Foley Unofficially Claims OC Board Of Supes District 2 Seat

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley is the apparent winner of the Orange County Board of Supervisors seat for District 2, following a special election, Tuesday. The spot was vacated by Michelle Steel after her election to the House of Representatives in November.

Approximately 24 percent of voters, or 95,907 votes, turned out for the special election, according to the Orange County Registrar of Voters, Neal Kelley.

The Board of Supervisors is non-partisan though politics was very much on the minds of voters this election, according to both the OC Democrats and OC GOP. The budget this year has included an additional $554 million in federal funds to battle the pandemic, as well as an annual $7 billion budget.

Foley, a Democrat, led the night over Corona Del Mar attorney Janet Rappaport, and republican candidates former State Senator John Moorlach, Fountain Valley Mayor Michael Vo and Newport Beach City Council member Kevin Muldoon.

Katrina Foley was ahead with 42,347 votes compared to Moorlach's 29,628; Muldoon's 10,745; Vo's 8,639; and Rappaport's 4,266. The results have not yet been officially called, though Moorlach, the closest in the race, conceded to Foley at 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Foley ran on a platform of COVID recovery, vaccine distribution, to which the people responded "overwhelmingly," she said.

Foley will earn $168,000 a year, along with health benefits to do the job.

The District 2 supervisor oversees Costa Mesa, Cypress, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Stanton, as well as parts of Buena Park and Fountain Valley. The unincorporated area of Rossmoor is also part of that district.