In the heart of Orange County, there is currently a four-way donnybrook taking place in the Republican primary in the 70th Assembly District — the victor of this primary will go on to succeed Chuck DeVore as the representative to the legislature from this district.
Three of the four candidates — Tustin Councilman Jerry Amante, South Orange County Community College District Board President Don Wagner, and the son of the late Assemblyman Gil Ferguson, Jay Ferguson, are all long-time residents of the district. The remaining candidate, 
Irvine Councilman Steven Choi (pictured), is not. In fact, depending on whose version of reality you choose to believe, he either (according to Choi) carpetbagged from his million dollar plus home outside of the district into a modest apartment inside of the district , just in time to file for office — OR — you can believe what is being asserted in one of the most comprehensive complaints of this nature that I have seen — that Choi in fact is not a resident of the 70th District at all.
GOP Attorney Doug Davert serves as a colleague of Jerry Amante on the Tustin City Council. His firm has drafted up a cover letter and a criminal complaint which are both worth reading (note the outstanding investigate journalism by our misguided friends over at The Liberal OC here, and also be advised that the complaint is a massive file).
As to what District Attorney Tony Rackauckas will do with this complaint, that remains to be seen. It is likely that nothing comes of it — and I say that with cynicism because I have seen many, many valid cases of carpetbagging be made the subject of official complaints, and nothing ever seems to happen. That said, this is a particularly well document case — so we’ll see…
May 10th, 2010 at 12:00 am
Yes, Jon, you are very correct – nothing ever seems to happen to these carpetbagger legislators. For example, take congressman Tom McClintock. He actually lived with is wife and children in Oak Grove, a suburb of Sacramento, but claimed he lived with his mother in the 19th. so he could run from that area. Then when John Doolittle vacated the 4th congressional district Mr. McClintock took a room within the 4th and claimed he lived in that area. If you look up the word carpetbagger you will see Tom McClintock’s picture as the definition.
May 10th, 2010 at 12:00 am
Wow…..a possible full blown carpetbagger, a party pumped up political spawn and some kind of grey-ed out big title educational bureaucrat….great choices.
You expect positive outcomes from sifting through such flotsam….hardly.
May 11th, 2010 at 12:00 am
One thing I prefer about UK elections is that there is no requirement that a candidate has to live in the district they run in…it doesn’t improve anything, and just provides fodder for people who would rather not discuss issues…let’s dispense with the BS that district-bred elected officials produces a purer form of public policy…