On the ballot, Orange Mayor Pro Tem Denis Bilodeau has to stick to his day job.
That is, Bilodeau can only list his work as a civil engineer and a city councilmember on the general election ballot in the race for the 4th District spot on California’s Board of Equalization, a judge recently ruled.
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Using “taxpayer association president” is out, Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Jennifer K. Rockwell said in her ruling, because that job description could mislead voters.
Bilodeau had used “taxpayer association president” on the ballot in the June primary election for the open seat on the state board tasked with overseeing California’s property tax system. It’s a nod to his work as CEO and president of the Orange Taxpayers Association, a nonprofit aimed at informing residents of potential tax plans to balance “environmental goals with those that maintain a healthy economy,” according to its website.
The amount of time and effort Bilodeau devotes to the organization is not disputed, Rockwell said, and nothing prevents him from promoting that work during the campaign.
However, he cannot be listed as a “taxpayer association president,” Rockwell said, because that title would mislead voters as it is “not factually accurate.”
Bilodeau’s work with the taxpayers group is in a volunteer capacity or “avocation,” the judge said, and his income primarily comes from his employment with Orange County as an engineer. On the ballot, his job description will need to reflect the position that pays him.
An avocation, defined by the California secretary of state’s office’s ballot designation regulations, is: “a casual or occasional activity, diversion or hobby pursued principally for enjoyment and in addition to the candidate’s principal profession, vocation or occupation.”
Bilodeau, a Republican, and State Sen. Tom Umberg, a Santa Ana Democrat, are vying for the 4th District seat on the Board of Equalization, which assesses the property of specific public utilities and oversees the state’s 58 county assessors and their assessment practices. It also assesses and collects the alcoholic beverage tax and jointly administers the tax on insurers.
The 4th District covers Orange, San Diego, Riverside and Imperial counties, as well as a portion of San Bernardino County.
“Judge Rockwell acknowledged that I spend hundreds of hours a year advocating on behalf of taxpayers (and) defeating tax measures, but because I don’t receive a paycheck doing it, it’s an (avocation) as opposed to a vocation,” Bilodeau said in a statement.
Fran Sdao, who previously chaired the Orange County Democratic Party and lives in Santa Ana, which the 4th District represents, filed the challenge against Bilodeau’s designation.
In addition to being an elected councilmember since 2022, Bilodeau is employed as a traffic engineer by Orange County, which earns him a salary of $185,000, he said. The council post pays $600 per month.
Bilodeau has also served on the Orange County Water District since 2000. There, according to Transparent California, a public records platform that collects official government salary and pension data, Bilodeau made $38,367 in 2024, the most recent data available.
A ballot designation is the description of a candidate’s primary “profession, vocation or occupation” that appears on ballots, as described by the Orange County registrar of voters. Candidates can change their ballot designation after filing their declaration of candidacy or after the primary election, as long as the change occurs at least 98 days before the general election, the office said.
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Rockwell ruled that Bilodeau will have to use “councilmember/civil engineer” as his ballot designation for the general election.
This will almost certainly disadvantage Bilodeau in the race, said Dan Schnur, who teaches political messaging at USC and UC Berkeley.
“Most voters don’t follow these types of down-ticket races all that closely, so a candidate’s ballot designation would represent most or all of what a voter knows about a candidate before they cast their ballot,” Schnur said.
“Judging Bilodeau by his taxpayer work is likely to lead voters to a conclusion about him that is very much in line with the office that he’s seeking,” Schnur said.
And while a councilmember and civil engineer designation wouldn’t necessarily conjure up any negative impressions about Bilodeau, they just aren’t as helpful, said Schnur.
“In a political climate like this one, where voters are so suspicious of politics and politicians, the type of activist designation that Bilodeau was able to use in the primary was an immense asset. His professional job description doesn’t hurt him, but it’s certainly not going to help to the same degree,” Schnur said.
According to court records, Bilodeau proposed ballot designations of “taxpayer association president” and an alternate designation of “taxpayer advocate” for the primary election ballot. Those titles are justified, he argued, because he spends “a significant amount of time advocating and am compensated in this position,” according to court records.
But according to a filing made by Sdao’s attorneys, “Bilodeau provided no evidence to show this is the case, and, in fact, financial disclosure forms filed by Bilodeau under penalty of perjury do not disclose any such income.”
Bilodeau, however, said his work with the organization “is more than a nominal or pro forma or titular position.”
“I have devoted hundreds of hours to that work. In that capacity, I have researched and written about virtually every tax and bond measure in Orange County for years. This research and advocacy has included other cities in Orange County and district bond measures throughout the county,” Bilodeau said in his ballot declaration worksheet, according to court records.
Umberg — whose ballot designation notes that he is a state senator and small businessman — applauded the judge’s ruling, saying voters “deserve accurate information on their ballot.”
Ballots are set to be mailed to registered voters in early October. Election Day is Nov. 3.
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