Orange County Supervisor Doug Chaffee is running for re-election Nov. 8 for the District 4 seat, which includes Fullerton, La Habra, Brea, Placentia, and portions of Anaheim and Buena Park.
Chaffee, who was elected Supervisor in 2019, is running against Sunny Park, the mayor of Buena Park. All four of Chaffee’s supervisorial colleagues have endorsed him.
“I relate to anybody and everybody, and I don’t act on the basis of politics,” he told The Epoch Times.
Chaffee said when he first ran for the board, he knew one term wouldn’t be enough, as it takes time to get familiar with the role.
“Now that I’m fully loaded, so to speak ... I have some things that I know I can do,” he said.
As a supervisor, Chaffee works with the county’s state and congressional representatives to allocate funding to local county services.
One such example, he said, is Be Well OC, a mental health support system serving Orange County that dispatches “crisis counselors” in a van to address non-emergency mental health crises.
The organization also has a campus in Orange that helps people with substance abuse, trauma, and other mental health issues, and also has what is called a sobering center, where police can drop off inebriated individuals found in public, Chaffee said.
“It’s a pretty unique system. We don’t turn anyone away,” he said, including those without medical insurance.
Chaffee said he wants to work toward creating two more campuses locally, “so the whole county has access to mental health services.”
He also said, if re-elected, he would work toward embedding more county social service workers into policing and provide around-the-clock services to the homeless that cover northern Orange County, dispatching social workers that accompany police to “de-escalate” incidents.
“That changes the culture within the police department. They learn more about de-escalating and the value of social services,” he said.
As a supervisor, Chaffee has also implemented what’s known as the Fourth District Kindness Awards, which recognizes individuals each year for their kind acts and community service.
During his tenure, Chaffee has also launched the Future Leaders Program for local high school juniors and seniors, which acquaints the students with various professions—from firefighters to elected officials—by having representatives speak to them.
Chaffee, who is a member of the Orange County Housing Finance Trust—a joint powers authority between the county and various cities which funds housing projects for the homeless and low-income families—additionally said, if re-elected, he would work toward building more affordable housing with state and county funding.
According to Chafee, the group aims to create around 1,500 more affordable housing units by 2025.
Chaffee was born in Long Beach and moved to Fullerton while in elementary school.
Following in his father’s footsteps, who was the city attorney for Fullerton, Chaffee became a general practice lawyer in 1969.
