What Does Fullerton’s Future Hold In Store For Dick Jones?

dick-jones
Staying awake long enough to break the law…

I don’t have the answer. Not yet anyway. But I know that the “I Can’t Believe It’s a Law Firm” of Jones and Mayer has been making bank on Fullerton for over 25 years as City Attorney. And I know that that the dismal legal counsel has impoverished the taxpayers of Fullerton plenty over the two and a half decades. I’m not going to recite the litany of legal failures we can lay at Jones’s doorstep – not yet anyway; we’ve already been doing that for years.

For reasons that escape Council watchers, Dick Jones somehow managed to escape getting the boot between 2020 and 2024, and I can’t think of anybody outside the Council who knows exactly why. Generally we can conclude that at least one member of the Whitaker, Dunlap, Jung triumvirate was protecting Jones and his minions, since it is incomprehensible that either Ahmad Zahra or Shana Charles would dump this chump.

Jail is for the little people…

Dick Jones is nothing if not a politician, playing the angles to keep at least three council persons happy at any one time, even alongside legal debacle after legal debacle. It’s worked through 4 different decades thanks to Fullerton being Fullerton. The Old Guard didn’t care and didn’t want to cause trouble; they were easy to push and persuade without too much trouble. The lamebrains like Leland Wilson and Mike Clesceri were afraid of their own shadows. Norby, I’m told, was just happy that the job was outsourced. The other dopes like Pam Keller, Sharon Quirk and Jesus Quirk-Silva could not have conceived of anybody holding Jones responsible for the legal advice he dispensed. For a fixer like Jennifer Fitzgerald he was the perfect running buddy, trying to accommodate anything she wanted.

Is Jones & Mayer still have a pulse?

Well, now Whitaker is gone, and if he was the fly in the ointment for the past 4 years, we may soon find out. Will Council newcomer Jamie Valencia take an independent stand and actually review Jones and Mayer’s record of failure? I sure hope so. It’s time that the City Attorney started giving out advice that avoids lawsuits instead of getting into them, with the result that he gets paid even more for failure.

I don’t know if Ms. Valencia reads this blog, but if so I sure hope she follows that link, above. She would find stories of Jones & Mayer’s incompetence, self-service, and ghastly legal decisions that have harassed Fullerton citizens, given away public resources and cost the taxpayers millions going back 25 years.

I’m sure Jonesy has already tried hard to wheedle himself into Valencia’s good graces, because that’s what he has always done. Will she go for it?

Hanging on to Fullerton should be a big deal to Jones and Mayer in terms of the future legal partnership. And I’m sure Jones figures that the loss of Fullerton could jeopardize his jobs in other cities like Westminster, La Habra, and Costa Mesa. True, Jones is 75 years old and may not even care anymore. Still, the firm must go on, and the junior partners such as the terrier-like Kim Barlow and the obnoxious hand-job lawyer, Gregory Palmer may still have a few years of legal bungling ahead of them.

The Words of George Bushala. Speaking Truth to BooHoos

Home town hero…

Thanks to the AI software employed by the Fullerton Observer we have a more or less accurate written account of the statement made by Fullerton resident George Bushala that caused all the fuss at the December 17th Fullerton City Council meeting. Included are the interruptions by Sharon Kennedy and her sister Skaskia in violation of rules of public behavior in the chambers.

Giving free speech the middle finger…

There may be additions or subtraction of which I am unaware, but the whole thing has the ring of truth – meaning minimal Observer opinion masquerading as fact – links to Observer articles should be followed with skepticism. I notice Sharon Kennedy is referred to as the current Editor of the Observer. I have no idea who “Erin” is. And of course the Observer ever accurate, identifies the wrong Bushala.

George Bushala Jr. stated, “Here are eight reasons why I don’t believe Zahra should represent our City Council members as mayor and why he undermines voter rights.

1. In 2018, after being elected to represent District 5, Mr. Zahra voted against allowing the voters of Fullerton to elect a replacement for an at-large seat vacated by Jesus Silva. Despite initially supporting a special election, he later opposed it, citing the cost. This contradicts his support for other questionable expenditures that far exceeded the projected costs of the election, raising concerns about his commitment to democratic processes and fiscal responsibility. (Click here to read the Fullerton Observer article) (Click here to read the Voice of OC article)

2. Mr. Zahra appointed himself to the Orange County Water District (OCWD), playing a key role in the appointment of Jan Flory to the City Council, which subsequently led to his own appointment to the OC WD Board. This raises concerns about a potential quid pro quo arrangement. Mr. Zahra seemed to support Flory’s appointment to the City Council in exchange for her backing his appointment to the OCWD Board. Such actions give the appearance of self-serving political maneuvering and erode public trust. (Click here to read the Daily Titan article) (Click here to read the Fullerton Observer article)

3. Mr. Zahra wasted public funds on a baseless lawsuit, supporting the expenditure of over $1,000,000 of taxpayer money to sue two local bloggers who downloaded a publicly available file from the city’s website. This lawsuit, which sought to suppress free speech and punish journalists for exposing city government missteps, was an unnecessary waste of public funds and a troubling attack on the press. (Click here to read the Fullerton Observer article) (Click here to read the Voice of OC article)

4. Mr. Zahra was involved in plagiarism and deceptive behavior. He falsely claimed authorship of an article in the Fullerton Observer that was actually written by staff at the Orange County Water District. This misrepresentation caused embarrassment for the newspaper.”

Sharon Kennedy, the current editor of the Fullerton Observer, shouted that the information being discussed was misinformation and lies as she stormed out Erin yelled at Saskia, calling her a loudmouth and telling her to be quiet.

Mayor Dunlap intervened from the dais, urging the audience to be quiet. “Let the man speak. Excuse me? Okay, you’regoing to take a recess in a minute. If you’re going to keep this up, knock it off,” he said. He then asked the police chief to help control the situation.

Bushala continued, stating, “This misrepresentation has caused Zahra embarrassment for the newspaper and raises doubts about Mr. Zahra’s honesty and transparency. His actions suggest a willingness to mislead the public for political gain.”

Saskia Kennedy shouted that Bushala was lying.

Mayor Dunlap raised concern again from the dais, insisting, “Let the man speak. You know what? We’re going to call a recess. Everyone has the right to talk. Knock it off. Can we behave like adults? If not, I’m trying to figure out if we can conduct ourselves like adults. Can you refrain from heckling? Okay, let’s get back on track.”

Bushala continued, “I’ll skip to point six: manipulating the 2022 election. During his reelection campaign, Mr. Zahra was accused of recruiting a fake candidate, Tony Castro, to split the vote with Oscar Valdez, the leading candidate in District 5. This manipulation of the electoral process undermines the integrity of our democratic system and puts Mr. Zahra’s commitment to fair elections into question. I was interrupted earlier, but I have two more quick points.

Point #7 addresses deceptive actions to gain U.S. citizenship. Mr. Zahra, a self-identified gay man, married a woman from Arkansas shortly after arriving in the United States, presumably to obtain citizenship. This action raises concerns about his ethics and integrity, particularly regarding the use of marriage for immigration benefits. While his sexual orientation is a personal matter, this maneuver to secure citizenship raises serious ethical questions about his character.”

Ahmad Zahra attempted to defend himself against slander and personal attacks but was shouted down by Mayor Dunlap.

Bushala then addressed point #8: the allegation of filing a false police report against Vice Mayor Jung. In 2021, Mr. Zahra was involved in filing a false police report against Vice Mayor Jung. Such actions not only undermine trust in public City Council members but also threaten to damage the public’s confidence in their elected officials. Fabricating accusations against colleagues sets a dangerous precedent and raises significant ethical concerns.

Mayor Dunlap stated, “We’re not going to allow disruptions during meetings, and we won’t tolerate cheering from the audience. If you wish to speak, you have the same right as everyone else to express your view within our democratic process. You can do this her in the chambers or on Zoom. However, we will not accept heckling from the audience. Whether you like me or dislike me, or if you agree or disagree with my views, it’s all in the process. But you veto, do it from the proper venue, which is to come forward to the microphone and allow others their opportunity to speak.”

Sharon Kennedy Wigs Out At Council Meeting

In happier days…

At the December 17th Council Meeting, Sharon Kennedy, “former publisher” of the Fullerton Observer appeared to go bonkers when a public speaker began enumerating the reasons Ahmad Zahra was unfit to be Mayor of Fullerton.

FFFF artist’s fictional interpretation…

She began screaming from the rear of the council chambers, accusing the speaker of being a liar and disseminating “disinformation” while interrupting both the speaker and the meeting.

Kennedy’s violent outburst continued – she kept interrupting the speaker, who calmly continued to recite the damning bill of indictment against Zahra.

Zahra-Busted
Time to come clean…..

Zahra himself interrupted the proceedings, too, as well he might, given that the list of objections to his mayoralty was so persuasive. Still, it’s bad form to engage public speakers – “chilling” is what County Supervisor Doug “Bud” Chaffee called it in 2012, and it treads upon free speech rights of a citizen, for sure.

Eventually, Kennedy removed herself from the chamber before Mayor Nick Dunlap could ask police Chief Radus to kick her out..

Why write about news when you can try to make your own! (Photo by Julie Leopo/Voice of OC)

Zahra’s supporters like Sharon Kennedy and her sister, fellow Observer Skaskia, continue to ignore his plagiarism, his marriage fraud, his false police report against Fred Jung, his assault and battery guilty plea, his ever-shifting coming out/coming to America tale, and his perpetual victimhood narratives.

Their emotional and psychological investment in Zahra is such that they will never see the real story. That’s the persuasion of the conman when his marks would rather buy into the con than face the truth of their own foolish gullibility. Or they are infinitely hypocritical. Either that or they’re really stupid.

“Dr.” Ahmad Zahra is Still Not Mayor of Fullerton

Last night the City Council appointed a new Mayor for 2025. And guess what? It isn’t Ahmad Zahra, the evasive and prevaricating Middle Eastern medic. He’s been on the City Council for 6 years and has never been able to get two other votes to make himself Mayor.

Why not?

It’s because the majority of his colleagues don’t like him. Not at all. From his self-serving behavior, his sanctimony, his manic publicity seeking, his peddling salacious gossip about his colleagues to local blogs, and his filing a false police report against the new Mayor, he has demonstrated time and again his toxic personality, clearly unfit to be the figurehead of the city.

It’s never even been necessary for the other councilmembers to consider Zahra’s illegal immigration into the country through a phony marriage to a woman in Arkansas; or his assault and battery case against a woman; or his serial plagiarism of water articles written by an Orange County Water District bureaucrat to appear to be some sort of expert.

Last night meeting did have some fun moments, too, that FFFF will share from the video stream when it’s up.

George Bushala, a new local hero…

Of course there were the usual gaggle of boohooing Zahra disciples, people dumb enough to fall for his routine. But one man, George Bushala stood up and completely dismantled Zahra – by actually citing the facts about the man’s background narrative – not the bullshit his followers like so much to lap up. It was a damning bill of indictment and it was beautiful to behold.

Bushala’s statement wasn’t stoically accepted by Zahra, who cried out that he was the victim of a personal attack – pretty rich coming from the creep who has been orchestrating public demonstrations against Jung, Dunlap and Whitaker for several years; demonstrations full of insult, character assassination and innuendo. Personal enough? The non-plussed Zahra had to be admonished not to interrupt public speakers.

From the back of the audience one crazy-bonkers woman started screaming about lies against Zahra. She kept interrupting Mr. Bushala, who calmly waited each time before requesting to able to continue. After being castigated by Dunlap to shut up, the belligerant shrew finally left the chambers in a fit of purple pique, before the cops could hustle her out.

Crazy is as crazy does…

And guess what? It was none other than one of the operators of the “independent newspaper” The Fullerton Observer, Sharon Kennedy!

New Mayor.

Anyway, as far as the vote went, Nick Dunlap decided to nominate Shana Charles for Mayor, a gambit no doubt mean to get some love from Fullerton Democrats. Of course it won’t; and in any case Shana Charles nominated Zahra. Jung nominated himself. And the result was Charles 1, Zahra 2 and Jung 2. On the second try it was 3-2 Jung, with newcomer Jamie Valencia supporting her political mentor. So we’ll be favored with Jung’s rich baritone act for 2025. We’ll also hear about the horrible unfairness of it all for a while, but if you think about it, Zahra could have made Charles Mayor but he obviously didn’t want to. Misogyny?

Let the BooHooing Begin

Yes, it’s that time of every year comes up when the Fullerton City Council chooses one of its own to be Mayor for the upcoming year. Another is chosen to be Mayor Pro Tem, which is Latin-ish for back up guy.

Nurse Jamie still looking good…

This will occur on Tuesday after newcomer Jamie Valencia is sworn in to replace Bruce Whitaker. The jobs are basically ceremonial, but the Mayor gets to run the meetings.

For the past several years the Council majority of Fred Jung, Nick Dunlap, and Bruce Whitaker have chosen one of their number to hold these offices and have deliberately excluded “Dr.” Ahmad Zahra. They have offered no explanation for this exclusion, which is too bad.

Zahra-Busted
Time to come clean…..

Zahra and his claque have attributed this exclusion to discrimination against his (dubious) Muslim beliefs or alternatively, his gayness – the two attributes that he relies on to promote his unique “brand.” What the public doesn’t get, but that council watchers know to be true is that those three really don’t like Zahra. Why? Maybe because of his public pontifications against them, and his even more egregious behavior behind the scenes that sometimes becomes hysterical, and one time led him to file a false police report against Fred Jung. We are aware of Zahra attempting to smear his colleagues via OC political blogs.

The Council majority is well-aware of Zahra’s penchant for self-promotion and camera hogging, even going so far as to leave a council meeting for a photo op.

Of course there are other good reasons to exclude Zahra, reasons that people are too polite to express, Fullerton being Fullerton. Like Zahra worming his way into the USA via marriage fraud – to a woman. Or his shifting biography, or his blatant plagiarism while pretending to be a water expert. Then there’s his assault and battery case, safely sealed now, in which he claims, fraudulently, that he was exonerated. Lying seems to be Zahra’s modus vivendi.

It turns out that there is a policy suggesting that everybody gets a chance to put “Mayor” in front of their name. Policy No. 226 in the Policy and Procedures Manual spells it out. The problem is that a policy is not an obligation, especially for those who didn’t cook it up in the first place. But this is what Fullerton BooHoo rests its confidence on year after year, as they turn up in their numbers to promote their darling, Zahra.

What will happen Tuesday? Will Valencia go with Jung and Dunlap and keep Zahra and his acolyte Shana Charles from being Fullerton’s figureheads?

Let’s hope so.

“Dr.” Zahra Throws Tantrum Leaves Meeting

I will get what I want, one way or another…

In a typical display of childish petulance, Fullerton City Councilman Ahmad Zahra displayed why he is unfit to be our Mayor last Tuesday.

At the December 10th Special Meeting, Zahra just couldn’t help himself at one point from interrupting Mayor Nick Dunlap who was trying to talk – before letting Zahra speak his piece.

Zahra demanded to be heard on some footling “point of order” or something and refused to shut up, so the Mayor did it for him.

What to do? Zahra got up yammering and sulked into the room behind the dais. Here’s the video:

From everything we’ve heard about Zahra this sort of behavior is typical when the cameras aren’t rolling. In one instance he went so far as to file an hysterical and fraudulent police report on one of his fellow councilmembers. Comically, his devoted claque continually fails to understand why his colleagues refuse to make him Mayor.

What is Fullerton’s Future?

Nurse Jamie still looking good…

If the current situation in the District 4 election remains unchanged, Jamie Valencia will be the newest member of the Fullerton City Council.

Dunlap-Jung
Anyone else?

Will she, like her soon to be predecessor Bruce Whitaker, form a reliable majority with Nick Dunlap and Fred Jung? I don’t know. But supposing she will, it’s fun to speculate on what issues, if any, could be in the offing for Fullerton’s future.

Domer-Decorations
Hitching to Desert Center

Remember, Friends, that Dunlap, Jung and Whitaker have never really bucked City Hall bureaucratic authority, with the singular exception of getting rid of hapless City Manager, Ken Domer, and that happened after four or five months of dithering.

It’s a total waste of money, but it sure is short…

Would a new council majority be willing to take on any sort of real policy direction? Would it be willing to reverse awful decisions made previously? We may consider such City Hall monstrosities as the Walk on Wilshire and the equally stupid Trail to Nowhere as projects crying out for their plugs to be pulled. What about the “boutique” hotel that morphed into a monster, high density boondoggle, whose “developer” has a series of bankruptcies and judicial losses to his credit?

Still crazy after all these years…

What about Mario Marovich’s “bump out” building addition, a theft of public property over 20 years ago that still squats there on the Commonwealth Avenue sidewalk, despite an agreement with Marovich that should have gotten rid of it 16 months ago?

Business is booming…

Hey! What are we going to do about the public money drain known as Downtown Fullerton? Anybody willing to discuss a bar tax on the people who have been making tens of millions off of us over the past 20 years?

It’s not a cliff dwelling. We have indoor plumbing!

And then there’s the deplorable “6th Cycle Housing Element” to the Fullerton General Plan, a program of mass housing mandates that, if effected, would destroy the City. SO far the Council has shown no sales resistance to the idea of 13,000 new residential units, even as their staff has cooked up a plan for 30,000.

Are there personnel changes that might happen, that ought to happen? Will there be new policies demanding accountability by our well-paid and benefitted staff? Would a new council majority put a halt to the staff penchant for drumming up Astroturf support for its boondoggles?

dick-jones
Staying awake long enough to break the law…

And let’s not forget the good folks who make bank on us dispensing the worst legal advice imaginable over the past 30 years without any accountability for losses, bungling, conflicts of interest; yes, the I can’t Believe It’s a Law Firm of Jones and Myers who oversaw and vigorously pursued the lawsuit against Joshua Ferguson, David Curlee and the FFFF blog itself.

Is change coming? Anything is possible, I suppose, but this is Fullerton, and Fullerton, being Fullerton, no idea is too stupid to die.

And of course Cannabis Kitty Jaramillo could be the beneficiary of her followers’ petitions to the Almighty for the “good guys” to win. In which case, other sorts of changes will be coming, none of them good, which would be the subject of another post.

In the meantime, let’s go ahead, Friends. Let’s indulge ourselves in speculation, and even more importantly, sharing what we think are good ideas.

Jaramillo Goes Ahead

Stoned and happy…

Otiose Fullerton 4th District candidate Vivian Jaramillo pulled ahead of her rival, newcomer Jamie Valenzuela yesterday – by 13 votes. Jaramillo has steadily gained since election night in what seems to be a non-statistical anomaly. It’s pretty clear that the late Jaramillo GOTV mail-in effort is paying off now.

We now know who paid for that effort – the Marijuana Dispensary Cartel – who dumped in an astounding $60,000 into a pro-Jaramillo PAC, the green laundered through the grocery store union.

We can also surmise with a lot of confidence that it was the Dope Cartel that had a hand in the creation of the fake candidate, confessed perjurer, Scott Markowitz.

The shoe fit…

If Jaramillo wins, Fullerton will have a pro-dope majority, and Jaramillo, the candidate who made it her platform to bitch about incumbents “not listening to the people,” will, ironically, jam the dispensaries into Fullerton, despite overwhelming opposition from her common folk – real working families.

I will get what I want, one way or another…

Just as importantly Ahmad Zahra, the immigration fraud, “doctor” and “film maker” would finally get to play gay Arab Muslim Mayor. One wonders how the often hysterical Zahra would handle a steady stream of abuse like the kind he orchestrated against his colleagues over the past four years.

As far as municipal finance goes, a new majority could exercise its wisdom without being able to blame Mssrs, Whitaker, Dunlap, and Jung. There still would not be a 4/5ths majority to put a general tax on the ballot, but Zahra, Charles and Jaramillo could certainly put a specific tax on a 2026 ballot. And all that new brainpower ought to be able to come up with something to address Fullerton’s economic cliff.

The Morning After Pill

The results of the November 2024 Fullerton elections are almost settled.

School bonds L and N passed comfortably. And why not? The districts used your money to educate you, and the beholden contractors, trades, architects et al. spent $300,000 to put us all farther into debt. Yea! Property taxes and rents and the cost of commerce are going up. But, hey, it’s all for the kids, right?

The designated driver is on the way…

In the City Council 2nd District election, Mayor Nick Dunlap pummeled the old warhorse, Jan Flory, whose try at a 4th time around the track came out of the gate without a rider. The result so far is a massive 28 point victory.

There seemed to be some confusion…

In the 1st District, incumbent Fred Jung walloped a guy named Matt Truxaw, who can now retreat back into the murky obscurity from which he was trolled by Ahmad Zahra. This one wasn’t close, either – a 44 point gap

Nurse Jamie looking good…

The 4th District is close – real close. Newcomer Jamie Valencia leads OC Dem Central darling Vivian “Kitty” Jaramillo, a woman whose candidacy was so shaky the Dem Party created a phony non-Latino candidate to help her out. Right now the difference is about 130 votes in Valencia’s favor. Can late mail-in ballots save Kitty’s litter? We’ll probably know by the end of the day. Linda Whitaker, who didn’t seem to campaign at all finished a distant third. But we see you there, Scott Markowitz, the perjurer set up to help Jaramillo. He has 766 votes right now, enough to suggest that his phony candidacy could be considered to be an effective element in the election. Cause for legal action? That would be fun.

The anointing oil was greasy and left fingerprints, and didn’t take…

A Valencia victory would certainly be the bitterest pill for Ahmad Zahra and Shana Charles and all the other Dem small fry like Sharon Quirk and Josh Newman. More importantly, it would solidify a common sense approach to the stupidity and turbidity of City Hall inventions like the Trail to Nowhere, the Wank on Wilshire, the boutique hotel disaster, etc. Even more significantly it will affect the issue of liberal marijuana dispensaries in Fullerton – Zahra’s pet cause.

The Fullerton Observer Sisters can be counted on to bemoan a Jaramillo loss and blame evil developer influences for having the temerity to tell the truth about poor Kitty.

Looking Heavenward for help…

Speaking of Newman, he is currently losing his State Senate job to the dopey librarian from Irvine, Steven Choi, for which we would be eternally grateful if it holds. He would leave a ridiculous, gerrymandered district he couldn’t win as his lasting legacy. He’s 14,000 votes behind, which is a lot, but of course late ballot counts could change that over the days ahead – like they did for him in 2016.

The power couple looks a lot less powerful these days…

Quirk won as expected, but with a Jaramillo loss and the possible defeat of her hand-picked elementary school board candidate, Vanesa Estrella, she may have some political throw-weight problems, especially in a run for County Supervisor in two years. But that school board election is close. Incumbent Leonel Talavares is only ahead by 46 votes this morning.

Bye, bye, Sugar…

Another bright note is the victory of some guy named James Cho in another elementary school board race. He crushed forever incumbent Hilda Sugarman, and good riddance there, too. There may not be much of a practical difference but cleaning out the cobwebs is always a good idea.

Fullerton Election Eve Thoughts

Thoughts? My first thought is that Fullerton will never change, will never elect responsible and accountable City Councils who will appoint anything but ridiculous members to Commissions and never demand accountability from their staff. And that city staff will always get what it wants, and will keep pushing their agenda until a weary council concedes, or a compliant council agrees.

My second thought is a cliché. Hope springs eternal. We have never seen a strong City Council develop policy and direct staff to implement it. But it remains possible, if vey unlikely.

There seemed to be some confusion…

In District 1 the election is a foregone conclusion, incumbent Fred Jung will tattoo the weird, clownish Matt Truxaw, whom somebody pulled from obscurity, elevated to slightly above obscurity, and who will return to it Wednesday morning.

I know who I want to work for, and it isn’t you!

In District 2 we have the affable and earnest Mayor Nick Dunlap opposed by the octogenarian Jan Flory, the three-time political re-tread who has left her claw marks all over Fullerton’s worst disaster in the past 30 years. If you want mean, sanctimonious, vindictive, and inveterately pro-bureaucracy liberal, she’s your choice. She claims to be the “most experienced” candidate, which suggest an utter lack of self-awareness. Why she wants a fourth lap around the track is anybody’s guess. It seems highly unlikely that there are enough of Flory’s ilk to beat the eager-not-to-offend Dunlap, and I’m pretty sure that won’t happen.

Patsy Markowitz. Left holding the empty bag.

That leaves the 4th District, the place where Democrat operatives created a fake MAGA candidate, Scott Markowitz, to draw votes GOP votes away from incumbent Bruce Whitaker’s wife, Linda, who is running to replace him. Markowitz has copped to a perjury rap, leniently reduced to some community service. Did he rat on anybody? Let’s hope so.

Were there rats aboard the sinking S.S. Markowitz?

The forced smile may not last…

The would-be beneficiary of the Markowitz crimes is Vivian “Kitty” Jaramillo, among whose Democrat supporters must have been participants in the Markowitz election fraud. She is yet another superannuated liberal; she wants high density housing, no overnight parking restrictions, and oh, yeah, a new Golden Age for Fullerton’s underpaid and under-pensioned employees.

A former public employee and million dollar pension recipient herself, Jaramillo actually told the OC Register that she intends to represent the public employees. Jaramillo sought the endorsements of the local Democrat small-fry politicians, including the egregious Zionist Lou Correa. It’s an old-timey strategy but does anybody really care about that kind of thing in 2024? Jaramillo raised a lot of cash from unions. Has she used it wisely? We’ll know tomorrow night, possibly.

Whitaker, Linda

Linda Whitaker has been mostly low-profile from what I can tell. Like Jaramillo, she is another 70-something who seems, well, not too fired up. Not much has been heard of Linda except for except a couple forums and a lot of campaign signs.

4D voters saw some door hangers that included an odd photo of old bikers with Whitaker signs. I don’t know if Ms. Whitaker did any direct mail or is mostly counting on her husband’s name ID with voters.

Andiamo!

Word on the street is that the Whitakers took off for a week during the campaign to go to Fullerton’s Italian Sister City, which isn’t a good look for any candidate who wants to win, and wants people to think she can. Could this be right? It has the ring of truth.

Nurse Jamie

Finally, there is newcomer Jamie Valencia who has conducted a disciplined, well-organized, well-funded campaign, the campaign of somebody who looks an awful lot like a winner, and who may prove to be the biggest surprise in north Orange County politics in a long, long time. Will Valencia be the big beneficiary of the anti-Jaramillo campaign waged by Fullerton Taxpayers for Reform, and not Linda Whitaker? This would be a fun twist.

She got the OC Register editorial team’s endorsement and that, ironically, might hurt Whitaker more than Scott Markowitz ever would have.

Valencia is an attractive, comparatively young woman with kids, a registered ER nurse, and has got the endorsement of the police and fire unions, a helluva coup whatever one’s feelings about those unions might be.

Finally we have the school bond measures L & N, another deep reach into our pockets by grossly overpaid and overstaffed educrats. The fact that we are still paying off previous bonds doesn’t seem to have resonated with these folk, to whom we are nothing but a payday loan opportunity, wherein we pay the principle and interest. In these campaigns, the school districts use our resources to educate us while they shake down out-of-town architects, consultants, construction contractors and subcontractors to pay for the election. They often use district employees, facilities and even students as part of their campaign – it happened last time.

Pretty simple, really…

A guerilla opposition campaign has been waged by Fullerton Taxpayers for Reform with simple but effective signs and robotexts: bond costs are paid for by everybody one way or another.

Will the bonds gather the necessary 55% majority to succeed? The districts’ last bond effort failed in the March 2020 primary. That was right before the pandemic and it’s hard to see a path to success this time, either.