OC Blog

AD60 Watch: "Friends" Of Curt Hagman

Jon Fleischman posted yesterday on FlashReport about last week's 60AD Republican candidate forum in the beautiful City of Orange. Red County/San Bernadino also wrote up the debate.

The buzz, such as it is, coming out of the debate focuses not so much on the candidates as on the peculiar nature of candidate Curt Hagman's entourage. Per FlashReport:

Well, at this function, in the sleepy City of Orange, I was definitely taken aback to come into the Council Chambers only to find four rather intimidating gentlemen, all in dark suits with short, cropped hair, standing "at the ready" in various strategic locations around the room.  There was quite a buzz going on as I spoke with some of my friends who where there, wondering aloud who there were...  I first checked to see if they were required security -- sometimes public facilities will require a private security company to be contracted in order to approve use of a facility.  Nope.

So, I inquired of one of them (the big dude on the right in this very bad photo from my LG Chocolate cell phone) if they were here with any candidate.  He told me that he was there with Curt Hagman, and said he was with some company (I don't remember the acronym, but it sounded very clandestine).  Hmmm.  I thought to myself -- I know that Curt, a really nice guy, is from neighboring San Bernardino County.  Maybe they just do things differently.  Then I remembered with Curt does for a living (which never came up at the debate, by the way).

I did take the opportunity to ask Curt if he knew who they were.  He said, "They are my friends. They support my campaign."

You can read Jon's entire post here.

"Friends"? "Supporters"? Come on. Reminds me of that Jon Lovitz character on SNL - yeah, that's the ticket! Can't Hagman just come out and say, "They're my security detail. I'm a bail bondsman. Capiche?"? That's certainly rings more authentic than the cagily pretending they're actually campaign supporters -- unless dark suits and ear pieces are standard issue to Hagman campaign volunteers.

Larry Dick Campaign Declares Larry Dick The Winner Of Candidate Forum

This came over the transom earlier from the Larry Dick for Assembly campaign. I get deluged with post-debate spin e-mails from the GOP presidential campaigns, but this is the first time I've ever seen one from an Assembly campaign after a candidate forum:

MEMORANDUM

TO:       LARRY DICK FOR ASSEMBLY CITY CHAIRS
            LARRY DICK FOR ASSEMBLY FINANCE COMMITTEE

FROM:   JOE JUSTIN

RE:    REACTION FROM THE FIRST DEBATE BETWEEN LARRY DICK AND CURT HAGMAN AT THE ORANGE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS.

A quick update about last night’s First Republican Debate / Forum between Larry and Hagman.  The debate was televised live on Time Warner channel 3 from 7:00- 8:30pm for the viewers of the 60th Assembly District. As we talked about on our last conference call, it’s tough to run against a self funding candidate like Hagman who has been running for this seat for two years, but after last night’s debate, it’s clear we’ve got the stronger candidate.

AD60: By The Numbers

Time for another by-the-numbers post (we've already done AD71 and SD33), and this time the subject is the 60th Assembly District. More specifically, the Republican primary, since it is immaterial who the other partisan nominees in the seat are.

AD60 is 54% Republican and 26% Democratic with a sprinkling of 92 Natural Law Party voters (who are those people?) and the usual proportions of Libertarians, etc. It is presently represented by Bob Huff, who is eligible for one more term but is running for the 29th Senate District seat being vacated by termed-out GOP Senator Bob Margett.

OC Voters Dominates District
AD 60 straddles Orange, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties and includes all or portions of Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, Anaheim, La Mirada, Orange, La Habra, Yorba Linda, Walnut, Whittier, Villa Park, La Habra Heights, San Dimas, and the fabulous City of Industry.

AD60 Watch: Tim Escobar Endorses Larry Dick

This just came over the transom from the Larry Dick for Assembly campaign:

Larry Dick receives Los Angeles Republican Congressional Standard Bearer Tim Escobar's Endorsement

Popular LA Conservative Candidate Throws his Support Behind Larry Dick

(La Mirada)- Tim Escobar joined other conservative leaders in endorsing Larry Dick for Assembly in the Sixty District.

"We deserve conservative leaders committed to protecting taxpayers from the liberals and unions who control the Legislature.  I'm supporting Larry Dick for Assembly because I believe he has the courage and experience to stand up for working families in California. Larry is better prepared to dedicate the time needed to confront the significant calamities that are poised to overwhelm our state including the ballooning budget and the severe water crisis," said Escobar.

AD60 Watch: Memo From Larry Dick Campaign

This came over the transom last night from the Larry Dick for Assembly campaign:

Memorandum

To: Political Insiders

From: Larry Dick For Assembly

Re: Notes From Headquarters

Larry Dick’s support continues to grow as more and more of our neighbors are exposed to his conservative message.  From his leadership in securing the endorsement of the entire California Republican Party delegation for protecting the 2/3 vote requirement to pass a state budget, to his relentless campaigning in every corner of the district, it’s clear that Larry Dick’s team is beginning to hit on all cylinders.

AD60 Watch: Ed Royce Headlining Larry Dick Fundraiser On Nov. 1

This came over the transom today from the Larry Dick for Assembly campaign:

Honorary Host
Congressman Ed Royce
Invites you to a Reception in Honor of
Larry Dick
Republican Candidate for the 60th Assembly District
With special guest:
Larry "Moose" Stubing
special assistant to the Anaheim Angels General Manager
 
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Mr. Stox
1105 E. Katella Ave, Anaheim
5:30-7:30 pm
 
$250 per person  $500 Event Host
$1000 Event Sponsor  $3600 Election Sponsor
 
Make checks payable to: Larry Dick for Assembly #1296861
603 E Alton Avenue, Suite H, Santa Ana CA  92705
RSVP with reply below, email: raylysa@aol.com OR 714-540-2295

Here's the flyer with more complete details.

Larry Dick fundraiser or Tom Harman open house? If you, dear readers, could only go to one, which would it be?

AD60 Watch: Another Larry Dick Reception

This invitation came over in the morning from the Larry Dick for Assembly Campaign:

WHAT:     Reception Honoring Larry Dick
               Candidate for the 60th Assembly District

WHEN:     Thursday, October 18, 2007
                5:30 - 7:30 PM Mexican Buffett

WHERE:    Home of Richard D. Jones, Esq.
                1451 W. Player Avenue
                 La Habra, CA 90631

RSVP:       events@larrydickforassembly.com

And the OCYR Endorsement goes to...

After one chaotic hour and nine motions later, the Orange County Young Republicans voted to endorse the following candidates for the upcoming June Primary election:

33 Senate District: Mimi Walters

35 Senate District: No Endorsement (at this time)

60 Assembly District: Larry Dick

71 Assembly District: No Endorsement (at this time)

73 Assembly District: Diane Harkey

I will have a full commentary later about OCYR's bizarre endorsement process in a different post.  A congratulation is also in order for the candidates who received this group's support tonight.

AD60 Watch: Saulo Londono To Manage Haggman Campaign

Chino Hills Councilman Curt Hagman has scored a real coup in quest for the 60th Assembly District nomination by snagging Saulo Lonodno to manage his campaign.

26-year old Saulo is a rising star in local GOP ranks. He ran the absentee ballot program for Lynn Daucher for Senate and managed the Trung Nguyen for Supervisor -- two campaigns whose chances were discounted by the conventional wisdom but wound up within a hair of victory. [Veteran consultant Jim Nygren, who ran the Daucher for Senate effort, is also general consultant/strategist for Hagman]

Since the end of the Trung campaign, Saulo has been a district staffer for Assemblyman Van Tran and ran the OC Republican Party's central OC voter registration program.

AD60 Watch: Larry Dick Announces Campaign Manager

I received an email yesterday from the Larry Dick for Assembly campaign announcing the hiring of his new campaign manager - Mr. Barrett Tetlow.  Tetlow will manage the day to day operations and is scheduled to be in Orange County in the first week of October.

A lot of Orange County GOP activists know Barrett Tetlow from his days as Field Director for the Orange County Victory '06 Program.  He was responsible for four phone bank offices in the county.  Prior to his stint with the V '06 Program, Tetlow was Assemblyman Van Tran's District Director for nearly two years.  In 2002, he was part of the campaign that put Shirley Horton in the Assembly, despite an 8-point Democratic registration advantage in AD 78.  That stunning victory and the win of Bonnie Garcia in AD 80 that year, extended the GOP Caucus membership to 32 in the Assembly.

I'm interested to find out who will manage the ground operations for Curt Hagman.