He’ll try on Saturday to convince a party committee that reviews ballot measures to support him, and on Sunday he goes before the full convention for approval. If the party supports him, he said, “Naturally I would try to capitalize on that from a publicity standpoint.”
DeVore’s measure would also be included in Republican voter information that will go out statewide, and state GOP approval could help him with raising money to promote the nuclear measure. And after the convention, the next step is opinion polls and focus group testing of the ballot language.
Street saga continues with committee changes
Wednesday may have been a preview of unpleasant things to come for Orange County Treasurer Chriss Street, who was bumped from his position as vice-chairman of the county’s audit oversight committee. Street has been under fire for his personal and official legal troubles, which include investigations by the Orange County and federal prosecutors.
The audit committee, which includes the county auditor and chief executive, voted in March to change who’s on the committee by adding more public members, and to make Street vice-chairman. But Orange County Supervisors never voted on the changes, so the committee opted to undo the part that concerned Street. He didn’t offer any objection to the move at the meeting.
Committee members said the change was because if Street were called on to chair the meeting, it might be difficult because he’s a nonvoting member. But Mario Mainero, chief of staff for audit committee member and Supervisor John Moorlach, said later that was only part of the concern.
Moorlach recently asked Street to resign or face a board vote on whether he’ll retain his power over county investments. “To be consistent with everything else John is calling for, he [Street] shouldn’t be vice-chairman,” Mainero said.
Supervisors will vote Tuesday on whether to revoke Street’s investment control. A report issued for the meeting cited Moorlach’s reasons for proposing the move: Street’s “personal distractions” such as pending legal matters, and the need to “forestall any threat of immediate loss” to county investments.
While Moorlach stated in the report that county investments aren’t in trouble, he thinks Street’s legal issues might prevent him from effectively performing his duties. He also proposes that 14 employees who directly deal with county investments should report to the county’s chief financial officer rather than the treasurer.
