In a highly unusual move, Democratic Party of Orange County Chair Ada Briceno today endorsed a Buena Park councilmember who is seeking to oust Supervisor Doug Chaffee, the Democrat incumbent in the 4th Supervisor District.
Re-electing incumbents is central element of a party chair’s responsibility, be it the Democrat or Republican Party, so Briceno’s move is extraordinary.
When contacted as to whether this was a personal endorsement or the official stance of the party, DPOC Executive Director Ajay Mohan said, “This is a personal endorsement from Chair Briceno.
Mohan said the DPCO would be holding an endorsement vote this evening on the 4th Supervisor District race.
“Sunny Park is a strong leader who will fight for the values of the Democratic Party,” said Briceno in a statement. “She has mentored and helped build our local party. She will make an excellent Orange County Supervisor and bring our community forward.”
Briceno’s counterpart, Republican Party of Orange, said Briceno’s move highlights ideological divisions in Democratic Party ranks that benefit GOP efforts to re-take the 4th District.
“Today’s endorsement by the Chair of the DPOC once again shows how far left and out of touch the DPOC is from the average voter in Orange County. We highly encourage the DPOC to follow the lead of their Chair headlong off the cliff of Wokeism and endorse against their own incumbent. The more Democrats in the race and the more Left they are, the more the voters of North Orange County will embrace the common sense approach of the Republican Party and its endorsed candidate for the 4th District.”
READ: 4th Supe District: OC Dem Party Chair Endorses Sunny Park Against Democrat Incumbent Doug Chaffee
A few days earlier, the Park campaign announced her endorsement by UNITE-HERE Local 11, the radical hotel workers union of which Briceno is co-president. Local 11 represents 32,000 workers in hotels, restaurants, airports, sports arenas and convention centers in Southern California.
“UNITE HERE Local 11 is proud to endorse Sunny Park for Orange County Board District 4 because we know that she will be a voice for workers and she will champion Democratic values,” read a personally unattributed statement from the union the Park campaign press release.
In the context of internal fighting between traditional liberals and progressive Left activists, the phrase “Democratic values” has come to mean leftist policy positions on a range of issues.
Although his staff is dominated by progressive Left activists, Chaffee has earned a moderate reputation on the Board of Supervisors. That does not entirely explain her decision to support the defeat of a Democrat incumbent, since the DPOC is supporting the re-election of Rep. Lou Correa and Assemblyman Tom Daly, two moderate-to-liberal incumbents who routinely draw the ire of progressive Left activists.
Some Democratic observers are not surprised.
“The chair votes her conscience for the candidate who is most electable,” said Dan Chmielewski, a former DPOC Central Committee member and publisher of TheLiberalOC.com.
“On multiple occasions, Doug Chaffee has failed to vote in a fashion that Democrats would support,” said Chmielewski. “I’m not surprised by this.”
The Park campaign claims it has raised $250,000 to date.
Also last week, Democratic Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva endorsed Park’s candidacy. Quirk-Silva and Chaffee both served on the Fullerton City Council together.
Also running in the 4th Supervisor District are two Republican members of the Brea City Council, Steve Vargas, and Marty Simonoff. The election takes place in June, and the top two vote getters will advance to a run-off in the November general election.
4th District Leans Democratic, Significant Asian Population
The 4th District did not change dramatically when the OC Board of Supervisors approved a new districts map last month. It includes Brea, Buena Park, Fullerton, La Habra, Placentia, Stanton and the majority of Anaheim. The old 4th District had more of Anaheim and less of Buena Park, and Stanton was brought in from the old 2nd District.
Chaffee served on the Fullerton City Council for six years prior to his election to the Board of Supervisors in 2018, when he narrowly defeated La Habra Councilman Tim Shaw by a margin of 50.4% to 49.6%.
In terms of partisan registration, Democrats represent a plurality of 4th District votes, at 41.9%. Republicans are 29.3% of voters, followed by No Party Preference at 23.5%. The new 4th is actually slightly more Republican than the old 4th District.
Demographically, the district population is:
- Hispanic – 46.1%
- White – 24.3%
- Asian 23.4%
- Black – 2.4%
- Multiracial – 2.9%
