[Moxley Confidential] Cameron Jackson Says Mike Schroeder is Just Too Damn Powerful

Comments (0) By R. SCOTT MOXLEY Thursday, May 28 2009

DOES OC DESERVE A ROSE?
The field isn’t set for the upcoming 4th District race for county supervisor, but if the election were based solely on sweetness, La Habra Mayor Rose Espinoza would win easily. At a May 21 dinner gathering of Anaheim Democrats, Espinoza was supposed to face off against Tom Daly, the county’s clerk-recorder who also wants to replace outgoing Supervisor Chris Norby. Daly—a well-connected Democrat who’ll likely have access to a far-greater campaign war chest—didn’t show. Though Espinoza wasn’t big on specifics, she appeared determined to cast herself as the upbeat, underdog candidate who, if elected, will give the current all-Republican board its lone progressive voice. Espinoza, who challenged Norby in 2006, grew up in a migrant camp and has devoted thousands of hours annually to local charities, including her own: Rosie’s Garage, a nonprofit group offering after-school programs to underprivileged kids. Said Espinoza, “I see my role as teaching empowerment to people who’d otherwise fall through the cracks.” To get her message to voters, she has hired dmedia’s Bryan Choate to craft low-budget but potent TV and Internet videos.

IT’S YOUR MONEY, BUT THE GOVERNMENT SPENDS IT
In the three-year gap between its 2006-2007 budget and its current one, the Orange County Sanitation District increased its payroll by a whopping 28 percent (or $19.5 million) to $90 million and nearly doubled the taxpayer-funded private contracts it doles out to more than $33 million annually.