Leslie Daigle's Tough Night

OTHER VIEWS

The local print and online media did a good job of covering the event and provided us with several different versions of what actually happened that night. Mine was only my take on it. Here are some links to some of the stories for your reading pleasure and further edification.
- Joe Serna's Daily Pilot account of the evening HERE.
- Nick Gerda's story in the Voice of OC HERE.
- Sara Hall's coverage in the Newport Beach Independent HERE.
- Ron Winship's opinion in the Orange Juice Blog HERE.
- Barbara Venezia's Orange County Register first-person report HERE.
DAIGLE'S DEBACLE
In my view, th

ANTICIPATING FRICTION

I knew that there was the potential for fireworks because Daigle has a "history" with a couple of the interrogators - hostess and moderator Barbara Venezia and new Daily Pilot "conservative" columnist Jack Wu. Venezia ran against Daigle for a seat on the Newport Beach City Council several years ago and that race turned nasty when Daigle's camp decided to go after the business her husband had recently sold to his employees. Rather than subject those folks to the unpleasantness Venezia dropped out of the race. That wound, while old, still festers a little.
WU, TOO

RUSH FINISHED FIRST

I said in my report that I felt Daigle finished third that night. In my view, newcomer Bob Rush - a freshly-minted Democrat - handled himself the best, appeared to be the least uncomfortable and gave good, crisp answers. Mansoor, in my view, came in second - but well ahead of Daigle.
I'M BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND
Q

SHE ASKED - I ANSWERED
Immediately after the meeting - within a couple hours - she sent

CLAWS OUT
Later she replied with this message: "One of the journalists told me about the kool-aid you have now clearly drank.", which was a curious response to a guy she'd been courting for support for several months.
BLAMING ME?
A couple hours later, when I finally woke up, I saw that comment and replied to her with this observation: "Really? You're blaming ME for last night? I sat, watched and listened like everyone else and I was far from alone in the view that, if scored on performance, you would have finished third. In my opinion, if you're going to be on the ballot in November you're going to have to really pick up your game." That's what I thought then, and still do now.
BLAMING EVERYTHING BUT HERSELF
A few hours later she replied with this: "It was low turnout. People perceive the forum as the jerry springer show." And, since I didn't reply immediately to that one, four hours later - in the middle of the night - she sent this message to me: "The promoter lost credibility....invites participates to be interviewed by journalists then tries to spice it up with a discredited opinion columnist ("not a journalist")... its leaked the theme is make bob rush look viable...embarrassingly low turnout.... forum is jerry springer cuz' the format is a joke...promoter is seething...gives syncophant GW a pre-packaged storyline.. promoter does a wicked rant which is viewed as she harbors bitterness."
MY VIEW BACK TO HER
Around noon Friday I sent her this message: "Leslie, did you actually read those last two entries before you posted them? I thought 150 people was a pretty good turnout for this race. Most of the folks I spoke with who attended liked the spirited discussions. Yes, they ganged up on you, but YOU made that possible with your evasive answers and poor preparation.
NOBODY gave me any kind of a storyline, pre-packaged or otherwise. I came, sat, watched, listened and wrote my views of the night. Quite frankly, I was VERY disappointed that you didn't do better against Mansoor - he's an easy target.
I was ready and eager to support your candidacy and, even after the forum, still had hope that you could elevate your game. However, this exchange here on Facebook has changed my mind. If this is your typical reaction when faced with adversity, then you're really not the kind of person I want to see in Sacramento. "
BACK PLACING BLAME THIS MORNING
This morning she sent the following message to me: "The few people who attended have created the buzz that few people attended (the room was half empty chairs). The forum crashed this year because of its poor format and the inclusion of non pro journalists."
PUTTING THE BALL BACK IN HER COURT AGAIN
I saw it and fired this one back to her: "Leslie, before you ever contacted me I'd heard mutterings about your "style", but I was more than willing to listen to you and, as you know, have treated your contacts with respect and decorum. I WANTED you to be a good, strong candidate to replace Mansoor. Sadly, this episode has affirmed those things I'd heard about you.
You blame your poor performance on sparse attendance. It wasn't sparse and it wouldn't have made any difference. You would have bombed whether the room was packed to the rafters or was empty - it wasn't the room, it was YOU!
I acknowledge that you had folks up on the stage with you who arrived that night with preconceptions about you. That's life, kiddo. Knowing the players, you should have been even BETTER prepared for the questions. You were NOT.
I don't know what to expect at the next forum, but I'm planning to be there. I hope you do better with pre-packaged questions to which you can read answers.
Stop blaming everyone and everything except yourself for your miserable performance. "
HER LAST REPLY - AN ECHO
A couple minutes ago - early afternoon Saturday, she sent me this final comment. As you can see, it's only an echo of what she said before. "Geoff, you have been cordial towards me. You are hyping a forum that wasn't professionally conducted. Attendance was low because people perceive it to be Jerry Springer-like. That happens when you have opinion columnists on stage instead of pro journalists. Then a promoter who lashes out at candidates for talking too long but has no set rules on time allowance. Geez."
THAT'S WHERE WE ARE NOW...

MY DILEMMA

Quite frankly, this leaves me with a dilemma. I know I'm not going to vote for Allan Mansoor. I know too much about him as a council member in Costa Mesa and his track record in Sacramento is one of abject failure.
WHO IS BOB RUSH?
So, I'm going to g

WHY WASTE A "GOOD REPUBLICAN" IN SACRAMENTO?
In fact, because ANY Republican representing the 74th Assembly District will be fighting an uphill battle dealing with the

Labels: Allan Mansoor, Barbara Venezia, Bob Rush, Feet To The Fire Forum, Jack Wu, Leslie Daigle, Scott Baugh, Tom Johnson