Politicians in Orange County have recently come under fire following allegations of using taxpayer dollars to fund their election campaigns.
With the California Primary Elections quickly approaching on June 7, voters prepare to cast their ballots for positions at the local and state levels. In efforts to promote their campaigns, Orange County supervisors have utilized county resources to reach more voters. However, the inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars for the self-promotion of candidates and campaigning outside of approved district lines raised questions among the OC Board of Supervisors in California.
Following events hosted in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa featuring advertisements by Democrat Supervisor Katrina Foley, colleagues of the board and running mates have cited her wrongful attempt at self-promotion. Currently, Foley serves as a board member for the county’s second district. However, as pointed out by OC Supervisor Don Wagner, and her running mate, Diane Harkey, Foley’s advertisements were not within her respective district. As Newport Beach and Costa Mesa both fall within district five, where Foley is currently running for county supervisor, Foley endured backlash from her colleagues.
“Your tax dollars should go to help you, in your district, where you are represented. And should not be allowed outside of the district — perhaps to campaign for an office,” OC Republican Supervisor Don Wagner said.
As a result, members of the OC Board of Supervisors have attempted to “box in” Foley, bringing forward proposals which ban supervisors from campaigning outside of their current districts. According to Foley, utilizing county resources beyond district lines is nothing out of the ordinary and has been practiced by her own colleagues in years past.
“We learned how to order the booths, how to make the brochures… from [Supervisor] Lisa Barlett’s office, Don Wagner’s office and Doug Chaffee’s office. That’s where we got the templates. We’re doing what everyone else is doing,” Foley said.
Foley also noted that both Costa Mesa and Newport Beach reside within the district boundaries of her currently on-going term as a result of being redistricted mid-term by her fellow supervisors.
“There’s no other [supervisor] that had complete disruption and their entire district taken away from them – including the city [of Costa Mesa] in which I live,” Foley said.
In addition, the misuse of mailers funded by taxpayer dollars has raised concerns for its wrongful advancement of election campaigns. Former OC Board Supervisor Michelle Steel and former OC District Attorney Tony Rackauckas came under fire in 2018 following the use of publicly-funded mailers to events held at private residences promoting their re-elections. Similarly, in 2016, Supervisor Andrew Do delivered upwards of one million mailers costing a quarter of a million dollars to promote his campaign.
Accordingly, a bill passed by the state under the Political Reform Act of 1974 prohibited mass mailing by political campaigns to voters within 60 days of an election.
Controversies surrounding the use of taxpayer dollars to fund political campaigns in Orange County raises questions regarding why certain individuals endure backlash from fellow representatives while others do not.
Mariam Hasan is a City News Intern for the spring 2022 quarter. She can be reached at mariamah@uci.edu.
