2018 June Primary Recommendations
I'll start at the top and work my way down the ballot as reads here in my precinct in Irvine.
Governor.....John Cox
Republicans will be lucky if one of our two top candidates makes it to the November ballot. John Cox is my choice here. If Travis Allen makes it into the top two, I will vote for him in November, but I can't vote for someone now who chooses not to dress professionally at all times when he is in public. Travis Allen also didn't support civil asset forfeiture reform when it first came up for a vote in the State Assembly. When I questioned him about it, he made it clear to me that he valued who sponsored/carried the bill(it was a Dem State Senator named Holly Mitchell) over the content in it which speaks volumes.
Lt Governor.....Cole Harris
Secretary of State.....Mark Meuser
Controller.....Konstantinos Roditis
Treasurer.....Jack Guerrero
Jack is a rising star in the CA Republican Party. He been serving as a council member in the City of Cudahy for the last few years and doing a great job. He is exactly the type of leader my party needs help rebuild our brand in urban areas of the state. You can be proud to cast a vote for him as Treasurer of our great state.
Attorney General.....Steven Bailey
Insurance Commissioner.....Steve Poizner
State Board of Equalization 4th District.....John Kelly
John has owned a small business in Tustin for years. I've been over to his shop many times to have cigars and talk politics over the years with him and some of my friends. He is a solid choice here for BOE. Honorable mention here goes to Joel Anderson. He has been a good voice up in Sacramento for years. >/p>
US Senator.....Erin Cruz
Another sad case of how far the GOP has fallen in CA. We have zero chance of a Republican making it to the November ballot. Prop 14 has been a disaster. The likely choice in November will be Diane Feinstein(socialism light) vs Kevin DeLeon(hardcore socialist). You could also throw a vote here to the Libertarian candidate Derrick Reid if you are so inclined.
US Representative 45th District.....Mimi Walters
The Dems are fighting hard here to flip this seat. I don't think they will be able to pull it off. I'll be honest here. Mimi doesn't always vote the way I would want her to vote on some issues, but she always hears me out and her office has great constituent service.State Assembly 74th District.....Matthew Harper
This is a no brainer. Assemblyman Harper has been a GREAT voice for us in Sacramento for those of us who truly believe in limited government and civil liberties.
Superior Court Judge Office #13.....Theodore Howard
It's hard to recommend judges sometimes. I was looking for reasons to support the incumbent Judge Howard. I found it in this article about him smacking down the Coastal Commission for abusing its authority. On that basis alone, I recommend and support his re-election.
Superintendent of Public Instruction.....Marshall Tuck
County Superintendent of Schools.....leave blank or write someone in. The incumbent Al Mijares is horrible.
County Supervisor 5th District.....Lisa Bartlett (no relation)
Assessor.....Claude Parish
Auditor-Controller.....Eric Woolery
Clerk Recorder.....Hugh Nguyen
What can I say about my good friend Hugh Nguyen. The county is lucky to have a man of such high integrity in this position. Hugh truly loves his job and it shows. He is liked by almost everyone around the county. He has modernized the office to do things like digitize deeds, marriage certificates, etc.
District Attorney.....leave blank or write someone in
Out of the four candidates running for this very important office, there is no one here to support. The incumbent Tony Rackaukas has made it abundantly clear that cheating on bedrock legal processes such as turning evidence over to defendants and violating the Supreme Court Messiah Ruling are justified because getting a conviction at any cost is preferable to following well established legal rules. If you support that kind of thing, then please be my guest and vote for him. The other major candidate is Todd Spitzer. To say this guy is a psychopathic narcissist opportunist, is an understatement. This is someone who literally can not keep people on his staff. He is the ultimate police state apologist. He costs the county hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars for fighting ridiculous incidents he has been involved with as a Supervisor. He would turn anyone who lets your 20 year old adult children who have a sip of wine or alcohol in your own house into a criminal. For this and many other reasons, trust me. You do NOT ever wanna vote for Spitzer for any office. The two other candidates have exactly zero chance of affecting this race except for potentially throwing it to a November runoff between T Rack and Spitzer. We are truly screwed whoever wins here.
Sheriff-Coroner.....David Harrington
Treasurer Tax Collector.....Shari Freidenrich
Prop 68.....NO
Do I really need to explain why adding more debt to our state is a bad idea?
Prop 69.....NO
Prop 70.....NO
Prop 71.....NO
Prop 72.....YES
City of Irvine Ballot Measures
Measure B.....YES YES YES YES!
This is the most important item Irvine voters will decide in June. By voting YES, you support the veterans who need a place in Orange County to bury our heros. By voting NO, you empower former corrupt council member Larry Agran who is the sole supporter of the No on B campaign to the tune of $300k. This is an easy decision. Vote YES on B.
Measure C.....YES
Measure D.....YES
Other notable races in OC
39th Congressional District
I support my good friend Shawn Nelson here and so should you if you live in this North OC district. I believe Shawn will be as good of a liberty vote as Dana Rohrabacher should he get elected.
48th Congressional District
I support Dana Rohrabacher for re-election. This race has become a complete shit show as I predicted a few months ago when Scott Baugh filed. It's been one of the nastiest races I can remember in OC and it has the potential to go all the way until November should Baugh place 2nd in the June balloting.
49th Congressional District
I support Diane Harkey in this race.
Josh Newman Recall......Vote YES
Vote YES on the recall and vote for Bruce Whitaker to replace him. I've known Bruce for years. He would make a great replacement for Newman. I did my best to try and stop the party from endorsing the loser of this seat in 2016 Ling Ling Chang, but apparently results don't matter to some when it comes to endorsements. Honorable mention also goes to my friend Joshua Ferguson. He has a great local podcast that you should listen to if you get the chance.
65th Assembly District....please support my good friend Alexandria Coronado
73rd Assembly District
I support Bill Brough
72nd Assembly District
This race is a proxy war between Scott Baugh/Janet Nguyen aligned interests and the old Van Tran/Michelle & Shawn Steel faction of the county party. On the Baugh/Nguyen side is their candidate Greg Haskins who used to be the party Executive Director under Tom Fuentes. The other Republican candidate is Westminster City Councilman Tyler Diep. My prediction is a Tyler Diep victory. I'm neutral in this race.