Dean Grose resigned his mayorship of Los Alamitos after sending this picture in an email in 2009. He said it was a protest of President Obama's fiscal policies, but next to no one agrees with that. Last week, Grose was elected to Orange County's Republican Central Committee.

Among the more interesting newcomers to Orange County’s Republican Central Committee is former Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose.

You’ll remember Grose for forwarding an email to friends that was criticized as racist because it was a mock photo of President Obama’s White House featuring patches of watermelons on the White House lawn. Grose denied any racism, saying he only forwarded it as a joke and that it was meant to criticize Obama’s fiscal policies. Virtually no one saw it Grose’s way, and he resigned after a national media firestorm last year.

Grose was elected last week among nearly a dozen Tea Party activists, which should make for interesting committee meetings in the months to come.

A tip of the hat to the Los Alamitos news blog OC180news.com for sending me Dolores Barr’s interview with Grose, where he talks about his plans for the central committee and a potential run for City Council in November.

— NORBERTO SANTANA, JR.

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