Posted onA Step in the Right Direction

See? FFFF Can Do Puff pieces too!

by 5 Comments on See? FFFF Can Do Puff pieces too!
While the focus of this blog is rightly on the many problems and challenges faced by the City of Fullerton, I’d like to briefly mention a bit of a positive story, just this once.
Many of you know Thom Babcock, who was one of the members of the group behind the 1994 Recall, who most recently served as Fullerton’s representative on the Metropolitan Water District from 2012-2013 and is a friend of this blog and many of its contributors. This it Thom:
babcock
Since 2014, Thom and his granddaughter, Alyssa, have participated in Catarina’s Club’s pasta drive, which helps feed motel kids in the Anaheim area. Thom estimates that he and his granddaughter have collected 125 pounds of food for the drive and $300 in donations so far, but if any of our friends at FFFF would like to help add to the total, you can contact Thom by Sunday (Nov. 20) at tbabcock2609@gmail.com to drop off any additional donations of pasta or pasta sauce. There’s a lot to be cynical about in our political environment but there are good people and causes in our community and if you can help a lot of kids in need will appreciate it.
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Posted onBehind Closed Doors

The Culture of Cover Up?

by 37 Comments on The Culture of Cover Up?

You, know some people have the remarkable habit of speaking a whole bunch of words without saying anything. Fullerton City Attorney Richard Jones has been doing it for years and years as compliant councils sit there silently during his mind-numbing droning.

In the clip below, from last night’s Council meeting, he explains why the public need be told nothing about the City Manager, Joe Felz, driving home after a party, running off the road, trying to leave the scene of an accident, smelling of liquor, and most likely flashing his Get Out of Jail card.

jail-card

First listen:

There’s five minutes of stuff that could have been said in about 40 seconds but Jones needs to make sure he has touched all the bases of possible objection, added some mumble-words in the service of phony legal propriety, and his accomplice, Mayor Jennifer Fitzgerald is on hand to make sure some of the points are reiterated – twice.

Yes, the bases are touched.

  1. The matter is subject to an “ongoing criminal investigation” by FPD, possibly to be turned over to the do-nothing DA, so mum’s the word! But what’s this? Who has committed a crime? No one was arrested no one was even cited. If not then, when, and how? Sure seems like a bogus smoke-screen.
  2. The issue is a “personnel” matter. But wait. Felz was not acting as an employee at the time of the crash. He was undoubtedly a private citizen. So how on God’s green earth is this a personnel matter? Another dodge to avoid response to legitimate PRA requests?
  3. The issue of the body cameras is noted as governed by some statute that is not elaborated, merely cited. The incurious Council let that one sail by. In the end, Jones informs us that Mr. Felz has privacy rights, too, which is awful sweet, but begs the question – if any of us were detained in similar circumstance can there be any doubt at all that the video would be turned over to the media by Andrew Goodrich before the first rays of morning sun had warmed the walls of the police station tower?

In the end some word nuggets tumble out that do lead into the direction of actual meaning, if only unintentionally freed from the bondage of this pettifogger’s mental jail.

One bit of this statement is very interesting. At 4:08 Jonsey mentions the investigation of the poli…the City Manager. Maybe I’m too cynical, but could this be the real source of investigation – how the cops deliberately violated their own policies and ignored violation of the Vehicle Code? That would sure make sense if a cover-up of the whole embarrassing mess was being orchestrated. After all, they could try “miscommunication in the chain of command” or some such nonsense, Gennaco-style, and if all else failed, toss the rat on conveniently departed Chief Dan Hughes who is now over the wall and making tracks southward.

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Posted onChronic Failure

The Weasel Words of Dick Jones Regarding Joe Felz

by 26 Comments on The Weasel Words of Dick Jones Regarding Joe Felz

After tonight’s Fullerton City Council meeting all signs point to City Manager Joe Felz being out of a job, likely from early retirement after he runs out the clock on his vacation time. Allow me to explain.

Joe Felz was a no-show at last night’s Council meeting and the City Attorney, Dick Jones, relayed a nothingburger of an apology from Felz during the Open Session and said that Felz was taking a 2-week leave of absence. Mr. Jones then requested that the council agendize an emergency* item for the same meeting, last night, to appoint an Acting City Manager which they did.

There is zero reason to appoint an Acting City Manager if somebody is on a voluntary leave for 2 weeks. Do we appoint an Acting City Manager anytime the City Manager goes on vacation? No. Was it an emergency? No. This is ridiculous. How ridiculous you ask? Well…

Pursuant to California Government Code we don’t even NEED a City Manager owing to Fullerton being a General Law City.

36501.  The government of a general law city is vested in:
   (a) A city council of at least five members.
   (b) A city clerk.
   (c) A city treasurer.
   (d) A chief of police.
   (e) A fire chief.
   (f) Any subordinate officers or employees provided by law.

Notice that there is no “City Manager” on that list.

So our City Council just appointed a person, Gretchen Beatty, to a position that we don’t even legally need because our City Manager is on a 2-week leave. Funny how the City Attorney missed that little nuance in the law or as I like to call it – his job. Dick Jones asked that a non-issue be agendized unless of course more is going on behind the scenes that can’t be discussed with us common rabble known as residents.

Now here’s where the weasel words really come into play. Mr. Jones stated that Gretchen Beatty would be acting City Manager not until Felz came back from leave but rather until the City Council relieved her. He’s a lawyer who chooses his words carefully so this means something.

To really drive this point home it should be noted that during Public Comments people spoke up about the Joe Felz / Sappy McTree incident and Mr. Jones made a point that the details of the investigation couldn’t be released until this “Personnel Matter” is resolved. He also said that it was an ongoing criminal review and it would go to the D.A. for a “Potential Criminal Prosecution”. Further he said, and Mayor Fitzgerald asked him to repeat, that the Bodycam footage couldn’t be released pursuant to California Government Code 6254F.

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Posted onRepuglicanism

The Larry Bennett Story

by 31 Comments on The Larry Bennett Story
If there’s a buck in it, I’ll do it…

There is a newly minted blog called OC Daily, evidently the brain child of GOP slime ball Dave Gilliard, and operated by another small-time hack named Matthew Cunningham. A Friend directed my attention to this post written by Cunningham about our recent Fullerton election that blames Larry Bennetts’ fourth place finish on a divided GOP – basically throwing the rat on Bruce Whitaker (by name) for not supporting Bennett, due lack of supposed conservative purity on the part of the latter. Cunningham also points out Bennett’s broad bi-partisan support as an indication of his strength.

Backed by all the wrong people...
Backed by all the wrong people…

Since this post shared a link to Bennett’s fabulous list of endorses, I will too. Except that I will pick out a few familiar names and add some piquant commentary that may come as surprise to those who hold the opinion that these endorsements have much value outside the aging little clique who signed on. They won’t surprise you, Friends.

 

Bob Huff CA State Senate  bag man for Redevelopment profiteers
Dick  Ackerman State Senate Minority Leader – Retired (Tried to sell OC Fair to pals, tried to carpetbag wife into Assembly; 1994 & 2012 recall opponent)
Jennifer Fitzgerald RINO Mayor – lobbyist for Curt Pringle; refuses to release client list
Jan Flory Mayor Pro Tem, 2012 recall opponent; illegal water tax supporter; supported utility tax in 1993
John (Jack) Bedell, Ph.D. RINO Vice President Orange County Board of Education, recently smeared Chris Norby in BoE election
Molly  Mc Clanahan North OC Community College Vice President (recalled from Fullerton council in 1994 for unnecessary utility tax
Hilda Sugarman RINO Fullerton School Board Vice President,
Janny  Meyer RINO Fullerton School Board Member; wife of previous city manager
Chris Meyer Former Fullerton City Manager (holder of MASSIVE pension; oversaw a city government with zero accountability)
Paul Dudley Former Director of Community Development (responsible for massive over development of Fullerton)
Dick  Ackerman Former Mayor (see above; this scumbag is so repulsive he gets listed TWICE)
Don  Bankhead Former Mayor, only person in the history of California to be recalled Twice from the same office
Buck Catlin Former Mayor, recalled in 1994 for imposition of unnecessary utility tax, father of Janny Meyer
F. Richard Jones Former Mayor, recalled in 2012; rude, bombastic Southern-fried imbecile
Linda LeQuire Former Mayor, repulsive former councilperson resurrected for nasty duty every election cycle
Molly  Mc Clanahan Former Mayor (also listed TWICE did I metioned she was recalled?)
Leland Wilson Former Mayor,(RINO- mitigating factor – got rid of Flory in 2002)
Peter Godfrey Former Mayor Pro Tem, completely useless RINO
Pat Mc Kinley Former Council Member, recalled in 2012 – created the FPD Culture of Corruption “I hired them all”
Jim Blake Former MWD Board, busted partying on the taxpayers dime as the perpetual appointee to the MWD
Rick  Crane Former Planning Commissioner, Redevelopment Agency bonanza beneficiary
Samuel Han Former Planning Commission,  Grace Ministries front man for dad and booze peddler map supporter
Roy  LeQuire Former Planning Commissioner, spouse of Linda LeQuire, above
Wade Richmond Former Planning Commissioner ( Bankhead crony since the year 1492)
Jim  Alexander Local small-time lobbyist
Carol Bankhead Wife of Don Bankhead
Karen Dudley Wife of Paul Dudley, above
Norma  Jones Wife of Richard Joes, above
Tony Florentine  (Guy who buil restaurant addition on public sidewalk; operated illegal dance club)
Pat Florentine Spouse of sidewalk grabber, above
Barbara McKinley Wife of Pat Mckinley, above

 

The future looked bright from his perspective

So, basically Bennett was the front man for Old Fullerton, the same crew that has done everything possible to keep Fullerton in a weird stasis in which they ran the show. These were the people that fought BOTH recalls, tooth and nail; that imposed a utility tax in 1993, that have given away the store to the public employees and upper managers alike; that stole $27,000,000 from us in illegal water taxes, denied it, and never even bothered to say “sorry;” that enabled a Culture of Corruption to pervade the FPD, who denied its existence contrary to all the evidence, and who hid behind their curtains when an innocent man was bludgeoned to death by their own little Praetorian Guard.

And every rancid step of the way  proclaiming with hosannas their dedication to “good government.”

These are the people who now survive in ever-dwindling numbers, their days long past, who see in people like Fitzgerald and Bennett some sort of embryonic form in which their own feeble genetic material is passed on.

Blaming Whitaker for not backing Bennett? How about shame on all of those who did? Electing Republicans qua Republicans, even though they are supported by all of Fullerton’s Old Guard liberals, instead of principled conservatives is how we got into the place we are today – awash in red ink, overdeveloped and with zero accountability in sight.

 

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Posted onAbout Us

The Yellowing Submarine

by 19 Comments on The Yellowing Submarine
Things never looked better for Fullerton.
Things never looked better for Fullerton.

An alert Friend directed our attention to the Fullerton Observer’s “reporting” of the recent Joe Felz/Danny Hughes Glenwood Ave. Road Rally. Here’s the article. As usual the Observer does its level best to downplay the incident –  since for the Yellowing Observers City Hall can do no wrong. If you want, you can see it here. Below is a facsimile.

Journalism at it's finest!
Journalism at it’s finest!

Let’s enjoy some of the unintended hilarity.

First notice that neither the chief player in this drama, nor even his august title are mentioned in the headline, a rather glaring omission, one would think.

It is not until the end of the second paragraph that we discover the tree killer is our beloved city manager; and it wasn’t until the next sentence that he is identified – only as “Mr. Felz.”

None of the pertinent facts are shared: that Felz had been drinking; that he had tried to drive away; that he had been given a pass on the breathalyzer test that would have been forced on you or me, or even Sharon Kennedy, editor of this mess.

Ironically, Page 6 contains a saccharine farewell to Chief Dan Hughes, whose last official task as chief was to make sure his boss got a safe ride home and tucked into bed without the worry of an annoying and embarrassing DUI rap. Thanks for the solid, man!

“Leaked to a local blog.” Ha ha! Yes, indeed! But no mention of the evil FFFF, where original and dangerous attitudes prevail! Jeez, even Sappy McTree got more shine than we did.

And finally: “…witnessing a driver (you mean THE driver) trying to maneuver his vehicle off the causeway.”

Causeway? Just like The Observer of old: error riddled, incompetent, supine and illiterate.

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Posted onBehind Closed Doors

Karma Can Be A Bitch

by 21 Comments on Karma Can Be A Bitch

The topic of drinking and driving has been in the Fullerton news the last few days. We all know the story involving City Manager, Joe Felz, by now so there’s no point in rehashing the details. Instead, I want to direct the Friends’ attention to the irony that surrounds us in life, sometimes almost like there’s some sort of cosmic plan.

Way back in August, 2012 at the start of the fall election campaign, Fullerton City Councilmen and candidates Travis Kiger and Bruce Whitaker, along with Greg Sebourn voted to turn back a $50,000 grant from the state to pay for those ridiculous DUI random checkpoints that are probably the least effective ways to corral drunk drivers.

The bars stayed open and the band played on...

Let’s let Fullerton’s in-house shrew, Jan Flory, herself a candidate that year, fill us in from an August 30, 2012 facebook entry:

OKAY, so let’s get this straight, our Tea Bagger councilmen (Kiger, Sebourn and Whitaker), voted to reject a $50,000 grant and send it back to the state because it was to be used for DUI sobriety checkpoints that they believe are unconstitutional. They did this without walking across the street and talking to Police Chief Dan Hughes, or Captain George Crum who wrote the grant application.

Whoops! They find out after the fact that $146,222 in additional grant funds were tied to the $50,000 for the sobriety checkpoints, soooo, if the $50,000 is rejected, then the $146,222 has to be turned back too. It’s not like our understaffed police department could use the money, right? Maybe they thought the state would know how to use the money better than we do at the local level. Massive miscalculation!

Miscalculation? Certainly, but not by Kiger, Whitaker, or Sebourn. The fact of entangling grant funding (if in fact it existed at all) was never shared with them by their own $200,000 City Manager, Joe Felz, or by $200,000 Police Chief Danny Hughes, both of who were just sitting there during the meeting. Why not? Possibly because they  had every reason to try to embarrass them and help get Flory elected. The consequent to-do with a MADD mob orchestrated by the FPD, and quite likely with the approval of Felz and Hughes themselves, was quite entertaining. Whether they knew about a link at the time, they sure found out fast, so fast that one might suppose a little back-room political shenanigans.

So now, let’s return back to late August, 2012 and hear again from the vinegary Flory as she regales us with her demagoguery :

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Posted onAbout Us

Don’t Kneel to Fullerton College’s Football Stadium Demands

by 14 Comments on Don’t Kneel to Fullerton College’s Football Stadium Demands

So who’s up for a proposed construction project that could “substantially degrade the existing visual character or quality of the site and its surroundings” and could “create a new source of substantial light or glare would adversely affect day or nighttime views in the area” according to the Environmental Impact Report?

Doesn’t sound appealing? Well, you may want to attend the scoping session on Thursday, November 17, 2016, at 6 pm, at the Fullerton College Student Center, Rooms 224, 226 and 228 (don’t ask – I’ll be wandering around campus myself) and let them know.

I should note that this little boondoggle is not the City’s doing, for once. For this we can thank the North Orange County Community College District and their Board of Trustees. The Master Plan Initial Study, which discussed the Environmental Impacts on Section 6.3, can be found here: )

fc-map

Pictured: Sherbeck Field. Not pictured: Rooms 224-228. Also not pictured: The football stadium that already exists across the street.

Some time ago, the NOCCCD Board of Trustees were considering the idea of building a football stadium on campus, thus sparing their football team the humiliation of playing football at <gasp> a high school stadium – and one that’s less than 100 yards away from the campus proper, to boot. Residents of the Princeton Circle neighborhood objected, and the plans for a football stadium appeared, to the residents at least, to be scrapped. Now the trustees are looking to add 4,500 stadium seats and field lighting that could remain on until 10 pm. In addition, while I have not independently verified this, nearby residents contend that the proposed lighting would consist of six 100 foot tall LED towers, which if true would cause a significant amount of light pollution.

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Posted onBoohooism

Molly’s Problem

by 32 Comments on Molly’s Problem

 

Nothing intelligent was forthcoming...
Nothing intelligent was forthcoming…

Could be trouble’s a-brewin’ for our old acquaintance, North OC Community College District trustee Molly McClanahan.

Now, in case you’re not familiar with the life and times of McClanahan, here’s a primer: rightfully recalled from the Fullerton City Council in 1994 for imposing a stupid and unnecessary utility tax (at the behest of the public employee unions), she was tossed a little political plum as an appointee to the NOCCCD. There she has been a reliable cheerleader for a bloated, overpaid and incompetent administration for over 20 years.

A few years back we followed the tale of the magical football stadium at FJC, an embarrassment on so many levels that I won’t recount them, just give you Loyal Friends the link.

Seven years have passed and apparently the football practice facility is still slated to become a completely unnecessary game day venue – given the fact of the FHS stadium a few hundred yards away and the CSUF stadium less than two miles away. looks like some of the neighbors are still as unhappy about this as ever. In fact, somebody has started a website dedicated to pressuring McClanahan to act on behalf of her constituents instead of her district bureaucrats, with the promise of a recall. Since they linked to the old post of ours, I felt compelled to return the favor.

Now Molly may have a problem, maybe. Recalling anybody is hard, especially in a big JC district that nobody even thinks much about. Yet the NOCCCD has seven much smaller individual districts. I don’t know for sure, but I’m supposing the individual trustee districts have about 70,000 people, so gathering signatures would not be impossible. But would anybody off the hill behind the campus even care?

Unfortunately, the website isn’t real clear on what how McClanahan is supposed to do anything at this point. Maybe the proprietor of that blog will stop by and give us some more information. One thing is certain, though. Whoever is behind this is pretty pissed off. The hostility comes through loud and clear; and tellingly, there is a pointed reference to McClanahan’s illegal gift-taking from a bond peddler and the consequent FPPC fine.

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Posted onFullerton City Council

A Sober Take on the FPD & Joe Felz

by 17 Comments on A Sober Take on the FPD & Joe Felz

I’ve gotten some praise and taken some heat personally for being a part of bringing this blog back online after it’s hiatus because anybody who knows Fullerton politics knows that F.F.F.F. has it’s fans and its detractors. When I found out that there was a new owner I was excited and more so when asked if I wanted to participate as F.F.F.F. gives me an outlet to continue the writing I was doing on my own site without feeling like I’m still running for office.  We were still in the planning stages when that memo from Chief Hughes popped up and now we’re off to the races.

We need to understand the context of this memo and why it matters lest the city sweep it under the rug and further erode trust in government.

To start we must admit that City Manager Joe Felz is culpable for his actions on the night of his accident but he is also culpable for the stain he has just put upon our city after 30+ years of work and it’s somewhat sad when a career might end in a downward trajectory. I barely know Joe Felz and up until now my interactions with him included me giving him grief to prove a lie the Mayor keeps telling about our roads. That said I have no personal animus towards him but the actions the night of the election by him and members of F.P.D. require due diligence and honest brokering of information which are two things constantly lacking from all levels government. For the sake of argument let us pretend that the most absurd rumor coming out of City Hall is true and he simply blew a tire coming around a turn and he was perfectly sober.

Felz himself, and the F.P.D. specifically, should have done everything in their power to remove any doubt or suspicion or wrongdoing to mitigate the allusion of impropriety, special treatment or worse. If he blew a tire and ran down Sappy McTree he could have left his car where it was and called AAA. He could have moved his car off of poor Sappy and parked and called AAA. Instead he decided to try and drive away and likely home. When Police arrived they could have done their jobs without getting the Chief involved until AFTER their initial assessments and inspections.

This isn’t armchair Monday morning quarterbacking or simple 20/20 hindsight because this is their job. Felz is the top man in our city and the F.P.D. has policy for this type of accident which we’ll get to in a minute. Everybody involved in this incident is paid handsomely to do their jobs and will help bankrupt our town with their pensions from these jobs so at a minimum we should expect that they do their jobs when called to a scene.

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