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Today in a brazen attempt to escalate an ongoing feud of municipal clumsiness between the two cities, a Placentia city Parks and Rec contractor piloted his lawnmower into the lake at Tri-City Park. Witness below a photo of the crew in action during the extraction process, taken earlier today by an observant FFFF fan.
Scorekeepers should note that Placentia has been giving Fullerton a run for it’s money in this race to the bottom ever since the early days of the OnTrac debacle.
Ever since some of our critics chastised us for being unduly negative, we have sought contributions from folks who, well, just have a rosier outlook than we. So from time time we post stuff sent to us from our loyal follower “Chamber Star.” Today this individual shares his/her views on the 72nd Special Election Primary.
Election time is nearing! The 72nd State Assembly Special Election is at hand. Many people have already mailed in their absentee ballots and many others will do so soon.
A lot of unpleasant things have been said and done during this campaign and at least that will soon be over. But before it is I want to share my choice for the job: Linda Ackerman.
Why Linda? First because she seems like a real team-player, and not one of those mavericks who can’t get things done. When she says she is not defined by being a Republican she is giving a real signal that she wants to compromise and make deals with the opposition to get things done. And boy do we really need to get things done in California!
As a business person myself, I appreciate that she understands our problems. This site has been very critical of her lack of business experience, but I can tell you that not just anyone can sit on a board of directors, or be part of a non-profit organization. And being on the Board of the MWD is not easy either. It must take a tremendous amount of time to go through all that mountain of paperwork and analysis to make it run more like a business.
I believe Linda shares our values. As a replacement for Mike Duvall we need someone who brings those values to Sacramento. A lot has been made of the Ackermans mentoring Duvall in the first place, but I just don’t believe it. Good, honest people like the Ackermans don’t have anything to do with individuals like Duvall. On top of that Linda has never held office before so she represents a real change, and boy do we need change in California!
Some people have made an issue out of the fact that Linda’s husband is really calling the shots. I don’t know if he literally “speaks for her” but I’m not worried. I like the fact that we can have his vast experience, wisdom, and political connections “on call” as it were; we are really getting two well-connected and knowlegeable people for the price of one!
Finally I want to address (and dismiss) the charge of “carpetbagging” leveled against this fine woman. It’s true that she moved to Irvine and has rented an address in Fullerton, but who cares? If you wanted to hire someone to work for you, would you restrict yourself to only someone from your town? Of course not. You’d try to find the best person for the job – regardless of where they live – and put them to work ASAP. And Linda with her years of charity work and with the PTA in Fullerton before she moved out is just the person for the job.
Well, don’t just take my word for it. Check out all the voices of Linda’s endorsements from OCs best and brightest elected officials, men and women who have selflessly dedicated their lives to our betterment, and who have absolutely nothing to gain personally from an Ackerman victory.
When you add it all up, the choice is very clear, and I’m confident Team Fullerton will make it : Linda Ackerman for State Assembly!
We noticed the other day that the Ackerwoman has spent a ton of money on polling: over fourteen big ones were paid to a guy named Adam Probolsky (who is supposedly the “boyfriend” of Ackerman, Inc. campaign fundraiser Desiree Mouzoon).
Being the political novices that we are, we really have to wonder what $14K gets you in the world of polling, and why other polling was needed to be done since Ackerwoman also paid an outfit JMJ Associates another $6500 for “polling and survey.” That’s over twenty grand in just a few weeks for polling. And that doesn’t even count the polling done by the Ackerman attack dogs Alliance for California’s Tomorrow – a poll that seemed to have caused their plug to be pulled. Hmm.
According to his own website “Mr. Probolsky is an opinion research expert with a demonstrated record of success.” There is no explanation of how he got to be an “expert” – such as advanced degrees in mathematics or statistics, or the like.
And, for quite some time we have wondered whether these campaign camp followers – pollsters and campaign consultants, etc., didn’t really have an interest in stringing candidates along for their own purposes.
We would feel really badly if poor Linda, who has the business experience of a ling cod, were being taken advantage of by unscrupulous campaign hucksters.
Ed Roski is friends with many famous dead Americans
Although we haven’t seen it, Martin Wisckol at the Register has posted a youtube clip of a cable TV run ad that basically paints Norby as some sort of anti-feminist monster. The thing is so hyperventilated that it’s hard to believe anybody would take it seriously. It starts out with an image of Mike Duvall that morphs into Norby. Only problem is by now voters have a pretty good idea that it was Dick Ackerman who selected and groomed Duvall in the first place, and even that Norby supported his opponent.
Wisckol claims the ad has been paid for by an independent expenditure of as yet unknown origin.
A strong whiff of Ed Roski Jr. is emanating from this garbage. Since the Alliance for California’s Tumors has stopped its work, Roski has undoubtedly discovered a new conduit for his torrent of slime. But this crap is bound to backfire just like all the other Ackerman slime seems to have done.
Oh well. Only six days left.
We have thoroughly and comprehensively debunked the campaign blather about Linda Ackerman being some sort of businesswoman. She’s not, of course. That’s just a lie, and almost as bad as her claim to be living in Fullerton. The sum and substance of her business experience seems to be calling up lobbyists to raise moolah for her husband Dick’s campaigns.
She doesn’t mention that in her resume, of course, because that wouldn’t look too good. Intead she shares the fact that she is on the board of a collection agency. And her campaign propaganda never fails to mention that she sits on the board of the Metropolitan Water District, an appointment no doubt orchestrated by her husband.
But let us reflect upon the MWD, a giant government entity that acts like a public utility but that in reality is an association of governments. We have already shared how Loophole Linda voted for a massive water rate hike last spring (oh no, not a tax, heaven forfend!). A recent editorial by the San Diego Union Tribune raises questions about the complete lack of leadership at the MWD – leadership the Ackerwoman is pitching as hard as she can. The SDUT notes that during the run -up to the now abandoned pension spike the MWD authorized a $100,000 contract with an operation called Marathon Communications to push the contract through; and a $300,000 contract with Agreement Dynamics to craft an agreement that would fly.
Think of it: $400,000 spent on consultants to create a deal and PR-ram it through. All at the expense of everybody at the end of the shower nozzle. And all wasted. Who agreed to all this? Good question. If the Board didn’t, then why didn’t they? If they did…
A Friend has alerted us that over at the Red County blog, Ackerman, Inc. apologist Matt Cunningham has come up with a new argument to mitigate the obvious truth that Linda Ackerman is a merely an Irvine carpetbagger who doesn’t live in the district.
He claims that Ackerwoman’s larger number of Fullerton contributors (compared to Norby) belies the the claim that she has no support in her adopted district. Hence, the carpetbagger label doesn’t stick quite so well. Apart from the obvious problem of arguing points that nobody has ever contested (typical) his post betrays a fundamental lack of understanding of Fullerton politics.
Let’s just dispense with the real issue first: LINDA ACKERMAN LIVES IN IRVINE.
Of course Ackerman, Inc. has some support in Fullerton – but among a pretty narrow and shallow tribe, that includes a few Repuglican Women, Dick’s old Rotary buddies, and some fading Chamber of Commerce types. These people participate in politics and they are the people whom Ackerman, Inc. has hit up for campaign contributions. These folks are like the insects that skim across the top of the pond – and are not indicative of much of anything going on below. Due to the influence of Ackerman they have never really supported Norby at all. Their support of Ackerwoman, far from being unusual, is in fact, perfectly predictable.
So to get a few dozen contributions from these people really indicates very little. The election will be decided by tens of thousands of voters, many of whom have already indicated their disgust at the attempt of Dick Ackerman to hang on to power through the conduit of his wife.
Back in September we published a mothers’ letter accusing the Fullerton School District of ignoring the pornography problem on school-issued laptops. At the time, the school district responded to the an OC Register reporter by claiming that this was the “first reported case of a student using the laptops to log on to pornographic sites”.
Today we know that statement is a flat-out lie.
I have been contacted by numerous parents and several FSD teachers who were each directly involved with cases where school children used their laptops to view pornography or chat with strangers online. Some had grade-school children who became addicted to pornography, while others were teachers who dealt with these issues on a regular basis in the classroom.
Witness one post by and FSD teacher to our blog following the OC Register story:
I am a Fullerton Elementary school teacher and a parent of elementary school children who have been a part of the laptop program. First, I am aware of numerous children who have accessed inappropriate sites and viewed illicit images while using their school issued laptops. Furthermore, we discovered inappropriate material on our son’s laptop. For those of you who would blame this on “bad parenting” get your heads out of you a#%! These are curious adolescents, who if given the opportunity, will venture into areas they shouldn’t go. In giving these laptops to children to take home and expecting them to refrain from inappropriate sites is equivalent to putting dirty magazines in a young boys closet but telling him to not look at them. When not monitored (and what parent can do this 24/7 ?) they will act on their curiosity. Unfortunately, this can lead to emotional, psychological and even physical harm through sexual predators who are just looking for an opportunity to catch a young child who has wandered into the dangerous world of the internet.
To the mother of the daughter who was caught up in this unfortunate situation please be encouraged. What others may mean for harm God can use for our good and His glory (Rom. 8:28). May you and your daughter experience His all-sufficient grace! (2 Cor. 12:8)
It is clear that many parents are not monitoring their childrens’ use of the laptops, finding it impossible to watch them twenty four hours a day. For those super parents who disagree, please think about all of those open wireless networks across the street of your school or on your child’s way home. In this day of dual-income and single-parent families, how many children are left alone on the Internet under the guise of doing their homework? Are most parents technically adept enough to even recognize a problem when it occurs?
The prevalence of pornography on school laptops is a direct result of the district downplaying and misrepresenting the laptop safety issue to parents. Unfortunately, many children are being permanently harmed by the district’s failure to address the problem.
When we returned to the FFFF HQ today we noticed that somebody had been rummaging around in the medicine cabinet. Sure enough, some of our ritual mescaline had disappeared. And later today we received the following communication from the boys in the white, unmarked van, purporting to be yet another snagged Dick Ackerman telephone conversation. Although we know who the other communicant is (or claims to be) we have been unable to discover anything about this individual. If any of the Friends can help out we would certainly appreciate the assistance.
(phone ringing)
Dick Ackerman: (snort) Yeah, Ackerman here.
Louis Cyphere: Hello Richard. Louis Cyphere calling.
DA: Oh, Jesus.
LC: Come again?
DA: (Grunting sounds) Heh heh. Sorry, boss.
LC: Richard please stop making animal sounds. I want to know what’s been going on lately. You haven’t been in touch.
DA: Been busy. Trying to beat that bastard Norby. Need some more help. Things aren’t looking too good.
LC: Ah, Richard, they rarely do. But I’m wondering, well, you know, what’s in it for me?
DA: Hgpmph. Um. Well, Hell…
LC: Hmmm?
DA: I mean, you know…
LC: You see Richard, the thing of it is, I feel I’ve already pretty much optimized my investment in you and the missus, and I have so many political things on my plate right now.
DA: 72nd at stake. (grunting) Lots of possibilities in Sacramento.
LC: Yes, well, the 72nd was pretty much bought and paid for back in ’95. Surely you remember that arrangement.
DA: Ughmpmphh. Yeah, sure boss.
LC: Good. Well, the World Series is over and the Yanks have won again, so I suppose…what more do you want?
DA: Gotta shut down the blogs. That Bushala. Goddammit! Killing me. I mean killing us. I mean killing Linda! Phone calls, signs, blogthings, Goddamn signs. Right there on the way to Dolan’s house.
LC: Richard. No need to blaspheme. What do you want?
DA: (snarling sound and a low bark) Take him out. Accident. Overdose. Suicide. Something.
LC: Calm down now Richard. You know I can’t do that. Bushala, again? You mean our arrangement with Malcolm didn’t work out? I could try to cut a deal with him.
DA: Yeah. Heh. Heh heh. A deal (three quick grunts).
LC: Greek Orthodox?
DA: (undecipherable) What? Goddamit, that white van is out back behind the badminton courts.
LC: Never mind.
(at this point the telecommunication was cut off)
Even if you’re not from California, you might find this amusing. A special election is being held Nov. 17 to fill a vacant seat for Assembly District 72.
The main candidates are Chris Norby, an Orange County supervisor, and Linda Ackerman, the wife of former Republican Senate leader and current lobbyist Dick Ackerman.
One hit piece being put out by the Ackerman campaign brings up a sexual harassment suit against Norby that was dismissed in court. According to one account, the accusing woman said Norby “made remarks about her legs.”
Isn’t the point of a woman showing her legs that men notice them?
Acting as an agent for a group of OC Fairboard members that wants to purchase the OC Fairgrounds, Dick Ackerman lobbied to pass legislation last summer that would enable the sale. At least that’s what is being asserted at the OC Progressive blog, here. Apart from the dubious gain to the citizens of the State and Orange County, there is another problem. State law prohibits former Legislators from lobbying in Sacto for a year after they leave office. And Ackerman had only been out of office for six months. Here’s the awkard bit:
87406. (a) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the Milton Marks Postgovernment Employment Restrictions Act of 1990.
(b) No Member of the Legislature, for a period of one year afterleaving office, shall, for compensation, act as agent or attorney for, or otherwise represent, any other person by making any formal or informal appearance, or by making any oral or written communication, before the Legislature, any committee or subcommittee thereof, any present Member of the Legislature, or any officer or employee thereof, if the appearance or communication is made for the purpose of influencing legislative action.
Hmm. As a law and order Repuglican Dick ought to know better. But maybe this is another one of those pesky rules that the ‘Pugs just like to call “unenforceable” or anti-free speech, or some other nonsense. It’s also worth noting that Ackerman’s clients on the Fair board are now accused of violating open meeting laws in order to orchestrate the insider scam.
Over at the OJ blog the irrepressible Vern Nelson is publicizing a protest meeting in Costa Mesa, and actually gives props to Mike Duvall for opposing the sale. Odd, if true, because you can bet Dick lobbied his political godson hard. Coincidentally, Duvall is now gone, and Ackerman’s wife, Ackerwoman, is running to replace him on a strong ethics platform.
Well, that platform just got another couple of its legs kicked out from under it. And remember, Dick “speaks for his wife.”