Grover Cleveland, Author at Friends For Fullerton's Future

July 25, 2024July 25, 2024Ahmad Zahra

NEW COMPETITION IN THE 1st DISTRICT RACE

A candidate has popped up to challenge Fred Jung for the Fullerton District 1 city council job.

His name is Matt Truxan.

I’ve never heard of this cat before but judging by his various facebook posts he is an old guard liberal. Here’s a recent post:

I can’t find much about this guy other than he wrote some sort of science fiction book and he like to post “humorous” pictures of himself.

Probably not the best look for a candidate…

I think it’s a fair assumption that this person has been recruited by the far left in Fullerton to challenged Jung, who, as a Democrat hasn’t always pleased them. Ahmad Zahra can certainly be considered the prime mover of this rather hopeless campaign. As Truxaw himself points out, Jung is better funded than he is. At last count Jung was nearing $200,000 in his campaign account, a rather breathtaking amount. The goal here is probably to make him spend down his account, but Jung can still saturate the district with campaign promotion while spending a small part of the contents of that treasure chest.

I personally thought the lefty Dems would find somebody with a Korean name to make Jung spend his money. Maybe they still will.

July 24, 2024July 24, 2024Boohooism

New Competition in the 4th District Race

by Grover Cleveland17 Comments

I was perusing the list of candidate committees on the Fullerton City Clerk’s website today and noticed a brand new committee.

The committee is called Valencia 4 Fullerton City Council D4, and belongs to someone named Jamie Valencia.

I am not familiar with this person. I don’t even know if it’s a man or a woman. I quick search tells us that there is a Jamie Valencia on the Fullerton Infrastructure and Natural Resources Advisory Committee (INRAC) so maybe this is the same person. The basic fact of having a committee in the works is a good indication of Valencia’s seriousness as a candidate.

So now there are three committees formed for candidacy in the 4th District. The other two are owned by former Fullerton parking ticket hander-outer, Vivian Jaramillo; and outgoing Councilmember Bruce Whitaker’s wife, Linda. The Democrat establishment is behind Jaramillo, a good sign for the tax and spend crowd.

It’s not clear who would support Mrs. Whitaker, beyond name recognition, a fact she is capitalizing by using the same campaign sign design as her husband, but with her name on them. Both women are comparatively old – in their early 70s, I believe. That’s not a great sign given Fullerton’s history of failed gerontological leadership.

I don’t know anything yet about Valencia – age, gender, party, profession, or issues, but anybody with a Latino surname name in a heavily Latino district would be bad news for Jaramillo, but we shall have to wait to see what sort of resources and energy this third candidate will bring to the race.

May 21, 2024May 21, 2024Ahmad Zahra

Just How Muslim is Ahmad Zahra?

by Grover Cleveland59 Comments

The other day I found a communication in the FFFF In Box. It was a note and a picture.

Apparently Fullerton’s District 5 Councilman Ahmad Zahra was seen at a recent fundraiser for some kids’ art program drinking the red wine that was being proffered to paying guests. And maybe even non-paying guests, since tickets went for $75. Anyway, I always believed drinking alcohol was a violation of Islamic Law.

Zahra has peddled his “first gay Muslim elected official” brand and I’m wondering if he is even practicing the tenets of Islam at all. Word from City Hall sources is that he was seen serially violating the fast mandates during Ramadan – Sawm – observation of which is one of the 5 Pillars of Islam.

Of course Mr. Zahra’s religious beliefs, or lack of same, should be his own business, but like the Christian politician who uses his/her faith as an instrument of electoral salesmanship, we are justified in wondering about the veracity of the claim.

Zahra has made up a lot of stories about himself, and has left out some pretty interesting facts about his ever-morphing origin stories – like having a (female) wife in Arkansas, and the people he represents have the right to know if he ever tells the truth about himself.

May 12, 2024May 12, 2024Ahmad Zahra

How Hard is it to get a Green Card in Arkansas?

by Grover Cleveland41 Comments

About a week and a half ago FFFF linked to a story in the venerable Orange Juice Blog, documenting how our Fullerton D5 Councilmember, Ahmad Zahra, a visiting tourist from Syria, headed to Little Rock, Arkansas and got married to a woman.

Those facts alone would be enough to warrant a sideways glance toward a man who says he gave up a career as medical doctor to live in his car in Hollywood while pursuing his dream: a film-making career.

Zahra’s narrative quagmire gets stickier because of his own origin tale in which (according to his own bio) he always knew he was gay.

So why would a gay man, aware of his gayness, marry an Arkansas woman whom he says he “liked?”

The obvious answer, bolstered by subsequent events, is that our young visitor was looking for a foothold for permanent residency in the United States.

In case you think getting this marriage to do the residency trick might be a real hurdle, a frightful bureaucratic undertaking, a rigorous examination conferring validity, consider the following tale told by a young woman named “Amanda” to the Arkansas Traveler about her Arkansan marital experience with a Middle Eastern immigrant. After their marriage, the immigrant needed to get his status as a permanent resident established:

The couple sits in front of a USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Service) agent and answers a series of intimate questions.

“I heard horror stories about the interviews where people are dragged away from each other,” Amanda said. The penalty for getting caught is five years in prison with a $10,000 fine for the American and permanent deportation for the foreigner.

“I had never been so scared before in my life,” Amanda said. They sat there in a large pale waiting room surrounded by other couples with a pile of paperwork and photo albums on her lap – their entire marriage legitimized.

But instead of the expected – “What are his favorite colored socks? What kind of toothpaste does he use?” – their interview took only five minutes. “OK, you’re both Jewish, good. Are these your names? Good. Your address? OK, thanks.”

Five minutes. Rubber stamp.

April 16, 2024April 17, 2024Bruce Whitaker

Whitaker for City Council

by Grover Cleveland39 Comments

Yes, Friends, you read that correctly.

Bruce Whitaker is serving his final term this year representing Fullerton’s Fourth District, and apparently his wife, Linda Whitaker, has decided to carry on the family tradition.

Here’s her recipient committee listing on the California Secretary of State’s website:

Mrs. Whitaker has been around politics alongside her husband in Fullerton and the County for 30 years, and so has institutional knowledge of how things go (or don’t go, as the case may be), and would be bound not to take staff bullshit at face value. The extent to which she shares her husband’s political philosophy remains to be seen, but I’m sure we could expect a conservative, anti-tax mindset.

She has the Whitaker name going for her. Bruce Whitaker has been on the Council for almost 14 years and won the inaugural Fourth District election in 2020. In politics, name recognition is a big deal. Just as importantly, she will have access to County Republican resources to help her, directly; or, just as likely, in the form of independent political action committees.

This bad news for Vivian “Kitty” Jaramillo, the choice of the Democrat officialdom in the Fourth District, and someone who has allegedly accused Linda Whitaker’s husband of racism. If she had been thinking about an easy path to victory, she’ll have to think again.

I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the OC Democrats try the same ploy they rolled out in District 5 in 2022; namely, creating a fake candidate to draw votes away from Mrs. Whitaker. On the other hand, this is a heavily Latino district and a Latino candidate or two would certainly have the same effect on Jaramillo.

September 5, 2021September 5, 2021Bruce Whitaker

Tommy Lasorda Day; Mayor Whitaker Hits Stride!

by Grover Cleveland38 Comments

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.

April 9, 2020April 9, 2020A Step in the Right Direction

Complaint Filed With DA Over More Pro Measure K Shenanigans

by Grover Cleveland6 Comments

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.

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.

March 2, 2017Chronic Failure

The Speech From the Empty Chair

by Grover Cleveland25 Comments

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?”

December 27, 2016December 27, 2016Behind Closed Doors

Down on the County Farm: The 4th District Embarrassment

by Grover Cleveland13 Comments

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.

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…”

December 14, 2016December 14, 2016Behind Closed Doors

Joe’s Legacy

by Grover Cleveland37 Comments

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.