OC Human Relations Commission Working Hard, But For Who?

By Friend Helen Logan.

Our $300,000 tax dollars a year working hard for us?

I found this article in the PR Newswire, United Business Media dated 17th June 2010.

“This was an invaluable opportunity for our mediators to experience the common physical and emotional challenges that are a part of the aging process,” said Mike Finkle, Human Relations Specialist for OC Human Relations. “For awhile, our mediators were able to, nearly literally, ‘take a walk in the shoes’ of seniors and others who live with such challenges every day.

To simulate experiencing the difficulties of living with arthritis, for example, program participants were asked to don heavy, clumsy gloves and then button their shirts or open medication bottles and handle small pills. Participants also put popcorn in their shoes and walked around to simulate the feeling of painful joints.”

The Orange County Human Relations Commission, a dinosaur agency foisted upon  tax payers for thirty years, again shows how negligible its services are to our community.

Orange County Human Relations Specialist Mike Finkle, an employee of this commission, earns his tax dollar subsidized paycheck by walking around a room with popcorn in his shoes and attempting to button his shirt and open pill bottles while wearing, thick, clumsy gloves.

When will our county government leaders wise up to this sham agency and pull the plug on funding this silly tax dollar subsidized commission and its executive director who pulls down a six figure salary.

Our economic crisis that experts predict will be a double-dip recession, forces our county government to cut needed police and fire protection to Orange County’s residents. Yet, our county’s board of supervisors is afraid to stop funding this piece of fluff called the Orange County Human Relations Commission.

I believe most will agree with me when I say I would rather have more police or fire protection in Orange County than a person walking around with popcorn in his shoes who puts on thick, clumsy gloves to button his shirt.

For our county board of supervisors to have credibility with the voters, they must sensibly act and trim the real fat from government by cutting funding to the Orange County Human Relations Commission.

Doug Chaffee Announces Candidacy For City Council

Third time's the charm?

Aha! Our old acquaintance Doug Chaffee has announced he is running again for Fullerton City Council. He must feel that the number of vacancies this fall will improve his chances. His two prior forays into elective politics were expensive and disastrous.

Anyhoo, here’s the announcement:

NEWS RELEASE

FROM: CHAFFEE FOR COUNCIL

Contact: Paulette Marshall, (714) 529-4513; chaffeemar@earthlink.net

CHAFFEE WILL SEEK SEAT ON FULLERTON CITY COUNCIL

Fullerton, CA, June 22, 2010.  Doug Chaffee will file papers with the Fullerton City Clerk indicating that he will seek a seat on the city council. The general election is scheduled for November 2, 2010. In announcing his candidacy, Chaffee said that he is extremely concerned about the city’s financial situation, which has resulted in diminished city services.

“My campaign will emphasize sustainable financing for the city and restoring a sense of inclusiveness, openness and civility among the people who work, live, and serve our city. There are many challenges facing Fullerton. I want to hear from the community – residents, homeowners and businesses. I’m a good listener and welcome everyone’s ideas. Working together, we can create common sense solutions to the economic and social challenges that face Fullerton.”

A business attorney who has practiced law in downtown Fullerton for more than 40 years, Chaffee is a graduate of Fullerton Union High School, University of Redlands (BA Economics), and Northwestern University School of Law. He lives in Fullerton with his wife, Paulette, and sons Marshall and Adam.

Chaffee is vice chair of the Fullerton Planning Commission and past president of Fullerton United Way and Sunrise Rotary Club. He serves on the board of directors, North Orange County YMCA and the Advisory Board of Fullerton Interfaith Emergency Service. He is a member of Friends of Jazz and the Sierra Club.

He can be reached at (714) 726-0521 or chaffeemar@earthlink.net.

END

We received this notice in an e-mail from a Chaffee volunteer who hopes FFFF will be fair to Mr. Chaffee.

Well, hell, we’re always fair.

Anyway, about Chaffee: he is one of those unrepentant liberals who almost always seems to believe government knows best. On the other hand his position on the City’s doling out entitlements on massive projects with gleeful abandon has been better than others.

In the past some of us meanies have singled out Chaffee as the recipient of our acerbic affections. This time? Who knows? We’ll have to see how good, or bad, the ultimate crop of candidates is.

Hypocrite Hugh Hewitt Says “Enough”

Oh, I'm so happy!

Okay Friends, fight the gag reflex as you peruse this column written in something called The Washington Examiner under the by line of Hugh Hewitt, sanctimonious repuglican blabbermouth. I say “under the by line” because we recently disclosed how this allegedly literate yakmouth had stuff written for him by Children and Families Commission Scribe/Flack and $200 an hour Toothbrush Distributor, Matthew J. Cunningham, and it would now be risky to assume Hewitt writes anything for himself.

Hugh is a very busy man. He can't write all that stuff himself!

“Enough!” Hewitt loudly admonishes his ignorant readers at the end of his drivel. Ignorant? How so?

If they are reading anything attributed to this hypocrite they are almost certainly unaware that he serves on the biggest Tax and Redistributionist Commission in the history of California – the OC Children and Families Commission; and no doubt unaware that his words may very well be written by someone else – Cunningham, perhaps – his protege, and the fellow whose $200,000-a-year PR contract with the Commission Hewitt annually votes to approve.

Yuck.

Another Fabulous “First Five” F-up

The Face of First Five: Go ahead, keep blogging. Just more work for me.

FFFF has documented how the Orange County version of Meathead Rob Reiner’s First Five Commission known as “The OC Children and Families Commission” has squandered hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past several years on PR and lobbying contracts to political operatives. We have shared how the Riverside County chapter of the Tax and Redistribute Society was busted for numerous conflicts of interest and was finally corralled by the RC Board of Supervisors. Here’s a link generously provided by Friend “Max” to a news report in May about the Contra Costa County Grand Jury about more misbehavin’ by their First Five Commission.

The key recommendation is the employment, by competitive bid, of an independent external auditor (i.e. not hired by the staff and Chairman with a wink and a nod) to clean up the cronyism and self-interest.

I really have to wonder what would happen if all 58 county grand juries did their jobs vis-a-vis the First Five Commissions. Would a single county emerge unscathed from political corruption and “jobs for the boys” kickdowns of the sort we’ve seen right here in OC? Or Riverside? Or Contra Costa?

Doubtful. The corruption is probably endemic.

Jobs Jobs Jobs!

That was Hide and Seek Sidhu’s campaign mantra. And it seems as if his pals at the OCEA are serious about creating jobs, too. Here is an entry from craigslist a helpful Friend forwarded:

Communications Coordinator

Date: 2010-06-23,  9:07AM

The Orange County Employees Association was established in 1937 and represents many employees of the County of Orange and numerous cities and districts in Orange County.  We are looking for a person with creative and organized thinking, excellent multi-tasking skills, outgoing personality and a desire for a career in a people-oriented field.  This position requires an enthusiastic individual, self-motivated, who strives to get the job done right, exercises good judgment, pays attention to detail, and is always willing to learn something new.  We are located in Santa Ana and would prefer that the successful candidate live within 20 miles of our office.

Job Expectations:

Under limited supervision, provide a wide variety of moderately complex communication services, including but not limited to developing a quarterly magazine, updating website content, writing articles, and administering election campaigns. Required to have an in-depth knowledge of journalism principles and practices and English composition.

•    Must have some journalistic experience and be able to demonstrate the ability to write in a clear, concise, creative and expeditious manner.

•    In a very fast paced environment, have the ability to be well organized, creative, remember complex tasks and follow through daily, weekly, monthly, and annually.

•    Supervise and work closely with Communications Coordinator (Graphic Designer).

•    Serve as Senior Editor of the quarterly magazine; plan and produce each issue from beginning to end, including identifying articles, writing articles, and developing and working with others regarding ideas for magazine layout.  Work closely with printing company and post office.

•    Manage website content. Create content to be posted daily or weekly, ensure that the website is up-to-date. Recommend major changes to website design, direction and content to ensure it accurately represents and communicates information.

•    Must be able to work on multiple assignments simultaneously, use common sense and experience to prioritize work and budget time according to the importance of the project and the time available.  Assignments must often be completed under tight deadlines.

•    Develop and produce presentations, determine focus and format of presentations, research and develop editorial and graphic content, compile necessary materials.

•    Be highly skilled in the use of computers and the internet, with quick working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook.  Website experience highly desired.

•    Establish schedules, strategies and communications methods for providing effective communications and marketing programs that promote OCEA’s goals.

•    Consistently follow through assignments to completion, honor deadlines, be detail-oriented and punctual at all times.  When needed, work afterhours to get the job done without being asked.

•    Be willing to assist others, and commit to placing team and organizational goals ahead of personal ambition.

•    Must be dependable and at work each day.

•    Must have a positive attitude.

•    Work directly with staff, when needed, to proof or write necessary written materials.

•    Responsible for the gathering, preparation and control of records for the Communications Division.

•    Take photographs of a wide variety of onsite and offsite meetings, activities and events.

•    May serve as member of a team on communications-related projects.

If you are interested in this exciting opportunity, please email your resume with a cover letter that includes salary history, and samples of your writing to employment@oceamember.org.  We offer competitive salary with excellent benefits.  No phone calls please.

Compensation: Competitive salary, paid medical, 12 holidays, sick time, comp time, 401k matching, pension
Principals only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.
Please, no phone calls about this job!
Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

Hmm. I got to thinking about this, and a natural candidate came to mind. Aw, come on. You were thinking the same thing, right? Go ahead, admit it:

I can do that...

Of course they will not be paying anybody 200 simoleons an hour, but hey, in this downturn a job’s a job, right?

Pacific Strategies – A Few Days In The Life

Hey, I got kids in expensive schools!

Check this out. Here are a few days in the life of supposed conservative pontificator, Matthew J. Cunningham as he dishes out his stellar wordsmithing on behalf of the uber-liberal Prop 10 funded “OC Children and Families Commission.”

I’ll let you tally up the big bucks this hypocrite pulled down doing battle with the forces of…well, forces like the “Flash Report” of which he was a blogger, its editor Jon Fleischman, and of course those insensitive beasts at the OC Register.

And be sure to enjoy that monthly $800 catchall bill for, well, who knows what it’s for? Just stuff. But Hell, when you’re milking the cash cow be sure never to leave anything on the table, right?

God-Awful Godfrey Making A Comeback?

Comin' out of retirement!

Word on Commonwealth Avenue is that former Council member Peter Godfrey is contemplating a return to the ring of elected politics in Fullerton. True? I don’t know, but I do know that the Establishment Repuglicans need to start lining up some plausible ‘pugs to go for the new openings, and the usual Dick Ackerman/Ed Royce RINO tribe  is almost exhausted.

For those who don’t remember Peter Godfrey’s hollow, staff-stooge tenure on the council in the mid-90s, we noted his presence, here, to cheerlead for Fullerton’s Redevelopment expansion. That alone should suffice to present an adequate political character profile of Our Man Godfrey.

Also of note is the fact that he was nominated for a 2009 Fringie Award in the category of Scariest Ghost of Fullerton Past. He might well have have won, too, if not for the horrifying appearance of his old pal, Linda LeQuire (shudder).

Well, we knew the ‘Pugs had to come up with somebody, no matter how cadaverous, but Godfrey? Yikes.

The Voice of OCEA Provides Forum For – OCEA

Bloggers of the world arise...

If you needed any more evidence of the evident symbiosis between the The Voice of OC and it’s paymaster, Nick “Bullhorn” Berardino of the OCEA union you need look no farther this blog post by Norberto Santa. Please notice that 30 of the 31 comments are just pro-union/OCEA propaganda. 30 of 31.

Aw, c'mon Norberto, nobody's buying that...

Could Berardino be instructing his troops to frequent the union-sponsored blog just to keep the traffic up? Why not? It’s all one big, happy family, and The Voice never claimed to be objective – just non-profit.