Paying for Todd Spitzer’s Lunatic Behavior
Everyday the people who run the County of Orange blow through so much dough that the amount of waste is incomprehensible to the layman. It’s incomprehensible to the County Board of Supervisors too, because of course, it’s not their money.
But then there are the examples, though relatively small, that truly give us cause to doubt the reason and the integrity of our County government. Thus the Todd Spitzer Wahoo’s Fish Taco incident that brought about a lawsuit that the County lost, putting us taxpayers on the hook for the legal fees of the other side. Fees of $121,396 to be precise. Here’s the payout as reported by Voice of OC, who just happens to be the other party in the lawsuit.
///ADDITIONAL INFO: – Photo by MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER –
Here’s the backstory: In April, 2015, 3rd District Supervisor (and now DA candidate) Todd Spitzer, took a loaded gun into the aforementioned restaurant and slapped handcuffs on a harmless proselytizer who was annoying him. A few moths later, word leaked out about this bizarre behavior and Spitzer, trying to put a positive spin on his weird behavior engaged the services of the County’s PR person, Jean Pasco to help craft a press release that would make Spitzer look good and (ironically) cast the offending evangelist as mentally unstable. The memos and the PR draft never saw the light of day.
The Voice of OC got wind of the e-mails between Spitzer and Pasco and made a public records act request to get them. Request denied. Then The Voice sued to get the documents and the Supervisors, including our own Shawn Nelson, endorsed the ludicrous idea that these documents could somehow be legitimately withheld from public scrutiny. Voice won in court, got their documents and ran their story. And then this week the taxpayers of Orange County got stuck with Voice’s legal tab – over $120,000. Again the Supervisors, including Nelson, voted to make us pay for their idiotic decision to protect one of their own club from…us.
The politicians are always telling us about their dedication to public service. But if anybody ever needed a perfect example of how they will use our money to protect themselves and their employees, he need look no farther than the Todd Spitzer Wahoo’s Fish Taco Tale.
That money ought to come out of Spitzer’s pocket. And the bloated sack of corruption who wants be a judge.
If Nelson was ever an honest elected (big if) he sure lost it when he came to the County. I’ve seen nothing but lame rationalizations for political string pulling and nest feathering from his own pension to secret deals.
A guy who took a loaded gun into a restaurant to arrest someone for annoying him wants to be DA? God, we’re in big trouble.
And the a guy who fought to withhold public information wants to be a judge.
We’re in bucket loads.
True. Nelson has no business being a judge. he needs to go back to chasing ambulances.
Kelly Aviles just took home the big win the the Voice. Isn’t that FFFF’s attorney, too?
1) Why is Todd voting on this? He’s voting to settle his own case? Obvious conflict of interest and he shouldn’t even be part of the discussion.
2) What’s the bill for the county’s defense? Assuming it’s the same (it’s probably higher) we’re out a cool quarter million to defend ego with stupidity.
Not cool, Todd. Not cool.
You have to figure in County Counsel time (which is hard to figi=ure since we have to pay those incompetent idiots anyhow, but the County may well have hired “outside counsel” to work this mess.
I’d love to see A PRA request!
Pull a gun on me in a public place, you might get it shoved up your azz. Even in commiefornia you can protect yourself. Well for the time being. Unless the assailant is an illegal then your screwed.
What’s worse, Spitzer’s oddball behavior or the fact that Nelson was perfectly willing to cover it up, fight (and lose) a lawsuit, and then stick the taxpayers with the bill.
Nelson loves to do stuff in secret – like shove a homeless shelter in East Fullerton – without telling anyone. Fortunately the big mouth ran out of guts (figuratively anyhow).
Is Spitzer crazier than imbriano?
Just another glaring example of mediocre men with driving ambition. They do more harm than good because they dare to take on immense public duty (yes, it is immense because the actions of county board of supervisors have more impact on the people because it is closer to the people) because they lack the intelligence to do whatnot best for their constituents. And this immense responsibility is held in the hands of people who are silly, afraid of disturbing the status quo by refusing to cut off useless county agencies, commissions, departments, while showing bravado in silly antics(waving a gun at a fast food preacher). And when caught in their character flaws, they run legal interference and then stick their constituents with the legal costs incurred by their cowardice to admit their wrongdoing.