Our County Government Attacks 1st Amendment, Fails

Funny plastic handcuffs graphic borrowed from Voice of OC
Once in a while news from the County is so pregnant with consequences for us in Fullerton that we here at FFFF feel obliged to share it with the Friends.

Yes. I did that. Didn’t think you would remember.
In case you weren’t following the weird story: on Good Friday, 2015 3rd District Supervisor Todd “Super Victim” Spitzer got scared of a Christian proselytizer in a Foothill Ranch Wahoos, went out to his car and returned with handcuffs and a loaded pistol. He “hooked up” this poor sap and waited for the deputies to arrive. Of course nothing came of it. Mr. Bible was released from bondage and everybody went his own way.

Pretty weird, in a “dress up like a cop and play” sort of way. I mean, who drives around with handcuffs in his trunk, right?

Unfortunately for Spitzer, news of the bizarre incident was finally leaked to The OC Register who reported on it in August 2015, much to the merriment of the pistol-packin’ supervisor’s numerous detractors. But the story gets better – or worse – depending on your point of view.

Todd Spitzer gets emotional.
Photo by MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER –

Apparently Spitzer couldn’t leave the depiction of himself as a nutcase, alone. Sort of like obsessively picking at a scab. So he enlisted the help of Jean Pasco, the County’s press release writer to write some sort of clarifying/absolving press release. Although this document never saw the light of publication, the Voice of OC got wind of it and did a PRA request for all related docs. Hilariously, the County refused, claiming that unfinished documents don’t constitute “records.” The Voice sued the County for release of the relevant material. The County fought back.

It got worse. Under Spitzer’s guidance County Counsel demanded to depose Voice publisher Norberto Santana, ridiculously suggesting that conversations between him and Spitzer were relevant to the matter. Voice objected to the blatant harassment attempt.

On December 12, Judge Walter Schwarm “quashed” the depostion of the journalist . In legalese that means the judge shoved the matter right up Spitzer’s sorry ass. The County’s effort to intimidate a journalist was met with a stinging rebuke by the jurist.

Downhill racer…
Meantime, the completely unnecessary lawsuit drags on, the costs of which, when the County inevitably fails, will be borne by you and me. And where is our own Supervisor Shawn Nelson during all this? Nowhere to be seen or heard as far as I can tell. Evidently, he, too, believes that we peons are only to know things when he and his pals at the County feel like sharing, and that it is right and proper that we pay the costs of them keeping public information from the public.

 

 

12 Replies to “Our County Government Attacks 1st Amendment, Fails”

  1. Spitzer has always been a puffed up blowhard and buffoon. Unfortunately there doesn’t appear to be any adult supervision at the County. All this is going to haunt him when he finally runs for DA. And that’s a good thing. We don’t need this clown anywhere near the justice system in OC. It’s already screwed up enough.

  2. Is that really a picture of Shawn Nelson? The last time I saw Supervisor Nelson, he looked a lot fatter and even younger in a weird way.

  3. That abortive press release was leaked to Voice by none other than FF Shawn Nelson who didn’t have the balls to confront Spitzer himself. Chickenshit in every way.

  4. Notice how Spitzer has rolled down his sleeves to show off his phony little yellow wristband – just to get sympathy from the reporter. Didn’t work.

  5. Spitzer shades of George Zimmerman who practiced deadly vigilante , law enforcement. Sadly for Spitzer, the ranting evangelist stood his ground at the pulpit of Wahoos. Maybe Spitzer should move to Florida if he wants to play a cop.

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