
ANAHEIM, CA –  Retired State Senator Joe Dunn, whom California Lawyer Magazine labeled “The Man Who Cracked Enron†when he unearthed Enron’s infamous internal memoranda that spoke to allegations of price gouging and market manipulation, has endorsed John Leos for Anaheim City Council.
“John Leos’ leadership in negotiating pension reform not only saved several hundred millions of dollars for taxpayers but was done with bipartisan support. Now more than ever, we need sensible leaders with proven results like John Leos – and not ‘politics as usual.’â€
“At the end of the day, we all want a community we are proud to call home. When it comes to keeping our neighborhoods safe and clean, there’s no one more than John that I trust to do the job,†stated the retired State Senator whose former district included the City of Anaheim.  “Coming from a five-generation family of Anaheim residents, John Leos understands the serious job of investing hard-earned tax dollars into our local economy and infrastructure. And John will do it with the accountability and honesty that local residents deserve.â€
Senator Dunn was elected to the California State Senate in 1998 and served until his final term expired in 2006. Â In the Legislature, Senator Dunn held prominent leadership roles including chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Housing Committee. Â He received international acclaim as chair of the Senate Investigation Committee into the 2001 California energy crisis.
Leos, who is a registered Republican, has managed to garner the support of the two Democratic California Legislative elected officials representing Anaheim, Senator Lou Correa and Assemblyman Jose Solorio, for this non-partisan office in addition to the endorsement of Senator Dunn. Leos is a moderate Republican and these endorsements demonstrate a broad bi-partisan support for his campaign. It is expected that more endorsements from elected Democrats and Republicans are on the way.

Leos also announced in a separate release over the Labor Day weekend that he has received the endorsement of the Orange County Labor Federation.
“As the job engine of Orange County, what Anaheim does has a great effect on the lives of working men and women. The Orange County Labor Federation enthusiastically supports John Leos for City Council because our members believe in him.†said O.C.L.F. Executive Director Tefere Gebre.
Rick Eiden, O.C.L.F. President and Executive Vice President of the United Food and Commercial Workers, says, “The UFCW and its members are excited and united to elect John Leos to the Anaheim City Council.â€
The Orange County Labor Federation represents more than 90 local unions and 140,000 working men and women in Orange County. The Labor Federation has also endorsed Bill Dalati for Anaheim City Council.
Seriously Chris, WTF is this? He is a Republican and most definetly not a liberal. Let the unions shill for themselves will you?
Yes, he is a Republican. He is not a liberal. He is a moderate Republican. Three high profile Democrats have endorsed him. I posted press releases to that effect. Those releases did com from the Leos campaign. If that makes me a shill for the unions then your definition of shill is a bit off.
Please do tell, what other than being registered as a Republican makes him so bad in your eyes? He is not a right-wing Republican bigot. We have Democrats endorsing a Republican in a non-partisan race. We have Democraats endorsing Republicans in such races all the time. We also have Republicans endorsing Democrats as well.
Being partisan, or being liberal, does not preclude one from working with people who hold some conservative views, or have registered with a different party. Being partisan or liberal does not preclude mention of the top Democratic elected state officials in Orange County endorsing a Republican for City Council in the county’s second largest city. In fact, common sense requires it.
Chris – your thoughts on the matter only come out when prodded in the comments section! And they reveal why you just post the releases as they sent. These moves are “common sense” to you…
Gabriel, I will agree with your contention that you do not share the same common sense as I do. I presume you would prefer that I only mention stuff that elected Democrats do that you agree with; and that information about all other actions shoud be purged for this publication.
Sorry. It doesnt work that way here. Only over at the “Ministry of Truth” called OrangeJuiceBlog. Over there inconvenient facts are concealed and out right lies put in their place. I have no desire to compete for the tabloid market of readers. OrangeJuice Blog has that market cornered.
If you are unhappy with the endorsements made, write about that. But don’t waste my time suggesting I should ignore such information. If an elected Democrat endorses a Republican, I’m going to write about it. If an elected Democrat is endorsed by an elected Republican, I’m going to write about it. If an elected Democrat endorses a Democrat, I’m going to write about it. Heck if it is an unsusal endorsement, I may even write when an elected Republican endorses another Republican in a race. Particularly in non-partisan races this is relevant information. It is also relevant in partisan elections. That Gabriel is common sense that you should share, not condem.
Chris: So when are you going to post an article about Lou Correa’s endorsement of Gail Eastman? After all, COMMON SENSE REQUIRES IT!
I realize that she may not have sent you her press release about the endorsement, but you can find it as the top item in the “News and Events” section of her website (www.gaileastmanforanaheim.com).
If she were to send that information, it would likely be posted. I admit that I have not browsed every candidate website to determine who has endorsed their campaigns. But if she had sent the release it would be worthy of posting.
Here, I’ll save you the effort of visiting her website — just cut n’ paste:
State Senator Lou Correa Endorses Gail Eastman
for Anaheim City Council
Anaheim, CA…..California State Senator Lou Correa (34th District) today announced his endorsement of Gail Eastman for Anaheim City Council.
“Gail Eastman has a long and successful track record working to make Anaheim a better place to live,” announced Senator Correa, whose district includes west Anaheim along with portions of Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Stanton, Buena Park, Westminster and Fullerton. “That’s why in 2008 I selected Gail Eastman as my 34th Senate District ‘Woman of the Year.'”
The Senator continued: “From chairing the Anaheim Planning Commission to leading a neighborhood task force, advocating for the Anaheim Resort District to promoting jobs for Anaheim’s workforce, Gail’s commitment to Anaheim’s future, her experience and vision is what Anaheim needs now. Please join me in supporting Gail Eastman for Anaheim City Council.”
Eastman, a 28-year resident of Anaheim, has worked with Senator Correa while serving on dozens of civic committees and in volunteer leadership roles through the years. Most recently, she served alongside Senator Correa in the citywide effort to protect the Anaheim Resort District from a proposed rezone.
“I am humbled and tremendously honored to earn Senator Correa’s support,” Eastman said. “We in Anaheim have always been able to count on Lou, whether it’s been as a member of the State Senate, Assembly or on the Board of Supervisors. We are grateful for everything the Senator has done to make Anaheim a better place to live.”
Correa adds his name to a growing and diverse list of Anaheim civic, neighborhood and business leaders supporting Gail Eastman’s bid for Council. Earlier this week, Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle announced his endorsement of Gail.
If elected November 2, Gail Eastman would bring 28 years of experience working tirelessly as a volunteer leader to the City Council. Among her goals as a Councilmember is strengthening the local economy through business growth and job creation, protecting taxpayers through her commitment to fiscal responsibility, maintaining public safety and improving Anaheim’s neighborhoods, schools, parks and recreational facilities.
haha!
Gosh, Chris, no article on Correa’s endorsement of Gail Eastman yet? To hear you tell it, it’s practically a moral imperative to give prominent coverage to Correa’s endorsements, and I go to all the trouble of scraping the press release off of her website so that you can have it close at hand without any effort — but nary a peep.
Do you want Lou to think that you don’t care what he says any more? Do you want your readers to think that you’ve lost all common sense?
Steve —
Perhaps your questions are best directed at Senator Correa, Joe Dun and Rep. Solorio
Kevin,
Please make up your mind. First you complain that I write that Correa, Solorio, and Dunn endorsed a Republican, then you complain that I don’t write about Correa’s endorsement of Eastman.
At any rate, you’ve already posted the release, and commented about it several times. If you have a complaint about Correa’s endorsements, complain away. But I see no reason to shoot the messenger.
Please make up your mind, Chris. Apparently it’s the most important thing in the world to give Republicans front-page coverage on The ‘Liberal’ OC — except when it’s not.
You know perfectly well that an easily-buried comment is in no way equivalent to an actual article. I’m just trying to help you keep consistent and live up to your recently-declared bedrock principles, but apparently you’re not interested.
(And really? I’m just tired of the high-minded ‘I am not a shill’ rationalizations for your transparently obvious shilling. If you’re really into bipartisan fair-mindedness, if you really do believe that common sense requires rapt attention to Correa’s endorsements, then sure, you’ll post an article about Eastman on the front page. If not, don’t get all up in arms when people draw uncharitable conclusions about your motives.
But most of all? I’m tired of Orange County’s Best Political Blog mostly ignoring one of the biggest, bluest areas of the County except when you want something (Galloway then, Leos now), even when what you’re boosting may not be in the best interests of the people who actually live here. Sure, Leos provides another friendly face at the table for the OCEA, but for those of us who aren’t municipal employees, it’s not clear to me how he’s better than any other random “I like jobs and schools!” candidate.)
Kevin,
Which race would you like covered? Again, you have said nothing critical of either endorsement Correa made. Gail Eastman didn’t send me her press release, and you ultimately posted it. The information is out there. I am sure you will have a cow when I point out that a number of Democrats have endorsed Eastman as well.
But again, you are whining about the mention of Leos. If I follow do post what you want, I will be affirming your perception. If I don’t then I am being inconsistent.
The endorsements by three Democrats of Leos was news in a bi-partisan race. I wrote about it. Complain about the endorsement if you want, get over the rest of it.
I wrote about Leo’s announcement of his campaign and his fundraiser, which a lot of Democrats attended. I have known John for four years, he is a friend and colleague. He has bi-partisan support for a non-partisan race. If I were pulling a Lorri Galloway and endorsing a Republican challenging Lou Correa, or Loretta Sanchez, I could understand your “outrage.” But I’m not doing that.
If you think a Democrat can win a non-partisan race in Orange County without bi-partisan support, then your unaware of how these elections work. “Purity Tests” are what the Republicans do. Even our partisan elected Democrats work with Republicans on issues and legislation. That’s called making government work.
Dan-
How did that Galloway investment pay off for you?
Do her campaign finance reports confirm her overnight loans that never were spendable?
An update is long overdue!
Which Steve Perez is this? The one that likes to write naive and disparaging blog stories about Labor and their political activities or is this the Steve Perez that when he had a part-time job working for a candidate tried to ingratiate himself to Labor for funding and future employment?
Hey guys, I have an idea –
How about you drop any pretense that this blog bears any editorial resemblance to TheLiberalOC that Mike Lawson started, change the name to OCDems4Reps or whatever, report it as an in-kind to the Leos campaign, and call it a day!
Publius,
Feel free to do a better job if you think you can. And you have no standing to speak on Mike Lawson’s behalf.
Publius,
I’m sorry that the mere mention of a Democrat endorsing a Republican causes you such heartburn. The fact that three elected partisan Democrats endorsed a Republican for a non-partisan office in Orange County must be driving you nuts. If you have a problem with those endorsements, say so. But so far, all you have done is criticize me for posting the releases.
These endorsements by Dunn and Correa seem to be a pretty strong statement that the OC Democratic party has not done a good job cultivating and grooming quality candidates for local races.
The fact that established Democrat leaders are crossing party lines to endorse is unusual, even though these are supposed to be non partisan offices.
Where is the local OC Dem party? It looks like they are endorsing schmucks (especially in the Santa Ana city council races) and are trying to front for candidates that aren’t the good choices for Dems or for the labor leaders typically allied with the Dems.