When former O.C. Supervisor Todd Spitzer was elected to serve as our new O.C. District Attorney last November it opened up a seat on the O.C. Board of Supervisors, in the Third District, which includes parts of Anaheim, Orange, Villa Park and Irvine. A Special Election will take place on March 12 to replace Spitzer.
There are quite a few well-known candidates running for the Third District, including Irvine Mayor Don Wagner; Anaheim City Councilwoman Kris Murray; former U.S. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez; former Villa Park City Councilwoman Deborah Pauly as well as several lesser known candidates including Kim-Thy “Katie” Hoang Bayliss, an attorney; Larry Bales, a retired auditor for the O.C. Assessor’s office and Katherine Daigle, a perennial candidate.
While several of these candidates are registered Republicans only one of them, Wagner, is endorsed by the Republican Party of Orange County. Wagner has also been endorsed by:
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- Lincoln Club of Orange County
- Greater Irvine Chamber Prosperity PAC
- North Orange County Business Alliance Council
- The Orange Club (金橙俱樂部）
- Orange County Young Republicans
- California Republican Assembly
- California Impact Republicans
- Association of Orange County Deputy District Attorneys
- Orange County Gun Owners PAC
We find it hard to take Sanchez seriously. She is the only Democrat in the race, after former Irvine City Councilwoman Beth Krom dropped out. But Sanchez is fairly new to the Third District. While she originally ran for the Anaheim City Council many years ago, when she was a Republican, she ended up moving to Santa Ana after she got elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Then she mostly lived in Virginia while serving in D.C. More recently she moved to Orange and then filed for this Special Election.
Sanchez is the de facto union candidate in the race, which means she will be shilling for the unions if she gets elected.
We have a hard time getting behind Murray given the millions of dollars she wasted on corporate welfare during her tenure on the Anaheim City Council. She has been a reliable vote, in particular, for the Disney resort.
Wagner has our endorsement because he is the most capable of the many candidates for the Third District. He has been a solid Mayor in Irvine – which remains Orange County’s best-managed city.