EDITORIAL:

From Sacramento to Santa Ana, Newport-Mesa residents — especially those concerned with fiscal conservatism — can be confident that the results of the November election has left them in good hands with Tom Harman in the state Senate, Chuck DeVore in the Assembly and John Moorlach in a county supervisor’s seat.

Harman, a former Huntington Beach mayor and councilman, served ably in the Assembly, albeit in the minority party. As a centrist Republican, he learned to work well with the Democrats, who control the Assembly, and he was able to push legislation through that improved safety standards on playground equipment and made it easier to dispose of personal property in wills.

Using that consensus building will serve Harman well as he moves to the Democrat-controlled state Senate.

Chuck DeVore also handily won reelection to the state Assembly. The Republican DeVore is known for his conservatism and his hawkish approach toward government spending. While we’ve sparred with DeVore over things like the El Morro trailer park, his dedication to smaller government is unwavering and serves his constituents well.

Then there is John Moorlach.

No one was a bigger critic of former county Treasurer Robert Citron’s shady investment deals than John Moorlach, deals that led the county into bankruptcy in 1994. Problem is, no one really took Moorlach seriously — that is until his warnings proved true.

Moorlach, however, was rewarded by county voters, who elected him to replace the ousted and disgraced Citron and become county treasurer.

In that role, Moorlach has been a trusted custodian of the public’s money, bringing the county back from financial disaster to solvency once again.

And now Moorlach, who successfully won election to Jim Silva’s county supervisor seat in November, has a new warning to take heed of — the ever-inflating pensions of county employees.

Speaking of Silva, he is also now in Sacramento representing coastal Orange County as an Assemblyman. A nice step for someone who served Newport-Mesa well.

To all these men, we wish you the best in your new jobs. We know that we all are better off having such fiscal conservatives watching over the taxpayers’ money.