Best known as the birthplace of former President Nixon, Yorba Linda is home to lush golf courses, equestrian trails, and ranch-style homes with stables in the back.
Residents move to conservative suburbs in search of neighborhoods, empty parks, and open space. The city, whose motto is “Elegant Land of Life,” is far from many of the criminal messes that make headlines in California’s densest cities.
Yorba Linda, which has a population of 68,000, committed 8 burglaries last year, up from 3 last year, and 71 residential burglaries, up from 59 in 2020. There haven’t been any murders in 8 years, according to crime data. But even in one of the state’s safest cities, considerations of crime worry the electorate in an election that will balance strength in Congress.
Although many citizens of Yorba Linda say crime is not their main problem, their preference for avoiding it in their city is among other critical issues, adding inflation, fuel prices and abortion, which will help them decide which congressional candidate will get their vote.
“People living in safe neighborhoods don’t need crime. He’s the super paranoid of ‘walking down my street’ or ‘who’s in my neighborhood,'” said Jimmy Camp, an independent political consultant. “Crime is a strategy and probably a bit hyperbolic?Yes, but I think it’s effective.
Nationally, Republicans, who for months have focused heavily on inflation, have seized on crime as a key factor in the final weeks leading up to Tuesday’s election as a way to sway independent voters, expose their conservative base and divert abortion care. The GOP has been on the defensive since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. Wade in June, and since then many states have enacted a series of sweeping abortion bans.
Even as Orange County becomes more politically varied, moving away from its reputation as a Republican Party stronghold, the 40th congressional district where GOP Representative Young Kim is running against Dr. Asif Mahmood, a Democrat, remains home to some of the county’s most conservative cities. Republicans have a 4. 5-point credit on voter registration.
But that merit will only be a victory for Republicans if the conservative-leaning electorate votes, which has likely led to more crime, Camp said.
“Somebody does a vote and says the intensity of the base is not as strong as we want,” said Camp, who has worked on some of Kim’s campaigns beyond. “They’re looking at a vote and they say we want to make sure we get out and remove our base. “
When Tamara Schlachter’s Yorba Linda home was damaged by two masked intruders who entered through a sliding glass door last month, Southern California television stations aired crime surveillance video in their nightly broadcasts.
Schlachter went out to dinner when he received a notification on his computer of his home’s security formula that said there was an “unfamiliar face” above. He watched as the home invasion took position on his phone.
The video shows two thieves prowling the place and the family’s belongings for about 14 minutes. The men fled with cash and jewelry, Schlachter said.
News stations also shared footage of the space’s damaged door and private belongings strewn across the master bedroom. The scenario is horrific, but motivating, Schlachter said.
“You don’t realize it, but you can’t just feel safe,” said Schlachter, 51. “What happened makes me need to faint and vote. “
Susan Wan-Ross, 59, said she was disappointed when she saw the video of the break-in on the news.
“They were so frivolous about it,” he said of the intruders. “If it’s my home, it would be hard for me to stay knowing that someone is rummaging through all my stuff. “
Wan-Ross, executive director of the Yorba Linda Chamber of Commerce, said crime was one of many problems she would have voting for. Still, she feels safe overall thanks to the police presence in the city, she said.
“I know they’re aware of things and it makes me feel better to know that they’re going to do everything they can to stop the criminals,” he said.
The Republican argument that Democrats are lenient on crime has served the Republican Party well. Years of polling show that voters view Republicans as tougher on justice issues.
“I saw someone joking on Twitter that it was two weeks before the election because Republicans were talking about crime,” Camp said.
In October, Republicans spent nearly $96 million on more than 450 virtual and television classified ads that talked about crimes to attack Democrats, many news images and 911 calls. At the same time, Democrats spent just over $77 million on classified ads looking into the topic, according to AdImpact, a political ad tracking company.
The GOP’s classified ads evoke fears reminiscent of those used in past elections. In 1988, an ad supporting Republican George H. W. Bush’s presidential crusade accused his Democratic rival of allowing “first-degree killers to have criminal weekend passes. “
While political scientists have debated the so-called “Willie Horton” election announcement, many argue that it helped usher in an era of crime-stamping strategies.
Fear of crime plays well in Orange County, experts say.
During this year’s race for district attorney, incumbent Todd Spitzer ran for law and order, focusing his messages on punishing criminals to prevent Orange County from fitting in like Los Angeles. far from a runoff in November.
“Crime can be very effective as a corner challenge for Republican candidates to break the larger Democratic coalition or be undecided,” said Graeme Boushey, an associate professor at UC Irvine who teaches public policy and California politics.
More than three-quarters of the electorate surveyed nationwide said violent crime is a major challenge in the United States, according to a Politico/Morning Consult ballot released in early October.
About 60% of respondents said crime would play a key role in deciding which congressional candidate to vote for before issues like jobs, immigration, COVID and voting rights.
Property crimes in Orange County declined in 2021, according to a study released in October by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. Although violent crime increased by more than 10 percent, the study showed that Orange County is among the 4 with the lowest violent crime rate statewide.
But crimes, especially those captured on video, remain in people’s minds.
In early September, Thomas Huynh’s Yorba Linda restaurant, Monarch 9, was robbed for the fifth time in six years.
On Facebook, he shared security camera footage of a man walking through the company with a rock. Customers were outraged. Several called for “tougher” legislation on property crimes. “Sad times we live,” wrote another.
Huynh, a 46-year-old Republican, said he would vote for Kim in large part because of his “tough on crime” stance.
“I think she understands that for small business owners it’s a big challenge and it affects us a lot,” he said.
Kim has given the impression on FOX News in recent weeks of talking about retail crime and the law he has proposed for coordination between investigative agencies. Last month, he told FOX in an interview that “it turns out that every week we are informed that some other company is being raided. “
She addresses the issue on her social media, blaming emerging crime rates on judicial reforms like initiatives 0 bail and Prop. 47, an 8-year law that reclassified certain violations from theft and drug possession from felonies to misdemeanors.
Kim’s crusade didn’t get her for an interview.
Mahmood said crime is a concern, however, it’s less of a challenge in Orange County than in many nearby locations.
“In general, crime is higher everywhere,” he said in an interview with The Times. “Part of that may just be the economic scenario and a component of it may be just the COVID crisis. More than crime, I think gun protection is a priority. “factor in our district.
Some voters say legislation regulating the sale of weapons and ammunition is not passed enough and they suspect it may contribute to more crime, he said.
In the Politico/Morning Consult poll, 60 percent of the electorate said gun policy would play a major role in their vote for Congress and more than a portion attributed the accumulation of crime to gun proliferation.
Yorba Linda Councilwoman Tara Campbell said part of the city’s appeal is that many citizens sit at home.
“We’re one of the safest cities in the state, but we’re not immune to all crime,” said Campbell, a 29-year-old Republican. “Public protection will be a very sensible priority for us. So I think it’s going to be a thing in this election, as well as inflation and fuel prices.
Rosemary Moulin was horrified when she saw the video of the break-in at Schlachter’s home on the news, she said as she sat outside at a café in Yorba Linda.
“I have an idea of what’s going on in our city,” Moulin, 63, said with a shake of his head.
“Yorba Linda is a sleeping city,” he added. We’ve never had to worry about those kinds of things happening here, but now we’re doing it. “
Terry Castleman contributed to this report at times.
Get therapy
Life is stressful. Our weekly wellness newsletter can help.
You may get promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Follow
Hannah Fry is a Metro reporter covering Orange County for the Los Angeles Times. She joined the paper in 2013 as a reporter for the Daily Pilot, a publication of The Times Community News. Fry recently covered the latest news for The Times and part of the 2020 Pulitzer Finalist Team for his policy of a boat fire that killed 34 other people off the coast of Santa Barbara. He grew up in Orange County and started as an intern at the Orange County Registry.
Subscribe to access
Follow