Duvall emerging as frontrunner

With the June primary less than a month away, Mayor Mike Duvall is emerging as the clear frontrunner in the race for the Republican nomination in the state’s 72^nd Assembly District, which includes Yorba Linda residents living west of Fairmont Boulevard.

In an energetic campaign for the seat now held by Lynn Daucher, Duvall so far has out-matched the efforts of his lone opponent, third-term Brea Councilman Marty Simonoff.

Duvall’s key advantage is his fund-raising prowess. He’s banked $437,630 to Simonoff’s $268,994, according to campaign finance reports filed with the state last month.

The mayor’s big money lead has enabled him to target the district’s likely GOP voters with five expensive mailers as of May 5. The district’s 201,859 registered voters live in Brea, Fullerton and Placentia and parts of Anaheim, La Habra, Orange and Yorba Linda.

Duvall’s first mailer recruited potential absentee voters, with subsequent pieces focused on such campaign themes as illegal immigration and eminent domain abuse.

In the latter mailer, Duvall claims he “has led efforts to stop eminent domain abuses by local government.” Actually, at a 2003 meeting, he supported preparing a report and “proper documentation” outlining a process to extend the period of time the city’s Redevelopment Agency could initiate eminent domain proceedings.

He also voted for a measure concerning eminent domain on an Arroyo Street property in 2002, and he was silent when the Agency restored its eminent domain authority in 2003.

Duvall supports Measure A on the June 6 ballot but hasn’t yet taken a stand on Measure B, Yorba Linda’s citizen-sponsored Right-to-Vote on Land-Use Amendments initiative.

Measure A would prevent the county from conveying property acquired by eminent domain to another private party, while Measure B would require a public vote on all substantial changes to the city’s low-density zoning and General Plan documents.

Other important Duvall advantages include the mayor’s many endorsements from federal, state and local Republican leaders and Duvall’s successful effort to position himself as more conservative than Simonoff.

Interestingly, the only clash between the longtime Brea Lions Club colleagues--so far--concerns a $250 contribution Duvall gave to Simonoff’s recent council re-election race.

After Simonoff switched the donation to his Assembly campaign treasury, Duvall asked Simonoff to return the money and remove the amount from his financial filings, a request that hasn’t been acknowledged, according to Duvall campaign manager Andrew Kiefer.

A FINAL NOTE

Two weeks ago I commented that lawsuits discussed during completely legal secret sessions of the City Council and Yorba Linda Water District were costing tax and rate payers plenty because we end up paying attorney fees for both sides of the arguments.

Former water director Mark Abramowitz e-mailed: “Compliance with open meeting laws was not a real high priority with my colleagues when I was on the water board. On at least one occasion I left the room rather than violate the Brown Act for an improper closed session.”

“On another occasion, when I pulled out a tape recorder at a publicly noticed committee meeting…my colleague refused to participate…. Since he was the only other [committee member], the public’s business [couldn’t] be done,” the director from 1998-2002 wrote.