The Orange County Supervisorial race for the Fifth District is between two Newport-Mesa former mayors. And their track records should provide voters with useful information.
On January 1, 2016, the Daily Pilot provided its annual “103 Most Influential” in the Newport-Mesa Area listing then Newport Beach Mayor Diane Dixon number one. She “ushered in a year of political challenges to the status quo” and “all would agree that 2015 was the end of business as usual.”
Number 2 on the list was fellow Councilman Keith Curry. The next year, the two, along with Councilman Mike Henn, would develop a fiscal plan to address Newport Beach’s fiscal status. It worked and was praised as a successful fiscal model last year by then Mayor Joe Stapleton for other cities and municipalities to follow.
Former Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley was re-elected to the Costa Mesa City Council in 2018, after an eight-year hiatus, and she and her liberal colleague majority didn’t move the needle in regard to improving her city’s financial status.
How did they do? Looking at the per capita results from the annual comprehensive financial reports — dividing the unrestricted net position for governmental activities by the city’s population – there is a massive contrast.
Foley and team were in 34th place for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, at a negative $1,419 per capita and in 33rd place for 2025 at a negative $1,860. We’re talking nine years at the bottom of the rankings.
Dixon and team were in 32nd place for 2017, at a negative $1,269 per capita. By 2025 the city was in 11th place with a positive $707 per capita, making a significant annual fiscal improvement.
It’s important to note that Orange County only has 34 cities. And both mayors apparently encouraged subsequent elected majorities to follow their lead and continue the fiscal policies that they adhered to. Such is the joy, or tragedy, of a legacy.
The fiscal malfeasance doesn’t end there. Foley was in front of the effort to remove the investment authority from the elected and highly experienced Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector Shari Freidenrich and placed the investment pool into the hands of someone not so adept at managing a significant sum of money. What was pursued? The greenhorns in the CEO’s office made a bet on the direction of interest rates, assuming that they would go down. Oops.
Those that follow the Federal Reserve Board and mortgage interest rates know that the direction has been up, not down. The result? By April of this year, the Board of Supervisors lost $50 million in market value. When interest rates rise, market values decline. This was the overarching reason for Orange County filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy thirty-two years ago on December 6, 1994.
It’s obvious that the County of Orange needs a leader with private sector experience and a very impressive public sector track record. This can be found in Diane Dixon.
If you want a train wreck in slow motion, then stay with the incumbent, Katrina Foley. But it may cost you. Her colleagues on the Costa Mesa City Council snuck a business license fee/tax increase on this November’s ballot. Expect something similar in the future at the county level.
It’s not only fiscal ineptitude that Foley has displayed, she also doesn’t work very well with others. Her Democratic colleague, Supervisor Doug Chaffee, crossed party lines and endorsed Dixon.
In a highly partisan environment, this is an amazingly loud gesture that voters on both sides of the aisle should take into consideration in the voting booth. And this is just one example of many where Foley can’t seem to work well with others. For instance, Former Costa Mesa Police Chief Rob Sharpnack, made his concerns about Foley known by filing a lawsuit against the city, stating he “was forced out after reporting improper actions by city officials, including Mayor Katrina Foley.”
In comparison, Dixon had a good working relationship with her city’s public safety officials but could still be one of only two California State Assemblymembers to vote against AB 1383 on the floor before it went to the governor for his surprising veto.
And don’t get me started on the number of legal settlements and pending litigation as a result of activities occurring in South Orange County under Foley’s unimpressive leadership.
Voters in the Fifth Supervisorial District have a clear choice. Vote for an incumbent former mayor who has left fiscal devastation in her wake. Or vote for a former mayor with a successful fiscal resume who is ready, and necessary, to right the ship of state.
The Orange County Register Editorial Board should realize the stark reality of the future direction for the county it serves. It should un-endorse Foley and support Dixon. And do it now, before this wonderful newspaper’s reputation convinces too many voters to support the wrong candidate. Unless, of course, the OC Register actually enjoys editorializing on train wrecks in slow motion.
John Moorlach previously served as a state senator, Orange County supervisor and Orange County treasurer.