Even though more Orange County voters are now registered as Democrats than Republicans, the county Democratic Party has struggled to make inroads on the board of supervisors. In 2019, former Fullerton Mayor Doug Chaffee won a special election to fill the seat — making him the first Democrat to serve on the “nonpartisan” board in 12 years and only the second one since 1987. The board now has two Democrats, although Katrina Foley is in a tough race in a new district.
One would think the Democrats would be pleased with their success in the still relatively conservative fourth district representing North County. But instead of backing Chaffee for re-election and focusing on other races, the party has endorsed Buena Park Mayor Sunny Park. Meanwhile, Republicans are placing their bets on Brea City Councilman Steven Vargas.
Chaffee has worked constructively with his colleagues, knows how the county operates and has largely stuck to the nuts-and-bolts of governance rather than political grandstanding. His fiscal moderation and bipartisanship serve his district well.
His biggest strikes? Well, he doesn’t typically shake up the status quo — and we still can’t understand his opposition to Foley’s effort to provide pandemic-related information to the public. Neither is a deal breaker, however, and we’ve generally appreciated his even-handedness on a board that occasionally embarrasses itself.
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During candidate interviews, Park couldn’t come up with anything particularly critical to say about Chaffee. It seems clear Democrats are backing Park because she’s unabashedly pro-union and embraces the usual left-wing causes. Park also complains that Chaffee was unwilling to enforce mask mandates, which seems like a politically tone-deaf argument.
Asked to distinguish himself from Chaffee, Vargas offered his view that Chaffee is “tired.” We were less than enthralled with Vargas’ slogan, “put handcuffs on criminals, not sheriffs’ deputies,” which suggests a lackadaisical attitude toward legitimate law-enforcement oversight.
The Democratic Party’s decision to dump Chaffee for a progressive makes our decision easier. We urge a vote for Doug Chaffee in the 4th District.