Matthew Cunningham

Member For

1 year 20 weeks

Website:

Contact:

Red County Editor -
Orange County, CA
matt@redcounty.com

BIOGRAPHY

Matthew Cunningham has been active in California politics for nearly 20 years as a writer and public affairs consultant. He is a pioneer in the area of local political blogging: in 2004, he founded Orange County’s first persistent, successful political blog, OC Blog, which spawned the most influential regional blogosphere in California and evolved into a national network of more than 30 local blogs under the RedCounty.com banner. He’s also a regular contributor to the FlashReport Blog, California’s leading statewide conservative blog.

He is a regular panelist on new media issues, and even served as an expert witness on blogging in a trial involving a state employee who blogged about his agency and was being harassed by supervisors who wanted to know the employees sources. The blogger was vindicated.

Cunningham's consulting firm, Pacific Strategies, provides strategic counsel and new media consulting to private and public sector clients. His work has appeared in leading print and online media, including national outlets such as the Fox Forum, Politico.com and National Review Online, as well as virtually every major daily newspaper in California.

Over the years, Cunningham has forged relationships with elected officials, key staff and opinion leaders in state, regional and local government, and served in senior media relations positions with a number of statewide and local campaigns.

COMMENTARIES

AD72 Special Election Watch: Fleischman Interviews Lewis On How Norby Won

By Matthew Cunningham | 11/20/09

FR publisher Jon Fleischman conducted and posted this interview with former state Sen. John Lewis (for whom I worked from 1991 to 1994), about his successful quarterbacking of the Norby for Assembly campaign: Flash: Congratulations John on the big win on Tuesday. By any measure that was a huge win for your client, Supervisor Chris Norby. What would you say made the difference? John Lewis: Of course everything starts with the candidate... read more »

0 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) |

LA Times & OC Register: Whose Delivering Whom?

By Matthew Cunningham | 11/20/09

A friend of mine who lives in north Orange County called me this morning with an interesting tale. He subscribes to both the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register. As readers know, the two dailies struck a deal this summer under which the LA Times would take over delivery of the OC Register, beginning in September. My friend tells me that while he receives the Register early each morning, recently the LA Times either... read more »

0 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) |

OC Blog News Roundup - November 20, 2009

By Matthew Cunningham | 11/20/09

Today's top stories from behind the Orange Curtain: Mickadeit: Anaheim Deputy Chief In Sheriff's Race (OCR) The race for Orange County sheriff got significantly more interesting this week with the entry of Anaheim Deputy Police Chief Craig Hunter. Fair Board Complaint Could Die (OCR) Allegations that the Orange County Fair Board violated open meeting and conflict of interest laws may not ever be officially resolved. Many Oppose Seal Beach... read more »

0 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) |

Anaheim Mayor Candidate Tom Tait Holds Monster Kick-Off Fundraiser

By Matthew Cunningham | 11/19/09

Former Anaheim Councilman Tom Tait's campaign for Mayor is metastasizing into a freight train of momentum. Current Mayor Curt Pringle, who is close friends with Tom (whose last two years on the council overlapped with Curt's first two as mayor) organized a kick-off Tait fundraiser at The White House in Anaheim that was monstrously successfully, raising $190,000 for Tom's campaign. You heard that right: $190,000. There are candidates who... read more »

8 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) |

CUSD Watch: School Organization Bureaucracy Sticks To Sticking District With a Big Bill

By Matthew Cunningham | 11/19/09

The Orange County Committee on School District Organization -- the LAFCO of the OC public school system -- last night stuck to it's ill-considered decision to force the Capistrano Unified School District hold a special election in June 2010 on a ballot measure to elect school trustees by district, instead of scheduling the vote a few months later on the regular November 2010 ballot. The CUSD trustees want it on the November ballot because that... read more »

1 Comment | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) |

Art Pedroza Apparently Thinks NAMBLA Is Funny

By Matthew Cunningham | 11/19/09

Dan Chmielewski posts over at TheLiberalOC.com about the latest morally-retarded antics of local nutter Art Pedroza. In short, the OC fringe-o-sphere's version of Jack Merridew has been buying URLs incorporating the business and personal URLs of his "enemies" and linking those the website of the North American Man-Boy Love Association (for those who don't know, NAMBLA advocates the legalization of sexual relationships between men... read more »

14 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) |

Absurdity From "In God We Trust" Opponents

By Matthew Cunningham | 11/19/09

Check out this this item from the Daily Pilot's "The Political Landscape" column, in which a Costa mesa resident claims the publlic display of the national motto is "divisive": A Costa Mesa resident angered over Councilwoman Wendy Leece’s crusade to display the motto “In God We Trust” in the Council Chambers questioned her motives for bringing the issue before the city Tuesday night. “Why would you... read more »

2 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) |

OC Blog News Roundup - November 19, 2009

By Matthew Cunningham | 11/19/09

Today's top stories from behind the Orange Curtain: Editorial: Norby In The Driver's Seat (OCR) Norby likely replacement for Duvall. Low Turnout In Orange County Assembly Race Rekindles Debate On Mail-Only Voting (LAT) Just 4% of registered voters in the 72nd District went to precincts to fill Mike Duvall's old seat. Another 14% sent in ballots. June Election In Capo District Will Stand (OCR) Capistrano Unified is still on track to... read more »

0 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) |

AD72 Special Election Watch: Tale of Two Election Night Parties

By Matthew Cunningham | 11/18/09

Last night, I visited the election night parties of the two major candidates in the 72nd Assembly District race. It was a strange situation, because the election gathering of these bitterly opposed campaigns were literally around the corner from each other in downtown Fullerton: Chris Norby's at Cherch Lounge and Linda Ackerman's at Roscoe's. First stop was Linda Ackerman's at around 7:40 p.m. It was a smaller gathering than Norby's, but the... read more »

10 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) |

Kudos To Costa Mesa Council For "In God We Trust Vote"

By Matthew Cunningham | 11/18/09

Yesterday, the Costa mesa City Council voted 5-0 to emblazon "In God We Trust" on the walls of the council chamber, and specific kudos to Councilwomann Endy Leece to spearheading it. For those who may be unaware, "In God We Trust" is the national motto of the United States. It speaks volumes about the shift in our political culture that this would even be controversial, and occasion hand-wringing because a tiny but vocal... read more »