Orange County residents took on a myriad of community quality of life issues in 2019 — penning editorials on topics including elections, public safety, animal welfare and veterans.
Voice of OC’s Opinion section is an integral piece of building a civically engaged community allowing residents to express local policy ideas in a coherent and respectful manner.
Below, read the most shared and most read community editorials of 2019 in chronological order. And click here to read about our recent Voice of OC Ambassadors event honoring community editorialists.
Vicente and Camacho: Santa Ana Police Department Moves To Destroy Officer Misconduct Records
Feb. 1 Santa Ana residents and community organizers Bulmaro Vicente and Ben Camacho write about the need for transparency, including public access to exclusive police records of misconduct and internal investigations in their city. Read the Editorial »
Curry: The Road Back For Republicans
Feb. 24 Keith Curry, former Mayor of Newport Beach and Republican activist for more than fifty years writes that partisanship does not belong in local government. Curry writes the road back for Republicans should start at the local level with a new way of thinking and a bigger tent. Read the Editorial »
Shea: Irvine Golf Course Site Best Option For a Southern California Veterans Cemetery
May 23 Irvine Mayor Christina Shea wants Gov. Gavin Newsom to visit her city to review competing properties to establish a veterans cemetery. Shea is opposed to the current site advocated by State Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk Silva in her recent legislation on the issue and instead argues a nearby golf course site should house the proposed veterans’ cemetery site. Read the Editorial »
Cook: Where is our Southern California Veterans Cemetery?
June 10 Bill Cook, Chairman of the Orange County Veterans Memorial Park Foundation writes that it’s time to move the Southern California Veterans Cemetery forward. Read the Editorial »
Kanter: LGBT Center OC Marches With Police But Leave Community Behind
June 19 Laura Kanter, a Queer and Trans Rights Advocate and co-founder of the Orange County LGBTQ+ Policing Partnership and the Orange County Equality Coalition, questions the decision by the Center OC to have police march in uniform at this weekend’s Pride Parade in Orange County, arguing T-Shirts are better than gun belts to show support. Read the Editorial »
Huynh & Nguyen: Demanding Pride That is Safe For All LGBTQ+ People
June 20 James Huynh and My Nguyen write that the LGBT Center OC should reconsider inviting uniformed police officers to this year’s Pride Parade and host open dialogue and community town halls about how to bridge relationships between law enforcement and the LGBTQ+ community. Read the Editorial »
Holzmann: Doing the Right Thing at Fairview to House Mentally Ill
June 25 Matt Holzmann, long time resident of Orange County and Chair of Government Relations for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, applauds Governor Newsom for supporting housing for those with serious mental illness at the Fairview Developmental Center site in Costa Mesa. Read the Editorial »
Sarmiento: Why Santa Ana’s Deportation Defense Legal Fund Should Be Celebrated
July 9 Vicente Sarmiento, a Santa Ana City Council member, writes that Santa Ana should be proud to be a national leader on legal defense for immigrants. Read the Editorial »
Logan: OC Animal Care Wrong to Return Sheltered Cats Back Into Neighborhoods
July 12 Sharon Logan, founder of Paw Protectors Rescue, questions OC Animal Care over its controversial practice of returning sheltered cats back into neighborhoods. Read the Editorial »
Wolf: Return-to-Field is Better for Cats, Shelters, and Communities
July 16 Peter Wolf representing Best Friends Animal Society, one of the largest animal welfare organizations in the U.S. and a leader in the development and operation of community cat programs, explains the benefits of the Return-to-Field program compared to the “traditional” approach for managing feline intake. Read the Editorial »
La: We Were Also Told to “Go Back”, It’s time for Vietnamese-American Electeds to “Bring Human Rights Home”
July 22 Tracy La, founder and executive director of VietRISE, writes about the march and rally in Little Saigon calling for Vietnamese-American elected officials to “bring human rights home.” Read the Editorial »
Boisot: Evidence Shows OC Animal Care is Making Good Progress
July 26 Dr. Saskia Boisot writes about the progress being made at Orange County Animal Care noting that the county shelter is on the right path. Read the Editorial »
Kriz: Homeless Deaths in OC Reach 113 For 2019
Aug. 16 Fr. Dennis Kriz, Pastor at St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church, provides the July count for those who died on our streets “without fixed abode,” aka homeless. The fifteen people who died last month brings the total of people who died “without fixed abode” in Orange County to 113 since January 1, 2019. Read the Editorial »
Wagner: Let’s Get Clear on Government Transparency
Oct. 7 Orange County Third District Supervisor Donald P. Wagner writes about his concerns regarding the lack of transparency over the appointment process to fill the vacancy created by the death of former Auditor-Controller Eric Woolery. Read the Editorial »
Dobken: People Deserve Facts and a Science-based Discussion Regarding Spent Nuclear Fuel at San Onofre
Oct. 7 John Dobken, Public Information Officer at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, writes that Southern California Edison is in the process of moving spent nuclear fuel from wet to dry storage. The reactors at San Onofre nuclear plant were retired in 2013. But attention has been turned to the spent fuel on site. Some are trying to mislead the public about what spent fuel is, and how it’s stored, Dobken argues and Edison is correcting the record. Read the Editorial »
Briceño: Democratic Party of Orange County Shows Strength at Annual Truman Awards Dinner
Oct. 15 Ada Briceño, Chair of the Democratic Party of Orange County, explains the need for Democrats to be “all in” for the blue wave in 2020. Read the Editorial »
Reed, Gonzalez, Rodriguez: Why We Support Carolyn Torres For Santa Ana School Board
Oct. 28 Carah Reed, Margarita Gonzalez and Mike Rodriguez – who are all active at the Santa Ana Unified School District as teachers, parents and activists – write about why Carolyn Torres has impressed them at local debates and should be endorsed as a candidate for school board in the upcoming Nov. 5 special election. Read the Editorial »