Central Committee Elections – Barnburner in AD73

On March 5, voters won’t just be casting ballots for President, US Senate and Congress.  They will vote on elected representatives for the Democratic Party of Orange County.

In AD-73, there are 17 candidates for six spots.  My advice is two fold here:  one, elect candidates are are going to show up and do the work.  And two, slates work great for middle school student government — for Central Committee, not so much.

Readers may remember I am a former Central Committee member serving from 2016 to 2020.  I think I missed two or three meetings over that time, usually due to trade show commitments.  Tony Bedolla was my alternate and I never placed a restriction on him on how to vote on any matter than arose before the Central Committee.  I’ve always said, the DPOC chair’s job is to herd cats.  That’s still true and some chairs do a better job than others do.  I think Ada Briceno does a good job of this.

Central Committee members on the ballot are expected to help fundraising efforts, candidate recruitment, and campaigning.  The DPOC is at its best when there’s full participation and there’s teammwork.  Candidates also need to be fully aware this is a countywide issue; if you’re focus is one city (your city) while not regarding challenges and issues facing other parts of the county, don’t run.

Friends still on the Central Committee still talk to me about issues before the body, who’s helpful, and who’s not.  Who shows up and who doesn’t.  I’ve always said the county party has members who never got out of high school and to some extent that is still true.

While scrolling through social media, I caught a short video of Irvine council member Tammy Kim, who was elected to the Central Committee in 2020 at the Registrar of Voters announcing her candidacy for Central Committee.  My DPOC sources tell me Tammy Kim should have been removed from the Central Committee long before for missing well over the required number of meetings during her term.  Other sources say, there are times Tammy will check in for attendance purposes and then leave the meeting (especially if virtual).

Additionally, former Anaheim Council member Jose Moreno didn’t attend a meeting in 2023 until the October meeting in order to participate in the debate over Israel, Palenstine and Hamas.

Here’s what the bylaws say:

Section 6. Removal
A. The office of any member, alternate or associate, may be declared vacant by resolution of the County Committee if any member, alternate or associate, affiliates with or registers as a member of another party, publicly advocates that voters not vote for an endorsed nominee of the Democratic Party, gives support or avows a preference for a candidate of another party or a candidate who is opposed to a candidate nominated and endorsed by this party.
B. Any member except an ex-officio or associate, shall be deemed to have resigned his/her office if three (3) consecutive regular or a total of five (5) meetings in 24 months or 7 meetings in 48 months are missed during his/her term, unless such member is unable to attend for medical reasons, work related reasons, family necessity or absence from the County and such absence is reported to the Secretary.
C. The attendance of an alternate in the absence of a member does not fulfill the member’s attendance requirements under 6 B of this Article.
D. The office of any member shall be deemed vacant if that member dies, resigns, is removed or becomes ineligible or is disqualified.

As the late Misha Houser needs to be replaced, its time to check those attendance records to do more housekeeping.

As the party is in the middle of fundraising, and attendance records are shaky at best, removing these two members (there are others who should be removed but sources aren’t naming names) is low on the party’s priority list.  Moreno is not seeking re-election, but both he and Kim will continue to be on the Central Committee until January 2025.

At Briceno’s suggestion, I reached out to Party secretary Luis Aleman for exact dates of absences, but he declined (I’m told even his attendance is spotty at best).  So five sources later, I’m told both Kim and Moreno have easily met the threshold to be removed.  As Kim is one of the 17 candidates on the ballot, give your vote to those who will show up and do the work.

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Democrats of Greater Irvine recently endorsed a slate of candidates who havbe no prior experience with the DPOC.  About half are city commissioners or potential candidates for city council.   Not a single one of them can hold a candle to the experience, work and results achieved by longtime DPOC Central Committee member Marlene Gillespie.  Lauren Johnson Norris has been an effective DPOC South Chair.  Manny Chavez of Costa Mesa and Lee Fink of Tustin also live outside of Irvine and deserve consideration from the voters.  Naz Hamid and Dean Inada have logged significant time for the party in positive ways.

Slates promote weak candidates while sacrificing the those canddiates who are strong.  So of course, the DGI endorsement will be played up.  Irvine council members Larry Agran and Katerine Treseder have endorsed this slate, but neither has a strong track record with DPOC.  State Senator Dave Min does.

Look at the entire list of 17 candidates.  Its hard to vote against those with significant  and positive Party Central Committee experience for brand new people.

Having worked with a number of them, for AD-73, Democrats should vote for Gillespie (twice if possible), Johnson-Norris, Fink, Chavez, and Hamid.  I’m still pondering who gets my last vote (if I can’t give it to Gillespie).  It goes without saying, Tammy Kim won’t represent you well with the Party unless she can post on TikTok or Instagram so don’t bother castng a vote for someone who can’t bother to show up).