Friends For Fullerton's Future

August 18, 2024Ahmad Zahra

What Does Vivian “Kitty” Jaramillo Know About the Election Fraud that benefits Her?

FFFF has published very convincing evidence about the candidacy of Scott Markowitz in Fullerton’s 4th District election.

The addition of a non-Latino candidate, and one whose clumsy ballot statement reads like it came out of MAGA central, is aimed directly at Linda Whitaker, a conservative Republican, and not coincidentally, a non-Latina.

And who is the beneficiary? Why, none other than the one who got the one and only endorsement interview from the OC Dem Party – Vivian “Kitty” Jaramillo, a life-long public employee who used to write parking tickets paid for by her would-be constituents. The deal must be big for her. She sued the City so it would have to create a district she might have a chance of winning an election in Fullerton.

Back to Mr. Markowitz. His ballot statement includes nonsense about “America First patriotism” and “real” conservatism. But get this: Markotwitz has been hand-held by Ajay Mohan, a Democrat operative who used to be the Executive Director of the OC Democrat Party. Mohan, Friends will remember, was the guy who created the phony candidacy of Tony Castro in 2022’s 5th District race to draw votes away from Oscar Valadez, who narrowly lost to the non-Latino incumbent, Ahmad Zahra. Zahra and Mohan.

As FFFF discovered, Markowitz had some interesting nominators for his last minute campaign, including Democrats, one of whom, Diane Vena, a Fullerton Observer, had already endorsed Vivian “Kitty” Jaramillo. Hmm, indeed.

I’d sell out my mother for 10 votes, and I have…

The facts are indisputable, and pretty embarrassing unless you have no shame. We are investigating into who the shameless Mohan has been working for. We will find out. It’s not that hard.

In the meantime, let’s consider the target of this scam candidacy and the beneficiary thereof.

There is a phrase in Latin: qui bono? It means who benefits?, an excellent guide to discover who is behind a plan or scheme perpetrated by unsavory means. And of course that is Jaramillo. And so I ask (demanding would be fruitless) for Jaramillo and her campaign to come clean with what Jaramillo and her pals really know about the fraudulent candidacy of Scott Markowitz.

August 15, 2024August 15, 2024Ahmad Zahra

Election Fraud – Again

by The Fullerton Harpoon41 Comments

Tony Castro. Staying out of jail long enough to be of use to the Democrat Party of OC.

In 2022 the Executive Director of the OC Democrat Party, Ajay Mohan, recruited unknown Tony Castro to run for Fullerton’s 5th District. The purpose was to siphon enough Latino voters away from Oscar Valadez to protect the incumbent, Ahmad Zahra. Sez who? Tony Castro, that’s who.

Well the same cast of characters is the same, but wearing different soiled feathers; this time it’s the District 4 election.

Friends were speculating the other day about whether the last minute appearance of a non-Latino candidate, Scott Markowitz, especially one spouting MAGA-type rhetoric wasn’t suspicious. It is. And the only credible explanation for this candidacy is to draw votes away from conservative Linda Whitaker. Proof you ask?

It turns out that the unknown Scott Markowitz was accompanied to the City Hall nominating paper pull by none other than Ajay Mohan, now a political campaign operative with something called Rocket Science Strategies.

So Mohan was there at the last minute to hold Scott’s hand as he began his fraudulent, and sure to be short-lived, political career.

Of course Markowitz successfully gathered his signatures; how many of the signatories really agree with Marko’s highly Trumpy ballot statement? Hmm. Here’s a partial list of signatories. Look at the last name -Diane Vera.

Some may remember Diane Vera from her scribblings for the ultra-liberal Fullerton Observer and her occasional squawking at city council meetings. She signed the papers of the would-be America Firster? How come? It gets funnier.

It appears that Ms. Vena already has a candidate she’s not only supporting, but has endorsed – none other than Vivian “Kitty” Jaramillo. Now that’s not very good, is it? She’s also a donor to the north Orange County Democrats’ club.

Of course, Diane isn’t the only one of Markowitz’s signers who’s True Blue. Karlo Marcelo is another member of the Democrats of North OC.

And then we have Dan Cash, another “progressive” liberal. Does he approve of the Markowitz ballot statement? Maybe someone will ask him.

If we needed any more evidence of a conspiracy, let’s consider Rocket Science Strategies, for a moment. It’s a limited liability company filed in California.

So this “consulting” operation includes Mohan, and one Lyndsey Lefebvre of La Habra, whose bio is quite telling:

It turns out that Ms. Lefebvre used to work for Mohan stirring up liberal activism as a full-time employee of the Democratic Party of Orange County. She’s been a union organizer, too.

Does Lyndsey approve of Markowitz’s ballot statement? She must since she probably wrote it.

And as the evidence of a conspiracy to create a phony candidate piles up, the only issue left is to ascertain who Ajay Mohan is actually working for. Whoever this might be, it’s crystal clear the beneficiary of taking votes away from Linda Whitaker is none other than former Fullerton meter maid, Vivian Jaramillo, the first and only candidate interviewed for endorsement by the Democrat Party of County. Is she involved in this fraud? She must be well-aware of it, although it’s more likely to be executed for candidate plausible deniability, as in the case of Tony Castro, by the Democrat Party itself.

August 13, 2024August 13, 2024Ahmad Zahra

Ad Hoc Tuah, Part Two-ah

by The Fullerton Harpoon18 Comments

If I knew what I was talking about this wouldn’t be Fullerton!

One week ago, true to form, the City created the “ad hoc” finance committee proposed by Councilperson Shana Charles to study Fullerton’s financial fiasco – an ocean of red ink.

The vote was 3-2.

Councilman Fred Jung who supported this proposal spoke of “resident input” as if that were something never tried before.

Ahmad Zahra pretended to be of two minds regarding this committee, citing earlier, phony push polls as proof of Fullerton’s thirst to be taxed more. But he was really all for it – gotta keep the sales tax idea on a burner. He virtually admitted that a tax was his goal.

Predictably in her comments, Charles gushed at Fullerton’s untapped well of civilian brainpower (why goodness, two actual professors showed up earlier in the meeting!) as a source of brilliant budget-closing ideas. Of course she misused the term “holistic” several times, but, whatever.

At first Bruce Whitaker offered that he had no objection to this committee, per se, but pointed out that previous fiscal ideas presented by the so-called INRAC citizen’s panel had been ignored by the City Council.

This idea was echoed by Mayor Nick Dunlap, who pointed out the obvious – that this committee had no other purpose than to keep the dream of a sales tax increase alive. He opined that it was City staff’s job to come up with ideas and plans for fiscal sustainability (a euphemism coughed up by Charles) presented to the City Council. This of course is the way it should be, although the irony that his staff failed miserably at this very task over the past year seemed to have escaped the notice of our mayor.

Dunlap’s statements convinced Whitaker to oppose creation of the committee.

Charles responded to her colleagues, by disingenuously acknowledging her recognition that a sales tax increase was not inevitable, a completely irrelevant observation intended to prove her “holistic” bona fides.

A lady named Maureen Milton called in, wanting some reassurance that the meetings of the committee would be open to the public.

The milquetoast was no longer even warm…

Our esteemed City Manager quickly muttered that the meetings would be noticed and public, but whether that half-hearted affirmation will be effected remains to be seen.

And so Fullerton has another of its footling and futile committees, five souls, one appointed by each councilmember. This is all being uber-rushed so that appointments will be made a week from today, on August 20th, so that the sales tax solution indoctrination can begin as soon as possible.

August 10, 2024City Council Election 2024

Council Election Field Set. Who’s Who in The Zoo

by Grover Cleveland19 Comments

The Fullerton City Council election race slate of candidates was completed yesterday. So we know who’s running and what they are calling themselves these days. The candidate statements on the City Clerk website are somewhat revealing.

It looks like the most interesting race is in the 4th District where the incumbent, Bruce Whitaker is termed out. His wife, Linda, is running to replace him. She has name recognition, for sure which has no doubt caused alarm in the dungeons of OC DEM headquarters.

The DEM Central’s endorsed candidate is someone we know – Vivian Jaramillo, a retired purveyor of parking tickets and a code enforcement busy-body. She calls herself a “Retired Preservation Officer” (but admits in her grievance statement to be a “code enforcement officer”) which is meant to convey nothing except that maybe she was some sort of cop instead of what she really was.

Another candidate is Jamie Valencia, a “Registered Nurse” which is doubly good: a Latino name and a profession that requires training, diligence, and patience. I don’t know anything about her, yet, but this could be a real surprise candidate. In her rather jumbled statement she claims to be endorsed by the FPOA which is a big deal. It will be interesting to find out how that happened and to find out who the paramedics are endorsing.

The fourth candidate is named Scott Moskowitz who popped up at the very last minute out of nowhere. That’s not nearly as interesting as his ballot statement, which is wild.

Two things we know for sure. First, there’s something suspicious about this guy’s presence at the last minute, and something seems off here. The reliance on Trumpian talking points raises suspicions, such as the idea that this is a phony candidacy by an unknown just meant to attract white voters away from the other non-Latino named candidate – Linda Whitaker. And that cynicism would be very much in keeping with the recent OC Democrat Party playbook. I’m going to do a little research on this Moskowitz chap – as in who his pals are and to what party he’s registered. Maybe he’s kosher, maybe he isn’t.

The second thing we know about Moskowitz is that he can’t write or spell well. But, were these foibles intentional to enhance the redneck appeal? That would be unusually clever for the political small fry.

The 1st and 2nd District races face off incumbents Fred Jung and Nick Dunlap, against, respectively, some guy named Matt Truxaw and Jan Flory. Truxaw can be dismissed out of hand as some clown dredged up to make Jung spend some money out of his vast campaign account. That’s it. The other race features the three-time retread Jan Flory, whose mind-set is firmly locked into the 1970’s. She isn’t just antiquated, she’s mean spirited, arrogant and seems to genuinely dislike her constituents.

Flory’s ballot statement wisely omits her age since she must be an octogenarian, or very close. She touts her “experience” and mentions her esprit de corps, but omits her complicity in letting the infrastructure crumble, her dedication to taxes, and her role in approving unbalanced budgets – then lying about it.

Well, that’s story, for now. FFFF will pass along more information about Ms. Valencia and Mr. Markowitz when we learn more.

August 7, 2024August 7, 2024Ahmad Zahra

Election Sweepstakes Roll Along

by The Fullerton Harpoon18 Comments

There’s only a couple days left for candidates to file their paperwork to run for Fullerton City Council. The deadline is August 9th – unless the two incumbents in the 1st and 2nd District, Fred Jung and Nick Dunlap pull out – then there’s another week. Neither has filed their nomination documents yet.

I know who I want to work for, and it isn’t you!

Previously, two individuals turned in their nominating papers – Jan Flory, who’s been on the City Council on three different occasions, already filed to run against Dunlap Her record on the Council has been a trifecta of terribleness.

And then there’s some odd guy named Matt Truxaw who had filed for the 1st District to run against Jung. He seems like a sucker set up for the steamroller.

And now a third candidate has made it official: Linda Whitaker, wife of outgoing Councilman Bruce Whitaker, in the 4th District. Oddly, Ms. Whitaker has listed no occupation which is extremely unusual, not even a “retired” this or that. Does it matter that much? Maybe not. Flory calls herself a “retired family lawyer” which may not be helpful since people generally don’t have happy experiences in family court.

Finally, a new potential candidate has taken out papers to run in the 4th. The name is Scott Moskewitz, someone none of us have heard of. There is a 67 year-old Scott Moskowitz who lives on Woodcrest Drive. I have to wonder if this person isn’t simply a plant, an obscure name on a ballot meant to draw votes away from the only person in the race at this point without a Spanish surname – Linda Whitaker.

We all remember 2022 when the Democrat Party of OC set up a guy named Tony Castro to draw Latino votes away from Oscar Valadez in support of non-Latino Ahmad Zahra. Mr. Moskowitz pulled his papers very late – two days ago which may indicate a certain strategy. We shall see if he is in by Friday afternoon.

August 6, 2024August 6, 2024Ahmad Zahra

Ad Hoc Tuah Coming

by The Fullerton Harpoon13 Comments

You read that right. This evening the Fullerton City Council is being asked to create an “ad hoc” committee that would spend the next nine months considering our financial situations, and, presumably, making recommendations for next year’s budget hearings. The idea came from Councilmember Charles, supported by Councilman Fred Jung.

The fact that Charles initiated this process is telling. Her only observable skill on the City Council is to keep things the bureaucracy wants alive, alive.

And what they want is a recommendation to put a sales tax on the ballot at a 2025 special election.

The object here is simple. Keep talking about a 13% sales tax increase, a tax whose campaign the “public safety” unions will pay for and that might pass a 50% threshold in a low turn out special election.

When and where will this committee meet? Who knows? One thing is sure, meetings won’t be easy to find, and will likely take place midday somewhere – like a broom closet at the Fullerton Physical Plant.

According to our crack legal team of the I Can’t Believe It’s a Law Firm” of Jones and Meyer, “temporary” ad hoc committees are not subject to the Brown Act – California’s open meeting laws. Our City Manager, the hapless Eric Levitt, promises real hard to “notice” us peons, but wants to maintain “flexibility” to accomplish the “work” requested.

Of course that work is to work on the committee members to come to the right conclusion – a tax to fix the dire fiscal cliff years of pandering to the cops and the paramedics has created.

I sure hope that Nick Dunlap and Bruce Whitaker will see what’s going on; and that Fred Jung was just having some fun with pro-tax Charles. But then again, Fullerton, being Fullerton, has been known for this sort of thing: stalling, obfuscating, temporizing, hoodwinking, and generally doing the stupid thing in the end.

August 5, 2024August 5, 2024Ahmad Zahra

Walk on Wilshire Inspires Fraud

by Mr. Peabody29 Comments

Just when you imagine that those purveyors of idiocy, The Fullerton Observer, can’t get any more entangled in making the news, they excel themselves. And by excel I mean fraud.

Saskia sez why write about news when you can try to make your own?! (Photo by Julie Leopo/Voice of OC)

A Friend sent in an image of the latest paper copy of the Observer showing an unattributed ad for the money pit known as the Walk on Wilshire.

It’s intentionally fraudulent.

The effort is intended to stir up support for the street closure that right now is on life support, having been given only a three month reprieve by the City Council in July, while the bureaucrats stumble around looking for plausible reasons besides self-interest to keep it going.

The scam here is to suggest that the businesses listed get some benefit from the Wilshire Avenue street closure that so far has only one dedicated participant after four years – Mulberry Street. That’s just an oblique lie. Some of these businesses aren’t even on Wilshire, or even close to it; and others inside the Villa del Sol have no practical proximity to the street even if they wanted to play along with this money-losing, make-work charade characterized as “business development.” There are even two salons listed, the connective tissue to WoW so tenuous as to be transparent.

And the worst part is, there are several business listed here who are actively opposed the the street closure. Their phone numbers are printed here, presumably so that Observers can call them up and harass them into supporting the continuation of this nonsense. Did the Observer obtain permission from these businesses to use as a prop in the propaganda campaign? Wanna bet on that?

Things never looked better for Fullerton.

This is the sort of behavior that has the hallmark of the Fullerton Observer over the years, amateurism blended with vitriol for anybody that doesn’t bend the knee to the bureaucrats in City Hall, and weird leftist ideology.

August 5, 2024August 5, 2024Fullerton BooHoo

Kitty Takes A Walk

by The Fullerton Shadow18 Comments

Sweating bullets doesn’t conjure up an attractive image. You can join her on Saturday.

August 2, 2024August 5, 2024Bad Cop

The Charge of the Light Brigade

by Mr. Peabody60 Comments

So, according to the article these ponies and their associated costs are to be paid for by the cops themselves. Their horsing around to take place in addition to their regular duties. This makes one feel less aggrieved about the maintenance cost, but I have to wonder if this implies additional pay since the union would not like their boys working for free. Perhaps this is considered to have PR value.

Believe it or not, Fullerton now has an equestrian cop unit.

What’s that you say? Why? Why the Hell on Earth?

I don’t know why, but I know it’s true because Orange County Register thief/scribe Lou Ponsi says so. You may remember Lou from his role as apologist for the FPD after six of their gang murdered Kelly Thomas in July, 2011. Before that he gained local fame by stealing a story from FFFF and pretending it was his.

Why, during the influx of an immense ocean of red ink Fullerton has assembled a horse troop is beyond me. Horses need to be fed, sheltered and given adequate veterinary care (one hopes), and the use of them on Fullerton trails is completely unnecessary. Five cops on ponies is five less than could be patrolling Fullerton’s streets. (See addendum, above)

Will these bold equestrians be patrolling the Trail to Nowhere? Of course not.

Maybe they’re there for riot control, since a 900 lbs. horse is a substantial deterrent to all those rioters Fullerton deals with on a regular basis.

Whatever the the pretext for this nonsense, one wonders if this deployment was actually approved by our City Council. It hardly matters, does it?

I love the cowboy hats. A true sign that the spirit of the Old West, despite Doc Heehaw’s plea for “New West” behavior, is alive and well.

August 1, 2024August 1, 2024Ahmad Zahra

She’s In! The Return Of Jan Flory

by The Fullerton Harpoon26 Comments

A week or so ago FFFF reported that Jan Flory, the elderly, humorless scold who has been on the Fullerton City Council three times had taken out nominating papers to run this fall in the 2nd District.

FFFF rejoiced.

We didn’t necessarily think she’d go through with it, what with her pushing 80 years old, her historic constituency dying off, and running against the popular and well-financed Mayor, Nick Dunlap. Still the prospect of having Flory around gave hope for all sorts of blogging fun – once again reciting her horrendous pro-tax, pro-corruption record.

And now we learn that Mrs. Flory has indeed returned her nominating papers and is in the process of creating a new campaign committee.

Well, done, Jan, say I. Your record of “public service” is in a class by itself.

You were the one who approved the budget busting 3@50 retroactive pension bonanza to cops and paramedics.

You were the one who enthusiastically supported the illegal water tax.

You were the one who supported Measure S, the foolish sales tax effort.

You were the one who supported the ill-conceived Utility Tax, and wished it had been double,

You were the one who approved years of red ink budgets and lied about them to the public.

You were the one who cut a slimy deal with Ahmad Zahra to deny the citizens of Fullerton a chance to vote on a replacement for Jesus Quirk Silva.

You were the one who refused to create a citizens commission to reform the Culture of Corruption in the Fullerton Police Department.

You were the one who defended the Three Bald Tires in the wake of the Kelly Thomas murder by the cops. You called them honorable men.

You were the one to sneer and deprecate your own constituents if they dared criticize or complain about the actions of your beloved “staff.”

You were the one to support every Redevelopment boondoggle and every massive, over-built apartment block.

And of course the list goes on and on and on.

And so once again, FFFF says thank you, God!