Friends For Fullerton's Future

June 1, 2010June 1, 2010Orange County Government

An urgent message from Bill Hunt

Just passing along this letter from Bill Hunt:

STAND UP FOR THE RULE OF LAW AND PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR VOTE IS

Dear Friends and Supporters,

There is a concerted effort by my two opponents to falsely attack me and to try to derail the momentum my campaign is enjoying-thanks to your support. These are the same people that supported and worked for the convicted criminal, Mike Carona. They are employing the same dirty tactics they did last time which was distort the truth, invent “outrage”, and throw everything at me including the kitchen sink to see what would stick. All this to protect their candidate and their interests in the corrupt Carona Administration.

The People vs. The Establishment

Besides a negative hit-piece earlier this week by the Hutchens camp, Team Carona/Team Hunter sent out a ridiculous e-mail blast claiming my campaign has “imploded”. They have orchestrated and coordinated a political attack on my objective work as a Private Investigator on behalf of an individual who was arrested by Santa Ana Police and accused of a specific crime the facts indicated he did not commit. The Rule of Law is being tossed aside for a Code of Silence by SAPD Chief Paul Walters and DA Spokesperson Susan Kang Schroeder. (Both are declared staunch supporters of my political opponents, a fact conveniently omitted in the news accounts of this matter.) These two were trying to be both judge and jury before the case was even heard in court! Now that their actions and motives are being further looked at they are trying to accuse me of being sympathetic toward gang members….Nothing could be further from the truth! What I AM sympathetic towards is our Constitution and The People’s Bill of Rights; specifically in this case, our Fifth Amendment right to due process and our Sixth Amendment right to a defense when charged with a crime.

To quote Mark Twain, “The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated!”

Thanks to your efforts and support and in contrast to my opponent’s lies, my campaign received almost $80,000 from 3/18 to 5/22 and the contributions continue to come in. We also recently picked up four more endorsements from groups with a common denominator: The Rights of The People! As the Constitutional Candidate in this race, I am humbled and thankful for their support. I am proud to say I am the only Candidate in this race that has active, aggressive support from volunteers and the momentum only continues to grow as we get closer to Election Day.

That being said, I need your help; we can take nothing for granted. I need to raise $25,000 in the next few days so I can continue to effectively battle the lies and distortions being hurled upon me by both Sandra Hutchens and Craig Hunter. This is our chance for They’re scared with good reason. You, the People, are supporting me and they will say and do anything to try to erode that support. Will you please go to my website and contribute whatever you can to help me fight on your behalf? Will you also please forward this message to your family members and friends with an urgent note to ask them to do the same?

If we all pull together over the next week, we can win this Election on June 8th. Thank you for standing with me.

May 31, 2010May 31, 2010About Us

Memorial Day Questions

by admin7 Comments

We received this letter from an anonymous person who raises some serious questions that we should ask ourselves on this Memorial Day and every day as well:

Can we honor our heroes who’ve fallen in distant lands and still question the politicians who put them there? Should failed foreign policies be allowed to hide behind patriotism?

The Greatest Generation needed Pearl Harbor before fighting World War II. Would many of them have bought the rationale for invading Iraq?

How can those who don’t trust the federal government to run health care still trust it to run Iraq and Afghanistan? How can those so critical of Obama’s domestic power grab not criticize his sending 30,000 more troops to prop up Karzai?

How did the Neo-Cons (McCain, Cheney, Palin, Krauthammer, Wolfowitz, Perl, etc.) hijack conservatism for a vast expansion of deficit spending on ill-conceived foreign wars?

Can Ron and Rand Paul remind their Tea Party followers that open-ended foreign military commitments were never envisioned or sanctioned by our constitutional framers?

The British numbered their Afghanistan fiascoes: First, Second and Third Afghan Wars. They all ended the same. They never tried a Fourth. Can we learn from them?

When will any of the anti-deficit Republicans running to face Boxer question the $900 billion in deficit spending so far in Iraq and Afghanistan?

As John Quincy Adams said, “America does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy. We are the supporters of freedom for all but the defenders only of our own”. Should these words still apply? Are their prudent limits on what, where and how we should use military strength?

If our purpose is to extend freedom, why has our Iraqi regime forced half the Christians to flee and our Afghan clients suppress religious freedom entirely?

In honoring all those who fought in our wars, can we also question the limits of military force in achieving political ends? Can we remember that no soldier or general ever got us into war, but civilian authorities–here and abroad? The biggest tribute we can give all who served is to use their lives wisely and only when a clear goal can be achieved.

May 31, 2010May 31, 2010Arts & Architecture

Should We Subsidize the Muck?

by admin7 Comments

We received this letter from a “Mr. Ed” on the subject of the the Muckenthaler Cultural Center:

The Fullerton City Council will hold their final meetings on the fiscal year 2011 budget on June 1 & 2. I am aware of one contentious item on the agenda: elimination of the $80,000 annual cash grant to the Muckenthaler Center Cultural Foundation (MCCF). It should be noted the $80,000 cash grant is part of the City’s support which totals about $200,000 a year.

At the first budget meeting in March the Parks & Recreation Department proposed cuts to all groups under its jurisdiction, i.e., youth sports programs (Little League, Pop Warner, Rangers Soccer, etc.), Senior Citizens Center, Fullerton Museum Center, and MCCF, to name a few. The MCCF was the only group that objected, claiming they were being unfairly singled out. All other groups realized the magnitude of the situation the City was facing and accepted what was being proposed.

At the March meetings councilwomen Quirk and Keller were supportive of the cut for the MCCF: Quirk for the full $80,000 being proposed by Parks & Recreation and Keller for a $40,000 reduction. Councilmen Bankhead and Jones were against any cuts but seemed to indicate they could go along with a $20,000 reduction. Councilman Nelson suggested exploring some alternatives for privatizing the Senior Center and the City’s cultural programs.

Privatization is not the answer. The MCCF was privatized 16 years ago. In 1994 Fullerton ceded control of the facility to the MCCF. The City retained ownership and maintenance responsibility of the grounds and building. At that time the MCCF stated they could run the facility more cheaply and efficiently if the City was not involved. All they needed was three years of financial support from the City and after that they would be on their own.

Sixteen years later the MCCF is still on the dole to the extent of about $200,000 per year. The city has spent over $3,000,000 in support over the past 16 years with no discernible benefit to the taxpaying citizens of Fullerton.

Councilmen Bankhead and Jones felt the MCCF was not on firm financial footing and needed continued assistance from the City. The director of the MCCF was and is pleading for the public to “Save the Muck”.

The Muckenthaler does not need saving!

The last published financial statement shows the MCCF has cash and investments of $590,000 and total revenues of about $650,000. It also shows the MCCF realized a surplus of $99,000 for the fiscal year ending June 2009. Of the $650,000 in total revenues approximately $250,000 is attributable to wedding receptions Colette’s Catering, a private company, holds on the grounds of this publicly owned facility.

The current arrangement has the taxpayers subsidizing two private entities: the MCCF and Colette’s Catering. We can no longer allow this waste of taxpayers’ money to continue.

Rather than continuing the current arrangement with the MCCF a powerful case can be made that the facility should be placed back under the city’s management. This option would allow the citizens of Fullerton to benefit from the facility rental income. Another option would be for the MCCF to reimburse the City annually for the $200,000 that Fullerton spends to maintain the building and grounds. Both cases would be a net saving to the city of about $200,000 per year. This would go a long way in helping alleviate the budgetary problems we are facing.

May 31, 2010Local Media

OC Register Chooses Shawn Nelson

by Travis14 Comments

In addition to Steven Greenhut‘s op-ed on Shawn Nelson a few weeks ago, several other Register editorialists have recently decided that Shawn Nelson is the superior candidate for OC Supervisor.

Brian Calle sized up the Supervisor race in Sunday’s print edition. After looking at all three candidates, Calle determined that Sidhu is weak on pensions while Nelson is committed to bold reforms. Calle concluded that the pension issue is inarguably the most important issue facing Orange County right now, “bar none.”

John Seiler wrote on the Orange Punch blog about the $900,000 that the unions have spent trying to defeat Shawn Nelson. Seiler draws some interesting comparisons to John Moorlach’s election in 2006, when the unions also spent big money in a failed attempt to defeat a candidate who was known for being fiscally responsible. At the time, Nick Berardino called Moorlach “the biggest threat in the county to employees’ personal financial security.” Sound familiar?

We’ve been hearing the same message over and over: this race is about the clash of The Unions vs. The Rest of Us. Will that resonate with voters in 2010? Something tells me the answer is an overwhelming “yes”.

May 30, 2010May 31, 2010Orange County Government

GOP Repuglican Represents and Supports Democratic Candidate

by Greg Sebourn8 Comments

Why is John Lewis, whose own partner, VP Matt Holder, is an alternate on the OC GOP central committee supporting, endorsing, and working for a Democrat? It isn’t as if this was some up and coming blue-dog Dem that has a chance of converting to the red side either. This is the notorious Tom Daly whom FFFF has been reporting on for several months as perhaps the most egregious and dubious waster of public funds that OC tax-payers have seen in a long time, maybe ever!

Clearly John Lewis isn’t doing it because he believes his own rhetoric…or does he? This mailer/advertisement says Daly is a “tax fighter has cut wasteful spending…” I suppose John Lewis has missed the news: Tom Daly has cost OC taxpayers millions upon millions of dollars of needless spending for the sole purpose of satisfying donors, their friends, and their families.

No, I think Lewis got that memo. In fact, I think Lewis is a big part of that waste, though I don’t have any tangible proof. I have only heard the rumors about Lewis hanging around the OC Hall of Administration looking to get into the budget meetings of Daly, et al. But the new security system makes it tough to sneak in and grease the wheels of department heads. Less the contrary be shown, these are still just rumors.

Regardless, why is this former California GOP State Senator working for Daly? According to his website, Lewis has worked on sports facilities. Does that include sports museums and sports hall of fame like what Daly has been working on? One can only guess.

The only reason I bring any of this up is because the OC Register did a short piece on this. In the article, Lewis says he doesn’t know why OC Assessor Webster Guillory’s photo was not included in the ad. That seems like a big OOOPS for a firm who touts being consultants to guys like Congressman Ed Royce and Assemblyman Chris Norby. The “mistake?” seems like something a high school intern might make, not a big time GOP (sometimes Democratic) consultant might make. So what gives?

And I haven’t even mentioned Sandra Hutchens, who, according to the Press Telegram, hired Gilliard-Blanning as her political consultant. I tell you, some of these “Republicans” sure get around. Maybe Guillory should call Gilliard so he can get his face out there to voters. Until then, here is Webster Guillory.

May 29, 2010May 29, 2010Behind Closed Doors

Greenhut: Unions use malleable Sidhu to flex power

by Travis2 Comments

Steven Greenhut just put out an impressive piece on the why the public employee unions are throwing everything they can behind Harry Sidhu.

While explaining Sidhu’s appeal to the union bosses, Greenhut writes:

Sidhu has no obvious principles that I can detect. He has agreed to drop OC’s lawsuit against the 2001 retroactive pension hike for deputy sheriffs, which has earned him the unending loyalty of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs. He supports the high-speed rail boondoggle. He would not support the Prop. 90 eminent-domain reform. He talks like a conservative at times, but that’s typical in OC — talk like a conservative, then vote like a liberal on the really important stuff.

He closes with this excellent summation of consequences from an (unlikely) Sidhu victory:

If Sidhu wins in Orange County, then the unions will have won an enormous victory in arguably the most union-unfriendly area in the state. They will have made their point loud and clear: If you stand up to us, we will defeat you and will elect our own hand-picked candidate. Forget about pension reform and other union reform issues if they hold sway.

You can read the rest of “Unions use malleable Sidhu to flex power” on Greenhut’s CalWatchdog website.

May 29, 2010May 29, 2010Dead heads

CRA Funny Times – What A Difference 2 Years Makes

by Mr. Peabody32 Comments

Here’s another pearl from a recent Sidhu mailer, purportedly penned by some guy named Karl Heft, who revels in the title of Vice President of the CRA (California Republican Assembly):

“…Harry is a candidate we can trust to uphold our conservative Republican values.”

Um, gee, Karl, what values would those be? Carpetbaggery? Perjury? Perpetual public office hunting? Clearly the CRA endorsement, for what its worth, can be obtained by anybody. And just to enjoy the hypocrisy of the bestowers and the receiver, read on.

Harry'sFriend — I did not take it personally...

It’s indeed illuminating to recall what the folks at the CRA had to say about Hide and Seek Sidhu less than two years ago, when the perennial candidate was running for State Senate – yet another job he wasn’t qualified to hold.

May 28, 2010Arts & Architecture

Friday Haiku

by Yoshii The Bushido PoetLeave a comment

A hot wind blasts forth

Dust clouds swirl through the dull sky

A blue rivulet

May 28, 2010May 28, 2010Harry Sidhu

News From Nevada

by Joe Sipowicz3 Comments

You know it’s funny, but when you get away from the big city and get out into real America you really get a great perspective on politics in places like Orange County. And what I mean by perspective is a much better sense of the stupid ambition of no-talent assclowns and fence hoppers like our good friend Hide and Seek Harry Sidhu.

Aw, c’mon, Joe, you’ll be saying, Sidhu’s just like the rest of them, and anyway, by June 8th he’s just going to be a rancid memory. Well, that’s not altogether true. Creeps like Sidhu never go away. They’re always there waiting for the next opening to worm their way into. And that really stinks; almost as much as the existence of weasels and varmints like Bill Campbell, and Janet Nguyen and all the other slug-suckers who want to grease their way into some trough or other and think they can do it by following the money. Well, I guess nobody has taught them yet that they can’t. Oops. Don’t want to forget the other repuglican slimers like John Lewis and his boy Matthew Cunningham who likewise follow their own interests and principle be damned.

Then there’s the lazy local media that wouldn’t recognize a real story if it bit ’em in the ass.

There are lots of places in this great land where Sidhu’s carpetbagging, perjuring, ignorant boobery would be an absolute non-starter politically. We’ve seen it all: the fake addresses, the incoherent statements, the lame and never-ending attacks on a candidate of real ability by Sidhu’s stooges and paid lackeys.

Well, too bad for us that apparently Orange County isn’t one of the places that an ignoramus and no-talent clown like Sidhu can make a plausible candidate out of himself.

But no matter how high you stack it it’s still bullshit.

May 28, 2010May 28, 2010Harry Sidhu

OCEA Lobbyist is Behind the Phony “Crime Victims United”

by admin14 Comments

The other day Red County blogger and First 5 fat-skimmer Matthew Cunningham eagerly scampered up to Fullerton to film a press event in front of the police department by a group called “Crime Victims United.” The group was making a laughable attempt to associate Shawn Nelson’s website with victims of crime.

With the help of my Friend and Red County blogger Chip Hanlon, FFFF did a little digging into the background of Crime Victims United to see what they were all about. When the curtain was pulled back, Chip discovered that several union lobbyists are also high-level staffers of this organization.

You see, Wayne Ordos is a political adviser who is listed as a staffer and attorney for Crime Victims United.

But Wayne is also the organizer for the OCEA political action committee.

Wayne’s claim to fame includes other union PAC’s such as “Minorities in Law Enforcement Independent Expenditure Committee” and “CAUSE Law Enforcement Independent Expenditure Committee.” Those PACs bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight for enormous union benefits to the detriment of taxpayers.

We don’t have time to go through the rest of the extensive list of staffers and board members at Crime Victims United, but I’ll bet that more union connections float to the top.

Here’s what matters in the end — the unions will stop at nothing to deceive voters into voting for a pro-union candidate like Harry Sidhu. But we’ll keep shining a light on the lies and deception until the unions are defeated and good leaders are elected.

Perhaps we can look forward to more combined efforts with Chip Hanlon’s Red County blog to fight perpetual government growth. With the awareness of the electorate, we can take the wind out of the unions’ sail and their candidate Harry “Carpetbagger” Sidhu for a Nelson victory.