Our “millionaire many times over” admin makes the big time last week with a cover story by Brandon Fergeson in the OC Weekly. Here’s how it starts:

Tony Bushala first met Manuel Ramos more than 20 years ago when Bushala played drums with Teatro Cometa, a theater group that performed bilingual one-act plays in Fullerton in the late 1980s and early ’90s. Ramos, who was about 10, was the son of one of the actresses; his uncle, Bushala’s best friend at the time, directed the troupe. Occasionally, Ramos would sit quietly in the audience and watch rehearsals.

Bushala, now 53 and a millionaire many times over, eventually moved on from drumming to managing his father’s extensive properties in Fullerton and elsewhere, becoming a real-estate developer and a vocal opponent of city government. In 2006, Bushala was riding his bicycle when he bumped into Ramos, who was now a hulking, overweight guy in his mid-30s, dressed in the uniform of the Fullerton Police Department.

Click here to read the rest of this article.

Now that everyone knows the truth that I have been carrying inside of me for many months, please join me at the Fullerton City Council meeting Tuesday night May 15th at 6:30pm. The city council, and Cpt. Dan Hughes (the acting Chief) need to finally come clean and give us, the people, the answers that we have been asking for. First, how did Cicinelli get hired as a full time patrol officer with only one eye? With this knowledge, how come they let him endanger the public by letting him drive Code-3 for ten years without any left side vision? Why, after seeing the city video many times did the police department including Capt. Dan Hughes allow all six officers to remain on duty for six weeks until Kelly’s Army pressured them to take them off of the streets (Bruce Whitaker also made this happen)? Why is it that Capt. Dan Hughes STILL after seeing the City Video over 400 times (his admission) has not fired Joe Wolfe? No matter where you live, come out and demand the answers. Become part of Kelly’s Army and help us get justice for Kelly.

Even if you can’t physically attend, please show your support by accepting the invite. That way it will post to your page and others will become aware. We’ll also be posting links to the council meeting so you can watch it live.

If you’ve watched the now infamous video of six overfed Fullerton cops beating the life out of Kelly Thomas and then standing around joking as he gasped for his last breaths in the street, a few feet away, you will have probably felt some pretty raw feelings. Disgust, anger, fear, pity, and sorrow are what we have all experienced.

Upon calmer reflection we can use the video to start piecing together what really happened and what motivated our “officers.” The behavior of Joe Wolfe stands out as the most egregious and makes me wonder how in the world he escaped charges by the District Attorney. Many have already stated the obvious: that DA Tony Rackaukas’ supposition that Wolfe could not know what was happening right in front of him, a mere 15 feet away is patently ridiculous. But even if we accept the unlikely plausibility of this convenient surmise, one unalterable fact remains: Joe Wolfe assaulted Kelly Thomas. We have all watched Wolfe emerge into the video frame when Kelly raises his arms, palms outward in a submissive gesture. At this point it would have still been possible for the bloated, oafish cops to de-escalate this situation. But instead Joe Wolfe for some as yet disclosed reason attacked Kelly with his baton, and Manuel Ramos joined in the fun. The murder had begun. And Kelly Thomas, accused of nothing, cited for nothing, guilty of  nothing was entering his last ten minutes of his life.

I don’t know about you Friends, but the fact that Officer Joe Wolfe is not only walking free, but actually still getting a Fullerton paycheck makes me nauseous. The fact that my tax dollars are paying this thug’s salary makes me feel even sicker, and somewhat accountable, especially if I don’t do something about it. I’m sure I’m not alone.

Hell, if anyone were caught beating an animal in such manner as the way those goons treated a human being, they would be in prison.

So what do we do? Provide helpful suggestion in the comments thread.

We have just received this invitation to a fundraiser for Recall replacement candidate Greg Sebourn. Wow! Learn how to taste wine and learn all about the illegal water tax. Now where else are you going to be able to do that?

Speaking of water and wine, if the Three Dithering Dodos have their way our water will soon be as expensive as wine.

An Open Letter to Doug Chaffee

April 23, 2012

Dear Mr. Chaffee:

I support the recall effort and will vote in favor of removing all three councilmen on June 5th.  I support the statements made on the Notice of Intent to Recall, and I believe any candidate running to replace a recalled councilman should believe the same.

I saw this on Euclid today.  The homeowner seems to be on both sides of the fence.  It begs the question: Are you?

Um, anyone miss the irony?

The rumor mill is spinning around town.  It claims that you’re proud to receive Pat McKinley’s endorsement of your candidacy should the recall succeed; and worse publicly stated as much during a fundraising event at the Pint House several weeks ago.  If this is true, this is not compatible with the Notice of Intent to Recall.  You have to pick a side and you have to do so definitively.

In fact, I demand you take one of four positions immediately.

1) If you have stated that you’re proud to receive McKinley’s backing, you must withdraw your candidacy from the special election on June 5th.  This statement does not meet with the spirit of the recall and is insulting to the electorate.  Candidates not supporting the spirit of the recall should not be on the ballot.  Just because you had some extra campaign signs sitting around from 2010 doesn’t mean you’re entitled to run.

2) If you find it morally acceptable to be proud of McKinley’s endorsement of your candidacy, state so in bold letters on all your campaign literature, website, Facebook account, and during any public appearances you make.  Failure to be transparent on this issue is dishonest.

3) If you’re not proud of McKinley’s endorsement, state loudly and often that you’ve signed the recall petition and outline why Pat McKinley needs to go.  Demand that those posting propaganda against the recall remove your name from their lawns.  Take a stance and make it clear that no supporter of Pat McKinley is a supporter of yours.

4) Do nothing.  If you ignore this open letter and succeed in your candidacy, count on being recalled.

Sincerely,

Ryan Cantor

P.S. Dear Friends, just to show what a small world it is, after all, the property above is the residence of one Beatriz Gregg, mater familias of the Gregg clan that includes our old pal Aaron, whose 2010 campaign was, um, something of a personal embarrassment.

Here is Doc Jones’ befuddled admission:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Note that the angrified and bewildered Jones believes that part of the 10% tax maybe had something to do with water delivery. Wrong. It all went to the General Fund to help pay for pensions and four-star hotel room junkets by Jones himself. The water infrastructure and repairs were never paid for out of the General Fund, either. That’s just more confused claptrap from Jones.

And by no means was the tax repealed last night. In fact, the fee will show up on your water bill next month, just as it always has.

Councilman Bruce Whitaker said it very clearly: the franchise fee was collected from ratepayers illegally, was never properly authorized by taxpayers under Prop 218, and needs to be completely thrown out altogether. Deficiencies in the water fund do not change this simple truth, and those shortcomings should be addressed separately with the full notification and approval of the public.

When the tax is finally repealed by a fresh city council, don’t forget that there are millions of illegally-taken dollars that still need to be refunded to water users.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A little birdie just dropped this off. To be appearing soon in mailboxes across Fullerton?

Front:

The back:

 Wow.

Fullerton City Council candidate Travis Kiger held a well-attended fundraiser yesterday at the Matador restaurant in Downtown Fullerton. As you can see, Councilman Bruce Whitaker seemed pretty happy about the prospect of getting some help on the Council.

Travis spoke briefly about his goal of bringing conservative accountability to the Fullerton City Council.

Of course Chris Thompson was on hand to share the good news of integrity and fiscal responsibility coming our way.

And I would be remiss if i didnt mention the presence of Travis’s completely adorable little daughter, Selah.

Another motion was made to recommend an audit of the Water Fund. The motion failed 5-5.

Some members stated they had enough reports and felt spending more money would not provide any answers. One member even said that no matter what is discovered in the audit, it would not be enough for some.

Others, like myself, feel it is a disservice to the public to not account for the misappropriated funds. As we look to answer the question of how much was overcharged to ratepayers, we realize we cannot arrive at a fact-based answer. Instead, the city’s staff will have the Ad Hoc Committee look at what could or perhaps should be charged to the Water Fund. That may be an appropriate step going forward but without an audit we will never know where our money went.

Water System Manager Dave Schickling offered up the City’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report as an audit that covered the Water Fund. Unfortunately, the CAFR does not look at the Water Fund in any detail. Instead, the accounting consultant was provided total dollars into and out of the Water Fund. This may show that the Fund is operating in the black but does nothing to ensure that the transfers were legal or that the funds were used in support of water projects and system management.

I asked the Director of Engineering, Don Hoppe, and the Water System Manager, Dave Schickling, about how Maintenance Services bills their time to repair water leaks and the street that they dig up. They said the time is all billed to the General Fund. At the May 23, 2011 meeting the Water Rate Study showed that Maintenance Service accounted for 21% of the operations and maintenance of the water system. This created some confusion, at least for me, because the Rate Study showed these maintenance costs as being part of the allocation from the Water Fund and not part of the franchise fee. In the end, I am left to guess where at least $22.5-million was spent.

The chart below shows that Maintenance Services expenses accounted for 21% of the O&M expenses, “Other Expenses” as 2% (read the footnote on the chart to see what “other” refers to), and then the Franchise Charge at 11%. According to the City, this chart represents all of the costs and expenses necessary to operate the Water System and consequently the Water Fund.

City Manager Joe Felz will be compiling what he believes to be a list a various “costs” to bring back before the Ad Hoc Committee. The purpose would be for the Ad Hoc Committee to determine what “costs” are appropriately associated with and billed back to the Water Fund.

The Ad Hoc committee seemed somewhat unified in a desire to have only the actual costs billed to the Water Fund, but as we have seen, those “costs” are subject to staff interpretation.

Since last night’s meeting, many members have expressed their concern over the way the entire Water Rate Study has been handled.

I think a large part of the problem has been the business-as-usual approach by staff to have a committee rubber stamp studies, reports, and recommendations all at the behest of city staff.

That’s not to say the process yielded no results. In fact, early in 2011 I made it my goal to end the water tax. Last night, the first milestone was reached with the Ad Hoc Committee’s recommendation.

As a final thought on water rates and the City’s handling of this issue, I want to draw your attention to the City’s Budget Study Session tomorrow. The purpose of the meeting is for the City Manager and department managers to present their respective budgets. This is where we find out how much of our money the City would like to spend and where they will spend it. Even though the Ad Hoc Committee recommended that the City Council end the water tax completely, the City Manager, Joe Felz, intends to move the budget forward on the assumption that the General Fund will continue to receive a percentage of the Water Funds revenue. So you see it is business as usual at the Fullerton City Hall.

Business as usual left us with an $8-million budget gap in the two-year budget for 2011/2012 and 2012/2013. The proposed budget for 2012/2013 & 2013/2014 will have a $5-million deficit with the ending of the water tax and the official plan is to ignore it.