The League of Women Voter’s held their usual candidate “forum” on Monday. Ever helpful, FFFF will harvest the video of the event for the Friends, sharing any fun or useful snippets.
Someone had to get his hands dirty…
What should have come as a surprise to no one, phantom 4th District candidate Scott Markowitz was a no show.
Where’s Marko?
Markowitz doesn’t dare show his face in public for two reasons. The first, of course, is because his candidacy is a sham, created by Democrat operatives to siphon votes away from real candidate Linda Whitaker in order to elect Vivian Jaramillo, the Dems first and only choice. The second reason is that Markowitz’s job is done: creating a phony MAGA candidate whose name and statement are on the ballot.
I’d sell out my mother for 10 votes, and I have…
The Markowitz scam, orchestrated by Dem operative Ajay Mohan and others, involved recruiting Markowitz, changing his registration to Republican, and getting a bunch of Democrats to sign his nominating papers. One of them, Diane Vena had already endorsed Jaramillo. But then Markowitz submitted a ballot statement right out of Trump Central. Did his nominators know that was coming? Looks like fraud to me.
And, that’s not very good, is it?
The scam has been reported to the Orange County District Attorney, Todd Spitzer for investigation. An update soon on that.
A complaint about the fraudulent candidacy of Scott Markowitz in Fullerton’s 4th District has been filed with the District Attorney, Todd Spitzer. The complaint requests the matter be referred to the Orange County Grand Jury for investigation
Bushala says stop!
The complainant is Fullerton businessman and activist Tony Bushala.
In his letter to Spitzer, Bushala calls attention to a national movement by Democrats to recruit uber MAGA-type candidates whose sole purpose is to draw votes away from Republicans by running as third party candidates, thus helping Democrats. They’re calling their fake “movement” PATRIOTS RUN PROJECT.
As we know in Fullerton, Scott Markowitz was deployed by local Democrats to draw votes away from Republican Linda Whitaker in the 4th District city council election. The beneficiary? None other than Vivian Jaramillo, the endorsed candidate of the OC Democrat Party.
Friends will remember how Markowitz enlisted numerous active Democrats to sign his nomination papers, changed his registration to Republican at the last moment, submitted a phony Trumpian ballot statement, and so far has run no campaign at all. Not even the pretense of one. One of his signatories is none other than Diane Vena who had already endorsed Jaramillo. Getting stinkier?
I’d sell out my mother for 10 votes, and I have…
Finally, Friends will also recall that Markowitz was accompanied to the City Clerk’s office by none other than Ajay Mohan, former Executive Director of the OC Democrat Party, and now a Democrat campaign consultant. Mohan pulled the same stunt in Fullerton in 2022 to protect Ahmad Zahra.
Prelude over, here’s Mr. Bushala’s letter.
Dear O.C. District Attorney, Mr. Todd Spitzer,
It has come to my attention that a conspiracy to commit a fake candidacy in Fullerton’s 4th District to the detriment of the voters in that District.
Scott Markowitz is a sham candidate whose name on the ballot is simply meant to divert votes from a legitimate candidate, Linda Whitaker, for the benefit of the O.C. Democratic Party’s endorsed candidate, Vivian “Kitty” Jaramillo. There is a wave across the country whereas the Democratic Party is doing this all over the country, see here, here, here, and here.
The Markowitz candidacy was orchestrated, in part at least, by Ajay Mohan, former Executive Director of the O.C. Democrat Party. He accompanied Markowitz to the Fullerton City Clerk’s office to make sure the latter followed the necessary guidelines.
Markowitz changed his registration from Democrat to Republican, unnecessarily and voluntarily identified himself as such on his FPPC form.
Furthermore, several active North Orange County club Democrats signed his nomination papers. Inexplicably, one Markowitz nominator, Diane Vena, is actually listed on Vivian Jaramillo’s website as an endorser.
This latter fact is even more damning given the fact that Markowitz’ ballot statement reads like a Donald Trump campaign speech.
It is important to know if Ms. Jaramillo was a participant in this sordid episode. Diane Vena’s participation seems to suggest an affirmative answer.
I believe there is clearly enough suspicious activity to point to an effort to subvert an honest election in Fullerton’s 4th District.
I also note that this is not the first documented instance of Ajay Mohan creating a fake candidate in Fullerton to protect a favored candidate. The same thing occurred in Fullerton’s 5th District in 2022.
Since this is obviously a partisan political matter, I formally and respectfully request that you immediately refer this matter to the Orange County Grand jury for their consideration.
All of the pertinent information with supporting documentation has been published on the Friends for Fullerton’s Future blog here.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
The idea of sending this matter to the Grand Jury is a good one, as it buffers Spitzer from criticism of partisanship, even thought the malfeasance is obvious.
The other day our Friend, Fullerton Old Timer introduced us to man named John Phelps, a big donor to Vivian Jaramillo, Jan Flory, and in 2022 to Ahmad Zahra. He also was a big contributor to the failed City Hall sales tax proposal in 2020.
Fullerton Old Timer checked in with me:
You shouldn’t think Mr. Phelps is only a recent player in propping up Fullerton’s unaccountable Democrat councilcreatures, Be sure to check out his financial political activity to keep three useless Republicans in office in 2012; namely Bankhead, Jones, and McKinley. The Form 460s will tell you a lot about his dedication to protecting the people in City Hall.
Well, okay. I guess I can do that. FOT is referring to the Fullerton Recall in 2012 in the aftermath of the Kelly Thomas Murder by the FPD, an event that went global after FFFF published a photo of the “after FPD Intervention” picture.
The recall began in the summer of 2011 and finally occurred in June, 2012. The anti-recall campaign created by the loathsome Dick Ackerman, now a Fullerton lobbyist, was called “Protect Fullerton – Recall No”. Let’s see what Phelps was up to.
Hardly out of the gate, Protect Fullerton got a 1000 bucks from Phelps. And he was far from done.
In October, 2011 he kicked in a measly hundred dollars. Then he really got going.
In April 2012 he gave another $1000 to help protect the Three Tree Fungi and their Praetorian Guard.
Finally, he gave the anti-recall committee a whopping $5,000 in mid May, 2012. Overall, that’s $7100 to fight the recall that succeeded in June, despite Phelpses largesse.
But, wait. Phelps didn’t only cast his bread upon anti-recall waters – at least not directly.
He also contributed to the individual campaign accounts of the recalled. While the recall campaign was in full swing he gave Don Bankhead’s 2012 campaign committee, not Protect Fullerton, another $1000.
A few days earlier he gave $1000 to Pat McKinley’s campaign committee. Of course both Bankhead and McKinley kicked in those exact amounts to Protect Fullerton. I don’t know what he may given Dr. Dick Jones, because those records don’t seem to be available in the City Clerk’s webpages.
When the recall was won, Mr. Phelps directed his well-funded attention to the upcoming November 2012 election. Guess what?
In September, in a move full of pathos, he gave poor Bankhead another $1000 as the latter was trying, and failing, to get re-elected again. Another candidate, Jan Flory, who going for another lap around the race track hit the Phelpsian jackpot.
You read that right. 10 Big Ones to Jan Flory, who once proclaimed that “in her lights” the department heads were “the heart of the City.”
Flory, was almost through. In the summer of 2013 she started hitting up contributors again. Why? To pay off the $8,000 she loaned to herself in 2012. And Phelps was there to help relieve Ms. Flory of her burden.
Now, if you’re not counting, the total anti-recall and pro statist candidate contributions by Phelps in 2011-2013 is a staggering $18,350. Whether he was really investing in his warped concept of good government, or rather because he still had, or hoped to have business before the council, we shall never know.
What we do know is that the election of Jan Flory, after the promising months after the recall, has been a disaster for Fullerton. What happened in the subsequent years of mismanagement are with us still: no reform of an incompetent and corrupt police department and more cop killings; increased employee pension liability, more neglect of infrastructure, continuation of the Water in Lieu Fee theft, cover-up of City Manager drunken wild ride, more nonsense like Trails to Nowhere, Fish Farm Wedding Venues, Walks on Wilshire, more cop killings. And of course a massive deficit cliff threatening our solvency.
Mr. Phelps is a friend of the establishment, the bureaucracy, and whatever liberal causes he adores. He’s probably a member of the right clubs and contributes handsomely to charity.
Well, there she goes. Don’t worry. There’s more where that came from…
Well, let’s be honest. Downtown Fullerton loses well over a million bucks every year, subsidized by the taxpayers. The beneficiaries? The good folks who purvey liquor, blast loud music, enable drunk driving and escape any sort of accountability for their customers’ behavior.
Business is booming…
And so I unveil my concept for DTF branding. Introducing the Barfman theme:
A little late reporting this, but it appears that last week the Fullerton City Council appointed three members to the newly created Let’s Have A Sales Tax Committee, the brain child of Shana Charles and Fred Jung and Ahmad Zahra.
Cost analysis is hard…
The item started out with a fizzle but got better as the hearing progressed. It appears that only three people applied. Charles and fellow committee-creator Ahmad Zahra couldn’t even find anybody to appoint. Charles who was in a big hurry to get this going only spoke to one person, who wisely declined. Zahra likewise failed find anybody and suggested the whole thing be re-advertised. It doesn’t seem to have occurred to these two worthies that 1) nobody applied because nobody cares; or, 2) people realize what a footling exercise this is.
But wait a minute. Maybe Charles’ genie is better off out of the bottle
Mr. Dean
Nick Dunlap said he was ready to go and appointed Jack Dean, a long-time anti-tax crusader who’s been around the Fullerton scene for a long time and knows the city. Apparently, he was active in the Great Recall of 1994. This makes sense since Dunlap correctly identified the whole process as a slow roll toward an inevitable tax proposal conclusion. Bruce Whitaker nominated a guy named Bill Brown who I don’t know anything about, but who I presume is another fiscal conservative.
Stop Bushala!
Then came the real fun. Fred Jung, who was in zoom mode, nominated Tony Bushala, the founder of this blog in 2008, and who is well known for his huge roll in killing the last sales tax proposal, Measure S, in 2020, as well as the school bond attempts in the same year. It’s now pretty obvious that Jung’s role in this affair is to pull the plug out of the socket.
Hey, you down there…
When the vote came, Zahra petulantly voted no to the three members appointment. He didn’t bother to say why. Charles simply said she’d be appointing her member later. The approval was 4-1 and we have three members to Ad Hoc Whatever It’s Called Committee.
So now the Committee exists and has a quorum. I wonder if they can’t start holding meetings as soon as they like. They can also start talking about ways to save money that the staff won’t touch, like a levy on all downtown bars/clubs open after ten P.M. to recoup something from the horrible 1.5 million annual red ink sink hole known as downtown Fullerton. Or they could discuss the elimination of the so-called downtown police Echo Unit that has caused as much trouble as it has prevented.
They might also discuss salary freezes, something all businesses do when times get tough.
Jaramillo. She wants what you have…
Both Charles and Zahra know that if their chosen candidate, Vivian Jaramillo, is elected they can replace Whitaker’s appointment in December and get the tax train back on its predetermined rails. But if that doesn’t happen, this committee could surprise the employees in City Hall by coming up with some really inventive ideas.
FFFF has published very convincing evidence about the candidacy of Scott Markowitz in Fullerton’s 4th District election.
I’m doing it for the greater good…
The addition of a non-Latino candidate, and one whose clumsy ballot statement reads like it came out of MAGA central, is aimed directly at Linda Whitaker, a conservative Republican, and not coincidentally, a non-Latina.
Unindicted co-conspirator.
And who is the beneficiary? Why, none other than the one who got the one and only endorsement interview from the OC Dem Party – Vivian “Kitty” Jaramillo, a life-long public employee who used to write parking tickets paid for by her would-be constituents. The deal must be big for her. She sued the City so it would have to create a district she might have a chance of winning an election in Fullerton.
Back to Mr. Markowitz. His ballot statement includes nonsense about “America First patriotism” and “real” conservatism. But get this: Markotwitz has been hand-held by Ajay Mohan, a Democratoperative who used to be the Executive Director of the OC Democrat Party. Mohan, Friends will remember, was the guy who created the phony candidacy of Tony Castro in 2022’s 5th District race to draw votes away from Oscar Valadez, who narrowly lost to the non-Latino incumbent, Ahmad Zahra. Zahra and Mohan.
As FFFF discovered, Markowitz had some interesting nominators for his last minute campaign, including Democrats, one of whom, Diane Vena, a Fullerton Observer, had already endorsed Vivian “Kitty” Jaramillo. Hmm, indeed.
I’d sell out my mother for 10 votes, and I have…
The facts are indisputable, and pretty embarrassing unless you have no shame. We are investigating into who the shameless Mohan has been working for. We will find out. It’s not that hard.
In the meantime, let’s consider the target of this scam candidacy and the beneficiary thereof.
There is a phrase in Latin: qui bono? It means who benefits?, an excellent guide to discover who is behind a plan or scheme perpetrated by unsavory means. And of course that is Jaramillo. And so I ask (demanding would be fruitless) for Jaramillo and her campaign to come clean with what Jaramillo and her pals really know about the fraudulent candidacy of Scott Markowitz.
If I knew what I was talking about this wouldn’t be Fullerton!
One week ago, true to form, the City created the “ad hoc” finance committee proposed by Councilperson Shana Charles to study Fullerton’s financial fiasco – an ocean of red ink.
The vote was 3-2.
Well, why not?
Councilman Fred Jung who supported this proposal spoke of “resident input” as if that were something never tried before.
Saying goodbye to fiscal restraint.
Ahmad Zahra pretended to be of two minds regarding this committee, citing earlier, phony push polls as proof of Fullerton’s thirst to be taxed more. But he was really all for it – gotta keep the sales tax idea on a burner. He virtually admitted that a tax was his goal.
You got problems? Academia has answers!
Predictably in her comments, Charles gushed at Fullerton’s untapped well of civilian brainpower (why goodness, two actual professors showed up earlier in the meeting!) as a source of brilliant budget-closing ideas. Of course she misused the term “holistic” several times, but, whatever.
Soon to be gone…
At first Bruce Whitaker offered that he had no objection to this committee, per se, but pointed out that previous fiscal ideas presented by the so-called INRAC citizen’s panel had been ignored by the City Council.
That’s “Mayor Dunlap” to you…
This idea was echoed by Mayor Nick Dunlap, who pointed out the obvious – that this committee had no other purpose than to keep the dream of a sales tax increase alive. He opined that it was City staff’s job to come up with ideas and plans for fiscal sustainability (a euphemism coughed up by Charles) presented to the City Council. This of course is the way it should be, although the irony that his staff failed miserably at this very task over the past year seemed to have escaped the notice of our mayor.
Dunlap’s statements convinced Whitaker to oppose creation of the committee.
Charles responded to her colleagues, by disingenuously acknowledging her recognition that a sales tax increase was notinevitable, a completely irrelevant observation intended to prove her “holistic” bona fides.
A lady named Maureen Milton called in, wanting some reassurance that the meetings of the committee would be open to the public.
The milquetoast was no longer even warm…
Our esteemed City Manager quickly muttered that the meetings would be noticed and public, but whether that half-hearted affirmation will be effected remains to be seen.
And so Fullerton has another of its footling and futile committees, five souls, one appointed by each councilmember. This is all being uber-rushed so that appointments will be made a week from today, on August 20th, so that the sales tax solution indoctrination can begin as soon as possible.
Just when you imagine that those purveyors of idiocy, The Fullerton Observer, can’t get any more entangled in making the news, they excel themselves. And by excel I mean fraud.
Saskia sez why write about news when you can try to make your own?! (Photo by Julie Leopo/Voice of OC)
A Friend sent in an image of the latest paper copy of the Observer showing an unattributed ad for the money pit known as the Walk on Wilshire.
It’s intentionally fraudulent.
The effort is intended to stir up support for the street closure that right now is on life support, having been given only a three month reprieve by the City Council in July, while the bureaucrats stumble around looking for plausible reasons besides self-interest to keep it going.
The scam here is to suggest that the businesses listed get some benefit from the Wilshire Avenue street closure that so far has only one dedicated participant after four years – Mulberry Street. That’s just an oblique lie. Some of these businesses aren’t even on Wilshire, or even close to it; and others inside the Villa del Sol have no practical proximity to the street even if they wanted to play along with this money-losing, make-work charade characterized as “business development.” There are even two salons listed, the connective tissue to WoW so tenuous as to be transparent.
And the worst part is, there are several business listed here who are actively opposed the the street closure. Their phone numbers are printed here, presumably so that Observers can call them up and harass them into supporting the continuation of this nonsense. Did the Observer obtain permission from these businesses to use as a prop in the propaganda campaign? Wanna bet on that?
Things never looked better for Fullerton.
This is the sort of behavior that has the hallmark of the Fullerton Observer over the years, amateurism blended with vitriol for anybody that doesn’t bend the knee to the bureaucrats in City Hall, and weird leftist ideology.
So, according to the article these ponies and their associated costs are to be paid for by the cops themselves. Their horsing around to take place in addition to their regular duties. This makes one feel less aggrieved about the maintenance cost, but I have to wonder if this implies additional pay since the union would not like their boys working for free. Perhaps this is considered to have PR value.
Believe it or not, Fullerton now has an equestrian cop unit.
What’s that you say? Why? Why the Hell on Earth?
Rhinestone Cowboys…
I don’t know why, but I know it’s true because Orange County Register thief/scribe Lou Ponsi says so. You may remember Lou from his role as apologist for the FPD after six of their gang murdered Kelly Thomas in July, 2011. Before that he gained local fame by stealing a story from FFFF and pretending it was his.
Horsies? Really?
Why, during the influx of an immense ocean of red ink Fullerton has assembled a horse troop is beyond me. Horses need to be fed, sheltered and given adequate veterinary care (one hopes), and the use of them on Fullerton trails is completely unnecessary. Five cops on ponies is five less than could be patrolling Fullerton’s streets. (See addendum, above)
Will these bold equestrians be patrolling the Trail to Nowhere? Of course not.
Maybe they’re there for riot control, since a 900 lbs. horse is a substantial deterrent to all those rioters Fullerton deals with on a regular basis.
Whatever the the pretext for this nonsense, one wonders if this deployment was actually approved by our City Council. It hardly matters, does it?
I love the cowboy hats. A true sign that the spirit of the Old West, despite Doc Heehaw’s plea for “New West” behavior, is alive and well.
A week or so ago FFFF reported that Jan Flory, the elderly, humorless scold who has been on the Fullerton City Council three times had taken out nominating papers to run this fall in the 2nd District.
FFFF rejoiced.
Too much scotch, not enough water…
We didn’t necessarily think she’d go through with it, what with her pushing 80 years old, her historic constituency dying off, and running against the popular and well-financed Mayor, Nick Dunlap. Still the prospect of having Flory around gave hope for all sorts of blogging fun – once again reciting her horrendous pro-tax, pro-corruption record.
Provide Your Own Caption
And now we learn that Mrs. Flory has indeed returned her nominating papers and is in the process of creating a new campaign committee.
Better check the sell by date…
Well, done, Jan, say I. Your record of “public service” is in a class by itself.
You were the one who approved the budget busting 3@50 retroactive pension bonanza to cops and paramedics.
You were the one who enthusiastically supported the illegal water tax.
You were the one who supported Measure S, the foolish sales tax effort.
You were the one who supported the ill-conceived Utility Tax, and wished it had been double,
You were the one who approved years of red ink budgets and lied about them to the public.
You were the one who cut a slimy deal with Ahmad Zahra to deny the citizens of Fullerton a chance to vote on a replacement for Jesus Quirk Silva.
You were the one who refused to create a citizens commission to reform the Culture of Corruption in the Fullerton Police Department.
You were the one who defended the Three Bald Tires in the wake of the Kelly Thomas murder by the cops. You called them honorable men.
You were the one to sneer and deprecate your own constituents if they dared criticize or complain about the actions of your beloved “staff.”
You were the one to support every Redevelopment boondoggle and every massive, over-built apartment block.
