The John Lewis Virus Rampant. Have You been Vaccinated?

They really don't like it when you shine the light on 'em.

During the fall we had a lot of fun attacking the “Repuglicans,” local members of the Republican establishment who have made it their goal to milk a political system over which their party has control, and milk it for all it’s worth. The County of Orange is a Repuglican plantation, and we are all just pickin’ cotton for them.

Naturally we provided helpful definititons and illustrations of the breed, including such luminaries as Dick Ackerman, Scott Baugh, Tom Fuentes, and of course, Anaheims’s own, Kurt Pringle. If there’s a nickel on the table these fellas will go for it, and go for it hard.

That's mine!

The arrogance and hypocrisy of “small gummint” ‘pugs – of all shapes and sizes – making a living off of big government (and the bigger the size o’ government the better the living) is something rarely discussed at GOP Central Committee meetings, out of which the ‘pugs operate their rackets.

The Ethics Committee meets...

One name we haven’t spent a lot of time on (although we did last spring) is former State Senator John Lewis. Mr. Lewis is a campaign consultant. He is also a lobbyist at the County Hall of Administration. Gee, that’s very convenient. Get ’em elected, then lobby ’em for your clients. What an operation!

Lewis is currently in the process of losing one of his bonus boys on the County Board of Supervisors. 4th District Supervisor Chris Norby is moving on after seven fruitful years; and a couple years after that his other boy Bill Campbell will be gone too.

We've always been there for each other...

So Lewis needs a new boy, a tool, a yes vote on the Board and a friend behind the 3rd Floor scenes,  ASAP. And Democrat Tom Daly is his new object of affection in what can be described as a  symbiotic love affair. Just goes to show how shallow and useless are the “conservative” principles spouted by ‘pugs like Lewis and his altar boy Matthew J. Cunningham, who has wasted so much of our time with his many dodges and pirouettes around the basic fact.

(Interestingly Cunningham was making his usual  avoid-the-subject-change-the-topic comments here on some issue or other, until one commenter suggested that perhaps his own wife had been offered a job in a future Daly administration. We’re looking into that one!)

For the Repuglicans  there is no principle that can’t be bent way out of shape in the pursuit of business or political success – just look at Ackerman’s budget deals, or Ed Royce’s continued support of worthless RINO candidates on the Fullerton City Council. And now Lewis supports Daly “out of loyalty,” we are supposed to believe. Heya, John howzabout some loyalty to the the principles your party is supposed to stand for? Oh. Yeah. That’s right. Sorry.

This may pinch a little...

Well, we can’t fix the world. We can’t even fix Orange County. But we can, and will spend a lot of time talking about John Lewis and Tom Daly in the next five months, or until Daly pulls the  plug on his own campaign.

27 Replies to “The John Lewis Virus Rampant. Have You been Vaccinated?”

  1. I’m not keen on the “campaign professionals” who are regularly discussed in this blog, but this posting is splattering dirt around without sufficient direction or focus.

    Is there some (crystal clear) factual record of Norby “doing” some untoward political “favors” at Mr. Lewis’s behest?

    If so, would you please spell it (or all such examples) out now so that those of us who do NOT expect to always AGREE with a political officeholder, but who DO expect “our” officeholder-candidate to ALWAYS act and vote in an ethical and honorable manner, can hear whatever supposed “dirt” there is to be thrown at Mr. Norby?

    I expect to support and campaign for Norby because my own experience suggests that he is principled and honest (which mainly includes doing the hard work necessary in order to learn and understand all sides of an issue that he must vote on). I think Norby is far too much of a Liberal for my tastes, but principle (American Constitutional) and honesty trump most everything in forming my opinion of political candidates-officerholders.

    PLEASE inform me of any improper votes or actions that you think resulted from association with Mr. Lewis, so that I can further investigate and assess whether my confidence in Mr. Norby is misplaced (which I very much doubt).

    1. Rain, Lewis plucked Norby from relative obscurity obscurity and got him into the Supervisor’s office -where Lewis proceeded to lobby him on a number of deals for his clients.

      Do I have to connect the dots? Whether or not Norby did anything improper, Lewis needs to replace him. It’s called “access” and the more you fundraise, the more you get. That’s the way it goes.

      1. Mr. Peabody, Please DO specify exactly what “…Lewis proceeded to lobby him on a number of deals for his clients” means in terms of any actual Votes by Norby or any other sort of official Action taken by Norby, which YOU believe to have been improperly done at Lewis’ behest?

        And what does “relative obscurity” mean regarding the OC Board of Supervisors?

        WHO is or was or ever has been on the OC Board of Supervisors that we are supposed to consider “prominent” by your measure, as compared with a multi-year-serving and many times reelected Fullerton City Councilman, such as Norby was when he ran for Supervisor?

        Mr. Peabody, do you work for government or for a newspaper or some other “fact free” enterprise?

        1. Jesus, Mr. Rain, how dense are you? Norby was a nobody City Councilman, a total washout for higher office (1995 – google it! – before my time) with zero political future until Lewis decided to put him up for the BoS, on spec. What a generous guy! So interested in good government.

          What a coincidence! Lewis is also a lobbyist at the County for such things as insurance to development anything whereally where influence and access can be peddled – check out his website since you seem unable to believe me.

          The successful lobbyist at the County uses the Supervisors to direct staff to reccomend the client. Votes? The deal’s already done!

          Rain, I hope you don’t take this personally (my guess is that you don’t know much about how money and politics meet), but these dots can be connected with a crayon!

          With Norby out Lewis needs a replacement.

          BTW, you need to learn the difference between libertarian and liberal.

          1. Thanks, Mr. Peabody, for your FACT-FREE reply.

            Obviously, you have NO examples or incidents where you can identify any actual Vote or any other type of official Action, which Mr. Norby cast or took that was in any way improper, let alone specifically “influenced” (in any sort of nefarious way) by Mr. Lewis.

  2. Has Daly even opened a Supervisor Campaign Account yet or is he depositing all those contribututions into his Clerk/Record Campaign Account. Legal, but it certainly lends to the myth that he is related to invertebrates.

  3. John Lewis is losing his friends on the board. Staff in all five offices think he’s a joke! He is known for taking any companies money even when they have no chance at a contract. Then, he slanders and lies about the competition. Everyone see’s right through that guy nowadays. Out with the old…he brings zero to the table once Norby is gone. Now Chris Townsend and Assoc are in a good spot with Norby headed to the 72nd, he hired Norbys 2nd in command for 6 years (next to Eric), Jessica O. Word is she has not been very effective in lobbying County issues (mousey), but could have Norbys Assembly ear…if she doesn’t just goto work for him.

    1. Not true. Jessica O Hare just got a job with the OC Public Works Department – how the hell did that happen? When the going gets tough these people go back to work for the government. SOP for these third floor/fifth floor miscreants.

      And that’s a topic for another post!

  4. I stand corrected. We knew she couldn’t take the private sector, was just a matter of time (mousey) before going back to the saftey of county government.

    1. “Public affairs” consulting is just a wing of the government. The bigger the government the bigger the “private sector” payoff.

  5. Jessica O. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh Jessica. Townsend was pissed when she left. He had no idea she was jumping ship.

    How did that little Legeslative Admin Position II get unfrozen in OC Public Emberrass-ment Works? Does Bustamante really need a Leg girl when OC Emberass-ment works could be wholly farmed out to the public sector.

    Jessica is like Pam Keller, actually, thats an insult to Pam…………She smiles a lot and makes no sense when she speaks.

    OC Public Works is FUBARed most of the time although, with Spiegel fired one would have thought that this type of stupidity would have ceased.

    Wishfull thinking

    1. Good question. That Planning Department has hired several people lately and word has it that several of the incompetent pensioneers have been hired back ans are working on their second incomes.

  6. Rain :

    Thanks, Mr. Peabody, for your FACT-FREE reply.

    Obviously, you have NO examples or incidents where you can identify any actual Vote or any other type of official Action, which Mr. Norby cast or took that was in any way improper, let alone specifically “influenced” (in any sort of nefarious way) by Mr. Lewis.

    Well if you insist on making this a Norby issue. I’ll be posting a list my pals on the Third Floor are assembling. Hell, maybe I’ll even do a separate post on it Rain, just to please you.

    But for starters you can contemplate Norby’s lonely endorsement of Paul Walters (a Lewis client) as well as Lewises near-successful attempt to get Norby to endorse the Democrat Daly – another Lewis-backed candidate. See? This is really about Lewis.

    Check in tomorrow.

  7. Good Heavens, peabody why would you waste a second of time on this person. He is one of those people who is insistant on missing the point. In this case that Norby has been lobbied by Lewis and that Lewis needs a replacement.

    Of course Lewis has lobbied Norby for his clients. That’s HIS JOB.

    Pretty soon “Rain” will be telling you you’re a communist abortionist.

  8. p.s. Curious that the two guys shown on the Lewis website (Norby and Campbell) were the big Walters supporters? Not to reasonable people.

  9. Come on, Rain is just asking for specific examples. If, as you say, the dots can be connected with a crayon, humor those of us too “dense” to break out the Crayola box, and fill in the spaces for us. Because right now all I see is generalizations and innuendo, which is what I have come to expect over here. I keep hoping to find useful information that helps me understand what my neighbors to the north are dealing with, and all I see is mudslinging at public personaliities, and mudslinging at your own readers for asking questions. Cough up some facts.

    1. Welcome back Colony, seems you just pop up to pimp for Daly. Try doing that on your own blog and see if the publisher lets you keep posting!

      The point of the above post that you and rain are missing is that Lewis is a County lobbyist and Norby has been a County Supervisor for seven years. Who do you think he lobbied? No one?

      From Lewis Consulting Group website:

      “John Lewis and Matt Holder had both the vision and expertise to direct my successful campaign efforts. They are great friends and trusted advisors.”

      Chris Norby
      Orange Country Supervisor

      Friend and trusted advisor who you owe big time. Who also happens to be a lobbyist. There’s potential for trouble no matter how honest the politican is, as I believe Norby to be. And that’s the point of the post.

      But as to the Lewis/Norby relationship, here’s all I need: Chris has personally told me that Lewis has lobbyied him on issues over the years. And I believe him! And lobbying doesn’t mean persuading or vote buying – which is what rain and Colony immediately assume – although Peabody never said it. Rain, “untoward political favors” (in quotation marks) was your phrase, not Peabody’s.

      Anyway, if Mr. Peabody wants to compile a list for Rain and do a post on it, that’s his business.

      Nothing illegal here; whether you think its improper or not is obviously a matter of opinion. So keep ’em coming.

  10. “Trusted adviser” has a meaning which involves NOTHING illegal or improper, UNLESS there is an action taken or a vote cast which is illegal or improper.

    I hereby advise Mr. Norby to ensure that all OC employee’s are paid on a regular schedule and in contractually agreed amounts. No problem.

    If I advised Mr. Norby to steal your car and he did it, then there would be reason for concern about me as an adviser to Mr. Norby and an ever bigger reason for concern that Mr. Norby in fact held public office.

    This entire post is just splattering dirt around but without any facts or substance so the purpose seems merely to harm public figures, just exactly like “our” great “main stream media” now views its mission.

    I’m permanently sick of the MSM, where you ONLY see one side (and it is uniformly false and mere partisan Democrat-Communist Party propaganda).

    I really expect a (local) government issues oriented blog to differ from the unverified, out of context, and often just plain false, junk published in the MSM. If guys like Mr. Peabody can just bluff and bluster to “shout down” those who ask for facts, then its almost the same as the MSM not publishing ANY critical or contrary opinion Letters to the Editor, etc.

  11. I did not even mention Daly’s name in my post! How is asking for verifiable facts pimping for Daly? You hide behind your bluster, but there is no substance to your work. Let me know when you have facts to share with the world, until then you are just a bunch of little old ladies gossiping over the back fence.

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