Friends For Fullerton's Future – Page 248 – FFFF supports causes that promote intelligent, responsible and accountable government in Fullerton and Orange County

October 9, 2010October 11, 2010Boohooism

The “Honorable” Jan Flory, et al.

JanFlory'sDog — No, no, put down that broomstick!

Looking down from doggie heaven on you folks I get some interesting perspectives on things. Like right now Fullerton has not a single female liberal running for the city council.

Back in 1982 & 86 it was everyone’s fave featherhead, Molly McClanahan; in 1988 it was Maryevelyn Bryden, a humorless old bat who was trounced by the still marginally cogent Bankhead; in 1992 it was my former broomstick wielding mistress, Jan Flory, who was chain-whipped by the incomprehensible Julie Sa; in 1994, 1998, and 2002 Flory ran again and actually won a couple of times. In 2004 and 2006 Sharon Quirk and Pam Keller emerged, right on cue to claim their liberal XX chromosonal birthright. In 2008 it was the hapless Karen Haluza.

But now, in 2010? Nobody. The closest thing the Fullerton liberal crowd can point to is Doug Chaffee. And he isn’t a woman.

But wait! All is not lost! There’s always the hand-picked Ed Royce candidate and darling of the Dick Ackerman/dim-bulb Federated Republican Women crowd: Patrick McKinley.

On September 7, Jan Flory gave McKinley $200 – more than she spent on dog food for me in ten years. McKinley’s website also boasts the endorsement of McClanahan, too. So what gives?

Are the Fullerton Dems so sad and pathetic that they have to go along with Royce and Ackerman tools, the same repuglican goons who have worked so tirelessly for decades to undermine Democrat candidates and electeds? Remember that Ed Royce was the sole creator of Leland Wilson who knocked off the liberal beloved Flory in 2002.

And you know, now that I come come to think of it, I have to wonder if these endorsements don’t say just as much about McKinley as they do Flory and McClananhan. Hmm.

October 9, 2010October 9, 2010Fullerton 2010

Barry Speaks: Redevelopment Loans and the Lack of Public Input

by Travis13 Comments

This just came in from council candidate Barry Levinson:

Last Tuesday night was the vote on the issuance of housing bonds by the RDA in the amount not to exceed $29 million. The Mayor spoke and indicated that there will be no public comments on this issue.

The city attorney right before the vote was to begin, rightly reminded Mayor Bankhead that since the people cannot vote on whether or not to approve the bond issue, we should at least be allowed to voice our non-binding opinions.

Here are some of my comments I presented to the council:

Mayor and council shame on all of you for almost forfeiting our right as Fullertonians to speak out on this housing bond issuance.

We need better oversight over the RDA projects. The city council and the rest of the RDA should not be the ones policing themselves.

The RDA is the only taxing authority that requires no voter approval. We as taxpayers, S/B given more information and more time to review these bond measures before it comes to a vote by council.

Since there will be 2 possibly 3 new council members as of November 2, I suggested that this item be postponed to after the next election.

The council’s answers largely were defensive. No one touched on the third rail issue of no voter participation! Mayor Bankhead remained conspicuously quiet throughout the council’s responses to our objections.

And there you go; another council meeting where our rights as citizens were eroded and $29 million was obligated by the city council without a single vote cast by the people!

October 8, 2010October 8, 2010Fullerton 2010

Another Chi No-No: Using a Non-profit to Promote a Political Candidacy

by Travis27 Comments

Tomorrow the Roland Chi campaign is inviting supporters to an event hosted by his non-profit. Unfortunately for Chi, using a 501(c)3 non-profit organization to promote a political candidacy is illegal according to federal tax law.

Here is is in the IRS’s own words: “All 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Violations of this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.”

If Chi is using his non-profit to pump up his campaign, he could indeed have another run-in with the law. Read this press release and decide for yourself if Roland Chi’s tax-exempt status should be called into question by the IRS:

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NON-PROFIT FOUNDER ROLAND CHI TO AWARD SCHOLARSHIPS TO FULLERTON STUDENTS*Former Fullerton Mayor Buck Catlin and School Board Member Minard Duncan are attending the Fullerton Museum event this Saturday

FULLERTON – Roland Chi, City Council Candidate and Founder of The Sustainable Foundation of Orange County (SFOC), will award $1,500 in scholarship grants this Saturday, October 9, 2010, to the winners of the non-profit’s scholarship program. Chi will be joined by special guest community leaders, former Fullerton Mayor Buck Catlin and School Board Trustee Member Minard Duncan at the Fullerton Museum Center, located at 301 North Pomona Avenue in Fullerton. The event will begin at 9:30 a.m. and is open to the public, offering a free continental breakfast for guests in attendance. For further information and to view the event invitation, please visit www.rolandchi.com/events.

SFOC is a 501(c)3, non-profit organization dedicated to community development and supporting public service minded youth. SFOC Scholarships are available each year during the academic spring semester, inviting all southern California high school seniors to apply. Application and scholarship information can be found at www.scf-oc.org.

The Scholarship Review Committee evaluates candidates by their leadership and involvement in community activities, academic achievement, difficulty of coursework, letters of recommendation, and statement of purpose articulating the student’s future goals.

“We received many qualified applications, and it was very encouraging to see so many young students who had such high ambitions and passion to serve the community. The recipients of these awards all overcame unique hardships, achieved high scholastic marks, and showed exceptional promise for future success in public sector.”

This year, Michelle Cho, a Sunny Hills High School Valedictorian, will be awarded the highest scholarship of $1000. Cho is attending University of California Los Angeles and majoring in Anthropology. A scholarship of $500 will also be awarded to Fullerton High School graduate Ana Coria, who is attending University of California Riverside.

Candidate Chi, on behalf of SFOC, would like to thank all scholarship applicants and the Fullerton community for their support. For further information about Fullerton City Council candidate Roland Chi’s platform, additional endorsements, and upcoming events please visit www.rolandchi.com.

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October 8, 2010October 8, 2010Fullerton 2010

Marty’s Commercial

by Travis11 Comments

Here’s the ad that Marty Burbank has been running on local cable channels:

Getting government out of the way so businesses can flourish seems to be a popular message this year. Local business owners love to share their city hall horror stories, providing ample fodder for candidates willing to speak out against the bureaucratic nightmare that Don Bankhead has excused for decades.

It’s just too bad guys like Marty can’t extend that “get government out of the way” concept to the redevelopment agency, which harms the local economy in much the same way through economic interference, crony capitalism and the diversion of tax dollars from core services.

Oh well. Getting it half-right is better than nothing.

October 7, 2010October 7, 2010Fullerton 2010

Not From Around Here: 96% of Chi Donations Come from Outside of Fullerton

by Travis10 Comments

People usually donate to local campaigns because they have a vested interest in the future of that city. Most would say that they are hoping to contribute to good governance. A few of them might have a monetary gain in mind. Either way, the majority of funding for Fullerton campaigns comes from Fullerton residents and businesses themselves.

Roland Chi is the exception. His first campaign statement was turned in yesterday, and it shows that 96.5% of his campaign donations came from businesses and residents who don’t have much to do with Fullerton at all. Here’s the breakout:

Of course, every candidate has a few friends living elsewhere who are eager to help out, but the disparity of Chi’s campaign funding should raise a few eyebrows.

Why are these donors suddenly interested in what happens to Fullerton? Do they really care about our city? Probably not.

October 6, 2010October 6, 2010Friends Around the World

Fullerton Friends Around the World

by admin23 Comments

Papuan highlands headman B’rni (Barney) Wewak, former international exchange student at Troy High School in 1974 and well-remembered for his fondness of pop tarts and synthesized jazz, shares an enlightenting FFFF blog post with clan members just prior to the traditional head gathering foray that marks the beginning of the taro harvest and grub hunt.

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 5, 2010Fullerton 2010

Will Redevelopment Borrow Another $29,000,000 Tonight?

by Greg Sebourn17 Comments

Acting as the Redevelopment Agency, the City Council will be voting on a $29,000,000 bond tonight. City staff estimate the total cost to taxpayers for the bond at about $45,500,000 over the next 16 years. $45.5-million! The RDA is the only agency that can issue bonds without voter approval. It is completely unethical for our elected council members to break out the taxpayers’ credit card while our library’s hours are reduced, workers are furloughed, and employees salaries are cut. Shame on the Redevelopment Agency staff and shame on any council member who votes for this bond!

Why should we be upset about the RDA spending $29,000,000? Because, as the OC Register reported in July, the Fullerton Redevelopment Agency spent $22,700,000 to evict 600 low-income residents, bulldoze their homes to make room for a few low-income condos. This is on top of another half-baked idea to move a McDonald’s 150 feet at a cost of $6,000,000 to taxpayers. $6-million to move a burger stand 150 feet! Fortunately, the RDA gave into public pressure and the project was shot down.

Some council candidates like to point at Downtown Fullerton as a shining example of the great work Redevelopment does. Indeed it is. Had we not “revitalized” our downtown, we would have fewer calls for police and fire to respond to drunk and disorderly conduct.

Please take a minute to think about the untold damage done by our own City Hall under the direction of our City Council, often acting as the Redevelopment Agency.

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.

Here’s the post on the website, just in case you’re interested in enjoying the SBPD union’s take on their beloved leader.

Well, we got rid of him, at least.

Update – the link is broken. Here is a back up copy.

October 4, 2010December 15, 2010Fullerton 2010

Paranoid McKinley Puts $500 Bounty on His Opponents After Ice Pick Incident

by Travis26 Comments

Check out this odd blob from Frank Mickadiet. According to ex-chief Pat McKinley, some vandal ice picked the Kevlar-lined gas tank on his F-150 a few weeks ago, dumping his fuel onto the street.

OK, that’s unfortunate. But here’s the strange part: McKinley believes that this act was committed by one of his political opponents.

mckinley-she-bear — You're lucky the She Bear didn't catch you.

Even softball Mickadiet can’t resist pointing out that McKinley sounds a bit paranoid. Take a look at the guys he’s running against and try to figure out which one of them would be capable of such a stupid stunt.

Nevertheless, McKinley is now offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator.