Anaheim Councilman Jordan Brandman just sent out an e-mail announcing he is ending his candidacy for the 46th Congressional District, which is an open seat now that incumbent Rep. Loretta Sanchez is running for U.S. Senate. Here is the announcement from his campaign:

Dear ____,

As my good friend and strong supporter, I wanted to let you know that I have decided to end my campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives.

I have not come to my decision easily. I have put my heart and soul into this campaign over the last few months, and I feel that our hard work has been paying off. Our fundraising, endorsements, and strong community support have been impressive and, quite frankly, very humbling.

However, after much deliberation with my family, friends, and supporters, I have decided that there are still a great many things I would like to help accomplish for the residents of Anaheim.

For the remainder of my term on the Anaheim City Council, I look forward to bolstering critical infrastructure, helping our families feel safer in their neighborhoods, and successfully implementing the City’s new city council district plan. These efforts and their outcome will be fundamental to deciding what kind of city Anaheim becomes over the next few decades, and I consider it a privilege to represent you as we work on them together.

Running for Congress has been an honor. I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunities I have had to meet many new friends and listen to residents’ stories of challenge and triumph.

I look forward to continuing these conversations and working with you to move our community forward.

Thank you for your support. I am proud to count you as my friend. Best wishes and happy holidays to you and your family.

Sincerely,

Jordan Brandman

Brandman lives in the Colony District in central Anaheim, but has been open about possibly moving to West Anaheim.  He has been on the receiving end of a torrent of unjust, vicious criticism from Anaheim’s hard-Left political activists, especially the leadership and staff of UNITE-HERE and OCCORD. Leftists such as these want what they want, and will rend anyone who stands in their way, regardless of past assistance (recall that Councilman Brandman is the only councilmember who took UNITE-HERE’s part during their labor dispute with Anaheim Arena Management).

OCCORD and UNITE-HERE instigated a stunning display of hooliganism at last night’s Anaheim City Council meeting which led to the council’s adjournment due to being unable to conduct the business of the public. They are jubilant about their hooliganism, and have promised more of it. Weimar comes to Anaheim.

Vanderbilt Decamps for West Anaheim
Councilman James Vanderbilt grew up in Anaheim Hills and has lived near the Colony District since the early 1990s. At last week’s council meeting, during the discussion of election sequencing the districts comprising the undeservedly labeled “People’s Map” (unless one is using that term in the Cold War, “People’s Republic” sense of the word), Vanderbilt announced that he is moving to West Anaheim, past Euclid Street.

Vanderbilt’s move makes a mockery of the ad nauseum claims by advocates that by-district council elections would lead to “neighbors electing neighbors.” Then again, they never said it wouldn’t mean electing new neighbors.

Realistically, there is nothing to prevent this kind of council district shopping. At the same meeting where Councilman Vanderbilt made his announcement, Victoria Michaels, an officer of the Anaheim Republican Assembly (which has degenerated into the Vichy auxiliary of Anaheim’s political Left), demanded the council amend the city charter to require candidates to have lived in the district in which they are running for at least three to four years. She thought it ridiculous one only has to have lived in the district for a minimum of 30 days before becoming a council candidate. [Michaels made this request prior to Vanderbilt’s announcement].

Good luck with that. The very same issue arose during the Anaheim Charter Commission’s deliberations. However, it turns out state law prohibits any time-of-residence requirement beyond 30 days.

It’s doubtful there will be negative political fallout from Vanderbilt’s move. By-district election advocates didn’t like mentioning that each council district is as populous as a medium-size city.  Vanderbilt will run with the ballot title “Anaheim Councilmember” and few of his 50,000-plus “neighbors” will have any idea he’s a recent arrival to West Anaheim.

Then again, as events of recent weeks have shown, the campaign for by-district council elections really wasn’t about “neighbors electing neighbors.” That was just necessary propaganda for Anaheim voters who would have been less likely to embrace an electoral version of affirmative action.