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Political news & views for independent-minded voters

Political news & views for independent-minded voters

Category Archives: Teresa Tita Smith

Orange Mayor to call for enhanced benefits for active and veteran Military personnel

Posted on by Posted in Military, Orange, Teresa Tita Smith, Veterans Leave a comment

Teresa Tita Smith

Teresa E. Smith, Mayor of Orange
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 25, 2013
For More Information Contact: Mayor Teresa Smith, Info@TitaSmith.com

Mayor Smith To Call for Enhanced Benefits for Deployed Military Personnel and Returning Veterans.

Mayor’s plan to include elected & appointed city officials in first of its kind ordinance

Orange, CA – In a show of support to the men and women of the military and returning veterans, Orange Mayor, Teresa “Tita” Smith, will call for a strengthening of the City’s current employment protections for those called, or volunteering, to active military duty at tonight’s Orange City Council meeting. Continue reading→

Orange City Council to reconsider restoring serviceman to the Planning Commission

Posted on by Posted in Denis Bilodeau, Military, Navy Captain Michael Merino, Orange, Teresa Tita Smith, Todd Spitzer 1 Comment

Navy Captain Michael Merino

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ORANGE CITY COUNCIL TO RECONSIDER RESTORING SERVICEMAN TO PLANNING COMMISSION

Councilman Denis Bilodeau will ask the Orange City Council on Tuesday to restore Navy Captain Michael Merino to his seat on the Orange Planning Commission. He was denied reinstatement on November 12th, 2013, the day after Veteran’s Day celebrations in the city of Orange.

In January 2012 while serving on the Orange Planning Commission, Captain Merino was deployed to Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in support of the global war on terror. Upon his deployment, he requested a leave of absence from the Orange Planning Commission. This request was approved by the City Council without reservation. Upon his return from service, he requested reinstatement, but Orange Mayor Teresa “Tita” Smith refused. Per the Orange Municipal Code, the mayor has the sole authority to make appointments. Continue reading→

Are we in a golden age of Orange County Mayors?

Posted on by Posted in ACC-OC, Association of California Cities -- Orange County, Bruce Broadwater, Bruce Whitaker, California League of Cities, Connie Boardman, Costa Mesa, Curt Pringle, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Jerry Amante, Jim Righeimer, Keith Curry, Larry Agran, Miguel Pulido, Newport Beach, Orange, Orange County, Santa Ana, Teresa Tita Smith, Tom Tait, Tony Beall, tri ta, Westminster 7 Comments
Bruce Whitaker

Fullerton Mayor Bruce Whitaker

Many of Orange County’s longtime Mayors have termed out in recent years – particularly some of those who also were lobbyists or political consulants, or who otherwise appeared to be self-serving, such as Curt Pringle, in Anaheim, Larry Agran, in Irvine, and Jerry Amante, in Tustin.  The newer crop of Mayors who have been elected in the last few years include a few that are turning out to be fantastic Mayors.

I would include in the top tier of today’s Mayors Bruce Whitaker, in Fullerton; Tom Tait, in Anaheim; and Steven Choi, in Irvine.  All three of them are reliably conservative but they are also compassionate and are leading by example.  They are all Republicans as well – and Whitaker leans Libertarian. Continue reading→

A look back at our top ten O.C. political news stories of 2012

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Anaheim, Carlos Bustamante, Chris Norby, Claudia Alvarez, Fullerton, Fullerton Recall, Irvine, Jon Dumitru, Larry Agran, Miguel Pulido, Nadia Lockyer, Orange, Orange County, Police, Police Brutality, Republican Party, Santa Ana, Sharon Quirk-Silva, Taxes, Teresa Tita Smith, Travis Allen, Travis Kiger 2 Comments

The new Irvine Council majority

We started this blog on January 1, 2012.  What a year it has been!  Here are our top ten stories of the year, based on our readership data:

  1. Irvine boss Larry Agran lost in his campaign for Mayor and the Republicans took over the Irvine City Council
  2. Sharon Quirk-Silva beat Chris Norby in the 65th Assembly District – and it was all John Lewis’ fault
  3. Travis Allen beat Troy Edgar in the 72nd Assembly District.  For once the good guy won!
  4. Orange County’s administration imploded in the wake of the arrest of Carlos Bustamante for alleged sex crimes Continue reading→

Quirk-Silva beats Norby – but Agran loses to Choi!

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Anaheim, Ballot Measures, Barack Obama, Beth Krom, Bob Huff, Bond Measures, Brea, Cecilia Iglesias, Chris Norby, Christina Shea, Costa Mesa, David Benavides, Gary Monahan, Gary Pritchard, Irvine, Jon Dumitru, Jordan Brandman, Labor, Lucille Kring, Lynn Schott, OCEA, Orange, Orange County, Republican Party, Rob Richardson, Santa Ana, Sharon Quirk-Silva, Steven Choi, Sukhee Kang, Teresa Tita Smith, Travis Allen, Travis Kiger, Troy Edgar, Vince Sarmiento 1 Comment

Stop the presses!  Fullerton Mayor Sharon Quirk-Silva was losing when I went to bed last night but this morning the voting results say she won, barely, beating  Chris Norby, in the 65th Assembly District.  Amazing!

It will be awhile before we can parse the numbers but you have to figure that more voters showed up in the general than in the primary election – and could it be that the Latino voters in the 65th actually voted?  It sure looks like it.

Other key results for liberal O.C. Democrats:

  • John Leos ended up in a distant third place in Anaheim’s Council races – another blow to the OCEA, which blew a load on this race.  The winners were Republican Lucille Kring and corporate Democrat Jordan Brandman.  The latter was the recipient of thousands of PAC dollars courtesy of Disney and the SOAR PAC.
  • In Irvine Beth Krom got the most votes in the Council race, but the Republicans Christina Shea and Lynn Schott also won.  And mayoral candidate Larry Agran lost to Steven Choi!  And more bad news for the Irvine Democrats – Sukhee Kang lost very badly to U.S. Rep. John Campbell.  The Republicans now run Irvine. I can’t imagine that is sitting well with the guys at my former blog… Continue reading→

The O.C. Register’s Editorial Board endorses Tita Smith for Mayor of Orange

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Jon Dumitru, Orange, Teresa Tita Smith Leave a comment

The Orange County Register’s Editorial Board has endorsed Orange Council Member Teresa “Tita” Smith, a Democrat, for Mayor of Orange – discarding her government worker opponent Jon Dumitru.  Here are a few excerpts from the O.C. Register’s column in support of Ms. Smith:

The Register’s Editorial Board endorses Ms. Smith, even though we have some reservations about some of her positions. She has the endorsements of both the firefighter and police officer unions. However, she sees the need for public-employee pension reform and wants to move city employees to plans that mirror those in the private sector, such as a 401(k). Continue reading→