Rigonomics:

I met with Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor this week over a cup of coffee, and we talked a lot about issues affecting the city and his primary race for the 68th Assembly District against Assemblyman Van Tran. Full disclosure: I consider Allan a friend, and I would support him in anything he does.

With that out of the way, let me give you a little background about the 68th Assembly District. It encompasses all of Costa Mesa and Fountain Valley, 83% of Stanton, 70% of Westminster, 65% of Garden Grove and 10% of Anaheim and Newport Beach. Costa Mesa encompasses the largest part of the district.

The district is 42% Republican, 33% Democrat and 21% decline to state; which means it is considered a safe Republican seat. Therefore, the real race will be in the GOP primary. Of course, after this week in Massachusetts, party affiliation is becoming less important.

So far, Mansoor seems to be the favorite for the Republican primary. He has only one declared opponent that, as of now, has done little if anything to win the June primary, which is five months away.

Orange County Board of Education Trustee Long Pham, who has declared his candidacy for the 68th Assembly District seat, showed nothing in his last campaign report, while Mansoor reported about $135,000 on hand. Year-end fundraising reports will be released during the first week of February, and it might be different then; but with the economy the way it is, raising money is nearly impossible.

Politically, Mansoor has been on the Costa Mesa City Council for seven years, three of those as mayor.

Pham was elected to the board of education in 2008. Part of his district is in Fountain Valley and Garden Grove.

He will have a lot to do to catch up with Mansoor in fundraising, so unless something changes pretty soon, Mansoor has effectively cleared the field for the Republican primary.

I was a bit surprised when I asked Mansoor how he was going to handle campaigning and working full time as an Orange County sheriff’s deputy. He said that he was no longer a deputy; his resignation took effect Dec 31. After spilling my coffee, I asked him why he would do such a thing.

He went through all the commitments and obligations with me that he has as mayor, as well as his position on the Orange County Transportation Authority. He came to the conclusion that he could not keep all his commitments and still run a good campaign. He later e-mailed me this statement.