In a stunning political development, members of the Orange County Democratic Party Central Committee voted overwhelmingly to endorse Buena Park Councilwoman Sunny Park, who is running to unseat 4th District Supervisor Doug Chaffee.
What makes this endorsement so unusual is Chaffee is also a Democrat – and re-electing incumbents is the first order of business for political parties.
DPOC members voted overwhelmingly to endorse Park, with 63% supporting the first-term Buena Park councilmember.
Park has been gaining momentum: last week she picked up endorsements from Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, state Treasurer John Chiang and UNITE-HERE Local 11 (a militant hotel workers union), and claims to have raised more than $250,000 for her campaign.
According to sources who were present, Chaffee’s support for extending supervisorial term limits was a major source of dissatisfaction among central committee members. Another insider noted Chaffee has never been a party activist, but more of a “fill-the-potholes, local government type of Democrat.”
READ: 4th Supe District: OC Dem Party Chair Endorses Sunny Park Against Democrat Incumbent Doug Chaffee
Republicans, who are anxious to recapture a supervisor seat they narrowly lost in 2018, took a positive view of the internecine party conflict.
“While there’s infighting between Democrat Party bosses and the Democrat incumbent, Republicans are consolidating to ensure we are united to win the 4th supervisorial district,” said Brea Councilman Steve Vargas, who is also running against Chaffee. “As the Democrats pander to the far left, we will be able to reach out to the independent and moderate voters who will determine this election.”
While DPOC members opposed re-electing Supervisor Chaffee to another term, they voted to support his wife Paulette’s campaign for the Orange County Board of Education from District 4.
Mrs. Chaffee ran for the same seat in 2020 but was soundly defeated by then-La Habra Councilman Tim Shaw. Shortly after he was sworn in, a close friend of Mrs. Chaffee’s sued the OCBE and Shaw, claiming his simultaneous service on the OCBE and La Habra City Council violated the state’s prohibition against holding “incompatible offices.”
In late 2021, Shaw resigned from the OCBE, but was later re-appointed to the vacant seat after he resigned from the La Habra City Council.
Last month, a progressive Democratic party activist filed a lawsuit claiming Shaw’s appointment was illegal. That suit is being litigated.
READ: Left-Wing Activist Sues OC Board of Education, Alleging Illegal Appointment
DPOC members also weighed in on the 2nd Supervisor District race. Santa Ana Mayor Vince Sarmiento and Garden Grove Councilwoman Kim Nguyen were seeking the county party’s nod. Sarmiento won it in a landslide, garnering the support of about three-quarters of central committee members.
READ: Santa Ana Mayor Vince Sarmiento Jumps Into 2nd District Supervisor Race
DPOC members also voted to endorse Sherine Smith, who is running for the Orange County Board of Education from District 5, which is currently represented by Lisa Sparks, a dean at Chapman University. Smith is also supported by public school unions. That election is occurring in the larger context of a struggle by the Democrat Party and its teacher union allies to wrest control of the OCBE away from the conservative majority that has been supportive of charter schools and opposed to masking mandates for students and remote learning as pandemic strategies.
