Nine days after R. Scott Moxley, with an assist from TheLiberalOC.com, blogged that Irvine City Councilwoman Beth Krom was “putting the pieces together” to seek the 48th Congressional District seat occupied by Republican John Campbell, Krom made it official.
“On issues that matter to this district, the economy, jobs and economic development, education, the environment, public safety and transportation, John Campbell has no record of accomplishment either as a congressman or as a state legislator. My record on these issues is clear and one with multiple accomplishments. I hope to bring my experience as a accessible public official at Irvine City Hall to the halls of Congress,” Krom says in what is characterized as a preliminary announcement.
A formal one will coincide with an official campaign kickoff event from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, March 22, at the Shady Canyon home of Dr. Mansoor Shah. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), the only other woman or Democrat among OC's congressional delegation, is scheduled to attend. More details are here.
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Krom, who preceded current Irvine Mayor Sukhee Kang in that chair, was churned out of Larry Agran's political machine, which holds power on the City Council. She is well liked among local Democrats, including the progressive wing. On the flipside, here is a previous observation from Moxley: “In the past, I've observed Krom
to be politically tone deaf and too often willing to cover for the less
attractive, secretive elements of Agran's ham-fisted city hall
operation.”
One
thing to keep an eye on is where money raised for Krom's congressional
campaign winds up getting spent. Funds have often flowed between
statewide campaigns and Irvine city candidates and measures that are
backed by Agran.
The 48th District, which covers Irvine, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach (you know, the real Orange County) has long been a safe seat for Republicans, although the Democrat nominee for the previous two elections, Steve Young, did see his support increase in November 2008 compared with '06. Besides having the Obama tide on his side, Young had the enthusiastic endorsement of Teamsters Local 952 secretary-treasurer Patrick Kelly, who in October said Young may not win the election at hand but vowed he would occupy the seat eventually.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.