Rep. Kate Porter will be missed — along with her whiteboard.
The Irvine Democrat proved a force to be reckoned with in Congress. Did you like the availability of free COVID-19 testing and treatment? That happened because Porter pulled out her whiteboard during a congressional hearing and used it to press the administration to agree that there would be no cost to Americans.
She would have had a strong chance of retaining her seat representing the 47th Congressional District but opted to try for the U.S. Senate instead, losing in the primary to the supremely qualified Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank).
This leaves voters in this swing coastal Orange County district deciding between state Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine) and longtime Republican diehard Scott Baugh, who lost to Porter in the last election.
Baugh’s campaign website proclaims that he is “fighting for Orange County values.” But what Baugh, a longtime figure in county Republican politics, seems to have missed is that Orange County values have changed.
Much of the 47th was once a bedrock conservative district; after redistricting in 2021, it stretches from Laguna Beach to Seal Beach and includes Irvine and Costa Mesa. Except for Huntington Beach, where the City Council prefers to ban books and waste time trying to force teachers to out transgender students, views in the district are far more mixed. This was once Reagan country, but in 2020 53.5% of Orange County voters supported President Biden.
For the most part, this is a district that still believes in a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions; abortion bans are not a popular notion. With UC Irvine in its midst, it is an area that believes in quality education that is made accessible to students of all backgrounds. And with much of it lying along the coast, climate change is a serious threat. That’s not to mention residents’ concerns about oil rigs and the history of toxic offshore oil spills.
By far the better candidate to represent the interests of the district is Min, who, like Porter, is a former law professor at UC Irvine. He would fight to protect abortion, IVF and contraception rights; he wants to bolster public education at all levels; and he carried state legislation to phase out oil and gas drilling in California waters, which didn’t pass but was the right idea.
In contrast, Baugh told the Orange County Register that he believes life begins at conception. At the same time that he would strip away individual rights, he wants to bolster the rights of large corporations by weakening regulations. Those regulations have helped protect the coast, reduce air pollution, improve gas mileage and battle climate change. Baugh also opposes banning assault weapons.
He’s also an active participant in the destructive culture wars. In a grossly ignorant statement that insultingly downplayed the horrors of the Holocaust, Baugh last year averred that “wokism” was more of a threat to the country than both world wars.
He was indicted on felony campaign charges during the 1990s, including allegations of falsifying campaign reports and persuading someone to commit perjury. Those were later reduced to civil violations for which he was fined $50,000.
To be sure, Min has had his own run-in with the law. He was arrested in May 2023 on suspicion of drunk driving and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. Min said he had been drinking at a political event in Sacramento. On his way home, he stopped at a red light, checked for oncoming traffic, but then continued driving through the intersection and with his headlights off.
That was a dangerous act, but people deserve a second chance when they own up to their mistake and take steps never to repeat it. In Min’s case, he immediately took responsibility and apologized. In addition to completing court-ordered community service, he went into therapy. Min said that even though the therapist concurred that he didn’t have a drinking problem, he decided to stop drinking altogether.
Politicians aren’t mistake-free, but the sign that they will be a good public servant is when they don’t seek to be treated differently from anyone else, admit they were wrong, apologize and show that they’ve learned from the experience.
In this very close race, voters should set Min’s error aside and vote for the only candidate in the race who will defend their rights and fight to protect the local and global environment.
