Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/author/ngerda/)
Nick covers the city of Santa Ana, as well as the County of Orange, often reporting on issues like homelessness, public safety, mental health, and the role of money in politics. Since joining Voice of OC in 2011, Nick has regularly shed light on topics that are often kept in the shadows. He’s reported on systemic problems in the county’s mental health system. He also led a reporting team that produced sophisticated looks at how the Disney corporation campaign contributions influenced recent elections in Anaheim. Nick also revealed evidence of elected leaders using their official powers to apparently pressure government contractors into donating to their election campaigns, in an article that was awarded best news story of the year by the Orange County Press Club. He firmly believes journalism should inform the public and help hold the powerful accountable. An Orange County native, Nick first started covering local government in his mid-teens, before attending Santa Ana College, the American University in Cairo, and UC Irvine, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science. Languages spoken: English, elementary Spanish, minimal Arabic and minimal Japanese Areas of expertise: Local government, local politics, homelessness, mental health policy, campaign finance, California Public Records Act, Ralph M. Brown Act, County of Orange government, Santa Ana city government and municipal finance.
Prosecutors say Paulette Chaffee, who ran for Fullerton City Council this year and is married to incoming county Supervisor Doug Chaffee, stole campaign signs that labeled her a “carpetbagger.” If convicted, she faces up to a year in county jail.
The county is transferring property on the eastern edge of Anaheim for potential development as a veterans and civilian cemetery. Supervisors clashed over whether it would let Irvine “off the hook” for a proposed veterans cemetery at the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro.
The state-mandated forum brought out more than two dozen public speakers who supported and opposed the Sheriff’s Department’s involvement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The testimony raised questions about why, when sheriff and DA officials learned of attorney-client recordings in 2015, they apparently did not examine the issue further and potentially stop the systemic recording of hundreds of protected calls.
Midterm voters turned out in OC at the highest rate in decades and Democrats gained major wins in local Congressional and state legislative seats.
The investigation centers on Californians for Ethical Patient Care, which was one of the largest spenders in the Nov. 6 Santa Ana City Council election.
Republican Assemblyman Matthew Harper lost his seat to Democrat Cottie Petrie-Norris, and Democrat Tom Umberg’s lead continued to grow Monday over state Sen. Janet Nguyen. About 98 percent of all estimated ballots in Orange County have been counted and reported.
If the sale goes through and the new shelter opens, it would be the largest homeless shelter in Orange County.
If Tom Umberg’s lead holds in the 34th District, Democrats will add to the supermajorities they gained in the state Legislature in this month’s election.
Democrats were leading in all four Republican-held Congressional districts in Orange County as of Friday’s ongoing election count, putting the party on track to win all seven OC Congressional districts.