Do you remember former State Senator Rob Hurtt? He used to represent the 34th State Senate District, which is currently represented by Lou Correa.
Hurtt was elected to the Senate in a 1993 special election with 76% of the vote to represent the 32nd District after Senator Ed Royce vacated the seat to become a member of Congress. After redistricting, the district was renumbered the 34th District. During the 1990s, the 34th district consisted of portions of Anaheim, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, La Palma, Santa Ana, Buena Park, Midway City, Stanton, and Westminster.
In 1998, Hurtt sought a second full term but was unexpectedly upset by attorney Joe Dunn, who defeated Hurtt by 51% to 49%.
I mention Hurtt because the current contest between Irvine Councilwoman Beth Krom and Congressman John Campbell reminds me a lot of the time when Dunn defeated Hurtt. No one expected Dunn to win, but he did. The Democrats have held on to that seat ever since, and I expect Correa to win again in November.
Hurtt is a lot nuttier than Campbell, but they are cut from the same cloth. Hurtt gave a ton of money to the Prop. 8 campaign, but that issue aside, he and Campbell have run on the same issues. To a great extent, Hurtt was also a hands-off legislator, and sure enough, Campbell is usually a no-show.
I remember that Hurtt didn’t want to campaign much or debate Dunn back in 1998, and he paid the price for it. Will Krom do the same thing to Campbell, who also is missing in action?
Irvine makes up a big portion of Campbell’s district, and whether you like or hate Krom and her Council ally, Larry Agran, the fact is Irvine residents like how their city is run. And, like clockwork, the Republicans have once again immolated in Irvine, this time Councilwoman Christina Shea yanked her support from the leading GOP candidate, Jeff Lalloway.
Will the Republican disarray in Irvine help bury Campbell? One has to wonder. Krom’s campaign has a lot of energy – while Campbell appears to have very little passionate support. In fact many Republicans I know in his district cannot abide him and are planning to vote for the Libertarian candidate instead.
Dunn ultimately beat Hurtt by delivering little potted plants to all the women voters, the week of the election. I wonder if Krom will be pulling something similar? It just might work again…
Hurtt was one of a group of legislators referred to as “the cave men”. They delighted in opposing most everything taken up by the Legislature and proved to be a group of obstructionists, which was their apparent agenda. They were happy to see that nothing happened in Sacramento. Anyone from OC that wanted legislation enacted was pretty well scoffed at by the majority of the Legislature because we sent the “cavemen” to Sacramento to throw a wrench in all gears. The OC legislative delegation in Sacramento has been pretty ineffective ever since because of the image of this county that the cavemen established. What ever happened to Mr. Hurtt? I wonder if he has any regrets, or is proud of his non-accomplishments?
Don’t forget John Lewis was one of those “cavemen” and now he is Jerbie’s sugardaddy.
I have several friends on city councils in Ken-Doll’s district. They say they occasionally call him for some reason relating to their job representing their cities, and he and his staff won’t even return calls! The guy is a total waste of space. Whatever we are paying him, and his staff, and all their office expenses — we should ask for our money back!
I have called John Campbell’s office twice this past year and each time they were very helpful to me and even helped me get a refund I was enititled to from the State of California.
SAUSD Employee,
Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear he isn’t completely useless!
If it weren’t for John Campbell my husband would never have been allowed into the country. He fought for me with immigration and got my husband not only approved to enter, but helped him with his Worker’s Visa. Mr. Campbell may not be perfect, but he does help those in desperate need like me.
Married,
Do you know if he supported Arizona’s SB1070?