I received an anonymous package in the mail on Friday, from someone in Sacramento. The envelope contained two articles about State Board of Equalization member Michelle Steel’s Chief of Staff, Joel Angeles. Apparently he was charged with assault back in 2009, but he ultimately was acquitted of all the charges. A candidate for the Ventura County Community College District’s Board of Trustees also charged Angeles with offering him a bribe, but that 2002 story went nowhere too.
However, the fellow who sent me the articles was trying to make the point that Steel’s campaign for Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach’s seat, when he terms out in 2014, will somehow be doomed because of Angeles’ shenanigans. I don’t buy it.
But this did prompt me to check out Steel’s executive staff, which includes:
- Joel Angeles: Chief Deputy – email. Joel has been around GOP politics for years. He has worked for a number of Republican state legislators.
- Ken Lopez Maddox: Senior Advisor, Legislation and Tax Policy – email. Ken a former Army Officer, former DARE officer, former State Assemblyman, and former CRA-backed candidate for State Senate (he lost to John Campbell and later won a seat on the Capistrano Unified School District’s Board of Education). He is also a former member of California YAF (Young Americans for Freedom).
- Neil Shah: Deputy and Senior Advisor – email. Neil is the lone holdover from Claude Parrish’s office (Claude was Michelle’s predecessor at the State B.O.E.).
- Keith Chatprapachai: Professional Advisor to the Board Member – email
- Arie Dana: Communications Director – email
- Tyler Diep: Senior Advisor for Minority-Owned Business Outreach – email. Diep serves on the Westminster City Council. He recently was a leading GOP candidate for the 72nd A.D., but he pulled out of that race after he got engaged.
- Alan Nakanishi M.D.: Jobs and Economy Specialist – email. Also a candidate for the Lodi City Council. He also previously served in the State Assembly.
- Rosalyn Vasquez: Tax Counsel – email
- Tim Treichelt: Tax Counsel III – email
- Peter Kim: Senior Assistant to the Board Member – email
- Raymond Morquecho: District Representative – email
Some of these folks are longtime state employees but Angeles, Diep and Lopez Maddox are seasoned veterans of many political campaigns. They all have ample experience in Orange County and you have to figure that they give Steel a huge advantage over anyone else who might try to run for Moorlach’s seat.
I wonder who Moorlach will recruit to run for his seat? Or will he get behind Steel?