Moulton Patterson Is Pick for Supervisor : Leadership Style and Approach to Local Issues Make Choice Clear in Nonpartisan Race

The best-kept secret in the runoff race for a seat on the Board of Supervisors in the 2nd District this fall is that this is a nonpartisan political office.

The political barbs have been flying for much of this year. A host of local Republican leaders backed Jim Silva. Linda Moulton Patterson has support from unions, Democratic leaders and some notable Republicans, such as Santa Ana Mayor Daniel H. Young. In September, a contentious debate saw Silva accusing Moulton Patterson of being a “Clinton liberal,” and Moulton Patterson suggesting that Silva was beholden to Supervisor Roger R. Stanton.

The political wrangling was reduced at one point to a battle over who was more authentically in support of Proposition 187, the initiative that would deny public school education and social services to illegal immigrants.

Somewhere beyond this political fog lie more pragmatic considerations. The question that must be answered by voters in the district, which covers northwest county cities, including Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Costa Mesa and Cypress, is which of these two will be the best supervisor.

Some Republicans in heavily Republican Orange County may be put off simply by Moulton Patterson’s Democratic Party affiliation. But this indeed is a nonpartisan race and should be judged on the approaches to local issues, and on style of leadership. And on those terms, we continue to believe that Moulton Patterson is the clear choice.

Voters would be best advised to look at Moulton Patterson’s evenhanded record of service to the city of Huntington Beach as local school board president, mayor and member of the California Coastal Commission. In these roles, she has been in step with the concerns and needs of her constituents. She has served with distinction.

Her opposition to the knee-jerk planning by ballot box that is represented in the airport initiative now before the voters is a case in point. She has preferred less dense development of the Bolsa Chica wetlands than her opponent. She offers independent and balanced judgment, and would be a welcome complement to the Board of Supervisors to join along with the new incoming supervisor Marian Bergeson.