It is the election that will have a lasting impact on the political makeup of California and Orange County into the next century.
By the time election day is over, the winners will foretell California's political future. Voters will decide whether Democrats will control the state's reapportionment, which will help dictate political power well into the 21st century, or whether Republicans will broaden their reach by making substantial inroads among minorities.
Voters also will decide whether California will elect the first Latino, or Latinos, statewide in more than a century, or elect the first Chinese American U.S. senator from mainland America.
Voters in Orange County will choose two of five members for the Board of Supervisors, which next year faces a slew of major decisions that will have significant impact on the county. The fate of the planned airport to replace the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station--a proposal that has been the most divisive issue in county politics--hangs in the balance.
Other high-profile decisions include whether to continue plans for expanding the James A. Musick jail near Lake Forest and the future of the county executive officer, Jan Mittermeier, criticized by two supervisors for having too much authority.
The fate of each of those issues will be determined by the candidates who win Tuesday, and that will shape the look of the county into the coming century. The candidates in this year's election hold strikingly different views on nearly all of the important issues.
"I've lived in the county for more than 30 years, and there is more at stake in this election than any other I've seen," said Supervisor William G. Steiner, who is leaving his 4th District seat. "What's at stake is more than the El Toro Air Station. But also the governance structure . . . and the direction we will head in terms of law enforcement and public safety."
In the county's other high-profile race, voters in the central cities will decide whether to keep the county's only Democratic member of Congress, Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Garden Grove, or return former congressman Robert K. Dornan to office. Countywide, voters will tap winners in four other congressional races, the county's legislative contests and dozens of city council, school board and special district races.
