Friends For Fullerton's Future
FFFF supports causes that promote intelligent, responsible and accountable government in Fullerton and Orange County
Yesterday we had some fun with a self-righteous, pearl-clutching visitor calling him/herself “Bertha Washington” who seemed peeved that her/his Heroes on the Fullerton city payroll were being impugned. It doesn’t seemed to have entered this empty cranium that perhaps, just maybe, these miscreants deserved a wee ladling o’ the disapprobation.
Today we entertain guesses from the Friends as to the identity of Dear Bertha.
Have at it!
Yesterday the California State Supreme Court pulled the plug on the scam known as Redevelopment. The agencies that were created under the Health and Welfare Code to eliminate urban blight had taken on lives of their own, of course, and became sinkholes of waste, abusers of eminent domain, handers out of corporate welfare, and implementers of aesthetic fascism.
Good riddance. Despite stout defense by big government addicts like Don Bankhead, Pat McKinley and Dick Jones, the sad truth is that for every paltry “success” of Redevelopment, there have been a hundred failures – failures for which there was no accountability, and no responsibility. The Redevelopment klown kar had no rearview mirrors.
The Court unanimously found that the Legislature does indeed have the power to disband that which it created – common sense to you and me, but a horror-in-the-making to all the lawyers, bond salesmen, grifters, con men, housecoats, no-talent architects, and design Nazis who make their livings off of the property tax increment theft.
What will happen to all the recently approved projects in Fullerton is uncertain, although there is little doubt that McKinley, Bankhead and Jones will try to keep building over-dense low-income housing for the benefit of their handlers, especially anti-recall team leader, Dick Ackerman.
Nevertheless, the result of the decision is crystal clear: victory for the people of California; defeat for the Unknown Government and its Invisible Empire.
What’s that you say, Harpoon?
Here’s a story from CNN about how Egyptian military authorities subjected arrested women protesters to strip searches and “virginity tests.”
Here’s the money quotation from one of the charming gentlemen generals who run that unfortunate land:
“The girls who were detained were not like your daughter or mine,” the general told CNN at the time. “These were girls who had camped out in tents with male protesters in Tahrir Square, and we found in the tents Molotov cocktails and (drugs).”
Now does that sound familiar? Oh, yeah, right. The She Bear at the Soroptimists. Maybe we should invite Amnesty International to Fullerton to check up on Chief McKinley and his She Bear.
In case you missed it, the City Hall cheerleading Fullerton Stories website did a typical fluff post on the departure of Sylvia Palmer-Mudrick, the person who has been writing all those propaganda press releases that Jackie Brown, Barbara Giasone, and Lou Ponsi have been re-typing under their own names for the past twenty-five years. Good-bye Sylvia, enjoy your pension.
What caught my eye was the remarkable quote by four-month old “Acting” Chief (and soon to be massive pension recipient) Kevin Hamilton, who coughed up this oily hairball:
“Sylvia loves this town with all of her heart. She’s (recently) seen a side of Fullerton she’s never seen before … a town under attack.
“She continues to defend the reputation of this city, and she would give her life for this town,” Hamilton said.
A town under attack? Really?
And just who the in Hell do you think you are you jackass? It was your police force that robbed, beat up, perjured, sexually assaulted, and murdered innocent citizens. How goddam dare you claim that the City is under attack.Your filthy, corrupt department is under attack – by us, the citizens of Fullerton. We are the City, not you and your gang of thugs, hoodlums and pickpockets.
As if they didn’t have enough problems already, the Fullerton Police Department may have a new issue to grapple with: the wrath of the Almighty. According to Brandon Ferguson of the OC Weekly, a couple of Fullerton cops rudely broke up an annual celebration in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe over in an east-side alley. According to a witness one cop was heard to yell “I don’t give a fuck. You have to end this, or you’re getting arrested.”
¡Ay caramba! As they say, ¡No bueno! What’s next for FPD? Breaking down the doors of the church because the music is too loud?
The best part of the story is that apparently FPD spokes-stool Andrew Goodrich has decided to play hard to get with the Weekly in retribution for Marisa Gerber’s magisterial story of FPD law breaking and goonery. Important job tip, Andy: angering the media is no way for an under-employed PR jerk-off to make friends.
Say what you like about Don Bankhead, but you have admit the old coot is a treasure trove of Recall campaign material. Here is King Bankhead objecting to having his image and words captured for posterity by Sherri, a Recall campaign stalwart. I guess if I were as dim as the King, I wouldn’t want anybody recording what I said, either.
Two great lines.
First: “I’m a private person when I’m not working or on duty.” On duty?! He still thinks he’s a cop, which explains where his first misplaced loyalties are. Of course his “duty” is to represent all of Fullerton, even the victims of criminal behavior by the police, not just the public safety unions who support his political campaigns.
Then: I still have public…private rights to live by.” What the hell is that supposed to mean? Bankhead’s sudden shyness never stopped this oaf from approving City spy cameras set up to take our pictures without asking our consent. More nonsense from Mr. Scrambled Eggs for Brains.
And finally, why is Bankhead parked in a handicapped spot? We know all about his fake “disability” scam, but really, his sense of entitlement, even fraudulently come by, is remarkable.
Well, here’s the information provided by Andrew Goodrich & Co. about some dude who needs to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Everybody’s supposed to be scared. At least this loser did his time.
Too bad Pat KcKinley’s boys never bothered to alert the women of Fullerton that a serial molester of women, Albert Rincon was prowling the streets of Fullerton preying upon precisely those women McKinley would characterize as not credible. See, Rincon was one of Fullerton’e Finest. Really.
And he was actually put back on the streets after a little sensitivity training.
Yessiree, Friends, tonight is the night when our “esteemed” City Council chooses our mayor for 2012.
It’s also the night when the Council will be entertained (not enlightened we may reasonably assume) by a reading from Marisa Gerber’s great exposition of Fullerton’s bad cops, bad cops in the OC Weekly. After hearing the extensive (and not even exhaustive) report on the Culture of Corruption created and abetted by Jones, Bankhead and McKinley, even the most die hard loyalist to the Ancient Regime must cringe and slink off in shame. But not the Three Dyspeptic Dinosaurs.
But I digress.
It used to be that if you were on the Fullerton City Council and you were a Democrat; and if the following year happened to be an election year, your chances of being selected mayor by your colleagues were pretty damn slim. This is because the old guard country club Republicans like Dick Ackerman and Ed Royce would start pulling the strings of whichever featherheaded RINO nincompoops they had put on the council and the “rotation” that everybody talked about was out the window.
This year is a lot different. With the Recall of Jones, Bankhead, and McPension signature gathering phase coming to a successful completion, Ackerman & Co. know that this year their creaky boys cannot afford to offend anymore constituents, especially what’s left of the antique liberal cadre in Fullerton. So he must now do what for him is unthinkable, under ordinary circumstances, that goes diametrically against every fiber in his corrupt being, and that is order the Triumverate of Tone Deafness to support Sharon Quirk-Silva for mayor.
It will hurt, but it must be done. But will it help in the Recall campaign? Presumably there are some libs old, and young, who, while they won’t support the Recall publicly will certainly vote for accountability when it matters.
Stay tuned for the fun.
UPDATE: Like Jello, there’s always room for more Dr. Phogbottom. From a couple years ago.
Ah the unkindest cut of all! But true.
Listen as Fullerton Councilman Jones explains how Redevelopment is there to build infrastructure for nightclubs, as well as hand out interest-free loans, to stim-u-late business. So much for a conservative’s faith in free enterprise and keeping gummint out of our lives. Seems like Jones has a special place in his heart for corporate welfare – dished out to his buddies in downtown Fullerton.
So how is this different from the federal “stimulus” cooked up by Prez Obama? We have to wonder if all those bluehair Federated Republican Women who see Obama as some sort of commie, know what a card-carrying socialist their beloved Doc Jones is.
And once again we ask, how in good conscience can supposed conservative Ed Royce keep supporting this mallet head? Aha! First he would need a good conscience!
Now that the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer’s Association has weighed in on the issue of Fullerton’s 10% water tax with the suggestion of potential legal action, it seems an opportune time to consider the quality of legal support the City receives from its high-priced lawyers, Jones & Mayer.
Specifically, how can anybody explain the fact that the City Attorney Richard Jones has overlooked the obvious fact that the City of Fullerton’s in-lieu franchise fee of 10% was nothing but an illegal utility tax that was never substantiated by any objective study as required by Prop 218; and that it amounts to paying costs for alleged services that far exceed the actual cost of any services rendered to the water users, in violation of the State Constitution. Every year since he was hired in the early 90’s Attorney Jones’ bosses on the City Council approved water rates that automatically passed along this tax to the rate payers. Of course discussion of the embarrassing 10% add-on was avoided like the plague and was quickly dismissed when anybody brought it up.
Well, Friends, the answer is pretty simple: Attorney Jones wasn’t representing the interests of the people of Fullerton, he was representing the interests of the City staff and city councils who depended on that annual $2.5 million rip-off to close their General Fund budget gaps. That’s right, the General Fund that goes to pay the salaries of City employees; that goes to pay the Council’s stipends, insurance, and car allowances; that goes to pay the for the Council’s junkets to fancy hotels to attend League of Cities meetings; and that goes to pay pensions – including those gaudy six-figure pension bonanzas of Councilmembers Don Bankhead and Pat McKinley.
The reason for employing an attorney is to get sound legal advice, not to have someone tell you what you want to hear; or, even worse, not tell you what he thinks you don’t want to hear. But such is evidently not the case in Fullerton.
For Jones & Mayer placing the interests of the staff and defending the indefensible is nothing new. And the price tag for this string failures has mounted over the years. Let’s take a moment and reflect upon some of these issues. Hmm. So many to choose from. Here’s a sampling:
Good grief, this is pretty embarrassing. It’s clear that the City Attorney is more interested in harassing the citizens of Fullerton than in sticking up for their rights. And this seems like a pretty good barometer to assess the attitude of the council majority – Bankhead, Jones, and McKinley.