Dana Point Times

As part of the Dana Point Times’ ongoing coverage leading up to the Nov. 4 election, we have compiled this special section dedicated to providing the community with a connection to the candidates seeking election in local races.

In this section, you will find candidates’ answers to the direct and important question: Why should Dana Point residents vote for you?

It is our hope that in this fifth week of our six-week series, we have compiled a source of information that will help crystallize your decisions before Election Day.

Click on the cover image above to see the section in its entirety.

Read on below for even more information, including higher office elections on Dana Point voters’ ballots.

State and Federal Positions Up for Vote

By Jim Shilander

This year Californians have the opportunity to vote for the state’s highest offices, and South County voters will again have the opportunity to vote in the 49th Congressional District race.

Gov. Jerry Brown (D) is running for a second term, for a second time, after first serving as the state’s top executive from 1975 to 1983 and being elected for a third, non-consecutive, term in 2010. He is opposed by Neel Kashkari, (R), a former Treasury Department official best known for running the Troubled Asset Relief Program in 2008 and 2009, before taking a position at Pimco. He left in 2013 to pursue the governor’s office.

Voters are also choosing Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Controller, Insurance Commissioner and Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Current State Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, (R), of Dana Point is also running for a seat on the state Board of Equalization against Democrat Nader Shahatit in the fourth district. That board is charged with administering all tax and fee collection in the state and is divided into four districts statewide, and the addition of the state controller. All of Orange, Imperial, Riverside and San Diego counties and a portion of San Bernardino County are located within the third district.

Republican Congressman Darrell Issa is running for reelection against Democrat David Peiser. Issa is the Chairman of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee. Peiser is a local business owner and 25-year resident of the district. South Orange County joined Issa’s district in 2012 after previously being represented by Ken Calvert.