Union Goons Archives - Page 43 of 47 - Friends For Fullerton's Future

November 15, 2010August 21, 2011Big Brother

Mistakes Were Made: FPD Locks Up the Wrong Kid for 5 Months

Justice requires both integrity and diligence, but sometimes that’s just too much to expect. And it goes without saying that nobody deserves to be thrown in jail for a crime they did not commit.

It doesn’t always work out that way. According to a Register story pointed out by some of our favorite commenters, this kid just spent five months in jail awaiting trial after the Fullerton police set him up on charges of armed robbery, even though the victim clearly identified someone else!

Luckily for him, the botched line-up was captured on an audio recording which his attorney later reviewed, causing the DA to drop the charges.

So critical evidence, namely the victim’s actual testimony, was completely ignored by Fullerton’s finest. Laziness? Incompetence? Malice? We’ll never know. But when the justice system is subverted, everybody loses.

The sad narrative includes a priceless comment from FPD/FPOA spokesman Andrew Goodrich: “Mistakes are made sometimes.”

Whew! Responsibility averted. All in a day’s work.

It’s a good thing we don’t give criminals that kind of leeway.

November 14, 2010February 28, 2011Dead heads

Name That Image!

by Mr. Peabody25 Comments

Provide your own caption to this picture snapped in a Newport Beach commercial center.

November 4, 2010November 4, 2010OC Register

Fullerton Employee Arrested for Embezzling $35,000

by Travis44 Comments

The OC Register is reporting that the former risk manager for the city of Fullerton was arrested today and charged with running an embezzlement scheme and stealing over $35,00 of public funds.

Darryl Phillips, former Fullerton employee

According to the story, Phillips is accused of processing false injury claims filed against city workers on behalf of his friends. Phillips apparently had the authority to approve the claims and authorize payment himself. He has been charged with 10 felonies and is out on $50,000 bail.

Of course this type of thing won’t sit well with the local critics, especially in the awakened age of Bell. Questions abound. For instance, who hired this guy? What else did he steal? Who else is stealing? Why did he have the sole authority to pay fraudulent claims? And finally, was the arrest intentionally delayed until two days after the election, in order to protect the public image of former public employees, two of whom were running for office?

We’ll probably never know the answers to all of these burning questions, but that won’t stop us from asking.

October 31, 2010Fullerton 2010

The Hits Keep on Coming

by Travis32 Comments

Some new mailers came in this week. In addition to fresh copies of the Roland Chi and Aaron Gregg fliers that we saw earlier, our mailboxes were stuffed with: A brutal comparison of Pat McKinley’s pension to the city of Bell’s Robert Rizzo; a stop-the-unions slate, a comparison piece on Whitaker’s behalf, a large piece of cardboard put out by the Republican Party against Chaffee, and finally, a lame comparison piece that tries to make Roland Chi look special.

Enjoy, and click to enlarge.

October 17, 2010Fullerton School Board

Meanies Hit Thompson with Tiny Signs

by Travis20 Comments

Over the weekend these little signs began appearing on a few intersections in Fullerton.

The print is so small that you’ll have to pull over and get out of your car to read it. This one warns of Chris Thompson’s endorsement by U.S. Congressman Ed Royce, which is pretty funny considering it’s the same message that Thompson is trying to get out himself. I’m sure he appreciates the help, but next time please make them big enough to actually read.

Other equally odd versions of the sign say “bad for our children, bad for our teachers” and “Bushala puppet.” Thompson is an advocate for promoting good teachers and identifying underperforming ones, which I guess would make him “bad for BAD teachers,” but arguably good for children.

So if Thompson is good for good teachers and bad for bad teachers, who do you think would put up this sign?

October 15, 2010About Us

Fullerton Fire Hero Goes Viral

by admin316 Comments

Our famous firefighter video has become some sort of Internet sensation, bringing in tens of thousands of viewers and building some serious buzz. Oddly enough, the clip seems to be extra popular on computers within the halls of public agencies throughout the nation.

But just in case you missed it, here it is again:

And a special thank you to our anonymous friend, Mr. Oliver Stone. The popularity of this clip has inspired other cinematic greats such as “Cop Gets Schooled” and “Fire Chief Watches House Burn.” Keep ’em coming, Mr. Stone.

October 12, 2010October 13, 2010Behind Closed Doors

CalPERS Delays Scary Pension Reports Until After the Election

by Travis15 Comments

A senior CalPERS attorney just told me that the annual pension liability reports for local agencies, which are normally distributed every October, have now been delayed until after the November elections. The delays are allegedly due to furloughs, but conveniently prevent local pension watchdogs from using the data to promote fiscally conservative candidates and pension reform leading up to the November 2nd.

This year’s reports would be the first to calculate pension liabilities after the disastrous market crash of 2008/2009 which caused CalPERS to loose a large portion of its holdings, which in turn has caused cities’ unfunded liability and annual contributions to skyrocket. But the damage to each city is unknown until the individual reports are released.

How bad will it be? Here’s one example: rough calculations show Fullerton’s “non-smoothed” unfunded liability for itspublic safety plan will soar past $100,000,000 this year, nearly three times the amount presented last year. Throughout the state, the debts shown in these report are likely to be shocking compared to previous filings.

The data would have undoubtedly been used to draw more attention to the dire pension situation in cities throughout California. The reports would have come just in time for local elections, which makes CalPERS’ stated cause for the delay extremely suspect.

The annual “Actuarial Valuation” reports are prepared by CalPERS actuaries for each participating agency to justify annual increases in required contributions. Here is a example of Fullerton’s public safety report for 2008, which is the most recent year available.

October 6, 2010October 6, 2010Don Bankhead

Fullerton Unions Pick a Pack of Shameful RINOs

by Travis22 Comments

Today the first public employee union campaign signs went up across Fullerton. Predictably, the union is backing all three worthless RINOs: Don Bankhead, Pat McKinley and Roland Chi.

The public safety unions’ motives have always been clear to the observant. They will support the candidates who offer them the biggest return. What do the unions expect? More generous pay raises. More obscene benefits. More unsustainable pensions. Multi-million dollar retirement packages. And more debt and taxes to pay for it.

Fullerton-RINOs — Rookie draft complete. Now presenting the 2010 Union Dream Team

The unions have proven that they hold little regard for Fullerton taxpayers, as evidenced by their pension-driven destruction of Fullerton’s financial future for the benefit of a few public servants. They lobby for raises, pray on the emotions of the weak, and lie about future benefit costs all while complaining about their cushy jobs. When it’s time to negotiate with our empty-headed council, all of the union deceit comes together like a finely tuned machine. It’s sole purpose? To line their own pockets in exchange for the least amount of effort and accountability as possible.

What’s at stake? Bloated union paychecks.

How could the unions take so much from Fullerton’s conservative voter base? That’s easy. For decades, Republican voters have been fooled in to electing spineless cowards who are afraid to stand up for taxpayers at their end of the bargaining table. They shrivel up in fear at the thought of going against the unions and offer nothing but endless excuses when their negligence is exposed.

It’s frightening, but it’s true. The unions are in it for themselves, taxpayers be damned. They won’t quit until we’ve been sucked dry, and they’ve found just the right candidates to do it. In 2010, it really is “us vs. them.” Let’s bring some sanity back to this city.

October 4, 2010November 4, 2010About Us

Cops Love us!

by Joe Sipowicz9 Comments

Well, some cops, anyway, and not in Fullerton!

santa-barbara-mission — That is bee-u-tee-ful.

It transpires that the police union in the beautiful and high-toned town of Santa Barbra are unhappy with their city manager. “Joe” sez you, “so what?”

hot_steamin_manure — A man discovers his true vocation...

Well, it turns out that the City Manager of Santa Barbara is none other than James L. Armstrong, who used to occupy that job description here in Fullerton. The union has discovered our humble blog and shared some of our history lessons.

Although this stuff occurred a few years before my time, this blog has had some great fun recounting the myriad disasters that occurred during the reign of King James I. Things like Redevelopment boondoggles, general unaccountability, high-handed behavior, and the sort of arrogant bullshit that is normally reserved for those who can pull of the Divine Right of Kings gig.