Orange County Government Archives - Page 27 of 29 - Friends For Fullerton's Future

February 27, 2010Boohooism

The Truth About Matthew Cunningham

A Friend pointed out something that bears mentioning for those of us that have some sense of ethics but may be naïve when it comes to blogs and how some operate.

Did you know that Matthew Cunningham has another website besides the oh-so Mauve County? It’s Pacific-Strategies where he brags about “employing innovative social media strategies to advance your message and create community” and “influencing opinion leaders through via both new and tradional media”. Nice typo’s Matt. Clearly he is the superior communicator! I’m not too sure what this clown is trying to say with this: “successfully guiding your projecting throuygh the government approval process” and “providing seasoned counsel to ensure your message is taken seriously by opinion leaders ad key decision-makers”. It is hard to take anyone seriously that brags about communication and swaying public opinion when the author can’t even complete a sentence. A wordsmith he is not but maybe a word-butcher. Just imagine a game of scrabble with him.

Ah, but now Matt’s “strategies” at Mauve County are clear! He gets to be a paid consultant (I find it hard to believe that anyone would actually give him a dime) via one company, Pacific-Strategies, while he attempts in vain to sway public opinion on his Mauve site by “employing” those innovative social media strategies. I speculate that those strategies include but are not limited to the hiring of extra bloggers to post pro threads for Cunningham’s paid cause and then the twerp has these same extras jump in and lob personal attacks to discredit any opposition or support for their paid cause. “We’re experienced with effective strategies for favorably influencing elected leaders, government officials, and community and opinion leaders—building coalitions and mobilizing opinion in support of your goals, and neutralizing critics.”(http://www.pacific-strategies.com/collaboration/) So his job is to NEUTRALIZE CRITICS! If you pay him some money or do him a favor, he will NEUTRALIZE critics. Is he talking about offing someone? Bumping someone off? Or just a shotgun approach for attacking anyone with a different opinion, especially one supported by facts?

After reading these carefully crafted words from Matthew Cunningham own website, there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind just how Red County operates under his direction and the truth behind Matthew Cunningham slanderous lies. He is completely void of any moral or ethical foundation which a normal person might be grounded in. In his own words, Cunningham says “More and more people get more and more of their information from new media such as blogs, Twitter and FaceBook, and your organization needs to engage them in those arenas. Properly used, new media tools powerfully enhance your organization’s ability to not only communicate with your target audience, but build trust and community.” Building trust through outright lies and deception is usually called FRAUD. That is particularly bad when your own mission statement reads: “Red County strives to provide intelligent, well-informed insights into local political issues affecting the lives of readers in each market we serve. In striving to support the ideals of limited government and individual liberty, Red County will hold the mirror up to Republicans and Democrats alike.” Clearly, there is no mirror in the arsenal at Fraud County.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough! Anyone with their own website, including FFFF, can determine visitor’s internet provider address much the same way we use caller ID. If you are a genuine visitor and you leave genuine comments, no problem…unless of course you are on Cunningham’s web site. Bloggers on Blogspot.com don’t normally have that level of access, so no need to worry about posting on those sites. The real concern should come when a commentator dishes out insider information on a government agency and the head of that agency has the blogger in his back pocket. Then the blogger gets to out the commentator. It is not ethical to throw a genuine whistle-blower under the bus but we are not talking about an ethical person, now are we. It is reminiscent of the reports of Cunningham outing of sex abuse victims. I don’t know if Cunningham was actually paid to out anyone, but the content of his other website begs the question.

There are a lot of talented people reading this who are much smarter than me and I encourage you to do some digging yourself. After I did my own digging into this, I realized just how biased I have become against Red County and several of their resident (generally newer) bloggers. Therefore, it is imperative that you check for yourself. I’m no great sleuth like the other FFFF’ers but if we can shed a little light up this dark hole, all the better.

I would love to know the names of anyone who has ever contributed a penny to Pacific-Strategies and follow that paper trail.

February 27, 2010February 27, 2010Behind Closed Doors

The Tom Daly Experience. The Longer You Look, The Worse It Gets

by Grover Cleveland34 Comments

daly-and-lewis — Just keep saying "fiscal conservative."

UPDATE: FYI, our document request only extended back to 2005. Any retainer payments to GFR in 2004 are not included in the spreadsheet, below.

– GC

Yesterday we reported on the dubious contract between Tom Daly’s County Clerk office and a Republican PR man and campaign agent, Brett Barbre, that put a cool $48,000 in Barbre’s pocket, and produced no evident accomplishment. We also learned that Mr. B was not only a political supporter of Daly, but a big contributor, too – to the tune of one thousand bucks.

Today’s revelation is just as startling. Starting in the summer 2004 Daly made an agreement with an operation called Government Finance Research from Rocklin, CA, and it’s principle consultant, Peter A. Lauwerys, for a retainer deal that would cost the County $1695 per month, each and every month with special projects billed separately. Consider the implications: over twenty grand a year to some sort of research firm in order to do….well, nothing.

In the documents provided to us through our request for “all activity status reports” and “lists of work completed,” we have identified two principal GRS project proposals: one was to do a “push” survey to support Daly’s desire to expand his empire by opening satellite offices. The survey project as outlined in a September 2004 proposal would cost $16,200. Apparently that project was not finished per the original contract because in January 2005 Mr. Lauwerys proposed a nine-week extension that would cost the County another $14,000 – a whopping 86% increase. The survey was finally produced in April 2005 – a meager twenty-two page double-spaced report, including tables, plus photos and appendices.

One year and twelve more retainer payments later, in June, 2006 Lauwerys submitted a second proposal: $15,800 to “prepare and complete” the California County Recorder Association’s Statistical Report for 2006, a job that Daly apparently decided to take over from the County of Riverside. Why the County of Orange and not the Association paid for this “report” is unknown.

Finally in November, 2007 and another year and a half of retainer payments later, GFR did some sort of analysis of the benefits of “outsourcing” data entry clerks and found a savings. We do not know if Daly implemented the recommendation contained therein.

Since then two more years of monthly retainer payments have been made by the taxpayers of Orange County to the lucky boys at GFR.

The County’s invoice and billing records pertaining to GFR appear to be incomplete and somewhat confused. But one thing is perfectly clear: GFR has been receiving a monthly retainer of $1700 a month for over five years, and counting. The latest check was cut on January 15, 2010, so presumably the GFR spigot has not been turned off. Not yet, anyway.

The total payout to this operation to date has been $113,810, including the 2006 California Recorders Association project. But the billing for the original satellite office survey contract and its extension in 2004 and early 2005 seems not to have been included in the material that we received; that total was $30,200, as proposed.

Of course we question the utility of these projects as even necessary; Daly’s die-hard devotees would probably disagree. However what appears to be incontrovertible is the evidence of a complete and frivolous waste of public funds in the retainer payout to a Sacramento area firm to essentially do nothing – for over five years.

As with the Barbre contract we ask: what was the consultant selection process? Was this a no-bid arrangement? What are GFR’s unique qualifications that justify a retainer agreement, and for that matter, what are the Clerk/Recorder’s needs that justify it?

Maybe one of Daly’s supporters who have been pitching his fiscal conservatism can help us out here.

February 25, 2010February 25, 2010Orange County Government

Come join the Revolution, Matt

by John Seiler7 Comments

After my piece here last week defending Shawn Nelson and the noble profession of defense attorney, I was criticized on Red County by Matt Cunningham, who runs that Web site. I could respond point by point, but there’s no use in doing that.

Instead, I’ve just been thinking how sorry I am that he, and so many over at Red County, are not joining what I call the Third Conservative Revolution. There’s still time, boys, to jump on board.

The First Conservative Revolution was, of course, Barry Goldwater’s run in 1964 against the ogre LBJ. Barry campaigned for sharply cutting government and restoring the Constitution.

I still remembering voting for Barry in my 4^th grade class when I was nine, in those mock elections schools have. I was reflecting my parents’ views, of course. My late mother once told me how much her father, my grandfather, loathed FDR and his socialist New Deal. So I guess conservatism is in my blood.

The Second Conservative Revolution was the Reagan Revolution. I was in the U.S. Army for the first part, but by 1982 I had been honorably discharged and was in Washington, D.C. First I was assistant editor of “Conservative Digest,” then editor of “The American Sentinal,” then editorial page editor at “The Washinton Times” – all conservative publications. We worked to win the Cold War, sharply cut government and restore the Constitution.

To quote Wordsworth: “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very heaven!”

I’ll bet that’s the feeling the youngsters are getting nowadays as they back Ron Paul.

Alas, both previous revolutions were hampered by conservatives, including me, supporting a strong military during the Cold War. It was hard to cut budgets and deficits with defense spending so high.

But then the Berlin Wall fell and there was no reason for any conservative to oppose large defense cuts. During the Cold War, tradeoffs were made: “Back a strong military and we’ll fund your favorite domestic programs.” That no longer was needed.

Unfortunately, Reagan didn’t have a third term. Instead, we got George H.W. Bush, who promised, “Read my lips! No new Taxes!” – then, once in office, raised taxes. The economy crashed and we got Clinton.

In 1996, Republicans nominated Bob Dole, whom conservatives long had dubbed “the tax collector for the welfare state” for his obsession with raising taxes, such as the the “waitress tax” that took money from the gals’ tips. What a cad. Clinton won again.

In both 1992 and 1996, Pat Buchanan raised a stir in the GOP primaries, even winning the New Hampshire primary in 1996 with his calls for large cuts in spending and taxing, and for bring American troops home. It was a kind of proto-Ron Paul Revolution.

In 2000, Republicans nominated George W. Bush, with his promise of a “humble” foreign policy and limited government. Well, like his father, he gave us the opposite of what he solemnly pledged. Enough said on that.

Obama promised “Change you can believe in,” but we got no change from Bush.

So no wonder people are upset, especially young folks who are doing the dying in the pointless Bush-Obama wars and will spend the rest of their lives paying off the Bush-Obama war debts, domestic debts, and bailout debts.

Enter the Third Conservative Revolution. It’s a combination of the Ron Paul Revolution of recent years and the recent Tea Party excitement.

There’s always an affection between the very young and the very old. That’s why the avuncular Ron Paul, at 75, is a hit with the kids. He’s also authentic, as the existentialists used to say. There’s no guile in him. WYSYWIG – what you see is what you get. Unlike most Republican supporters of the Bush-Obama wars, who never served in the military — such as Dick “Five Deferments” Cheney — Ron Paul was a flight surgeon in U.S. Air Force.

So, it’s not surprising that, at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference, Ron Paul won a straw poll, with 31% of the vote. In second place, at 22%, was the socialist Mitt Romney, whose Mittcare has proved a complete disaster in Massachusetts, but is the model for the Obamacare that Republicans now oppose (rightly).

Ron Paul is the future of the Republican Party — if it wants a future. More important, his ideas are surging just when we need them to saved America from Bush-Obama socialism.

Which brings me to Shawn Nelson’s candidacy for O.C. Supervisor. It’s also part of this Third Conservative Revolution. He’s an authentic, tested conservative who has voted against waste and dumb programs while on the city council in Fullerton. He’s endorsed by the man he wants to succeed, former supervisor and new Assemblyman Chris Norby, who also has a strong record of voting against waste and protecting taxpayers.

The next four years on the Board of Supervisors are going to be the most trying since the bankruptcy 15 years ago. It could even be worse, as back then the state and national economies were in a strong recovery and could pull O.C. out of its problems. Today, the federal and state economies are not recovering, precisely because Ron Paul’s policies – sound money, tax cuts, spending cuts, restoring the Constitution – are not being heeded.

I’ll leave the last words to The Bard, in this YouTube of “The Times They Are A’Changin’.” It’s good advice for anybody not yet ready to “lend your hand” to the Ron Paul Revolution and the Shawn Nelson campaign:

There’s a battle outside
And it is ragin’.
It’ll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlUSwcuY29I&feature=player_embedded

John Seiler, an editorial writer with The Orange County Register for 19 years, is a reporter and analyst for CalWatchDog.com. His email: writejohnseiler@gmail.com.

February 19, 2010February 19, 2010OC's Fourth District

Daly To Drop Out of Supervisor Race; Art Brown To Jump In

by admin55 Comments

A little while ago we received the following e-mail from Art Brown, the avuncular councilmember from Buena Park:

Subject: 4th District Supervisor

I just got off the phone with Tom Daly. He is pulling out of the race for supervisor today and filing to run for his current position of Clerk-recorder.

As it had been my intent to run for supervisor in the past but stood aside for Tom I am filing for the supervisors race on Monday. I feel with my experience in local government over the past 24 years and my record OCTA representing the 4th district that I am the best candidate for the job.

We have not yet verified this information, but it sure has the ring of truth. Daly’s desire for the job may have been tempered by the reality of abandoning a great paying job with no requirements, no performance standards, and no term limits. The idea of a rough and tumble campaign may not have been too appealing, either; but if Tom think he’s out of the woods, he’s may have another think coming: he has well-endorsed opponent in the Clerk’s race and eight years of office baggage to haul around with him.

But we will say this for Daly in parting the Supe race: AT LEAST HE LIVED IN THE DISTRICT.

And to Art Brown: thanks for the heads up and welcome to the party. Supes on!

February 10, 2010February 10, 2010Big Brother

Anaheim Police Admit to Wrongful Arrest of Craig Hunter’s Most Vocal Enemy

by Travis7 Comments

A recent internal investigation at Anaheim PD concludes that several officers wrongfully arrested an activist who frequently speaks out against OC Sheriff candidate Craig Hunter.

anaheim-pd-activist — Anaheim PD questions activist before the arrest

James Robert Reade is a civil rights activist from Anaheim with a long history of publicly speaking out against abusive Anaheim police officers. For years, Reade has been making accusations specifically against Deputy Chief Craig Hunter, who is now a candidate for OC Sheriff.

Back in October, weeks before Craig Hunter was to announce his candidacy, James Robert Reade claims that he was assaulted by Anaheim PD and arrested on based on false accusations of drug use. Before the arrest, Reade says that the officers specifically brought up Craig Hunter and asked if Reade was going to be speaking out at any more city council meetings.

The letter above shows that an internal investigation determined the drug accusations to be completely false and that the offending officers would be disciplined and re-trained after being “discourteous” to the victim.

James Robert Reade has relentlessly documented the entire saga on his website at whiteroseanaheim.com

After the results of this investigation, it’s difficult to believe that the arrest of an innocent activist was just a coincidence. Why would these officers unlawfully harass and detain the most vocal anti-Hunter civil rights activist only weeks before Craig Hunter would announce his candidacy?

The actions of the Anaheim PD reek of political intimidation under the authority law enforcement. Did Hunter himself order the officers to harass Reade? Or were the officers merely acting out a culture of cronyism that has infected other police agencies in Orange County?

We may never know the truth, although Mr. Reade’s website is threatening a federal lawsuit against the department. If he follows through, perhaps some light will be shed on the disturbing activity inside the Anaheim police department.

February 9, 2010February 9, 2010Behind Closed Doors

Monkey Business At Daly’s Clerk/Recorder Office?

by admin15 Comments

A source inside the County government has directed our attention to a contractual relationship between the County Clerk’s department and a “consultant” that bears closer scrutiny. Our source has indicated that monies were paid out for questionable or dubious “services.”

This contract involves Barbre & Associates; Brett Barbre is a former County employee, a Water District official, and now a self-styled political public relations guy. It appears that Mr. Barbre received at least $36,000 through last summer to do something (see vendor report, above). What did he do? Our source tells us it was supposed to have something to do with organizing an Orange County Hall of Fame memorabilia display. We’re not buying into that just yet since such an inconceivably profligate waste of money, especially in a recession, is hard to ascribe to anybody – even a big spender like Daly.

Nevertheless, Barbre’s name immediately piqued our curiosity since he claims to be in PR, a function that Daly supposedly hired former reporter Jean Pasco to perform. Furthermore, Barbre, a nominal Republican, was an early and public supporter of Democrat Clerk/Recorder Tom Daly in his quest to be our County Supervisor. Check out the “host committee” to Daly’s 2009 fundraiser. Yes, Brett, we see you right there, #6 in the first column. Later in 2009 Barbre also took on the job of introducing Daly’s hand-picked successor and Clerk Department employee, Renee Ramirez, to the OC GOP Central Committee. Coincidences?

Since Daly and Ramirez run the Clerk/Recorder’s office, we immediately started to wonder just what Barbre did, to pick up that 36K. We have such suspicious minds, you see.

And so we have made a public records request with the County to find out the scope of services that were supposed to be rendered by Barbre and just what was accomplished for all that money.

And when we do find out we will certainly share the information with you.

February 3, 2010February 3, 2010About Us

Bill Hunt Talks the Talk: Liberty and Marijuana

by admin39 Comments

I just came across this interview on the “Johnson for America Blog” involving OC Sheriff candidate, former Lt. Bill Hunt. Check it out. I am principally interested in this Q & A exchange on the subject of marijuana:

Josiah Schmidt: As an experienced law enforcement official, what is your opinion on the possibility that California might legalize marijuana in the next election?

Bill Hunt: It is the job of the sheriff to support and uphold the laws of the state. As it stands now, medical marijuana is legal in this state by a vote of the people. It is not the job of the sheriff to try to circumvent the will of the people by collaborating with the federal government. If marijuana is legalized I will treat it just like any other legal activity such as the use of alcohol. Responsible alcohol consumption is not a violation of the law. However, use by minors, driving under the influence, etc., are violations of law and they are enforced.

Wow. A comprehensive, straightforward, honest answer. Liberty, state’s rights, common sense, and no bullshit about waging the counterproductive and bank-breaking War on Drugs – or any other empty chest thumping slogans. Hmm.

Well, okay. It’s just talk. But I like what I’m hearing. I like it a lot.

January 26, 2010January 26, 2010Dead heads

Red Going Mauve

by admin14 Comments

Right on cue, Cynthia Ward AKA “Colony Rabble” the newest blogger at the Purpling County blog tossed a bouquet to her soul mate whom she “just loves to death,” Democrat Tom Daly.

FFFF has previously noted here and here that Ms. Ward’s presence on a supposedly conservative blog was merely to promote the candidacy of Daly – which can’t be done out in the open by Matthew Cunningham, the blog’s editor, who has been indirectly promoting the Daly candidacy on behalf of his boss John Lewis for almost a year. Repuglicanism at its very worst.

Her post is nothing but a big, sloppy wet kiss for Daly – for his supposedly sparkling performance at the 4th Supervisorial District candidate’s forum held in Fullerton last night. Apart from the fact that Daly is a Democrat who proudly announced his pride in accepting union contributions, his perfomance at the forum was anything but superlative.

And that’s the snag in the script. Daly was truly awful. I was there taping the event. He actually seemed like he was underwater. His performance was not engaging and just seemed “phoned in.” He really did appear like somebody just going through the motions, and keeping his employment options open.

He even waffled hard on the High Speed Rail project, Ward’s pet project du jour. But it hardly matters. Her screenplay is already written.

It will be interesting to see whether Red County blog boss Chip Hanlon goes along with this nonsense. Only last week he was reacting enthusiastically to the Scott Baugh Manifesto, that not only denounced public union money but excoriated Democrats.

January 22, 2010January 22, 2010Orange County Government

Pam Keller Celebrates Abortion

by Travis51 Comments

Here’s a bold political move…

It was just announced that Pam Keller will soon be attending the “37th Anniversary Roe v. Wade Celebration” in Newport Beach. There she will join OC’s other liberal ladies such as Loretta Sanchez, Beth Krom and Rose Espinoza to relish in their legal ability to terminate the life of an unwanted human being.

Amongst her close political allies, the right to abort a fetus probably represents some kind of crowning achievement in the exhausted fight for women’s liberation.

But to many in conservative Orange County, abortion is the ultimate violation of human rights against a living being. In fact, many of the sleepy voters who voted for the smiling school teacher in the last election might find the conspicuous “celebration” of this act highly offensive.

January 19, 2010January 18, 2010Big Brother

Craig Hunter: The Beatings, the Whistleblower and the Cover-up

by Travis45 Comments

Should Orange County replace Mike Carona with another cop tainted by the stench of abuse and cover up?

Let’s take a look at the career history of Anaheim Deputy Chief Craig Hunter. Back in his day as the head of the gang unit, Craig earned himself the nickname “Head Hunter”, and it wasn’t for respecting the rights of those he served.

The Beatings

Court testimony indicates that Craig Hunter was involved in several senseless beatings of handcuffed teenage suspects after they were safely in police custody. There were two incidents involving Hunter on court record from the 90’s:

The first beating was 16-year-old robbery suspect named Jorge Alvarado. After arrest, the kid was turned over to two of Craig Hunters’ gang unit officers John Kelley and Mike Bustamante for a ride to the station. By the time they arrived at the station, the suspect had been severely beaten. When the witnessing officer complained to the unit commander, Craig Hunter, he was told to shut up.

Another beating happened a few months later after a teenage suspect named Jerry Sanchez was captured on the roof of an apartment by officers Craig Hunter and John Kelley. In testimony that we just received, officer Steve Nolan claims that “Craig Hunter actually cracked Jerry over the head with his flashlight while Kelly kicked him as he lied on the ground”. Later, while the suspect was bleeding severely from the head, Hunter and his partner allegedly taunted Sanchez in a stereotyped Latino accent.

In a later interview, the youth said “I was handcuffed, then hit in the head with a metal flashlight and kicked. I was bleeding all over and felt dizzy and dazed. My whole shirt was bloody.” The suspect’s account of the beating matched officer Nolan’s claims.

The Whistleblower

Officer Steve Nolan claimed to witness both beatings. He was so appalled at Craig Hunter’s behavior that he finally reported both incidents to a superior.

In response, Hunter launched an all-out assault to discredit Steve Nolan. False accusations were made against him, which were later rejected by an arbiter and then a jury. Nolan eventually won a $340,000 lawsuit against Hunter and the department for wrongful termination.

During the arbitration, the whistleblower received anonymous death threats from what he believed to be his former coworkers at the Anaheim Police Department. Shortly after he filed the lawsuit, someone shot at his wife while she was driving down the freeway near Anaheim.

Were Craig Hunter and his officers retaliating against the whistleblower for breaking the infamous code of silence? The jury said “yes”.

The Cover-up

After the allegations of police abuse surfaced, the department was forced to launch an internal investigation. As expected, the department soon announced that all officers involved were innocent.

So why did the young suspects so frequently arrive at the station bloodied and bruised?

The internal investigators were never able to solve that mystery. In the age before in-car cameras and personal recording devices, officer oversight in the Anaheim PD was lax. Allegations of suspect abuse were frequently shoved under the rug, according to a local civil rights group called United Neighbors, an activist group that formed in response to the allegations of police brutality.

In the wake of the scandal, Hunter’s department was subjected to investigations by both the US. Commission on Civil Rights and the US Department of Justice. With the feds breathing down his neck, Craig Hunter orchestrated “the biggest cover-up I’ve seen in my life”, according to officer Nolan. The feds were never able to gather enough evidence to file charges against Hunter, although California Supreme Court Justices eventually acknowledged that Nolan had brought to light a legitimate problem within the Anaheim PD.

In the end, the whistleblower was threatened, intimidated and pushed out of the department, eventually moving on to become the Mayor of Corona. Meanwhile, the accused officers were promoted up the chain of command at the Anaheim Police Department. One of those officers was Deputy Chief Craig Hunter, and now he wants to be the elected Sheriff of Orange County.