Friends For Fullerton's Future
FFFF supports causes that promote intelligent, responsible and accountable government in Fullerton and Orange County
According to the OC Registrar of Voters the sampling of the Fullerton Recall signatures has validated the number needed to recall Bankhead, Jones and McKinley.
Here’s what the sampling projects for totals:
McKinley 13,604
Bankhead 13,355
Jones 14,361
The recall needed about 10,500 to qualify. Not even close.
And now it’s time for the Three Dithering Dinosaurs to certify the signatures themselves and call a special election. This will be agendized for February 21, 2012. Will they do it?
Well, you didn’t think they could do it, did you? Well we didn’t either. But the boys in the White Van overcame their three-month peyote and grapefruit juice-induced haze and picked up an audio recording of a conversation that we think you will enjoy. It seems that one night a few weeks ago they were parked in the neighborhood of the brick veenered and mansarded ranch house of Col. F. Dick Jones, USAF(Ret.), MD.
The transcription from the audio recording that you are about to read is so true to life that you might almost accept it as something that really happened.
(sound of a telephone ringing)
Dick Jones: Hella, this here’s Dick Jones. Doctah Dick Jones.
Dick Ackerman: (grunting noises) Dick, Dick. I got Ellis with me.
Jones: (wheezing noises) Dick Dick? What the Hell you talkin’ ’bout boy? What the Hell’s Elliswithme? Ah say, speak up, boy!
Ackerman: It’s Ackerman and Ellis. We’re running the campaign against Bushala. Protect Fullerton, remember?
Dave Ellis: Hi, Dick. Dick. Just got the check. Thanks a bundle.
Jones: Dick Dick? Aw, coll-sarn it y’all r’ a-startin’ that agin’. Whatcha boys talkin’ ’bout?
Ackerman: (more indecipherable short guttural sounds) Okay, shut up. Who else is there?
Jones: Me ‘n Don and Pat. We been a-waitin’ on yer call.
Ackerman: Okay. We on speaker? Good (three more staccato grunts). Everything’s going great. Got Bushala and those high school doper drop-outs on the run. Heh heh. Dave, give ’em an update.
Ellis: (a distinct sound of ice cubes rattling in a cocktail glass followed by a loud slurping sound. Karaoke in background ) Recission cards are pouring in – thousands, hundreds, millions of ’em. Our mailers are working great. Worth every penny. Bieber’s the best. Haha. Bushala slum lord, Bushala jailbird. Hahaha. Bushala dope-head. This is like taking candy from a baby. Hey, that sounds like fun, too! Haha.
Don Bankhead: (muffled sounds followed by a few snorts) Quite frankly…(indecipherable sounds that appear to be snoring).
Jones: Hey Pat, a-jiggle joggle that boy awake fer me, will ya? ‘Tamnation ah wish’d ah’d just a-quit. That damn Royce.
Ackerman: (a loud bark followed by a protracted low snarl) Goddamit stay focused. We got ’em on the run. The people of Fullerton know their city’s not for sale. This is my city.
Jones: It ain’t fer sale? But we’s open fer bidness! Ye-haw!
Pat McKinley: Pat here, Dick. I’m ready to deploy. Just give me some nun-chucks and some tear gas. Tasers. They enjoy pain. My boys’ll do anything for me. Did I mention that somebody punctured my Kevlar® gas tank? Freaks and hippies. Terrorists. She Bear, oh yeah!
Ackerman: Jesus Christ, you’re all nuts.
Jones: (a phlegmy wheeze followed by a disctinct sound of expectoration) Ah’m a doctah ‘n a kernel. I ain’t a-gonna stand fo’ no mo’ ana-key. Ah’m a fomah Mayuh!
Ellis: We need more money for the next mailing.
Jones: Whuzza? How much we in fer so fah?
Ackerman: Um, er, Dave?
Ellis: About fifty-five.
McKinley: Fifty-five hundred? That’s not bad. I make three times that each month for my pension! Not counting my She Bear royalties for all those books I sold at the Chamber.
Ackerman: (a bark) I wish you’d quit reminding people about that stuff you idiot. No. Fifty-five thousand.
Jones: Sweet Blubberin’ Baby Jebus! Oh Gawd, ah think ah’m a-havin’ a conniption!
Ackerman: (an unmistakable snarl) Settle down, Dick. This is about more than just you. If this recall goes through I’m finished in Fullerton. No more kickbacks, no more fake residences.
Jones: Aww Lawdy, ah’m a-comin’ home! Fiddy-five thousand? (A series of choking sounds followed by a low moan). Aw-w-w-w-w-w-w.
Ackerman: Look, we’re in the home stretch. Do you want to lose your jobs or worry about a few grand? Jesus, most of it came from the cops anyway. Let’s talk about Phase Two.
Jones: Mah repa-tay-shun. Tarnation, MuhKinlay, a-joggle jiggle that boy awake agin’. We gotta get hard, n’ tough and n’ mean!
(muffled noises, coughing and assorted grunts)
Bankhead: Uh, really and truly. Uh. What? What was Phase One, again?
Ackerman: (a grunt) Phase One was where we softened ’em up with body blows. They’re about ready to quit.
Jones: But they got all them signa’ters anyway. Fiddy-five thousand.
Ackerman: Shut up and listen. Phase Two. Dave?
Ellis: Phase Two is to alert the media that all those signatures are going to be invalidated. We’re gonna need another five thou, give or take. We need another mailer
Jones: Fiddy-five thousand. Aw Lawd ‘a Mercy! What we need another mailer fer?
Ellis: We’re going on the offensive, take ’em down. Fullerton’s Not For Sale. Bushala the Terrorist. Haha.
McKinley: People keep asking me about the police department and that damn Kelly Thomas video. Jesus, you can’t even blouse up a bum anymore. And that She Bear talk in Brea. Now they keep asking me about Rincon. What do I tell em?
Ackerman: Tell ’em Bushala keeps chickens in his backyard. Heh, heh. Damn Norby’s behind all this (more low growling).
Jones: Whaddabout that watah fee Hitlah thing?
Ellis: Bushala wants to buy your city!
Bankhead: Things of that nature…(snoring resumes).
Ackerman: Okay, just raise more money. Everybody whose ever got a dime off of Redevelopement chips in. And I mean everybody, got it? Hey, what’s that van doing out there? What the? How long…
At this point the conversation was terminated.
State court judge LLoyd Connolly said no to supplicants trying a last ditch effort to save their sacred cash cow known as Redevelopment.
Please note the attorney for the aggrieved cities – including Cerritos, the biggest pirate in the Redevelopment waters – Jeffrey Oderman. Oderman is the City of Fullerton’s Redevelopment lawyer, and, as we have documented on these pages, has legal apologist for all the Redevelopment boondoggles in Fullerton for 20 years.
We are in receipt of this video from Kelly’s Army. Is Ron Thomas correct about the actions of FPD Corporal Jay Cicinelli? I don’t know. You be the judge.
Here’s Fullerton City Manager Joe Felz hanging out with the recall crew while the signatures were being counted last week.
Thanks for the photo, Ricky.
We get a lot of e-mails from folks all over the place. The following, from a guy named Howard, is not atypical. A familiar thread is the theme of municipal cultures of corruption and lack of leadership across the republic.
Name: Howard McLay
Privacy: You may publish this under my name
Subject: Fullerton Leadership Mess
Since the death of Kelly Thomas, I have read the FFFF blog weekly.
I’m amazed at the depth of coverage of this clowncil.
I am also amazed at the height of the corruption and spending within the city.
This leads to an amazement of “How did it get this bad” considering all the info published in the FFFF blog.
This is not a criticism by any means of the good people involved or the people of Fullerton. For I live in Wayne County Mich where there is a FBI investigation ongoing with our leader, and the world knows about the Detroit mayor.
So my amazement is really…how in the world did our government get so lax in oversight, in checks and balances, to have these messes all across America.
My hope is that your recall, and the investigation into the killing of Kelly, comes to a just ending. Keep up the pressure!
Howard, thanks for the kind words and well-wishes. We will indeed keep up the pressure!
Today, we received this insightful comment from long-time FFFF blogger Hollis Dugan that I made a post all by itself. Here ya go:
I have been watching the goings on from both sides of this since last summer and I have some thoughts. I guess I could make this several separate comments but here goes:
Battle Prep: It is obvious to me the other side is outmatched. Before anyone thinks this is a biased view, allow me to explain. Dave Ellis, sleaze bag extraordinaire, is used to ambushing unsuspecting politicos with his street fight tactics and getting some success. Go in to a fight that the opponents think has some rules of congeniality and decorum and Dave just blows them out with under handed tactics, lies tied to good timing (the last minute accusation type mailers) and he catches people off guard and rolls them.
In this case Dave has met up with some experienced ninja warrior street fighters. Dave’s usual tricks are bush league compared to what this crowd is already used to after battles with the local police union, the Ackerwoman v. Norby race, Sidhu/unions v. Nelson etc. This crew is battle tested and motivated to fight to the death because it is what they believe. Dave Ellis is a hired gun who cares zero about Fullerton or its issues. Dave will do only when paid and he has nothing at stake.
Recall Signatures: The anti recall group just cant get their head around the idea that 17,000+ people signed the petitions therefore, a ton of the sigs must be faulty. I’m sure it has never occurred to the that A) All newly registered voter sigs on a recall are 100% by nature. Having registered probably a few thousand new voters over the last 5 months, the recallers really need to get 8500 valid sigs from their remaining 15,500 sigs. B) It clearly has not occurred to the anti recall fools that with modern technology voter signatures can be verified and purged as collected. In other words, if all those volunteers appointed one among their ranks to verify sigs as they were collected over the last 5 months or so, the validity rate is going to be through the roof, not the other way around. Think this didnt happen? Please re-read above. This crew is battle tested and street savvy. Count on it (pun intended).
Withdrawl cards: Nothing screams failure louder than the return of 145 cards after several thousand dollars were spent on the Hail Mary play from the anti recall group. Earth to Dave Ellis: in order to withdraw a sig one must have signed the petition in the first place.
The only people who would have signed the petition were those that felt it was worth their time to challenge the three subjects of the petition. No doubt the signers could have had their own reason to want any of the three out of office or used one of those reasons offered by the sig gatherers.
Regardless of why each person signed the petition one thing we know for sure is the anti recall effort didnt even attempt to show the petition signers their original reason for signing was invalid. Rather than debunk some lie being perpetrated by the recall sig gatherers the anti recall crew chose to attack Tony Bushala. I ask, is there anyone who signed the petition based on their fondness for Mr. Bushala’s good citizenship?
In other words, the other side failed to consider intelligent people could very well agree with everything on the mailers disparaging Mr. Bushala and still think the three old guys need to be recalled. Best case scenario the anti recallers may have ruined Mr. Bushala’s run at city council but how the hell was that going to help their cause?
No one was going to withdraw their sig because their original reason for signing it was never addressed.
Excuses: I am amazed that at every step including Bankhead on the tv last night, the three old coots are constantly believing that this just cant be real. Don said on channel 4 last night that he has been told by “experts” a lot of the signatures will not be valid. McKinley said on national tv the cops may still get out of this because they have a good lawyer. Jones had seen worse injuries in Viet Nam than Kelly’s and just couldn’t imagine how he could have died.
These guys are going to go to the finish line having no idea what happened before, what is happening now or how it happened at all. They are all going to be former council members before they ever figure out what their role was in their own undoing.
It’s like they say, ignorance is bliss. It is also painful to watch.
Moments ago the Fullerton Recall team turned in well over 50,000 signatures from Fullerton voters to initiate a recall election of councilmembers Don Bankhead, Dick Jones and Pat McKinley. The reason? Their simple failure to provide competent leadership for our city.
The individual totals are:
Next, the city clerk will turn over the signatures to be verified by the OC Registrar of Voters. Once the requirement of 10,554 valid signatures for each recallee is met, an election must scheduled by the Fullerton city council.
In that election, which will occur sometime before this summer, Fullerton voters will decide both if they want to recall each of the three officials and which candidates will replace them.
I want to give a special thank you to all of our dedicated signature gatherers who worked so hard to bring in 60% more sigs than are required.
Friends, over the past couple of months you may have noticed anonymous comments on some of our posts referring to “George” and “Jorge” and some sort of hit-and-run issue. Those comments referred to my brother George and came from inside the FPD. I let them go. Then. But not now.
This is a cautionary tale about a Culture of Corruption in the FPD that encourages the harassment of law abiding citizens. Getting a ticket from Barry Coffman for “excessive horning” is bad enough. Getting prosecuted for a non-existing “crime” is intolerable. Unfortunately this sort of thing has become business as usual with the FPD. It appears to be not only tolerated, but encouraged. And that’s what happens when the civilian authority abdicates its responsibility to oversee the cops.
Here’s the story.
Back on the morning of February 28, 2011 my brother George was driving east down Walnut Avenue, and turned right into the driveway of our office building parking lot. A car had parked quite close to the entry of the driveway, and as he turned in he heard a distinctive sound. After parking he noticed that the front bumper of the car was lying in the street.
He was pretty sure he hadn’t hit the car in any way, and there was no other damage to that car, or to his own vehicle; and he noticed that the bumper had been jerry-rigged at some point to stay on with sheet metal screws. He believed his right front tire just hit the thing as it lay in the roadway.
George kept watch on the car, and later in the afternoon a woman came to pick it up. He explained the situation and told Mrs. Bumper that he didn’t think he was responsible, but that he would help put the bumper back on with secure connections to the chassis the next day. She was grateful and drove off.
The next day her husband showed up and demanded that George buy him a new bumper. George suggested he go away and take his bumper with him.
Mr. Bumper filed a police report and soon George was interrogated by a couple of FPD cops. He told his story for the third time. The next thing he knew he was being charged by the District Attorney with Hit and Run, Unsafe Turn and Illegal Tampering With A Vehicle!
Story recap: No hit. No run. No unsafe turn. No tampering. No evidence. No witness. No nothing. Yet our esteemed DA, following the advice of FPD, had decided to prosecute my brother.
Of course George had to hire a lawyer who made six different court appearances on this idiotic “case.” Finally the DA blinked and offered George the DNA “spit and acquit” deal he makes with campaign-contributing food poisoners. George said no. With a trial date looming the DA’s office just dropped the whole thing on September 20th.
Too bad, in a way. I really looked forward to seeing those FPD clowns on the stand to explain and defend their evidence. Now the public will never see the facts behind what can only be described as a malicious attempt to intimidate and harass me through my brother.
Well, guess what, boys? It didn’t work.
How much police, DA and court time and money was completely wasted in this effort to try to push around a citizen and taxpayer? Who knows? Five different DA employees had their spoons in this soup, as well as judges, bailiffs, court scribes, etc.
But I know one thing. There is an entrenched Culture of Corruption in the Fullerton Police Department that runs pretty deep, and it needs to end soon!
A while back we had a new City seal contest here that was won by The Fullerton Savage. The Savage won a CD by local talented artist Nancy Sanchez. Nancy plays regularly at Steamers.
Nancy recently won the Orange County Music Award for “Best Latin” and was also nominated for “Best Jazz” as well.
She is currently recording her first full length album of Pop/Folk songs which she has penned in the last few years, and like most struggling artists, is in need of financial help in order to complete her goal.