Senator Tom Harman narrowly won (by less than 300 votes) his Special Election contest earlier this year against Dana Point Councilwoman Diane Harkey (a Probolsky client).

Now it seems that he is trying to reach out to the community by hiring some known quantities like Councilman Mark Leyes and Cynthia Determan, a former Morrow staffer. 

I have been an outspoken critic of the Senator in the past, given his electoral success has come at the expense of the GOP Primary process twice (he was first elected in the one ‘open primary’ that was later deemed illegal) and this last time won in a Special winner-take-all Election.

But I am keeping an open mind with my new Senator and his staff choices seem to indicate that he is too.  Leyes is a well known conservative leader in his city and countywide.  I also credit Duane Dichiara of Coronado Communications (his consultants) with helping Senator Harman reach out to parts of the party that have not traditionally been supportive of the Senator.

I certainly look forward to seeing Senator Harman at future central committee meetings, GOP fund raisers and have him play a role in local races like in supporting Irvine councilwoman Christina Shea in her re-election bid.

Congratulations to Leyes and Determan.  The OC GOP community looks forward to working with you.

 

 

From the Office of Senator Tom Harman…

Senator Harman Announces New Recruits for his District Office

Sacramento – Recently elected State Senator Tom Harman ( R-Huntington Beach ), representing the 35^th Senate District, announced today several additions to his district office staff in Costa Mesa .

 

Cynthia Determan will be serving as Senator Harman’s District Director.  Most recently, Ms. Determan worked for California State Senator Bill Morrow in his Carlsbad District Office. Cynthia has a long history in media relations for corporate and government entities spanning from California to Washington D.C.

 

 

Local city council member Mark Leyes will be representing Senator Harman in the North County. Mr. Leyes is a native to Orange County and has a long history in state and local government and politics.

 

 

Emanuel Patrascu will serve as a Field Representative for Senator Harman.   Mr. Patrascu previously worked for Eric Roach in North San Diego and has a strong background in local and state politics and government.

“I am positive that, in addition to my existing staff, the experience and knowledge that Cynthia, Mark and Emanuel bring with them coupled with a sincere dedication to public service will be a tremendous asset to the 35^th Senate District,” stated Harman.  “I invite constituents to contact my office with any state matter – we are here to serve you and will do our best to see that your concerns are handled in the most expeditious manner possible.”  

 

 

Senator Harman represents the cities of Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Irvine, Cypress, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Laguna Beach, Dana Point and portions of Buena Park, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Westminster. 

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 26th, 2006 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.