OC Politics Blog | Category Archives: John Moorlach

Orange County’s financial iceberg is dead ahead

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Chriss Street, John Moorlach, Orange County Leave a comment

By: Chriss W. Street

Like the Titanic a hundred years ago that ignored warnings and ran full-speed into a massive iceberg, Orange County is taking enormous financially risks rather than addressing their gaping cash-flow deficit. The county quietly entered into $518 million of illiquid and unsecured interest rate wagers, mostly financed from

the payroll and savings accounts of local schools and other government agencies. With spending rising as revenue is falling and financial officers exiting as liquidity is drying up; the danger of hitting another iceberg is becoming extreme. John Moorlach, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, warned last year: “The County of Orange, which went bankrupt in 1994, is a bankruptcy candidate again.” He should know as Chairman, he is steering the ship. Continue reading→

Orange County’s financial crisis exposed by California lawsuit

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Art Pedroza Posted in Chriss Street, John Moorlach, Orange County, Republican Party 1 Comment

Op Ed: CALIFORNIA LAWSUIT EXPOSES ORANGE COUNTY FINANCIAL CRISIS

By: Chriss W. Street

The ballooning Orange County financial crisis continued to spiral down as the State of California filed a law suit to force return of $73.5 million of property tax revenue the County skimmed from local schools and community colleges last November. It seemed bazaar at the time that the supposed “Most Conservative County in America” would increase spending by $145.8 million, then grab the school’s cash and cancel planned layoffs of 490 union workers.

The new lawsuit has caused increased scrutiny of other dicey actions by the County. The biggest shock came from the recently released Orange County 2010-11 Audited Financial Report, which discloses the County is short $30,146,000 in Reserves and out of accounting compliance: Continue reading→

Michelle Steel’s staff gives her 2014 Supervisorial campaign a big edge

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Art Pedroza Posted in 2012 Elections, Huntington Beach, Joel Angeles, John Moorlach, Ken Lopez Maddox, Michelle Steel, Orange County, Republican Party, Tyler Diep Leave a comment

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. Continue reading→

Exclusive: Street responds to allegations that he overcharged O.C. investors

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Editor Posted in 2012 Elections, Chriss Street, John Moorlach, Orange County Leave a comment

Has John Moorlach created an Orange County Financial Crisis as Chairmen of the Board of Supervisors? That is what former Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector Chriss Street told me when I asked him, via email, to respond to allegations that he “skirted county investment guidelines and overcharged investment pool participants, who are now owed an estimated $2.9 million rebate, according to interviews and county audits,” according to the O.C. Register.

Here is the rest of Street’s response – in his own words:

The Treasury Department during my tenure spent less money each year than the year before, and less than the Treasury Department’s budget that was approved by the Treasury Oversight Committee and the Board of Supervisors approved. Continue reading→

O.C. Homelessness panel delays turning S.A. bus station into shelter

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Editor Posted in Homeless, Huntington Beach, John Moorlach, Orange County, Paul Walters, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The OC Commission to End Homelessness voted to encourage the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to give the County and the City of Santa Ana more time to address the city’s concerns, with regard to turning a vacant bus station in downtown Santa Ana into a shelter for the homeless, according to the O.C. Board of Supervisors Chairman John Moorlach’s blog.

Moorlach wrote that “The original recommendation was simply to encourage the County to purchase the Santa Ana Transit Station. In an effort to provide good dialogue, I did reach out to Acting City Manager Paul Walters earlier this week to inform him of the agenda item at this morning’s meeting (Paul is also a member of the Commission). You can see from the Voice of OC what happened after the heads up. For the record, I abstained on the vote because I am on the Board of Supervisors and the Board of OCTA.” Continue reading→

Michelle Steel to run for Supervisor John Moorlach’s seat in 2014

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Editor Posted in 2012 Elections, California, Janet Nguyen, John Moorlach, Orange County, Republican Party Leave a comment

California Board of Equalization Member Michelle Steel announced tonight, at a Newport Mesa Tea Party meeting, that she’s going to run for O.C. Supervisor John Moorlach’s seat in 2014.

I would imagine that a lot of candidates will be running for Moorlach’s seat. But who will he endorse? Continue reading→