CA’s first governor from Orange County?

by Fred Smoller

Collage by Matias Pacheco-Ramirez, Photographer

For the first time in the state’s history, someone from Orange County has a real shot at being governor. We should seize this opportunity. 

The fact that there’s never been a California governor from Orange County has nothing to do with lack of talent. There are plenty of well qualified Republicans and Democrats. 

Unfortunately, they will never get that chance. Unlike San Francisco and Los Angeles — where most recent governors have come from — there is no “mayor’ of Orange County. Potential governors need this platform to get the attention necessary to win statewide office.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is the exception that proves the name recognition rule. Despite never holding public office, nor having any experience grappling with the state’s complex problems and having never earned a four-year college degree, Schwarzenegger was elected twice due to his celebrity status.

Orange County has some real bones to pick with Sacramento. We are a “donor” county, meaning we pay more in taxes than we get back in state spending, and OC cities — Democrat and Republican — resent state regulatory overreach and unfunded mandates. We are also the state’s third most populated county, behind Los Angeles and San Diego. A governor from Orange County could speak for us where it counts. 

Orange County also has a lot to contribute. Our county’s economy is the envy of the world. We have comparatively low unemployment and a gross county product (GCP) that is larger than many states and nations. One of the reasons California has the fourth largest economy in the world is because of Orange County. 

Of the six candidates at Wednesday’s debate, only Katie Porter is from Southern California, where 60% of the state lives; the rest are from NorCal, except for Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

With Trump’s endorsement, Steve Hilton (Silicon Valley) will likely head to the general election in November as Republicans pick him over Bianco. That means the Democrat who does best in the primary will be our next governor. 

Tom Steyer is from San Francisco, Matt Mahan is from San Jose, and Xavier Becerra is from Sacramento. With Mahan’s campaign polling poorly (about 5%), the race will likely come down to the populist billionaire Steyer — who has yet to pull away despite spending more than $100 million of his own money--the newly competitive Becerra, and “pit bull” Porter, the single, minivan-driving mother of three who chastised oil executives for high gas prices.

Porter is from Irvine. She has high name identification (due to her service in the House of Representatives and unsuccessful Senate run) and is a formidable fundraiser. Both are necessary to win. 

And, yeah, she’s really smart, too.

A governor from Orange County will help update the way Sacramento and the nation sees us. Orange County was, according to Ronald Reagan, “where all the good Republicans go to die.” TV shows like “The O.C.,” “Laguna Beach” and “The Real Housewives of Orange County” reinforced the county’s image as all-white and obnoxiously rich.

According to this view, social ills such as homelessness, housing affordability, income inequality, crime, pollution and transportation just aren’t as bad “behind the Orange Curtain” as they are in the rest of the state.

The notion that Orange County is “Red County” is also seriously outdated. Democrats are the majority party; the Democratic candidate swept the county in the last three presidential elections and the 2021 recall of Gavin Newsom failed. Five of OC’s six Congressional seats are held by Democrats. The mayors of three of our five largest cities are Democrats, as are the majority of the members of the Board of Supervisors. We are neither “Red” nor “Blue,” but “Purple.”

The county is also one of the most ethnically diverse parts of the state and increasingly urbanized. 

The election of a governor from Orange County — and California’s first woman governor in an era of misbehaving men — would certainly garner national media attention. Some major outlets would hopefully revisit outdated Orange County stereotypes, to everyone’s benefit.  

Fred Smoller, PhD,  teaches courses on state and local government at Chapman University. He’s not affiliated with the Porter campaign. A version of this OPED appeared online in the Orange County Register.