The political ghost of disgraced Republican Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do looms over the First District election to replace him.
Do – charged with a bribery scheme by federal prosecutors over COVID contracts last week – was supposed to just quietly go away after being termed out from one of the most powerful and lengthy careers as an elected Orange County supervisor.
[Read: OC Supervisor Andrew Do Charged With Corruption by Federal Prosecutors]
Instead, Do has given the County of Orange a whole new branding.
Corruption.
Much like Anaheim leaders a few years back – who got their own public FBI scrubbing – county supervisors must now begin a collective climb to regain public trust.
[Read: Anaheim Begins Implementing Changes From Fall of Reform Debates]
Any question about that kind of rebranding is answered within seconds of an interview with any one of the two candidates vying to replace Do.
“AUDIT county contracts to ensure services are being performed and taxpayers are protected,” is the first line on State Senator Janet Nguyen’s campaign website for county supervisor.
It was also word-for-word the first words out of her mouth when I asked her what her priorities in office would be if elected.
Same for Cypress City Councilwoman Frances Marquez, who’s running against Nguyen.
“I’m running for Orange County Supervisor to bring much-needed accountability and oversight to county government and deliver resources to the communities that need them most,” are among the first words on the front of her website.
The First Supervisorial District
Cities like Garden Grove, Santa Ana, and Westminster along with a part of Fountain Valley and with the unincorporated community of Midway City make up the First District – highlighted by the largest Vietnamese population living outside that nation.
It’s one of five supervisorial districts and one of Orange County’s most urban, with its lines being redrawn after the 2020 census.
Addressing the impacts of housing overcrowding, homelessness, mental health treatment and crime are key issues in the district.
The Andrew Do Scandal
Flooded with federal COVID bailout funds during the pandemic, OC Supervisors granted themselves each the ability to dole out about $10 million as they saw fit with little to no oversight.
The money appears to have tempted Do in all the wrong ways, who – in a signed plea agreement – admitted to enriching himself and his family anywhere from $550,000 to over $700,000.
“That was a horrible mistake by the board and the County of Orange,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer at last week’s news conference announcing the plea deal accepted by Do, which features up to five years in prison for self dealing.
“That lack of oversight is unbelievable and it obviously came back to haunt the actions of what Supervisor Do did to the county,” Spitzer said.
What Kinds of Reforms Might Come After November?
Based on interviews with both Marquez and Nguyen, residents can expect a solid third vote for reforms on several fronts.
Both candidates support an outside, independent investigation into county operations to determine how far the influence of Supervisor Do extended or what kind of similar self-dealing or improper influence networks exist around grants or contracts.
Presently, both Supervisors Katrina Foley and Vicente Sarmiento have expressed support for investigating how far the corruption extended.
[Read: What Does Another Corruption Scandal Mean for Orange County?]
Marquez and Nguyen also favor regulating – if not eliminating – county supervisor discretionary funds.
In addition, both favor empowering the Orange County Auditor Controller to take over auditing functions stripped away from that office, in part, by Do himself.
[Read: OC Supervisors Move to Take Away Independent Oversight]
Lastly, both candidates say county executives implicated in the Do scandal need to be held accountable.
Candidate Backgrounds
Cypress Councilwoman Frances Marquez works as an associate professor of government at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. and was elected to the Cypress city council in 2020.
Marquez was the main force behind the city moving to district elections in recent years – drawing the ire of her colleagues along with a censure.
[Read: Cypress Starts Creating Election Districts Ahead of November 2024 Election]
This year, Marquez was able to fundraise nearly $225,000, according to campaign finance disclosures.
State Senator Janet Nguyen is one of the longest serving OC elected officials, having been involved in county politics since 2007 when she won a special election to the board of supervisors.
Nguyen got her political start in 2004 on the Garden Grove city council – making her at the time one of the county’s youngest politicians.
She experienced her share of controversy during her first term as a county supervisor, triggering a blistering grand jury report on her bid to take over the county’s health care plan for the poor and elderly back in 2013 before leaving for state office.
[Read: OC Grand Jury Issues Scathing Report on CalOptima]
Nguyen – who held her county supervisors’ seat until 2014 – has since held numerous state offices, including a stint at the state senate from 2014 to 2018, then state assembly from 2020 to 2022 and then again at the state senate since 2022.
As of Oct. 18, Nguyen fundraised $880,000, according to campaign finance records.
The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriff’s have also spent $600,000 on behalf of Nguyen, paying for things like political mailers.
Marquez said standing up to her colleagues has prepared her for tough votes, saying she aims to spur accountability in the county bureaucracy.
Marquez also said supervisors’ discretionary funds should be eliminated.
“The Board of Supervisors needs to clean up its act, and taxpayers deserve to know where public funds are being spent and for what purpose. That means ending the slush funds Supervisors use to benefit themselves,” she said.
To tame county politicians, Marquez said she supports making the county’s Ethics Commission more independent as well as establishing an Office of Contract Compliance “to ensure spending decisions are made with oversight and transparency.”
Nguyen – who answered questions through her spokesman – said she also wants to see strict oversight of discretionary funds.
She also supports restoring the County Auditor Controller’s authority to audit spending and also would like to see a Citizens Advisory Committee formed to look at audits and performance.
Marquez agrees.
“Let’s let the Auditor’s office do their job,” Marquez said.
“Regular audits may have prevented the numerous corruption scandals that have plagued the Board of Supervisors,” Marquez said, taking a shot at Nguyen by saying, “starting with Janet Nguyen’s tenure. The last time Janet Nguyen was Supervisor, she was the center of numerous investigations.”
Marquez in her campaign has attempted to connect Do and Nguyen as they were once close before a very public rupture.
[Read: Once a Mentor to Do, Nguyen Now a Fierce Foe]
Nguyen takes issue with being linked to Do, noting that over a decade ago, the two had a very public falling out and have been bitter political enemies ever since.
Both Marquez and Nguyen also said they want to see an independent investigation fully flesh out accountability issues at the county, similar to what was conducted in Anaheim after their own FBI scandal.
In addition, both said they would press to have county executives that were in charge of overseeing the Do nonprofit contracts should be held accountable.