Flexing Our Power: The New Augustine 25 - Orange County Voter's Guide

I have always wanted to provide an Orange County Voter's Guide. This one is liberally borrowed from the the Lincoln Club Voter Guide which was endorsed by Chip Hanlon's Red County Blog. Please do not take this with you into the voter booth - I think you are better off voting by mail. (If you strongly disagree with any of my picks, please do not hesitate to leave a comment.)

AUGUSTINE 25 CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENTS

FEDERAL
U.S. Senate: Carly Fiorina
She's getting hammered for laying off HP employees - I want her to use that same skill to lay-off federal employees.

40th Congressional District: Ed Royce
Royce is a conservative.

46th Congressional District: Dana Rohrabacher
Rohrabacher is one of my hero - a bold, courageous guy - who surfs.

47th Congressional District: Van Tran
Tran would be a gift compared to Loretta Sanchez. Sanchez has a creepy side that came out during this campaign.

48th Congressional District: John Campbell
Campbell voted for TARP...but I thought it was necessary too...to keep up the money supply.

49th Congressional District: Darrell Issa
Issa's staff was among the first to reach out to me when I started blogging and got active on Twitter. I can't wait to see what he will do when Republicans are the House majority.

STATE
Governor: Meg Whitman
No other choice.

Secretary of State: Damon Dunn
He's Republican.

State Treasurer: Mimi Walters
My State Senator right now.

Controller: Tony Strickland
According to the Lincoln Club, Strickland has a solid conservative voting record as a State Senator, while John Chiang, the current controller, is strongly backed by the public-employee unions.

Board of Equalization (District 3): Michelle Steel
According to the Lincoln Club, Steel is a solid conservative, pro-business vote on the five-member tax collection board.

34th Senate District: Lucille Kring
According to the Lincoln Club, Kring, an Anaheim City Councilwoman and local business owner, will be a solid pro-business voice in Sacramento. She is a much better choice than incumbent Democrat Lou Correa, who voted for the largest tax increase in state history as part of last year’s budget deal.

68th Assembly District: Allan Mansoor
According to the Lincoln Club, Mansoor, the mayor of Costa Mesa, is a taxpayer advocate and fiscal conservative committed to taking on public-employee unions in Sacramento.

70th Assembly District: Don Wagner
According to the Lincoln Club, Wagner is a strong conservative and worthy successor to replace termed-out Chuck DeVore for this central/south county seat. (I'm a big fan of Chuck DeVore...but still okay with term limits.)

73rd Assembly District: Diane Harkey
According to the Lincoln Club, Harkey is a staunch supporter of fiscal responsibility in Sacramento and a vocal opponent of out-of-control public employee union pensions and benefits.

LOCAL

COUNTY
Orange County Board of Supervisors, Fourth District: Shawn Nelson
According to the Lincoln Club, Former Fullerton City Councilman Nelson gained a reputation for fighting sweetheart deals for public employee unions, and will continue to be an advocate for fiscal responsibility at the county level.

Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector: Shari Freidenrich
According to the Lincoln Club, as the only candidate who has managed public investments of one of Orange County’s largest cities, Huntington Beach Treasurer Freidendrich is the only qualified candidate for the job at the county level. Don’t be fooled by the ballot designation of her opponent; Freidenrich brings far more professional experience to the job.

CITIES
All candidates for cities and school boards who applied for and received the Lincoln Club’s endorsement have signed its “Union-Free Pledge,” in which they agree not to accept campaign contributions from public employee unions. Their endorsed candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

Anaheim City Council: Brian Chuchua, Gail Eastman, Kris Murray, Tom Tait (Mayor)
Brea City Council: Ron Garcia, Steve Vargas
Buena Park City Council: Baron Night, Beth Swift
Costa Mesa City Council: Jim Righeimer
Cypress City Council: Dr. Prakash Narain, MD
Dana Point City Council: Lisa Bartlett, Joel Bishop, Bill Brough
Fountain Valley City Council: John Collins, Mark McCurdy
Fullerton City Council: Marty Burbank, Bruce Whitaker
Huntington Beach City Council: Barbara Delgleize, Matthew Harper, Fred Speaker
Irvine City Council: Chris Gonzales (Mayor), Jeff Lalloway
Laguna Niguel City Council: Linda Lindholm, Robert Ming
Lake Forest City Council: Peter Herzog, Scott Voigts
Mission Viejo City Council: Trish Kelley
Newport Beach City Council: Ed Reno
Orange City Council: Carolyn Cavecche (Mayor), Fred Whitaker
Rancho Santa Margarita City Council: Neil Blais, Gary Thompson
San Clemente City Council: Joe Anderson, Jay Gaskins
San Juan Capistrano: Jim Reardon
Seal Beach City Council: Scott Levitt
Villa Park City Council: Richard Barnett, Robert Fauteux, Deborah Pauly
Yorba Linda City Council: John Anderson, Thomas Lindsey

SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Here's where I think the voter guide concept becomes extremely important. It is difficult to keep track of these candidates and I know the union backed candidates are a big part of the problem.

Capistrano Unified School District: Anna Bryson, Ellen Addonizio, Larry Christensen, Mike Winsten
South Orange County Community College District: Kevin Muldoon, Marcia Milchiker
Orange Unified School District: Chris Nguyen

BALLOT MEASURES

STATE
Proposition 19 – Legalize Marijuana: OPPOSE

Proposition 20 – Allows Congressional Districts to be drawn by

Proposition 21 – Vehicle Tax for State Parks: OPPOSE

Proposition 22 – Stops State Government from taking local transportation funds: SUPPORT

Proposition 23 – California Jobs Initiative – Will suspend AB 32 until jobless rate comes down to specified levels: SUPPORT

Proposition 24 – Jobs Tax: OPPOSE

Proposition 25 – Repeals two-thirds vote requirement of state legislature to pass state budget: OPPOSE

Proposition 26 – Requires two-thirds vote of state legislature to impose new fees; requires voter approval to increase certain fees: SUPPORT

Proposition 27 – Eliminates citizen redistricting commission: OPPOSE

LOCAL
Anaheim City School District – Measure G (bond): OPPOSE
The Lincoln Club generally opposes general-obligation bond measures, and this $169 million bond measure is no exception.

Capo Unified School District – Measure H (change election method): OPPOSE
The Lincoln Club is listed as an official opponent of this local measure specifically because it is nothing more than an attempt by the teachers’ unions to get more members sympathetic to their cause on the school board.

City of Costa Mesa – Measure L “Hotel Bed Tax”: OPPOSE

City of Irvine – Measure R “School Support Initiative”: OPPOSE
I disagree with the O.C. Lincoln Club on this one.

City of La Palma – Measure U (ability to reduce utility tax): SUPPORT
According to the Lincoln Club: "Believe it or not, this measure would allow the city to lower the utility tax by more than the 1% currently allowed under the city’s current ordinance."

Magnolia School District – Measure I (bond): OPPOSE

I expect this will be helpful to those of us wanting to do a good job with our down ballot voting. The link to the original Lincoln Club Voter Guide is here.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.