GOP group backs Steel for supervisor

The California Republican Assembly has endorsed Michelle Steel for Orange County supervisor.

Steel, a Surfside resident and vice chairwoman of the California Board of Equalization, hopes to replace John Moorlach on the Board of Supervisors. He is termed out and running for the 45th Congressional District seat.

“Michelle is a great conservative leader, she has a proven record standing up for taxpayers, and we need more leaders like her in local government. That’s why she earned our support,” the California Republican Assembly’s president, John Briscoe, said in a news release.

Steel, who as of Wednesday morning was the only person in the supervisor race to have filed a candidate statement, the last official step, is running for the board’s 2nd District seat. Others who have indicated their intent to run are Huntington Beach City Councilman Joe Carchio, former Huntington Beach Mayor Don Hansen, Assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesa), Coast Community College District Trustee Jim Moreno and Alan Schlar.

The district spans Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Cypress, La Palma, Los Alamitos and Stanton, as well as portions of Buena Park and Fountain Valley.

The group is the California Republican Party’s largest and oldest volunteer organization, according to its news release. President Reagan once called it the “conscience of the Republican Party.”

— Jamie Rowe