Democrat Supervisor Katrina Foley Attempts to Take Credit for Job Growth Under Trump Economy

“Job growth is sweeping our county,” said the Democrat days after the White House announced expectation-defying national GDP growth in Q2.

Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, a Democrat, appears to be working overtime to distance herself from the Party affiliation she once proudly trumpeted. With re-election looming in the 5th Supervisorial District—which includes Aliso Viejo, Costa Mesa, Dana Point, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Newport Beach, San Clemente, and unincorporated areas such as Coto de Caza, Ladera Ranch, Las Flores, and Rancho Mission Viejo—Foley has been quietly downplaying her partisan record.

One of the more glaring examples is her self-aggrandizing newsletter, The Foley Report, which bills itself as an update on “workforce development progress” but reads more like a campaign flyer. In it, Foley attempts to claim credit for job growth that occurred during the Trump administration’s economy—a peculiar bit of revisionism from a Democrat who has never been shy about her opposition to the President.

“We cannot afford four more years of Donald Trump’s reckless leadership,” Foley said of President Trump in 2020. “His failed response to the pandemic has cost lives and hurt our economy. Orange County deserves better."

Just in the last quarter, the nation’s gross domestic product jumped 3%, exceeding economists’ expectations of 2.3%. Similarly, real business fixed investment rose by 1.9% (which itself follows a surge in Q1) and Americans’ total real disposable income rose at another 3%. All of the aforementioned metrics have contributed to job growth and real consumer spending growth across the country—and that’s doubly true for counties with historically strong economic engines like Orange County, California. 

“Thanks to President Donald Trump’s bold policies, it appears that the United States will avoid a recession this year—one that so many liberals were predicting only months ago,” writes USA TODAY columnist Nicole Russell. “Will Democrats put politics aside and applaud as the American economy shows a strength and resilience that so many of them doubted? Probably not.”

What was Katrina Foley doing during the COVID-19 lockdowns, beyond criticizing the President? She was the lone member of the Board of Supervisors to back a digital “vaccine passport” system, which drew the ire of hundreds of hundreds of furious Orange County residents—500 of which drew cards to speak on the issue. And, as Mayor of Costa Mesa, she oversaw a citywide mask mandate.

Then-Mayor Foley had previously voted to slash the city’s police budget by $313,951. At a time when rapes, aggravated assault, arson, robbery, and other crimes were surging in Costa Mesa, Foley endorsed the use of limited police resources and personnel to fine citizens for not wearing face masks. 

In The Foley Report, she brags about job growth in Orange County—especially within the “Fabulous Fifth District,” where unemployment is now lower than the countywide average. This makes sense, given that Irvine, the county’s second-most populous city and a historical hub for business and innovation, lies within her district. It’s obvious that with the national economy improving, Irvine would see employment gains regardless of whether or not Katrina Foley was its supervisorial representative. That won’t stop her from taking credit, however.

One curious detail about Foley’s campaign is how difficult it is to find her list of endorsements. Nowhere in the website’s navigation menu is there a direct link to the endorsements page. One can find it, however, if they were to manually type in the following URL: https://www.katrinafoley.com/endorsements. There, one can see that Foley has the endorsement of groups such as Planned Parenthood, the Democratic Party of Orange County, and the Sierra Club. Given the largely conservative makeup of the Fifth District, one wonders if this lack of visibility is a deliberate attempt to keep potentially controversial endorsements out of sight of average voters.

Perhaps it isn’t. The home page does mention that Foley served on the Board of Planned Parenthood of Orange & San Bernardino Counties. Perhaps her campaign team is simply having difficulty building out the website. After all, it similarly lacks an “Issues” page where readers can verse themselves on Foley’s platform—the platform which earned endorsements from staunchly left-of-center groups, unions, and political action committees. The closest thing would be her “Accomplishments” page, which says virtually nothing about where she stands politically beyond supporting broad topics like “economic recovery” and “enhanced public safety,” which just as easily be pages out of the typical Republican playbook. “Climate action and coastal protection” is about the only vague indicator that Foley could be left-of-center, but that train of thought wrongly implies Democrats have a monopoly on environmental stewardship.

Whatever the case may be, it’s bound to raise a few eyebrows.

If The Foley Report is anything to go by, Foley seems more interested in aligning herself with veterans’ groups—a mostly deep-red voting bloc within a district that already enjoys a roughly 16% Republican voter registration advantage. Her report links to OC Workforce Solutions website which includes information for a Veteran Peer Support & Outreach Program—a resource funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA), and CARES Act. It’s a great idea, in theory.

Unfortunately, calling the number listed on the website directs you to a company selling hot tubs.