FFFF supports causes that promote intelligent, responsible and accountable government in Fullerton and Orange County
UPDATE: APPARENTLY THE ACKERMAN MOB DOESN”T WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THEY LIVE IN A “SECRET GATED COMMUNITY” IN IRVINE. THE YOU TUBE CLIP HAS BEEN REMOVED.
Check out where the Ackermans really live! And they seem to think we want the Mrs. representing us!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTc_kJBmUkYA “secret gated community.” In Irvine!
And we thank OC GOP hack and former Mike Carona flack Jon Fleischman for all his hardwork producing this 2007 holiday greeting!
Yesterday our own tenacious Travis followed up, as promised, with Pam Keller, to find out what the Fullerton Collaborative board had decided about our request to divulge their donors.
Here’s what Travis got back:
Lost in the brouhaha over his wife’s sudden carpetbagging political ambitions in the 72nd State Assembly special election is the curious fact that Dick Ackerman is very likely going to be a resident soon of the 4th Supervisorial District.
We’re not real sure yet where the Ackermans have decided to take up their faux residence, but chances are pretty good it will be back in Dick’s old happy hunting grounds, surrounded by the love of all his old Fullerton Rotarian pals. And if he does “move” to Fullerton he would be able to throw his hat in the ring for termed-out Supervisor Chris Noby’s job.
Far-fetched? Well, maybe. But the Ackermans seem to be the type of folks who avoid leaving anything on the table, so Shawn Nelson would be well-advised to watch his back…
Why is it so many supposedly conservative, small-government OC Republicans seem to make it their business to make as much money as they can off of the very entities that they are constantly railing against? For many of these miscreants the County government is nothing but a plantation to be worked, and worked over, as often as possible.
Take the case of former State Senator John Lewis, supposed arch-conservative Republican, who as a campaign consultant gets his boys elected and then as a lobbyist raises money for them – right before he puts the squeeze on them for a vote or two. His “firm” brags about being able to navigate the complex maze of government. Hmm. Seems like it’s to his advantage to keep government as big, complicated, and non-user friendly as possible. The list of other Republicans -like Anaheim mayor Curt Pringle, County GOP party Chairman Scott Baugh and his predecessor Tom Fuentes, who lobby this or that – is pretty long. We’ve even heard from one reliable source that the latter’s endorsement can be had – for 2500 bucks.
But back to Lewis. His most recent Lewis scam seems to be the utterly bizarre candidacy of one Laura Cunningham for the County Clerk job – as reported by Lewis himself on the Orange Juice blog here. We say bizarre because this idea is so weird that it barely deserves consideration. Except that what the hell, somebody’s got to win this election! Ms. Cunningham is the spouse of Matt Cunningham, a Lewis protege and collaborator; according to her on-line resume she also used to work for Lewis himself as a lobbyist at the County Hall of Admin – so the promotion of this “candidacy” makes sense. But this woman seemingly has no experience or record managing anything. Like her husband, she seems to have spent an adulthood spinning yarns for this or that Republican politician, or trying to help some clients “navigate” some public issue or other (i.e lobbying and PR); running a public agency? Nuh, uh.
Lewis may be afraid that his boy Tom Daly is getting cold feet about running to replace Chris Norby as Supervisor and wants him to nail his colors to the mast by endorsing a potential successor. Ultimately Lewis has nothing to lose by promoting an unqualified unknown. Who knows? Maybe the whole thing is just a ploy. On the other hand maybe Lewis figures this could be the start of a brilliant new political career – and ultimately a lobbying target in the future!
P.S. The funny thing about all of this is that everybody seems to be forgetting about Chris Norby who until a few days ago was also running for the Clerk job. If he gets beat by Ackerman in the 72nd Assy primary in November will he re-train his sights on preserving our vital records at the County Clerk’s office? And what would Lewis do at that point?
Our Friend Allan Bartlett who happens to be an OC GOP Central Committee member reports that an anonymous flier was passed out at last night’s meeting attacking Chris Norby – for the bogus sexual harassment suit (filed by a County employee fired for misfeasance), and for allegedly saying bad things about Mexicans.
Bartlett says Mrs. Dick Ackerman (who is going to run against Norby for the 72nd Assy seat) denied any knowledge of the flier, but he’s not buying that, and neither are we. She already let the cat out of the bag that others will be doing her dirty work for her- most likely her old man who has a natural flair for it. So be it.
As we have said the harassment thing was conjured up out of malice. As far as discriminatory comments about Mexicans is concerned, two thoughts come to mind: first, Norby may have his faults, but he is one of the least prejudiced people on the planet Earth; second that such a charge would be brought up at the forum of the OC GOP Central Committee meeting is just hilarious. How could anybody think that was going to hurt Norby at that venue!
When word of that flier gets out it might actually help Norby win the Raymond Hills GOP Bluehair vote!
UPDATE: Today’s the big day. Will the Fullerton Collaborative let us know who their donors are? We’ve been patiently waiting to find out for a month. Today we’ll find out if the information is forthcoming.
Last month we asked City Council member Pam Keller for the records of donors to the Fullerton Collaborative since she came onto the City Council. You may recall that the reason we asked was because we were curious whether or not any of the contributors had business before the City, especially business where Keller herself may have participated in the decision-making process. We cited the example of St. Jude’s Medical Center, a listed member of the Collaborative who happened to have a major project before the City a couple of years ago, a project that Keller voted on, and for.
At the time Keller informed us that she would raise the subject at the September Board meeting. After an inquiry the other day, we have learned that there is a board meeting on September 22. Whether the announced meeting of September 8 was held or not we do not know.
We’ll let you know what we find out next week. Promise.
Occasionally we hear of local politicos who attempt to downplay the effectiveness of our efforts here at FFFF, claiming “nobody reads the blog” (while feverishly checking it themselves). Despite our hurt feelings, we have continued our daily blogging efforts to bring long-missing accountability and reason to this city.
Last week alone this blog had 8,228 hits. To put that in perspective, Pam Keller spent a year campaigning in 2006 to come up with 10,494 votes, beating out candidate Leland Wilson by a mere 628 votes.
Further evidence of our influence can been seen in our ability to garner coverage from conventional media outlets. Exhibit A is on the front page of Saturday’s OC Register – our continued efforts to expose the dangers of Fullerton’s school laptop program will also be recognized by the LA Times later this week.
Nobody reads the blog?
8,228 hits in a week. That’s a whole lot of nobody.
UPDATE: A WISE GUY COMMENTER MADE A SNIDE REMARK ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE IMAGE ABOVE. BUT RATHER THAN BE OVERLY SENSITIVE, WE HAVE UNCOVERED ANOTHER IMAGE THAT WE THOUGHTFULLY SHARE BELOW.
Well, it’s official. Linda Ackerman the wife of our former State Senator and Assemblyman, Dick, has decided to run in a special election to replace the Ackermans’ old pal, disgraced perv Mike Duvall, for the 72nd Assembly seat now vacated by the latter.
Mrs. Ackerman has a few things going for her, including a lot of contacts with big money and a husband who knows a lot of people; and she made it pretty clear to Martin Wisckol at the Register that she intends an amicable relationship with all those Redevelopment interests. She also has zero political record so that it would be pretty hard for an opponent to go negative on her record – she hasn’t got any. And as a woman – possibly the only woman on the Republican ballot – she could get a gender boost.
But she’s got some practical problems, too. First off, she doesn’t live in the 72nd District and although she doesn’t seem to think living in Irvine for the past decade is an encumbrance, we’re not too sure that many north countians won’t resent a carpetbagger. So she’s gotta move – presumably to Fullerton – and set up a temporary residence, at least through a primary. Second, her strength of no political record is also a liability: no experience either. Third, any ties with Duvall’s sordid 72nd career are bound to come out. Fourth, her opponent is none other than Chris Norby, a sitting County Supervisor who already has a lot of money in the bank and has pretty high name recognition in the district – in which he actually lives.
Behind all the ifs and buts is one solid truth. Mrs. Ackerman’s spouse detests Norby with a weird passion, and obviously sees his wife’s candidacy as an opportunity to do his enemy a bad turn. Ackerman went out of his way to endorse an unknown ribbon clerk for the County Clerk job when Norby had his eyes set on that dubious prize. And now Ackerman’s plan is perfectly transparent: suck up all of Norby’s money advantage in a special election primary for the 72nd, beat him, and then watch with satisfaction as a tapped out Norby is bested by a politcal novice for the Clerk job. Sayonara Norby, Sacramento here we come. Again.
We recently received an e-mail from our Loyal Commenter Chamber Star, who takes us over his/her knee for undermining the respect due to political officeholders. He/she suggests an alternative approach in a short essay that we reproduce below:
The Friends of Fullerton’s Future has brought up a lot of issues over the last few months and can take satisfaction that many people in town visit the FFFF blog. But I cannot help but think some real damage is being done. Why? Because the blog continually criticizes our elected leaders and does so in a manner that is really just disrespectful. Humor has its place in life but the business of leading government, especially for the betterment of business, is not one of them.
Our elected City Council and School Boards were chosen for their experience and their wisdom, and that is Democracy in Action. Just because you don’t like someone that the majority has chosen, or you disagree with their policies doesn’t mean that they are fair game for ridicule and insult. Why not? because that undermines the very confidence that everyone must have in a system that is so important to maintaining our way of life.
Our leaders have shown their mettle first in getting elected and then at every meeting dealing with issues that would just baffle the rest of us. Their broad experience and wisdom should not be subjected to the rude slapstick of a blog “sound bite” or attempts at witticisms by those who only see the small picture – not the broad and deep policy implications. They deserve our respect, not ridicule.
I am not saying that our leaders are perfect. But they are among the best and the brightest, that’s for sure. Rather than being attacked from the safety of a blog, they deserve a private phone call, or an e-mail, or even a cup of coffee at Starbuck’s as you explain what you think about this or that decision, or upcoming agenda item. They will always meet with you and will always refer you to the appropriate staff member who can explain things satisfactorily.
The City of Fullerton is comprised of a lot of Positive People who want to pull in the same direction to get things done. That is why our Chamber of Commerce is so effective in working with the City for the betterment of the business environment. The Chamber leadership knows that without the City’s help there will be no advancement of the conditions necessary for the very success of businesses throughout Fullerton. With business success comes the sales and property tax revenue we desperately need to hire the very best staff in the State of California.
So it’s time to rethink the negativity and the satire. In the end it will only hamper people from coming together for the common good. I believe we all love our town. Let’s get on the same team, and let’s move forward!
UPDATE: THE CITY COUNCIL IS SCHEDULED TO TAKE UP THE MATTER OF THE PARKING STRUCTURE AND ITS DESIGN AT TODAY’S MEETING. SINCE WE REPORTED ON THIS ISSUE CITY STAFF HAS REFUSED TO CHANGE ITS LUDICROUS POSTION THAT THE FAKE BRICK SOMEHOW SATISFIES SOME SORT OF CEQA REQUIREMENT – EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE COMPLETELY DEMOLISHED THE MYTH OF BRICK AND REALITY OF BRICK VENEER IN DOWNTOWN FULLERTON.
SUCH A LAME APPROACH INSULTS NOT ONLY OUR AESTHETIC SENSIBILITIES, BUT IT ALSO TURNS THE WHOLE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS INTO A CHARADE THAT JUST SECURES FOR STAFF WHAT THEY WANT: BRICK VENEER.
CONSIDER THIS: THE MONEY SAVED BY ELIMINATING THE USELESS BRICK COULD GO TO ESTABLISHING SOLAR PANELS ON THE BUILDING AND ENHANCING ITS SUSTAINABILITY QUOTIENT.
They just can’t seem to help themselves. Not long ago the City held a “stake holder” gathering that was supposed to display three alternative plans for the proposed new parking structure on Santa Fe Avenue. No sooner had the meeting begun than it became apparent it was going to be one of those typical “here’s what we’re doing so sit down and shut up” meetings.
The image above shows what the City wants the building to look like. The architectural elements look okay except for the hideous brick veneer – that tomato soup colored stuff you see on the building. Brick veneer. The lazy Redevelopment bureaucrat’s material of choice. We recently wrote about it in a pithy post here.
Why would anybody put a brick veneer on a concrete parking structure? Who would put lipstick on a pig? Brick panels spanning impossibly long spaces look simply idiotic – even to the layman who could sense intuitively that brick has little tensile strength; but unfortunately this type of masquerade is par for Fullerton’s aesthetic course – displaying once again the curious parochialism of Fullerton’s taste makers.
But brick veneer is not only stupid architecturally, but is a big waste of money, to boot. And it contradicts the General Plan Advisory Committee’s adopted “sustainability” policy in the General Plan Update, since it serves no function and will have to be replaced when it falls off.
Fortunately it’s not too late to make the right choice here. But we’re not holding our breath.