CNN missed it, NBC missed it, and CBS missed it— but not OC180NEWS.com. We bring you the most important election result for West Orange County—Dean Grose is back.

Next Tuesday, Orange County citizens will choose between three candidates for OC Sheriff. One of the central issues—and something which can directly affect our lives—is permits to carry concealed weapons. The sheriff has the responsibility to issue these permits and which candidate wins next week can make a difference on who is packing a gun in their purse, briefcase, or coat pocket.

In this installment of our continuing series on the upcoming June primary election, we look at the election of Superior Court judges.  When reading the frequent stories of sexual predators that get either a short sentence, or an early release, after which they are free to rape and murder again (see related story), we begin to wonder how judges are held accountable for their actions and conduct.  In the June 8 primary election, voters will be asked to elect some new judges.  In Part 1 of this election installment, we consider one of those races, while in Part 2, we will address the second such contest.

In this installment of our June 8 election articles, we address the issue of party affiliation—what it means, how to change it, and how to get the most flexibility at the polling place. We discussed the issue of DTS voters, aka Decline to State voters, with the OC Registrar of Voters.

Last Friday was the candidate filing deadline for the June 8 election. When you look at your sample ballot, which is still a while off, you will be confronted with a myriad of decisions to make. While it might be tempting to make selections on the very limited information included in the sample ballot, at www.OC180NEWS.com, we will attempt to provide some additional useful information for those decisions. In this our first such report, we cover the Orange County District Attorney.

With the June election now less than two months away, in this installment of our election coverage, we consider the candidates running for Orange County Sheriff. The office is officially a non-partisan office, but as we have been told, all three of the candidates are Republicans, so this battle is an internal party contest.
Our purpose here is not to endorse any of the candidates, but rather to provide some additional information and perspective on the race.

The candidate filing deadline for most positions on the June 8 election was this past Friday. However, if the incumbent does not file for re-election, the deadline is extended a few days. That is the situation for the Orange County Treasurer position. No candidates, including Chriss Street, the incumbent, filed for the OC Treasurer job by the initial deadline of last Friday. Thus, the deadline was extended to yesterday at 5:00 pm. Now, it seems several people want the job.

With this article, your Editors begin publishing occasional articles on next year's elections. In so doing, our goal is to provide objective information for more informed decision-making at the ballot box.

Our local state senator, Tom Harmon, was the first Republican to formally announce that he is seeking the Republican nomination for California Attorney General in the 2010 primary election. West Orange County is represented in Sacramento by Harmon in the senate and Jim Silva in the Assembly. Both politicians are conservative Republicans and have taken staunch anti-tax positions as legislators.