OC Blog

Lincoln Club Leaders Sound The Alarm On Public Employee Unions' Anti-Moorlach Jihad

Three Lincoln Club of Orange County heavies -- Dale Dykema, Buck Johns and Doy Henley -- have signed this fund raising letter sounding the tocsin about the public employee union war band heading into the 2nd Supervisor District on the hunt for John Moorlach's scalp:

Dear Friend:

The situation in Orange County 2nd supervisoral race has changed dramatically in the last two weeks, and for the first time, we are now deeply concerned that John Moorlach may be in for a fight.

Here's what happened:

The unions actively recruited Stanton Councilmann and public employee union member David Shawver to run against John. Shawver filed his candidacy at the last minute in an attempt to limit public scrutiny of his background.

The campaign has received notice as required by law from the AOCDS and UEOOC unions that they intend within 24 hours to produce a mail piece, signs and bumper stickers for David Shawver.

Insiders are saying the campaign against Sheriff Carona is fizzling, and unions no longer believe they can defeat him.

Instead, unions are said to now be focusing on John's race, which is a smaller district where their money will go further.

Now insiders report that the Orange County labor unions are going to impose a 'special assessment' on their members in order to raise $300-$400K to fight John.

John Moorlach is the only Republican candidate in the state actively criticizing unions for their over-the-top pension deals. That, insiders say, has mobilized the unions to make an example out of John.

That's why we are writing to request your immediate support for John Moorlach in his race for Orange County Supervisor, 2nd District.

As you know, John warned of the County's 1994 bankruptcy and subsequently as Treasurer has imposed fiscal discipline, restored solvency and assisted in the County's recovery.

Now John's race has become the focal point in the statewide battle over union pensions. If the unions can defeat John, then Republican resolve on this issue will likely dissolve across the state. That's why we urgently need to ensure John's election and fend off a union victory.

Please take a moment to write out your check for the maximum contribution of $1,500 for John Moorlach. If you've already contributed the maximum amount, your spouse can contribute $1,500. We must elect this stalwart fiscal conservative, but that means we're all going to have to helpt gear up for this fight.

Thank you for taking a moment to read our letter.

Sincerely,

Dale Dykema              Buck Johns                 Doy Henley

The barbarians really are at the gate, and it's time to all good conservatives to man the ramparts for Moorlach.

2nd Supervisor District Mailbox: Another Union IE For Shawver

I understand another union IE for 2nd Supervisor District candidate and John Moorlach John Shawver hit on Saturday. As soon as I get a hold of it, I post it up. This is at least the third union IE in this race in the last two weeks.

John Shawver must be thinking, "Man, this supervisor campaign thing is easy! I file to run against a candidate the public employee unions hate, and then just sit back and let them do the work!"

UPDATE: OK, one of my on-the-ground sources has sent me to the mailer -- here and here. It's another product of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs and the United Employee Organizations of Orange County. Pretty generic, insert-your-candidate-here stuff -- I wouldn't be surprised if this mailer template were being used in several other races around California.

Cry Havoc, And Let Loose The Unions Dogs Of War!

When Stanton Councilman David Shawver announced he would run against OC Treasurer John Moorlach for the 2nd Supervisor District, most observers scratched their heads and wondered, "What is he thinking?"

As if to answer that question, this public employee union IE -- here and here -- landed in 2nd District mail boxes today. It's paid for by the AOCDS and United Employee Organizations of Orange County (the latter being an umbrella political action group for various unions representing county employees).

It's not a very good mailer. It looks like a template that the consultant slapped Shawver's photo and some bland copy onto. I imagine its the beginning of the public employee union campaign to build Shawver's name ID and simultaneously tear John Moorlach down.

And I'm sure David Shawver is as surprised as anyone by all this public employee union help.

FOOTNOTE: The AOCDS is willing to help fund an anti-Moorlach IE, but will they put any money into pro-Bill Hunt or anti-Mike Carona mail?

Moorlach Endorsed BY OC CRA

This just came over the transom from the John Moorlach for Supervisor campaign:

Moorlach Endorsed by Orange County Republican Assembly

(Irvine) – The Orange County chapter of the California Republican Assembly (CRA) has announced their endorsement of John Moorlach, joining the Orange County Republican Party and a growing list of elected leaders supporting Moorlach for Orange County Supervisor.

“With the support of both the Orange County Republican Party, and the Orange County CRA, John Moorlach’s campaign will have a very broad-based volunteer organization,” said campaign spokesman Tim Clark.

Since his appointment to Treasurer in 1995, John Moorlach has brought steady, fiscally conservative management to Orange County’s treasury. He has been recognized nationally for his highly successful efforts in Orange County’s economic recovery, helping to restore the county since its bankruptcy. His accomplishments have also been featured in dozens of books written about the Orange County bankruptcy, and he is frequently featured in the Wall Street Journal and other publications.

Moorlach Adds Experienced Hand To Supervisor Campaign

OC Treasurer John Moorlach has hired veteran campaigner Jimmy Camp to manage his campaign for the 2nd Supervisor District, working with his general consultant JohnsonClark  Associates.

Jimmy is one of the state's top GOP ground/political operatives, most recently serving as campaign operations manager for Diane Harkey for Senate. Although Harkey lost narrowly, I think it reflects well on her campaign team that they were able to bring a political unknown within an eyelash of defeating an three-term Assemblyman.

Camp's hiring is a concrete sign that Moorlach is aware of the coming tsunami of independent expenditures the public employee unions will unleash on his supervisor candidacy. Nick Berardino's nightmare is John Moorlach being sworn in as an Orange County Supervisor this December -- especially if Pat Bates is being sworn in at the same time. In combination with Chris Norby, this would shift the Board's political center of gravity significantly to the right -- and make it much less deferential to union demands.

I think we can expect to see the public employee unions using Chriss Street's troubles as a club with which to beat Moorlach -- making it sadly ironic Street may end up hurting Moorlach's candidacy in addition to his own.