Two Congressmen vie for Yorba Linda votes
Two popular politicians--“popular” in the sense that they’ve already won a total of 45 elections between them--are facing off in a rare “battle of the incumbents” showdown to represent Yorba Linda for a two-year term in Congress in a newly configured district.
Representatives Gary Miller and Ed Royce are battling for the Republican nomination in the new 39th Congressional District, which includes Yorba Linda with five other cities in Orange County, five in Los Angeles County and one in San Bernardino County.
The district, with a population of 702,905, has a strong GOP voter registration edge, 41 percent to 33 percent Democratic and 22 percent declined to state, so a Republican who wins the June 5, 2012, primary is a likely winner in the Nov. 6 general election.
Miller has represented Yorba Linda in the House since 1998, when he replaced Jay Kim, who pled guilty to accepting illegal campaign contributions. Royce has been in Congress since replacing the retiring Bill Dannemeyer in 1992.
Royce once represented a tiny portion of Yorba Linda, until the 2000 redistricting removed 572 registered voters on Yorba Linda’s west-end from his district. Royce has won 26 primary and general elections, six for state Senate and 20 for Congress.
Miller has won 19 primary and general elections, two for Diamond Bar City Council, three for state Assembly and 14 for Congress. Look for a “who’s more conservative” or “more ethical” campaign theme this time, since few issues divide the candidates.
Also intriguing is the chance that both Miller and Royce could appear again on the November ballot, if they place first and second in the newly designed “open primary,” even though a repeat battle is not likely due to the number of Democrats district-wide.
Native son Richard Nixon won the Republican and Democratic nominations in his 1948 re-election race for a House seat under a cross-filing system permitted by a past election law, and one-party November ballot choices could result from the new “open primary.”
Miller and Royce have used their Congressional franking privilege to send newsletters to constituents, hosted “town-hall” meetings, appeared at “meet-and-greets” in local homes and contacted the district’s City Council members for endorsements.
A FINAL NOTE: Worth a mention are a few key votes at Yorba Linda council meetings lately, but it’s still too early to signal a seismic shift in normal council voting alignments.
John Anderson and his 2010 running-mate Tom Lindsey have taken markedly different positions on such important matters as exploring options to the Brea police contract, an arts venue on city-owned Town Center land, the firing of Planning Commissioner Mark Abramowitz and repealing the three-term limit for council-appointed commissioners.
Sometimes Lindsey is the lone “no” vote (on firing Abramowitz and removing from consideration an arts facility on city-owned Old Town land) and at times he’s joined Jim Winder on losing votes (a Brea police contract matter and commissioner limits).
Occasionally, Mark Schwing has been the swing vote on important items, such as joining Lindsey and Winder on approving a “red-ink” 2011-12 operating budget. On key issues, Nancy Rikel remains a reliable vote for Anderson’s positions.
Representatives Gary Miller and Ed Royce are battling for the Republican nomination in the new 39th Congressional District, which includes Yorba Linda with five other cities in Orange County, five in Los Angeles County and one in San Bernardino County.
The district, with a population of 702,905, has a strong GOP voter registration edge, 41 percent to 33 percent Democratic and 22 percent declined to state, so a Republican who wins the June 5, 2012, primary is a likely winner in the Nov. 6 general election.
Miller has represented Yorba Linda in the House since 1998, when he replaced Jay Kim, who pled guilty to accepting illegal campaign contributions. Royce has been in Congress since replacing the retiring Bill Dannemeyer in 1992.
Royce once represented a tiny portion of Yorba Linda, until the 2000 redistricting removed 572 registered voters on Yorba Linda’s west-end from his district. Royce has won 26 primary and general elections, six for state Senate and 20 for Congress.
Miller has won 19 primary and general elections, two for Diamond Bar City Council, three for state Assembly and 14 for Congress. Look for a “who’s more conservative” or “more ethical” campaign theme this time, since few issues divide the candidates.
Also intriguing is the chance that both Miller and Royce could appear again on the November ballot, if they place first and second in the newly designed “open primary,” even though a repeat battle is not likely due to the number of Democrats district-wide.
Native son Richard Nixon won the Republican and Democratic nominations in his 1948 re-election race for a House seat under a cross-filing system permitted by a past election law, and one-party November ballot choices could result from the new “open primary.”
Miller and Royce have used their Congressional franking privilege to send newsletters to constituents, hosted “town-hall” meetings, appeared at “meet-and-greets” in local homes and contacted the district’s City Council members for endorsements.
A FINAL NOTE: Worth a mention are a few key votes at Yorba Linda council meetings lately, but it’s still too early to signal a seismic shift in normal council voting alignments.
John Anderson and his 2010 running-mate Tom Lindsey have taken markedly different positions on such important matters as exploring options to the Brea police contract, an arts venue on city-owned Town Center land, the firing of Planning Commissioner Mark Abramowitz and repealing the three-term limit for council-appointed commissioners.
Sometimes Lindsey is the lone “no” vote (on firing Abramowitz and removing from consideration an arts facility on city-owned Old Town land) and at times he’s joined Jim Winder on losing votes (a Brea police contract matter and commissioner limits).
Occasionally, Mark Schwing has been the swing vote on important items, such as joining Lindsey and Winder on approving a “red-ink” 2011-12 operating budget. On key issues, Nancy Rikel remains a reliable vote for Anderson’s positions.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 PM
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