Carpetbaggers Can’t Dawdle

Tom Coad learned an important lesson during his ill-fated bid to keep the Coad name alive on the Orange County Board of Supervisors: Carpetbaggers had best make sure their luggage is packed well in advance.

Coad’s predicament might have escaped some county residents, so in the interest of public service, here’s a brief recap. The husband of outgoing board Chairwoman Cynthia P. Coad several weeks ago announced plans to run for the 3rd District seat that soon would open up when Supervisor Todd Spitzer won election Nov. 5 to the state Assembly. (Spitzer, by the way, hopes to play musical chairs and switch seats with fellow Republican Bill Campbell, the termed-out 71st District assemblyman who is running for Spitzer’s county job.)

Coad’s announcement raised some eyebrows in Spitzer’s old district, in large part because Spitzer consistently campaigned hard against the proposed airport at El Toro while Coad stood steadfastly in favor of the plan. Then there was the practical matter of where Coad lives -- a house in Anaheim, safely inside the 4th District. The Coads are building a home in northern Tustin, but it isn’t finished. Coad planned to establish residency by renting a Tustin house and starting to take the pulse of the local electorate.

Spitzer -- gleefully, observers suspect -- upset the apple cart by unexpectedly resigning Nov. 20, several days ahead of his anticipated schedule. Spitzer tripped up Coad’s political ambitions by handing his resignation to, of all people, Cynthia Coad during a supervisors meeting.

Would-be candidate Tom Coad was caught flatfooted because he’d failed to fulfill a 30-day residency requirement. The county counsel promptly ruled that Coad’s notice to the registrar of voters had to be postmarked by Nov. 16, but the card didn’t get postmarked until Nov. 18.

Politicians of all stripes and at all levels try to put the best spin on their politically motivated moves. A three-judge appellate court panel had to certify that Dick Cheney was a Wyoming resident and thus qualified to hold a place on the ballot as George Bush’s running mate in 2000. Democrats unsuccessfully tried to paint Olympic Games head Mitt Romney as an out-of-towner during his successful Nov. 5 bid to become governor of Massachusetts.

Coad’s experience undoubtedly was personally painful, but it probably was for the best that the county counsel quickly weighed in with an unambiguous decision. The last thing voters needed was a courtroom squabble over whether Coad made or missed the registration deadline. Given voters’ short attention spans, politicians had best stick to what they stand for, not what district they’re qualified to run from.