This Tuesday is a big election day throughout California, with a lot going on including a nationally-watched special election for Congress in San Diego, a heated battle between two Democrats for the honor of going up against Arnold Schwarzenegger this fall, Rob Reiner’s tax hike/government-run preschool scheme, and much more. All of those things and more have been talked about on this website.
I am going to take a few minutes, though, and talk about a race that is near and dear to my heart. My apologies to the vast majority of FR readers who hail from outside of "The OC" — but I want to take a few minutes to urge my several thousand Orange County readers to vote to re-elect my boss, Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona. If you are reading this column, and live outside of Orange County, but have family, friends or acquaintances here, please contact them and ask them to vote for Sheriff Carona.
I have known Mike Carona for nearly fifteen years. He and I first met when he was the Marshal of Orange County (in charge of security for our county courthouses) and I was a special assistant to freshman Congressman Ed Royce. Over the years, I have come to know Carona as a man of strong integrity with a commitment to freedom and liberty, and a passion for public policy administration.
Because of Mike Carona’s strong belief in Republican principles, I have seen him be a leader within the GOP. He has endorsed hundreds of Republican candidates for local, county, state and federal office. Whether it has been his support of paycheck protection, or his solid opposition to both open primary measures, Carona has done the right thing. This year you need only look at the big battles in Orange County to know that, despite his own election taking place, Carona is still stepping up for the GOP cause. He was a solid endorser of Diane Harkey for State Senate, and he is a prominent supporter of John Moorlach for Board of Supervisors.
Of course, for FlashReport readers, it is important to see the Sheriff as a great conservative leader (I’ve never met a Sheriff who is more passionate about second amendment rights than this one!), but the last five and a half years, I have been able to see a great law enforcement leader and manager first hand. If you didn’t know it, I work full-time in the media relations office of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. In that capacity, I get an insider perspective of Sheriff Carona.
Mike Carona words tirelessly for the department (which is a large one – with around 4500 employees and an annual budget around 600 million bucks!). I’ve never met anyone more dedicated to their job than Carona. Whether it working day and night with his command staff of four Assistant Sheriff’s to keep the day-to-day operations on track, or if he is traveling around the nation (Carona serves as an advisor to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, and on the board of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children).
The accomplishments of the department under Carona are many (click here) and he has a ton of great support (click here) including virtually every GOP elected official in Orange County. Most significantly, Orange Countians can easily answer yes to the question, "Are you safer today than you were eight years ago?"
Carona is looking at three opponents on tomorrow’s ballot, all of whom I would seriously call "B" players. All of them have resorted to the worst kind of campaigning — where they takes the lies and falsehoods printed in publications like the Orange County Weekly and spread them around as if they are true. Instead of being for something, they have all decided to run negative campaigns. Anyways, none of them, in my opinion, offer the kind of real leadership that Orange County has come to know from Mike Carona.
There have been a number of news articles (primarily in the OC Weekly and in the LA Times) that have been negative about the Sheriff. Well, I can tell you as someone who is truly in a position to sort out fact from fiction — most of what they have said simply isn’t true. And the volumes of great things that he and our department achieve on a daily basis that the newspapers don’t print is staggering. Yes, unfortunately somone the Sheriff hired for his senior staff turned out to be involved with criminal activities. That said, the Sheriff let that person go (before these activities came to light) and the Sheriff tells anyone who asks that he takes responsibility for having brought that person in, and for letting that person go. Don’t believe those out there who want to truly make a mountain out of a mole hill – their sole agenda is to take down an honorable and well-respected public official.
A last word about Mike Carona that I think should be significant to FlashReport readers. I think that it speaks volumes about Sheriff Carona that he has been very supportive of my efforts to start and maintain this website. Often times I will pen controversial things, and while neither he nor you, I’m sure, agree with all of them, I think it shows a commitment on Carona’s part to the causes in which we believe that he has been so supportive.
In closing I would simply say this. If you do not know Mike Carona already — then perhaps you will take the word of someone you do know…me! I am not only voting for Mike Carona — but am doing so enthusiastically. Please consider voting for him as well, and like I said above, if you have relatives or friends in Orange County, encourage them to vote to re-elect Sheriff Carona as well!
I would appreciate it very much.
Sincerely,
Jon Fleischman
Publisher, The FlashReport
P.S. For inquiring minds, Mike Carona has no idea that I am writing this note to all of you. At least until he reads the FlashReport today!
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