District, where Supervisor Jim Silva, Cypress Councilman Mike McGill and yoga instructor Dianne Harman are running for the Republican nomination. If there ever was a need for a "none of the above" choice, this is it. Harman's only claim to fame is being married to liberal Republican Tom Harman, who has won the primary for state Senate. Dianne Harman has no political experience and is backed by the usual crowd of Huntington Beach enviro-leftists. If this were another county, Harman no doubt would be a Democrat.

She wouldn't be a factor, except that the other "real" Republican candidates each have terrible strikes against them. Silva is infamous for retroactively spiking pensions for county workers, and thus pushing unfunded pension liabilities into near-crisis levels. McGill is smart and has a more serious conservative philosophy, but he voted to use eminent domain against Cottonwood Christian Center so that the property could be transferred to a Costco. McGill has made amends and is good on many other issues, but what kind of conservative would even think about voting to use eminent domain against a church?

Comments

[experienced voter in the 67th]

Check out stopjimsilva.com

I learned of it from Art Pedroza's blog o-juice.blogspot.com

I have met quite a few, ANYONE BUT SILVA voters in H.B. and they are all Pro-lifers (most are from the Church I belong to) so I remind them that Dianne Harmon is pro-choice. As a result there is only 1 choice and that is Mike.

As has been pointed out about Mikes mistakes at least he is regretable and humble about it. Whereas Jim has a laundry list of mistakes that is over a decade long and he is not regrettable at all. In fact he has this big ego and thinks he is entitled to this office of Assembly.
So there you go.

[Lazy Steve]

Given Greenhut's history of intellectual laziness I am able to fill out my absentee ballot accordingly.

67th AD - McGill
72nd AD - Simonoff
5th BoS - DeYoung
2nd BoS - Shawver

He has a become a defacto mouthpiece for the OC GOP. And given that group's recent procedures in the Sheriff's endorsement is hardly one of ethical behaving individuals.

[Lazy Steve]

And don't even get me started on his criticism of the Davis administration when the State was being swindled by Enron during 'deregulation'.

Lay and Skilling are headed off to the slam and Greenhut says nothing. His commentary at the time only reinforces his lack of ability on this or any other matter.

[I'm with "Lazy Steve"]

Ah, finally something definitive in the only race I had not made up my mind on- the two great Republicans, Jubal and Greenhut, are tossing out their childlike, green-eyed barbs at Cassie. They have self-defined their own hardline rules for what a real GOP'er is, and give me invaluable information on which candidates I will not vote for. Thanks once again, guys!

[Stop Jim Silva]

www.stopjimsilva.com

At least with McGill and Harman they are both fairly predictable and consistent. With them you know exactly what you are getting. Vote your conscience on the one who best represents your views. I have found both to be accessable and unlike Silva, they would at least listen to their potential constituents.

On the other hand, Silva only answers to special interests and flips flops all over the place to appease them and will cut whatever deal necessary to get their financial support or their promise of not running an opposition candidate.(I.E. Supervisor race in 2002)

Silva is unstable, unpredictable, and erratic and could care less about his constituents.

The piece on Van Tran and legislative homes misses the mark by a wide margin. The facts are accurate but meaningless. Van has represented a significant portion of that district on a local city council for years and is an active member of a major ethnic community in the district as well. The author should have at least tried to find a genuine carpetbagger.

How about a bipartisan story about Umberg and Daucher? Neither is a part of the districts they now serve, nor are they interested in living in the Senate district they are running for. The facts are widely recognized and the author could offend partisans in both parties.

But that would be relevant and fun, so we will have to wait for the OC Weekly to do the story.

[Lazy Steve]

In the print edition, Shawver has a great letter that filets out Greenhut. Not that it's hard to do.

Seems he was censured by the council back in the 90's. He is a republican and he was censured by a council with a dem majority. What republican wouldn't want that?

Bottom line, he has shown leadership in his city. Moorlach's issue is pensions. Yet while being on the pension board he has shown NO leadership.

If I lived in that district, Shawver is the clear choice.

[Art Pedroza]

Lazy Steve,

Shawver also says that Moorlach caused the OC bankruptcy. That is crazy talk and that is why no one outside of the union ranks takes this nut seriously. Not to mention his role in forcing home owners to pay for city inspections...

[Lazy Steve]

Art. That's fine. My point is that Greenhut's biased is clear. If he is biased on purpose so be it and tell people. It is his pen after all.

If he is claiming to be objective then he isn't being honest in his commentary or his research.

[Lazy Steve]

Art. Before I forget. Good job on the OJ blog. You, Claudio and the others do a good job of presenting multiple perspectives.

[Art Pedroza]

Lazy Steve,

Thanks - that means a lot. As for Greenhut, I don't really expect him to be objective. He is an editorial columnist. His job is to have an axe to grind - and he does that very well. Most of the time he makes a lot of sense...certainly I think that Shawver will be a danger to us all if he gets on the board. We need to rein in the OC public employee's pensions, not augment them, or else we risk another OC bankruptcy...

[Lazy Steve]

Art. It's not that he lacks objectivity. That is a given. He conveniently leaves out facts known to him that skews his writing.

i.e. He blasted Deyoung for being the union's candidate. Knowing full well Bates is supported by twice as many union members.

Is that being disingenuous, or outright lying?

[Art Pedroza]

Lazy Steve,

It may mean that neither Bates nor De Young are worth a vote. I suspect that Bates is the lesser of two evils, so to speak. Her record as a legislator is not bad.

[I'm with Lazy Steve]

Well, that seals it! Not only Greenhut and Jubal for Bates, but now Art, too! Go, Cassie, go! You must be doing something right. But, Christ, ease up on the mailers, my poor (union, by the way) postal carrier is getting a hernia.

[Screech]

OK, the only left over issue to discuss on this thread is did Jubal agree to be outed by Greenhut?

[Steven Greenhut]

Screech:

Jubal outed himself on OC Blog, so why keep a secret even he isn't keeping?