A strong rumor jumped out from the open house party for the Republican Party of San Diego in Rancho Bernardo last night, namely, that conservative Republican State Senator Mark Wyland had filed an FPPC Form 410 "Candidate Intention Statement" to run for the Board of Equalization to fill the southern California seat currently held by Michelle Steel, which will be open in 2014.
The Board of Equalization is an important department of California government that hears tax appeals and administers many tax related programs in the state.
I double-checked the Secretary of State’s website today and can confirm State Senator Mark Wyland is indeed a candidate for BOE District 3. Since the election is over three years away, one can understand the quiet launch of the effort, but such early starts are critical to ultimate success in these large-district BOE races. Claude Parrish, who held this seat for two terms before he was term-limited, and has run for BOE several times, told me that the other most important factor in these races are securing all the best slate mailers early (an admitted special area of my expertise), which are one of the most cost-effective means of communicating with voters in these large districts, each of which comprises about 25% of California’s population.
Other people who have filed to run for this BOE seat are former State Senator Richard Ackerman of Irvine, and soon to be term limited State Senator Tom Harman of Huntington Beach. Other rumors that have popped up include State Senator Mimi Walters, who registered the poorest performance of any statewide Republican candidate in last November’s election, and Assemblymember Diane Harkey. All four of these potential candidates are based in Orange County, Wyland is the only candidate based in San Diego County, so far.
I have been told that Ackerman is not really serious about running and only filed for the seat to create a personal fundraising vehicle for himself: a legal but frankly abusive practice in my opinion. (Why not just organize a political action committee and actually help someone else get elected, or help the cause!). Ackerman has $52,000 cash on hand from a similar 2010 BOE committee he opened, and managed to spend $150,000 out of it during 2008, while NOT really running for BOE. These types of committees, which allow a political operator to pull in additional bucks from special interests they otherwise could not get their hands on, are a sad commentary on the status of so-called "campaign finance reform" in California. But just my opinion.
I do not know if Senator Harman is serious or not, but I note he has not raised any reportable money for his committee which suggests to me that this is simply a "placeholder" filing for him for something to do after he is term limited in 2012. That is fair enough.
But Wyland’s term limits as a State senator matches up perfectly with the term limits of BOE 3 incumbent, conservative Michelle Steel. Wyland has many advantages for the seat in addition: his State Senate district rests literally in the heart of the district, reapportionment will not greatly change the district lines, the open primary will not change the ultimate Republican party dominance of the district, Wyland has a good record as a conservative legislator, he has had no scandals, and he is very wealthy and will be able to self-fund his race. If he makes the right early calls in setting himself up, I predict now, three and a half years before the election, that Wyland will be the next BOE for district 3 in a walk.