Late independent expenditure reports in the north Orange County Supervisor race show the Orange County Employees Association and other labor groups continuing to hit Shawn Nelson with mailers and ads.
The Orange County Republican Party is riding to Nelson’s defense with a valuable tool for reaching voters, a mailer to all members of the Republican party in the 4th Supervisorial District.
The party spent about $20,000, it reported, to send out the mailer on Nelson’s behalf, as well as create doorhangers opposing one of Nelson’s opponents, fellow Republican and Anaheim City Councilman Harry Sidhu.
But the OCEA added more than $30,000 last week to the $285,000 it previously reported spending to keep the Republican Fullerton city councilman from filling the seat left vacant by former Supervisor Chris Norby’s election to the state Assembly.
Candidates and independent outside groups are required to report expenditures and contributions within 24 hours after they are made or received during the last two weeks of the campaign.
Supervisor is officially a nonpartisan seat, but in reality partisan politics play a huge role in supervisor campaigns. Nelson is one of a field of six in the June 8 primary, including Sidhu and Democrat Lorri Galloway, also a member of the Anaheim City Council.
If one candidate gets more than half of the votes cast next Tuesday in the Supervisor race, that person will serve the remainder of Norby’s term and be supervisor for the next four years. If none of the three candidates gets 50 plus one, the primary winner will occupy the seat as incumbent until the November election.
The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs has spent $595,000 on behalf of Sidhu for television ads, radio spots and mailers to voters.
The Orange County Federation of Labor reported spending $4,820 on a last minute mailer opposing Nelson, who is a Fullerton City Councilman, and the Fullerton Police Officers Association political action committee spent $2,050 on anti-Nelson ads and email, according to reports this week.
Police have been upset with Nelson, a defense attorney, in part because the promotion on his law firm web site used to invite business from accused sex offenders, along with other criminals. The sex offender information has been taken down and Nelson said he never has represented an accused sex offender.
Altogether, Nelson raised $274,828 by the May 22 reporting deadline and, according to the last minute reports, another $9,400 since then.
Voter registration in the supervisorial district is almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, with the GOP holding a 2,336 edge in the total registration of 269,604. But the district traditionally votes Republican. There are 52,570 of those voters who said they don’t belong to any political party.
In other last minute campaign filings:
- Irvine City Councilman Dr. Steven Choi reported loaning $50,000 to his campaign for the GOP nomination in the 70th Assembly District. Four Republicans are challenging each other in the primary to succeed Assemblyman Chuck DeVore.
- Sheriff Sandra Hutchens reported receiving $6,200 in contributions over the last 10 days and one of her challengers, former deputy sheriff Bill Hunt took in $9,300. Hutchens had raised $221,150 before the deadline and reported spending $392,556.86. Hunt had raised $115,882.29 and spent $118,308.28.
- Huntington Beach City Treasurer Shari Freidenrich reported receiving $5,100 in last minute contributions and one of her opponents, Deputy Treasurer Keith Rodenhuis loaned his campaign $5,000.
Check here, here and here previous campaign cash reports.