Since we don’t have a central coast blogger right now, I’m going to pick up the slack and report on Ventura County’s hotly contested Supervisorial race. The district includes the cities of Simi Valley and Moorepark. Republican Judy Mikels was the three term incumbant in this GOP dominant district. Mikels, who challanged Tom McClintock unsuccessfully in 2000 for State Senate, was seen as somewhat vulnerable because of her ties to unpopular local development projects and an ongoing rumor that she actually lived out of state. Populist Democrat Jim Dantona declared against her nearly a year ago and was rrunning a well funded aggresive campaign but the general feeling among many insiders was that party registration alone would probably save Mikels.
Enter conservative Republican Peter Foy, who literally decided to run and filed on the deadline. Local media reported Foy as a ‘spoiler’ set up to run by local conservatives who disliked Mikels in order to make sure Dantona came in first in the run-off against Mikels. Most of the coverage treated him as a secondary candidate, with the big show being the increasingly bitter and savage Dantona – Mikels brawl. Foy ran as a good government reformer, focused on illegal immigration and government waste.
Now here is where it gets interesting. Who was McClintock’s campaign manager in what turned out to be a very nasty race against Mikels in 2000 for State Senate? Why, none other than Flashreport correspondent and Coronado Communications partner Duane Dichiara. Duane and his firm are running Foy’s campaign.
Now all of us who know the real Duane know he is a gentle, forgiving soul who nurtures wounded animals he finds in the forrest back to health in his spare time…
Anyway the results Election Night were front-page in the Ventura Star: Foy 37.8%, Dantona 33.4%, and Mikels 28.4%. Total upset. Republican Foy and Democrat Dantona headed to a run-off in November.
Oh yes, as to the title of this post. You can decide for yourself if I am referring to the ‘political upset’ I just outlined, or if that is how Supervisor Mikels is going to sign her next letter to Dear Abby!
June 7th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Congratulations also to Matt Rexroad for being the top vote getter against an incumbent supervisor in Yolo County! Good luck in the run-off!
June 8th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Although I had never heard of Peter Foy until I read about his win today, I’m thrilled to see that he beat Judy Mikels. And no, I’m not related to him.