Sandra Hutchens Archives - Friends For Fullerton's Future

May 30, 2010May 31, 2010Orange County Government

GOP Repuglican Represents and Supports Democratic Candidate

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 8, 2010May 8, 2010Orange County Government

Hutchens Hit on Double Dipping

by Travis Kiger21 Comments

SafeOC just sent this mailer out across Orange County. The PAC is trying to put appointed OC Sheriff Sandra Hutchens squarely in front of the tsunami of public outrage over financial woes that stem from double-dipping, hyper-compensated public safety employees. Given all of the news coverage that pensions have been getting lately, it might resonate with more than a few voters.

SafeOC’s real focus is on the 2nd amendment and personal safety, so it’s no surprise that they call out Hutchen’s infamous “gun grabbing” tendencies as well.

March 30, 2010March 30, 2010Big Brother

Sheriff Hutchens Tells Gun Owners to Elect Someone Else

by Travis Kiger38 Comments

Sandra Hutchens found it difficult to garner applause at the OC Young Republican’s Sheriff’s candidate forum last night, but she did have one shining moment. Unfortunately it came when she implored gun owners to vote for her opponents if they desire to see less restrictions on concealed weapons permits in Orange County.

March 29, 2010Big Brother

Hutchens Questioned – Another Snooping Incident?

by Travis Kiger6 Comments

A group named OCCCWS has asked a series of probing questions to appointed OC Sheriff Sandra Hutchens in what amounts to an accusation that she is covering up at least one incident of confidential records abuse within the SAFE division of the Sheriff’s department.

The letter asks if members of the OCSD SAFE division are currently under internal investigation for “illegally using law enforcement and/or DMV databases to probe the histories and/or personal information of individuals not under criminal investigation, such as current or former love interests, or romantic rivals.”

It goes on to question the legality of not reporting the investigation to authorities such as the FBI and DOJ. OCCCWS also wants to know why the incident was kept from public view after promises of transparency within the department.

The accusations specifically target the S.A.F.E. division, which was developed by Hutchens last year to “create policies and procedures to bring the department up to industry standards.” For her critics, that means bringing Los Angeles-style policing to a reluctant Orange County population.

The letter contains no details or evidence to back up the accusations, so we’ll just hope that more information is forthcoming. It’s worth noting that the guys behind OCCCWS are well connected within the OCSD and their disdain for Hutchens is notorious, making it very plausible that news of an internal investigation would get leaked through them.

So was there an incident? An internal investigation? Will the department respond to requests for transparency? We’ll find out.

January 8, 2010January 26, 2010Dead heads

Sordid Cop Tales: Former Police Chief McKinley Loves Sheriff; Climbs Into Bed

by The Desert Rat41 Comments

10:50 Update: TDR forgot to add this little gem from the Register’s Jennifer Muir about Hutchens sending a helicopter to an LA cop chili “cook-out.” Wonder what Pat thinks about that use of public resources! – Admin

A recent Fullerton Observer article reported on some sort of “Women in Leadership” event and started out describing how Fullerton’s former Chief of Police introduced “surprise guest, ” appointed OC Sheriff Sandra Hutchens in glowing terms and indicated his unreserved support for her election campaign.

We’re not at all surprised by this enthusiasm since McKinley has been reported as having post-retirement political ambitions, and has already demonstrated his connection to the local Reguglican establishment by his endorsement of the fraudulent Ackerwoman campaign.

Apart from political ambition, though, something more sinister flits through the shadows of the McKinley endorsement of Hutchens, and that is McKinley’s apparent ingrained approval of high-handed and unaccountable police behavior. Despite McKinley’s contention that Hutchens has “turned things around” after the departure of the deplorable Mike Carona, there is precious little evidence that any institutional attitudes have changed at all. In fact, quite the contrary. From examples of in-house secrecy and stonewalling, mistreatment of citizens, to even spying on elected County Supervisors, the Sheriff’s Department has shown itself to be the same old operation as ever. The only difference is that now Hutchens is running cover instead of Carona.

sheriff-sandra-hutchens-carona — Ba da bing! (wacky graphic swiped from Orange Juice Blog)

The latest example is provided by the OC Weekly’s Scott Moxley, here. It seems a couple of deputies were caught fabricating testimony about threatening a suspect during a Disneyland area drug bust at a preliminary hearing. The DA later dropped most of the charges against the guy who had been arrested; correspondence from the DAs office to the Sheriff about the problem were simply ignored. The deputies involved not only seem to have escaped disciplinary action, but have been awarded medals for valor for a Costa Mesa drug bust that supposedly occurred on the same day as the other arrest!

Here’s Moxley’s curt summaton:

The sheriff, who has promised to restore deputy accountability in the wake of the Mike Carona corruption scandals, refused to be interviewed for this story. Her command staff and media-affairs team repeatedly blocked my attempts to reach Catalano for comment.

Anyhow, in case we needed any other evidence, we now know exactly what kind of police management our former Chief admires, and we ought to remember that when and if he decides to run for office.

November 22, 2009January 6, 201072nd Election

The Ackerwoman for Assembly Hall of Shame

by admin22 Comments

On another thread Fullerton School Board member and seemingly clueless Ackerwoman supporter, Minard Duncan, popped up like a milk weed to question our apparent dislike of his fellow Ackerwoman cheerleader Mimi Walters.

This jump started an earlier idea to publish the names of all the lackeys, stooges and repuglicans who signed onto Ackerman Inc.’s Big Lie Tour of 2009.

This is a list of the elected officials that decided their best interests lay in the endorsement of Linda Ackerman for the 72nd Assembly District. Enjoy the asinine quotations at the bottom of the page and be sure to pick out your favorites on the list for special attention. We have helpfully highlighted in red the names of politicians in whose elections Fullerton voters will get to participate.

Members of Congress

Congressman Ed Royce
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher
Former Congressman Bill Dannemeyer

Statewide Elected Officials

BOE Member Bill Leonard
Former State Secretary of Education and Mayor of Los Angeles Richard Riordan

State Senators

Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth
Former Senate Republican Leader Jim Brulte
Former Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman
Former Senator Marian Bergeson
Senator Mark Wyland
Senator Mimi Walters
Senator Bob Huff
Senator Bob Dutton
Senator George Runner
Senator Sam Aanestad
Senator John Benoit
Senator Abel Maldonado
Senator Dave Cox

State Assemblymembers

Former Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines
Assemblyman Jim Silva
Assemblyman Joel Anderson
Assemblyman Ted Gaines
Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher
Assemblywoman Diane Harkey
Former Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher
Former Assemblywoman Sharon Runner
Former Assemblyman Tom Bordonaro
Former Assemblyman Openmike Duval
Former Assemblywoman Marilyn Brewer

Orange County

Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens
Orange County Supervisor Pat Bates
Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell
Orange County Supervisor Janet Ngyuen
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas
Former Orange County Supervisor Cynthia Coad

Anaheim

Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle

Fullerton

Fullerton Mayor Don Bankhead
Fullerton Councilmember Dick Jones
Former Mayor of Fullerton Buck Catlin
Former Mayor Leland Wilson
Former Mayor Peter Godfry
Former Mayor of Fullerton Jerry Christie
Former Mayor of Fullerton Linda LeQuire
Former Fullerton Police Chief Pat McKinley

Placentia

Former Placentia Mayor Scott Brady
Placentia Councilmember Jeremy Yamaguchi

Orange

City of Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche
City of Orange Councilmember Mark Murphy
City of Orange Councilmember Jon Dumitru

Yorba Linda

Yorba Linda Mayor Mark Schwing
Yorba Linda Councilmember Jim Winder

Villa Park

Villa Park Mayor Pro Tem Bill Mac Aloney

Brea

Brea Mayor John Beauman
Brea Councilmember Roy Moore

La Habra

La Habra Councilmember James Gomez
La Habra Councilmember Steve Simonian
Former La Habra Mayor Juan Garcia
Former La Habra City Councilmember John Holmberg

Elected Leaders

Tustin Mayor Doug Davert
Tustin Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Amante
Laguna Hills Mayor Joel Lautenschleger
City of Covina Mayor Walt Allen
Newport Beach City Councilmember Steven Rosansky
Capistrano Unified School District Trustee, Anna Bryson
Fullerton School District Trustees Maynard Duncan, Ellan Ballard, Hilda Sugarman, Lynn Thornly.

“Having called North Orange County her home for over 30 years, Linda is by far the most experienced and effective candidate for Assembly. She is a respected leader who will restore dignity to the office while fighting for Orange County values.”- Former Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher

“Linda has been a steadfast conservative leader in Orange County for many years. She will be ready to lead on the important budget issues facing the region and the state on day one.”- Assemblywoman Diane Harkey

“I am proud to stand by Linda in her campaign to promote conservative leadership and higher standards to the California State Assembly.”

– State Senator Mimi Walters.

“Linda Ackerman is an experienced leader who has proven her dedication to the community time and time again, I am proud to support her campaign for State Assembly because I know she will be ready to lead on the issues our state faces on day one after being elected.”- Senator Bob Huff

“Linda Ackerman has always done what is right for the sake of the community, not political gain. She is a proven leader who will help solve California’s budget crisis and bring Orange County values to the State Assembly.”- City of Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche

“Linda Ackerman is an experienced businesswoman and community leader who I trust to help balance the budget and rein in out of control spending in Sacramento. North Orange County needs Linda in the Assembly fighting for real budget reform.” – Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle

“We need an experienced leader who will fight for North Orange County. That’s why I’m supporting Linda Ackerman for State Assembly,” Fullerton Mayor Don Bankhead

“When it comes to the safety of our children, Linda Ackerman will never back down.”- Former Fullerton Police Chief Pat McKinley

“I wholeheartedly endorse Linda in her campaign for Assembly. As a businesswoman and community philanthropist she has been an active leader in North Orange County and is by far the best person to represent us in the Assembly” -Yorba Linda Mayor Mark Schwing

Paid For by Ackerman for Assembly 2009, FPPC ID #1321372

March 4, 2009January 4, 2010Big Brother

The All-Seeing Eyes of Fullerton

by Travis Kiger17 Comments

Over the past several years you may have noticed the increasingly prolific nature of government-sponsored surveillance cameras throughout the public areas in Fullerton. One Fullerton resident counted over 122 police and traffic cameras spread throughout the city.

These unblinking eyes are given the authority to record us as we lawfully participate in the everyday life of Fullerton citizens. Some of them issue $400 citations when we break the law. Others merely record our presence and store it on disk at the police station, to be reviewed later if we are accused of a crime. Sometimes the cameras are viewed in real time by Fullerton’s finest — other times they are viewed by private citizens working for a smooth-talking surveillance system vendor.

Most of us do appreciate the hard work that Fullerton Police do to find and detain those who cause us harm. However, we must remember that all government power is ultimately derived from the threat of force — necessitating our extreme caution in creation of new powers and rules. As free citizens, it is our responsibility to maintain strong oversight over those who we allow to govern us. We must keep a wary eye on technologies that enable the quiet expansion of power over us, and we should thoughtfully devise rules and policies regarding their use to protect us from individual or systemic abuses of such power.

Some may sneer at our natural tendency to question the continued spawning of such devices. After all – what do we have to hide? Don’t we trust our law enforcement agencies? We all know individual Fullerton officers who we personally trust. Shouldn’t we trust all of them?

Isn’t this just paranoia?

NO. The recent case of Orange County Sheriffs Department’s abusive surveillance of the OC Board of Supervisors is strong justification for our concern. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens stands accused of allowing her deputies to use surveillance cameras to zoom in on the notes, emails and text messages of political opponents and then unlawfully denying public records requests to release the tapes to the public.

Sheriff Hutchens has given us a perfect example of what can happen when we are too cavalier about allowing new technology to expand the presence of law enforcement into our lives. The Board has since voted to remove the Sheriffs’ contract to provide security over the boardroom, but as citizens, it’s not always that easy to protect ourselves once we have allowed an agency to go too far.

I urge the City of Fullerton and the Fullerton Police Department to carefully consider the ramifications of the continued proliferation of surveillance cameras throughout Fullerton. As free and law-abiding people, we do not need or deserve to be monitored whenever we leave our homes.