Shea’s Republican Support Ends at the Checkbook

I tooled over to Christina Shea’s “Shea for Mayor” website (which still has a reference to “Keep Irvine Great” isn’t that cool she’s still using the slogan of the opposition slate, but what’s a little plagiarism among friends, right?). I wanted to see who was endorsing her run for Mayor this time around.

 
Her endorsement list is pretty damn impressive.  A “Who’s Who” of right wing Republican leaders in Irvine and the OC. Names like Supervisor Bill Campbell; Assemblymen Bob Huff, Chuck DeVore Van Tran, Todd Spitzer, and State Rep Mimi Walters; IUSD Trustee Carolyn McInerney; former council members Greg Smith (also a former IUSD trustee), Mike Ward, Chris Mears (a Democrat), and Ray Quigley, current council member Steven Choi; Congressmen Ed Royce, Dana Rohrabacher, and John Campbell; and I left out State Senator Dick Ackerman and Tom Harman.  
 
From the right wing punditocracy in OC, Adam Probosky is the lone representative.  No Jon Fleischman (left town I believe?). No Allan Bartlett.  No Stephen C. Smith.  No Matt Cunningham.  No Frank Mickadeit, but I’m sure if he could, he would.
 
With the exception of Adam in the last paragraph and referencing all the people above who’ve lent their names in support of Christina Shea, very few have lent their signatures to checks supporting her candidacy.  Which is why, over the course of a year, Shea’s raised an anemic amount of money — less than $30,000.  Only about $12,000 from Irvine voters themselves (I’m rounding folks, so excuse the lack of an exact number).

 
Republican endorsers of Shea who wrote a check include Probolsky ($410), Dick Sims, former Great Park Board member  ($100…that’s it?). Mimi Walters ($410), and Chris Mears, former City Council member and Great Park Board member (who isn’t a Republican but the most prominent Democrat on her list gave $410); the campaigns of Chuck DeVore ’08 and Tom Harmon for Senate 2008 wrote checks in the amount of $410 (we wouldn’t want to break into the personal bank account when we can write checks from funds to our campaigns with other people’s money now, would we?).  

And there you have it, a total of $1,330 from these Republican leaders (Mears is a Democrat) showing support for Shea with cash.
 
No money from Steven Choi (her running mate).
No money from Carolyn McInerney.
No money from Greg Smith, Mike Ward or Ray Quigley.
No money from any OC GOP Congressman.
No money from Right Wing bloggers
No money from Stephen Smith (and only one former friend of Larry)
 
But I will say there were 11 donors who gave $99 and didn’t have to have their names reported; in the last election cycle, most of these contributions came in from the Irvine Company executive team that Shea inadvertetly released even though I’m sure the donors didn’t want to be outed.  So unless any of the above cheapskates want to own up to a generous $99 contribution to Shea’s campaign, I’d say the support of local Republicans has been .. lousy at best, pathetic at worst.  
 
And with two months to go and only $12K raised by people who vote in Irvine, Shea’s fundraising is also a joke.  Sukhee Kang, on the other hand, has raised more than $166,000 with $44,000 of that coming from Irvine voters (that’s almost 4 times as much).  In 2006, Republican John Duong outraised Mayor Beth Krom in total contributions but Krom raised more money from Irvine voters than Duong did.  The margin of victory for Krom was 60-40.  The writing is on the wall people. Money talks.  

And Shea had better pray for IE money from a number of right wing organizations to bolster her campaign while she bleats and whines about the opposition’s Slate Mailers.  

Why are IEs from GOP groups OK, but Slate Mailers are “sleazy and amoral?”  Care to answer that one Mr. Tattler?  Mr. Mickadeit?