Victory Archives - Page 6 of 9 - Friends For Fullerton's Future

May 25, 2012May 25, 2012Home Town Hero

Shawn Nelson Stops By

OC 4th District Supervisor Shawn Nelson visited our humble blog yesterday to refresh our memories about his calling in the Feds in the Kelly Thomas killing. Here’s what he had to say:

#22 by Shawn Nelson on May 24, 2012

So the historical record is clear, I contacted the Department of Justice on Thursday July 21 or 28 (not sure which Thursday off the top of my head). My purpose was to open a case file in the Civil Rights division because I felt an obligation to ensure the citizens of Fullerton everything I could do had been done. While on the telephone with a lawyer at the DOJ, she contacted the FBI and before our call concluded she was able to confirm that the FBI would be taking the lead on the case and that the FBI had, in fact, opened a file as of that monement.

Confirmation of the FBI’s involvement made the airwaves later that same day and by 8:00 the next day I heard word the officers involved had been taken off the streets.

A good reminder that the cops weren’t pulled until after the FBI was notified on July 28th, 2011. A coincidence? I think not.

FFFF originally posted about Nelson’s intervention, here. I also believe it was this action that spurred the DA to do a real investigation, and not one of the usual whitewashes.

May 9, 2012May 9, 2012"Dick" Ackerman

Judge Orders Trial in Kelly Thomas Killing

by admin279 Comments

Manny's Boo boo — The judge was not impressed.

This afternoon in Santa Ana, Superior Court Judge Walter Schwarm declared that sufficient evidence exists to warrant a trial for the two Fullerton cops accused in the death of the mentally ill, homeless man, Kelly Thomas last July. Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli will stand trial for second degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, respectively.

Although many critics have claimed that more serious charges should have been brought against all the officers charged, it should be noted that on-duty cops have never been prosecuted for a capital crime in the County’s history.

April 23, 2012April 23, 2012Bruce Whitaker

Bruce Whitaker on The Illegal Water Tax

by admin41 Comments

Here’s a Fullerton councilmember who not only understands the illegal water tax, he knows the right thing to do – end it, immediately. He also suggests a solution that would, over time, address infrastructure deficiencies that have been permitted by our aquacrats and city council. Good luck getting the Three Pompous Pumkins Bankhead, McKinley and Jones to go along with that!

Anyway, if you haven’t already done so, meet Bruce Whitaker:

April 12, 2012Home Town Hero

Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson Honors Fullerton Jewelry Store Owner for Heroism

by admin31 Comments

Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson (Fourth District) honored long-time Fullerton jewelry store owner Ismael “Ish” Gomez with his 2012 “Second Amendment Award for Heroism” in recognition of the incredible courage he displayed in saving the lives of his two employees last month during an attempted take-over robbery by five armed suspects.

Mr. Gomez’s heroism resulted in one suspect being hospitalized and the other four in jail. Accolades were received from friends and professional associates for protecting the lives of his employees during a dramatic hand-to-hand, bullet-firing confrontation against violent criminals.

If you look closely at the image below, you’ll see a reminder of the struggle in the mirror behind Supervisor Nelson and Mr. Gomez.

April 2, 2012April 2, 2012"Dick" Ackerman

Fullerton Was Sold 20 Years Ago And The Recall Is How We Pay For Her Emancipation

by admin37 Comments

Friends, long time community activist Steve Baxter wrote a must-read letter that was published in one of Fullerton’s up-and-coming blogs, The Fullertonian. Enjoy!

For a period of time I knew the man six Fullerton officers killed last July. His name was Kelly Thomas and I liked him. As I was walking to my car in the Fullerton Ralphs shopping center, a man, when seeing my “Justice for Kelly” button, said to me that if I cared this much about Kelly when he was alive, he would still be alive. I was pretty baffled at that statement, but then I saw the “NO RECALL! FULLERTON IS NOT FOR SALE” sticker on the back of this big boy’s Jazzy Jeff scooter and it all made imperfect sense. “Hey brother,” I yelled, “just because you …..” That’s as far as I got before I knew it was not worth it. Besides, you don’t look very dignified yelling at someone who is relegated to a scooter.

I know that Kelly was loved by his family, and I know that Kelly was welcome to stay at any number of relatives’ homes, and for periods of time, he did. I know what six of our police officers did to him, and I know how Dick Jones, Don Bankhead and Pat McKinley, the three councilmen now facing a recall, reacted publicly to his death. Their lack of urgency, their lack of outrage, and the insensitive treatment to Kelly’s family, after what in my mind may be the most shameful 10 minutes in this city’s history, rises well beyond what even I expected from these three men. I’ve witnessed their disdain for the victim and his supporters firsthand at many council meetings. I witnessed it again watching TV interviews, where their ignorance was broadcast across the county. These old mens’ desperate need for order trumped any need for truth. They lied and tried to spin the story at every opportunity, at times to ridiculous proportions. Dick Jones even tried to diminish Kelly’s injuries by saying he had seen worse in Vietnam. When the DMZ becomes the go-to reference point for downtown Fullerton, we have a serious problem. In light of this, the “NO RECALL! FULLERTON IS NOT FOR SALE” signs mean nothing to me.

Read the rest of “Fullerton Was Sold 20 Years Ago And The Recall Is How We Pay For Her Emancipation” on theFullertonian.com

March 20, 2012March 21, 2012About Us

Big Downtown Developer (Me) Finishes Historic Project

by admin94 Comments

After many years, and many splinters, my brother George and I recently finished our latest project.

For those that bought into the anti-recall propaganda that I’m some sort big-time developer, well here you go: I moved a 375 sq.ft. house about 200 feet and restored it!

To read more about my big downtown development project please read the article by The OC Weekly’s Brandon Ferguson, here.

February 27, 2012Bruce Whitaker

Travis Kiger Gets Key Endorsements

by Grover Cleveland73 Comments

Just days after pulling papers to run in the Recall replacement election, Travis Kiger has received the full support of our County Supervisor Shawn Nelson, our State Assemblyman Chris Norby and Fullerton City Councilman Bruce Whitaker.

Said Chris Norby “Fullerton is very fortunate to have Travis as a candidate. As a resident and taxpayer in Fullerton I know we will be in good hands when Kiger is elected.”

Shawn Nelson echoed Norby’s comments. “Fullerton is in need of strong, conservative leadership. I live in Fullerton and I trust Travis to deliver on the promises of transparency and accountability.”

Travis Kiger represents the new type of Republican for Fullerton: one who believes in civil liberties, freedom, limited government, pension reform, a balanced budget, reasonable taxes and fees; one who opposes the sort of crony capitalism and corporate welfare that has been the hallmark of Fullerton “conservatives” for decades.

Most importantly, Travis stands for accountability to the citizens of Fullerton, without cover-up, condescension, excuses, or incomprehensible double-talk.

February 22, 2012February 22, 2012A Step in the Right Direction

In Search of Leadership, A Floundering Fullerton Finally Finds It

by admin66 Comments

FFFF’s own Travis Kiger, a member of the City’s Planning Commission hit a home run last week in his comments about the proposed high-density government subsidized housing project on W. Santa Fe Avenue in downtown Fullerton.

February 8, 2012"Dick" Ackerman

Note to Larry Bennett: Defrost The Three Tired Turkey Dinners And Bring It on!

by Joe Sipowicz134 Comments

Here’s a fascinating excerpt from the No Recall bozos’ website. It seems that some assclown named Larry Bennett finally responded today to a November, 2011 challenge by Chris Thompson for a debate. What a difference three months makes! Last anybody heard from Bennett, he was waiting for Dick Ackerman to return from Thanksgiving vacation to tell him what to do.

Ackerslime2 — When I get back from Hawaii I'm gonna kick ass. Or not.

Now Bennett and Ackerman seem to think they’re in a position to dictate terms to the Recall campaign. No, dimwits, you’re not going to use the Best Blog in OC to peddle your bullshit. Publish it on your own joke of a website. And invite comments, you sad, pathetic puds. I dare you.

In the meantime, Larry, I’ve been told that the challenge from the Recall is still in place: a live debate between Recall Proponent Chris Thompson and you; or better yet, with one of the Three Dead Tree Stumps – if you can pull one of them out of cold storage long enough to defrost. Do you have the huevos? Do gastropods even have huevos? I doubt it. But pretty soon you’ll have no choice.

02/08/2012

Why Is Bushala Rejecting a Debate on his Blog?

TONY, WHY DID YOU REJECT A DEBATE ON YOUR OWN BLOG???

Dear Tony,

It appears that your $170,000 has bought a recall election in June. It is unfortunate that you have rejected my offer for an on-line debate using your favorite blog – Friends for Fullerton’s Future. Chris Thompson tells me that you are unwilling to modify the blog to remove the anonymity of bloggers and commenters because of the sensitive nature of some of your regular bloggers.

In case you would like to reconsider, this is my proposal:

I proposed that you and I engage in an online debate hosted on the Friends for Fullerton’s Future Blog Site. This online debate would be between you and I and available for viewing by the public. We would alternate posts where each of us is free to make our case and to challenge the opposing post. I’m sure you might want to talk about the death of Kelly Thomas, release of the video over the D.A. and Ron Thomas’ objection, pensions, the water tax, police discipline cases and the responsibility of our elected council members. We would want to explore the political involvement of yourself, how redevelopment has benefited your family, Chris Thompson and your political friends.

Our only conditions for the online debate is that the blog change its operations to provide to the Citizens of Fullerton the same level of transparency they demand of the individuals and institutions they attack. Specifically the bloggers who post to your site would post under their actual name. That way the Citizens of Fullerton would know who is making what charge and the responsibility for their comments would rightly be a matter of public record. Secondly, the commenter’s who wish to post to our debate items would do so using a Facebook profile. That would bring some accountability and civility to the debate. This format is used successfully by the Orange County Register, Times Community News publications, and many other political blogs.

I believe this will be a constructive debate that uses the blog you like to tout. I look forward to your reconsideration.

Regards,

Larry Bennett

Chairman, Protect Fullerton-Recall No

February 6, 2012February 6, 2012"Dick" Ackerman

VALIDATION

by admin101 Comments

According to the OC Registrar of Voters the sampling of the Fullerton Recall signatures has validated the number needed to recall Bankhead, Jones and McKinley.

Here’s what the sampling projects for totals:

McKinley 13,604

Bankhead 13,355

Jones 14,361

The recall needed about 10,500 to qualify. Not even close.

And now it’s time for the Three Dithering Dinosaurs to certify the signatures themselves and call a special election. This will be agendized for February 21, 2012. Will they do it?