OC Blog

Dave Shawver -- Labor's Choice To Sit Across The Negotiating Table

Jean Pasco's LAT article yesterday on the Moorlach-Shawver races was a treasure chest of passages spotlighting why 2nd Supervisor District voters should confine Dave Shawver to Stanton.

He said Moorlach unnecessarily alienated the county's employee unions by blaming them for benefits approved by the board.

"How are you going to sit down with these folks and solve the problem when you've been beating them up?" Shawver asked.

Actually, a much better question is how could Dave Shawver "sit down  with these folks" as the taxpayers' representative knowing he owed his place at the table to "these folks" with whom is negotiating?

But allowing police and firefighters to retire with guaranteed pay at 50 after ending dangerous careers is the right thing to do, Shawver said.

"Aren't we obligated to take care of them when they're older because of the service they provided?" he asked.

Shawver's argument is based on a faulty premise: namely that anything other than the current public safety retirement deal is tantamount to "not taking care" of retired police officers and firefighters. They have about as sweet a retirement deal as anyone outside of corporate executive levels -- and certainly much better than the average taxpayer can look forward.

I appreciate the potential and respective dangers of their professions. Police officers especially stand between us and the lawless. Both professions are proper functions of government. But if on-the-job danger is the measure of how generous a public pension should be, why do the retirement benefits of policemen and firemen far outstrip what is offered to members of the Armed Services?

Local government employees have well-organized unions with ample political warchests who focus on protecting their interests 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week. County taxpayers who pay the bills have to rely five elected representatives whose focus on protecting taxpayers' interests varies from supervisor to supervisor -- and we can ill-afford to reduce that number from five to four.

Rick Reiff On John Moorlach and Chriss Street

Rick Reiff, executive editor of the Orange County Business Journal and creator/host of Inside OC, penned this trenchant editorial on May 29 on the critical nature of the 2nd Supervisorial District and OC Treasurer races:

TO QUOTE YOGI BERRA, IT’S LOOKING LIKE DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN.

On a June 6 ballot filled with competitive local races, none are more important for sound and fiscally responsible county government than the two contests involving the current county treasurer and the man who wants to be his successor.

Flash back to 1994. A CPA named John Moorlach was running for county treasurer. Moorlach, with assistance from a Newport Beach money manager named Chriss Street, warned that the investment practices of incumbent Robert Citron were leading the county toward financial disaster.

Political leaders rose up against Moorlach. Citron won handily and the reckless investment practices continued unabated. Within months the county, having lost $1.6 billion, filed the biggest municipal bankruptcy ever. There were cutbacks, layoffs and prosecutions. The county is still paying interest.

Fast forward to today. Moorlach, who replaced the disgraced Citron and served as treasurer with distinction for the past 11 years, is running for county supervisor. His tag-team partner again is Street, who is running to succeed Moorlach as treasurer.

They are again warning that the county is risking a billion-dollar financial debacle, this time over lavish public-employee pension benefits.

Moorlach is leaving the virtual lifetime security of his present job to seek a lower-paying, term-limited gig so he can bring financial discipline to the board of supervisors. Street, who recently retired from the investment business, wants to carry on Moorlach’s legacy while putting his own stamp on the treasurer’s office.

Chastened political leaders now are behind Moorlach. But as in 1994, he has formidable opposition—this time from the county’s powerful public employee unions.

Teachers Union Uncovers Moorlach's Sinister Plot!

The California Teachers Association sent this letter out to all it's members living in the 2nd Supervisorial District, in which they detail OC Treasurer John Moolrach's sinister plan to destroy government employees by making their retirement plans just a little more like what most taxpayers have:

The county employee groups involved with the labor coaltion are very concerned about the candidacy of John Mooorlach for Orange County Supervisor, District 2. Mr. Moorlach is a very outspoken anti-labor individual. he plans to attack employee pensions as soon as he takes office.

Gasp!

He plans to change Orange County pensions into....

Into what! WHAT!!

..."defined contribution" plans.

But wait -- that's only the beginning of the Moorlach scheme to destroy the government employee union movement:

This would be the first domino to fall in our state. Mr. Moorlach wants to take this statewide and run for State Treasurer in the future. This means our pensions through STRS would come under attack once again.

How do we stop this madman?

The Orange County Employees Association, Teamster, Deputy Sheriffs, Fire Fighters, SEIU, and other have urged us to take action this June 6, 2006. They say that a vote for Republican candidate David Shawver is a NO vote to Moorlach's plans.

Proving once again that public employee unions are government organized as a special interest -- and they are specially interested in electing Dave Shawver as their new "boss."

2nd SD Mailbox: Moorlach-Shawver Comparison Piece

Here's the latest mailer from the John Moorlach campaign, which hit late last week (I believe). Another good piece from JohnsonClark Associates, it compares the Moorlach and opponent Dave Shawver's respective qualifications, records and stances -- and making it glaringly obvious there is no comparison and the safe  course is to keep Shawver in Stanton.

2nd SD Mailbox: Another Union IE For Dave Shawver

The AOCDS and United Employee Organizations of Orange County sent out another IE for Dave Shawver last week, this one painting him as a friend of environment.

It's a weird mailer. Besides its inescapably generic feel, there's the obligatory quotes about how tough Shawver is on issue X,Y,Z. In this case, the mailer proclaims:

As Mayor and Councilmember for 16 years, David Shawver fought to safeguard our health and the quality of our life in our communities by protecting our beaches, inland bays and coastal ecosystem.

Now it's odd enough to hear about ecosystems in regard to a Stanton Councilman-for-Life. But the quote here is attributed to www.ocvote.com, as if that is the organization that made the statement -- when it is actually the URL of the OC Registrar of Voters and all the mailer is doing is roughly paraphrasing Shawver's candidate statement.

2nd SD Mailbox: Moorlach Alerts Voters To Union Agenda Behind Attacks

The John Moorlach for Supervisor campaign sent out this mail piece on Friday. It informs voters that Moorlach is the target of a negative political campaign by the public employee unions, fueled by his opposition to pension spiking and ceaseless government employee union demands for a greater share of the public treasury.

The mailer also gives voters some counter-information on Dave Shawver they haven't read in the three pro-Shawver union IEs: he's vote to increase his council pay, to raise utility taxes and has proposed hiking the car tax -- in addition to being censured b y his own council colleagues.

This is a smart move by Moorlach consultant JohnsonClark Associates. The public employee union IE in this race have thus far focused on a positive introduction of Shawver to 2nd SD voters, but the next phase will be the bash away of Moorlach.

This mail-piece tips voter to be prepared for the coming union-funded barrage against Moorlach, and informs them as to why the unions are attacking Moorlach.

Note to The New Majority/OC: there's still time to play a hero's role in this raced. The dues of 10 New Majority members would be more than enough to pay for three district-wide mail pieces.

OCEA Asks Members For Up To $180,000 To Defeat John Moorlach

I had no idea John Moorlach was such a bad, bad man. A mean man. A dangerous man.

At least, I might think after reading this OCEA letter to its membership, if I were the gullible type.

It's a hysterical letter. Not funny hysterical. More like Charlton-Heston-in-Soylent-Green hysterical -- the difference being that while Soylent Green really was made out of people, John Moorlach is not the Anti-Christ.

Here's a sampling:

John Moorlach poses the greatest threat to our personal financial security of any politician in Orange County history.

I guess OCEA isn't counting Bob Citron and the rest of the gang that led Orange County into bankruptcy in 1994.

It's hard to take such overwrought hyperbole seriously from a union whose leadsership considers obtaining an increase in mileage reimbursement to be a major victory for the working class. In solidarity, Nick!

Outlandish rhetoric aside, the main thrust of the letter is this:

WE WANT TO ASK YOUR PERMISSION TO USE $10  OF YOUR ALREADY COLLECTED DUES MONEY TO DEFEAT JOHN MOORLACH.

The letter continues:

If you agree with us that it's imperative that John Moorlach be defeated, do nothing. We'll use $10 of your dues money to help accomplish this goal.

If that's not okay with you, just mail or drop off a note at OCEA headquarters by Friday, May 19, with your name, your department or agency, and the phrase, "Don't use any of my dues to defeat John Moorlach."

And the OCEA will make sure all your co-workers give you the cold shoulder and call you a scab.

That $10 adds up. When you consider the OCEA can collect that $10 from 18,000 government workers, and given the somewhat burdensome opt-out method of keeping one's dues from being used against Moorlach -- the OCEA could raise as much as $180,000.

[Interesting how OCEA doesn't do what the rest of the world is doing and allow OCEA members to exercise their opt-out option electronically. They could simply have sent this letter via e-mail and allow members to opt-out with the click of a mouse. But that would give OCEA members a more effective voice in the political use of their dues money -- and the OCEA leadership has no interest in that]

And that's in addition to money that will come in from statewide government employee union sources.

This is a wake-up call, folks. Government employee unions are government organized as special interests -- and their primary interest is access to the public purse. In the 2nd Supervisor District, that interest is furthered by defeating a candidate who refuses to kow-tow to union demands, and electing one of their own to the Board of Supervisors.

Memo to the New Majority/OC: in the 2nd Supervisor District lies the opportunity to strike a blow for liberty and limited government that serves taxpayers rather than tax-consumers.  Audentis fortuna iuvat!

2nd SD Mailbox: John Moorlach Sends Out First Mailer

The John Moorlach for Supervisor campaign sent out it's first campaign mailer, which landed in the mailboxes of what I imagine are absentee voters.

It recounts Moorlach's role in riasing the alarm about the imminent Orange County bankruptcy during his initial run for OC Treasurer -- during which we were assured that the investment pool was just fine and Moorlach was denounced as a radical ideologue and troublemaker.

Now he is running for OC Supervisor and raising the alarm about the public pension bomb, and the same quarters are assuring us that the county employee pension and medical retiree systems are just fine, and denouncing Moorlach as a radical ideologue and troublemaker.

AOCDS Phoning For Dave Shawver

John Seiler posted about the phone call he received last night from an AOCDS phone bank, on behalf of the public employee candidate for 2nd District Supervisor, John Shawver:

Shawver campaign calls me at home

By John Seiler

Yesterday evening, I got a call from the Shawver campaign. The guy calling said he was from the O.C. Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs and would like to talk to me about the supervisor's race for the 2nd district. They guy calling didn't know I was a Register editorial writer, and I didn't tell him.

"I voting for John Moorlach," I replied. "He saved Orange County after the bankruptcy."

"Thank you for your time," the guy said, and hung up. At least he was polite. He sounded like a cop, and had that cop politeness they use when they pull you over for not having your seatbelt on and give you a ticket that will fund their pensions.

The deputy sheriffs' association doesn't like Moorlach because he doesn't want to give its members even more generous pay, perks, and pensions, something that would lead to the county going bankrupt again.

You can read the rest of Seiler's post here.

Will The New Majority Stay On The Sidelines In The 2nd Supervisor District?

On Wedensday, I participated in an informal media luncheon hosted by New Majority honchos Paul Folino and Tom Tucker (who are both very gracious men, by the way).

I post later, and at greater length, about the luncheon. At one point during the exchange, Tom Tucker commented the New Majority "hadn't gotten involved in local races, and that is by design" while adding they were open to to revisiting that policy if necessary. This prompted me to ask if the New Majority/OC (of which Paul Folino is the chairman) might play a role in the 2nd Supervisor District race, but they declaimed any intention of getting involved in the John Moorlach/Dave Shawver race.

I followed up on the subject a few minutes later. While acknowledging the NM has consciously avoided involvement in local races, I pointed out that in the 2nd SD you had a Republican, John Moorlach, with nigh-universal party support -- and whom the public employee unions were mobilizing to defeat. I pointed out they had already done three independent expenditures on Dave Shawver's behalf, and what we have is an effort by public employee unions to install one of their own as an Orange County Supervisor. As a business group, this is a perfect opportunity for the New Majority to weigh in and make its presence felt.

Folino and Tucker listened and seemed to be giving the suggestion due consideration. We shall see what happens. There is less than a month until the primary. The public employee unions have already pumped out at least three mailers on Shawver's behalf, and I have no doubt there are more in the pipeline. Right now they're trying to build name ID and positives for Shawver before going negative on Moorlach. The insider betting is the unions aren't going to do much (if anything) against incumbent Supervisor Chris Norby and instead train their guns on non-incumbent Moorlach.

The New Majority remains dogged by the perception among grassroots Republicans they are a bunch of rich guys who just care about abortion. I think this perception is unfair and inaccurate, but nonetheless it exists.

Taking action in the 2nd Supervisor District is an opportunity for the New Majority to do well by doing good. NM can have a major impact in this race by spending the equivalent of a dozen members' annual dues on independent expenditures for John Moorlach and against Dave Shawver. The New Majority could blunt the public employee unions' attempt to put a Supervisor's seat in their pocket and make themselves heroes in this fight. Such action would be a powerful anti-venom to the poisonous view many grassroots conservatives hold of the New Majority.

The New Majority/OC has the capability to not only balance the scales in the 2nd Supervisor District, but to tip them in favor of a pro-liberty, pro-business champion of limited government and fiscal restraint and responsibility -- rather than an obscure councilman from a marginal city whose claim to fame is championing a policy of forced pre-sale home inspections, and who would be beholden to the public employee unions he's charged with supervising.

There's still time to act.