Former congresswoman Loretta Sanchez joins growing field for Orange County supervisor

A former congresswoman, a millionaire businessman and a handful of local public officials are running or thinking about running for a soon-to-be-vacated Orange County Board of Supervisors seat.

Former Democratic congresswoman Loretta Sanchez is the most prominent of the candidates who say they’ve entered the race to replace 3rd District Supervisor Todd Spitzer, who was elected to be the county’s new district attorney.

Joining her in the March special election will be former Anaheim councilwoman Kris Murray, a Republican, and Democrat Andy Thorburn, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in the June primary. Thorburn, a deep-pocketed Villa Park businessman, is committing $1 million of his own money to his board campaign.

The third district stretches from Yorba Linda and parts of Anaheim into Orange, Villa Park, Irvine, Tustin and the Cleveland National Forest. Spitzer, a Republican, has represented the seat for six years, serving on an all-GOP board during that time.

Republicans still have a 4 percentage point voter registration advantage in the district. But that’s down from the 14-point GOP lead when Spitzer took office, and results from the recent midterm suggest an appetite for change in the once solidly conservative region. In addition to sweeping Republicans from all congressional seats in the county, Democrats also won their first Orange County board race in 14 years.

The board contest could have razor-thin margins. The county’s last two special elections for supervisor were decided by a combined 50 votes. That means name recognition and campaign spending could determine the outcome.

Sanchez, who represented central Orange County in Congress for two decades before running an unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign in 2016, said she decided to run two weeks ago. She views the seat as a chance for her to address interconnected regional problems — housing un-affordability and homelessness.

“This (board seat) happens to hit into issue areas that I find important,” said Sanchez, a resident of Orange. ‘The housing issue increasingly affects so many of us.”

Murray, who served on the Anaheim council for eight years before leaving office on Tuesday, supported large development projects during her time on the board, including encouraging tax incentives for developers, which she contends brought jobs to the region. She said one of her primary goals will be finding sustainable solutions to homelessness, including permanent housing.

“I will also focus on improving the economy, housing and transportation, and reducing regulations, making Orange County an easier place to succeed and raise a family,” Murray wrote in a statement on her website.

Thorburn, who made his wealth in the insurance business after working as a teacher and union activist, hasn’t been shy about spending his own money to campaign: in his House race, he dropped $2.8 million of his own money. Thorburn said he’ll work to make the board more accountable and transparent.

“From a homelessness crisis to crumbling roads, an opioid epidemic, underfunded public safety, schools that lack adequate resources and more – it’s time for a major overhaul at the Orange County Board of Supervisors,” Thorburn said in a statement announcing his candidacy.

Other rumored candidates still might jump into the race.

Recently re-elected Irvine Mayor Don Wagner, a former Republican assemblyman, said he is “virtually certain that I’m going to make a run,” but wouldn’t make a final decision until after he is sworn in to his current post.

Another recently re-elected official, Assemblyman Steven Choi, R-Irvine, said a run for supervisor was “certainly an option,” but added that it isn’t yet “the proper time to make any announcement.”

Former Villa Park councilwoman Deborah Pauly said she’ll consider entering the race if she doesn’t see another Republican “as good or better than me” running.

Spitzer has said he’ll step down from his board seat on Nov. 8, when he becomes district attorney. Orange County election officials say that means the special election will be held either March 5 or March 12, with the county board selecting the date. Depending on which day supervisors choose, the candidate filing deadline would be either Jan. 21 or Jan. 28.