Time for political seers among our readership to come forth and participate in another prediction contest.
The topic: When will Joe Dunn definitively announce whether or not he's going to run for the 1st Supervisor District seat.
Entries are in two-parts:
1) Will Joe Dunn run?
2) What day will he announce that?
Post your entry in a commentary. The contest ends with close of filing on March 7, 2008, or when Joe makes his intentions known -- whichever comes first.
The winning clairvoyant will receive a Magic 8-Ball and a one year subscription to Military Heritage magazine (on of my favorites).
The "What will Joe do?" parlor game is been ebbing and flowing, but never really stopping, among OC's politerati.
The latest wrinkle is an eruption of chisme/make-a-wish about a possible Joe Dunn run for City Council, although this chisme had already run its course a few days later. I've been running that run through my head and talking to some insiders in a position to know, and nobody gives it any credence. One source characterized it as "absolute nonsense."
About the only real advantage for Dunn running for Santa Ana City Council is it's a part-time position, so he could keep his handsomely compensated job running the California Medical Association.
Can you feel it? That smell in the air? I don't mean the burning odor of smoke and ashes, but the aroma of the impending 1st Supervisor District campaign -- although that looks like it will also give off the burning odor of smoke and ashes.
Flying over the transom a a few minutes ago was this invite to Supervisor Janet Nguyen's "Re-Election Kick-Off Fundraising Reception" on November 15 at the Santa Ana Country Club.
Janet has amassed an impressive host committee: Lincoln Club of Orange County, Scott Baugh and a slew of marquee names from the establishment GOP groups like the Lincoln Club, New Majority, GenNext and California Women's Leadership Association, and a sprinkling of lobbyists and county contractors.
Plus an "Honorary Host Committee" with lots of elected officials, both local and legislative.
Continue reading "Janet Nguyen Re-Election Kick-Off $$$-Raiser on Nov. 15" »
Martin Wisckol over at Total Buzz just posted another update on the legal drama between the two Nguyens:
Today, a complaint was filed with Attorney General Jerry Brown (who, ironically, Schroeder attempted unsuccessfully to have removed from office). It wants Nguyen prosecuted for perjury on the grounds that she lied when she said she returned a stack of illegal contributions. The basis of that lie: She signed a campaign disclosure saying they had been returned, but the complaint says that the checks bounced.
(Janet solicted funds for a legal defense account managed by her attorney, Phil Greer. Weeks after it became public that such an account was illegal, Greer and Janet announced they were returning the money.)
According to reliable sources, the donor community is intensifying its pressure on the GOP leadership to secure a peace deal between Trung Nguyen and Janet Nguyen. Obviously, there is no progress yet on that front as the Dark Lord is still relentless in his legal attacks.
UPDATE (9:31 PM): There are copies of the bounced checks floating around and the California Attorney General should have a stack of it on his desk, according to a reliable source.
I got a hold of this colorful door hanger today from the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs. Apparently this is AOCDS's first grass root attempt to sway public opinion on their side against Supervisor John Moorlach's challenge to their retroactive pension benefit.
On the front of this door hanger is a personal message from Wayne Quint, the union's president, attacking Moorlach's proposal as the reason for low morale and recruitment in the department. However, what is alarming in Quint's message is his claim that a certain Supervisor "support our deputies and stand for public safety..." This is probably just wishful thinking from Mr. Quint because I am sure our "all Republican" Board of Supervisors is solidly behind the taxpayers of Orange County. There is no way that any of them would sell out and cut a deal with the union for the purpose of re-election.
On the back of the door hanger is a list of "crime fighting" tips that each family can take to enhance their safety. This is certainly a clever way to encourage people to keep this campaign literature. As for those who are interested in signing an online petition to support the union and their generous 3% @ 50 retirement package, AOCDS would like you to click here.
Will the Republican Party of Orange County or Lincoln Club respond to this? We'll just have to wait and see. I'm sure someone will issue a statement and send it to Jubal.
My initial answer to that question is - probably not, since there is still a war raging between Janet and Trung, despite Scott Baugh's effort to strike some sort of peace agreement that is acceptable to both factions.
According to convention wisdom, Janet's best bet in retaining the 1st Supervisorial District is to win 50% plus 1 vote in next year's June Election to avoid a run-off in November. Her Democratic opponent, whomever it may be (Joe Dunn, Claudia Alvarez, KimOanh Nguyen-Lam) will be the strongest in November as he or she will benefit from a higher voter turn-out in the Hispanic community and the Democratic political tidal wave that is going to hit California if Hillary Clinton is on the ballot.
Continue reading "Can the GOP Help Janet Avoid a November Run-Off?" »
It's been a busy week, which translated into less posting than the local political news scene warranted -- so time to catch up a little.
For example, the bizarre Trung Nguyen recall episode. The sheer incompetence of it is head-turning. And the fact they were trying to recall Trung from the OC Board of Education when he is a trustee of the Garden Grove School District is a pretty clear indication it had nothing to do with genuine constituent satisfaction. My guess is they didn't even care about collecting enough signatures to actually qualify, just push it along far enough so Trung could be hit with mailers next year claiming voters "tried to recall him from the school board."
