Among
the attendees at the open house celebrating the impressive 100-year
history of Yorba Linda Boy Scout Troop 99 was Republican Congressman
Ed Royce, who serves this city and all or parts of 14 others in three
counties in the 435-member House of Representatives.
Of
course, I asked Royce, a Fullerton resident and chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee who often appears on cable news outlets,
about supporting Donald Trump; he confirmed he's backing “the
Republican nominee for President.”
Royce,
a Cal-State Fullerton graduate who sends constituents a holiday card
each December – “not printed or mailed at government expense” –
is a popular politician in Yorba Linda, based on the votes he amasses
in elections.
He took
77.2 percent of the Yorba Linda vote in 2014, while his district-wide
total was 68.5 percent. In the June primary, he won 67.8 percent in
Yorba Linda and 60.5 percent district-wide. He faces Democrat Brett
Murdock of Brea Nov. 8, seeking a 13th two-year term.
In other
election news:
--Three
challengers – all from Yorba Linda – filed to run against three
incumbent trustees of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School
District, but they didn't submit 200-word candidate statements to be
mailed with sample ballots to the district's 84,000-plus voters.
Trustee
contenders can deposit $1,292 with the county Registrar of Voters to
pay for costs associated with translating and printing the statements
in five languages (Chinese, English, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese).
All three incumbents paid for statements.
To
date, since election law has allowed statements in the mailed sample
ballot packets, no candidates in this community running against
incumbents who've paid for statements have won without also including
a statement.
The
challengers are registered nurse Susi Khan, community volunteer Helen
Kingsbury and businesswoman Irene Yezbak. Incumbents include six-year
trustee Judi Carmona and eight-year trustee Eric Padget, both of
Yorba Linda, and 16-year trustee Carol Downey of Placentia.
--Challengers
and incumbents for an Orange County Water District directorship and a
North Orange County Community College District trustee slot
representing Yorba Linda did pay for statements.
Incumbent
Roger Yoh of Buena Park and La Palma Councilman Peter Kim paid $1,584
for statements to Division 3 voters in the Orange County Water
District, which manages groundwater supplies.
Most of
the city is in the college district's Area 7, with two candidates
competing for a seat now held by Tony Ontiveros of Anaheim Hills, who
is not seeking a fifth term: Yorba Linda Library Commissioner Ryan
Bent and former four-term trustee and Brea attorney Barry Wishart
paid $1,185 for statements.
--Future
columns will note interesting aspects of the first-ever recall ballot
and regular election in the Yorba Linda Water District and the
always-contentious ballot for three City Council slots.