Opinion: Fullerton Residents Deserved Better Than Zahra’s Shady and Opaque History
Now, finally in his last year of public preening and pontificating on our dime, Fullerton Councilmember Ahmad Zahra deserves an appropriate retrospective from FFFF. And this backwards look is colored by Zahra’s own continual critique of his colleagues for their lack of transparency. His claque, in particular the lonely old Kennedy Sisters of the Fullerton Observer, are willing to pass along these accusations without a shred of curiosity about their own hero.
Transparency.
Back in mid 1990s the immigrant Zahra came to America with a dream in his heart. That dream was stay here. To that end he quickly married a woman in Arkansas named Michelle Salmon in order to jump the green card line. In Zahra’s case the marriage fraud takes on a pungent charm since Zahra is proudly gay and has said in print that he has always known he was gay.
The newly minted husband left right away for the sunshine and beaches of California, leaving his unheartbroken and probably a little wealthier bride in Little Rock. When the statutory time obligation passed he divorced his abandoned wife, and here he remained. Zahra has never bothered to share his brief sojourn in Arkansas in any of various biographies, and why would he? That would be transparent.
Zahra claims he is a medical doctor although he certainly didn’t attend any medical school in the First World. Maybe in the Third World? There is no record of his practicing medicine anywhere, and he has never even bothered to share his medical school diploma. That would be transparent.
Sometime in the 2000s he says, Zahra, claiming to be a “film maker,” washed up on Fullerton’s shores. Zahra still claims film making as his job, even though no one can find any recent cinematic work to his credit. How he makes ends meet is a mystery and the wherewithal for his trips abroad (he says they are) is a matter of conjecture. Zahra never explains where he gets his income. It certainly isn’t from making movies. The public has the right to know how he supports himself. That would be transparent.
Zahra’s first action on the City Council was a cheap flip-flop that you never read about in the Observer. Despite his call for an election to replace Jesus Quirk Silva’s citywide seat, he soon voted to disenfranchise Fullerton voters and appoint the old retread Jan Flory; in return he got a great paying seat on the Orange County Water District Board where he pulled in $70,000 over a couple years. Zahra never talks about his decision reversal, nor do his followers. That would be transparent.
While on the Water Board, Zahra published three articles under his own name in the Fullerton Observer about water-related issues. It was later discovered that the articles weren’t written by Zahra at all, but rather by an OCWD PR hack. Zahra didn’t care and neither did the Observer Sisters, who tried to explain the plagiarism as some sort of amateur error by somebody, probably Jesse Latour. Transparency?
In the middle of Zahra’s first term on the City Council, he was busted and charged by the District Attorney for battery and vandalism. The case vanished as happens when somebody pleads guilty, pays a fine and does some community service. That gave Zahra the chance to falsely claim that he had been “exonerated” and offered to show evidence of that claim. But he never did. That would be transparent.
Zahra has been a cheerleader for legalized marijuana dispensaries in Fullerton. He had recommended the services of the later-convicted dope lobbyist Melahat Rafiei. He appointed Derek Smith, an MJ union lobbyist and peripheral character in the Anaheim Cabal crew to be his representative on the Budget Sustainability Committee. Zahra has never revealed his ties to the legalized marijuana cartel and what was in it for him. That would be transparent.
In Zahra’s worst offense against the people of Fullerton, he voted over and over again to sue David Curlee, Joshua Ferguson and FFFF. That flagrant abuse of power cost the public hundreds of thousands of dollars in a settlement. Zahra was aided and abetted by the Fullerton Observer’s Sharon Kennedy who actually employed an “expert” family member to assist City Hall’s reckless lawsuit. Zahra lied to the Voice of OC, claiming he was a “fan” of settling the lawsuit from the beginning, even though he voted against the final settlement. No explanation for this disaster was ever forthcoming from Zahra or his accomplice, Sharon Kennedy. That would be transparent.
In 2021 Zahra tried to privatize the UP Park and turn it into a commercial events center masquerading as a non-profit fish farm. The move was illegal as hell, but none of his friends cared so why should he? Zahra never reminds anyone of that harebrained scheme, but loves to talk about how his district is park poor. Transparency?
In his 2022 reelection campaign, Zahra spent $120,000 to keep a job that pays a thousand bucks a month. Part of this campaign involved the Democratic Party’s creation of a patsy candidate with a shady past but with a Latino name, Tony Castro, to beat his real opponent, Oscar Valadez. How much did Zahra know about this phony candidacy? Come to think of it, how much did Zahra know about the perjury of another fake candidate in 2024, Scott Markowitz, recruited by north county Dems in order to elect Cannabis Kitty Jaramillo. Once again Sharon Kennedy of the Observer not only ignored the story but ran interference. More transparency.
In October of 2021 Zahra filed a false police report against his colleague, Fred Jung. The cops interviewed other councilmembers who denied Zahra’s tall tale. End of story. Except that the story has never been reported by Zahra’s Observer friends and of course never discussed by Zahra. That would be transparent.
Zahra’s campaign finance reporting has been the subject of an FPPC investigation. First reported in August of 2025, it still seems not to have been resolved. A credit card payee, not vendors was routinely reported, leaving an unclear record of who was the beneficiary of these payments, payments that might have benefitted Zahra personally. Zahra has said nothing about this complaint. His friends at the Observer don’t seem interested, either. So why would he? That would be transparent.
That’s quite a list of misfeasance and malfeasance. Transparency? Not so much. Zahra has had the good fortune of having bamboozled the simpletons at the Fullerton Observer. And he has groomed a stable of eager young fellows who appear to be interested in political upward mobility and are happy to parrot the transparency schtick. To these followers and acolytes there is no reason to delve into their hero’s own extensive catalog of lies, secrets, hypocrisy and plagiarism.
So you’re saying there’s still a chance for me to become Mayor of Fullerton ?
Ah, no.
That’s a good read. Hopefully the Sisters will read it and and learn something about “Doctor” Zahra. But I doubt it.
There’s so many blatantly false statements here. This is so dishonest.
Take the police report for example. You say everyone denied his allegations. What’s your source for that?
Anyone who falls for this is dumb
Ahaha. Go to the post. The letter from the cops to the council. Nothing ever came of it because the alleged assault never happened.
If this is dishonest then Zahra and the Kennedy Sisters can write a response clearing them up one by one. But they I don’t think they will.
The only dumb ones are the freaks that think he is in our country legally.
Are there any more “blatantly false statements” here than there are in the Suckia and Sharon Kennedy blog in the past 4 years?
Anyone who falls for that is also dumb.
The marijuana accusations are funny considering Bushala, the owner of this blog, was actually represented by Ken Spiker, a real marijuana lobbyist
Says who? Prove it.
That’s definitely not true…
Holy Mohammad, Zahra looks like a homeless dude who raided somebody’s carnations.
He has a whole stable of young carnations.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, federal officials can revoke a naturalized U.S. citizen’s designation if they weren’t eligible and didn’t meet requirements when they were granted citizenship. Typically, this is based on officials accusing the person of fraud, deceit or misrepresenting information when they obtained citizenship.
He’s the only sitting councilman to have violated the Brown Act, certified by the City Manager and City Attorney.
Courtesy of his scheme to illegally get himself appointed to OCWD.
Fitzgerald, Jose Quirk Sliver and Zahra. You’re right.
I don’t think Querk-Silva was in on the OCWD thing. He did go along with the Flory appointment which most certainly was a Brown Act violation.
I agree. The Brown Act violation was Fitzgerald, Zahra and Flory putting the damascus dodger on OCWD. He was (and is) unemployed and needed the money.
So Zahra violated the Brown Act twice. I think I need to add that to my post.
For his own financial gain.
That’s disgusting and he entered the country illegally. How did he manage to do all of this? Who really back this guy?
I wonder what other positions of our government he has has access to and why?
Is it safe to say Zahra is literally the worst thing that ever happened to Fullerton? Is there anything worse than this virus unleashed upon Fullertonians?
Sort of like a hanta virus.
Those who consider Jennifer Fitzgerald the most sinister figure in Fullerton City Council history should look more closely at the complete record. There are other contenders, like Zhara, who warrant equal scrutiny for that distinction.
Now wait a goddam minute. What a bout Flory, the deathless mistress of a million unaccountable fuck-ups and public swindles?
Okay, you got me. I stand to be corrected. Please forgive me. Promise I’ll never say that again.
Since I am named in this article, I will comment. I remember the first time I met Tony Bushala, outside Mulberry St. Ristorante, circa 2010. I remember saying, regarding the newly formed Friends for Fullerton’s Future blog, “I think Tony is mostly interested in his own financial self-interest.” He owned a bunch of railroad-adjacent properties that he had tried (unsuccessfully in 1989, and successfully in the early aughts) to build a bunch of apartments/condos there. Little did I know, Tony was standing there. The blog had recently done an apparently “nice” post about my City Council campaign, that also featured a video from my silly punk band which felt like an indirect dig. Since then, I have followed this blog, and my original assessment feels right on. The blog has created a whole multiverse of heroes and villains of Fullerton politics. The “heroes” tend to be those aligned with Tony’s interests (Travis Kiger, Fred Jung, Oscar Valadez) and the villains are those who have crossed Tony in some way (Jan Flory, Jesus Silva, Ahmad Zahra). The truth, as I see it, is that most people who run for city council want to do their best for Fullerton. All are, in some way, corrupted by campaign contributions, of which Tony is a big one. But not the only one. Public safety unions, local political parties, and developers give to candidates of both parties. Regarding the plagiarism of the OCWD articles by Ahmad Zahra, you are correct. I didn’t realize (back when I was editing the Observer) that they were actually written by an OCWD employee. After the fact, as I recall, Bruce Whitaker tried to get me to publish similar articles, and by then I was aware of this little OCWD scheme, and so I didn’t publish them. Regarding the political discourse of Fullerton, I would love to see good faith actors engage in good faith conversations about what is best for our town. Unfortunately, this discourse regularly gets corrupted by those with a vested financial interest, of which Tony Bushala is a major player. I like Tony as a person. In person, he is a decent dude. I just wish we could have a political discourse free from hyperbole and hyper-partisan politics.
Why don’t you get specific speaking of villains and heroes? Address the statements in this post and tell me they are not the actions of a liar and a cheat?
Jan Flory, Jesus Silva, Ahmad Zahra. Crossed Tony? Maybe.
They also represent everything wrong in Fullerton’s government. Stupidity, ignorance, subservience to staff, abdication of policy making authority, police department cover up. The list goes on and on.
You should be asking why the people this blog attacks are doing the things they are doing.
“Unfortunately, this discourse regularly gets corrupted by those with a vested financial interest, of which Tony Bushala is a major player.”
But not corrupted by stupid people like Quirk Silva and crooked self-promoters like Zahra, or by incompetent, unaccountable bureaucrats like Paul Dudley and Sunayana Thomas – who had/have every bit as much vested financial interest in their own activites than Bushala does.
Give it a rest. You may have some “good faith” as an actor (I don’t know); the Kennedy Sisters and Zahra have none.
Zahra conned you and the Kennedy sisters dodged accountability when confronted. They never published a correction.
Zahra is a plagiarist, a species of thief, aided and abetted by the Observer.
$ buys influence. I wouldn’t argue with that. But what corruption are you talking about?
JLT- give some specific examples where Tony was/is corrupt.
Maybe corruption is the wrong word. Maybe “influence” is a better one. Those people or entities who give large amounts of money to candidates usually do so because they want something. In the case of public safety unions–they want to protect their jobs, increased pay and benefits, etc. For large property owners like Tony, that influence may translate into getting appointed by Fred Jung to city committees, like the Union Pacific committee (in the past) and the budget committee (like today), plus votes by councilmembers in the way he prefers. I am not alleging illegal activity. In our current political system, this is how things work, unfortunately. I suppose. It just doesn’t seem very democratic if people with lots of money get more influence than those with less. And it doesn’t help the discourse to deny that this kind of influence-peddling is not happening.
Are you going to comment on the $60K the dope union ponied up for Cannabis Kitty? No Fullerton libs have done so yet.
That campaign contribution is pretty strange indeed, but let’s not pretend that this blog is somehow against cannabis: https://www.fullertonsfuture.org/2009/end-reefer-madness-by-legalizing-pot/
It wasn’t a contribution and it wasn’t strange at all. The dispensary cartel created a PAC specifically to help Jaramillo win. Why? To reinstall the old cannabis ordinance. It was crystal clear to everyone except those who didn’t want to see it.
As to this blog’s position, everybody is entitled to an opinion. One of them was mine:
https://www.fullertonsfuture.org/2026/a-modest-proposal-the-case-for-cannabis-dispensaries-in-fullerton/
BTW, that post you cited was a reproduction of a letter to the Register by somebody else. And it was written 17 years ago when the laws were much different,
Bushala owns two properties adjacent to the UP Park. Why wouldn’t he be qualified to be on that committee? And why wouldn’t he be qualified to be on the budget committee? He knows Fullerton better than anybody else on it, including Derek Smith the political lobbyist for the dope union – appointed by Zahra.
So naïve.
The Observer could use your fair journalistic guidance JLT. I would also have liked to read your comments on their sudden turn to partisan politics and political propaganda in this comment section. If you are being fair.
He won’t.
I think the fact that the Observer gives mostly positive coverage to their preferred politicians and reserves their negative coverage for politicians they don’t like is a disservice to the community. This is partly why I left the Observer. Unfortunately, this blog does the same. I have read countless attack posts against politicians you don’t like, and have read very few against your preferred politicians. I think the same level of scrutiny should be applied to all. And I’m not arguing for a naive “both sides” discourse. Sometimes, one side is doing things that are just wrong and need to be called out. OC Democrats running fake candidates to help their preferred candidates is deplorable. Full stop.
And you are wrong as you can be, FFFF never pretends to be a journalistic endeavor although once in a while it does real reporting. The Observer Sisters are ALWAYS pretending to be real journalist when nothing could be farther from the truth.
FFFF enjoys the rights of press freedom while being free from bothering about fair journalist practices. FFFF itself (properly) cited “journalistic freedom against prior restraint” it it’s defense of the two bloggers sued by the city.
Yes, but that was based on a specific action of the City against 2 individuals. The blog was listed, but it was Curlee and Ferguson who were the objects of discrimination.
And if the blog itself was sued it wouldn’t cite the same principles in its defense?
Ask our lawyer.
Come on now Matt, there is no “fair journalistic practices” clause of the 1st Amendment because forcing people “to be fair” would directly negate their creator given right to share their own opinions unimpeded.
Of course, but it’s the author who is clinging to this distinction between a “journalistic endeavor” and a blog. I’m just trying to figure out what that is supposed to mean here.
FFFF never pretends to be a journalistic endeavor although once in a while it does real reporting. Blogging can include reporting. Or not.
Not really complicated. You should write for us. We’ll post anything you write. Even on this topic.
JLT – this is a blog and I haven’t heard anyone represent what is posted here as journalism.
The current editor Saskia Kennedy of the other entity trumpets the fact they are the bastion of local journalism.
The articles they print and put on their website have nothing to do with journalism anymore.
So your comparison is unreasonable.
The Reporters Committee for Press Freedom in their defense of FFFF bloggers being sued by the City of Fullerton wrote about “the overreach and concern to journalists being posed by Fullerton’s read on the law.” So, a committee of journalists thought it was close enough.
We occasionally do real reporting. But I have never referred to FFFF as a journalist endeavor. We are almost always peppering posts with opinion. But none of us are afraid to say so.
I note that the Observer has posted two anti-Jung diatribes in the past few days, an obvious election season ploy. They are listed as “opinion” but in reality hardly differ at all from their usual anti-Jung, anti-Bushala innuendo, carping, an speculating.
Too bad, really. Mr. Ferguson’s and Mr. Curlee’s revealing malfeasance in city government would have been all the more enlightening (and fun) had they included reactions from city officials.
The entire existence for the past year of the Saskia Kennedy Observer is anti-Jung. The occasional press release reprint separating anti-Jung pieces is a joke. They may as well rebrand it Anti-Jung Observer. LOL
I doubt anyone in City Hall would talk about it, although I agree that quoting the useless Domer would have been fun.
Regarding your point about reactions from the City, there was no value add in my opinion since The Observer was already the mouthpiece of City Hall and most of our reporting was on things the City had already done and/or said and in many cases were actively trying to cover up.
See, for example, the very lawsuit you referenced. The City lied about the circumstances and tried to place the blame for their malfeasance at the feet of David and myself, effectively libeling us, while the Observer ran their bullshit press release uncritically.
But forcing the city to go on record is part of the story, an integral part, I would argue. Not doing that due diligence just leaves it for Voice of OC to do the mop up. But, I understand that this distanced stance is part of the blog’s identity.
Jesse, if you write an essay about this topic or any other you like, FFFF will publish it as a post – unedited.
What happened to the FFFF newspaper?
You need a subscription to get it.
Thanks for the offer. I will consider it.
Ahmed is in our country through FRAUD MARRIAGE!!!!
Get this freak out of our country!!!!
The woman that married him did not do this once!!!
She is being used by powerful men to bring scammers into our country…
She was taken advantage of for these schemes!!!
Bullshit. She got paid.
Exactly she got paid because she is poor and then used her
Sounds like an adult transaction.
In October of 2022 Zahra filed a false police report against his colleague, Fred Jung. The cops interviewed other councilmembers who denied Zahra’s tall tale. End of story. Except that the story has never been reported by Zahra’s Observer friends and of course never discussed by Zahra
Isn’t filing a false police report a crime? Did Jennifer Fitzgerald make a call to Chief Dunn to suppress this crime too?
Zahra, a Syrian immigrant, was first elected in 2018 and is likely the first openly gay and muslim city council member in the U.S., according to the Orange County Register.
How does an openly gay man marry a woman???
“How does an openly gay man marry a woman???”
He goes to Arkansas, buys a bride, then ditches her for some California gold.
Then Michelle rinsed and repeated.
ISRAEL IS A GENOCIDING HOLOCAUSTING PEDOPHILIC RAPIST SEX TRAFFICKING ORAN & LAND STEALINY CHILD MURDERING TERRORIST
It’s is absolutely disgusting. Anyone that stand with is not Real is cooked.
ISRAEL IS A GENOCIDING HOLOCAUSTING PEDOPHILIC RAPIST SEX TRAFFICKING ORGAN & LAND STEALINY CHILD MURDERING TERRORIST
Zahra has vocally condemned Israeli genocide in Gaza. Oh, no. Wait…
Arkansas has a robust economic, political, and cultural partnership with Israel, recently strengthened by a 2025 Memorandum of Understanding for technology and defense collaboration. Israel is a top trading partner for the state, with significant investment in Israeli bonds and partnership in producing Iron Dome defense technology
That’s because the Governor is that idiot Sarah Huckaby, daughter of Zionist Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. They also had a robust business sneaking in Israeli immigrants, too.
Exactly, even more reason Zhara is a problem
Fullerton may never recover from losing its only doctor/filmmaker who apparently neither practices medicine nor makes films.
You do know that there are degrees called doctorates? They dont mean that you practice medicine. Please tell me you know how academia works.
Please tell me you know he is here illegally…
“Council Member Zahra holds a medical degree from the University of Damascus, and early in his professional career practiced medicine as a pathologist.”
From the City of Fullerton website:
https://www.cityoffullerton.com/government/city-council/council-member-ahmad-zahra#:~:text=Council%20Member%20Zahra%20lives%20in,practiced%20medicine%20as%20a%20pathologist
The city bio specifically says he has a medical degree and practiced medicine as a pathologist.
So where’s the proof? Medical licensing records, residency history, hospital affiliations, publications. Something? Anything?
Just think about it, why would someone spend years becoming a doctor and practicing pathology just to completely walk away from that career? People usually don’t abandon a profession that demanding and specialized.
Anyways, doesn’t matter. I know this will just go right over your head.
But I wanted to make movies like Steven Spielberg.
I got a diploma from Damascus College. It was handwritten on the back of a goat’s backside.
You’re joking, right?
Want some unrequested nausea?
https://www.facebook.com/AhmadsSchoolDrive/
A picture of Ahmad in every post. No wonder the Kennedy Klonvocation love him so.
A perfect example of Zahra self-promoting under the guise of philanthropy. I wonder if some of those crayon purchases were made from his campaign funds.
Remember when he was to stay away from the schools because of his overt behavior towards children.
I know he was making a lot of parents uncomfortable.
Elijah and the Saskia Kennedy blog rushing to Ahmad Zahra’s aid stinks of propaganda…again. You have to wonder what he gave both of them to warrant this level of adoration and protection.
Will the investigative partisan hack Elijah masquerading as Fullerton Transparency (what a crock of shit) find answers to where or where is Zahra’s medical degree?
lol stay mad
lol stay unemployed and stay a loser