Tag Archives: recount

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Election Update: Now Behind In All Close Race Counts

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As TINS posted yesterday, Hannah-Beth Jackson has now fallen behind in the latest count of her race in SD-19, and according to local reports the remaining votes to be counted are mainly in Strickland-friendly areas.  This one looks grim.  At this hour Strickland leads by 1,560 votes, and it’s actually outside of the 1/2 of 1% required for a partial recount.

Hannah-Beth Jackson (Dem)  186,071    49.7%

Tony Strickland (Rep)              187,631    50.3%

The other two races we’re monitoring are actually in better shape than Hannah-Beth’s.  In AD-10, the latest numbers from the Secretary of State show Jack Sieglock leading Alyson Huber by just 506 votes.

Alyson L. Huber (Dem)     80,507    46.4%

Jack Sieglock (Rep)           81,013    46.8%

This is currently inside recount territory.  According to Randy Bayne, the remaining ballots left to count are mainly in Sacramento and San Joaquin Counties.  The ballot count is done in Amador County and mostly done in El Dorado County.  With some luck, the Sacramento County ballots will swing for Huber; she beat Sieglock 52-41 there.  Sieglock won San Joaquin County 51-42.

In CA-04, Charlie Brown is within 569 votes of Tom McClintock.

Charlie Brown (Dem)     168,378    49.9%

Tom McClintock (Rep)  168,947    50.1%

The question is how many ballots are left in Nevada County, where Brown won big.  According to the unprocessed ballot report, there are still 10,000 left up there, but I think that’s outdated information.  It’s probably more like 5,000, if not less.  Still, we are well within the .5% required for a partial recount.  So that’s where that’s likely to be headed regardless of what happens with the final numbers.

Again, counts and recounts cost money, so if you can chip in a couple bucks for these Democrats at the Calitics ActBlue page, I’m sure they’d be grateful.

UPDATE: I just learned that Hannah-Beth Jackson had to evacuate her house today, owing to the Montecito fire.  Hopefully everything will work out OK.

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Counting Madness: Huber within 319 votes, Clark and DFA Come Out For Brown

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Everyone should bookmark this site monitoring the close races that haven’t been called in California.  There are four such races within 2% at the moment.  There’s Prop. 11, which is trending toward passage with a 131,000 vote lead.  There’s SD-19, which has some breathing room now, as Hannah-Beth Jackson leads by 1,203 votes.

And then there are the two Sacramento-area races.  Alyson Huber’s race in AD-10 has really tightened up.  She now trails Jack Sieglock by just 319 votes out of 154,000 counted.  That is well within the 1/2 of 1% territory that would trigger an automatic recount.  Which brings up an interesting question which perhaps some election junkie could answer.  The Secretary of State certifies the count on December 2.  But the new legislature is sworn in on December 1.  If there’s a race with no clear winner at that point, what happens?

Finally, we have CA-04, the race between Charlie Brown and Tom McClintock.  This has bounced around a bit, but we’re now looking at an 889 vote lead for McClintock.  There are anywhere between 48,000 and 55,000 votes left to count, based on this chart (which you can also bookmark) of unprocessed ballots.  This race also appeared headed to a recount, and if you believe this Daily Kos diarist, Brown has a good shot at making up ground, because there are so many outstanding votes in Nevada County, where Brown did best.

We know these counts and recounts are expensive, and now two groups have stepped up with their support of Charlie while we sort this out.  Wes Clark sent an email to his list today:

Our friend Charlie Brown needs our help. The margin in California’s 4th Congressional District is razor thin, and they’re still counting votes. After more than 300,000 ballots were cast in CA-04, the race is tied. The current difference stands at less than half of 1% (less than 500 votes).

With 40,000 vote-by-mail and provisional ballots still to be counted, the race is way too close to call. That’s why it’s critical for us to make sure all the votes are counted in CA-04.

Please contribute to Charlie Brown’s Election Protection Fund today!

Charlie’s opponent, Tom McClintock, has hired an election attorney and brought in a team of lawyers to “watch” the locations where absentee and provisional ballots are being counted. McClintock’s team is doing everything they can to challenge the votes of thousands of people who faithfully cast their ballots.

Charlie needs our help to fight back.

And DFA has done the same:

In 2000, we lost the election when the Bush campaign beat us in the legal and media fight that followed.  In 2004, we had to force a recount in the Washington State Governor’s race and we won because you delivered the resources to make it happen.

We need to raise at least $40,000 by Monday to back up these races with the resources they need right now.

CONTRIBUTE $50 TO THE DFA COUNT EVERY VOTE FUND

In 2004, we raised over $250,000 for the Washington State recount. This year, we need $40,000 right now to keep the GOP dirty tricks at bay and make sure every vote is counted fairly.

DFA’s Grassroots All-Star Charlie Brown needs resources to fend off a team of Republican lawyers who, as I write this message, are challenging every Democratic ballot before the FIRST count has even been completed. Charlie is down by less than 500 votes with over 15,000 votes still to be counted. He needs our help to make sure every vote is counted.

(Note: it’s now 889 votes with over 48,000 votes left to be counted)

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CA-04: “Missing Ballots” in Nevada County?

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Earlier, I mentioned that the CA-04 race is not over.  This bit of news reinforces that fact:

Truckee Town Council is one race that hangs in the balance.

“Four years ago I got 3,700 votes, and Josh [Susman] got 3,300, and this year so far we both have about 2,200,” said current Mayor and candidate Barbara Green.

“Something is not quite right.”

She said she figures about 1,000 to 2,000 votes are still unaccounted for in Truckee.

The missing votes could have repercussions as far reaching as the tightly-contested 4th Congressional District race between Republican Tom McClintock and Democrat Charlie Brown, Green said.

The spokeswoman for a local ballot measure makes this sound more like a mystery of missing ballots rather than votes that are simply uncounted:

Proponents of the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District Measure U hoped the outstanding ballots may make the difference.

“Clearly there’s been a major administrative error. We are hopefully those

outstanding ballots will push Measure U over the top,” said Alison Elder, Measure U chair.

Administrative error?  What does that mean, exactly.

This could be especially important because Brown won Nevada County, the county in question, by a substantial margin (57-43).  If there are potentially 2,000 votes there, that would make up a lot of that difference if the margin holds.

…by the way, Bill Hedrick in CA-44 might be getting into recount territory, incredibly.  It’s down to a spread of just 2.8% between Hedrick and Rep. Ken Calvert, a difference of only 4,600 votes.  It’s the closest Congressional race outside of CA-04.  I am sorry I didn’t pay enough attention to it.  Go Bill!

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CA-04: This Election Is Not Over

I would really like to get to the post-mortem and the ritual hacking of limbs to answer for the disconnect between a resounding victory at the top of the ticket and barely a ripple below it, but that would be assuming that the votes are all in.  And they have not.  There are maybe 3 MILLION ballots, in the form of late absentees and provisionals, still outstanding throughout the state.  Now, this may not swing any of the statewide numbers with the exception of Prop. 11, but there are plenty of local races close enough that we have to make sure every vote is properly and accurately counted.

In particular, there’s the closest race of the night, the battle between Charlie Brown and Tom McClintock in CA-04.  Right now, the lead for McClintock on the Secretary of State’s website is 451 votes.  I’m told that lead is smaller, inside 400 votes.  And furthermore, there are FORTY THOUSAND VOTES yet to be counted.  These are the late-arriving permanent absentee votes, the ones that people bring to the polls on Election Day, which are always the last to be counted.  There are also provisional ballots out there.

This race is not over.  40,000 votes must be counted and they must be counted fairly.  Nobody should concede this race, least of all us.  Here’s a historical reminder – in 2002 Steve Westly was behind in his State Controller race by 10,000 votes once all the precincts returned.  But provisional ballots broke for him 60-40, and he was elected.

His opponent that year was Tom McClintock.

Charlie Brown can win this race, but he needs your help.  Hiring lawyers to ensure accurate counting is expensive.  Maintaining a staff beyond Election Day is expensive.  Going through to a recount, which is probable, is expensive.

If neither candidate emerges with a lead exceeding 1/2 of 1 percent of the vote, the race will automatically go to a partial manual recount, according to the secretary of state’s office. That was the outcome the Brown campaign anticipated as the upset Brown aimed for still seemed in reach.

Charlie Brown is still in this race.  You can support him at the Calitics ActBlue page.

UPDATE: Charlie Brown’s statement:

“I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to every single voter who participated in yesterday’s historic election. It appears we are headed for a record turnout. We understand that there are still more than 40,000 ballots remaining to be processed, and we will not know the outcome of this election until all of those votes are counted.

Our priority today is to support a fair and accurate count of every ballot. I want to thank the election department staffs and directors of all of the counties who are working so hard and so well to assure an accurate count.

I want to thank my wife Jan, my entire family and my entire campaign team for all of their tremendous work during these past many months.  I am proud of the campaign we ran-one focused on putting patriotism before partisanship and solving problems. While I remain very confident that we will prevail once all the ballots are counted, I know that this team has already won important battles for veterans, for families facing tough economic times and for so many other important priorities.”

Orange County

Left, Right, and Center ALL AGREE: Janet Nguyen Needs to Come Clean

(Also see OC Blog and The Liberal OC)

Why is Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen evading the law? This is a question that all of us are asking. This is a question that bloggers on the left, right, and center are all asking. This is a question that Janet Nguyen is forcing us to ask so long as she refuses to file a report on those secret campaign contributions that violated Orange County’s campaign finance law. And so long as Janet Nguyen does not file this report, we will all be counting the days that she has not filed.

Even though Martin Wisckol began reporting on this matter at The OC Register’s Total Buzz blog, Janet Nguyen has not taken notice, and she has not reported. Even though Mike Lawson has begun counting the days that Janet Nguyen has evaded county law at The Liberal OC, Janet Nguyen has not taken notice, and she has not reported. Even though Matt Cunningham has spoken out about this at OC Blog, Janet Nguyen has not taken notice, and she has not reported. Oh yes, and even though we at Calitics have turned our eyes to Orange County for this, Janet Nguyen has not taken notice, and she has not reported. So what will it take for Janet Nguyen to report these contributions? How many more days must we count?

Why won’t Janet Nguyen come clean? Why won’t she report these contributions, and report of her returning this money? Who were the donors who gave to her legal defense fund? When did these donors give? And just how much did these donors give? So long as Janet Nguyen does not obey the law and report these contributions, she only invites us all to ask these questions, and she invites us to count the days that she has not reported.

What excuse does Janet Nguyen have? Why can’t she fill out the paperwork about the three donors to her legal defense fund? Why can’t she follow county law? As she is now a county lawmaker, she should be setting a good example. She needs to file a report. And until she reports, we will be counting the days.

So if Janet Nguyen can’t even follow one county ordinance on campaign contributions, then how can we trust her with this and other laws? This is why left, right, and center all agree that Janet Nguyen needs to come clean. We have waited 53 days, and Janet Nguyen still has not complied with the law. And until she complies, we will be counting the days.

Orange County

52 Days of Evading the Law… And Counting…

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H/T to Mike Lawson at The Liberal OC for the fantastic graphic!

Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen has had 52 days to comply with county campaign finance law. Actually, she was supposed to give the Registrar of Voters a report of her returning the illegal donations to her campaign during the recount within 72 HOURS AFTER THESE DONATIONS WERE RETURNED. However, she hasn’t complied with county law.

So why won’t Janet comply with the law? Isn’t a lawmaker supposed to actually obey the law? Is that too much to ask?

Follow me after the flip for more…

Doesn’t Janet Nguyen realize that this isn’t helping her reelection effort? And I don’t think this is helping her beloved Republican Party, either. No wonder why Jubal/Matt Cunningham is saying something at OC Blog, and he’s not the only one speaking up:

I was talking to some keen observers of county politics this morning, and much of the conversation turned on Supervisor Janet Nguyen’s on-going refusal to comply with TIN CUP requirements that she report the name of the three donors who gave too much to her illegal legal defense fund — as well as the excess amount and date of donation.

There was a general consensus that the drip-drip of bad publicity stemming from this strange refusal to come clean only hurts her politically. Most 1st District voters are still unfamiliar with her, but ever since the adulatory “first Vietnamese/youngest supervisor” media immediately after being seated, her press hasn’t been good.

Yep, this is only hurting Janet. It’s hurting her credibility. How are we supposed to trust her as a lawmaker if she can’t even obey the law herself? If she were your County Supervisor, would you trust her?

Mike Lawson said it so well at The Liberal OC yesterday:

County Supervisor Janet Nguyen was soliciting money to cover her legal costs after the February 6th special. The problem was that Nguyen was accepting donations above the campaign contribution limit—which is a violation of campaign finance law. […]

Everyone is blogging about the money, and it looks like nobody is going to be forgetting this story any time soon. How long will we wait, Janet?

So how long must we wait? How long must we wait before our County Supervisor actually obeys the law that she’s supposed to respect? With every day that Janet Nguyen evades the law, she loses that much more of our trust.

Orange County

There’s Something About Janet Nguyen

[Orange] County Supervisor Janet Nguyen is 50 days late so far in complying with a county oridinace [sic] on campaign donations. Some time after the Feb. 6 election, she accepted three contributions in excess of the county’s $1,500 limit and put them into a legal trust fund set up by her lawyer. Turns out county code prohibits such trust funds, so the money was moved out of there and the excess donations, they say, were returned.

And once again, Janet’s silence on her funny money hit Total Buzz. Hmmm, so what’s happening with Janet Nguyen? And why won’t she report what exactly happened with her missing funny money?

Follow me after the flip for more…

OK, so how did this all begin? Well, it started when The LA Times reported this:

Newly elected Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen solicited secret donations above the campaign contribution limit in an effort to quickly pay down her legal debts, an apparent violation of campaign finance law, according to interviews and an e-mail obtained by The Times.

The solicitations came as Nguyen was seeking money to cover her legal costs defending a hair-thin victory in the Feb. 6 special supervisorial election. Among those approached were public employee unions and trade groups representing business interests that regularly come before the Board of Supervisors.

Donors were asked to make checks out to a client trust fund of her campaign attorney, Phillip Greer, and to mail the checks to her Garden Grove campaign address.

In an interview Thursday, Nguyen admitted that she sought the contributions but said she did so on the advice of her lawyers, under the belief that it was legal because politicians at the local, state and federal level are allowed to maintain legal defense funds. She said she had selected the people to whom the requests were sent based on personal contacts.

Well, I guess Janet wasn’t paying attention to what was legal at the county level. Here in Orange County, we have a little something called TIN CUP. And clearly, Janet and her campaign team had an idea as to what was allowed and what wasn’t under TIN CUP since they had to ensure early in the campaign that money transferred from Janet’s Assembly account could be transferred into her Supervisorial account. So why did she still violate TIN CUP during the recount?

And oh yes, why hasn’t Janet reported this to the Registrar of Voters? Not only is Janet Nguyen required to return the money, but she must also report it. Well, Janet said that she returned the money, but how do we really know if she hasn’t filed the proper paperwork? No wonder why Martin Wisckol has become so curious over at Total Buzz.

County code says that you have to return such overages within seven days — and then file paperwork with the county Registrar of Voters within 72 hours, documenting how much was returned and to whom.

It’s now been more than two months since the money was allegedly returned. Each day I grow increasingly curious about who those generous donors were and just how much they tried to give Nguyen. Is there some reason she doesn’t want the public to know who they are?

Yes, is there a reason? Why hasn’t Janet filed the paperwork? If she really returned the money, then why won’t she report it? And oh yes, just who was giving her this money? And why did they want to give her all this money?

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with Jubal/Matt Cunningham on this:

But her refusal to comply with a simple provision of TIN CUP is difficult to understand. It’s not a complicated task — all she has to do is fill out some paperwork about three donors to her illegal legal defense fund whose donations exceeded TIN CUP contribution limits. […]

Let’s leave aside the implausibility of Janet’s claim to know there are three donors who gave more than the $1,600 limit, but she doesn’t know who they are, although she does know the excess donations were refunded.

What excuse does she have for refusing to comply with a county ordinance for going on two months now? Janet’s a county supervisor, after all — and flouting county ordinances doesn’t look good.

Yes, what exactly is her excuse? She’s our sitting County Supervisor now. She should be setting an example by following county law. And if she can’t even follow one county ordinance on campaign contributions, then why should we trust her with this and other laws?

If Janet Nguyen wants to all this speculation about her legally questionable contributions, then she needs to report them to the Registrar of Voters. After all, she is the only person perpetuating this scandal by not being forthcoming. So can Janet please just report? There’s something about Janet and her campaign account, and it would be so much nicer for everyone if she can just obey the law and report what she got.

Orange County

OC Special Election UPDATE: Trung “Sore Loser” Nguyen Appeals

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OK, I just noticed this on Total Buzz… But I’m not really surprised:

Coming as a surprise to absolutely no one, the Consigliere Schroeder (see also: Darth Vader, Darth Schroeder, or any Godfather reference) says Trung Nguyen will appeal the judge’s decision this week that made Janet Nguyen the winner of the First District supes seat.

Mike told me that Team Trung is waiting for the transcripts from the trial in Judge Michael Brenner’s court and they will then file with the state court of appeals. Perhaps the higher court will agree with the “Schroederian view” of the state recount law and maybe Team Janet shouldn’t get too comfortable up on the Fifth Floor…

Please, court of appeals judges, PLEASE THROW OUT THIS SUIT! Team Janet got the recount that Team Trung didn’t even want, and then Team Trung got to cry its way to court to complain that the recount that they didn’t even want was “done wrong”. The judge listened to both sides’ arguments, and concluded that the County Registrar conducted the recount legally, and that Janet Nguyen truly was the rightful winner. Janet is now in, and Team Trung just needs to move on.

OK, sorry about my ranting. It’s just that I live here, and I am sick and tired of these GOP Machine scumbags whine and complain about “gaming the system” when they themselves have used some VERY ILLEGAL TACTICS to “game the system”. Unlike many of their possible victims, these GOP Machine scumbags got their day in court… And the judge ruled that there was no “gaming”. Team Trung need to let it go, and allow for Central Orange County to move on.

I hope they realize that soon, and that I can stop ranting about all this crap soon.

Orange County

Don’t Cry for Trung Nguyen & Van Tran… They Have Plenty of New GOP Friends!

OK, I know that I shouldn’t be doing this…
But I just can’t help it! Total Buzz made me do it! ; )

Got a press release today saying that Assemblyman Van Tran, R-Garden Grove, will be in Santa Ana on Friday to promote the Earned Income Tax Credit — an income-tax benefit for the poor. Among those on hand will be Santa Ana Councilman Carlos Bustamante — who was among those running for supervisor this year against Tran’s candidate, Trung Nguyen — and the Legal Aid Society of Orange County, which is often finds Democrats more sympathetic to their causes. Former U.S. Treasurer and currently — take a breath — California State and Consumer Services Agency Secretary Rosario Marin will also be there.

Oh, great! So Lord Van Tran can now count the “Independent Democrat Republican” as his new best friend! And oh yes, how lovely that Rosario Marin will be coming to their aid.

For more on Van Tran, his new best friends, and what this all might mean, follow me after the flip…

Here’s some more from Martin Wisckol at Total Buzz:

More interesting to me was the new district representative for Tran who listed as the contact on the press release. Saulo Londono lead Lynn Daucher’s absentee ballot drive, which nearly led to an upset of Lou Correa in last year’s central county state Senate race. He then was campaign manager for Trung, and nearly pulled off an upset there after one of the most relentless and well-researched absentee voter drive I’ve seen. I’m not surprised Tran wants to keep Londono close at hand.

Hmmm… So one of the same guys who engineered Lynn Daucher’s near-win in SD 34 last year is now cozying up with Van Tran? I wonder why. Is he worried about something… Like possibly the next election, and the possibility that people might start to find out more about all the delicious dirt that’s been hidden in his closet? Well, I guess there’s nothing like currying favor from other politicos to solidify your standing in time for the next election.

Well, I guess at the very least, Trung Nguyen shouldn’t have to worry. Van Tran always knows how to help his proteges.

Orange County

OC Special Election: It’s Time to Move On

(Clearly, Andrew and I don’t agree on this one. I think that democracy is worth fighting for, even if you don’t like the people involved. To me, accuracy is more important than finality. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

The board is complete. The healing process begins. The unity starts now.

– Ryan Gene on Orange Juice

Mr. Nguyen ran a good race, but he should put an end to any more legal action. The county should wish Ms. Nguyen the best as she becomes the first Vietnamese-American county supervisor.

– Today’s OC Register Editorial

Mr. Nguyen, the only way to save face now, if that is even possible, is to accept your defeat gracefully and fade off into the shadows of history.

– Chris Prevatt on The Liberal OC

Want to see how Orange County feels about this hard-fought election coming to an end? Well, follow me after the flip for more…

Here’s more of today’s Register editorial. Now keep in mind that I rarely ever agree with The Register’s editorial page. This is one of those rare occasions:

Mr. Nguyen’s attorneys argue that the recount was done improperly because the Registrar of Voters manually recounted the absentee ballots, but chose a quick download of the electronic ballots cast on Election Day. They called that gaming the system, but Judge Michael Brenner tossed out Mr. Nguyen’s claim that the recount was illegal, arguing that it was done in a logical manner and compliant. […]

Any time a race is won by a handful of votes, it’s a heartbreaker. Supporters of Mr. Nguyen argue that more voters intended to vote for him, but ultimately had their votes disqualified because they followed the campaign’s instructions and checked the last spot on the ballot. That spot actually was the place for write-in candidates. But the purpose of campaign law is not to find out who was the winner in some cosmic sense, but to follow a fair, deliberative, consistent and legal process to determine the winner. That appears to have been accomplished through a series of challenges and counterchallenges.

Mr. Nguyen ran a good race, but he should put an end to any more legal action. The county should wish Ms. Nguyen the best as she becomes the first Vietnamese-American county supervisor.

Here’s more of what Chris Prevatt has to say at The Liberal OC. Now remember that this is a progressive local blog, and that Chris (like me) backed Umberg for Supervisor:

Janet Nguyen was sworn in yesterday as the first Vietnamese-American elected Supervisor in Orange County and the youngest as well.  This election has been a roller coaster ride for both Janet and Trung Nguyen.  Both candidates have held the lead at different points in time.

Both candidates have also been accused of promoting anti-Latino sentiments, Trung Nguyen pretending to be a border guard, and Janet Nguyen calling on Vietnamese voters to vote for her with this comment “She also has votes from other ethnic communities, women, seniors, Republicans who do not like Mexicans”.

Now is the time for healing and repair.  Janet Nguyen needs to reach out to the Latino community and demonstrate that she is not the racist that her comment to the Vietnamese community portrays.

It is also time for Trung Nguyen to accept defeat at the hands of a woman.  Mr. Nguyen, the only way to save face now, if that is even possible, is to accept your defeat gracefully and fade off into the shadows of history.

And btw, here’s what Chris has to say about the whole Bush v. Gore comparison:

In Gore vs. Bush, Gore moved on once the court ruled. Also, I believe it was Bush who appealed to the Supreme Court. I see that as Bush not moving on rather than Gore.

As far as the determination of Legislative Counsel goes, ot [sic] has no legal weight. I also do not believe there would be any change if the VVPAT’s were to be reviewed. The 1 percent review showed no errors in the electronic tallies.

The only reason Darth Schroeder raised the issue was in effort to invalidate the reount [sic]. His objection had nothing to do with an accurate counting of the votes. Team Trung did not ask for the VVPAT’s to be audited. They just wanted the original tally to stand unchanged.

Team Trung needs to move on, challenge Janet in 2008 if they want, but give the recount a rest.

Here’s more of what Ryan Gene has to say at Orange Juice. Sure, he’s a Republican… But he’s a good guy who sometimes makes some very good points:

“Wow, what a journey!” Those were the first words spoken by newly seated Supervisor Janet Nguyen, as she addressed a standing room only forum this morning. Janet’s inaugural speech also spread thanks to her loving family, her friends, supporters, and mentors former-Supervisors Bill Steiner and Cynthia Coad.

She also addressed the sizable Vietnamese observers in the room in Vietnamese, which drew applause.

The real spotlight today though, at least that I felt, was the talk of unity.

A sentiment shared this morning by Janet, and pretty much everyone in attendance including Chris Norby, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, and state senator Lou Correa, both of whom gave notable speeches on the topic. Lou left right after the swearing-in ceremony to fly back up to Sacramento and present some bills in the Senate. […]

Other notable electeds in attendance were Santa Ana councilmembers Carlos Bustamante and Michele Martinez, Garden Grove mayor Bill Dalton, Orange councilman Jon Dimitru, Westminster mayor Margie Rice, SAUSD trustee Rob Richardson, and county treasurer Chriss Street. […]

Now that she’s in, Janet will quickly begin to put her staff together and hit the ground running. I can see from the OC Gov. website that her name is now listed among the other four supervisors.

The board is complete. The healing process begins. The unity starts now.

So what do I think? Well, I think that this thing needs to come to an end. Trung Nguyen, Mike Schroeder, and Van Tran need to let it go. Central OC is already suffering from not having anyone to serve us at the county level for so long, so why should we delay any longer?

Now I wasn’t all that happy last month when Umberg lost, but I moved on. It’s time for Schroeder and Tran to do the same. They have exercised their legal right to challenge the election, and that legal process has now been exhausted. The court has ruled that Janet won fair and square, and now Janet’s new colleagues agree. It’s time for everyone to move on.

Janet won. Janet’s in. It’s time to move on.