OC Blog

Red County/OC Blog Nnews Roundup -- March 28, 2007

Today's top stories from behind the Orange Curtain:

Janet Nguyen Sworn In As OC Supervisor -- LAT
At 30, she becomes the youngest member of the board in history and the first Vietnamese American on it.

Editorial: At Long Last, Janet's A First In The 1st -- OCR
She takes oath as first Vietnamese-American county supervisor, pending further court action

Officials: Water Level Low -- OCR
Usage by county residents and businesses unusually high during weeklong shutdown of filtering plant.

MTV In Talks With Newport Beach -- OCR
MTV officials are in talks with Newport Beach official about expanding a series to the city.

Drive-In To Return To OC -- OCR
Outdoor cinema will open at the fairgrounds in May.

Santa Ana Accused Of Phantom Classes -- LAT
Officials made false rosters, misused substitutes to qualify for class-reduction funds, teachers say. State vows to investigate.

Garden Grove May Vote On 'Entertainment Hub' -- OCR (3/26/07)
City officials may OK soliciting proposals from developers for part of resort area.

State Scores OC Schools -- OCR
97 Orange County public schools earned a top 10 ranking when compared with other schools statewide.

Teachers Want Better Pay -- DP
Hundreds of Newport-Mesa teachers protested outside and inside district headquarters Tuesday to demand higher salaries.

Commissioner Criticizes Council Before Park Vote -- DP
City Parks Commissioner Debra Allen told the City Council Tuesday she does not have a conflict of interest that should have prevented her from making decisions about a park planned next to the city's central library.

Stalled Projects Will  Move Ahead -- DP
Orange County supervisors will finish 10 projects in Santa Ana Heights that will cost $23.7 million, they voted Tuesday.

Frank Mickadeit: The Wheels Are Coming Off, Jimmy -- OCR
Frank writes about the troubles of Jim Gilchrist.

Santa Ana Needs To Prioritize

I don't live in Santa Ana and generally leave it to the guys at Orange Juice to blog away on happenings there. Which is exactly what happened when Thomas Gordon was the first to break the story that Santa Ana was polling residents to gage support for a new tax for infrastructure improvement (you never know when a blogger will be among the polling sample nowadays).

The story was confined to the OC blogosphere until the last couple of days when the OC Register news section and editorial page have covered it.

Thomas, Art Pedroza and the OCR editorial page has covered it well, and I'd like to add my two cents in. When you you boil it down to the essentials, we have local government for a very few reasons: streets, roads and sewage, public safety, and parks. That's really about it.

Legislative Counsel Opinion Contradicts Judge Brenner's Ruling

A March 19 opinion from the state Office of Legislative Counsel contradicts the ruling issued by Judge Michael Brenner yesterday (H/T to Total Buzz). I'd heard about this opinion from the Trung legal team last week during the trial last week, but for some reason they either couldn't use it or the Leg Counsel's office wouldn't release it to them (my short-term memory is a little fuzzy on that count).

Here's the press release from Team Trung:

NGUYEN v. NGUYEN DEVELOPMENT

ATTORNEYS FOR CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE MAKE LEGAL FINDING THAT COUNTY REGISTRAR REQUIRED TO USE VOTER VERIFIED PAPER AUDIT TRAIL IN CONDUCTING ANY FULL RECOUNT OF AN ELECTION

*Finding casts doubt in the validity of the certification by the Orange County Registrar and the ruling Superior Court for Janet Nguyen as the Trung Nguyen campaign mulls decision on whether to file an appeal.

AD73: Harkey's Campaign Kickoff Quite the Event

(cross posted from the FlashReport)

Dana Point Mayor Diane Harkey kicked off her campaign for the 73rd Assembly District with a fund raiser at the beautiful home of Assemblywoman Mimi Walters last Thursday evening - Walters is serving as Honorary Chairman of Harkey's campaign.

It was quite the who's who of Orange County.  There were over 150 in attendance.  Besides Assemblywoman Walters, also on hand were Supervisor Pat Bates, County Treasurer Chriss Street, Councilmembers Lisa Bartlett, Joe Soto, Elizabeth Schneider, Tom Hribar, Lon Uso, and Jack Feller (who came up from Oceanside) just to name a few.  Former Assembly Republican Leader Scott Baugh was the Master of Ceremonies and announced that State Senator Tom Harman (who narrowly defeated Diane in a special election last year) is supporting her bid for the Assembly.

Perhaps the most notable attendee at the event was FR friend Paul Glaab, who serves on the Laguna Niguel City Council.  For some time, it was being talked about that Glaab himself might run for this seat, and his support for Harkey is a big score for her candidacy.

Harkey is off to a strong start, for sure!

Other potential candidates for this race include former Supervisorial candidate Cassie DeYoung and San Diego County businessman Jim Gibson (Gibson ran for this seat four years ago, coming in second to Mimi Walters, but ahead of then-Supervisor Tom Wilson).

Red County/OC Blog News Roundup -- March 27, 2007

Today's top stories from behind the Orange Curtain:

Janet Nguyen Wins OC Supervisor Seat -- LAT and OCR
A judge proclaims her the winner over Trung Nguyen by three votes. She will take office today, but an appeal is likely.

Frank Mickadeit: And The 'Nguyen-ers' Are: Me, Chaos -- OCR
Frank writes about Judge Brenner's ruling.

Editorial: $467 Million Will Fix A Lot Of Potholes -- OCR
Santa Ana has the money to repair its streets, if it were spent correctly

OCTA Scolds Contractor, Gives 60 Days To Improve -- LAT and OCR
The provider of bus rides for the disabled apologizes and blames high driver attrition rates. The county has imposed $800,000 in fines.

Ballet Pacifica Lacks Funds To Stay In Business -- LAT and OCR
The Irvine dance company will hang up its toe shoes after 45 years unless it receives a last-minute influx of funds. About $500,000 is needed.

Cities Try To Balance Growth, Parkland -- DP
Between high land costs, fully built communities and finite city budgets, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa are feeling the pinch when it comes to park space and athletic facilities.

Newport-Mesa School Board Term Limits Urged -- DP
Trustee Karen Yelsey thinks school board members should not serve beyond three consecutive terms.

Community Commentary: No Conflict Of Interest In Park, Commissioner Debra Allen Says -- DP
Tom Johnson's column "Conflicted in Debra Allen Park" (Friday, March 23) suggests that I sought appointment to the Newport Beach Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission seven years ago and have served on that parks commission ever since so I could pad my pockets with the increase in the value of my home from development of Newport Center Park. That is outrageous and totally untrue.

Wider Immigration Net Catches Legal Residents -- OCR
Non-citizens accused of crimes are being affected by broader local enforcement of law.

Big Overhaul For Tiny Newport Beach Island -- OCR
Construction of a new sea wall and bridge is planned for Bay Island in Newport Harbor.

Video: Judge Brenner's Decision & Janet's Press Conference

Here's video of Judge Brenner's decision:

And here's Janet Nguyen's subsequent press conference:

And here's Mike Schroeder's press conference (which took place just prior to Janet's).

Janet Nguyen Declares Victory...Again

This came over the transom a few minutes ago from the Janet Nguyen for Supervisor campaign:

Janet Nguyen To Be Sworn In Tomorrow

SANTA ANA, CA - - Janet Nguyen will be sworn in as an Orange County Supervisor tomorrow (3/27/07), becoming the first Asian American Supervisor in Orange County history and one of the highest ranking Vietnamese American elected officials in the United States.

Janet won the special election in the First District by 3 votes after a recount and after a judicial ruling made final today in Orange County Superior Court.  It was the closest election in Orange County history.

Judge Brenner Rules...And Janet Nguyen Will Be Sworn In Tomorrow

Judge Brenner just denied Team Trung's request for throwing out the recount on the basis of the contention of an incomplete recount.

The judge is now ruling on the Trung Team's allegation of "gaming the system" by the Janet Nguyen campaign during the recount.

"It appears to me there was a full and legal recount," the judge found.

Looks like it will be Janet Nguyen getting sworn in tomorrow!

Judge Brenner Is Back...

Judge Brenner is back:

"It appears to me all the votes were counted. The question is how they were counted."

Brenner agrees with the ROV the additional provisionals were ineligible to be counted.

As an aside, Brenner wanted to note "I find that the Registrar's office acted appropriately" and he was "impressed with how they conducted the election."

Brenner is now saying there "appears to be a conflict between Elections Code 19253 (b)(1) and 15627(a)."

Brenner wondered why anyone would do an electronic only recount, and is now saying 19253 and 15627(b) also appear to be in conflict.

Brenner said if one "takes the Schroederian view of things" the court would have to substantially rewrite section 15627. "That's what this court is asked to do."

"I agree with Mr. Schroeder that you have to harmonize these two sections."

Nguyen v. Nguyen Day 4: Recess Is Over

We're back from the lunch recess and Janet Nguyen attorney at the dias delivering his closing argument. Phil said there are two "uncontroverted facts" evident in this trial: 1) That Janet Nguyen received the most votes of any candidate and 2) that all the votes were, and then recounted in an appropriate and proper manner.

Phil is now doing his rebuttal of Mike Schroeder's arguments.

2:07 p.m.: Phil finished a little while ago, and he's been followed by Mark I-Forgot-His-Last-Name from the County Counsel's office (apologies to Mark, but I'm barely operating in Safe Mode). He's been going on for a while now, spending most of his time explaining why the ROV didn't have to use thee VVPAT and maintaining the recount was indeed valid and complete.

2:14 p.m.: Mike Schroeder is now up to rebut the rebuttals.

2:34 p.m.: Mike's still going.

2:38 p.m.: Judge Brenner just recessed for 10 minutes, and then he'll come back with his ruling.

Here's some shots while we're waiting for the judge to return: