NEWS
By Anthony Clark Carpio | March 12, 2014
Huntington Beach Mayor Matthew Harper and Councilman Joe Carchio recently filed their campaign paperwork with the Orange County registrar of voters to run in the June 3 primary for higher office. Harper is vying for a place in the Assembly, while Carchio wants a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Carchio hopes to succeed John Moorlach as the supervisor for District 2, which covers Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Cypress, La Palma, Los Alamitos and Stanton, and parts of Fountain Valley and Buena Park.
NEWS
By Anthony Clark Carpio | December 20, 2013
Setting up a showdown with an official from neighboring Newport Beach, Huntington Beach Mayor Matthew Harper announced Friday that he plans to run for state Assembly. Harper, a Republican, wants the seat Assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesa) is vacating in his bid for 2nd District county supervisor. Also in the 2014 race for the 74th Assembly District, which spans Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Irvine and Laguna Beach, are outgoing Newport Beach Mayor Keith Curry, 2010 Laguna Beach City Council candidate Emanuel Patrascu and 2012 Santa Ana City Council candidate Karina Onofre.
NEWS
By Mona Shadia | October 31, 2012
Travis Allen, a Huntington Beach resident running for the 72nd Assembly district, has denounced a complaint filed against him with the Fair Political Practices Commission. Allen said the complaint is nothing but an attempt to shift the focus from what he called opponent Troy Edgar's deteriorating campaign and from the fact that Edgar allegedly violated federal rules during his aborted congressional race earlier this year. Seal Beach resident Heidi Abel filed a complaint with the FPPC on Oct. 15 alleging Allen loaned himself an extra $100,000 and failed to report at least three late contributions.
NEWS
By Michael Miller | August 29, 2012
The massive inflatable turtle shifted in the breeze that whipped across the Huntington Beach Pier on Monday afternoon, looking large and restless enough to crawl across the walkway for a hearty meal at Ruby's Diner. The environmental activists who set up their booth on the pier hadn't anticipated the wind. But the turtle's twitchy movements ended up fitting their message perfectly: that the ocean is full of living things, and that plastic bags are best kept out of it. With the state's two-year legislative session set to end at midnight Friday, members of the Surfrider Foundation, Earth Resource Foundation and Environment California set up a table and solicited signatures for a petition asking lawmakers to support Assembly Bill 298, which seeks to ban single-use plastic bags in many businesses across California.
NEWS
By Mike Reicher and Michael Miller | June 6, 2012
Spoiling Newport Beach City Councilwoman Leslie Daigle's bid for the state Assembly, Democratic candidate Bob Rush looks poised to advance to the November general election. Rush and Assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesa) won the most votes in the 74th Assembly District primary race Tuesday. Both were ahead of Daigle, who ran as Republican. The 74th district covers part of Huntington Beach. Mansoor took 43% of ballots and Rush 33%, with all precincts counted for as of Wednesday, according to the Orange County Registrar of Voters.
NEWS
By Mona Shadia | May 23, 2012
Five candidates are vying for the newly redrawn 72nd Assembly District. Though it's hard to call a frontrunner in the crowded local race, Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar is raking in high-profile Republican support. Edgar, who was a registered Democrat until 2006, has gotten endorsements from a long list of conservative politicians, including Huntington Beach Mayor Don Hansen and Councilmen Devin Dwyer and Matthew Harper, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa), Assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesa)
NEWS
By Michael Miller | March 21, 2012
A Huntington Beach resident running for Assembly said a pair of campaign press releases that attacked another candidate for dropping out of the race were sent without his approval. Travis Allen, one of five candidates in the race for the newly aligned 72 District, attributed the March 9 and 10 emails to "an anxious campaign volunteer," who issued the statements without authorization. The releases, which feature the tag "Approved by Travis Allen for Assembly" at the bottom, strongly criticize Huntington Beach Councilman Matthew Harper for dropping out of the Assembly race before the deadline to file papers.
NEWS
By Michael Miller | March 14, 2012
Huntington Beach Councilman Matthew Harper, who has run a high-profile campaign for state Assembly since October, has dropped out of the race. In a Friday email to the Harper for Assembly mailing list, Harper said he had opted not to run for the newly formed 72nd District and plans instead to seek reelection to City Council. He was elected in 2010 and has already filed a candidate intention statement with the city to run in 2014. Reached Friday by phone, Harper said he initially entered the Assembly race because he saw no other candidate who shared his political philosophy.
NEWS
By Michael Miller | March 14, 2012
Huntington Beach Councilman Joe Carchio said Thursday that he has opted not to run for the 74th Assembly District, ending months of speculation after he voiced interest in entering the race. Carchio, who was elected to the council in 2006 and 2010, said he ultimately decided to remain in Huntington to finish the job voters had elected him to do. He had announced in January that he planned to run for Assembly but had yet to file his paperwork. "I still have three years left here, and we have a lot we want to accomplish, especially on the Beach and Edinger Corridor and other projects we have going," Carchio said.
NEWS
February 8, 2012
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) has endorsed Huntington Beach Councilman Matthew Harper for the new 72nd Assembly District. Rohrabacher's endorsement was announced in a release issued Saturday by Harper's campaign. In the release, Rohrabacher describes Harper as a fighter who will defend America's freedom, restore economic sanity and push for tougher laws against illegal immigration. The newly redrawn district was created by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission late last year.