Commentary: Conservative leaders rightly back Don Wagner for Senate
This post has been corrected, as noted below.
With the special election for state Senate District 37 set for March 17, the familiar lament about negative advertising fills the op-ed pages, blogs and social media sites.
He said this, she said that, he said the other thing, with each of the two front-runners denying the particular charges leveled against them.
So with all this noise, who do you believe? Who is best suited to represent the 37th Senate District in Sacramento?
The answer can be found by looking at the endorsements of the elected officials you know and trust. Assemblyman Don Wagner’s endorsements are a who’s who of Orange County conservative leaders: Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas and Sheriff Sandra Hutchens both endorse him as the best candidate to keep our community safe.
Four of the five current county supervisors (Lisa Bartlett, Andrew Do, Todd Spitzer and Michelle Steel), and three of the four who served the last term with candidate John Moorlach (State Sens. Janet Nguyen and Pat Bates as well as Spitzer), have endorsed Wagner as the best candidate to work effectively in Sacramento to pass legislation that helps Orange County and California. Orange County Auditor/Controller Eric Woolery, Assessor Claude Parrish and Clerk/Recorder Hugh Nguyen likewise endorse Wagner.
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For the record: An early version of this post identified Bill Brough as a current member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. In fact, the post should have stated current Supervisor Michelle Steel has endorsed Assemblyman Don Wagner.
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All three of Orange County’s congressional representatives, Reps. Ed Royce, Mimi Walters and Dana Rohrabacher, the vast majority of the Republican caucus in the state Assembly, and many others round out the overwhelming support Wagner enjoys among those who have worked with him and Moorlach.
The reason for this overwhelming support is simple: Wagner has a well-earned reputation for taking a common-sense approach to the problems that face Orange County and the state and, while maintaining his conservative principles, working across the aisle to get legislation passed and signed by the governor.
That is why Wagner has been recognized as the legislator of the year by the Orange County Republican Party and the Orange County Business Council and has received the Collaborative Lawmaker Award from the Assn. of California Cities.
Orange County needs a principled and effective leader in the state Senate, and Wagner is that candidate.
JIM SILVA is a former Republican state Assemblyman and former county supervisor from Huntington Beach.