Straight Talk: OCGOP's Will O’Neill On California’s Energy Crisis, A New Assembly Republican Leader, The Governor’s Race, And Political Bias At The Orange County Fair

Hey, everybody, it's John Fleischman, and welcome back to So Does It Matter, the podcast, or as we like to call it, Straight Talk.

We have a repeat guest who has been with us once before, Will O'Neill.

Will is chairman of the Orange County Republican Party.

Thanks for joining us, Will.

Thanks

for having me back, John.

A couple of housekeeping items before we get going.

First and foremost, for those of you who haven't noticed, this is my first podcast in over a month.

I'm recovering from some hernia surgery, which I won't say too loud or all men will wince.

Nobody likes to get her.

I guess women, no one wants to get that, but I'm back in the saddle.

And I always have this great tradition of asking AI to give me an introduction of my guests.

I'm not going to stop now, but I keep changing.

I've moved off of AI that I have a relationship with because it wants to tweak everything the way it thinks I want it.

So I've moved to an AI that I've never used before, just so that we get a fresh introduction.

I've not read it.

I just pulled it up.

I'm going to read it.

Will, good luck.

My guest today is Will O'Neill, chairman of the Republican Party of Orange County, one of the largest and most politically important Republican county organizations in California.

And I would add, in the nation.

Will is a former two-time mayor of Newport Beach, a practicing attorney, and a proven conservative leader who has built a reputation for competent governance fiscal discipline, and a willingness to push back plainly and directly against the excesses coming out of Sacramento.

He now leads the OCGOP as Republicans fight to protect Orange County's congressional seats, elect strong candidates at every level of government, and demonstrate that conservative principles still produce better results.

I would add that this introduction clearly, Will must be paying money to, in this case, Gemini for this introduction, which is pretty good.

I'll add a couple more things that I think are important.

Will, I think more than anything, cherishes his role as a husband and as a father and as a son.

I've had the great opportunity to get to know Will's wife, his children, his parents, and all of those things are important to Will.

And I would actually submit that I think Will's engagement in politics is largely motivated by the world that he wants his children to grow up in.

So there you go.