Mansoor declares his run for supervisor
After months of consideration, state Assemblyman Allan Mansoor made it official this week: He’s running for the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
The longtime Costa Mesa resident and former mayor has been mulling the decision since at least May. If elected next year, the Republican would succeed 2nd District Supervisor John Moorlach, who will be termed out of the office in January 2015.
In a prepared announcement this week, Mansoor asked for funds in his effort.
“I’ve always been the first to admit that fundraising isn’t my greatest strength, and even though I’ve always raised enough to be competitive, I’ve been outspent in every election I’ve run,” Mansoor wrote. “This campaign won’t be any different, especially against a candidate whose greatest strength is her ability to raise money from interests outside the district.”
The allusion was to Surfside resident Michelle Steel, who is also running for county supervisor. The vice chairwoman of the state Board of Equalization moved to Orange County in recent years from the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County. She represents much of the Southern California region, including Orange County, on the five-member equalization board.
Steel, a Republican, began her campaign in May and has received an endorsement from U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa).
Mansoor, a former sheriff’s deputy, wrote that the supervisor campaign reminds him of his first Costa Mesa City Council run in 2002. Mansoor served on the five-member council from 2002 to 2010.
“In 2002, I ran against entrenched establishment incumbents because a group of people from my neighborhood felt like City Hall didn’t care about what was happening in our community,” he wrote. “While everyone wanted to improve City Hall, no one wanted to run.
“I, somewhat reluctantly, stepped up because someone had to. Ever since, I’ve been happy and grateful for the opportunity to make a difference in the community I grew up in.”
Mansoor won his Assembly seat in 2010 for what was then the 68th District. It was later redrawn and became the 74th District. Mansoor won that seat in November 2012.
Huntington Beach City Councilman Joe Carchio and Coast Community College District trustee Jim Moreno are also running for the 2nd District.
Carchio is a Republican and Moreno a Democrat. The supervisor seat, however, is officially nonpartisan. Members serve four years and represent about 600,000 residents in each district.
The 2nd District includes Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and portions of Buena Park and Fountain Valley.
