Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/michelle-steel/)
Doug Chaffee, the former mayor of Fullerton, took office Tuesday. Supervisors also set March 12 as the date for a special election to replace the seat held until recently by Todd Spitzer.
In a break with their usual practice, the three supervisors who approved the ordinance did it without a cost estimate or funding identified to pay for the county staff time and outreach.
Government emails and text messages about enforcement of Orange County’s campaign finance laws will be destroyed two years after they’re sent or received, under a policy county supervisors approved Tuesday.
Officials noted the move is unnecessary because state law already requires it.
The supervisors’ most immediate action was to take control of the county’s internal auditors, who are supposed to function as watchdogs against fraud in county departments and currently report to the county’s independently-elected auditor-controller, Eric Woolery.
Orange County supervisors moved Tuesday to remove independent oversight of their actions, county finances, and the practices of the Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office.
Lisa Bartlett and Michelle Steel’s county supervisor seats weren’t considered competitive, given the voter registration advantage for the incumbent Republicans.
Supervisors Todd Spitzer and Shawn Nelson said they are opposed to a proposal by south Orange County mayors to put a new homeless shelter on county-owned property in rural Silverado Canyon.
Hundreds of millions of dollars in state grants could become available next year, and some community leaders want to compete for it to help build 2,700 homes for homeless people.
Spitzer was “stirring up a bunch of lies and nonsense” with his comments last month to public meetings of the Laguna Niguel and Costa Mesa city councils, Supervisor Shawn Nelson said. Spitzer said his colleagues weren’t telling the whole story.