OC Blog

WHat's WHith WHitacre?

Tim Whitacre, a man for whom I hold respect as well as someone who normally holds staunch, conservative values appears to be shifting his political stance, presumably with the wind.

Perusing Orange Juice today I stumbled across, amongst other things, this interesting editorial by Art Pedroza.  Apparently, there are *gasp* politics being played, and I don't mean the nice, friendly ones that used to be played; I'm talking about people pulling Benedict Arnolds.

Word on the street is that Tim Whitacre has seemingly changed his ideology to match his personal aspirations.  Art goes more in-depth in the story.

Having known Tim for over a year now, this whole situation is very perplexing.  I've never heard of him to support liberals, much less Santa Ana liberals.  My question to Tim is: why?  I don't understand, Tim, why, if the charges are true, you would turn your back on conservatives in central county.  Not two months ago I heard you speak of the "Fighting 69th", but is it now just the "Windsurfing 69th" to you?  I ask:  Will the real Tim Whitacre please stand up?

69th AD Mailbox: Lou Correa For Assembly?

Check out this post by Mike Lawson over at The Liberal OC about the Lou Correa for State Assembly mailer that hit this weekend.

Looks like someone was proofing the mail piece on too little sleep.

Mmartin Wisckol has some follow-up with the consultant over at Total Buzz.

69th AD Mailbox: Armando's Final Mail Piece

Here is Armando De La Libertad's final mail piece in the battle for the 69th Assembly District Democratic nomination.

In Del La Libertad campaign manager Ed Velasquez's words:

There were 5 others in the last 10 days for a total of 10.  This one caps off our mail program. We remain the only campaign in the Democratic Primary in AD 69 to stay positive and talk about issues rather than just attacking our opponents.

Tomorrow, we'll find out how that strategy pans out.

Mail In The 34th SD & 69th AD

If you're interested in more closely following the mail flying around central OC in the Democratic nomination fights in the 69th AD and 34th AD, I recommend visiting Orange Juice.

Since I don't live in either district, I'm dependent on the respective campaigns to send me their mailers. The campaigns of Jose Solorio and Armando De La Libertad were pretty helpful in that regard for a time, but I suspect their are distracted in the home stretch because I haven't received anything for a while. The difficulty in securing mailers is compounded by the dominant role independent expenditure committees are playing in these races -- meaning I'd have to track down a dozens consultant rather than just the five candidate campaigns.

Which is a long-winded way of saying Claudio Gallegos, Art Pedroza and their team are doing yeoman's work enabling those of us outside the 69th and 34th to vicariously follow those campaigns.

SEIU Local States It Hasn't Withdrawn Endorsement of Jose Solorio

On May 21, the Claudia Alvarez for Assembly campagin sent out a press release claiming SEIU Local 347 had withdrawn it's endorsement of Santa Ana Councilman Jose Solorio -- who's also running for the 69th Assembly District. The press release said to contact Alvarez campaign consultant John Shallman at 818.728.4200.

The next day, general manager of Local 347 issued a statement saying that was untrue and the local stood by its endorsement of Solorio.

I didn't see any point in calling Shallman for an explanation of the discrepancy, since he doesn't return my calls. Maybe someone else can and let me know what he says.

69th AD Mailbox: Armando In The Mail On Eminent Domain

Armando De La Libertad is in the mail again, this time with an attention-grabbing piece on eminent domain -- and showing the bi-partisan appeal of this issue. This mailer hit yesterday and today.

I love the bulldozer and slogan on the front -- but I still think the piece is a too text heavy, which could prevent recipients from reading all the way through to Armando's thinly-veiled dig at his two opponents on this issue.

Still, kudos to Armando for hitting this one hard.

By the way, Claudio Gallegos at Orange Juice, who's actually getting all this mail at his house, has posted a good overview of what he's recevied thus far.

$261,349 In Independent Expenditures In The 69th AD Since Yesterday

The IEs are flying the 69th Assembly District dog fight for the Democratic nomination:

$92,932 in support of Claudia Alvarez were reported today alone, in addition to a JOBS-PAC $3,333 IE against Jose Solorio -- and yesterday the California Dental Association PAC rang up a $35,000 IE for Alvarez.

Solorio isn't doing too bad, either. Yesterday, a labor PAC with a stupendously long moniker -- Strengthening Our Lives Through Education, Community Action And Civic Participation - A Coalition Of Labor Organizations -- reported a $71,084 IE for Solorio for voter contact activities through the June election. The SOLTECAACPACOLO -- that;s what I call them for short -- also reported spending $14,000 for a pro-Solorio walk piece, $22,500 for a pro-Solorio cable TV ad buy and $22,500 for an anti-Alvarez cable TV ad.

That's $261,349 in IEs in the 69th since I posted yesterday afternoon about IEs in the 69th.

And there are still two weeks to go until Election Day.

69th AD Mailbox: Armando In The Mail

Thank you to Ed Velasquez with the Armando De La Libertad for Assembly campaign for fattening the 69th AD Mailbox with these two mailers -- here and here -- sent out last week.

They definitely stand apart from mailers I'm used to receiving. While I appreciate the freshness, the "One Man" theme could use a strong dose of humility, and the Rueben Martinez -- while the cover grabs your attention -- has too much text in too-small print. I really think the bulleted, bite-size approach works better in political mail.

Still, this will be an intriguing race to watch and see if grassroots-and-shoe-leather can eke out a win over conventional, institutional political campaigns.

69th AD Mailbox: Jose Solorio Emphasizes Family Roots

I'm finally succeeding in getting a hold of mail from the 69th AD Democratic primary. Here's a piece the Jose Solorio campaign sent out last week: "Lessons From My Parents."

I'm not a Democrat, but I really like the tone and message of this mailer (the call for hiking the minimum wage aside): straightforward, non-nonsense while being sentimental about la familia.

I'm still trying get mail from the Claudia Alvarez campaign. I get all their press releases, but I can't get her campaign consultant John Shallman to return phone calls or e-mails.

Deputy Sheriffs Union Endorses Solorio In 69th AD

This just came over the transom from the Jose Solorio for Assembly campaign:

Orange County Deputy Sheriffs Endorse Jose Solorio for State Assembly

Santa Ana, CA (May 22, 2006) -- The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs (AOCDS) has announced its endorsement of Santa Ana Councilman Jose Solorio for the 69th State Assembly District.  AOCDS represents 1,800 fully sworn deputies, investigators and sergeants of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. The organization prides itself on being "fervently committed to public safety."

"Jose Solorio has proven his commitment to public safety.  He works hard, knows that public safety is a primary role of government and makes sure that police services are properly funded in Santa Ana.  He will also bring the passion and focus of a dad to his work in the State Capitol -- crimes against children will mean longer sentences, faster trials, and stricter terms for parole," said Orange County Deputy Sheriffs President Wayne J. Quint.