Will O'Neill, 2618 San Miguel Drive, #173, Newport Beach, CA (2026)

10/14/2026

Sacramento’s Democratic super-majority genuinely does not care about kids in school.

Which is not to say that Democrats in general don’t care. Specifically, Sacramento’s ruling class doesn’t care. And let me prove it.

The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit is a new federal program that offers individuals a dollar-for-dollar federal income tax credit of up to $1,700 ($3,400 for married couples) for contributions made to approved Scholarship-Granting Organizations. These organizations subsequently distribute the privately donated funds as scholarships for K-12 educational expenses, including private or religious school, homeschooling, tutoring, special education therapies and other education costs. Families earning up to 300 percent of their regional median income are eligible to participate.

Here’s the catch: states have to opt in.

There is literally no downside for a state to op-in. States don’t lose tax dollars because it’s a federal tax credit.

So far, states opting in have included every state run by a Republican Governor plus Colorado (Democrat Governor) and as of this week, New York (Democrat Governor). (Virginia also opted in, but under Republican Youngkin before current Democrat Governor took over.)

Why the partisanship on something this easy? Two reasons. First, the FSTC exists because of the One Big Beautiful Bill passed last year on a party-line vote. Second, teachers’ unions hate programs that allow for school choice.

Which makes CO Governor Polis’s and NY Gov. Hochul’s opt-ins impressive. So to them, kudos.

Democrat Governors from Arizona, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Oregon, though, have spurned the additional millions (potentially billions) of dollars. As for California? Crickets.

Look, you can’t protect a school system like LAUSD where a Black student has a 63% chance of scoring below “proficient” in reading and a 72% chance of scoring below “proficient” in math. Well, you can’t protect that system AND root for kids.

Do the right thing Newsom. Opt in.

(Thank you for today's pic!)

Resources:

• On California by David Crane “Encourage Newsom To Opt In To FSTC” https://davidcrane.substack.com/p/encourage-newsom-to-opt-in-to-fstc

• LA Times “So far, California hasn’t joined new federal private school voucher program opening in 30 states” https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-10-01/federal-private-school-tax-credit-scholarship

• California Policy Center “The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit California Is Sitting Out” https://californiapolicycenter.org/the-federal-scholarship-tax-credit-california-is-sitting-out/

• Yahoo “Hochul opts NY into Trump-backed school tax credits despite pushback” https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/hochul-opts-ny-trump-backed-162513738.html

• EdSource “How Los Angeles Unified is narrowing the Black student achievement gap” https://edsource.org/2026/lausd-black-student-achievement-rises/763407

10/12/2026

A whole lot of you have already voted or plan to vote soon. Thank you! Voting soon helps your candidates twice: 1) the vote itself; and 2) the candidates can focus their limited resources on other voters who haven’t voted yet.

So please vote soon and spread that message to friends.

Building on that, let’s talk about the scourge of “under votes”. In political parlance, an under vote happens when a voter selects top-of-ticket races (Governor, etc.) and then leaves races toward the bottom of the ballot blank.

Sometimes this happens because of laziness, but often it’s because folks feel informed about the Governor’s race but have never heard of candidates running for City Council, School District, or Supervisor.

How much does it matter? Well, let’s look at one of Orange County’s most important races: the 5th District Board of Supervisors race.

That race pits Republican Assembly Member Diane Dixon v. Democrat Supervisor Katrina Foley. There are 21,000+ more Republicans than Democrats in that District, but foolish vote splitting by Republicans four (and five) years ago gave the seat away and handed over a budget exceeding $9 billion/year to a leftist ideology.

Yeah, you heard me. The Board of Supervisors control a budget exceeding $9 billion/year, including the Sheriff’s Department. Oh, and Supervisors have land use control over areas like the Dana Point Harbor (Foley’s been a disaster there) and control of a Health Care Agency that can dictate things like mask mandates (which Foley oversaw as Mayor of Costa Mesa).

Think that race might just affect you? Yeah, me too.

In the primary, when Dixon could have prevailed with 50%+1 vote, we had a staggering 12.4% of voters fill out a ballot and choose not to vote in the Supervisor’s race.

Man, that’s so painful. That’s just giving away local races, which more-often-than-not affect your life more than the up-ballot races.

So, I’m begging you to share my voter guides with your friends, family, and neighbors. Every race in NB/HB/CM is covered. And if you have a question on any other local race, just reach out! Many of you already have.

Clear eyes. Full Hearts. Can’t lose. Let’s go!

(Thank you for today's pic!)

Resources:

• Capitol Weekly “Is the Undervote going to be decisive in 2026?” https://capitolweekly.net/is-the-undervote-going-to-be-decisive-in-2026/

• Fleischman - https://x.com/FlashReport/status/2108428497383518231?s=20

10/09/2026

By popular demand, this is my Huntington Beach voter guide.

HB was my first introduction to Orange County when I was a kid and serves as our largest Republican city.

Stand tall HB. Vote and track your ballot to make sure it counts!

10/09/2026

Two of the easiest No votes on your ballots will be Propositions 4 and 5. Let’s take them each in order.

To understand Prop 4, you first need to know that voters banned candidates accepting public money to seek office … in 1988. Because this ban passed via citizen initiative, the legislature can’t change that without voters repealing that 1988 ban.

And guess who really really really wants to use taxpayer dollars to fund their campaigns. Yep, the supermajority in office now. Oh, and the unions who already donate nine figures to the supermajority and the wildly liberal League of Women Voters.

As Jon Fleischman (So Does It Matter on Substack) notes, the localities get to pick who qualifies (“by incumbents, for incumbents”) and the Fair Political Practices Commission won’t police the local programs. What could go wrong?

Even if this weren’t California (it is) and we could trust the legislature (we can’t), public campaign financing is a terrible idea. Subsidizing political campaigns essentially forces citizens to subsidize candidates and political parties that they despise. Do liberals really want their tax dollars to fund communists who are taking over the Democratic Party? Do Democrats really want to fund candidates they call MAGA?

And at a time when cities are struggling to pay for just their public safety, should they really be diverting resources to candidates?

A big NO on 4.

And then there is Prop 5, which is the ultimate incumbent entrenchment. Remember when Newsom was facing recall and you could vote to remove him (yes or no) and then also vote on who you wanted to replace him if he got removed? Well, like Prop 4, the Democrats in Sacramento want to change that too by making the Lieutenant Governor automatically become the Governor if the Governor is recalled.

Can you even name our current Lieutenant Governor? (Full disclosure, I can, but I write these Updates for fun.)

And here’s the crazy thing. For all other offices facing recall, a person can get recalled … and then run for the same position to fill it!

These are easy NO votes on Props 4 and 5.

(Thank you Dingo for today’s pic!)

10/07/2026

Newport Beach residents received a political mailer last week calling past Council Members corrupt for adopting a state-mandated Housing Element in 2022.

The mailer claimed that “corrupt politicians supersized development for their developer donors.” The Council at the time was Duffy Duffield, Kevin Muldoon, Noah Blom, Brad Avery, Joy Brenner, Diane Dixon, and me.

The vote on September 13, 2022 to adopt that Housing Element was unanimous, which means that the mailer accuses all seven of us of being “corrupt.” I surely had policy disagreements with every person on that Council, but never thought that they were corrupt.

So, who funded the mailer? Well, he doesn’t live in Newport Beach, but he sure fits the bill of being a “developer donor!” And since he fired the first shots, let’s set the record straight on Measure H in Newport Beach.

Ken Picerne donated $150,000 to the “Coalition for Responsible Housing” on September 3, 2025. That committee then paid a Las Vegas group to gather signatures in Newport Beach to qualify an initiative.

Why? Well, the OC Register reported that Picerne “has 1,460 units entitled” and editorialized that “if a city approves fewer new units, then those who already have entitlements gain a competitive advantage.”

Oh.

Picerne donated another $835,000 (!!!) to the Coalition across donations on May 6, June 5, and June 29. That money was spent gathering signatures for three awful initiatives to fundamentally change the way Newport Beach is governed. (Remember the folks from Arizona knocking on your door at night or harassing you in shopping centers demanding your signatures?)

And then Picerne donated ANOTHER $255,900 on September 15 to the Coalition. More than a million dollars to fundamentally change Newport Beach!

So yeah, expect more mail and accusations of corruption against guys on the past council like Duffy (who I never saw an ounce of corruption from).

Cynical doesn’t even begin to describe Measure H. Vote No Newport Beach.

(Thank you .chirps for today's pic!)

Resources:

• OC Register “Newport Beach takes its own wrong path on housing” https://www.ocregister.com/2026/01/21/editorial-newport-beach-takes-its-own-wrong-path-on-housing/

• Southern California Opportunity Group -https://prd.cdn.sos.ca.gov/pdf/409/SouthernCa-20260113-Web.pdf

• Voice of OC “Newport Beach Ballots Shipped Overseas Despite Questions on the Election’s Legality” https://voiceofoc.org/2026/09/newport-beach-ballots-shipped-overseas-despite-questions-on-the-elections-legality/

• Voice of OC “OC Judge Forces Newport Beach Leaders to Put Charter Reforms On November Ballot” https://voiceofoc.org/2026/08/oc-judge-forces-newport-beach-leaders-to-put-charter-reforms-on-november-ballot/

• Voice of OC “Who’s Behind the Push for Less Housing in Newport Beach?” https://voiceofoc.org/2026/01/whos-behind-the-push-for-less-housing-in-newport-beach/

• Newport Beach Housing Element Implementation FAQ - https://www.newportbeachca.gov/government/departments/community-development/planning-division/general-plan-codes-and-regulations/general-plan-update/housing-element-faq

• Picerne donations - https://netfile.com/public/cnb/campaign/filingsByFiler/214621316-Coalition%20for%20Responsible%20Housing%20with%20support%20from%20Southern%20California%20Opportunity%20Group,%20LLC

10/06/2026

Mario Marovic and Will O’Neill know the policy impacts of our Newport Beach City Council and won’t stand by while Nextdoor gets flooded with disgruntled complaints about personal attacks and issues outside the core to our City’s quality of life.

It’s not about whether someone is friends with Mayors from decades ago, it’s about whether we are a safer and more thriving community. There is no question that Newport Beach is.

We should re-elect our incumbents: Joe Stapleton; Erik Weigand; Robyn Grant; and Lauren Kleiman.

10/05/2026

Revisionist history is in vogue. AOC laughs and says that “Woke 1 was crazy.” Newsom now admits that beach closures were “insane.” But we’re only five years removed from seeing what certain people do and advocate during an emergency. And now many of those same people are running for office locally.

Here in Orange County, Katrina Foley wants your vote to help run a $10-billion/year County budget that oversees a health department and our OC Sheriffs. When she was Costa Mesa’s Mayor in 2020, she pushed for beach closures, trail closures, and helped impose a city-wide mask mandate enforced by law enforcement officers.

She used COVID-relief money to hand out gas cards (did you get one?).

She’s not who you want in charge during an emergency; she’s not who you want in charge at all. Our choice needs to be Assembly Member Diane Dixon for OC Supervisor.

And then there’s Newport Beach. I remember a colleague of mine introducing her own mask mandate at a City Council meeting. She had ZERO support and voter promptly removed her in 2022. But she has found a new advocate for mandates to run against incumbent Erik Weigand.

Enter Walter Stahr, an author whose X posts in 2021 reveal that he advocated this: “Stop pleading with anti-vaxxers and start mandating vaccinations.”

Gross.

But if you’re wondering how far he’d take that view, he explained in a post two weeks later: “Require the vaccine. It’s time to stop coddling the reckless. Make it essentially impossible to live normal life without a vaccine: restaurants, theaters, stores.”

Hell no.

Newport, wake up. Walter Stahr is running to represent you and bring that brand of politics and policies to our city. He’s campaigning alongside another candidate named Andy Gerken, who is funneling campaign dollars from his campaign committee to the Democratic Party of Orange County to help an Assembly candidate (Kluwe) advocating for socialism in the NY Times.

Newport, wake up. We have had four years of massive homeless reduction and crime prevention. Protect these policy wins by re-electing Stapleton, Weigand, Grant, and Kleiman.

(Thank you for today's pic!)

10/02/2026

With ballots hitting mailboxes starting Monday, please do your homework and then do your civic duty and vote.

This voter guide is meant to be exactly that, a guide. I have interacted with every single person I'm recommending (except many judges) and have studied their policy positions. This guide is the result of those experiences.

As for judges, we are voting on their retention. That means we aren't voting between people, but only whether we want to keep the appellate and CA Supreme Court justices in place. Even where I disagree with their opinions, I'm not aware of any on the ballot whose ethics or demeanor justify removal. And even if we did think removal would be prudent, Newsom would get to choose their replacement.

This is the first time that I have published a Costa Mesa-specific guide, hope it helps!

If you live outside of NB or CM and have questions, screenshot the ballot and send it to me in direct message. I'm happy to help.

Please share this guide with whomever it would be helpful. Let’s get out and vote!

10/02/2026

With ballots hitting mailboxes starting Monday, please do your homework and then do your civic duty and vote.

This voter guide is meant to be exactly that, a guide. I have interacted with every single person I'm recommending (except many judges) and have studied their policy positions. This guide is the result of those experiences.

As for judges, we are voting on their retention. That means we aren't voting between people, but only whether we want to keep the appellate and CA Supreme Court justices in place. Even where I disagree with their opinions, I'm not aware of any on the ballot whose ethics or demeanor justify removal. And even if we did think removal would be prudent, Newsom would get to choose their replacement.

If you live in Costa Mesa, I have published a Costa Mesa-specific guide this year for the first time because so many of you who follow this page live there and asked for it. Happy to help!

If you live outside of NB or CM and have questions, screenshot the ballot and send it to me in direct message. I'm happy to help.

Please share this guide with whomever it would be helpful. Let’s get out and vote!

09/30/2026

As we’re thinking about who to elect in state partisan contests, consider one easy question: do you support more money going to California’s high-speed rail project?

The answer to that will tell you a ton about their positions on issues across the board.

Transparency? The legislature recently passed and Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1608, which withholds documents from the public specific to the high speed rail agency.

State Senator Tony Strickland opposed the effort, noting that “It’s our money. You’re talking about one project more expensive than the entire state budget was just 10 years ago …. This bill lacks accountability and transparency and takes it the other direction.”

Too bad. Legislative Democrats passed it and Newsom signed it.

Fiscal stewardship? The high speed rail project was sold to voters in 2008 as costing $33 billion and completed by 2020. Guesses now place the project somewhere between $126 billion on the low end to $231 billion on the high end. And, to date, not a single mile of track has been laid. And there is no guess on the completion date between LA and SF.

But you’ll be able to get between Merced and Bakersfield really fast … sometime in the 2030s.

Fraud? Assembly Member Diane Dixon called out Newsom’s absurd efforts to perpetuate an agency that was recently called out for paying ~$680,000 for travel to “cigar lounges, nightclubs, gyms, escape rooms and other ‘questionable’ locations. According to the report, one consultant was even reimbursed without question for premium rideshare services to a nightclub between the hours of 9:40 p.m. and 2:30 a.m.”

That’s all your tax dollars. All of it. You earned every penny of that money and forcibly gave it to the government, and that’s how your state government used it.

Seriously folks, it’s time to wake up. Stop rewarding these people with office. We need to vote them out. If they want to perpetuate this fraud, they can do it from their couch, but we have to stop giving them the keys to our wallets.

(Thank you for today's pic!)

Resources:

• Fox40 “‘Maximum transparency’ — Inside the fight over high-speed rail records” https://fox40.com/inside-california-politics/high-speed-rail-transparency-california/

• US DOT “U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy Announces Review of California High-Speed Rail Project” https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-transportation-secretary-duffy-announces-review-california-high-speed-rail-project

• California Post “Gavin Newsom’s train to nowhere a gravy train for consultants” https://nypost.com/2026/09/24/opinion/gavin-newsoms-train-to-nowhere-a-gravy-train-for-consultants/

Will O'Neill

10/14/2026

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10/07/2026

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