The Fullerton Association of Concerned Taxpayers (FACT) just sent us the following endorsement of Shawn Nelson for County Supervisor in Orange County’s Fourth District:
“During his 8 years on the Fullerton City Council, Shawn has demonstrated that he is a true friend of the taxpayer,” said Jack Dean, president of FACT. “He’ll make an outstanding County Supervisor.”
Dean noted that FACT was especially impressed with Nelson’s willingness to blow the whistle on a secretive attempt to boost the pensions of Fullerton’s city employees by 25% in 2008.
“Had Shawn not let us know that such a deal was in the works, I doubt that we could have stopped it,” said Dean. “And in light of the subsequent economic meltdown and huge market losses experienced by CalPERS, Fullerton would be in much worse financial shape today.”
“We’re going to need him on the board of supervisors to help maintain the impressive momentum the county has been making on pension reform,” added Dean.
FACT has a special interest in the public pension issue. In 2005, the group successfully blocked an attempt by the Schwarzenegger administration to issue nearly $2 billion in bonds to make the state’s pension payments. The state appealed, and in 2007, FACT won an appellate court ruling that enforced the California Constitution’s ban on unapproved state debt. Article XVI, Section 1 of the California Constitution requires voter approval for long-term state debt exceeding $300,000; FACT won a decision from the Third District Court of Appeal that issuance of a pension bond should not be allowed because it had not been submitted to the electorate. FACT was represented in both cases by the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) in Sacramento.
Next month FACT — once again represented by PLF — will be filing an amicus brief in support of the County’s lawsuit on retroactive pensions (County of Orange v. Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs and Board of Retirement). The goal will be to protect the landmark legal decision that FACT and PLF secured in the pension obligation bonds victory (Pension Obligation Bond Committee v. All Persons Interested).
“FACT has a direct interest in protecting and enforcing the precedent it established,” said Dean, “that is, the constitutional principle that major government indebtedness must receive voter approval.”
Under the auspices of FACT, Dean publishes a website called PensionTsunami.com that tracks the growing public pension crisis on a daily basis. He is also vice president of the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility — a watchdog organization that plans to conduct a ballot initiative to reform the state’s pension system.
Watch this clip. First you’ll hear from 4th District Supervisor candidate Shawn Nelson and then Harry Sidhu. Both talk about public employee unions.
Remember that Sidhu actually lives in an elegant estate in the 3rd District and faked an address at the Calabria Apartments (2230 W. Lincoln Ave. West Anaheim). Even though he never lived there, Sidhu claimed he did under penalty of perjury (twice).
Sidhu has become the darling of the OCEA and OCSD unions, who poured in over 1.3 MILLION dollars into mailers, radio and TV ads telling us the opposite of what we have already seen for ourselves.
POST UPDATE FROM ADMIN: A DEMOCRAT FRIEND CALLED ME LAST NIGHT TO INFORM ME THAT SHE HAD RECEIVED A HIT MAILER (BELOW) ON SATURDAY. IT WAS THE SAME MAIL PIECE THAT HIDE-N-SEEK SIDHU HIT LORRI WITH BACK IN 2004. LOOKS LIKE HARRY’S FIGHTING WITH PRECIOUS FOR 2ND PLACE. WHAT’S NEXT, SIDHU HITS FAHER, ROSIE OR ART? WELL IF HE DOES, HE’D BETTER DO IT QUICK BECAUSE TODAY IS THE LAST DAY FOR MAIL.
At least he did in the 2004 campaign mailer a Friend forwarded to us. And we faithfully reproduce it below. The basis of Sidhu’s assertions come straight from an Orange County Register article by Marla Jo Fisher from 1995.
As you know we don’t have a lot of respect for old Hide and Seek, but hell, when you’re right, you’re right.
Ye gods! A history of multiple bankruptcies, tax liens, evictions and judgments, unaudited books. And she wants to be in charge of the County budget? Yikes!
Perhaps the most telling behavior described in the Fisher article is the creation of a new “charity” on the day before the previous one declared bankruptcy. Well, like the dopers say – ya gotta keep the buzz going.
Maybe the cute little teenager routine really works at dodging accountability for dubious behavior. But will it get her elected County Supervisor as a carpetbagger?
The Galloway clan seems to be doing alright. Who knew the hopscotching “charity” business payed so well?
POST UPDATE: DALYS NOW A DEMOCRAT PER DEMOCRAT VOTER INFORMATION GUIDE MAILER BELOW.
OK WHICH PARTY DO YOU BELONG TO TOM? PICK ONE ANY ONE JUST STOP LYING TO THE VOTERS.
Two-faced Tom Daly is busy lying to voters and is trying to pass for a Republican in slate mailers. By now I’m sure you have received a slate mailer describing Daly as the “Tax fighter who cut wasteful spending” or a “proven leader for reform” or that he “defeated a local utility tax”. Really? As the Clerk-Recorder? He even places his 15-year old portrait next to prominent Republican candidates or incumbents. He surrounds him-self with Repuglicans like John Lewis and Bruce Matthias. But no matter how hard Tommy boy tries to look Republican, we all should know that he is a pro-big government, free-spending, tax-wasting, lying, liberal Democrat and has been since his days in Anaheim. Remember, this is the guy responsible for the election of Loretta Sanchez!
True, Tom has the right to buy any slate mailer he wants to but has he no loyalty to his fellow Democrats. There are plenty of slate mailers he can be on that are owned by Democrats but Team Tom Daly knows better. He knows Orange County is a majority Republican county so Team Daly opts to play a Republican. It appears that Daly is willing to do anything, including lying to voters to win this election. If I were a Democrat I would be fuming! Tom doesn’t want you to know that he received money from unions or that he is endorsed by unions. He doesn’t even list any union endorsements on his re-election webpage. But if you scrutinize his campaign finance statements, you will see what a blue –blooded Democrat he really is.
Tom Daly is simply a two-faced opportunist willing to jump on any team to get the win. We recently became aware of a slate mailer in which Tom’s portrait is next to Democrat candidates like Jerry Brown, and Gavin Newsom. In the slate, he claims to be endorsed by none other than Loretta Sanchez and even Jose Solorio. The back-stabbing truth is that he doesn’t mention these endorsements in his re-election webpage.
Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, I believe you would vote for the candidate who represents your party’s values and for a candidate who is proud to be part of your party. Tom Daly fails both ways. Let’s send him a message and vote the opportunist career politician out of office.
Today the print edition of the OC Register contains two endorsements of Shawn Nelson. One is in their list of all ballot and candidate endorsements. The second is part of a piece called “Ten things that matter in this election.”
We agree with this statement from the Register: “The two most important issues, we believe, are public employee union pension reform and continuing a lawsuit that challenges a retroactive pension spike for sheriff’s deputies. If the lawsuit prevails, it will have implications in California and nationwide. Mr. Nelson is the only candidate to pledge to pursue both issues.”
Last week supporters of Bill Hunt organized a protest on the steps of the old county courthouse to counter a recent attack on his profession — an attack that is a clear distraction from the issues that are facing the office of Orange County Sheriff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30MKXsDhq3AHunt has been criticized by his opponents for his actions as a private investigator, which is essentially evidence gathering in accordance with the 5th and 6th amendments of the U.S. Constitution to counter the power of the state.
Harry Sidhu likes to blather on about jobs, jobs, jobs, but maybe he would be well-advised to remember that government shouldn’t be in the jobs business and that lots of things government does destroys jobs. Sidhu should know.
In Anaheim he’s been Curt Pringle’s right hand man in the (over development) of the much lauded, now ghost town like “Platinum Triangle.”
Pringle, Sidhu and Company changed the zoning to benefit the big developer who comes in and clears out lots of businesses who employ people in order to over build monster apartment and condo blocks. Where’s the outrage from Lucy Dunn and the OCBC when their golden boy Curt Pringle led this charge? Who benefited from the loss of jobs, surely not the city of Anaheim.
The fact that Curt Pringle was employed as a lobbyist for Lennar while Lennar was buying up several industrial buildings in the Triangle while Curt and Sidhu were secretly planning to rezone the “Platinum Triangle” does not sit well now that the entire project is a flop, jobs are gone and the property is vacant, or a shit-load of condos are in default. Where’s the outrage Ms. Dunn? Can’t hear you.
If there ever was an example of what not to do in planning and business this is the model project for it.
Those interested in Orange County government accountability and pension reform won a legal battle Wednesday.
In a ruling over a petition filed by the California Foundation For Fiscal Responsibility vs. the Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS), the Superior Court of Orange County ordered the OCERS to disclose “…gross amount paid to the payee member, the name of the payee, and the identification of the prior public employer of the named payee and no other information contained in the records OCRES.”
The presiding judge, Hon. Luis Rodriguez, says in his ruling, “Individuals must have access to government files to hold governments accountable for their actions. Personal embarrassment is outweighed by the strong public policy supporting transparency in government and the strong public interest in knowing how it spends its money ‘to expose corruption, incompetence, inefficiency, prejudice and favoritism.’”
This ruling is consistent with the premise that government can only be held accountable when there is transparency. Without transparency, corruption, incompetence, inefficiency, prejudice and favoritism cannot be identified, much less routed out.