From the time Perry Meade was in high school he has been a successful activist and organizer. Unlike many of the others in this race Perry, in fact, has real, honest experience. From working with the school district to pass a $20 million dollar solar energy initiative to advocating for a food bank, $1 bus passes and on-campus student housing for community college students and then while at UC Berkeley Perry helped to to pass AB 2617 a gun violence prevention measure that was signed by the Governor. Yes, he's young. That's a good thing. He has the energy, the passion and optimism to fuel a campaign in these otherwise distressing times. You need to know his personal story to understand and appreciate his commitment and deep sense of responsibility to protect medicare and the civil rights of the most vulnerable in his community. I met Perry way back when and I am thoroughly impressed and proud of what he has achieved. I am confident that he will rise up to the challenges and will accomplish good things when he is elected to Congress. I suspect you will feel similarly once you meet him.
I wish he would start by helping us with other seats that need MAGAs to be replaced - State Assembly, city councils, and school boards. We have a candidate who successfully ran against a school board candidate and made this seat flippable. This is how we are going to lose by being distracted and divided by all these opportunists. It’s so frustrating!
Agreed but if you already knew why he lived with his parents, it would have been nice for you to include that fact and not make it into a negative for others to use. Also, a lot of young people NEED to live with their parents because housing is unaffordable!
Granted Jeff could have asked. Maybe if he was there he would have. This living with your parents trope started because bloggers were supposedly living with their parents. It might have been the case with some. I think it was probably exaggerated. I wonder how many in the crowd knew why he was living at home.
When he's questioned about living with his parents, an immediate comeback of helping nurse his sister isn't just a response, it's support-flipper. People hear that and they say, "This guy is the real deal. He knows what sacrifice is. Does Young Kim have any examples like this?"
I heard Perry interview David Hogg at a Democratic Women of SOC meeting. I was very impressed with Perry, more so than David. He was smart, serious, prepared, and articulate. I would love to see him in a debate with Young Kim, which she would never do of course. She won’t even meet with her constituents.
I was at the meeting and going into the meeting my impression of Esther was positive, as I had met her at Young Kim protests. At the meeting I felt she came off as cocky. One of my colleagues who was also at the meeting did not like her at all, in fact liked her the least out of all 4 candidates
I also agree that Gagnier is not ready or viable for this Congressional position. To me she was the least impressionable.
It’ll be an interesting race, that’s for sure. I always ask the candidates if they will drop out if they don’t get the nod from the Democratic Party. If we don’t congregate for the general election, we will absolutely lose. It helps me separate those who are in it for vanity reasons from those who are in it for the right reasons. But what do I know?
YES!! I agree 💯. Democrats are their own worst enemy by not supporting one candidate after the primary election. We lost because too many registered. Democrats did not vote last time. If these candidates really want to flip this seat they need to make some promises about what they’ll do if they lose. Especially the ones with lots of money!
Katie Porter endorsed Joe Kerr and I heard her speak about him at an event. I hope she endorses him again. He is the only candidate I want representing me out of all of the ones in the race.
Is there no Democrat who has been a mayor or served on any city council in CA40? Anyone who has been elected to anything within CA40 who will run? Or a business person with money in the Harley Rouda mold who can appeal to Democrats, Independents and Decline to State? Shouldn't the central committee be finding these people for us? Sorry to hear Esther isn't open to constructive criticism! I was at the ANDC meeting and I think the comments Jeff relayed about Esther we're accurate. She treated the audience like adversaries instead of teammates. The question is can she mold herself into an electable candidate? Is she willing to? She's smart enough to polish herself up but will she?
Esther accused me of spewing lies on her social media donation blitz and wouldn’t tell me what the lies were! Definitely adversarial. We have a candidate who has served in public service leadership positions for years in our district. He won the primary against a school board candidate. He lost because of low voter turnout, but managed to make this seat flippable. He can finish the job. I’m supporting Joe Kerr again and hoping all these candidates continue working to get the Democrat elected after the primary!
She won’t trounce Joe Kerr if Democrats will get their act together! He got a percentage of Republican votes. That’s crucial to win this race. Can’t see any voting for these other candidates.
The same thing happened with Varet at the Central OC Dem Club. It was her debut, so I felt forgiving, but she never progressed past basic "my name is" content. She extended her time by literally running away from the moderator several times. When I gave feedback to her staff, my comments were dismissed with "wait until you see all the money we've raised." Bad form. Varet elected to skip the Laguna Woods Club invitation. (In Julia Roberts' voice: "Big Mistake! Huge!") Gagnier did do that weird no-eye-contact until there were questions, and then her "thinking eye roll" stopped the ceiling check. She connected with me. I hope they all attend our LW candidate forum.
If Perry takes care of his sibling, we need to support him on that!
With these comments, I can't wait for the Canyon Dems event next week. I am so intrigued. I am getting more and more turned off by EKV who has "fight me," vibes with everyone seemingly over everything. And while I appreciate her creativity on social media, she's just been posting some weird shit lately. I've seen her in person twice, and each time I've left more confused and more convinced I don't like her even when I am actively trying to. I am interested in learning more about Perry. He's 26 and a Berkeley grad (Go Bears). I mean, maybe. At 26, by definition you don't have much work experience. Neither did AOC or Maxwell Frost. I get that it's an attackable issue. But it's also easy to point out that almost no 26 year old can live on their own in our district.
So why doesn't Perry start with a local political position first? Like a city council or school board? I do like him much better than KV for sure but Kerr is #1 IMHO.
Absolutely. He can finish the job he started with ZERO help from national organizations and grassroots groups. They were being strategic and not “wasting time” on an impossible race. Now that it’s flippable, we are divided by all the opportunists. They should help us out with state assembly, city council and school board seats. MAGAs need to be voted out everywhere!
Hearns picture priceless and on point. This field reminds me of "Maiden" race at Los Alamitos (Harness). We need a Zenyata (Thoroughbred) to knock out YK Red!
1. Perry no job and 26yrs. Cmon, everybody did some time at KFC or Subway. Definitely an easy target for Kim's crew. Is he all show - no go?
2. K-Varet: Longshot. "Millionaires giving me dough" shtick doesn't resonate. Keep practicing in mirror, clean up IG. Bring pizza to next town hall and maybe a little eye contact with the crowd.
My immediate concern with Varet having not met her, but only followed her socials and read your stuff, is that she starts with, “I’m a Mom, an entrepreneur, and a fighter…”. Couple that, I guess, with that photo of the fam and the thin skin over the relocation question, I have to ask whether what we need is another inexperienced, but wealthy person going to Washington on our behalf. Don’t get me wrong. I haven’t written her off; haven’t met the other candidates yet. Thanks for your perspective.
Extremely excited about Meade being in the race. I'm impressed with the depth of his relationships to existing OC party activists and infrastructure (y'know...because he's from here, and shows up). The only concern I really would have had is his fundraising prowess, and he came out of the gate swinging.
And as a young person, Millennials and Gen Z will be far more motivated to work toward victory for a union organizer than any of the other candidates.
On EKV: my biggest concern with her is how out of step her views on Israel-Palestine are with a Democratic Party base that is increasingly sympathetic to the plight of Palestinians. In the past week or so that concern has deepened.
Local activists caught wind of her Jewish Insider profile, in which she claims that anti-Israel extremism has ‘decimated the Democratic Party’. EKV has also recently made some hot takes...claiming that Radical Islamists are directing the Left, and directly questioning commenters on whether or not they support Hamas. Not a good look. The perception of her as being the "pro-Israel candidate", at a time when conditions on the ground are entering crisis territory and public opinion is turning on Israel, is not going to do her campaign any favors.
So sorry to hear comments that Gagnier came off poorly. At this point she is my preferred candidate, although I like Varet for being Asian, which I think gives her an edge in CD 40 (I wish that were not the case, a candidate should win on their merits not the origin of their DNA - but pragmatism is required in this vote).
I am interested in finding out more about Perry Meade. Like, where did he get all that cash?
He's been active in local Democratic Party politics for years, as a party activist and officer for a strong labor union, Unite Here 11. As in labor organizing, politics is about relationships. Coming out the gate with endorsements from the district's state senator and a solid fundraising haul is evidence that he knows how to tap into those relationships, which to me, is a solid sign of life for his campaign's viability.
I’m Asian and Varet’s comments gives me the impression that she’s more outspoken about being aligned with her husband being Jewish and her kids being Jewish. I don’t know how she feels or identifies, but this the impression that is given from her social media and public statements, because she speaks often about being pro-Israel (the government as well as pro-Jewish, the people). Just an FYI if this makes any difference to anyone who might be reading this.
According to a July 14 article in The Liberal OC, only three of the six Democrats running in CA-40 submitted responses to this candidate questionnaire. While we don’t have a full side-by-side comparison, here’s what the participating candidates had to say about where they stand on key issues:
From the time Perry Meade was in high school he has been a successful activist and organizer. Unlike many of the others in this race Perry, in fact, has real, honest experience. From working with the school district to pass a $20 million dollar solar energy initiative to advocating for a food bank, $1 bus passes and on-campus student housing for community college students and then while at UC Berkeley Perry helped to to pass AB 2617 a gun violence prevention measure that was signed by the Governor. Yes, he's young. That's a good thing. He has the energy, the passion and optimism to fuel a campaign in these otherwise distressing times. You need to know his personal story to understand and appreciate his commitment and deep sense of responsibility to protect medicare and the civil rights of the most vulnerable in his community. I met Perry way back when and I am thoroughly impressed and proud of what he has achieved. I am confident that he will rise up to the challenges and will accomplish good things when he is elected to Congress. I suspect you will feel similarly once you meet him.
I wish he would start by helping us with other seats that need MAGAs to be replaced - State Assembly, city councils, and school boards. We have a candidate who successfully ran against a school board candidate and made this seat flippable. This is how we are going to lose by being distracted and divided by all these opportunists. It’s so frustrating!
Perry lives at home with his family because he helps take care of his sibling who has major health issues.
I understand and admire that. But political attacks rarely go deep. They just go ugly.
Agreed but if you already knew why he lived with his parents, it would have been nice for you to include that fact and not make it into a negative for others to use. Also, a lot of young people NEED to live with their parents because housing is unaffordable!
Granted Jeff could have asked. Maybe if he was there he would have. This living with your parents trope started because bloggers were supposedly living with their parents. It might have been the case with some. I think it was probably exaggerated. I wonder how many in the crowd knew why he was living at home.
When he's questioned about living with his parents, an immediate comeback of helping nurse his sister isn't just a response, it's support-flipper. People hear that and they say, "This guy is the real deal. He knows what sacrifice is. Does Young Kim have any examples like this?"
An absolutely honorable thing to do for anyone, but especially a 26 year old who has his whole life ahead of him.
I heard Perry interview David Hogg at a Democratic Women of SOC meeting. I was very impressed with Perry, more so than David. He was smart, serious, prepared, and articulate. I would love to see him in a debate with Young Kim, which she would never do of course. She won’t even meet with her constituents.
I was at the meeting and going into the meeting my impression of Esther was positive, as I had met her at Young Kim protests. At the meeting I felt she came off as cocky. One of my colleagues who was also at the meeting did not like her at all, in fact liked her the least out of all 4 candidates
I also agree that Gagnier is not ready or viable for this Congressional position. To me she was the least impressionable.
It’ll be an interesting race, that’s for sure. I always ask the candidates if they will drop out if they don’t get the nod from the Democratic Party. If we don’t congregate for the general election, we will absolutely lose. It helps me separate those who are in it for vanity reasons from those who are in it for the right reasons. But what do I know?
-Aliso Viejo Mayor Tiffany Ackley
YES!! I agree 💯. Democrats are their own worst enemy by not supporting one candidate after the primary election. We lost because too many registered. Democrats did not vote last time. If these candidates really want to flip this seat they need to make some promises about what they’ll do if they lose. Especially the ones with lots of money!
I loved how you handled the meeting with the pride flag hater. Thanks for doing such a great job serving the community!
Have people asked Katie Porter what she thinks of Perry? Believe he worked for her. Have heard she has called him unserious.
Katie Porter endorsed Joe Kerr and I heard her speak about him at an event. I hope she endorses him again. He is the only candidate I want representing me out of all of the ones in the race.
Good point for sure. I would be very interested in her take or even insight from other staffers.
Great idea.
Is there no Democrat who has been a mayor or served on any city council in CA40? Anyone who has been elected to anything within CA40 who will run? Or a business person with money in the Harley Rouda mold who can appeal to Democrats, Independents and Decline to State? Shouldn't the central committee be finding these people for us? Sorry to hear Esther isn't open to constructive criticism! I was at the ANDC meeting and I think the comments Jeff relayed about Esther we're accurate. She treated the audience like adversaries instead of teammates. The question is can she mold herself into an electable candidate? Is she willing to? She's smart enough to polish herself up but will she?
Tiffany Ackley.
Esther accused me of spewing lies on her social media donation blitz and wouldn’t tell me what the lies were! Definitely adversarial. We have a candidate who has served in public service leadership positions for years in our district. He won the primary against a school board candidate. He lost because of low voter turnout, but managed to make this seat flippable. He can finish the job. I’m supporting Joe Kerr again and hoping all these candidates continue working to get the Democrat elected after the primary!
Here we go again. Is this the best the 40th has to offer? Young Kim will trounce this bunch.
She won’t trounce Joe Kerr if Democrats will get their act together! He got a percentage of Republican votes. That’s crucial to win this race. Can’t see any voting for these other candidates.
Perry seems far stronger- and connected to party machinery- than any of Young Kim's past challengers.
It will take more than just Dems to win.
Thanks for the second hand report - OK with me.
The same thing happened with Varet at the Central OC Dem Club. It was her debut, so I felt forgiving, but she never progressed past basic "my name is" content. She extended her time by literally running away from the moderator several times. When I gave feedback to her staff, my comments were dismissed with "wait until you see all the money we've raised." Bad form. Varet elected to skip the Laguna Woods Club invitation. (In Julia Roberts' voice: "Big Mistake! Huge!") Gagnier did do that weird no-eye-contact until there were questions, and then her "thinking eye roll" stopped the ceiling check. She connected with me. I hope they all attend our LW candidate forum.
If Perry takes care of his sibling, we need to support him on that!
Where was Joe Kerr?
Joe and Paula Swift came to our June meeting. Each candidate was offered two dates and it was based on their schedules who chose which one.
With these comments, I can't wait for the Canyon Dems event next week. I am so intrigued. I am getting more and more turned off by EKV who has "fight me," vibes with everyone seemingly over everything. And while I appreciate her creativity on social media, she's just been posting some weird shit lately. I've seen her in person twice, and each time I've left more confused and more convinced I don't like her even when I am actively trying to. I am interested in learning more about Perry. He's 26 and a Berkeley grad (Go Bears). I mean, maybe. At 26, by definition you don't have much work experience. Neither did AOC or Maxwell Frost. I get that it's an attackable issue. But it's also easy to point out that almost no 26 year old can live on their own in our district.
So why doesn't Perry start with a local political position first? Like a city council or school board? I do like him much better than KV for sure but Kerr is #1 IMHO.
Absolutely. He can finish the job he started with ZERO help from national organizations and grassroots groups. They were being strategic and not “wasting time” on an impossible race. Now that it’s flippable, we are divided by all the opportunists. They should help us out with state assembly, city council and school board seats. MAGAs need to be voted out everywhere!
Perhaps. I haven't made any decisions yet, but his youth isn't a disqualifier for me.
Hearns picture priceless and on point. This field reminds me of "Maiden" race at Los Alamitos (Harness). We need a Zenyata (Thoroughbred) to knock out YK Red!
1. Perry no job and 26yrs. Cmon, everybody did some time at KFC or Subway. Definitely an easy target for Kim's crew. Is he all show - no go?
2. K-Varet: Longshot. "Millionaires giving me dough" shtick doesn't resonate. Keep practicing in mirror, clean up IG. Bring pizza to next town hall and maybe a little eye contact with the crowd.
3. Tossup: Rest of field.
My immediate concern with Varet having not met her, but only followed her socials and read your stuff, is that she starts with, “I’m a Mom, an entrepreneur, and a fighter…”. Couple that, I guess, with that photo of the fam and the thin skin over the relocation question, I have to ask whether what we need is another inexperienced, but wealthy person going to Washington on our behalf. Don’t get me wrong. I haven’t written her off; haven’t met the other candidates yet. Thanks for your perspective.
Extremely excited about Meade being in the race. I'm impressed with the depth of his relationships to existing OC party activists and infrastructure (y'know...because he's from here, and shows up). The only concern I really would have had is his fundraising prowess, and he came out of the gate swinging.
And as a young person, Millennials and Gen Z will be far more motivated to work toward victory for a union organizer than any of the other candidates.
On EKV: my biggest concern with her is how out of step her views on Israel-Palestine are with a Democratic Party base that is increasingly sympathetic to the plight of Palestinians. In the past week or so that concern has deepened.
Local activists caught wind of her Jewish Insider profile, in which she claims that anti-Israel extremism has ‘decimated the Democratic Party’. EKV has also recently made some hot takes...claiming that Radical Islamists are directing the Left, and directly questioning commenters on whether or not they support Hamas. Not a good look. The perception of her as being the "pro-Israel candidate", at a time when conditions on the ground are entering crisis territory and public opinion is turning on Israel, is not going to do her campaign any favors.
So sorry to hear comments that Gagnier came off poorly. At this point she is my preferred candidate, although I like Varet for being Asian, which I think gives her an edge in CD 40 (I wish that were not the case, a candidate should win on their merits not the origin of their DNA - but pragmatism is required in this vote).
I am interested in finding out more about Perry Meade. Like, where did he get all that cash?
He's been active in local Democratic Party politics for years, as a party activist and officer for a strong labor union, Unite Here 11. As in labor organizing, politics is about relationships. Coming out the gate with endorsements from the district's state senator and a solid fundraising haul is evidence that he knows how to tap into those relationships, which to me, is a solid sign of life for his campaign's viability.
I’m Asian and Varet’s comments gives me the impression that she’s more outspoken about being aligned with her husband being Jewish and her kids being Jewish. I don’t know how she feels or identifies, but this the impression that is given from her social media and public statements, because she speaks often about being pro-Israel (the government as well as pro-Jewish, the people). Just an FYI if this makes any difference to anyone who might be reading this.
According to a July 14 article in The Liberal OC, only three of the six Democrats running in CA-40 submitted responses to this candidate questionnaire. While we don’t have a full side-by-side comparison, here’s what the participating candidates had to say about where they stand on key issues:
https://theliberaloc.com/2025/07/14/a-look-at-democratic-candidates-for-ca-40-only-three-respond/