Spencer Custudio of the Voice of OC has a dutiful write up of last week’s League of Women Voters’ Fullerton candidate forum. One of the statements caught my eye, attributed to the strange individual Matt Truxaw, who is being offered up as a sacrificial offering by Ahmad Zahra and Fullerton Boohoo.
Here’s what Truxaw had to say on the topic of municipal finance:
When asked how to reverse the city’s finances and generate more tax revenue, Truxaw said city officials should consider expanding things like Walk on Wilshire – a closed section of Wilshire Avenue in downtown where people can dine and shop in the street that started during the pandemic.
Gone but not forgotten…
Well, Matt, you can’t “shop” in the street, so there’s that. But seriously, no one seems to have informed this poor, uninformed boob, that the Wake on Wilshiredoesn’t generaterevenue for the City of Fullerton. It never has. The taxpayer’s “investment” on this boondoggle is so far in the red that it will never make a positive contribution to the City’s bank account. But let’s not let cooler heads consider this idiocy with any sort of objectivity.
No on bothered to tell Truxaw that you can’t lose your way back to fiscal heath.
No, the Wake on Wilshire is no longer an object that a few Fullertonions can consider dispassionately. The idea of closing a public road to cars has so bewitched the credulous that they will make up any sort of nonsensical lie to defend it. And lie #1 is that the thing is, or magically can become, a money maker – instead of what it is, another Fullerton financial sinkhole.
Like the Trail to Nowhere, the Wake on Wilshire has now assumed talismanic value to its adherents; and once again, it is symbolic of two City Councilmembers “not listening to the people.” In this case “the people” is a new set of half a dozen goobers dredged up by public health doctor, Shana Charles and few other Fullerton Observer nitwits.
The public health doctor is in…
City councilmember are supposed to be leaders. And you don’t lead by indulging the stupid make-work projects of your bureaucrats. You’re supposed to be able to ask honest questions and demand honest answers. But this is Fullerton, where no bad idea ever dies…so long as the public employees and their enablers want it.
Last Friday’s Small Business “Forum,” brought to Fullerton by the North Orange County Chamber of Commerce and featuring Councilperson Ahmad Zahra as “Master-of-Ceremonies,” didn’t attract a whole lot of turnout. Could it be that the NOCCC is seen for what it is – a useless toady for Fullerton City Hall, rather than an incubator for small business? Or maybe folks realize that the unemployed and unemployable “film director” Ahmad Zahra, is hardly the person to talk authoritatively on the subject of business, large or small.
In any case attendance was sparse.
Oh, no.
There seem to be about 20 people here, and half of them are wandering around, holding private conversations, or just walking away, even as Zahra, at the podium, is burnishing his credentials as an agent of economic development.
Maybe next time they’ll hold their “brilliant” and “dynamic” conference in a broom closet to enhance Zahra’s profile, and keep the City from further humiliation.
The audience will fit, but not the ego…
This forum is another wonderful metaphor for the City of Fullerton’s hapless “economic development” department, a function that can present no evidence that it actually pays for itself in new tax increment. In fact, if another metaphor, the ridiculous, money losing “Wake on Wilshire” is any indication, they never will.
And I still want to know: who approved the use of the City seal, and who paid for the hall.
That’s if you are Ahmad Zahra, the Fullerton City Councilmember who knows nothing about small business, but who does know a lot about self-promotion to people who don’t know better. Zahra likes to peddle his “economic development” wares, but is really just an unemployed parasite desperate for a paying government job. He doesn’t know anything about running a business large or small.
If you hurry you can make it to this morning’s “Small Business Forum” organized by Zahra, at the Fullerton Community Center.
This brilliant 2 hour event features the State Treasurer Fiona Ma who at one time was some sort of an accountant, but who has been a professional politician for a long, long time. She had to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit a while back that cost the State $350,000 but, like Zahra’s assault and battery plea, the details are consigned to secrecy.
Time to come clean…..
There are two panels optimistically labeled “dynamic” which seems pretty unlikely. One panel features a unionista and some stooge from the North OC Chamber of Commerce, an organization that stopped representing small businesses 25 years ago, instead currying favor with government agencies. What they could possibly discuss is anybody’s guess.
And I have a couple of questions. First, who authorized Zahra to use the City seal, and who is paying for the rental of the conference room at the Community Center?
According to a knowledgeable Friend I know, it is illegal to hold a political campaign event on City property. I don’t know for sure, but this certainly has the ring of truth. If so, Fullerton council candidate Matt Truxaw is about to break the law. He’s having a campaign event a week from today on City property.
The embarrassing, money-losing “Walk on Wilshire” is indeed public property and Mr. Truxaw is having an election party for himself October 3rd on that closed portion of Wilshire Avenue. Can’t get more public than that, even if it’s on a leasehold that grants no such right.
Uh, oh. Is Mr. Truxaw one of those limousine libs who doesn’t think the law applies to him?
Oh, right. He became an overnight Republican just to run for office and make Fred Jung spend some money.
It will be interesting to see who shows up to this event and who would be dumb enough to pony up any cash for Truxaw the Straw. Man.
The other day FFFF shared a letter from Fullerton activist Tony Bushala to District Attorney Todd Spitzer requesting that his office refer the sham candidacy of Scott Markowitz to the apolitical Orange County Grand Jury for investigation.
Bushala says stop!
Bushala followed up with Spitzer a few days later. According to Bushala he received a curt response from Sptizer that the latter can’t comment as the matter is now under active investigation. Well, that’s good news.
Someone had to get his hands dirty…
Whether this means a preliminary route to the Grand Jury remains to be seen, but hopefully Markowitz will be receiving a call from the DAs office wanting to know a few things. Ditto the Diane Vena and the other liberal Dems who signed Markowitz’s nominating papers, and of course Ajay Mohan, the Dem operative lowlife who pulled the same shit in Fullerton at the behest of Ahmad Zahra in 2022.
Hopefully, Vivian Jaramillo, the candidate who stands to gain the most from this fraud will get a call too, to see what she knows about this scam.
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.
Good news for 4th District Fullerton City Council candidate Jamie Valencia. The fire fighter’s union chipped in big time a couple days ago.
Scoring cash…
$5500 is a lot of campaign cabbage and must bring Valencia’s 2024 fall haul near thirty grand with another 6 weeks to go before the November election. It’s pretty obviously an endorsement and that’s another blow to Vivian “Kitty” Jaramillo, champion of Fullerton’s liberal establishment, whose campaign is heavily reliant on union backing. And that’s good news for Republican candidate Linda Whitaker, too.
Watching the Jaramillo scow drift with the tide…
Ahmad Zahra, desperate to create a majority that will let him be Somebody must be gnashing his teeth.
Scoring kush…
Having the support of both “police and fire” is a big deal, especially if you’re a rookie candidate going up against two individuals who’ve been around forever. The support may just be cash, or maybe it will mean mailbox and street corner help. The self-styled public safety unions don’t just support candidates, they use elections as a mechanism to remind the public they are out there.
FFFF has related how our Elementary and High School Districts are both putting new bond measures on the November ballot. The insatiable maw must be fed. The districts employ battalions of overpaid educrats with ridiculous doctorate degrees in education, pretending to be experts in this or that. But we are not permitted to delve into mystery of school budgets for waste and stupidity. The districts tried this last in March, 2020 with Measures J and K – and were soundly defeated.
School bonds are increases on your property tax bill, pure and simple. The debt and the interest incurred are paid off over decades, with everybody’s property as a form of collateral. We are still paying off previous bonds, of course.
It’s not just property owners who feel the bite. Landlords pass on the tax increases in the form of higher rents; retailers pass on the the cost of higher rents in the form of higher prices, a contributor to inflation.
Once again an organization called Fullerton Taxpayers for Reform has donned the mantle of opposition to these latest efforts to get into our pockets, and should be roundly applauded.
As usual, the advocates for these bonds – many out-of-towners – will plead that it’s all for the kids who need “state-of-the-art” this, or “world class” that.
They will follow up that with the myth of the “citizen’s oversight committee,” hand-picked gaggle of liberals who don’t know a shovel from a shitake mushroom, and have never held anybody accountable for anything.
Then they will argue that the cost is dinky – a Big Mac or a Starbuck’s latte a week. But in reality the cost of both bonds combined, will be many hundreds of dollars per year, or even more, depending on the assessed value of your property.
We may also be sure that the school districts will use our resources in their political campaign just like they did last time. That’s illegal, right?But hey won’t someone please think of the children?
