The OC GOP's New Leader

Last week, the Republican Party of Orange County's Central Committee elected a new chairman: Orange council member Fred Whitaker. He's replacing Scott Baugh, a former assembly member who stepped down to concentrate on his personal and professional life. Whitaker has little public name value but has been a good GOP activist behind the scenes, sitting on the influential Lincoln Club and the Central Committee. He takes over a party that, while still the philosophical heart of the GOP in California, has seen its once-dominating hold over Orange County slip over the past 15 years. Can Whitaker return the OC GOP to its glory days or is he just rearranging deck chairs at this point?