OC Politics Blog | Tag Archives: Anaheim City Council

Will Anaheim Councilman Brandman challenge Correa for Sanchez’ House seat?

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Editor Posted in 2016 Elections, Anaheim, Democratic Party, Jordan Brandman, Loretta Sanchez, Lou Correa, Orange County, Republican Party 7 Comments

Anaheim City Councilman Jordan Brandman

Anaheim City Councilman Jordan Brandman has been reportedly been calling around asking for endorsements so he can run against former State Legislator Lou Correa for the Congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez.

Brandman may announces his Congressional campaign as soon as tomorrow.

While Brandman and Correa are both Democrats they could not be more different from each other. Correa has been married for years and has raised a great family while Brandman inexplicably remains single and his Facebook profile omits any mention of any significant others. Continue reading→

“Lie Rail”

Posted on October 20, 2014 by John Fields Posted in Anaheim, Anaheim Streetcar, OCTA, Orange County, Santa Ana 1 Comment

This won't end well...$5 billion elevated light rail in Hawaii

This won’t end well…$5 billion of elevated light rail in Hawaii

Regular readers know we’re big fans of Randal O’Toole — the Cato Institute’s resident expert on government-funded public transportation.

Mr. O’Toole travels a lot and addresses those who will listen about the follies and unjustifiability of historically popular public transportation systems, especially “light” rail, and streetcars that are merely light rail with a friendlier, more comfortable, more nostalgic and salable label.

We’ve railed for years against the planners in Anaheim, Santa Ana and particularly the rail fanatics at the Orange County Transportation Authority that ignore all the evidence and promote this costly nonsense on busy streets that need no more congestion, or injuries, or deaths.

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Lucille Kring: Liar, Elitist and No Conservative

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Anon Posted in 2014 Elections, Anaheim 6 Comments

I loathe referring to politicians as liars. The accusation is generally not exactly true; even if an elected official is in fact lying, rarely do they do so without the fallback of plausible deniability. Anaheim’s councilwoman Kring has no such luxury. At the OC GOP Central Committee meeting this week, the candidate for Mayor was forced to admit what she is: a liar with nothing but contempt for the voice of the people.

Kring, a purported Republican, is running against Mayor Tom Tait, another Republican in good standing with the party. She along with her sidekick, councilwoman Murray spoke this week at the first OC GOP Central Committee meeting of the year. This is the group of party insiders which will decide who, if anyone, will receive the Republican party nod for mayor of Anaheim. Continue reading→

Justice for Kelly Thomas: OC’s Struggle to Confront Homelessness

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Anon Posted in Orange County, Police 1 Comment

I recently wrote of the need to focus on reform in the wake of the Kelly Thomas verdict. There, I argued that police spending should be diverted away from wasteful high-tech gear and towards practical stress training. Responding to the piece, a local policy maker messaged me with the following point:

Regardless of how one feels about whether police brutality occurred here or not, funding and mental energy should be spent on getting the homeless population permanently housed and providing them the supportive services they require. If Kelly Thomas [homeless at the time of his murder] had been in permanent supportive housing, he’d still be alive. Case closed.

A powerful argument that further reveals the wide-range of reform efforts that should be on the table as we reflect on the legacy of Kelly Thomas. Moving forward, Orange County must accomplish its stated goal of opening OC’s first year-around homeless shelter. Further, leaders should be critical of laws that “criminalize” and stigmatize the homeless population.

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Yes On District Elections In Anaheim, but the ACLU’s districts argument was wrong/ahistoric

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Anon Posted in 2014 Elections, Anaheim, Orange County 15 Comments

Anaheim district elections

This November, voters in Anaheim will select two candidates for city council; the two candidates with the most votes will carry the day in what is known as an at-large (city-wide) election. On the same ballot, voters will be asked to approve a new, district-based system, for the election of all future council members. For this, we must credit the American Civil Leader Union (ACLU), which was pushing for districts in its lawsuit with the city. The litigation resulted in a settlement whereby voters will decide the matter. In order to obtain a favorable vote for districts in Anaheim, it is important to challenge and broaden the legal argument put forth by the ACLU. The ACLU was right about districts, but wrong about Anaheim.

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Angels Stadium Lease Reality Check: My Pessimism for Anaheim in 2014

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Anon Posted in Anaheim Leave a comment

It’s a bad deal. Thanks to the work of the Mayor, activists and media (eventually), it has been established that the framework for the new deal between Angels owner Arte Moreno and Anaheim is an unnecessary hit to the taxpayer. But here is the problem: the new deal was approved by a 4-1 vote and support for the framework remains solid. The majority voting block on the Anaheim City Council is not known to bow to public pressure and all among them have good reasons to feel secure in their positions. Continue reading→