At the May 19th board meeting, Supervisor Wagner and I proposed a $101 million in CARES Act Funding for a Business Recovery Program.

Under the proposal, $75 million would have been allocated to cities to support small businesses and $26 million would have been set aside to cover reimbursements for eligible city costs. The Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved of $26 million in CARES Act funding to will reimburse Orange County cities that incurred direct costs due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

CARES Act funding restricts the use of funds to cover direct costs of COVID-19, and will not cover revenue losses. The $26 million would be available to cover expenses not reimbursable by the state and federal government.

Unfortunately, in a 3-2 vote, the board rejected an additional $75 million in CARES Act funding to a Business Recovery Grant Program to be administered by cities. Thirty-one of 34 mayors in Orange County had supported our proposal. The 3-2 vote strips local officials of their powers to allocate essential aid for the businesses negatively affected by our state-mandated lockdowns.

To best accommodate differences between supervisorial offices and to allocate funds to businesses as quickly as possible, Supervisor Wagner and I will focus on giving each Supervisorial district $15 million, instead of allocating funds to each city.

I am dedicated to assisting the struggling small businesses in Orange County. This money is essential, and we are looking to see how we can get this funding to our cities and businesses as quickly as possible.

It was a pleasure to deliver two thousand KN95 masks to Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes this morning for use by our outstanding First Responders in the Sheriff’s Department.

I am so very proud of our Sheriff and the fine men and women in his command. They are doing a stellar job during this COVID19 crisis. We can’t thank them enough for their service and should support them any way we can.

On April 28th, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in support of OC Business Guidelines to help business owners both big and small.

Since then, Orange County businesses are opening their doors again ever day. To help keep them safe, I joined with Rotary District 5320 on May 8th to receive from them 5,000 Face Shields for the Board of Supervisors to distribute to businesses in their local communities.

Governor Newsom was hurtful in his comments last week relating COVID-19 to California nail salons. He is seemingly oblivious to the negative impact his statements could have on the 11,000 nail salons in our state. Our small businesses are struggling right now, and there is absolutely no reason for the Governor to single out an entire industry as we do everything in our power to get people safely back to work.

Please take a look at the Board of Supervisors Meeting on May 12th: https://ocgov.granicus.com/player/clip/3698?view_id=8

Please take a look at the Board of Supervisors Meeting on May 19th: https://ocgov.granicus.com/player/clip/3702?view_id=8

Below is the letter that I sent together with the Chairmen of the Boards of Supervisors from San Bernardino, Riverside & San Diego Counties asking Governor Newsom to meet with us to discuss our regional differences and how we can create a reasonable set of guidelines to re-open quickly and safely.

May 16th was Armed Forces Day, a day honoring all Americans serving in our five incredible military branches. We honor all those serving in the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. These brave men and women have dedicated their lives to the protection of American lives and national security. Thank you to all that are serving! 

I want to wish every mother a Happy Mother’s Day this year as we honor motherhood, maternal bonds & the influence of mothers in the world.

Both my Mother & Mother-in-law were and continue to be major influences in my daily life. I love and miss them dearly.

Monday, May 25th is Memorial Day, a day of remembrance for those who have fallen in the line of duty defending the American people from our enemies. It is a solemn day to commemorate those who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedoms and the American way of life.