Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/author/bpho/)
If the recall petitions hold up to city and county officials’ review, voters will decide the fates of the City Council’s majority faction in a recall election.
Phil Bacerra, a real estate consultant and former city planning commissioner, held on to his lead for a City Council seat in the third day of election results Thursday, as former city planner Manny Escamilla closed in slightly, from 2.4 percentage points to 2.0 points behind Bacerra.
Vote counting will continue through at least Friday.
It’s still early; in last year’s primary election, almost half of all ballots in Orange County were not yet counted at of the end of election night.
Voters are deciding on a council member who will potentially impact key decisions on local issues like the ongoing homelessness crisis and complaints about slow 9-1-1 response times.
OC Fair Board Directors have ousted their embattled CEO, Kathy Kramer, following recent controversy over her fundraising relationship with a private Christian college and news she’s leaving the county for another fair agency in Washington early next year. Kramer is alleging board retaliation for participating in a 2018 investigation into allegations of misconduct by two former board members.
A vacancy in the Santa Ana City Council’s Ward 4 seat — formerly held by Roman Reyna before he stepped down earlier this year amid allegations of election fraud — has attracted six candidates vying to win the upcoming November special election to fill his now vacant seat.
OC Fairgrounds board directors today are expected to issue a statement on the future of Kathy Kramer as CEO following revelations about fundraising ties to a nearby college and news Kramer is leaving her post in February.
Westminster’s embattled Police Department has found its next permanent police chief in Mark Lauderback, a previous deputy chief who stepped in temporarily amid the abrupt retirement of former chief Ralph Ornelas and four wrongdoing lawsuits against the department this year.
Garden Grove city officials have put on hold selling off the Willowick Golf Course – owned by Garden Grove and located in Santa Ana – to a for-profit developer and will instead abide by the state Surplus Land Act, which means they’ll look at affordable housing options for the site first.
