Clearly John Lewis isn’t doing it because he believes his own rhetoric…or does he? This mailer/advertisement says Daly is a “tax fighter has cut wasteful spending…” I suppose John Lewis has missed the news: Tom Daly has cost OC taxpayers millions upon millions of dollars of needless spending for the sole purpose of satisfying donors, their friends, and their families.

No, I think Lewis got that memo. In fact, I think Lewis is a big part of that waste, though I don’t have any tangible proof. I have only heard the rumors about Lewis hanging around the OC Hall of Administration looking to get into the budget meetings of Daly, et al. But the new security system makes it tough to sneak in and grease the wheels of department heads. Less the contrary be shown, these are still just rumors.

Regardless, why is this former California GOP State Senator working for Daly? According to his website, Lewis has worked on sports facilities. Does that include sports museums and sports hall of fame like what Daly has been working on? One can only guess.

The only reason I bring any of this up is because the OC Register did a short piece on this. In the article, Lewis says he doesn’t know why OC Assessor Webster Guillory’s photo was not included in the ad. That seems like a big OOOPS for a firm who touts being consultants to guys like Congressman Ed Royce and Assemblyman Chris Norby. The “mistake?” seems like something a high school intern might make, not a big time GOP (sometimes Democratic) consultant might make. So what gives?

And I haven’t even mentioned Sandra Hutchens, who, according to the Press Telegram, hired Gilliard-Blanning as her political consultant. I tell you, some of these “Republicans” sure get around. Maybe Guillory should call Gilliard so he can get his face out there to voters.  Until then, here is Webster Guillory.

SafeOC’s real focus is on the 2nd amendment and personal safety, so it’s no surprise that they call out Hutchen’s infamous “gun grabbing” tendencies as well.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The letter asks if members of the OCSD SAFE division are currently under internal investigation for “illegally using law enforcement and/or DMV databases to probe the histories and/or personal information of individuals not under criminal investigation, such as current or former love interests, or romantic rivals.”

I'm watching you

It goes on to question the legality of not reporting the investigation to authorities such as the FBI and DOJ. OCCCWS also wants to know why the incident was kept from public view after promises of transparency within the department.

The accusations specifically target the S.A.F.E. division, which was developed by Hutchens last year to “create policies and procedures to bring the department up to industry standards.” For her critics, that means bringing Los Angeles-style policing to a reluctant Orange County population.

The letter contains no details or evidence to back up the accusations, so we’ll just hope that more information is forthcoming. It’s worth noting that the guys behind OCCCWS are well connected within the OCSD and their disdain for Hutchens is notorious, making it very plausible that news of an internal investigation would get leaked through them.

So was there an incident? An internal investigation? Will the department respond to requests for transparency? We’ll find out.

10:50 Update: TDR forgot to add this little gem from the Register’s Jennifer Muir about Hutchens sending a helicopter to an LA cop chili “cook-out.” Wonder what Pat thinks about that use of public resources! – Admin

A recent Fullerton Observer article reported on some sort of “Women in Leadership” event and started out describing how Fullerton’s former Chief of Police introduced “surprise guest, ” appointed OC Sheriff Sandra Hutchens in glowing terms and indicated his unreserved support for her election campaign.

Go ahead, punk. Make my day.

We’re not at all surprised by this enthusiasm since McKinley has been reported as having post-retirement political ambitions, and has already demonstrated his connection to the local Reguglican establishment by his endorsement of the fraudulent Ackerwoman campaign. 

Apart from political ambition, though, something more sinister flits through the shadows of the McKinley endorsement of Hutchens, and that is McKinley’s apparent ingrained approval of high-handed and unaccountable police behavior. Despite McKinley’s contention that Hutchens has “turned things around” after the departure of the deplorable Mike Carona, there is precious little evidence that any institutional attitudes have changed at all. In fact, quite the contrary. From examples of in-house secrecy and stonewalling, mistreatment of citizens, to even spying on elected County Supervisors, the Sheriff’s Department has shown itself to be the same old operation as ever. The only difference is that now Hutchens is running cover instead of Carona.

Ba da bing! (wacky graphic swiped from Orange Juice Blog)

The latest example is provided by the OC Weekly’s Scott Moxley, here. It seems a couple of deputies were caught fabricating testimony about threatening a suspect during a Disneyland area drug bust at a preliminary hearing. The DA later dropped most of the charges against the guy who had been arrested; correspondence from the DAs office to the Sheriff about the problem were simply ignored. The deputies involved not only seem to have escaped disciplinary action, but have been awarded medals for valor for a Costa Mesa drug bust that supposedly occurred on the same day as the other arrest! 

Here’s Moxley’s curt summaton:

The sheriff, who has promised to restore deputy accountability in the wake of the Mike Carona corruption scandals, refused to be interviewed for this story. Her command staff and media-affairs team repeatedly blocked my attempts to reach Catalano for comment.

Anyhow, in case we needed any other evidence, we now know exactly what kind of police management our former Chief admires, and we ought to remember that when and if he decides to run for office.

This jump started an earlier idea to publish the names of all the lackeys, stooges and repuglicans who signed onto Ackerman Inc.’s Big Lie Tour of 2009.

This is a list of the elected officials that decided their best interests lay in the endorsement of Linda Ackerman for the 72nd Assembly District. Enjoy the asinine quotations at the bottom of the page and be sure to pick out your favorites on the list for special attention. We have helpfully highlighted in red the names of politicians in whose elections Fullerton voters will get to participate.

• Congressman Ed Royce
• Congressman Dana Rohrabacher
• Former Congressman Bill Dannemeyer

Statewide Elected Officials

• BOE Member Bill Leonard
• Former State Secretary of Education and Mayor of Los Angeles Richard Riordan

State Senators

• Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth
• Former Senate Republican Leader Jim Brulte
• Former Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman
• Former Senator Marian Bergeson
• Senator Mark Wyland
• Senator Mimi Walters
• Senator Bob Huff
• Senator Bob Dutton
• Senator George Runner
• Senator Sam Aanestad 
• Senator John Benoit 
• Senator Abel Maldonado
• Senator Dave Cox

State Assemblymembers

• Former Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines
• Assemblyman Jim Silva
• Assemblyman Joel Anderson
• Assemblyman Ted Gaines
• Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher
• Assemblywoman Diane Harkey
• Former Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher
• Former Assemblywoman Sharon Runner
• Former Assemblyman Tom Bordonaro
• Former Assemblyman Openmike Duval
• Former Assemblywoman Marilyn Brewer

Orange County

• Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens
• Orange County Supervisor Pat Bates
• Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell
• Orange County Supervisor Janet Ngyuen
• Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas
• Former Orange County Supervisor Cynthia Coad

Anaheim

• Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle

Fullerton

• Fullerton Mayor Don Bankhead
• Fullerton Councilmember Dick Jones
• Former Mayor of Fullerton Buck Catlin
• Former Mayor Leland Wilson
• Former Mayor Peter Godfry
  
• Former Mayor of Fullerton Jerry Christie
• Former Mayor of Fullerton Linda LeQuire
• Former Fullerton Police Chief Pat McKinley

Placentia

• Former Placentia Mayor Scott Brady
• Placentia Councilmember Jeremy Yamaguchi

Orange

• City of Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche
• City of Orange Councilmember Mark Murphy
• City of Orange Councilmember Jon Dumitru

Yorba Linda

• Yorba Linda Mayor Mark Schwing
• Yorba Linda Councilmember Jim Winder

Villa Park

• Villa Park Mayor Pro Tem Bill Mac Aloney

Brea

• Brea Mayor John Beauman
• Brea Councilmember Roy Moore

La Habra

• La Habra Councilmember James Gomez
• La Habra Councilmember Steve Simonian
• Former La Habra Mayor Juan Garcia
• Former La Habra City Councilmember John Holmberg

Elected Leaders

• Tustin Mayor Doug Davert
• Tustin Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Amante
• Laguna Hills Mayor Joel Lautenschleger
• City of Covina Mayor Walt Allen
• Newport Beach City Councilmember Steven Rosansky
• Capistrano Unified School District Trustee, Anna Bryson
• Fullerton School District Trustees Maynard Duncan, Ellan Ballard, Hilda Sugarman, Lynn Thornly.

“Having called North Orange County her home for over 30 years, Linda is by far the most experienced and effective candidate for Assembly. She is a respected leader who will restore dignity to the office while fighting for Orange County values.”- Former Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher

“Linda has been a steadfast conservative leader in Orange County for many years. She will be ready to lead on the important budget issues facing the region and the state on day one.”- Assemblywoman Diane Harkey

“I am proud to stand by Linda in her campaign to promote conservative leadership and higher standards to the California State Assembly.”

- State Senator Mimi Walters.

“Linda Ackerman is an experienced leader who has proven her dedication to the community time and time again, I am proud to support her campaign for State Assembly because I know she will be ready to lead on the issues our state faces on day one after being elected.”- Senator Bob Huff

“Linda Ackerman has always done what is right for the sake of the community, not political gain. She is a proven leader who will help solve California’s budget crisis and bring Orange County values to the State Assembly.”- City of Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche

“Linda Ackerman is an experienced businesswoman and community leader who I trust to help balance the budget and rein in out of control spending in Sacramento. North Orange County needs Linda in the Assembly fighting for real budget reform.” – Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle

“We need an experienced leader who will fight for North Orange County. That’s why I’m supporting Linda Ackerman for State Assembly,” Fullerton Mayor Don Bankhead

“When it comes to the safety of our children, Linda Ackerman will never back down.”- Former Fullerton Police Chief Pat McKinley

“I wholeheartedly endorse Linda in her campaign for Assembly. As a businesswoman and community philanthropist she has been an active leader in North Orange County and is by far the best person to represent us in the Assembly” -Yorba Linda Mayor Mark Schwing

Paid For by Ackerman for Assembly 2009, FPPC ID #1321372

These unblinking eyes are given the authority to record us as we lawfully participate in the everyday life of Fullerton citizens. Some of them issue $400 citations when we break the law. Others merely record our presence and store it on disk at the police station, to be reviewed later if we are accused of a crime. Sometimes the cameras are viewed in real time by Fullerton’s finest — other times they are viewed by private citizens working for a smooth-talking surveillance system vendor.

Most of us do appreciate the hard work that Fullerton Police do to find and detain those who cause us harm. However, we must remember that all government power is ultimately derived from the threat of force — necessitating our extreme caution in creation of new powers and rules. As free citizens, it is our responsibility to maintain strong oversight over those who we allow to govern us. We must keep a wary eye on technologies that enable the quiet expansion of power over us, and we should thoughtfully devise rules and policies regarding their use to protect us from individual or systemic abuses of such power.

Some may sneer at our natural tendency to question the continued spawning of such devices. After all – what do we have to hide? Don’t we trust our law enforcement agencies? We all know individual Fullerton officers who we personally trust. Shouldn’t we trust all of them?

Isn’t this just paranoia?

NO. The recent case of Orange County Sheriffs Department’s abusive surveillance of the OC Board of Supervisors is strong justification for our concern. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens stands accused of allowing her deputies to use surveillance cameras to zoom in on the notes, emails and text messages of political opponents and then unlawfully denying public records requests to release the tapes to the public.

Sheriff Hutchens has given us a perfect example of what can happen when we are too cavalier about allowing new technology to expand the presence of law enforcement into our lives. The Board has since voted to remove the Sheriffs’ contract to provide security over the boardroom, but as citizens, it’s not always that easy to protect ourselves once we have allowed an agency to go too far.

I urge the City of Fullerton and the Fullerton Police Department to carefully consider the ramifications of the continued proliferation of surveillance cameras throughout Fullerton. As free and law-abiding people, we do not need or deserve to be monitored whenever we leave our homes.