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… Read More

I enthusiastically celebrate the defeat of liberal Republican Congressman Joe Schwarz at the hands of a more conservative Republican last night in Michigan. I participated in the funding of the independent campaign by Club For Growth and am proud of it – and will most certainly do it again.

The bar has moved over the years. The GOP used to define liberal Republicans based on one or two issues – usually on abortion. That has changed due to the leftward move of the GOP Congress almost continuously since 1998. The budget deficit, new entitlements such as Medicare part D, a lack of leadership on border security, failure to extend the tax rate cuts, and a general concern for re-election over problem solving puts a TON of Republican incumbents into the RINO category – as measured against the Party’s stated platform and icons such as President Ronald Reagan.

For two years, because of the way Congressional Districts were rigged in the last gerrymandering, I’ve beenwriting and opining on local talk radio here in the Central Valley that the REAL problem for Congressional Republicans would not be general elections losses but… Read More

FR READERS HELP TOPPLE SCHWARZ The top story today on our "All California Politics All of the Time" is a bit of a stretch, because it is about a liberal Member of Congress from Michigan last night who lost his primary — but this was most notable because this liberal was a REPUBLICAN – Joe Schwarz. You can read the piece for more information, but let me just say that on a weekly basis, I participate with a large group of conservative activist bloggers from around the nation on a conference call (sponsored by the Heritage Foundation and Human Events Magazine) where we attempt to coordinate our activities when possible. Sinking Schwarz and electing conservative Tom Walberg in this overwhelmingly GOP House seat was set out as one of the first coordinated projects of our group. Of course it is relevant to all of us in California because it is liberal GOPers like Schwarz, who oppose the basic economic platforms of the party (among other things) that endanger our Republican majority. Schwarz opposes making the President’s tax cuts permanent. Anyways, FR readers stepped up to… Read More

FR READERS HELP TOPPLE SCHWARZ The top story today on our "All California Politics All of the Time" is a bit of a stretch, because it is about a liberal Member of Congress from Michigan last night who lost his primary — but this was most notable because this liberal was a REPUBLICAN – Joe Schwarz. You can read the piece for more information, but let me just say that on a weekly basis, I participate with a large group of conservative activist bloggers from around the nation on a conference call (sponsored by the Heritage Foundation and Human Events Magazine) where we attempt to coordinate our activities when possible. Sinking Schwarz and electing conservative Tom Walberg in this overwhelmingly GOP House seat was set out as one of the first coordinated projects of our group. Of course it is relevant to all of us in California because it is liberal GOPers like Schwarz, who oppose the basic economic platforms of the party (among other things) that endanger our Republican majority. Schwarz opposes making the President’s tax cuts permanent. Anyways, FR readers stepped up to… Read More

Tiny Maywood in Los Angeles County has become famous or infamous for declaring themselves a sanctuary for illegal aliens. The council unamiously opposed the House immigration bill and supports SB 60.

They also voted to disband the traffic enforcement division including DUI checkpoints because too many illegals without licenses were losing their cars. (If only Mel Gibson knew he could have drunk Tequila there and drove around in Maywood with no problem.)

Here is good rundown on the city.One of the councilman Sergio Calderon has filed for a seat on the Directors of the Water Replenishment Board of Southern California.

If he beats the incumbent, maybe they will be delivering water for illegals in the desert in no time.… Read More

A legal battle that started in 1989 will culminate next Monday when President Bush is anticipated to sign into law H.R. 5683, Duncan Hunter’s Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial Protection Act, which transfers possession of the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego to the federal government.

This will effectively save the cross atop Mt. Soledad, under attack for nearly two decades by those who claim they can’t drive by without getting hives or worse. Get some antibiotics or Absorbine Jr. folks, the POTUS will be signing this bill.

Several individuals have played roles over the years in this local drama, now shifted to the feds. Judge Gordon Thompson, Jr., who has consistently sided with groups like the ACLU, Society for the Separation of Church and State, and the American Atheists in ruling the cross unconstitutional.

On the other side, the side of right, Phil Thalheimer and… Read More

I had already read Tuesday’s Jon Fleischman Commentary by the time the FlashReport publisher called me later in the dayto ask if the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors had, as he had urged, rejected a proposal to "subsidize" to the tune of $700,000 the for-profit California Speedway. The proposal he spoke of was in the form of an agreement for title sponsorship of a new raceway venue and some upcoming NASCAR races.

I told Jon the Board had not rejected the proposal, and in fact approved it. Now I’ll start off by saying Jon is right to point out that San Bernardino County is a red county, and that its Board is dominated by a Republican super-majority. In fact, I believe the Board’s decision on the sponsorship package was justified based on some very sound and not un-conservative reasoning. There may be times when conservative pro-business principles seem to run counter to conservative anti-tax, limited government principles. But I don’t think this is… Read More

San Bernardino County is a red county. While it was not always the case historically, this sprawling Inland-Empire County has become a bastion of conservatism. This is evidenced by the significant partisan advantage that Republicans have in terms of the delegations to Washington, D.C., and to the State Capitol. But nowhere is this GOP influence felt more than on the local Board of Supervisors. On that board, you not only have a dominant Republican Super-Majority, but Bill Postmus, the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors is also Chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. Postmus has been a friend for many years, and his Chief of Staff, Brad Mitzelfelt, is the San Bernardino Correspondent for the FlashReport! So I was quite surprised to read in the newspaper a scheme that doesn’t sound very conservative at all…

I cannot tell you how disturbed I was to read an article in the San Bernardino County Sun newspaper that, if accurate, makes it sound like the Republican County Board of… Read More