Look! We’re Not Alone Any More! Orange County is getting a second major left blog. Make sure you stop by & say hello to our new friends. 😉
New Orange County Progressive Blog Launches
A new progressive blog launched today aiming to provide news and commentary about Orange County from a progressive viewpoint. OC Progressive can be found at ocprogressive.com.
One of the first issues the blog tackles is the county’s toll roads. The first in a six-part series by Gus Ayer, “Orange County’s Failed Toll Road Experiment,” takes a look at the toll road system in the wake of the defeat of the proposed Foothill Toll Road and the possible bankruptcy of the San Joaquin Hills (73) Toll Road.
“We don’t want to just comment on news stories as many blogs do, we want to do some substantive reporting on local issues and government policy,” said Ayer, a former Fountain Valley city councilman. “There’s a lot of unreported information in the documents produced by local governments like the toll road agencies.”
Ayer and Joe Shaw, a Huntington Beach Public Works Commissioner, began planning the blog when they were both working for former Huntington Beach Mayor Debbie Cook’s congressional campaign. Ayer was a senior strategist and Shaw served as communications director. They are joined by Heather Pritchard, a frequent diarist at the progressive Daily Kos blog. In the future, OC Progressive will feature articles from local and national progressive writers and leaders.
“Besides news, another of our aims is to provide a forum for bringing progressive change to Orange County and our local governments,” Shaw said. “We hope to stimulate dialogue and create opportunities for identifying promising future progressive leaders for Orange County.” Shaw’s first post, “What’s a Progressive Agenda for Local Government Look Like?” is the first of a series that will lay out a blueprint for making progressive change locally.