A Race to the Finish: Will the Bus Arrive on Schedule?

With the start of the new year comes new changes to Orange County politics. On January 12th 2010, Supervisor Chris Norby of the 4th District (Representing areas of Anaheim, Fullerton, Buena Park, Placentia, & La Habra) won the assembly seat of former assemblyman Mike Duvall, who recently resigned amid controversy. More locally, we now face an upcoming special election for the Orange County Board of Supervisors. You’re probably wondering, “Why is politics coming up on a transit oriented blog and why should I care?” Well my friends, its due to the simple fact that whomever wins the Supervisor race for the 4th District is automatically placed on the Orange County Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors.

Yup. That means that in this race, Transit riders in the 4th District of Orange County will have a direct chance to elect someone to represent them on the OCTA Board. Of the 16 Directors who serve on the board, the voters directly choose only 5; they are the 5 county supervisors.

This race in particular is significant as the Board reacts to the ongoing budget pinch felt around the state. Having a strong transit advocate on the OCTA Board can make a difference in our struggle to preserve bus service by finding new funding options. Besides the budget woes, this year the Board will also face the “draconian” March cuts, High Speed Rail, and more Go Local deals. Every transit rider, whether you live in the 4th District or not, should pay close attention to this race.

So who are the candidates in the race? A quick run down narrows it down to 5 candidates:

• Lorri Galloway (Anaheim City Councilwoman - Democrat)
• Harry Sidhu (Anaheim City Councilman - Republican)
• Rose Espinoza (La Habra City Councilwoman - Democrat)
• Richard Fahler (Businessman – Republican)
• Shawn Nelson (Fullerton Councilman - Republican)

Keep in mind that the filing period for the race is not until March 12th, so anything can still happen (If you’ve been following the news, then you already know that OC Clerk Tom Daly already withdrew from the race).

Stay tuned for more to come!

James Suazo is a contributing writer and full-time student at California State University, Long Beach. He is also a member of the Transit Advocates of Orange County and resides in Santa Ana.