Disturbing image of Van Tran courtesy of the OC Weekly
Our friend Scott Moxley was written a piece at the OC Weekly about how local State Assemblyman and would-be Congressman for the 47th District, Van Tran, actually flew his Chief of Staff down from Sacramento to vote in the recent California Republican Assembly nominating convention – casting a vote for his boss, of course.
Seems there’s some heartburn in some circles because the fellow, Paul Hegyi, somehow got himself affiliated with the Stanton Chapter of the CRA, where he doesn’t live, and also because Stanton isn’t even in the 47th Congressional District.
But part of Fullerton is, so we share this tale with you.
P.S. here’s a fun quote from Tran’s website: Let’s bring character and integrity back to Congress…
It’s a dubious proposition that Congress has ever had any character or integrity, but it’s a bit much to hear that from a guy who is ripping off the taxpayers by claiming a phony per diem in the State legislature, and whose wife was busted as part of an insurance fraud conspiracy ring.
As we reported last week, here, County Clerk/Recorder Tom Daly paid almost $50,00 in 2008 and 2009 to a campaign contributor to “study” the feasibility of developing an Orange County athletic “hall of fame.” We opined upon the irresponsible expenditure and questioned why the County Clerk would even embark on such a lame idea in the first place.
At the time of the post, our request for public records had resulted in scant documentation that this “consultant” Brett Barbre, had actually done anything at all to justify his $3000 per month bill. We were informed by the County that we didn’t have all their “work product” documents.
Now we do.
I don't remember and you can't make me.
The sum and substance of Mr. Barbre’s efforts for Daly is reflected in brief periodic memorandums sent to Daly’s office informing them of what he had been up to in the previous month. Even these cursory, written updates ceased after September 1, 2008, although Barbre continued to be paid by Daly through June, 2009.
The lack of accomplishment was clear; but the invoices kept coming in.
Curiously, in the summer of 2008 Barbre and Daly had gotten it into their noggins to create something called a prep sports honor roll dinner, some sort of tie-in to the original concept, presumably. They had even picked a date for the inaugural event. Amazingly no one seems to have even questioned why the County Clerk would be organizing such a blatanly non-public function that had absolutely nothing to do with his job responsibilities.
We will probably never know what was actually discussed verbally between the parties involved – including why they thought this hare-brained idea was in any way justified; or how they could ever defend the $50,000 paid to Barbre to do almost nothing. One thing is evident from the documents: by the summer of 2009 Barbre was no longer at the public trough, although by then he had already collected regular monthly payments of $3000, totaling $48,000 with nothing to show for it.
Almost fifty thousand dollars. Squandered. Wasted. Flushed down a rathole and into the pocket of a Daly campaign contributor.
Does anyone in the County government even care about this total dereliction of responsibility and breach of the public trust? Do the folks at the Orange County Register care? Do you?
UPDATE: Allan Bartlett has helped close the circle on the Daly-Barbre financial connection. Here is the link that shows a $1000 campaign contribution from Barbre back to Daly. Even if there is no overt kickback here it sure stinks like Hell.
– GC
Has there been fiscal misfeasance by Tom Daly at the County Clerk/Recorder’s office? As we previously indicated, here, OC Clerk Recorder paid self-styled public relations “consultant” and Municipal Water Board member Brett Barbre tens of thousands of dollars in 2008 and 2009 to assist in the creation of some sort of OC sports “hall of fame.” A public records search has turned up invoices from Barbre to Tom Daly’s department for almost $50,000, with almost nothing to show for it. Interestingly, as early as March, 2009 Barbre, who is a Republican, made himself conspicuous as an endorser of Daly in his now defunct campaign for 4th District County Supervisor.
What the records show is that in February 2008 the County Clerk’s office engaged the services of Barbre in a contract for $15,000 and later in a $3000 per month extension, to delve into the subject of creating a sports hall of fame museum.
What the consultant selection process was, why Mr. Barbre was chosen, what his qualifications were, and why the taxpayers were put on the hook for this dubious concept project may never be known. But what is known is that from May 2008 through June 2009 the County paid Barbre $48,000 with virtually no evidence of any accomplishment at all.
Our request for “all activity status reports” and “lists of work completed” turned up three short memorandums and an incomplete spreadsheet listing Orange County High Schools and their mascots.
We have been provided with no evidence to suggest that any of the activities outlined in Barbre’s contract were ever achieved. Added to the evident lack of accomplishment seems to be a reluctance to publicize the hall of fame brainstorm at all. Very telling is a sentence from a January 15, 2009 memorandum from Barbre to Tom Daly, in which Barbre says about the whole idea: I would suggest keeping it fairly low key until the budget mess at the state and the county are behind us.
Right. No sense in letting the public know that the Clerk/Recorder Tom Daly is squandering public money on such a hare-brained scheme during a recession, including giving Barbre $3,000 a month to ponder the sports hall of fame concept, while county employees are about to be laid off.
A very big sports fan.
We have been informed by the County Public Information office that we are not in possession of all the work product documents, and that something else is forthcoming. This strikes us as particularly odd since Barbre’s questionable “services” were concluded nine months ago and our records request was made several weeks ago. We can’t help but consider the possibility that something is being fabricated up after the fact to make it appear as if the $48,000 slipped to Barbre by Daly produced more than a few short memos and an incomplete list of Orange County’s High Schools and their mascots. Well, we’ll soon find out.
The final disturbing piece to this puzzle is the fact that Brett Barbre’s name appears on Tom Daly’s March, 2009 fundraiser host committee list – the event in which he launched his abortive campaign for County supervisor; and that later, in the summer of 2009, Barbre assumed the office of ambassador to the OC GOP Central Committee for newly-minted Republican Renee Ramirez, Daly’s employee and hand-picked successor for the County Clerk’s job.
First column, six down.
Ironically, we note that Daly pulled the plug on his supervisorial campaign last Friday – the very same day we presented ourselves at the County to pick up the Barbre documents.
That’s the story so far. It doesn’t paint a pretty picture of either competence or probity within Tom Daly’s bureaucratic regime. The self-styled fiscal conservative seems to have been anything but conservative with public funds, and, as will become painfully evident in subsequent posts, this episode is not a lone example.
Hall of fame? Really? Maybe what we need in OC is a hall of shame – for politicians who abuse the public trust. We’ve got a recommendation for the first inductee.
Well, the folks at the Galloway campaign have done it again: another brain-dead video with overdressed, cute-as-a-button Lorri supposedly embarking on her first “tour” of the 4th Supe District to learn all about the concerns of her would-be constituents.
I’ll bet my rawhide bone that Galloway never got beyond the steps of her fake address. The video includes some snippets of people talking, who knows where, who don’t even know what a supervisor is, or does. They shouldn’t feel too bad. Galloway doesn’t seem to know either, but more of that in a bit.
I’ll also bet nobody mentioned that Galloway, until very recently claimed the 3rd District as her legal residence and is claiming to live in a house provided by a big contributor and Anaheim city contractor.
The funny thing is you never actually see Galloway talking to any of these people as they share their worries. We just see the “person on the street.” And then, at the end, Galloway addresses their concerns. Did Galloway actually even bother to leave her phony address? Bet not.
And the issue? We need jobs, jobs, jobs! And Galloway is right there with the answer: jobs; but not by getting government out of the way and by making it cheaper and more efficient. Oh Good Lord, no! That would imply criticism of all those public employee unions and their bank-breaking pension deals. No. Lorri is going to create jobs by spending ever more of your tax dollars, or course; the magic pill: bringing in the high speed rail, the lazy politicians cure all for what ails us. Of course Sidhu is pushing that same jobs button with the same solution. Is there enough gullibility to go around?
And why didn’t somebody tell Lorri nor to stare at the cue cards. Jebus, couldn’t she have at least memorized her stupid script? After all. it’s not like she actually spent a lot of time driving around.
Here’s a JFD promise. As long as they keep making this crap, I’ll keep sharing it.
Check out the indignant posts here and here, by outraged carpetbagg’ stalker Matthew J. Cunningham as he endeavors to bag and tag Villa Park’s Tom Umberg during the 1st Supe District Special Election in 2007. Jeez, Cunningham didn’t even live in the 1st District but boy was he bent all out of shape!
Wow! What huevos! Videotaping the neighborhood, snooping on the living arrangements of the entire Umberg family, including offspring, and generally making a nuisance of himself!
And so we recognize the intrepid Jerb for his cunning and resourcefulness –a full three years before our admin decided to visit the completely suspicious Casa Sidhu #3 – Sidhu’s third “residence” in but a single month.
Sometimes you have to wonder just how dumb some of our politicians really are. One of the problems is that they actually start to believe the campaign bullshit they peddle out to the electorate and begin to take themselves so seriously that they don’t even know when they’re being played. Even by a famous satirical comedy “news” program.
Here’s a vastly entertaining clip from The Daily Show, with the ever irreverent Jon Stewart. Enjoy the sanctimony, confusion and ultimate horror on the face of Anaheim’s own teen queen, Lorri Galloway. When I first saw it I coughed up an old chew toy. Keep from laughing. I dare ya!
And that, Friends, is what happens when you combine vast ambition and profound brainlessness.
Well, let me tell you. I came this close to telling the truth...
Harry Sidhu has been playing campaign website musical chairs and it had finally started to get noticed. But not in a good way. You see, Sidhu has his personal website to which he directs readers of his ghostwritten newsletters, and it includes a collection of endorsements that he got, presumably, from any of his many previous runs for public office. But it doesn’t say that.
We first reported on the situation, here. Tucked into the upper right hand corner is a link to Sidhu’s Supervisor campaign website.
We have learned that our State Assemblyman, Chris Norby has just sent Harry Sidhu an email demanding that Sidhu remove Norby’s name from the list that intentionally misleads people into believing that Norby – as well as a host of Orange County politicos – is endorsing Harry Sidhu for 4th District Supervisor.
Chris Norby has not endorsed Harry Sidhu for the 4th District Supervisors seat. Norby has endorsed Fullerton councilman Shawn Nelson for the job he once held.
Visitors to our site are well aware that Sidhu has proven that it doesn’t bother him to fool his constituents. in fact, his first act as a candidate to represent us was to lie about his “residence” in the seedy Calabria Apartments – right next to the Linbrook Billiard hall.
Sidhu has a big problem with the truth. Let’s see if he ever cleans up his website misdirection.
According to a Sunday Los Angeles Times story, here, the high speed rail (HSR) project, every big-government lover’s answer to all our problems, is starting to receive more unwelcome scrutiny lately. Skyrocketing projected costs and ticket prices, federal subsidy guarantee requirements, incomprehensible ridership projections, and property takings that include, apparently, some part of Buena Park’s Metrolink Station or the adjacent residential development are causing folks to take a harder look at this fiasco in the making.
Things have gotten so bad that even lefty Long Beach State Senator Alan Lowenthal is upset.
HSR should be a source of great alarm to everyone in north Orange County, both in terms of its cost to the taxpayers, the damage that it will do to established communities, and also because so many clueless but ambitious politicians like Harry Sidhu and Lorri Galloway are using it as a mantra to solve unemployment woes in California, and in particular Orange County.
When and if this monstrosity is ever built, the jobs will go to giant out of town engineering firms. Most of the construction workers will be imported from the Inland Empire and Los Angeles County – just like they are on every public works project. The only local recipients of reliable employment benefit will be the lobbyists like Anaheim’s outgoing mayor, Curt Pringle and his ilk who are promoting this giant money sucking vortex in their own interest.
And just watch as the onerous environmental laws that the rest of us have to live by are waived for the politicos pet project.
A Friend pointed out something that bears mentioning for those of us that have some sense of ethics but may be naïve when it comes to blogs and how some operate.
Did you know that Matthew Cunningham has another website besides the oh-so Mauve County? It’s Pacific-Strategies where he brags about “employing innovative social media strategies to advance your message and create community” and “influencing opinion leaders through via both new and tradional media”. Nice typo’s Matt. Clearly he is the superior communicator! I’m not too sure what this clown is trying to say with this: “successfully guiding your projecting throuygh the government approval process” and “providing seasoned counsel to ensure your message is taken seriously by opinion leaders ad key decision-makers”. It is hard to take anyone seriously that brags about communication and swaying public opinion when the author can’t even complete a sentence. A wordsmith he is not but maybe a word-butcher. Just imagine a game of scrabble with him.
Ah, but now Matt’s “strategies” at Mauve County are clear! He gets to be a paid consultant (I find it hard to believe that anyone would actually give him a dime) via one company, Pacific-Strategies, while he attempts in vain to sway public opinion on his Mauve site by “employing” those innovative social media strategies. I speculate that those strategies include but are not limited to the hiring of extra bloggers to post pro threads for Cunningham’s paid cause and then the twerp has these same extras jump in and lob personal attacks to discredit any opposition or support for their paid cause. “We’re experienced with effective strategies for favorably influencing elected leaders, government officials, and community and opinion leaders—building coalitions and mobilizing opinion in support of your goals, and neutralizing critics.”(http://www.pacific-strategies.com/collaboration/) So his job is to NEUTRALIZE CRITICS! If you pay him some money or do him a favor, he will NEUTRALIZE critics. Is he talking about offing someone? Bumping someone off? Or just a shotgun approach for attacking anyone with a different opinion, especially one supported by facts?
After reading these carefully crafted words from Matthew Cunningham own website, there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind just how Red County operates under his direction and the truth behind Matthew Cunningham slanderous lies. He is completely void of any moral or ethical foundation which a normal person might be grounded in. In his own words, Cunningham says “More and more people get more and more of their information from new media such as blogs, Twitter and FaceBook, and your organization needs to engage them in those arenas. Properly used, new media tools powerfully enhance your organization’s ability to not only communicate with your target audience, but build trust and community.” Building trust through outright lies and deception is usually called FRAUD. That is particularly bad when your own mission statement reads: “Red County strives to provide intelligent, well-informed insights into local political issues affecting the lives of readers in each market we serve. In striving to support the ideals of limited government and individual liberty, Red County will hold the mirror up to Republicans and Democrats alike.” Clearly, there is no mirror in the arsenal at Fraud County.
And as if that wasn’t bad enough! Anyone with their own website, including FFFF, can determine visitor’s internet provider address much the same way we use caller ID. If you are a genuine visitor and you leave genuine comments, no problem…unless of course you are on Cunningham’s web site. Bloggers on Blogspot.com don’t normally have that level of access, so no need to worry about posting on those sites. The real concern should come when a commentator dishes out insider information on a government agency and the head of that agency has the blogger in his back pocket. Then the blogger gets to out the commentator. It is not ethical to throw a genuine whistle-blower under the bus but we are not talking about an ethical person, now are we. It is reminiscent of the reports of Cunningham outing of sex abuse victims. I don’t know if Cunningham was actually paid to out anyone, but the content of his other website begs the question.
There are a lot of talented people reading this who are much smarter than me and I encourage you to do some digging yourself. After I did my own digging into this, I realized just how biased I have become against Red County and several of their resident (generally newer) bloggers. Therefore, it is imperative that you check for yourself. I’m no great sleuth like the other FFFF’ers but if we can shed a little light up this dark hole, all the better.
I would love to know the names of anyone who has ever contributed a penny to Pacific-Strategies and follow that paper trail.
