- CUSD to Cease Paying for Ex-Superintendent's Legal Bills... So why would they continue to pay the legal bills for this guy, when he has causedso much grief for all the parents, students, and staff at the school district?
- "We Met, But Not for Sex." Defendant Jeff Nielsen took the stand in his own defense in his child molestation trial, testifying that he never had sex with a 14 year-old Westminster boy. He tried to explain away an email asking the boy to meet him for "something quick" as a quick lunch date, even thought the email never mentioned food. Hmmm... This sounds fishy to me...
And finally...
- Mike Lawson Is Famous!! OK, maybe not beyond the county line... But still, I am thrilled to see him featured in this month's "BLADE" magazine for making Drinking Liberally-OC happen every Thursday. Now go ahead, and give Mike some love at The Liberal OC for all the hard work that he does!
I've been checking votes this afternoon and I've already got two no's on swearing in Janet Nguyen tomorrow as the First District supe. Both Bill Campbell and John Moorlach said they will respect what Judge Michael Brenner said this morning and hold off on declaring a winner. [...]
But even if it's a 2-2 vote on seating Janet, the motion fails and she won't be sworn in tomorrow. Both Campbell and Moorlach said they will wait until after the trial is concluded, which should be Friday, March 23. So there may not be a supe-declared First Distrct winner until Tuesday, March 27.
Tomorrow morning, the other four Orange County Supervisors will have a daunting task in front of them: To decide whether or not to seat Janet Nguyen as their new colleague on the Board. Today, the judge presiding over Trung Nguyen's legal maneuver to overturn the results of the recount made his voice heard on the matter of whether or not to seat Janet. (From The Register'sTotal Buzz)
An Orange County judge today asked the county board of supervisors today to refrain from swearing in Janet Nguyen as the First District Supervisor until he has had the chance to review the contested election results.
But Superior Court Judge Michael Brenner declined to issue a court order banning the seating of Janet Nguyen - who was certified as a 7-vote winner in a recount of the special Feb. 6 election to replace former Supervisor Lou Correa.
At the same time, however, Janet's political team is lobbying hard to get the Board of Supes to recognize the official results of last month's election by seating Janet. And since they are confident that the judge will probably not overturn the election results, they are ready to see Janet be sworn in ASAP. One of her consultants, Adam Probolsky, is trying to make that case on OC Blog today.
Janet ran, she won and she is ready to serve. No other supervisor waffled when they were about to take their seat at the county about giving up their previous position. Its the risk you take...Janet is ready to take her seat.
For the sake of the voters and for the sake of fair elections I hope the supervisors do their job: 1) receive and file, 2) declare and 3) let Janet have a moment for the ceremonial swearing-in and then get on with the business of the county.
An Orange County judge is expected to set a date for a trial, which should start within 10 days, to decide the contested election for the 1st District seat on the Board of Supervisors.
Judge Michael Brenner today told attorneys for candidates Janet Nguyen and Trung Nguyen to return to his court Monday to select a firm date for the trial.
Brenner also ordered county Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley to provide evidence of 200 contested ballots to both sides, said attorney Steve Baric, who represents Trung Nguyen, said.
So on Monday, we should find out when the trial of the special electionrecount will actually begin...
And my goodness, will all of us in OC be SO HAPPY TO SEE THIS DAMN MELODRAMA END SOON! But in the meantime, stay tuned for more as the legal melodrama continues...
Here are some wild and wonderful stories from behind the Orange Curtain, and across the Land of the OC, that will make you laugh, cry, and scratch your head in total disbelief:
- Flip-flop Romney! So you still don't believe me when I tell you that Mitt Romney is not a "true believing" conservative? Then go over to The Liberal OC, and see what Dan has to say about our favorite GOP Presidential contender!
- Do the other four OC Supes want to "cut and run" from Santa Ana? Art Pedroza is now worried that a couple OC Supervisors are seriously considering moving the county seat from Santa Ana to Irvine. And what would happen to the Santa Ana Civic Center, where the county operates presently? Go see Orange Juice for more.
- Overheated and Absurd? Unfortunately, my friend Jubal/Matt Cunningham at OC Blog would rather dismiss all of us as hotheads than to discuss the real problems of the 241 Extension to Trestles. So am I being "overheated and absurd" by presenting some disturbing facts about how the 241 Extension to Trestles wouldn't ease South County traffic even as it destroys one of the last pristine beaches in SoCal?
Here are some wild and wonderful stories from behind the Orange Curtain, and direct from our friends at the Orange County GOP, that will make you laugh, cry, and scratch your head in total disbelief:
- "I Think I Can!" Yes, Trung Nguyen really thinks he "Can" Nguyen win this election, so much so that he's having his friend Can Nguyen file a lawsuit to overturn Janet Nguyen's win in the special election. Don't believe me? Well, go over and see Chris Prevatt's latest piece in The Liberal OC!
- Yes, Van Tran Can! Still, I wonder just how much of this "strategery" is really Trung's, and how much he is relying on Darth Schroeder and Lord Van Tran. Wait, are you wondering about that, too? OK, so let's both pay a visit to Art Pedroza at Orange Juice, where he's answering all our deepest and darkest questions about the Great Darth and Lord Van.
- No, you can't (smoke, that is)! In today's Register, I noticed that Irvine is now moving to ban smoking in all its parks...
Including the soon-to-be-opened Great Park! Good for them, as this will make it easier for them to keep those parks as lovely and clean and oh so inviting as ever. : )
- "What Can We Do About Janet?" That's what our other four lovely supes were asking themselves yesterday... And yes, Jubal/Matt Cunningham has all the video from yesterday's OC Board of Supes meeting at OC Blog.
UPDATE: Darth Schroeder has officially filed a lawsuit in Superior Court. Go ahead and see the lawsuit for yourself. I guess we'll see what the courts have to say about this never-ending special election.
Janet Nguyen told us once again tonight, "Every vote matters"...
And you know what? She definitely proved that to be true. Apparently, the Registrar of Voters has now certified the special election results, and Janet Nguyen expects to be sworn in as Orange County Supervisor tomorrow.
Follow me after the flip for more on this breaking news (and more photos!)...
Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley just determined that it's okay to do a quick electronic download on the recount, rather than hand counting all the paper ballots generated by the electronic voting machines. Within a couple hours, we should have a newly certified result.
And at 5:00 PM, Janet Nguyen plans to hold a press conference...
And yes, I will be there to cover it for you!
Stay tuned as it looks like I finally find out who the heck is going to be my next County Supervisor!
The disputed ballot resolution session is over, and Trung Nguyen picked up 5 votes, Janet Nguyen picked up 2 votes and had 1 voided -- meaning Trung picked up 4 votes in the challenges.
However, Janet picked up 10 votes during Friday's recount, so she's still ahead by 6 votes.
Team trung Attorneys Mike Schroeder, Steve Baric, Mike Houston plus advisors Lan Nguyen and Dina Nguyen are strategizing in the lobby and poring through a heavily tabbed book of California codes.
OK, so I'm feeling tired today...
And I still have so many things to do...
So here's a new weekend tradition that I'm starting here...
Yes, I'm starting it just for you! SURREAL OC WEEKEND!
- Chuck DeVore surprises me again! After seeing that DeVore is teaming up with Mark Leno again to push legislation legalizing industrial hemp, I was quite blown away... UNTIL I SAW THIS!! "Breaking the cycle of recidivism will alleviate the severe overcrowding that is crippling our correctional system... The ability to offer focused drug treatment will not only help people stay out of prison and rebuild their lives, it will go a long way towards keeping our homes and streets safer." And yes, AB 716 is co-authored by Democrat Mervyn Dymally. Now if only we could get Arnold to care about real solutions to this real problem...
Looks like Janet Nguyen gets to spend the weekend as the higher vote-getter in the First District supes race as she's up by at least nine votes. But she better enjoy it while she can. Trung Nguyen's people say they fully intend to get back their lost votes when Registrar Neal Kelley makes his rulings on contested ballots first thing Monday morning.
Art Pedroza is already declaring victory for Janet Nguyen on Orange Juice. It looks like my friend Art is already plotting Janet's immediate political future. Meanwhile, Jubal/Matt Cunningham is saying that Trung Nguyen's team is hoping to make up today's losses in the Monday morning challenge at OC Blog. I guess with about 75 ballots that were marked for the write-in option (just below Trung Nguyen), yet no candidate written in (Were these votes for Trung?), expect plenty of action on the final day of challenges in this recount...
And stay tuned for more of the beginning of the end of the OC Special Election saga.
Here are some wild and wonderful stories from behind the Orange Curtain, and and across the Land of the OC, that will make you laugh, cry, and scratch your head in total disbelief:
- Congressman Oblivious. Guess who said this about Iraq: "We are in a long war with people…who want to kil [sic] us. No one has yet offered an alternative plan." Wow, so I guess the bipartisan Iraq Study Group report doesn't count? Ah, more wisdom from the same person who proclaimed that "Baghdad is safer than Washington, D.C." Dan Chmielewski has more at The Liberal OC.
- Mr. NAMBLA goes to court. Jeff Nielsen is a hard-core Republican Party activist... And he is a pedophile. Well, he was recently caught with his pants down... And now, his trial begins. Hmmm... And the GOP is supposed to be the party of "moral values"?
Just got back from the Registrar of Voters office...Janet Nguyen has pulled even with Trung Nguyen on Day Three of the recount of the First District supes race.
And oh yes, this is from Trung Nguyen's campaign team. No word yet from Team Janet on what their count looks like. But still, I have a feeling that they will also say that Janet picked up about four votes today.
And in other OC Recount news today, the recount will probably not be finished until Monday. Jubal is reporting at OC Blog that the final disputed ballot resolution has been postponed until 9:00 AM Monday. Stay tuned for more on the never-ending drama that is the OC Special Election and the ongoing recount. : )
The latest word on the Special ElectionRecount is that Trung Nguyen is hanging onto a four vote lead. And at this point, this may be a good sign for him as they have yet to recount Trung's stronghold of Westminster.
However, there are also still ballots left to be recounted in Santa Ana. And yes, there are even a few left in Janet Nguyen's stronghold of Garden Grove. And oh yes, Janet Nguyen's legal team is still looking into all the foul play that Trung Nguyen's campaign was allegedly a part of. So apparently, this race still is not over...
And I guess not even the debate over today's count is over! As I am writing this update right now, I am checking Total Buzz and noticing that Team Janet is asserting that Trung only finished the day up by three. Well, don't expect the OC Registrar of Voters to clarify the matter right now. They will not release daily breakdowns, but only a final result of this recount.
- And WHO'S with Woocher? Apparently, the Garden Grove voter who "hired" Woocher is none other than Gerald Feather. But WHO is this Gerald Feather? Jubal at OC Blog is suggesting that Mr. Feather is awfully too close to Janet Nguyen to be "doing it himself". However, Feather denies any connection to Janet's campaign.
- So what are the unions doing? Peggy Lowe wanted to know, so she called the head of the county employees union. His answer? "We won't confirm anything that's in the legal arena." And as for the deputy sheriffs' union? "It's not AOCDS [the union]." So are the unions involved? Well, why would they when their candidate (Tom Umberg) is languishing in third place?
(The videos are now up! Now, you can watch the press conference as well. Oh yes, and Calitics has a new fan over at The OC Register! ; ) - promoted by atdleft)
At today's press conference, Janet Nguyen and her attorneys reassured everyone that "every vote maters", and that this is why they have decided to pursue a recount. And oh yes, they do intend to investigate the forty cases that they have already received of alleged voterfraud. And yes, they suggested that these cases of voter fraud may be coming from the Van Tran/Trung Nguyen operation in Westminster.
But still, they did not want to give any details about these claims of voter fraud. And they did not go into detail on how they wanted the recount to be done. But still, I did find out a little more about what their strategy is.
Follow me after the flip for more on what to expect next...
(including more photos from the event)
UPDATE: Peggy Lowe is also covering this at The OC Register'sTotal Buzz. Oh yes, and Jubal has audio of the press conference up at OC Blog. He should also have video up soon. : )
UPDATE 3: Total Buzz has all the details on how the recount will go. "It will go in this order, with the precinct votes in each city counted first and then the absentee ballots before moving on to the next city: Garden Grove, Midway City, Santa Ana, Westminster."
Phil Greer, an attorney representing Janet Nguyen's campaign, formally requested a recount this morning for the Feb. 6 special election for county supervisor. Which ballots the campaign will ask to be counted first is still being decided on by Janet's team, according to Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley.
Oh yes, and the recount could begin as early as this Thursday. Now will all thoseabsenteeballots be able to withstand all this extra scrutiny...
Or does Van Tran have something else in mind?
Instead of the going to court to halt certification of Tuesday's election (which many of us were expecting), Janet Nguyen's campaign will be asking for a recount. And of course, they are probably planning to contest the election if the Nguyens switch the lead.
Here's what the Janet Nguyen campaign has to say (via Red County/OC Blog):
"We have decided to move forward immediately with our request for a recount, instead of taking any legal action which could have delayed the recount by several days or weeks," said Nguyen attorney Phil Greer. "The voters in the First District deserve nothing less than a complete and accurate count of all legitimate ballots. A recount is the only way to achieve that goal and we want to do everything possible to expedite that process."
Well, considering recent allegations against Van Tran's Trung Nguyen's campaign, the recount could very well uncover some real dirty business. Stay tuned for more on the closest election in OC history...
