OC Politics Blog | Category Archives: Orange County

Is it dishonest for gay O.C. politicians to remain in the closet?

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Editor Posted in 2012 Elections, Anaheim, Dana Rohrabacher, Democratic Party, Jordan Brandman, LGBT, Orange County, Republican Party 2 Comments

It is a question worth pondering – should gay politicians remain in the closet? The problem I have with that is that some voters, generally Republicans, are anti-gay. That is their choice and it is a choice often steeped in religious values. I don’t share that view – but I respect that some people feel that way.

The problem as I see it is one of blatant dishonesty. What is a Democrat, for example, runs for a local office, say a City Council, and he runs a campaign with a conservative theme? Orange County Democrats do that quite often when they run for local offices, thereby fooling Republican voters. Now what if that Democrat is also a closeted homosexual? Isn’t he lying to these (Republican) voters by remaining in the closet? Is that ethical? Continue reading→

Janet Nguyen’s campaign contributor wrote the secret CalOptima report

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Editor Posted in Corruption, Healthcare, Janet Nguyen, Orange County, Republican Party 3 Comments

O.C. Supervisor Janet Nguyen has done it again. A few years ago she voted against letter grade health ratings for Orange County restaurants. I outed the fact that her husband, Tom Bonikowski, and her then Chief of Staff, Andrew Do, co-owned a Lee’s Sandwiches franchise in Stanton that had received a multitude of health code violations, then I found out that she had accepted over $25,000 in campaign donations from owners of other restaurants with health code violations. She of course mentioned NONE of that when she voted against the letter grade health ratings.

Bonikowski later sold his part of the franchise to Do. Bonikowski ended up getting appointed to the Garden Grove Planning Commission. Do ended up resigning from his position with Nguyen, and from the Garden Grove City Council. The ultimate bag man was left holding the bag.

This time we are finding out that Nguyen got thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Todd Theodora, the CalOptima lawyer who issued a secret report blasting CalOptima. His wife also contributed to Nguyen. Continue reading→

Mission Viejo’s new law will keep perverts out of city parks and playgrounds

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Editor Posted in Crime, District Attorney, Mission Viejo, Orange County, Public Safety, Tony Rackauckas 3 Comments

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Date: January 4, 2012
TONY RACKAUCKAS, District Attorney
Susan Kang Schroeder, Chief of Staff, Office: 714-347-8408, Cell: 714-292-2718
Farrah Emami, Spokesperson, Office: 714-347-8405, Cell: 714-323-4486

SANTA ANA – The City of Mission Viejo enacted a law yesterday to create child safety zones to protect children from registered sex offenders in city parks and playgrounds. The Mission Viejo City Council voted unanimously Jan. 3, 2012, to pass the ordinance. The City Council includes Mayor Frank Ury, Mayor Pro Tem Rhonda Reardon, Council Members Patricia Kelley , Dave Leckness, and Cathy Schlicht. There will be a second reading of the Ordinance on Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, making it effective 30 days after that reading. Continue reading→

Yorba Linda Council wisely exploring options as police costs have soared

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Editor Posted in Brea, Labor, Orange County, Police, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, Yorba Linda 2 Comments

A Facebook group of just over 200 residents of Yorba Linda is opposing the idea of ending the City of Yorba Linda’s contract with the City of Brea’s Police Department. There are 64,500 residents in Yorba Linda, which means this group of 200 is numerically insignificant – they aren’t even 1% of Yorba Linda’s population! Some of them also apparently set up a website too. Their site notes about 325 supporters – again a pittance compared to the entire population of Yorba Linda.

The real question, which has been raised by famed FFFF blogger Tony Bushala, is why in the world the tiny City of Brea is providing police services to the City of Yorba Linda in the first place! What the heck is that all about? If the Brea police have too many officers, can’t they just cut the extra ones? Or, as has been suggested by one of the Yorba Linda Council Members, shouldn’t the two cities be running the police in conjunction, under the auspices of a joint authority?

The Brea police groupies fail to mention that costs have absolutely skyrocketed over the past few years, as illustrated in this graphic: Continue reading→

Kimberly Edds is the latest O.C. reporter to leave the news business

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Editor Posted in Labor, Media, Orange County Leave a comment

The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs (AOCDS) announced on Dec. 27 that they have hired former Orange County Register reporter Kimberly Edds. That is a great move for them as she is a terrific reporter and I am sure she will excel as their new Director of Communications.

Edds is just the latest of many fine Orange County news reporters who have quit the newspaper industry in the last few years. Jean Pasco, who covered political news for the L.A. Times, retired to go work for Orange County Clerk-Recorder Tom Daly. Jennifer Delson took an early retirement from the L.A. Times too and she now owns her own public relations firm. And Jennifer Muir, who wrote for the O.C. Register, now handles communications for the Orange County Employees Association (OCEA). Continue reading→