Councilman Jim Righeimer - Costa Mesa, Photo: Chris Prevatt

In a meeting that ran until 3:00 a.m. Wednesday, the Costa Mesa City Council majority, led by Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer voted to outsource two city services to private contractors. Those decisions will be prevented from implementation until the lawsuit, filed by the Costa Mesa City Employees Association—the union representing most of the affected city, is resolved.

The council voted 4-1 to contract out street sweeping and jail services. Based upon contractor and city estimates, the contracting out of street sweeping services will save about $88,000 a year along by contracting with Athens Services. There should be additional savings from equipment and maintenance and costs. The projected savings for contracting out jail services are estimated to be about $600,000 annually, once the contractor us fully up and running the jail.

Opponents of the outsourcing of jail services have raised concerns that the savings projected by the contractor, G4S Secure Solutions, are exaggerated and unrealistic.

Councilwoman Wendy Leece - Costa Mesa, Photo: Chris Prevatt

Councilwoman Wendy Leece, expressed her objections to the contracting out proposals:

“With the injunction still outstanding and the lawsuit yet to be resolved… I just don’t even think we should be discussing this,” Leece said. “I’m not in a hurry to support this,” she said. “I don’t think that the savings is remarkable to switch from our own trained employees.”

The city has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to defend it’s decision to issue blanket layoff notices to almost half their workforce. The estimated savings hardly seem to justify the costs in staff morale, employee jobs, and legal costs.

Costa Mesa City Employees Association spokesperson Jennifer Muir told the Orange County Register:

“It has been a brutal 14 months for the employees of Costa Mesa. They’ve received pink slip after pink slip, after pink slip, after pink slip so the City Council could advance their political agenda and that’s disgusting. Not only has the court told them they can’t do this, they have failed to present an accurate picture and a complete picture to residents about what the consequences of handing over control of public services to private corporations could be.”

The City Council decided to pull animal control, building inspection and video productions off the table as well and rescinded layoff notices for the affected employees after a staff analysis showed these services are better provided in house. The council decided to rescind the 87 layoff notices issued in March 2011 to the city’s Fire Department.

More contracting out proposals are expected to come before the council in the coming months. An Appeals Court hearing, on the city challenge to a Superior Court injunction preventing outsourcing until the lawsuit is resolved, is scheduled for May 23^rd.

The Liberal OC - Challenging Orange County's right-wing noise machine

Whether it’s State Assembly or Congress, residents in Irvine continue to get the short end of the stick when it comes to representation in Sacramento or Washington.  State Rep. Don Wagner and Congressman John Campbell place the interests of the Republican Party ahead of those of their residents of their Assembly and Congressional Districts with just about every vote.  Frankly stated, if it weren’t for the work of Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, our Congressional District would never see a dime in federal tax money for needed projects the federal government should pay for.  We don’t see a lot in the form of state funds either.  And that’s why it’s important to elect Sharon Quirk-Silva to the State Assembly in AD-65.

Imagine, if you will, a teacher who understands how tight education budgets are actually fighting for fairness when it comes to Orange County’s underfunded schools.  Quirk-Silva will and her work in the Assembly will benefit not just residents in Fullerton, Brea and surrounding communities, but also Irvine, Tustin, Santa Ana, Anaheim and others that are the bottom of the charts when it comes to state spending per pupil.

I see Rep. John Campbell and State Rep. Don Wagner at the IPSF Gala every year and I wonder why they even bother to show up.  Their records on education and funding of education are non-existent.

Quirk-Silva came to Irvine last night and my neighbors opened their checkbooks for her.  And they did so with the urging of former Assembly candidate Melissa Fox and Irvine Mayor Pro Tem Beth Krom (I snapped a few pics but could only stay for 30 minutes; the crowd did get much larger).

The discussion in the room was not on the June primary but the push to November.  Quirk Silva could get one vote and one vote only next month and that doesn’t matter.  It’s November that does.  And the focus is on November.  For residents of AD-65, especially those who have daughters, yoru state rep embarrassed you.  State Rep. Chris Norby bemoaned solid legislation like Title IX in front of US women’s team soccer star Brandy Chastain, and it only shows just how out of touch he is with…life.

So in November, it’s time to retire Mr. Norby and his multiple public employee pensions earned as a school teacher, Fullerton City Council member and Counter Supervisor so he can spend more time with his infant son and his fourth wife.  You know Mrs. Norby; she’s the one who thinks Mrs. Quirk-Silva would be a great state assembly representative. How bad a state rep can you be when your own wife endorses your opponent?

The Liberal OC - Challenging Orange County's right-wing noise machine

With the prospect of a $16 billion budget shortfall facing the state, Governor Jerry Brown has pinned a large part of his budget balancing strategy on increasing state revenues through his proposed short-term tax increase on the wealthiest Californians and short-term 0.25% (that’s a quarter of one percent, not 25 percent) increase in the state sales tax. We thought we’d review the positions of the top three candidates in the 69th Assembly contest on the Governor’s proposed tax increases.

“We can’t fill a hole of this magnitude with cuts alone without doing severe damage to our schools,” Brown said on Saturday. “That’s why I’m bypassing the the gridlock and asking you, the people of California, to approve a plan that avoids cuts to schools and public safety.”

The Orange County Register asked the candidates three questions in a survey for their Orange County Voter Guide.

How would you solve the state’s chronic budget problems?

Michele Martinez said:

“California’s budget must be reformed. We need to start with accountability and revenue standards that will identify what is working and eliminate wasteful government spending. I support performance-based budgeting that will provide clear goals and performance measures for state programs. I also support steps to aggressively grow our economy and create new jobs, which will be a source for new and stable revenues that can be invested in keeping our schools and neighborhoods safe.”

OC Clerk-Recorder Tom Daly (Photo: Lou Delgado)

Tom Daly said:

“The Legislature must stop opening new tax loopholes. In the last 20 years, those loopholes have caused a permanent loss of $112 billion. Second, after the latest court system computer fiasco, where a $300 million project ballooned to a $3 billion mess, the state must reconsider its own competence to do this work. California has spent more money on what doesn’t work than the combined start-up costs of Google, Apple and eBay.”

Julio Perez said:

“We are not going to balance the state budget tomorrow – it is going to take hard work. There are steps we can take to bridge the gap between what we’re spending and what we’re taking in. We can broaden our tax base to protect it from our boom and bust economy, close loopholes to force corporations to pay their fair share. What I won’t do is punish working families for the state’s budget shortfalls.”

Martinez and Daly are advocating a budget balancing approach focused entirely on cuts to existing programs. Neither one says anything about increasing revenues. Perez focuses on a balanced approach that cuts existing loopholes, and broadens the tax base in addition to cuts. Martinez thinks performance based budgeting will work in an assembly district where schools in Santa Ana are consistently at the bottom; the “eliminate wasteful government spending” sounds like Martinez is channeling her inner Republican.  It’s also hard to see how a cuts only solution is going to not hit working families that Daly hopes to protect.

What is your stance on Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to raise taxes?

Councilwoman Michele Martinez (Photo: Chris Prevatt)

Michele Martinez said:

“Raising taxes at the State level is not going to solve our problems and I don’t believe the Governor’s ballot measure is the right long term solution. We need to reform our budgeting process to eliminate wasteful government spending and bring increased accountability to state programs. Our schools can’t afford another round of funding cuts and we need to work to make sure more money is directly invested in our classrooms.”

Tom Daly said:

“I will be voting “No”. I cannot support higher taxes as long as I see money being wasted. I cannot justify raising the sales tax on life’s necessities, while millions of persons are either out of work or working part-time. It isn’t fair, and ultimately won’t solve anything.”

Julio Perez said:

“Governor Brown began his term cutting budgets, eliminating cars for legislators, getting rid of cell phones and saving costs. He has made significant cuts. Now he needs to raise more revenue to balance our state budget. Let’s go to the ballot box to see if the people of California agree. His plan will fund essential state services during this difficult economic time and safeguard our schools from further devastating cuts. I plan on voting Yes.”

Again, we have both Martinez saying clearly that they oppose Governor Brown’s proposed short-term increase in state revenues to address the current shortfalls, while Perez makes the point that without an increase in revenue schools will suffer even more devastating cuts.

Martinez and Daly talked about funding  for education when they were asked; Besides the state budget, what is the single most pressing issue facing the state of California today?

“We need to keep our kids safe and make sure they have a good start in life,” Martinez told the Register. “I am running for Assembly to stop cuts to education funding, reduce the size of school bureaucracy so more money goes directly into the classroom, expand access to anti-gang programs in local schools and increase prison terms for sex offenders.”

“The state is forcing students out of what was once California’s greatest asset, our community colleges and state universities,” Daly said. “We must move aggressively to lower the cost of college textbooks – many now cost more than the fees to take a class – and we can do it by bringing textbooks into the digital era where they are nearly free. I will pursue initiatives like this, and restore the promise that once was the great California Promise.”

Julio Perez (Photo: Lou Delgado)

Perez said:

“Apart from the budget crisis, the biggest challenge facing California is the state’s high unemployment rate. As the economy recovers, we need to be ready. If elected, my top priority will be to create and protect good-paying jobs today, while preparing our children to compete for the jobs of tomorrow. I have fought my entire career for working families, and on behalf of the people of this district, I will continue that fight in Sacramento.”

 

We’ll have to note all three candidates are “for creating good high paying jobs,” but not a single candidate has offered a specific plan to do that.  I’m sure they’re all for puppies and ice cream sundaes too.  No where in any of the answers provided to any of the questions the Register posed has any of these candidates said how they plan to close the budget gap.  Saying you’ll work to cut wasteful goverment spending is hollow without identifying a program that represents wasteful government spending.  So specifically, what do Martinez, Daly and Perez propose cutting.

The Liberal OC - Challenging Orange County's right-wing noise machine

A belated Happy Mother’s Day to our readers.  Blogsphere readers on Mother’s Day were treated to OCPoliticsBlog blogger Art Pedroza throwing yet another old friend under the bus with a post berating BoS candidate Todd Spitzer for hiring Orange Juice blogger Vern Nelson to play piano at a Spitzer holiday party last year.  Pedroza then reiterates old stories about Nelson’s past and takes Spitzer to task for campaign literature that calls our Deborah Pauly’s husband’s DUI (in which Pauly admitted to drinking as much as her husband who got into a crash to avoid a DUI checkpoint) and called Spitzer a hypocrite for hiring Nelson while criticizing Pauly.

An old post on that same blog was refreshed on Pedroza’s OC BoE district 1 opponent Ken Nguyen, reiterating Nguyen’s previous legal judgements against his business. The post also references Nguyen’s founding on a Vietnamese version of the Knights of Columbus and equates that group as anti-gay.  Nguyen has the endorsement of the Santa Ana City Council and is an opponent of Pedroza’s for OC BoE District 1.   The underlying message is Nguyen is a dishonest businessman and groups he starts are discriminatory.

Now Nelson will tell you, we’re friendly at best.  Friends…hmmm, casual ones if that since we worked out a couple of misunderstandings.  He’s a helluva piano player and musician.  He’s been hired not only by Spitzer, but by Supervisor Shawn Nelson and Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez to play piano at events.  We certainly don’t see eye to eye on everything.  But he, like me (and Chris Prevatt and Claudio Gallegos and Ryan Trabuco and Thomas Gordon and Phil Baccera and Terry Crowley and on and one and on…) was friends with Pedroza — emphasis on the “was” part.  It’s always telling when former friends sue you (with “you” meaning Art) and the ones that didn’t sue you cheer for them (the plaintiffs) and not you (the defendant).  I’m actually fascinated with Pedroza’s frequent use of the term “hypocrite.” A term that he fails to see within himself.

Let’s turn on the wayback machine to a party thrown by Pedroza for Nelson after Nelson had paid his debt to society — the party was at the Memphis the same night as our Drinking Liberally event.  Pedroza’s table had maybe five to seven people there.  The next day, Pedroza sent us email to complain that we treated Nelson badly when the only thing we did was ignore the section of the bar Art’s party was at.

Let’s turn to Nguyen’s story; Nguyen’s legal troubles against networking software company Novell date back to 2001 and Novell wrote about it in 2003.  Oddly enough, Pedroza makes references to large legal judgments against Nguyen.  He also suggests that Nguyen has a gambling problem and uses a Google documents as evidence when the document is really Nguyen informing the Westminster City Council about “the illegal public gambling being done by adults and children in numerous locations on Bolsa Avenue during the tet Parade Celebration.“  Pedroza wrote: “Nguyen appears to have problems with gambling.” Now that can be read two ways, but by lumping the past legal troubles with Novell with the statement on gambling, what sort of picture does this paint?  A dishonest one.  Pedroza claims that Nguyen “still owes Novell a ton on money” without offering any proof.

This post is titled the Pot calling the Kettle Black — here are some facts about OC BoE candidate Art Pedroza. If you click on the link, you can read his bankruptcy filings yourself.

1. Pedroza threw a welcome back party for, in his own words “a liberal felon with 4 DUIs” in a bar in Santa Ana. And while Mr. Nelson might still drink, he doesn’t drive.
2. Pedroza has two personal bankruptcies the most recent being in April 2011. He is hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
3. Pedroza’s bankruptcy documents reveal he is a tax scofflaw owning a considerable sum of money to the IRS and the State of California since 2008 that is being paid back in installments.
4. Pedroza failed to follow the order of a federal judge at least twice resulting in the court levying sanctions of more than $7200 against him for disobeying the order. He refused to follow the law and the orders of a federal judge — twice.
5. Pedroza threatened to commit suicide after losing the first of two lawsuits and berated us for calling the police on him.
6. If Pedroza can call up incidences against Mr. Nguyen that are 10 years old, I’ll cite these examples of Mr. Pedroza’s own anti-Gay statements made prior:
7. Not to minimize Mr. Nguyen’s judgment status with Novell, but Mr. Pedroza still owes this blog and some of our bloggers just under $55,000 in unpaid judgments.
8. And do we have to bring up that Pedroza’s reroutes of websites to Gay Porn and NAMBLA were parody as he claims. Again, if you’re a parent voting for a school board member, do you really want to cast a vote for someone who thinks its funny to link to a web page that advocates for legalized sex between adult men and young, underage boys?  What’s really troubling is that in spite of all these facts being known, Pedroza is on the board of directors for one of Santa Ana’s Little Leagues.  He is involved in the Boy Scouts of America.  And he has garnered the endorsement of two members of the Santa Ana city council, one city commissioner, and two canddiates for Congress, who surely must share his viewpoints on paying your debts, being fair and honest, and that gay porn and NAMBLA are parody.

If Pedroza weren’t a candidate for office, we wouldn’t write about him.  But since he craves attention, we’re happy to provide it.

The Liberal OC - Challenging Orange County's right-wing noise machine

There is considerable flap over President Obama coming out in support of marriage equality.  So many conservatives pointing to “traditional marriage” and I laugh everytime I hear Mitt Romney talok about marriage being between one man and one woman when his grandfather had four wives (must have been tough to buy four different “grandmother” cards on Mother’s Day for old Mitt.

Take a look at the chart above which tracks the Bible’s definition of traditional marriage.  Let’s talk about it.

The Liberal OC - Challenging Orange County's right-wing noise machine

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, beloved by Republicans in Denial since 2008, is no longer spending money on any primary election activities but hasn;t quite thrown in the towel yet. The Washington Post has the full story here.  The paper reports Paul’s fundraising sources have dried up.

From the piece:

“Our campaign will continue to work in the state convention process,” Paul wrote in an e-mail to supporters.“Moving forward, however, we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted.  Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have.”

In the near future, Paul added, “my campaign leadership will lay out to you our delegate strategy and what you can do to help.”

Paul supporters have successfully increased the candidate’s delegate share in multiple caucus states by flooding state conventions and mastering arcane rules.

While Paul has already cut back his campaign significantly, as recently as two weeks ago he was airing ads in Rhode Island and Texas.

So Paul’s half empty small stadium appearance at Cal State Fullerton may have been one of his last big political appearances. Guess Irvine’s Allan Bartlett and the girls at the Moonlight Bunny Ranch are going to have to find a new candidate.

The Liberal OC - Challenging Orange County's right-wing noise machine

Sharon Quirk-Silva (Photo: Chris Prevatt)

Irvine city council member Beth Krom and former Assembly candidate Melissa Fox will host a fundraiser for Fullerton Mayor Sharon Quirk-Silva’s AD-65 candidacy in Irvine tonight from 6-8PM.

The the race for Assembly shaping up to a two horse race between Quirk-Silva and Norby, Republicans are putting a lot of pressure on Norby to crush Quirk-Silva in the primary.  Quirk-Silva is taking a longer term view and focusing on November instead of the June primary.  Here are the details for tonight:

Irvine City Councilmember Beth Krom and Melissa Fox host Irvine reception Mon., May 14, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

 To support Mayor Sharon Quirk-Silva and her campaign for Assembly

Home of Melissa Fox 49 Bolinas  Irvine, CA, 92602 See map: Google Maps   Irvine City Councilmember Beth Krom and Melissa Fox invite you to a reception supporting   SHARON QUIRK-SILVA   Candidate for 65th District, California State Assembly   Monday, May 14, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.   at 49 Bolinas, Irvine, CA 92602   To RSVP and contribute online, click here, or reply to RSVP@sharonquirksilva.com  •              714-745-9544     

Meanwhile, there are some interesting going-ons with the Facebook account of Norby’s wife Marta.  Greg Diamond of the Orange Juice blog has a post about this, but to drop the other shoe, those who know Mrs. Norby well say this is her Facebook page and the messages were not hacked.

Here’s a  screen grab from the page this weekend that has since been scrubbed:

  Martha Norby: mi esposo chris norby es muy egoista no quiso que yo fuera ala graduasion de su hijo porque el se fue con la ex esposa charlotte chai norby atte martha norby

Translated: my husband chris norby is very egotistical. He doesn’t want me to go to his son’s graduation because he is going with his ex wife charlotte chai norby..attention marth norby http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100003388370847

  Martha Norby: sharon es la mujer perfeta para sacramento para assembrista i wanth you in sacramento call me http://www.facebook.com/#!/sharonquirksilva

Translated: sharon is the perfect woman for Sacramento for an assembly woman.

Must have been an interesting conversation at the Norby house this weekend.

The Liberal OC - Challenging Orange County's right-wing noise machine

In a predictable announcement, the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Tom Daly for AD-69.  The press release below has all the details.

ANAHEIM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ENDORSES FORMER ANAHEIM MAYOR TOM DALY FOR STATE ASSEMBLY

The Organization Joins A Growing List Of Business Groups And Leaders Supporting Daly’s Candidacy For The 69th Assembly District Seat

ANAHEIM – Former Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly announced today that his campaign for the 69th State Assembly District has been endorsed by the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, the city’s leading business organization.

“Every public official talks about the need to create jobs — Tom Daly has actually done it,” said Todd Ament, CEO/President of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce.  “As Mayor, he led the planning effort which created the Anaheim Resort district, the economic engine which powers our city.  We need his effective leadership in Sacramento.”

“I’m grateful to have the confidence of the Chamber and our local business community,” said Daly, who presently serves as Orange County’s elected Clerk-Recorder.  “They represent the economic engine that keeps our community humming.  Upon election to the State Legislature, I will work hard to keep our local economy vibrant.”

Daly is the only candidate in the 69th State Assembly District with strong business community support.  He has been endorsed by the Orange County Business Council (OCBC), the Support Our Anaheim Resort PAC (S.O.A.R.), former Greater Santa Ana Business Alliance President/CEO Mike Metzler, Building Industry Association of Orange County CEO Bryan Starr, and a wide variety of local business leaders and small business owners.

Daly has served as Orange County’s Clerk-Recorder since 2002.  He previously served as the directly elected Mayor of Anaheim for ten years.  The 69th State Assembly District includes portions of the cities of Garden Grove, Anaheim, Orange, and Santa Ana.

The Liberal OC - Challenging Orange County's right-wing noise machine

With press releases from the Michele Martinez for Assembly campaign making changes to their boilerplate regarding her employment status, we did some digging into Martinez’s career outside of her work on the Santa Ana City Council.  And according to the Statement of Economic Interest’s (Form 700) that she filed on March 5, 2012, 69th Assembly district candidate Martinez is, technically, unemployed.  She reported that she has no source of financial support for her day-to-day living expenses, other than her stipend for serving on the Santa Ana city council.

In her most recent press release her campaign issued, the boilerplate reads: “She works as the Director of the Alliance for a Healthy Orange County (AHOC).” If that were a paid position, one would assume that Ms. Martinez would have reported that on her Form 700. Ms. Martinez did report that she had made a loan to her Assembly campaign, which we know to have been for just under $16,000.

On March 6, 2012, Martinez reported on her Form 700 report for 2011 (City Council) that she had been employed by Alliance for Healthy Orange County (NuPAC) during 2011, earning between $10,000 and $100,000 in salary. Martinez reported on her 2010 Form 700 that she worked for OneOC as Director of the Obesity Prevention Plan, earning between $10,000 and $100,000 in salary.

We have since learned that her employment as Director of the Obesity Prevention Plan and Alliance for Healthy Orange County (NuPAC) is actually under the same non-profit agency, OneOC. It’s not clear why Martinez would report OneOC as her employer on her Form 700 in 2010, and AHOC in 2011, when AHOC operates under the fiscal sponsorship of OneOC. By reporting her employment under an organizational name that is not that of a corporate entity, she hides from disclosure the actual name of her employer. The Martinez camp rarely returns phone calls we place so if they’d like to clarify our reporting with a statement of explanation, they can do so in the comments section below.

So what does this status in employment mean?

1. Does Ms. Martinez actually have a paid job now, or at any time this year?
2. If not, how does she support herself and afford to loan her campaign almost $16,000?
3. If she does have a paid job, why did she not report this on her Form 700? It’s not like she can say she didn’t understand the form she’s been filling it out for the past six years.
4. Finally, our review of her campaign finance reports still show no report of campaign related travel expenses. This is confusing because it is widely known that she has made numerous fundraising and campaign excursions, including the one that placed her on a train to Northern California in January, where she was overheard bragging about her success. Such expenditures are required to be reported. Why hasn’t she done so?  If she’s combining campaign travel with City Business, are taxpayers paying for her campaign travel in addition to city business travel?

Her LinkedIn page, which serves as a resume of sorts for potential employers, is paper thin with no mention of private sector experience.

Martinez’s campaign issued a recent call to arms for fundraising in the wake of the large IEs for candidates Tom Daly and Julio Perez.  The message content is posted below:

Friends and Supporters,

 Just out of curiosity we took a look at expenditures being made in support of our opponents.  And what we found was pretty astounding.  It’s even more apparent now that we sure are climbing an up hill battle as we’re noticing a trend of big spending as the election approaches.  My opponents have received a big boost from Independent expenditures of over 600K from outsiders to help boost their agenda.  

THIS IS WHAT WE’RE UP AGAINST!!!  We need your help!  We’re just 24 short days until the primary election date and while the majority of the voters will be voting by mail within the next couple of weeks we still have a lot of canvassing, phone calls and information to get out there.  It’s a shame that the candidates with the most money to spend are considered to have the best shot at winning.  But while we’re certainly not going to outspend our opponents (bolded; our emphasis, LiberalOC)…we have the confidence that what we are doing will get us the victory.  Help us leave no stone unturned…contribute today! www.michelecmartinez.com

We’ve come up with a master plan to reach as many people as possible in the last few weeks and we need your help to execute it!  Our volunteer staff is hitting the ground and occupying the phone lines getting our information out.  Call our office at (714) 564-0130 to find out how you can help!  Volunteer opportunities are available M-Th 11:00am – 9:00pm, Saturday 10:00am – 2:00pm and Sunday 3:00pm – 7:00pm.

 Come show your support, sign-up to volunteer and pick up a lawn sign at one of these upcoming neighborhood events:

Meet & Greet at Chava’s House!

Saturday, May 12th from 2:00pm – 3:00pm

609 E Occidental St., Santa Ana

Meet & Greet at the Home of Councilman David Benavides

Saturday, May 19th from 2:30 – 4:00pm

637 S. Daisy Ave., Santa Ana

So we’re a few weeks out from the election and the campaign has just now come up with a master plan?   Some of the blogsphere commentary asks why the powers that be in Sacramento “fear” a little known city council woman, and we think that view is misplaced.  The money is going towards the candidates with the best shot at winning the top two slots.

Of all of the candidates in the AD-69 race, getting elected means a bigger paycheck than what they currently make with the lone exception of Tom Daly, who would actually be taking a pay cut if he’s elected.

That all said, this leaves us wondering if Martinez is only running for Assembly because she needs a real paying job.

The Liberal OC - Challenging Orange County's right-wing noise machine