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News
OC's Top 40 Influential Politicos
Red County Magazine
March 3, 2008
Who are Orange County's most influential people? That's a good question, and we decided to take a stab at answering it. Since Red County's primary focus is politics, we confined our tabulation to the realm of public affairs: broadly speaking, that intersection between politics and government where public policy is influenced, decided and altered.
We are calling our list the Red County Top 40. While it includes Orange County's top forty politicos, it is not offered as definitive. Since any such list is highly subjective, we endeavored to compile one that represents a solid crosssection of the various strata of individuals and organizations who make things happen politically in Orange County.
Also important to note, this list is not a ranking, but rather a grouping. We felt it presumptuous to rank the relative influence of individuals who represent very different segments of the political community. How does one rank the relative influences of a major donor, an elected official, political writer, and a leader of a powerful political action committee? We submit that you don't. All are important and powerful components within the political process.
Our initial list was a large one and was derived from hundreds of submissions to our online survey. Whittling it down to an admittedly arbitrary number of 40 wasn't easy. And we fully expect readers to disagree with whom we included and whom we omitted--but that just makes the ensuing discussing more vigorous.
We sorted, reviewed, and debated the nominees. With a master list in hand, we asked ourselves the following questions to help guide us through our selection process.
1. Are they influential not only in their respective communities, or the Board or Council on which they serve, but are not so outside that limited universe?
2. Can their endorsement move voters?
3. Do they provide leadership beyond the strict scope of their responsibility? Do they lead with the policies they advocate and/or succeed in achieving them?
4. Does their influence extend beyond their agency or company?
5. If this person called, would you get right back to them?
6. Do others look to these people for leadership, advice, opinions on policy issues or political campaigns?
7. Do they help shape public discourse or set the terms of public debate?
8. Are they leaders themselves?
Without further adieu, we present Red County's inaugural OC Top 40.
Curt Pringle
Pringle is probably the single most influential elected official in Orange County. He is Mayor of OC's most dynamic large city, influential in county public policy as an Orange County Transportation Authority director, owner of an influential public affairs company--and head-and-shoulders above the elected official crowd in terms of vision and sheer political talent.