Chamber Gives O.C. Legislators High Marks

It probably isn’t going to surprise anyone, but just to get it on the record by year’s end: All but one of Orange County’s Republican state legislators (there were no Democrats this year) scored perfect or near-perfect scores on the California Chamber of Commerce’s annual rating of pro-business votes.

In the Assembly, the state chamber identified 20 key votes to help rate members’ sensitivity to, and support of, the business community. Scoring perfect 20s for voting “yes” on bills the chamber supported and “no” on measures it detested were GOP assembly members Dick Ackerman, Fullerton; Scott Baugh, Huntington Beach; Marilyn C. Brewer, Irvine; Mickey Conroy, Orange; Jim Morrissey, Santa Ana; Bill Morrow, Oceanside (whose district includes parts of south Orange County); and Curt Pringle, Garden Grove.

The story was a little different in the state Senate, where a couple of the Republicans actually voted contrary to the state chamber’s preference on a few of the 14 votes the organization counted as critical. John R. Lewis of Orange was the most business-minded of the bunch, scoring 13 “correct” votes and one absence. Ross Johnson of Irvine received a 12, with one “wrong” vote and one absence, and Rob Hurtt of Garden Grove squeaked by with a 10, plus a pair of “wrong” votes and two absences.

William Craven of Oceanside, whose district includes part of south Orange County, received the chamber’s only zero. While he only voted against the chamber’s position once, he was absent or simply didn’t vote when the other 13 key bills came up.

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John O’Dell covers major Orange County corporations and manufacturing for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5831 and at john.odell@latimes.com