Posted onBehind Closed Doors

You Said What You Said

by 147 Comments on You Said What You Said

Politicians are forever saying asinine things and then denying they said them. Small time politicians like our own mutton head Don Bankhead have been getting away with this sort of thing for years. Televised council meetings have helped expose the intra-noggin confusion that exists in minds like Bankhead’s, but youtube has really been invaluable.

A while back we ran a post that highlighted Bruce Whitaker rightfully taking Bankhead to task for sharing his opinion that Fullerton would be ghost town without Redevelopment. No, no said Bankhead, testy-like. He really said “downtown Fullerton.” Forget that neither would be a ghost town without Redevelopment – that’s just Big Gummint Bankhead passing along all the lies he’s swallowed over the years, and of course his own campaign literature year after dreary year – taking credit for “revitalizing” DTF over and over and over and over and over again.

Here’s what Bankhead really said, verbatim, an insult to the hundreds of businesses in DTF and in the rest of the city that never took a nickel of Bankhead’s largess:

Or, to put it another way:

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Posted on"Dick" Ackerman

For The Next Council Meeting – A Public Reading

by 63 Comments on For The Next Council Meeting – A Public Reading
The City's eyes were badly "bloused." Again.

I strongly urge each and every Friend of Freedom in Fullerton to take with them a copy the most recent OC Weekly to the next Fullerton City Council meeting, on December 6th.

Why? To read!

A speaker should begin reading aloud and into the record Marisa Gerber’s excellent exposition of the Fullerton Police Department’s Culture of Corruption. Pick up where your predecessor left off when his three minutes are up and the mike gets shut off. Keep going until you have made the Three Blind Brontosauruses and their Rotarian claque listen to the whole damned article.

At the end I would challenge any sane, honest person not to acknowledge the undeniable evidence that Pat McKinley’s police force degenerated into a sinkhole of corruption; and that that Bankhead and Jones are guilty of letting it happen as they abandoned their sworn responsibility to the citizens of Fullerton.

It’s very clear. They sold us out to their pals in the police union. Let’s be sure to remind them why they are being recalled!

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Posted on"Dick" Ackerman

The Moral and Mental Degeneration of Pat McKinley

by 89 Comments on The Moral and Mental Degeneration of Pat McKinley

Way out here at the end of Screech Owl Road it gets pretty quiet. With the exception of the wind and the occasional rotor-thump of the Marine helicopter squadrons you have few distractions to clutter your thoughts. And lately I’ve been giving some thought to Pat McKinley, former Fullerton Police Chief, and now city councilman.

Lookin' out for the ladies, oh yeah!

Back in October the Friends were treated to one of the most startling revelations of moral failure imaginable when McKinley was cornered at a women’s club lecture on self-defense, and was asked to explain what women should do when a cop like Albert Rincon attacks them in the backseat of a police patrol car. See, McKinley hired Rincon and despite numerous complaints Rincon stayed on streets, eventually getting the City embroiled in a civil suit and earning the wrath of a respected federal judge.

McKinley’s shocking response to the Soroptimists:  “Those ladies aren’t like you;” and the sexual battery was only “inappropriate touching;” “not a good thing, but it ain’t a dangerous thing.”   “Call Chief” is what McKinley recommended women do when sexually battered by a Fullerton cop! No FFFF didn’t make that up. Here’s the video.

Later, McKinley tried to wriggle out of his statements by explaining that what he really meant to say was that the women in question were not “credible,” the implication being that he, McKinley, was the proper judge to determine what sort of women are credible or not. Given that as Chief, McKinley hired a virtual rogues gallery and gave them all badges and guns, it’s sort of hard to imagine why anybody would consider McKinley an authority on moral credibility. McKinley’s lame defenders actually put out the word that McKinley had somehow been tricked into saying all those awful things.

But now consider this inescapable fact: the Fullerton City Council just agreed to pay out $350,000 to only two of these “not credible” women. What the Hell? If McKinley believed they were not credible why on Earth did the City consent to settle? Maybe it had something to do with the harsh upbraiding the Fullerton Police Department received courtesy of Judge Andrew Guilford. If it did, you would think the taxpayers of Fullerton were due an apology from somebody. Anybody.

I also note then when asked by David Nazar if he was proud of the Fullerton PD, he immediately said yes, hesitated, and then added “except for the two.” Since I presume he was referring to Manny Ramos and Jay Cicinelli, we can conclude that he has no regrets about hiring Albert Rincon in the first place.

It’s about time the anti-recallers get their stories straight because you can’t have it both ways. Either McKinley is a disgusting misogynist or he’s losing his marbles. Well, gee, maybe it’s both.

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Posted onDick Jones

The Man Who Scuffled With Police; The Man Who Scuffled With The truth

by 247 Comments on The Man Who Scuffled With Police; The Man Who Scuffled With The truth

Let us flash back to the early stages of the FPD’s attempted coverup of the Kelly Thomas killing. Here’s the FPD’s version of the story, as passed along from Sergeant Andrew Goodrich via the uncurious OC Register.

This story came out the day after the beating, even before Kelly was taken off life support, and the dissimulation was already well underway. Months would pass before the DA’s revelation that an innocent man had been beaten to death under color of authority.

And speaking of color I have helpfully highlighted in bold red statements and assertions from Andrew Goodrich that were flat-out lies.

Man who scuffled with police still in critical condition

The 37-year-old man, believed to be a transient, is suspected of auto burglary, police said.

By SEAN EMERY / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

FULLERTON – A man suspected of trying to burglarized cars remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after police say he fought with officers trying to search him.

Authorities say Kelly Thomas, 37, injured several officers who tried to detain him Tuesday night, while family members allege that police used excessive force in taking him into custody.

About 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, officers went to investigate reports of a man trying to burglarize cars in a parking lot next to the bus deport in the 100 block of South Pomona Avenue, Fullerton police Sgt. Andrew Goodrich said.

Officers spotted a shirtless man with a beard, shorts and a backpack who they suspected of being involved in the attempted burglaries, Goodrich said.

The man began to fight officers as they tried to search him, Goodrich said.

“We don’t know why he was so combative and resistant to the officers, but it took upwards of five to six officers to subdue him,” Goodrich said.

During the scuffle, Thomas suffered head and neck injuries and was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, Goodrich said.

Two officers suffered moderate injuries during the fight, including broken bones. They were treated at a hospital and released.

It was unclear if the officers used non-lethal weapons to subdue Thomas.

“According to his family, he has a history of mental illness,” Goodrich said, adding that he is a transient in Fullerton and surrounding cities.

Ron Thomas, Kelly Thomas’ father, said his son was homeless by choice and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

“When (police) rolled up, he was by a vehicle. They wanted to search his backpack, and he turned on them,” Ron Thomas said.

Thomas contended that his son’s injuries were the result of an “extreme use of force” by officers, who he believes “slammed” his son’s head and face into the ground. Based on his son’s injuries, Ron Thomas believes officers “took his legs out from under him while pushing him downward.”

“They have all the training, they have the weapons, they have the Tasers, and he is 160 pounds, barehanded,” Thomas said.

Thomas is on life-support, his father said, with doctors telling the family that he likely suffered brain damage.

“I can understand why a father would say that, but we are going to do a thorough investigation,” Goodrich said of Thomas’ comments. “Some of our officers also went to the hospital due to injuries they suffered. Sometimes when we take people into custody who don’t want to go into custody, we have to use force. It is never the preferred way of doing things.”

Goodrich said police are conducting a criminal investigation into the attempted burglaries, as well as an internal investigation into the officers’ actions.

“It’s always unfortunate when someone is injured, and we do what we can to minimize injuries whenever possible,” Goodrich said.

So did Goodrich ever suffer any consequences for all this unadulterated bullshit? Of course not, for this is Fullerton government where there is no accountability for malfeasance, and nobody in officialdom finds it objectionable that the official City spokesman has not even a passing familiarity with the truth. Of course it could be argued that Goodrich was just a useful idiot in the service of a cover up of an event about which he was largely misinformed by his fellow union members or their (and his superiors)

Either way the whole thing stinks. And any way you slice it looks like a cover up.

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Posted onDead heads

Jones & Mayer. More Failure.

by 62 Comments on Jones & Mayer. More Failure.

Now that the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer’s Association has weighed in on the issue of Fullerton’s 10% water tax with the suggestion of potential legal action, it seems an opportune time to consider the quality of legal support the City receives from its high-priced lawyers, Jones & Mayer.

Specifically, how can anybody explain the fact that the City Attorney Richard Jones has overlooked the obvious fact that the City of Fullerton’s in-lieu franchise fee of 10% was nothing but an illegal utility tax that was never substantiated by any objective study as required by Prop 218; and that it amounts to paying costs for alleged services that far exceed the actual cost of any services rendered to the water users, in violation of the State Constitution. Every year since he was hired in the early 90’s Attorney Jones’ bosses on the City Council approved water rates that automatically passed along this tax to the rate payers. Of course discussion of the embarrassing 10% add-on was avoided like the plague and was quickly dismissed when anybody brought it up.

Well, Friends, the answer is pretty simple: Attorney Jones wasn’t representing the interests of the people of Fullerton, he was representing the interests of the City staff and city councils who depended on that annual $2.5 million rip-off to close their General Fund budget gaps. That’s right, the General Fund that goes to pay the salaries of City employees;  that goes to pay the Council’s stipends, insurance, and car allowances; that goes to pay the for the Council’s junkets to fancy hotels to attend League of Cities meetings; and that goes to pay pensions – including those gaudy six-figure pension bonanzas of Councilmembers Don Bankhead and Pat McKinley.

The reason for employing an attorney is to get sound legal advice, not to have someone tell you what you want to hear; or, even worse, not tell you what he thinks you don’t want to hear. But such is evidently not the case in Fullerton.

For Jones & Mayer placing the interests of the staff and defending the indefensible is nothing new. And the price tag for this string failures has mounted over the years. Let’s take a moment and reflect upon some of these issues. Hmm. So many to choose from. Here’s a sampling:

Good grief, this is pretty embarrassing. It’s clear that the City Attorney is more interested in harassing the citizens of Fullerton than in sticking up for their rights. And this seems like a pretty good barometer to assess the attitude of the council majority – Bankhead, Jones, and McKinley.

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Posted onBehind Closed Doors

Howard Jarvis Will Challenge Fullerton’s Illegal Water Tax

by 74 Comments on Howard Jarvis Will Challenge Fullerton’s Illegal Water Tax

It looks like our city may be in for another lawsuit. Check out this letter that was sent from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association just before Turkey Day (emphasis mine):

Mr. Joe Felz, City Manager
City of Fullerton
303 W Commonwealth Avenue
Fullerton,CA 92832

Re:  Water Department “In Lieu Fees”

Jack Dean, a friend of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, has brought to our attention that the City of Fullerton pads the rates charged to water customers in order to transfer funds from the Water Fund to the General Fund.  These transfers appear in the City’s Budget under Water Fund expenses and General Fund revenue as a 10% in-lieu franchise fee.  We believe the fee and revenue transfers are illegal.

If a private company provided water service to the residents of Fullerton, the City could charge the private company a negotiated franchise fee for occupying public rights of way with its pipelines.  That is not the case in Fullerton, however, as the City operates its own municipal water utility.  The rates the City may charge are governed by the California Constitution, which limits rates to just the amount required to provide service, and prohibits transferring rate revenue for use elsewhere.

California Constitution article XIII D § 6(b) states in relevant part: “(1) Revenues derived from the fee or charge shall not exceed the funds required to provide the property related service. (2) Revenues derived from the fee or charge shall not be used for any purpose other than that for which the fee or charge was imposed.”

We successfully litigated this issue several years ago in lawsuits against the cities of Roseville and Fresno.  The courts in those two cases ruled that a city’s utility enterprise can reimburse the General Fund for actual, documented expenditures incurred on behalf of the utility, such as the utility’s use of the City Attorney’s services, or the utility’s share of a common insurance fund.  However, the utility cannot serve as a supplemental source of revenue for the General Fund.  As the court in the Roseville case said:

“[T]he in-lieu fee violates section 6(b) of Proposition 218 in a more direct way. Roseville concedes that ‘[r]evenue from the in [-]lieu franchise fee is placed in [Roseville’s] general fund to pay for general governmental services. It has not been pledged, formally or informally[,] for any specific purpose.’ This concession runs afoul of section 6(b)(2) that ‘[r]evenues derived from the fee or charge shall not be used for any purpose other than that for which the fee or charge was imposed.’ It also contravenes section 6(b)(5) that ‘[n]o fee or charge may be imposed for general governmental services.’”Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. v. City of Roseville (2002) 97 Cal.App.4th 637, 650.

By this letter we are formally requesting the City of Fullerton to stop charging the 10% in-lieu franchise fee, and to adjust its customers’ water rates accordingly.

If the City believes its 10% in-lieu franchise fee is legally defensible, then please consider this letter a request under the California Public Records Act for copies of the study(s) and/or accounting(s) that itemize General Fund costs on behalf of the Water Fund totaling exactly 10% each year.

Your response by December 10, 2011, would be appreciated.

Sincerely,

Timothy A. Bittle
Director of Legal Affairs

The tax became a big issue back in July, when a guy named Jack Dean from the Fullerton Association of Concerned Taxpayers pointed out the illegality of this water tax to the council (during an attempt to double water rates.)

Well, it’s been four months now, and Fullerton residents are STILL PAYING that illegal tax on every water bill.

Of course Bankhead, Jones and McKinley are waiting for the city attorney to find a way to squeeze that tax through a legal loophole, instead of rescinding it and refunding the money they’ve been helping the city steal from taxpayers since Prop 218 passed fifteen years ago.

How about a refund?
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Posted onAbout Us

We Get Mail, Again.

by 69 Comments on We Get Mail, Again.

Here’s a short note dropped into our In Box at FFFF Central Ops over the weekend.

Subject: Sharon Quick has helped me

Just to let you know. Sharon has helped me. more that anyone else in this City. I went to Steamers several weeks ago. After being bounced from one Code Enforcement officer to another, for a noise problem. At this time they are listening to the residents. I have been working on this problem since last May of 2011. No one listened like she did. Code Enforcement communicates with me, now, and sees the problem, hopefully. I feel hopeful for the first time in years, that the problem is being worked. I will admit, that I was very scared, to bring this forward at this time, after the KT problem. I wanted to tell all you at FFFF, that you helped me bring this issue forward, and made me a stronger resident.

Just wanted to say Thank You.

You’re welcome! And, thank you for getting involved!

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Posted on"Dick" Ackerman

We Get Mail

by 274 Comments on We Get Mail

Here’s a little message we got at FFFF Central Ops today. This seems to be the talking point of law enforcement trolls in the Kelly Thomas matter. Blame dear old Dad for neglect, and now for wanting to cash in. This writer actually tries (without success) to redeem his/her ignorance and appalling spelling and grammar by admitting that the cops who murdered Kelly should be punished (well Hell, that’s mighty big of ya).

Name:
Email:
Privacy: You may publish this, but protect my identity

Subject: mr thomas’s alterior motives

so kelly thomas’s father threw kelly out of the house, put him on the street, and put him in an arm bar to force him onto a psych unit. hiis son was starving and homeless for years, but now all of a sudden mr thomas cares about him? he just wants millions out of this..yes the officiers should go to jail but mr thomas put his son out there in those volatiile condiitons simply because hiis son did not want to take his meds…if mr thomas cared about kelly’s wellbeing so much he would not put him on the streets you would think that that would be more dangerous for someone’s health than being off a drug

Of course we have been all over this ground before and if you believe that Kelly’s parents had the legal or practical ability to restrain their boy and force him to take medication you are a damned fool. In any case this simple, inescapable, unavoidable truth remains: if Ramos, Wolfe, Cicinelli, Blatney and Klein had not killed him, Kelly Thomas would be be alive today.

As far as a big payout is concerned, I’m wondering if advertising Ron Thomas’ greed is going to be the tact taken by the Three Recalled RINOs and their misbegotten backers, in an attempt to deflect criticism for their own dismal failures, before and after the murder.

So far the Three Tree Trunks have adamantly refused to even admit that there is a Culture of Corruption that runs through the police department – a culture created by McKinley’s incompetence (or worse) and nurtured by Jones and Bankhead’s sleepy and grumpy indifference. So why not cast about for a somebody else to blame?

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