Friends For Fullerton's Future

June 1, 2010Orange County Government

Sticks and Stones and a Protest Too

I just received this email from the Bill Hunt campaign and I believe it’s worth a post, so here you go:

ATTENTION: CONCERNED CITIZENS OF ORANGE COUNTY !

This is a “Call to Arms!”

WHAT: A peaceful lunchtime Public Protest of political gamesmanship against Bill Hunt for Sheriff by the District Attorney’s Office, SAPD Chief Paul Walters, The Orange County Register, Channel 2/9 news reporter Dave Lopez, Sheriff Candidate Craig Hunter, Sheriff Candidate Sandra Hutchens.

WHEN: Wednesday June 2^nd, from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM

WHERE: In front of the Santa Ana Police Department Headquarters, 60 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana , Ca.

WHAT TO BRING: American Flags, posters expressing your thoughts about the recent hatchet job against Bill Hunt in the MSM, Bill Hunt signs.

BACKGROUND: Inside operatives of both the Craig Hunter and Sandra Hutchens campaigns for Sheriff have appeared to join forces in an attempt to falsely discredit Bill Hunt. Hunt was hired as a Private Investigator by a defense attorney on behalf of a client who was arrested as an alleged gang member and accused of committing a crime (P.I.’s are routinely hired by attorneys on both sides of a case to help support or refute the known facts in a legal matter or to bring new facts to light). Hunt conducted a thorough, objective investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arrest based on his two-decades plus, experience in all facets of evidence gathering, apprehension, arrest and prosecution of an alleged criminal. The findings of Hunt’s report concluded the wrong man had been arrested and both the DA’s Office and SAPD leadership were complacent in their zeal to prosecute the case anyway.

If it wasn’t for the fact Bill Hunt is a Candidate for Sheriff this would be a non-issue. However, D.A. Spokeswoman, Susan Schroeder (a staunch Hunter supporter), and SAPD Chief, Paul Walters (a staunch Hutchens supporter), in an attempt to silence and discredit Bill Hunt, employed their contacts in the media – specifically Dave Lopez of Channel 2/9 and the Orange County Register, to “expose” Bill Hunt as supporting gang members and to express “outrage” over this falsehood. Throwing all objective reporting codes of conduct aside, both Lopez of Channel 2/9 and Tony Savedra of the Register gladly acquiesced to the smear campaign, reporting whatever “facts” had been scripted for them by political insiders associated with both of Bill Hunt’s opponents. This resulted in lies and distortions of Hunt’s objective, ethical conduct as a Private Investigator to be presented to the voting public a mere two weeks before the June 8^th Election. This is nothing more than Election Engineering at its worst and a prime example of why we need at a minimum, a wholesale eviction and/or rejection of Establishment Incumbents or Candidates in Orange County .

Please join fellow outraged Citizens who can take time off from lunch to draw attention to this matter and seek redress for the unethical and possible illegal conduct of political insiders in high positions of authority within the law enforcement community of Orange County .

The Constitution matters! Our Bill of Rights matter! Bill Hunt was simply standing up as a principled man and placed the Rule of Law over the “Code of Silence” as he helped an accused man exercise the Fifth Amendment Right to due process and our Sixth Amendment Right to a defense when charged with a crime.

God help us if this kind of conduct is allowed to be reported as a negative attribute of a Candidate running for the highest law enforcement office in the county – the Office of Sheriff.

I’m outraged! Are you?!

Please forward this urgent message to everyone you know and please show up tomorrow!

June 1, 2010Fullerton City Council

On The Agenda – June 1st, 2010

by Christian7 Comments

There are three (3) items on tonight’s City Council agenda. They are: 1) the minutes from May 11 & 18 meetings; 2) November 2 call for municipal elections; and 3) the FY2010-2011 budget.

At first, I was relieved and thought I might be able to escape an exhaustive post. However, upon closer inspection I concluded that we must examine items 2 and 3 a bit closer.

Calling all candidates! Item 2, municipal election, includes language that supports putting term limits on the ballot for Fullerton voters to decide in November. The proposed text reads: “Shall an ordinance be adopted to enact term limits upon members of the Fullerton City Council, preventing any person who serves three (3) successive terms from serving again until an intervening period of four (4) years has elapsed?” Do we need term limits?

The rest of item 2 appears to be standard municipal election language. So who is running? We’ll have to wait and see. The normal deadline for candidates to file is August 6th and will cost you $1,267.00 if you want to have a candidate statement placed on the ballot. That fee alone squashes the hopes and dreams of many would-be candidates.

Moving forward to the expensive part of the agenda, item 3, we are presented with the proposed budget for fiscal year 2010-2011. I think a CPA or someone who likes playing with numbers will like details in the budget. There is some immaterial misinformation in the report signed by Julia James, but in James’ words the gist is this:

“The proposed revised budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year totals $184.4 million for the City and $54.1 million for the Redevelopment Agency, for a total proposed revised appropriations for all funds of $238.5 million. This total includes $58.5 million in capital projects in progress to be carried over. The General Operating Funds budget is not balanced, with a deficit of $3.2 million.”

So what will council cut to balance the budget? My guess is that Ol’ Doc Hee Haw and Bunkhead will vote to raise fees. Keller, not looking for re-election will go ahead with it. Quirk-Silva and Nelson will vote not to raise fees. Based on another post on FFFF, perhaps the city should stop subsidizing and start charging the Muckenthaler Cultural Center Foundation for their exclusive use of the property for weddings and private events.

Friends, there is so much right with Fullerton that these issues sometimes don’t get the attention they deserve. We are all able to live in our pleasant north OC bubble without regard for our civic duty. Unfortunately, if we keep letting the same few who got us into our current mess continue digging their bottomless money pits, things will never improve. And if you think things are going good now, imagine how good they could be if we each do our part to hold our elected official accountable. You can start doing your part June 8 at the polls and again November 2.

June 1, 2010June 1, 2010Orange County Government

IS TOM DALY BUYING HIS STAFF’S VOTES?

by admin19 Comments

We were looking through Clerk-Recorder Tom Daly’s campaign expenditures and stumbled upon a very interesting expenditure or shall we say “more monkey business”. In his statements, Tom listed a $275.37 payment to current Clerk-Recorder employee Rosa Chavez for “refreshments for 80 staff” since he knows they hate both him and his minion Assistant Clerk-Recorder Rene Ramirez.

This payment is very suspicious and it appears that Daly is working his staff for votes. Why would he pay an employee out of his campaign funds for something that was done at his work place? As we all know, campaign activity is to be kept out of your county work place especially if you are the elected official. Someone call Shirley!

The more interesting thing is that since this payment was made to Rosa Chavez, she has been promoted to a supervisory position. Is Tom Daly rewarding Rosa Chavez so she can rally the troops to vote for him? This is a total conflict and disregard for all the rules.

Or perhaps this is a desperate attempt by “Manager of the Year” Tom Daly to win over his staff who is praying that he gets voted out due to his lack of leadership and commitment to the department. After seven years of neglecting his staff and hiring his friends, Tom Daly is now realizing that he has dropped the ball. Like your typical career politician on election year, he is now trying hard to win over a staff that has little respect for him and his assistant Renee Ramirez. Has he acted late? I guess he will know the answer this June 8^th.

June 1, 2010June 1, 2010Orange County Government

An urgent message from Bill Hunt

by Travis4 Comments

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.