The publication announced their endorsement and selected Moorlach over current city mayor John Stephens.
The Orange County Register is endorsing John Moorlach for Costa Mesa Mayor. The announcement came following interviews with candidates running in the general election.
Costa Mesa is a city facing growing financial problems, with underfunded pensions and high pension costs taking the spotlight in the troubled arena. It has the highest unrestricted net deficit per capita of Orange County’s thirty-four cities, in a balance sheet that shows a negative balance for every resident. Financially, the city is tanking.
Moorlach is hoping he could bring the change the city needs. “I have stepped up to do something about what has become a disappointing train wreck in slow motion,” he said.
Moorlach stepped in as Orange County Treasurer/Tax Collector, when the county incurred $1.6 billion in losses by taking on highly leveraged investments, and successfully steered the county out of Chapter 9 bankruptcy. He then went on to serve for twelve more years in this role.
The Costa Mesa CPA has also served as an Orange County Supervisor, and State Senator where he analysed all of California’s cities, counties, and school districts. The results revealed that in the event of an economic down-cycle, hundreds of budgets were at risk for fiscal distress, due to the state’s pension and retiree medical liabilities.
It’s the financial state of affairs of Costa Mesa that Moorlach said prompted to run for mayor.
“Thinking that I could now relax has not been acceptable. Too many of my friends and neighbors encouraged me to get back into the fray.” Moorlach stated.
John Moolach is running against incumbent John Stephens for Costa Mesa Mayor.
