If you are an insider in California Republican Politics, you’ve heard the news about the recent spate of deaths / major health issues amongst the ranks of the “Old Guard” of the California Republican Herd.

On 1/5/2026 – Congressman LaMalfa died in surgery

On 1/8/2026 early AM Michael Triggs died of  Arterial Sclerosis

Sometime late 1/7 or 1/8 2026, Steve Frank had a major injury – or at least the news came out about it

Michael Reagan, Joel Fox, Scott “Dilbert” Adams all died one-at-a-time contemporaneously within 72 hours of Triggs.

I also found out former Congressman Chris Cox is in Hospice.

But on a personal note – at about 10:15 PM 1/5/2026, about an hour before I found out about Congressman LaMalfa, I got a call from my Sister-in-law. I knew something was wrong as I had not talked to her in 4 years. I have been pretty much estranged from most of my family after the family business of over 25 years devolved in to legal chaos in 2021.

My Mother collapsed and died in her bathroom, as her health had been in decline for a few years. My Niece tried to revive her but she was gone when she collapsed. Linda Meyers Park was 80 years old, born 9-10-1945 around the exact day Hirohito surrendered to the USA on the Missouri. My Grandfather at the time was working as a civilian contractor for the US Navy installing the top secret technology known as radar on Naval vessels. My mother ended up being born in Oakland, the nearest hospital. Combine this with my Father being stationed in Alameda from 1956-1960 and meeting the Raider’s players at the gym he frequented in Oakland, now you know why your intrepid blogger is always seen in a Raider’s hat despite the fact that the team has not won a Superbowl since I was 12 years old.

If you have family that cares about you, that actually ask you questions about your life and take some sort of genuine interest in you – count your blessings as many do not. Without going in to gory detail, as I sit here with 8,477 days sober, having just been to the doctor with great lab results, getting weight off and literally only dealing with a bum left hip… I was reflecting on everything.

I was a known political antagonist of Doug LaMalfa. The wars I fought with his staff are legendary. Even in 2024, I tangled with them again as I was helping elect Heather Hadwick to AD01. I did not know LaMalfa in anything like a positive light. It has been surreal to me to see the outpouring on his behalf. As I stated on my Facebook a bit ago:

Doug’s Staff are missing a boss. Doug’s wife is missing a husband. Doug’s kids are missing a dad. That is heartbreaking and makes the 25 year political war seem small. My condolences to all affected by Congressman Doug LaMalfa dying.

— (This section related to Steve Frank updated 1-16-2026 9AM)

I remember meeting Steve Frank in CRA back in 1999 when I went to my first CRA meeting. All the moderate rino squishes hated him, and he spoke my language. And while he was in his 50’s then, he had youthful energy and seemed to be on the right side of everything. While Steve and I have also fought our battles over the years, including in the last few years, I want to remember the conservative lion. But the lesson I am taking away from Steve’s life is to make sure I ride off into the sunset before I get old, bitter and angry. Go out on top, you can’t do anything about aging, but you can have some control over your legacy.

Steve did a lot of good for CA Republicans.

That said, what I know and have confirmed as of today is that Steve had an accident and broke vertebrae near his neck. Accounts vary, and while I have a lot more details from someone with direct knowledge, I am going to respect the family’s wishes for privacy. His website has not been updated since 12-25-2025, suggesting other issues were recurring before the accident. I have been told by someone who has seen him that he will recover from the injury, “but he has other issues too”. Hopefully, we hear from Steve again soon.

—

While I was processing the loss of my Mother, and the buzz surrounding LaMalfa I got a late text on Friday 1-9-2026. It turns out that Mikey Triggs (as I called him) died around 1-7/1-8. I was able to find a notation on the LA County Coroner’s website after I was told. It was sudden, as I had text messages from him on Wed 1-7-2026. Mike was a fixture in the LA Political scene, but later in life he had a ton of medical issues, including losing part of a limb due to his diabetes. He had lived in a nice apartment near Playa Del Rey very close to the water ever since I knew him (at least 15 years).

Triggs used to leave me bizarre voicemails and send memes via a text thread with other friends. There is a certain finality knowing I will never get another text of a meme from a Gay Pride Parade (for one example) telling me that I don’t look good in that color of dress. Sigh.

I met Michael Reagan a few times, once he headlined a CRA Convention. While he failed the purity test of some activists, he was impactful. He had mostly faded from relevance over the last few years before passing at age 80.

Joel Fox is on one of those slate mail cards you get every election in California. He was a very intelligent and gifted man. His political peak was before my time in the arena.

Scott “Dilbert” Adams was a cartoonist turned political commentator after his comic strips got cancelled by the media over his support of Trump 1.0. Like Triggs, he was 68.

Congressman Chris Cox I did not know. But he is very well known behind the Orange Curtain and his being in hospice has certainly stopped a lot of people down there in their tracks.

Sometimes it is hard to relate to the “Life is not Guaranteed” canard you hear from people. Then people in your orbit start dropping like flies. Wisdom is acting on news like this to try to take corrective action if needed in your own life. Cherish your time, your relationships and take care of yourselves. Most important is faith, as having the reassurance of having true faith in Christ lessens the impact of death and gives us all hope and a reason to continue on.