Katrina Foley will live on
But let's learn a lesson here.
So based on the latest totals, it appears Katrina Foley, the incumbent county supervisor, will march on toward the general election, where she will (yet again) face off against Republican Diane Dixon.
And, based upon voting trends and tendencies, odds are strong Foley pulls out the November win and remains on the job.
However …
In the course of her campaign, I was struck by a few things that someone should probably let Foley in on. And I don’t say this to be jerky, but because this is a local political website, and shit matters to me …
First, never, ever, ever, ever, ever talk like this again.
Never, ever, ever …
Why? Multiple reasons. To begin with, it comes off as waaaaaaay too cocky and self-assured. But even more important, the best way to drive supporters to the polls is to stress the exact opposite of confidence: You’re nervous. Diane Dixon has a wildly smooth apparatus working for her. The hard right is throwing millions of dollars into the race. It’s gonna be super tight. I need all of you to not only vote, but tell your friends to vote.
Second, present better.
Foley is, by all accounts, tremendous at her job. She’s a no-brainer, especially against a bougie lightweight like Dixon. But, man, she isn’t the easiest sell. I attended a Katrina Foley event, oh, seven months ago. A lot of people there. Multiple candidates. And after one Democratic colleague wrapped his remarks by encouraging people to donate to his campaign, Foley stressed that her race was more financially pressing and urgent. It was painfully awkward and inappropriate, but sorta Katrina-esque. You don’t walk away from her thinking, “Man, it’d be great to hang.” You walk away thinking, “I mean, I guess so.”
And, to reiterate: Katrina Foley is great at her job. But she’s not smooth, or warm and cuddly. Which you sorta need to be, especially in local races. Hell, you at least need to fake it a bit. Dixon sucks, but she comes off grandmotherly. People love grandmothers.
Third, knives out.
When we get past this crazy season, it’s time to bring out the butcher knives on Dixon. The woman is a warmed-over MAGA puppet; a Will O’Neill fever dream. She’s unaccomplished, hoity, out of touch, lame. One can coast through a primary with, “Hey, I’m grandma! Want a candy?” But now shit gets real.
Now, we have to take it to Diane Dixon.
Katrina Foley—take it to her.
It's sort of endearing to be great at your job and bad at campaigning, but only if you win.
Given that I live 450 miles from Orange County, I'll take your word on all these Orange Curtain politicos.
That's okay: I come here not to discuss politics, but -- since there are 600 replies you'll never get around to reading on Youtube regarding your Alan Iverson story -- to hijack this comment section in thanking you for another season of absolutely terrific stories on "Pressbox Chronicles," including the Iverson tale.
I say this as someone who never saw Iverson play, has never paid any attention to the NBA whatsoever, and doesn't care about any sport other than baseball and a bit of flat-track motorcycle racing. I've been to two Laker games, which were fun, but just can't watch the game on TV -- at all. After five minutes of trying to watch an NBA game I feel a sudden need to go sort the socks in my dresser. I used to like basketball in the Olympics back when it was the US college kids against the world (mostly the evil Rooskies), but once NBA players entered the Olympic arena with the "Dream Team" -- which kind of made me sick, truth be told -- I was done with it.
The NFL isn't quite so boring - I might tune in a playoff game or two, and always watch the Super Bowl - but I don't spend my winter Sundays watching armored mesomorphs churn their brains into mush.
As for hockey ... what? No. Same for soccer/futbol.
Oh, and I hate rap music too -- I'm just the wrong generation for that stuff.
So, given that you and I appear to live in and appreciate entirely different dimensions of the universe, why do I love "Press Box Chronicles" so much? Because you tell great stories about people -- the good, bad, and ugly -- in such an urgent, personal, compelling manner. Your stories make those people come alive, and you don't (as an old friend from Texas likes to say) "paint your own fence." You're one hell of a writer and story-teller, so thanks again for sharing them with your growing audience. I look forward to next season's offerings.
PS: I worked an utterly miserable 18 hour day filming one of Shaq's music videos way back in the day, so you can probably imagine how much fun that was for me. But hey, if you do a PBC story about the big fella, I'll be all ears!