Taking a cue from Barbara Venezia's Daily Pilot "hit piece" against Councilwoman Leslie Daigle...
I've heard the same rumors that Councilwoman Daigle is positioning herself to be the next Mayor Pro-Tem for Newport Beach at the December City Council meeting.
Other Councilmembers in the running would the be the obvious (Councilman Keith Curry) and the not-so-obvious (I even heard Councilwoman Nancy Gardner...), but all Leslie needs to do is count to four and she's in.
And what does that mean?
Mayor Pro-Tem in 2008, which typically leads to Mayor in 2009 (can you imagine her speech for the Mayor's Dinner? Oh boy...check out this and this for "samples.")
Now...this would set her up for something which has been an extremely loud rumor for the past three years.
This is a rumor I've heard from many very very prominent folks in Newport Beach, but remember, it's just a rumor.
Councilwoman Daigle supposedly has her eyes on Assemblyman Chuck DeVore's seat, which currently terms out in 2010.
Now, there a LOTS and LOTS of variables which need to happen before this could work:
1. If Assemblyman DeVore runs against State Senator Tom Harman (another rumor) and wins, the mad scramble would happen to fill the seat earlier, and I don't think Leslie would be ready soo soon.
2. Some how, some way, the Term Limits extension could happen up in Sacramento, at which then Assemblyman DeVore's seat wouldn't come up in 2010.
3. Since the 70th Assembly District includes Irvine, Tustin, Laguna Woods, and Lake Forest, the many many voters of Irvine, Tustin, Laguna Woods, and Lake Forest would have to conveniently forget that Newport Beach fought tooth and nail in favor of destroying their neighborhoods with the El Toro International Airport. Linking Leslie Daigle to that sentiment wouldn't be very difficult.
4. Since a majority of the 70 Assembly District includes Irvine, the many many voters of Irvine would have to conveniently forget who spearheaded the lawsuits against the City of Irvine and the developments at the Irvine Business District.
5. The very Conservative Voters of the 70 Assembly District would have to conveniently forget Leslie's moderate leanings (Example - enthusiastic support and votes in favor of giving the Police and Fire Unions everything they ask). Leslie would have to try to "out conservative" other rumored candidates (Tustin Mayor Pro-Tem Jerry Amante and Laguna Beach Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider). Either that or hope for those two Conservatives to split the vote and let Leslie "slide" right in.
If all these stars align, and we get Assemblywoman Daigle, I would then only blame one person.
Barbara Venezia.
Yes, Barbara Venezia would be to blame.
You see, a few years back, the Republican Party of OC and the California Republican Party started going after Local Elected Offices, rallying around the cry that if "They had stopped a then-unknown Barbara Boxer when she ran for the Marin County Board of Supervisors, we wouldn't now have a US Senator Barbara Boxer!"
The Republican Party of OC and the California Republican Party started looking at the Local Elected Offices as "farm teams."
If Barbara Venezia would have not dropped out of her 2006 City Council bid, we probably wouldn't have had a Councilwoman Daigle, nor a Mayor Pro-Tem Daigle, no Mayor Daigle, and certainly no Assemblywoman Daigle.
And because Leslie is nice, non-threatening, and has the ability to raise BIG dollars, that might just happen...
Then her only battle would be against History.
100 years old and the City of Newport Beach has NEVER sent a Council member to a higher elected office (Sen. Marian Bergeson was on the School Board).
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