Still more work to be done after the OC 2020 election results

DEMOCRATIC CLUB

By Mary Larson

LW contributor

A recent Washington Post column titled “Readouts of Biden’s calls with foreign leaders signal a return to pre-Trump normalcy” says it all. Leisure World Democrats, along with a majority of the American electorate, are exhausted and want a return to normalcy, as well as an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a club and as individuals, Democrats are celebrating the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris victory and look forward with great anticipation to the Jan. 20 inauguration. However, Michelle Steel’s recent win over Democrat Harley Rouda in the 48th Congressional District means working on elections is not over yet for the Leisure World Democrats. As one campaign ends, others are just beginning.

Rouda has already declared his intention to challenge Steel again in 2022. That campaign should begin almost immediately. In addition, Leisure World voters will be among those being asked to select a replacement for Steel as their representative on the Orange County Board of Supervisors. That important election will take place early in 2021, sometime between late February to mid-March.

Steel was re-elected as second district supervisor in 2018, which leaves two years in her term. State Sen. John Moorlach, who just lost his reelection bid to Democrat Dave Min has already expressed interest in running for the position to replace Steel. Moorlach, who’s a well-known name in Orange County politics and a former county supervisor, is facing his first stint in more than two decades without holding public office.

Many more people are expected to throw their hats into the ring to finish out the remaining two years of Steel’s term. There is speculation that Democrat Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley, who became the city’s first elected mayor in 2018 and who was reelected to that position in November, will also run to re-place Steel.

Both the December and January Democratic Club membership meetings will be focused on the Board of Supervisors’ election. We anticipate that Brandon Love, the club’s favorite authority on Orange County politics, will speak about the importance of the election during the Dec. 16 meeting. Democrats running for the position will be scheduled to make presentations in January.

•••• During the business portion of the December meeting, club members will vote to officially elect the club’s 2021-2022 Board. The list of the nominees is posted on the club’s website at https:// sblwdems.wordpress.com/.

•••• If you are a Democrat or a supporter and want to know more about the club, subscribe to the free electronic newsletter by emailing the editor, Mary Larson, at mlarson.telfords@gmail.com or by calling (562) 296-8521 with your full contact information.

Democrats interested in joining the club or renewing their membership can find an application on the club’s website. Memberships received during November or December will not need to be renewed until Jan. 1, 2022.