In the game of politics, there are winners and losers.
Here, I highlight and discuss the significant figures and entities on the losing side of the ledger across Southern California.
Some of these fill me with particular joy — you’ll figure out which political graves I’m dancing on — others not so much.
Here we go.
1. Christy Smith in L.A. County
Four years ago, Democrat Christy Smith ousted Republican Assemblyman Dante Acosta in the Santa Clarita area.
One year and a vote-for-Assembly-Bill-5 later, Smith was in the running to fill the vacant congressional seat left by Congresswoman Katie Hill in 2019 after a sex scandal.
In what may have been a sign of things to come, I remember Smith’s fellow Democrats in the race, talk show host Cenk Uygur and Aníbal Valdez-Ortega, complaining that Smith’s campaign was “big-timing” candidate forums and debates, acting like Smith was the walk-on favorite to win.
What also made that first run significant was its overlap with the very beginning of the world as we all knew it falling apart.
The special election was held on March 3, 2020, which led to a runoff between Smith and Republican Mike Garcia that May. In a political surprise, Garcia trounced, 54.9% to 45.1%, in the runoff election.
Because it was a special election to fill out the term of Katie Hill, Garcia and Smith rematched again just a few months later, in November 2020. Garcia this time barely edged out Smith 169,638 votes to 169,305 votes.
Two years later and convinced it was all a COVID-era fluke, Smith ran once again against Garcia in a newly drawn district that gave Democrats an advantage.
What happened? As of this writing, Mike Garcia defeated Smith 53.3% to 46.7%.
Smith took to Twitter to complain, “Our campaign got next-to-zero outside resources to fight this battle. In fact, I was fighting the institutional power of my own party from the outset of this race.”
From walk-on favorite to three-time-loser, the former one-term assemblymember whose sole claim to fame is voting for the job-killing Assembly Bill 5, is toast.
Democrats will need to come up with someone better if they’re ever going to oust Garcia, a MAGA congressman in Los Angeles County, of all places.
2. Jeff Hewitt in Riverside County
Four years ago, Libertarian Jeff Hewitt shocked the political establishment in Riverside County by getting elected to the position of county supervisor.
As county supervisor, Hewitt sought to apply libertarian principles to a county government beholden to public sector unions and perpetually on the brink of financial collapse.
During the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, Hewitt pushed conversations about reopening businesses ahead of the schedule laid out by the state. He also championed figuring out how to make visitation possible at nursing homes to break the social isolation of the county’s elders.
This all bought him good will among some (and alienated others), but what really hurt him was his willingness to stand for fiscal responsibility in a county where fiscal responsibility is a foreign language.
In 2019, Hewitt’s colleagues cheerfully voted for a five-year contract with the deputy sheriffs union increasing the top range of pay by 20%. Hewitt dared to point out this would predictably harm cities contracting with the sheriff’s department for policing services, especially when coupled with the county’s massive pension liabilities.
This was enough for the deputies union to back Democrat and Highland Fairview toadie Yxstian Gutierrez.
Hewitt was defeated by Gutierrez, giving Democrats a majority on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors and giving the deputies union full control over the Board of Supervisors.
Anyone hoping for any degree of police accountability or fiscal responsibility in Riverside County can kiss that goodbye with Hewitt’s defeat.
3. Rick Caruso in the city of Los Angeles
Billionaire businessman Rick Caruso tried to pull a Richard Riordan in the city of Los Angeles, but crashed and burned in his mayoral race against Congresswoman Karen Bass. It wasn’t even close, with Caruso as of this writing getting just over 45% of the vote.
Impressively, Caruso set over $100 million on fire in this campaign. He made some consultants rich, but that’s about it.
To be sure, Caruso had a lot against him.
He was a Republican until very recently. All Bass needed to do was point that out and the race was hers.
He’s also a developer. Yes, that means he knows how to build things which, in theory, would be helpful in a city with a housing affordability problem.
But that, plus being a Republican until recently, made the Donald Trump comparisons write themselves.
Caruso was also banking on people feeling like it was the 1980s all over again in terms of crime. But, let’s be real, it’s not, so that didn’t work.
And while Caruso did some good work on the debate stage highlighting Bass’ sketchy involvement with the University of Southern California School of Social Work dean who recently pled guilty for bribery, it was too little, too late.
To be sure, Bass will probably be a better mayor than Eric Garcetti (not that that’s saying much), but it’s unfortunate that Los Angeles will miss out on a mayoral candidate less beholden to special interests.
4. Trevor O’Neil in Anaheim
Republican Anaheim Councilman Trevor O’Neil gave up his City Council seat to try to succeed his former ally Harry Sidhu, who resigned as mayor in May amid a federal corruption probe linked to the sale of Angel Stadium (which O’Neil supported).
It didn’t work out.
O’Neil was trounced by Democrat Ashleigh Aitken 42.87% to 34.40%. This is despite some dirty tricks by the Republican Lincoln Club of Orange County, which supported O’Neil but spent money promoting the longshot candidacy of Democratic candidate Lorri Galloway in an obvious effort to take votes away from Aitken.
O’Neil, like the other Republican councilmembers in Anaheim, is unfortunately part of the crony capitalist wing of the GOP that sees nothing wrong with cities providing “incentives” to businesses.
Aitken’s win will at least provide some check on the corruption of Anaheim politics by big business and the politicians willing to sell themselves to the highest bidder.
5. John Moorlach in Costa Mesa
Orange County icon John Moorlach came up short in his run for mayor of Costa Mesa.
This is the third election in a row in which Moorlach has been defeated.
First, against aspiring Congressman Dave Min, who unseated Moorlach from the state Senate in 2020 with the help of the state prison guard union. Second, against Katrina Foley for an open Orange County supervisor seat in 2021, thanks to the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriff and the clownish campaigns of fellow Republicans Michael Vo and Kevin Muldoon. And now, Moorlach lost against appointed incumbent John Stephens in Costa Mesa.
Moorlach’s central campaign message, as always, was about fiscal responsibility, which is particularly relevant in Costa Mesa, ranked by the state auditor as the 26th highest-risk city in the state for fiscal problems (out of 430 scored). Stephens was backed by the usual local Democratic figures, including Min and Foley, as well as the city’s police and fire unions.
It’s regrettable, but Moorlach’s concerns about fiscal responsibility just don’t motivate voters these days, and his willingness to stand up to police unions has long alienated a sizable faction of his own party that worships cops (and which relies on police union support for relevance).
Moorlach’s string of losses is a loss for the city of Costa Mesa, Orange County and the state as a whole.
Dishonorable mention: The California Republican Party
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What an absolute pile of fetid dung the California Republican Party is.
If the party is going to keep fielding unserious candidates for statewide office like Robert Howell and Angela Underwood Jacobs, or QAnoners like the guy who ran against Norma Torres for Congress, they might as well close up shop.
I’m sure there are plenty of grifters making money off of self-evidently doomed Republican candidates, but please, if the California GOP is going to keep putting up miserable efforts like it did this year, what’s the point of them even existing?
Sal Rodriguez can be reached at salrodriguez@scng.com