Orange County Legislative Watch Elections Have Consequences

Elections Have Consequences

By ChiP ahlswede

The Problem

9% — That was the voter turnout on Friday going into Orange County’s allmail-in Primary Election. This put us on par to have the lowest turnout ever for any election. A week following election day and that number crept up to 28%. Less than 1-in-3 voters played a role in determining the outcome of our elections.

The Impact

• One assembly race within Orange

County went uncontested. • One assembly race will feature two Republicans facing off in the general election. • One county supervisorial race will feature two progressive Democrats facing off in the general election • One county supervisorial race will feature two Democrats facing off in the general election, with the incumbent coming in second. • Orange County’s two largest cities will have vacancies in their Mayors’ offices this November.

• The next two largest Orange

County cities have corruption inquiries happening. • Four cities are believed to considering potential rent control related initiatives.

• One city is proposing an initiative to tax each rental unit $1,400 per year.

In the Primary Election, AAOC successfully supported: • Every candidate for judge that won outright • The top vote getter in every State

Senate race

• Every incumbent State Assembly candidate

• Three of the candidates for County

Supervisor

The Challenge

November will be a very different political landscape. • In the 2nd Supervisorial District race, with two progressive

Democrats squaring off against each other, rental property owners will have to decide whether to vote for the mayor of Santa Ana, who voted last fall to impose rent control and just cause eviction in his city, or his opponent, a Garden Grove city councilmember, who may or may not share similar views on these key issues. • In the 4th Supervisorial District race, the two Democratic candidates will need to clarify exactly what their positions are on rent control and

Turnout by voting precinct in Orange County showing the areas where voters were more likely to turn out to vote.

just cause eviction. The incumbent is considered the more moderate candidate in the race (he’s also a rental property owner), but his opponent, a Buena Park city councilmember who is endorsed by the

Democratic Party of Orange

County, is not known to have taken a public position on these issues. • The 38th Senatorial district will need more Orange County turn out if we want to protect that seat. • The 67th, 68th, 70th, and 73rd

Assembly Districts feature candidates who need a better understanding of our industry. • All 34 city councils will have at least 2 council seats up for election. • There is a fiercely progressive, antiapartment owner activist group engaging our communities.

We will have to work extremely hard in the coming months to make up ground in several areas of our county, and we will have to find new ways to engage pro-property rights voters if we expect to maintain ground in protecting the interests of rental housing providers over the next two years.

The Solution

The candidate filing period to run for local office (city councils, special districts, school boards, etc.) in the General Election will open on July 18th and will close on August 12th.

During the filing period, we are asking you to get involved. Consider running for office, find out who is running in your community, identify those candidates who would be favorable to the rental-housing industry, and — most importantly — let AAOC know what you find out.

From the close of filing to October 10th, the candidates’ campaigns are getting into full swing. • Candidates are holding fundraisers and working the districts that they are running to represent. • Organizations like AAOC are evaluating candidates and providing support. • Members of organizations, like you, are providing feedback on who they believe would best represent their industry’s interests.

We want you to be a part of this process. Attend candidate meet-andgreets and fundraisers; be sure to communicate with AAOC on what you’re learning and let us know which candidates you think we should be looking to support in your community.

The final period, from late-September through Election Day, is the most critical time for candidates:

• September 29th — Voter

Information Guides are mailed to registered voters. • October 10th — Vote-by-mail ballots begin arriving in registered voters’ mailboxes.

• October 29th — Voting Centers open and will remain open through Election Day. • November 8th — Election Day.

Your involvement during this period is also critical. We need you to not just vote, but think about how you can support and amplify the efforts of the candidates who will be supportive of our industry and help keep you in business: • Let people in your community know who you are supporting — and why. • Host meet-and-greets to help the candidates meet other voters

• Volunteer some time to contact voters on behalf of the candidate and/or walk some precincts to help get the word out. • Promote the social media posts that AAOC puts out for candidates. • Think of new ways to get the message out for our industry.

We have an opportunity to shape the legislative landscape for the next few years, and the path is really very simple — should we choose to take it.

Or we can settle for low turn-out elections, mixed success, and accept loses in key races that will hurt our industry and could negatively impact your business.

This is what it means when it said, “elections have consequences.”

Now is the time for each of us to get involved.

Filing Period

• July 18th–Aug 12th • Visit www.OCVote.org • Consider running for office

• Aug 12th–Oct 10th • Meet the candidates • Let AAOC know your thoughts

• Oct 10th–Nov 8th • Support AAOC PAC & Candidates • Volunteer for a campaign

Early Campaign

Core Campaign