Local government everywhere generally lacks dynamic leadership. And Orange County is no different.
We have some very nice people in local government, but most are not the kind of people you’d want leading you through a time of crisis or could ever see ascending to higher office.
So when leadership presents itself, it gets a lot of attention and usually some arrows shot at it, lest everyone else look bad.
There is a Troika of leadership in local government in OC that includes Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and Irvine Councilman Larry Agran. Say what you will about this Republican, Democrat, Democrat (respectively) team but they are indeed dynamic leaders.
They represent their constituencies well and rule in many cases over a council majority that allows them to accomplish big things.
In Anaheim Pringle has amassed a huge war-chest and most people respect him and all that he has accomplished. No serious challenger (with money or position) has stepped up to challenge him for re-election in November.
However, Pulido of Santa Ana who has been mayor for 12 years (Santa Ana has term limits on city council members but not the directly elected mayor’s post–convenient huh?) has drawn at least one credible challenger according to the OC Register’s Total Buzz blog. Santa Ana Councilman Mike Garcia has said he will run against the six-term mayor (the job is on the ballot every 2 years).
And in Irvine, Agran’s Democrat council majority could be in trouble after several botched public policy moves like the fact that Agran ally and current mayor Beth Krom’s supposed inadvertent support for a One China policy relegating the democratic island nation of Taiwan to nothingness which didn’t sit well with the very large Taiwanese-American community in Irvine. Krom is on the ballot in November and if the GOP fields a viable candidate, Agran’s majority could be gone.
Leaders are not above the pettiness of politics, but those who are not leaders never get beyond the pettiness and this our sad reality in local government.
Do a quick assessment of your city’s council or even worse, your school board or even worse than that, your board of supervisors. Are there any true leaders? People that you trust to rationally and articulately and with poise and reason guide the jurisdiction through tough times? Sadly I highly doubt it.
August 10th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Excellent post Adam. Team Irvine will be announced later this evening.
August 10th, 2006 at 12:00 am
If you are looking for a city council that needs replacing, look at Placentia. In the term of the current members we’ve gone from a city with little debt and $5 mil in reserve to a city with $13 mil in debt and virtually no reserve. Know anyone who’d be a good candidate? There’s still a few days left if neither incumbent up for reelection files by tomorrow.
Vince DeVargas