Tommy Lasorda Day; Mayor Whitaker Hits Stride!

If you are one of those people who believes the City of Fullerton has its priorities all screwed up what with The Worst Roads n’ OC® and the most precarious of budget situations, FFFF has damn Good News. The City, under the proud guidance of Mayor Bruce Whitaker has proclaimed September 22 a day of tribute to the late Dodger manager and Fullerton resident, Tommy Lasorda. Lasorda maintained a Fullerton house for many decades, it seems.

Of course a mere Council meeting proclamation wouldn’t be nearly enough to honor the legendary Dodger, nor indeed, fill up a whole morning of festivities. So the day almost designed itself! Here’s the press release detailing the stuff that’s going on. There’s even going to be a movie!

What’s that I see? “Inaugural Tommy Lasorda Day?” You mean there’s going to be one every year? Awesome!

The roads built by the Romans are even better than ours!

The scenario plays out in such a way that cynics are bound to snicker: a Sister City arrangement with Tollo, Italy, original home of the Lasorda clan, replete with a tree planting. But these special relationships matter to a city’s prestige and it’s important for our mayors to be able to make trips to represent our interests abroad.

Tommy Lasorda will be smiling from Dodger Heaven…

Someone spent a lot of time and effort to bring this day to fruition. City Hall insiders are effusive in their praise for Mayor Whitaker who has spearheaded these efforts. And those who have followed his political career for many. many years will find satisfaction in this accomplishment.

Complaint Filed With DA Over More Pro Measure K Shenanigans

Always game day in Fullerton…

Anti Measure K activist Tony Bushala has lodged a formal request to OC District Attorney Todd Spitzer to investigate whether Fullerton Joint Union High School personnel illegally campaigned for the March 3rd bond effort.

Okay, do something…we dare ya.

According to State law, it is impermissible to expend public resources on behalf of an election. It’s a crime. Public agencies do it all the time, of course, and generally do it with impunity. Sometimes it’s subtle, sometimes it’s flagrant. Yet rarely does anybody challenge the behavior. But Mr. Bushala has. Below is a facsimile of an e-mail he sent to Spitzer today.

FFFF has already noted the school district personnel intimately involved in the K scam, and the idea that no district resources were used in the campaign is laughable. The District has already been caught using graduation tickets to bribe kids into “volunteering” for the campaign. Likewise school fences were used for pro-K banners. It’s easily conceivable that the people listed in the campaign reports used District communication networks and even physical space to try to foist K on the taxpayers.

Well, good luck Tony in your endeavor. You’ve already helped save home owners hundreds of million on the K and J grabs.

The Speech From the Empty Chair

So much to skim, so little time…

Lobbyist-councilmember Jennifer Fitzgerald took a powder from the budget meeting on Tuesday. Perhaps the potential embarrassment was too much to contemplate.

But she did send in this letter in lieu of her presence. Since she wants it to become “part of the record” we know that it is really meant to be a political PR document. For a little help FFFF has highlighted some fun parts.

Okay.We now know that Fitzgerald is blaming “Sacramento” for Fullerton’s gloomy, no, desperate fiscal projections. We can’t expect her to make reference to her own irresponsible deals with the unions or remind us of her campaign lie that Fullerton’s budget was balanced. We can’t expect her to admit that everyone has known CalPERS projections have been BS for years. No disappointment there.

Scrolling down her wish-list we see the properties she wants to sell off to her developer pals, a one-time fix that won’t fix anything. More insidious is the “public/private partnership” expansion, or P3 in the parlance of the lobbyist’s guild, in which the public generally pays for the same thing twice. Electronic billboards? Like the fuzzy, illegible ones along the 57 put up by Placentia when things got dire next door? Wow, that really is desperate! The ad revenue from signs would be peanuts (but oh no, let’s not discuss Behind the Badge. That loose change is lost in the couch forever).

You have to give Fitzgerald credit, being what she is. After putting Fullerton in a dire financial hole she is still looking for ways to direct profit to people who have or who might contribute to her political future; or to other politicians in cities where Pringle and Associates have clients.

Do you feel better knowing that “this community always rises to the occasion?”

Down on the County Farm: The 4th District Embarrassment

The quarter million dollar man…

A Friend alerted me to a Voice of OC article that has a close tie-in to Fullerton, since it deals directly with our 4th District County Supervisor, Shawn Nelson, and his Number One man.

Apparently, The Voice of OC is running end-of-the year pieces about this and that. The one that was forwarded to FFFF is about how Voice has been holding politicians accountable for their misdeeds, and included the shocking story from last May of Nelson’s Chief-of-Staff, Denis Bilodeau, and how, between his various government salaries, stipends and benefits he rakes in more than $250,000 per year. Yes, you read that right. He makes more, a lot more, than Nelson himself.

This valuable piece of manpower pulls in a generous stipend and benefits as a boardmember of the County Water District, and gets $40,000 per year (via a personal contract) as Nelson’s “technical advisor” at the AQMD. Before that he was also getting paid by being a member of the Orange City Council, Redevelopment Agency and all the other regional commissions he could get himself appointed to. Of course all these agencies had meetings that would have directly conflicted with his $120,000 full-time job at the County.

Bilodeau has also been frequently featured on the pages of the Voice for submitting bogus expense reports and for collecting stipends for meetings in which he barely popped his head in the meeting room door, or didn’t attend at all. Naturally, he blamed his staff for poor record keeping. He was busted for falsifying his time card to engage in political activity and claimed he got his weeks mixed up.

A study of hours logged by County administration personnel in 2012 show Bilodeau in the office 23 hours a week. Thats’ 58% of a work-week.What he did when he was there is anybody’s guess.

Nothing was saved…

So what is Bilodeau’s real value to anybody? Here’s County political watchdog Shirley Grindle, offering an opinion, as quoted in Voice of OC:

She also said she’s gotten indications that the mind behind Nelson’s fundraising machinations has been his chief of staff, Denis Bilodeau, who was an Orange councilman and serves on the Orange County Water District board.

“I’m about ready to tell Shawn Nelson, about the best thing he could do for his career is get rid of Denis Bilodeau,” Grindle said.

What did Nelson have to say on the subject?

“Neither Bilodeau nor Nelson would comment…”

Joe’s Legacy

Enjoy as our Lobbyist-Mayor reads outgoing City Manager Joe Felz’s out-of-a can valediction.

Heartwarming, huh? There is no doubt Ms. Fitzgerald is sorry to see Joe go, but the reasons may have more to do with exercising authority in Fullerton than in any heartfelt sentiment. The important part of this speech, however, is in her description of Felz’s contributions to Fullerton and his legacy. These are important matters to Fitzgerald, as re-writing history always is to politicians.

Note how she credits Felz with bringing Chief Danny on board to “reform” the police department. And how he has masterfully handled the West Coyote Hills shambles, wherein a City government just gives its resident a big fuck you. Even his role in the everlasting Hillcrest Park embarrassment is embellished as some sort of grand victory.

Some people may be forgiven for refusing to accept this self-congratulatory nonsense as they address themselves to some obdurate facts. Such as refusing to reduce personnel, even as Redevelopment was shut down. For outsourcing graffiti removal but keeping the employees on the payroll. For four years of red ink baths to backfill an unbalanced budget. Hiring “Chief Danny?”  The man who denied the obvious Culture of Corruption in the FPD. The man who claims to have watched the Kelly Thomas video 400 times, and who let the goons who killed him compare notes and re-write their reports? The man who promoted the only target of the Gennaco report – Goodrich. The man who covered up Felz’s Wild Ride Home on his next to last day of work? Is this supposed to be some sort of sick joke?

And yet for us citizens, no word on what really happened in the early morning of November 9th 2016; no word on what sort of “ongoing criminal investigation” is being pursued, if any; no word on what, if anything the DA has been asked to review.

Well, don’t worry Friends. We will be pursuing the details of Felz’s departure to see what sort of specifics may have been memorialized. And we will not give up getting those cop video records of the night when our former City Manager drove off the road, tried to get away from the scene of an accident, was stopped by the cops, and then given both a pass and a free ride home.

 

Repugs Blow Wad on Ling²

Back for more
Back for more abuse…

A while back we shared the musing of one Matthew J. Cunningham, a repuglican ink-dribbler, who falsely blamed Bruce Whitaker for the embarrassing showing put up by repuglican Larry Bennett in Fullerton’s 2016 council election. See, Whitaker is not popular among the “everything must go” repug’ crowd who see government not as too big, but as just not having enough teats.

Better get it while you can...
Better get it while you can…

So here, forthwith, I present another one of this sorry individual’s political ejaculations. This post was supposed to be a wrap-up of the State Senate District 29 election, a district that includes all of Fullerton. Repuglicans loved them some Ling Ling Chang. And why not? Her candidacy was the creation of the noxious Ed Roski bag man, Bob Huff, the perpetual cheerleader for the failed California Redevelopment swindle.

Back to the actual post: see if you detect the wave of wishful thinking intruding upon the shallow lagoon of this flunky’s intelligence:

After yesterday’s OC Registrar of Voters update, it’s highly likely Democrat Josh Newman’s unlikely political journey has come to an end – and it’s time to start addressing Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang as Senator.

SOS sd29 tally 11-16

29,746 ballots have been counted in the last two days, and Newman is not only failing to close the gap – he is falling further behind. At this stage of the game, if you aren’t gaining ground, you’re losing ground because the universe of uncounted ballots is only getting smaller – meaning the percentage the second-place candidate has to capture keeps getting bigger.

Congratulations to Ling Ling Chang, who once again has emerged victorious from a bitter and hugely expensive election battle.

Of course anyone who follows election counts knows very well that the post-election day provisional ballots always lean heavily Democrat in Orange County. They also know that the late VBM ballots likely go Republican – and these were obviously the first post-election ballots counted.

looking for the exit...
Looking for the exit…

A few weeks of sporadic ballot counting have passed, and the final tally has Fullerton’s Josh Newman, State Senator-elect, winning by 2500 votes. He was sworn in today as the State Senator form the 29th District.

Hello, Newman
Hello, Newman

I feel constrained to point out that this “battle” was “hugely expensive” only because of the $6,000,000 pumped into it by the Statewide ‘repugs and their running dogs to smear Newman, who appears to be a thoughtful and decent guy. Is there any need to also point out that Cunningham’s rancid Dave Gilliard-owned blog also participated in that shameful smear effort?

Friends, we may accurately call Ling Ling Chang many things: nakedly ambitious, serial liar, empty suit, air head, puppet, soon-to-be unemployed; but one thing we can’t call her is Senator.

The Larry Bennett Story

If there’s a buck in it, I’ll do it…

There is a newly minted blog called OC Daily, evidently the brain child of GOP slime ball Dave Gilliard, and operated by another small-time hack named Matthew Cunningham. A Friend directed my attention to this post written by Cunningham about our recent Fullerton election that blames Larry Bennetts’ fourth place finish on a divided GOP – basically throwing the rat on Bruce Whitaker (by name) for not supporting Bennett, due lack of supposed conservative purity on the part of the latter. Cunningham also points out Bennett’s broad bi-partisan support as an indication of his strength.

Backed by all the wrong people...
Backed by all the wrong people…

Since this post shared a link to Bennett’s fabulous list of endorses, I will too. Except that I will pick out a few familiar names and add some piquant commentary that may come as surprise to those who hold the opinion that these endorsements have much value outside the aging little clique who signed on. They won’t surprise you, Friends.

 

Bob Huff CA State Senate  bag man for Redevelopment profiteers
Dick  Ackerman State Senate Minority Leader – Retired (Tried to sell OC Fair to pals, tried to carpetbag wife into Assembly; 1994 & 2012 recall opponent)
Jennifer Fitzgerald RINO Mayor – lobbyist for Curt Pringle; refuses to release client list
Jan Flory Mayor Pro Tem, 2012 recall opponent; illegal water tax supporter; supported utility tax in 1993
John (Jack) Bedell, Ph.D. RINO Vice President Orange County Board of Education, recently smeared Chris Norby in BoE election
Molly  Mc Clanahan North OC Community College Vice President (recalled from Fullerton council in 1994 for unnecessary utility tax
Hilda Sugarman RINO Fullerton School Board Vice President,
Janny  Meyer RINO Fullerton School Board Member; wife of previous city manager
Chris Meyer Former Fullerton City Manager (holder of MASSIVE pension; oversaw a city government with zero accountability)
Paul Dudley Former Director of Community Development (responsible for massive over development of Fullerton)
Dick  Ackerman Former Mayor (see above; this scumbag is so repulsive he gets listed TWICE)
Don  Bankhead Former Mayor, only person in the history of California to be recalled Twice from the same office
Buck Catlin Former Mayor, recalled in 1994 for imposition of unnecessary utility tax, father of Janny Meyer
F. Richard Jones Former Mayor, recalled in 2012; rude, bombastic Southern-fried imbecile
Linda LeQuire Former Mayor, repulsive former councilperson resurrected for nasty duty every election cycle
Molly  Mc Clanahan Former Mayor (also listed TWICE did I metioned she was recalled?)
Leland Wilson Former Mayor,(RINO- mitigating factor – got rid of Flory in 2002)
Peter Godfrey Former Mayor Pro Tem, completely useless RINO
Pat Mc Kinley Former Council Member, recalled in 2012 – created the FPD Culture of Corruption “I hired them all”
Jim Blake Former MWD Board, busted partying on the taxpayers dime as the perpetual appointee to the MWD
Rick  Crane Former Planning Commissioner, Redevelopment Agency bonanza beneficiary
Samuel Han Former Planning Commission,  Grace Ministries front man for dad and booze peddler map supporter
Roy  LeQuire Former Planning Commissioner, spouse of Linda LeQuire, above
Wade Richmond Former Planning Commissioner ( Bankhead crony since the year 1492)
Jim  Alexander Local small-time lobbyist
Carol Bankhead Wife of Don Bankhead
Karen Dudley Wife of Paul Dudley, above
Norma  Jones Wife of Richard Joes, above
Tony Florentine  (Guy who buil restaurant addition on public sidewalk; operated illegal dance club)
Pat Florentine Spouse of sidewalk grabber, above
Barbara McKinley Wife of Pat Mckinley, above

 

The future looked bright from his perspective

So, basically Bennett was the front man for Old Fullerton, the same crew that has done everything possible to keep Fullerton in a weird stasis in which they ran the show. These were the people that fought BOTH recalls, tooth and nail; that imposed a utility tax in 1993, that have given away the store to the public employees and upper managers alike; that stole $27,000,000 from us in illegal water taxes, denied it, and never even bothered to say “sorry;” that enabled a Culture of Corruption to pervade the FPD, who denied its existence contrary to all the evidence, and who hid behind their curtains when an innocent man was bludgeoned to death by their own little Praetorian Guard.

And every rancid step of the way  proclaiming with hosannas their dedication to “good government.”

These are the people who now survive in ever-dwindling numbers, their days long past, who see in people like Fitzgerald and Bennett some sort of embryonic form in which their own feeble genetic material is passed on.

Blaming Whitaker for not backing Bennett? How about shame on all of those who did? Electing Republicans qua Republicans, even though they are supported by all of Fullerton’s Old Guard liberals, instead of principled conservatives is how we got into the place we are today – awash in red ink, overdeveloped and with zero accountability in sight.

 

Fullerton Police Officer Says Chief Hughes is Corrupt

We just received a copy of a message to city manager Joe Felz from a Fullerton police officer making specific allegations of corruption, brutality, racism, cronyism and cover-ups under the leadership of police captain and current acting chief Danny Hughes. I also hear that officer Lira has been discussing these issues on KFI AM 640 this afternoon.

From: Ben Lira
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2012 12:42 PM
To: jfelz@ci.fullerton.ca.us; City Manager
Subject: message/information from Benjamin Lira

Mr. Felz

My name is Benjamin Lira, and although we’ve never met, I’ve been a nearly 17 year dedicated employee of the Fullerton Police Department.  Recent events have left the city, the Police department and it’s employees in turmoil.  I’m saddened to think I’ve had anything to do with that.

I apologize for reaching out to you via email but myself and my colleagues have stood quiet long enough.  I ask that you PLEASE take the time to read this email and reflect on it’s contents.

If my name doesn’t ring a bell, then let me introduce myself and tell you I am the person who drafted the email to solicit bail funds for Manuel Ramos.  I’m not writing you to debate the KT events; they speak for themselves.  I’ve said all along that I didn’t condone the actions of the Officers, but Manuel Ramos is my friend and I did it to help a friend.  Not only did I try to help a friend I checked with then Acting Chief Hamilton who told me, “I can do whatever I want as long as I do it on my own time.”  Employees at the PD were confused because having not seen the video where told by Captain Crum, “that’s what happens when you fight with the Police.”  On my own time I drafted an email and distributed via PORAC.  I didn’t have any intentions other then to solicit donations through union members.  Unfortunately, someone from LAPD put the email on his facebook page, Big City Cops.   I do not have any affiliation with BCP nor do I agree with their views.

Since drafting this email I’ve been demoted.  After my demotion I was placed on paid leave for a text message I did not send and was distributed by members of the FPD.  It’s unfortunate that I and on my own time am held to higher standards then some on of the members of the FPD while on duty.  Many in the public refer to the “culture of corruption” in the FPD and I’m here to tell you it exist.  I’ve resisted long and hard the “culture of corruption” and I can no longer sit back and allow this to ruin the reputation I spent long and hard building with the community, my co workers and my colleagues in the LE profession.  Which was once a childhood dream to become a Police Officer has now become a nightmare.

Up until now I’ve decided to remain silent, mostly at the advice of my attorney’s.  I can no longer remain silent and my passion to clean up the Police department and re store it’s reputation remains stronger then ever.  I feel it’s ironic the person now in charge of the Police department, Dan Hughes, has led the way in the culture of corruption and now makes the decisions for the Department.  I implore you to please continue reading and know that against my attorney’s wishes I’m reaching out to you to give you information you may find useful.

When I first began my career in 1995 I was eager to make a difference and that difference started in my assignment at the FPD jail.  While working in the jail I watched then Senior Officer Dan Hughes slap an inmate 6-8 times in the face.  I thought to myself this person doesn’t need to be a Police Officer and never did I ever imagine this person would one day be in charge.  The assault was investigated and as a probationary employee and only 19years old I feel as though I was told what to say and not asked what I saw.

During my career I worked up the ranks from Cadet, Sr Cadet, Jailer, Reserve Officer, Police Officer and Corporal.  I attended CSUF and obtained my Bachelors degree in hopes of one day promoting.  Sadly I was wrong because I soon realized there was a culture at FPD where a group of White Officers would promote and then promote their friends leaving the rest of us on the outside looking in. If you look at the make up of the PD it’s made up of Supervisors, their family members and friends.   I know it’s hard to believe but as you continue to read on I hope you see the evidence I show to support my claim.

In my nearly 17 years as an employee of the Fullerton Police Department I have received one citizen complaint and it was at the beginning of my career.  I personally think this is impressive because all of my career but 2 years has been spent in patrol because I’ve never been given a chance to prove myself in details, assignment, training, etc.  This frustration grew in to depression and in 2005 I took a leave of absence.  Embarrassed as to how I was feeling I didn’t tell anyone.  I did what I had always told people and that’s if your not feeling well then seek counseling, and that’s exactly what I did.  Unfortunately, this didn’t meet the mold of the culture at FPD because when I returned to work I had 46 metal hangers intertwined on my locker preventing me from opening it.  I reported this, but of course nothing ever happened.

Throughout my career I watched as this Culture of Corruption grew and they became increasingly racist.  Mexicans would be referred to as “wetbacks” and African Americans would be referred to as the “N” word.  I voiced my displeasure but to no avail.  On July 22, 2008 a departmental photo was scheduled and during individual photos a group of Mexican Officers were called, “wetbacks,” “where’s your oranges,””Where’s your Chiclets.”  For the first time in my career, while in uniform and not on the scene of a tragic crime, I wanted to cry.  I filed a complaint and my frustration grew when the FPD brass deemed my complaint “spirited bantering.”  I was mortified and couldn’t understand why this could be.  From then on I suffered even more ridicule by colleagues teasing me for making a complaint.

Since this time I’ve continued to suffer discrimination.  I’ve reported this and ultimately then Chief Sellers scheduled an independent investigation.  RCS investigating and consulting ultimately met with me and the results of this investigation have never been given to me.  During this investigation I reported how supervisors would leave early and go drinking downtown.  I reported how the supervisors would then have Officers take them home in Police/City vehicles.  Ironically these same officers who would give them rides home would begin to get promoted and preferred details in the Department.  I reported how then Captain Petropolous would teach at FJC and allow FPD members enroll in his class and never show up and get A’s in the class.  Doesn’t sound like much until you consider Officers would use these credits which led to certificates and increase pay.

This investigation went on and I reported a laundry list of incidents which largely alleged supervisors were derelict in their duty.  I reported how supervisors would go and teach at FJC academy when they should be working at the PD.  I didn’t feel it was fair to the citizens that the watch commander was getting paid to teach at FJC instead of being at the PD, but this was the norm and til this day hasn’t changed.

10 days after this interview I was called in on a Sunday to the Watch Commanders office.  I was met by an angry Dan Hughes.  Hughes told me I was ordered not to talk about the above mentioned investigation and that someone had filed a complaint against me.  I was never given a copy of the complaint,  I was never told what the complaint was and a follow up investigation took place.  I later learned from the Association that it was Dan Hughes attempt to cover up the interview which in turn led to his promotion to Captain.

The more I look around I can’t help but feel Dan Hughes is the common theme amongst corruption that has occurred.  For instance, the city is being sued by Clarke, a citizen who said he was assaulted on St Patrick’s day 2010.  All those involved know it was Dan Hughes who initiated this contact and took Clarke down to the ground causing him injuries yet no record of this ever exist.  In fact, this arrest was followed by Officer Cary Tong purposely slamming on the brakes and while recorded on DAR you can hear Officer Tong allowing the inmates face to slam on the “cage” three times in the Police car.  I think it’s sad and ironic how now the city is being sued but up until now Hughes’ involvement is not known.  To me this shows what kind of person he really is.  In addition to that during this investigation he had Sgt Chocek secretly/privately go up to each officer involved and promise them lenient discipline in return for not reporting Dan Hughes’ involvement.

These are just my stories and quiet frankly I have several more and so do other members of this department.  Theres employees that are afraid to come forward in fear of risking their career like I have. There’s a lot of good employees at the FPD, one being Captain Lorraine Jones.  Sir, whether you agree with me or not I ask that you please consider the common goal we have and that’s to clean up the Police Department.  It breaks my heart to have to listen to the advice of my attorney’s and prepare for lawsuits because that’s not what I’m about.  If you question my intentions please ask my friend, Captain Lorraine Jones.  She speaks highly of you and it’s for that reason I’ve chosen to reach out to you.

On May 17 I met with the FBI and reported what I’ve said along with other things.  The FBI, like yourself, have the opportunity to make a difference for this city, it’s citizens and it’s employees and I urge you to please consider that.  I think at the very minimum I’ve given you some evidence of the misdeeds perpetrated by Dan Hughes and I’m hoping it’s enough to launch an investigation and place him on administrative leave.  I hope that if at any point you want to meet with me and or use me to help, that you know  I’m committed to you and this city and it’s citizens.

I’m sorry for any inconvenience any of my actions have caused.

Sincerely,

Benjamin Lira

Your Choices Couldn’t Be Clearer

It seems like I keep saying this. And it keeps being true.

The Old Guard Establishment that buried us under a mountain of unfunded pension liability, that stole almost $30,000,000 in the guise of a water “fee” and who created a murderous Culture of Corruption that abused us, stole from us, lied to us, and even killed one of us, isn’t going without one last, vaporous, noxious gasp.

Jan Flory disappeared ten years ago, run out of office after a two-term misrule that included overdevelopment, massive corporate subsidies, boondoggles galore, and of course, worst of all, the disastrous 3@50 retroactive pension spike. Now teamed up with the most obnoxious elements of the corrupt, unapologetic cop union, Flory represents the completely discredited Ancient Regime better than anyone.

Well, anybody but Flory’s old chum King Don Bankhead, recalled twice and so desperate, demented and disconnected that he still believes he has something to contribute to Fullerton besides the comical spectacle of falling asleep during meetings.

He’s the one on the right.

There’s somebody called Rick Alvarez running, who like Flory, has been hugely supported by the cops. This cipher is the last wheeze of the Ackerman repuglican tribe, a dying breed to be sure. No one knows anything about this drone, except that he appears to be willing to say anything to anybody. He is also supported by the Old Dems who see in him their main chance of stopping reform.

Then there’s a woman called Kitty Jaramillo who seems to be just what what the doctor ordered – in case you wanted a former city employee making decisions that affect her pals’ pensions. Cynically, she’s been dropped like a hot potato by those Old Dems and the cops who don’t want her siphoning votes from their candidates, and who wouldn’t support two latino-named candidates.

Another entry is Jennifer Fitzgerald who stood up to Dick Ackerman when he started tricking himself out for the cop union. But this sure seems like way too little, way too late: as Friends will recall she was a big opponent of the recall which speaks volumes as far as I’m concerned. Her backing by Ossified GOP clique is equally telling. Her employment is based on lobbying and political hackery – which for Republicans is a sure fire sign that they are for big government.

Are you sufficiently depressed, yet? Don’t be! You can do yourself a favor. You can support conscience and reform.

There is Barry Levinson, a guy who has been on the front line of reform for the past couple of years, and a man who wuold undoubtedly demand accountability in City Hall.

Jane rands has been at the forefront of reform in Fullerton, too, particularly about land use and cop brutality, which has not endeared her to the liberal establishment.

Finally I arrive at Travis Kiger and Bruce Whitaker, the incumbents. These two have accomplished more in four months than their predecessors had done in twenty-five years. They have finally ended the illegal water tax and they have demanded fiscal and practical accountability from the police department. Naturally the public safety unions are outraged and have spent a fortune attacking them. Why? because Kiger and Whitaker work hard for us, and the unions just hate that. They hate it a lot.

Yep. The choices stand in stark contrast to one another. You can go back to the depressing days of unaccountability and irresponsibility; the days when our police department spiraled out of control; the days when downtown Fullerton became a subsidized, open-air booze court; the days when land was given away to favored developers and City Hall looked the other way when it came to environmental impacts on the rest of us.

Do the right thing.

It’s A Boring Job, But Somebody’s Gotta Do It!

We’ve all seen Fullerton cops texting on the job – on motorcyles, in patrol cars, and at Starbucks, when in fact they are supposed to be protecting us from evil, hippy dope-smokers.

But wait a sec! What’s this? Chief Danny texting during  a Fullerton Council meeting?!

Well, I guess FPD “Detective” Ron Bair will soon be making another “Brown Act” record request!