There are 120 lawmakers in Sacramento. They all take campaign contributions from public employee unions, except one.
John Moorlach.
“It’s a policy of mine,” says Moorlach, who calls doing otherwise “a major conflict of interest.”
California voters in the 37th State Senate district, where Moorlach is seeking reelection, should take note.
In a state that can’t contain wildfires, maintain its roads, educate far too many of its kids, alleviate homelessness, mail benefit checks on time or even keep the lights on, where taxes keep rising, public debt keeps growing and businesses and people are fleeing, where special interests, entrenched bureaucrats and a one-party supermajority rule with little transparency or accountability, one public official has tirelessly and fearlessly gone against the tide.
For a quarter of a century, John Moorlach has been an incorruptible force and a voice of reason in California politics.
As Orange County treasurer, he turned a disgraced office into a national model of professionalism.
As a supervisor he hammered out new labor agreements that cut unfunded retiree medical liabilities by an estimated $1 billion, reducing the county’s required payments by roughly $100 million a year. He also brought contract negotiations into the open, until the unions got a bill that put the talks back behind closed doors.
Sacramento can be tough on a pro-business, pro-taxpayer Republican. Yet Moorlach, a genial policy wonk with a maverick streak, has reached across the aisle to collaborate on legislation to help the homeless and mentally ill. With Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, he co-authored (and was the only Republican senator to vote for) a bill that has opened police personnel records in cases of use of force, on-duty sexual assault or falsifying records. Democratic colleagues respectfully lend him an ear on budget matters, and for good reason: Also unique among the Sacramento 120, Moorlach is a CPA.
When he isn’t listened to, Moorlach has an uncanny knack for being vindicated.
Most famously, back in 1994 Moorlach’s warnings against the risky investments of OC’s then-county treasurer went unheeded–until the $1.7 billion bankruptcy that launched him into public service.
His predictions that retroactive pension spikes and other lavish payouts to public employees would overwhelm government budgets are coming to pass: As unfunded liabilities climb into the trillions of dollars, governments in California and across the nation are desperately cutting services, raising taxes and pondering Chapter 9.
Moorlach has taken it upon himself to compile, rank and publicize the mostly deteriorating balance sheets of California’s 1,484 cities, counties and school districts, as well as of the 50 states. (California is consistently among the 10 states with the largest per-capita “net unrestricted deficits,” although its current rank can’t be precisely fixed because California is a year behind all other states in reporting financial results.)
Wildfires? Four years ago, Moorlach garnered unanimous support for a state bill aimed at prodding bureaucrats and utilities to underground or otherwise “harden” power lines in populous fire zones. Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed it. Several conflagrations later, most lines remain overhead, but there’s been some progress. A 2018 law includes a Moorlach idea to use $200 million in state cap-and-trade money for hardening power lines.
In a perfect world Moorlach would be governor of California. Instead, he’s struggling to retain a state Senate seat.
His district represents much of Orange County, including all or portions of Anaheim, Corona Del Mar, Costa Mesa, El Toro, Foothill Ranch, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Newport Beach, Orange, Tustin and Villa Park.
The once red 37th district has turned purple, with registered Republicans comprising barely a third of the electorate, about even with Democrats. Public employee unions that have spent millions over the years trying to unseat Moorlach are doubling down.
Moorlach is being easily outspent by relative newcomer Dave Min, a UCI assistant law professor and former Chuck Schumer aide whose campaign portrays Moorlach as a science-denier joined at the hip with Donald Trump.
Moorlach rolls his eyes: “Am I anti-science? No. Am I anti-vax? No. Am I anti-climate change? No… Am I a Trumper? I am a Republican and I have my own brand and I happen to be a little bit independent… My focus has been on Sacramento, not D.C. I know my opponent has been focused on D.C.”
In a ringing endorsement of Moorlach’s reelection, the Orange County Register described Min as “troublingly evasive.”
An election loss might actually be a reprieve for Moorlach, a family man of many interests who gave up a thriving accounting practice for the grind of politics.
But it would be devastating for California.
If you live in the 37th Senate District, do yourself and your fellow citizens a big favor: Vote for John Moorlach.
Rick Reiff, who is Editor at Large of the Business Journal, has reported on Orange County business and politics for 30 years.
