Passing

     Yesterday, the OC Reg’s Martin Wisckol gave us his take on O.C.'s top political stories of 2012.
     Wisckol’s story #1, of course, was the rise of the county Democrats--or at least the continued decline of the county Repubs:

1. GOP advantage narrows. Democrats' share of the county electorate has remained around 32 percent since 1996, but Republicans' share has continued its steady decline from 56 percent in 1990 to 41 percent for the November election. Unaffiliated voters now account for 23 percent of the county's voters. Six of the county's 34 cities are now Democratic – Republicans lost two more this year – and Irvine is on the verge of becoming the seventh.

Story #2 is the further unfolding of the inevitable:

2. Latinos, Asians vote Democrat. Helping fuel the narrowing gap between parties is the growing Latino and Asian electorate. Nationwide, 73 percent of Asians and 71 percent of Latinos voted for Barack Obama. In the state, 79 percent of Asians and 72 percent of Latinos voted for Obama. In the county, there were no extensive exit polls but the five most heavily Latino cities, including one with more Republicans than Democrats, voted for Obama. And the four most Asian cities favored Obama despite all having more Republicans than Democrats.

Story #6 was the death of Trustee Tom Fuentes, a man associated with both the dominance of the GOP in OC and the party's failures (e.g., persistent alienation of Latino voters), leading to its decline:

6. Fuentes dies. Tom Fuentes, chairman of the county GOP from 1985 to 2004, saw the party's dominance rise and fall during his reign. Beloved by some, detested by others, Fuentes stepped down amid shrinking voter share and increasing criticism. He died May 18 of cancer at age 63.

Typical of the kinds of looks Fuentes

shot my way over the years.

     It is interesting that some of Fuentes' supporters, including some family members, speak of Tom's capacity for love. I do not doubt that he had that capacity, but he is one of the few people I have known about whom it cannot be doubted that he carried with him always a list of those people and kinds that he hated. (I suspect that, for him, I was not among the latter group; it always seemed to me that I amused him more than bothered him. But who knows.)

     CONDOLENCES. DtB wishes to join others in expressing condolences to Nancy Padberg and family over the passing of her husband, Tom.