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Tuesday’s Most Important Election

Posted by Chris Nguyen on May 30, 2012

Wisconsin State CapitolSix days from now is Tuesday, June 5, Election Day.

What is the most important election that day?  Is it the CD-47 contest between Alan Lowenthal, Gary DeLong, and Steve Kuykendall?  Is it the Troy Edgar–Long Pham–Travis Allen fight in AD-72?  Is it AD-69’s Tom Daly vs. Michele Martinez vs. Jose Moreno vs. Julio Perez vs. Paco Barragan battle?  Is it the Third Supervisorial District brawl between Todd Spitzer and Deborah Pauly?

No, the most important election on Tuesday lies 2,000 miles northeast of Orange County.

In Wisconsin, June 5 is Election Day in the recall of Republican Governor Scott Walker.

Labor unions launched the recall after Walker gained the passage of legislation that restricted (but did not eliminate) collective bargaining (requiring annual re-certification of unions via annual member elections, limitations of collective bargaining to salaries rather than benefits) and increased public employee contributions to benefits and pensions, among other things.

This recall election marks a watershed moment in which the power of public employee unions faces off against those who seek to curb the legal prerogatives of those unions.

Wisconsin has an interesting recall procedure.  In California, the question of whether we should remove someone from office is one item on the ballot, with voters casting a “Yes” or “No” vote, and then a separate item on the ballot are all the recall replacement candidates, with the incumbent ineligible to run in the replacement vote.  In Wisconsin, there is no separate question of whether someone is removed: there is a single item in which candidates (including the incumbent) run against each other.  Effectively, when you initiate a recall in Wisconsin, you’re simply calling for an early election for the office, much like a parliamentary by-election or snap election; whereas in California, we vote whether or not to keep the incumbent and separately vote on a replacement.

There was a recall primary on May 8, with Walker winning 97% of the votes in the Republican primary and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett winning 58% of the votes in the Democratic primary (this is a rematch of the 2010 election, as Walker defeated Barrett in that election); the recall general election is this coming Tuesday, June 5.

Both the Real Clear Politics average of polls and the Huffington Post average of polls show Walker leading Barrett by a few percentage points.

A Walker victory will embolden politicians across the country seeking to curb the power of labor unions while a Barrett victory will be a warning from the labor unions that politicians should be wary of trying to reduce the legal prerogatives of public employee unions and trying to reduce the benefits enjoyed by public employees.

Posted in National | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Recalls in Retrospect

Posted by Chris Nguyen on May 29, 2012

Recalls, 1995-2010

Local recalls in California, 1995-2010

There has been much talk about the chances of the Fullerton recalls passing in the press, on other blogs, and even a little here and here on this blog.  (It is recalls, plural, by the way, since it’s technically three recalls in Fullerton on next week’s ballot, one each regarding Don Bankhead, Dick Jones, and Pat McKinley.)

I found an interesting study of local election data from California State University, Sacramento.

(All recalls in this post refer to recalls that qualified for the ballot.  Recalls that failed to qualify for the ballot are excluded because they are not relevant.)

According to the CSUS study, in an average year in California, there are 16 local recalls, of which 66% result in the officeholder being recalled from office.  Specifically, there are 2 county-level recalls, 7 city-level recalls, and 7 school district-level recalls in an average year.

The CSUS data shows that from 1995-2010, there were 256 local recalls, of which 175 recalled the elected official and 81 officeholders hung on to defeat the recall election (a 68% removal rate). Specifically, there were:

  • 35 county-level recalls, in which 24 resulted in the recall of the official and 11 officeholders hung on (a 69% removal rate)
  • 116 city-level recalls, in which 80 resulted in the recall of the official and 36 officeholders hung on (a 69% removal rate)
  • 105 school district-level recalls, in which 65 resulted in the recall of the official and 40 officeholders hung on (a 62% removal rate)

Outside the timeframe of the study, 9 out of 9 city councilmembers subject to recall elections were recalled in 2011.  This bumps city-level recalls to a 71% removal rate for 1995-2011.  4 out of 4 school board members defeated their recall elections in 2011, dropping the school district-level recalls to a 60% removal rate for 1995-2011.  There were no county-level recalls that qualified for the ballot  in California in 2011.  The overall rate for all local California recalls for 1995-2011 remains at 68%, the same rate as for 1995-2010.

Narrowing it down to even years (i.e. regular election years):

  • 8 out of 16 county-level recalls succeeded (a 50% removal rate)
  • 55 out of 79 city-level recalls succeeded (a 70% removal rate)
  • 32 out of 43 school district-level recalls succeeded (a 74% removal rate)

The above numbers are statewide.  Looking closer to home, no Orange County recall has failed since 1996.

  • 2010: Capistrano Unified School District
    Mike Winsten was recalled 61.4%-38.6% and replaced with John Alpay.
    Ken Maddox was recalled 61.3%-38.7% and replaced with Gary Pritchard.
  • 2010: Mission Viejo
    Lance McLean was recalled by a 50.1%-49.9% and replaced with Dave Leckness.
  • 2008: Capistrano Unified School District
    Marlene Draper was recalled 69.3%-30.7% and replaced with Sue Palazzo.
    Sheila Benecke was recalled 69.4%-30.6% and replaced with Ken Maddox, who would ironically be recalled himself in 2010.
  • 2003: Santa Ana Unified School District
    Nativo Lopez was recalled 69.3%-30.7% and replaced with Rob Richardson.
  • 2001: Orange Unified School District
    Martin Jacobson was recalled 51.5%-48.5% and replaced with Melissa Taylor Smith.
    Maureen Aschoff was recalled 50.9%-49.1% and replaced with John Ortega.
    Linda Davis was recalled 51.3%-48.7% and replaced with Kathy Moffat.
  • 1996: Dana Point
    Karen Lloreda defeated a recall effort by a 50.6%-49.4% margin.
    Harold Kaufman defeated a recall effort.
  • 1995: Cypress
    Cecilia Age, Gail Kerry, and Walter Bowman defeated their recalls by a 2-1 margin.
  • Not a local recall per se, but in 1995 in Orange County:
    Assemblywoman Doris Allen was recalled 65.2%-34.8% and replaced with Scott Baugh.

Outside the timeframe of the study:

  • In 1994, the voters of Fullerton recalled Councilmembers Don Bankhead, Buck Catlin, and Molly McClanahan, by 52%-48% margins but left the then-elected City Clerk Anne York in office.  Five months after the recall, Bankhead won a new election to the council where he has remained ever since and is now subject to a recall election next week.  If recalled next week, Bankhead would likely be the first person since the inception of the recall ever to be recalled from the same office twice.
  • In 1989, the voters of Fountain Valley recalled Councilman Fred Voss by a 2-1 margin after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for solicitation after he offered $20 to a prostitute, who was actually an undercover police officer.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I should note my day job is working in the Fullerton office of Assemblyman Chris Norby, who served on the Fullerton City Council from 1984-2002, but he was not a target of the 1994 recall.  One of my co-workers in the office is Fullerton City Councilman Bruce Whitaker, who was elected in 2010 and is not a target of the 2012 recall, but he was one of the organizers of the 1994 recall.)

Posted in California, Capistrano Unified School District, Cypress, Dana Point, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Mission Viejo, Orange County, Orange Unified School District, Santa Ana Unified School District | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

AD-72 Spending: Edgar $232,000, Pham $106,000, Allen $62,000, Dovinh $16,000

Posted by Chris Nguyen on May 25, 2012

Troy Edgar, Long Pham, Travis Allen, Joe Dovinh

Mayor Troy Edgar (R-Los Alamitos), OC Board of Education Member Long Pham (R-Fountain Valley), Businessman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach), and Planning Commissioner Joe Dovinh (D-Garden Grove)

In the 72nd Assembly District race, Republican Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar spent $212,250 during the March 18-May 19 reporting period.  This brings his total spending in the AD-72 race to $231,974.  Surprisingly, this leaves only $10,791 in his warchest.  However, the independently wealthy Edgar can easily write a check to his own campaign (indeed, he put $400,000 into his Congressional warchest before deciding to run for the Assembly instead).

Republican Orange County Board of Education Member Long Pham spent $62,675 during the March 18-May 19 reporting period, bringing his total spending in the AD-72 race to $106,072.  He has only $1,412 left in his warchest.

Republican Huntington Beach Businessman Travis Allen spent $54,233 during the March 18-May 19 reporting period, bringing his total spending in the AD-72 race to $62,406.  He has $23,389 left in his warchest.

Democratic Garden Grove Planning Commissioner Joe Dovinh spent $6,699 during the March 18-May 19 reporting period, brining his total spending in the AD-72 race to $16,352.  He has $5,493 left in his warchest.

Democratic Candidate Albert Ayala did not meet the $1,000 threshold to file a campaign finance report.

There are no reported independent expenditures in this race.

Edgar spent the bulk of his money on reaching actual voters. He spent $119,433 on campaign mail and literature.  He spent another $30,595 on slate mailers.  That’s $150,028 of his $231,974 (65%) of his spending going to voter communication.

Pham just had a lot of overhead expenses.  He spent $25,115 on slate mailers, $3,500 on TV ads, and $1,548 on palm cards.  The rest of his spending went into campaign consulting fees, miscellaneous personnel costs, a $1,748 photography expenditure, and other overhead.  That’s $30,163 of his $106,072 (28%) of his spending going to voter communication.

Allen suffered much of the same spending problems that Pham did.  He spent $15,860 on campaign mail and literature and $5,000 in print ads.  The rest of his spending went into campaign consulting fees, miscellaneous personnel costs, a $12,650 poll, a $900 photography expenditure, and other overhead.  That’s $20,860 of his $62,406 (33%) of his spending going to voter communication.

Dovinh spent $4,063 on the COPS Voter Guide slate mailer, $1,315 on print ads, and $765 on campaign literature.  The rest of his spending went into various personnel expenses and the occasional other overhead.  That’s $6,143 of his $16,352 (38%) of his spending going to voter communication.

For visual learners:

Voter
Communication		 Other
Expenditures		 Total
Expenditures		 Cash on
Hand
Edgar $150,028 $81,946 $231,974 $10,791
Pham $30,163 $75,909 $106,072 $1,412
Allen $20,860 $41,546 $62,406 $23,389
Dovinh $6,143 $10,209 $16,352 $5,493

It’s interesting how close Edgar and Pham’s personnel/overhead costs are, but Edgar has spent five times as much on actually reaching voters.

It is clear that Edgar is dominating the voter communication in AD-72, with nearly three times as much as his opponents combined.  Edgar will come in first by a comfortable margin.  It’s probably already too late for any of the other candidates to catch him.  While Dovinh spent the least of the four, he still remains the higher spending Democrat.  With the Republican vote split three ways and the Democratic vote split only two ways, the top two candidates in June will be Edgar and Dovinh, who will advance to the November general election.

Posted in 72nd Assembly District, Fundraising | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Carol Rudat Sends Horrendously Disgusting Email Regarding the Death of Tom Fuentes

Posted by Chris Nguyen on May 24, 2012

Ordinarily, for e-mail statements we receive and reprint, we’d post them under the “Newsletter Reprint” account.  However, this statement from Carol Rudat was so horrendously disgusting that it warranted separate commentary here.  We received copies of this e-mail from multiple readers who urged us to post this to show the world the kind of person Rudat is.  For readers unfamiliar with Rudat, she is the wife of former Orange City Manager Dave Rudat and infamously ran unsuccessfully for Orange City Council in 2006 while living in Newport Beach.

Immediately, I’d like to note that Tom Fuentes served as Vice Chair under Lois Lundberg.  Fuentes’s Vice Chair was Jo Ellen Allen and his Executive Director was Kathy Tavoularis.  Many other women also served in leadership roles during Fuentes’s Chairmanship, so the assertion that he tried to keep women out of leadership roles is utterly preposterous.

She also includes a rather non sequitur section that is basically a racist justification for a guest worker program.

Romeo, by the way, is her dog.  I really think Steve Sheldon and Denis Bilodeau have better things to do with their time and money than to arrange the kidnapping of a chihuahua.  I believe this is the likely culprit:

Coyote

Coyote

I could go on to rebut more, but Rudat’s e-mail is so ridiculous, everything in it should be assumed false, until proven otherwise.

This e-mail is filled with bile, factual errors, and grammatical errors:

From: Carol
Date: May 20, 2012 8:31:34 AM PDT
To: 
Cc: 
Subject: Fwd: Tom Fuentes died, Thank You GOD, one more bad guy gone.

The Woman Hater, Tom Fuentes of the OC Republican Party, and whom are current Chairman Scott Baugh could not cow tail too fast enough, has finally died and he is in God’s hands.  Thank “God” for Fuentes that he will be forgiven BUT God does not allow one to get away with the evil that a person does while on earth.

To the woman who have dealt with Tom Fuentes back lash, his tear down of women, keeping women off the OC Central Committee leadership positions and EVEN had the Audacity to ask elected women to step down for the MEN’S control, you have now been freed of one of the BAD REPUBLICANS who has been ruining our County, State and Country.

But, there is Scott Baugh who couldn’t bow fast or low enough to Fuentes and Scott is still sitting as Chairman of the OC Central Committee so the work of the honest Republicans, the REAL Republicans who are REAL Americans, is not done.

The NM Leaders need to take hold of Baugh and stop turning their heads, he’s unethical and I am one word away from what he really is besides unethical.  Put the picture together as to whom he does business with, shares offices with, and whomever speaks favorably of Scott in the NM then a word of heed is to ‘beware’.

The good leaders of the LC have been bedazzeled by the BAD, even if a Valedictorian does not mean a person has common sense or street smarts to see through those who have been corrupt and mis-leading the association.

I hope no one is going to forward this to Scott Baugh and the Lincoln Club because it will be very disappointing to hear who did and who cannot understand who the good and bad are.

If people in the USA continue to be complacent we are going to lose this country to the following ‘groups’ : Gangs (Mexican especially); Cartels (Mexican Cartels are in 300 Cities throughout the US already)  go to CNN in the past week and check out a brief story by Anderson Cooper ad find out how the Cartels are infiltrating and gaining control in the US by controlling the Illegal’s and gaining friendships with the corrupt cops, District Attorneys, et.al.; Russian Mafia (oh yes they are here and are hacking the computers to the banking, and all the other sites like Craigs List etc.; of course the long lived Italian Mafia and don’t forget the Unions who are nothing less than Cartels right under our feet.

The Hispanic Illegal Immigration problem started when the Guest Worker Program (aka The Vassero Program) came to a halt in the 1960’s under President Johnson.  Since the Hispanic people no longer to obtain ‘worker permit cards’ they had to sneak over the border.  This sneaking, thus being Illegal, has given the Gangs and Mexican Mafia/Cartels   control over these people.  These people fear the gangs and they know the gangs are holding hands with corrupt cops and other legal officials as this is no different than in Mexico.  The result?  The Hispanics will not call for help when there are crimes, they will not report known drug trafficking, they will not call to report a child kidnapped (these children are put into trafficking).  Thus, the Gangs and Mexican Mafia/Cartels gain more and more control and that means they are gaining control over you too!

Simply placing the Guest Worker Program back into existence will be the first step to take away the Gang, Mafia/Cartel controls within the USA.

Placing the Guest Worker Program into existence should begin to: eliminate the free health care as we will know who these people work for and we can make sure they have health insurance; provide correct wages for these persons so they can live openly in adequate housing and stop the hording of humans in housing as we will be able to know where they live; we can hold the companies and persons who hire these workers responsible and we will not be bearing these costs.

This is real, this is not a joke, and everyone needs to wake up and work together to stop the corruption or lose this Country.  If you do not believe me then start doing some research but for GODS SAKE pull your head out of the sand.  The Republican Women’s group is already a formation, pull together and start fighting for your Country.

It does not matter if you are Republican or Democrat, the good people need to get together and fight the crime in both parties as they have been infiltrated by corruption.  The bad in both parties and in all the Gangs hold hands.  They work together and that is how their strength grows.  This means the GOOD PEOPLE MUST HOLD HANDS and work together.

I have been threatened to my face by Steve Sheldon on behalf of Denis Bilodeau and the corrupt, to turn my head ‘or else’.  His departing statement, “remember, I offered you an olive branch.”  That message was a month before these guys hired a Hispanic Gang Member from El Modena (Orange) to climb my back fence and kidnapped Romeo.  Since, I have had THREE women deliver the exact same message, one to my face at a park inside Big Canyon.  The message, “you’re a marked woman”.  The woman in Big Canyon Gated Community stated she was a member of the Newport Beach Republican Women’s group and she claimed to be a resident in Big Canyon on the south side of the main entry in one of the townhomes.  The others were over the phone and yes, of course I have names and those names have been forward.  Yes, there is a police report filed about Steve Sheldon’s terrorist threat at Irvine Police Department (he’s an attorney and the California Bar Association has done nothing).

During the election Denis Bilodeau passed me on the sidewalk in front of the Senior Center and made this comment to me, “the more you walk the worse it’s going to get.”  I laughed then, what a wimp, and I am laughing more now because each day he is getting closer to prison bars as are his corrupt connections.  That include’s newspaper reporters who are part of the corruption, remember News of the World in London?

My mother, who was 90 years old at the time, received terrorist calls about Romeo.  How would anyone get her unlisted phone number?  Well elected officials and those well entrenched in corruption can gain private telephone numbers.

I have not stopped and I am not giving up.  Think about your grandchildren, nieces and nephews.  If you do not work together and take back this Country and stop the corruption then will we have freedom or will everyone live in fear of the Gangs, Mafias and Cartels (including the Unions who swung the pendulum far from doing what is good for workers).

You all know how to contact me.  You can all type and you can all make your comments on all the newspaper and blog sites throughout the US and the world.

Sent: Sat, May 19, 2012 9:36 pm
Subject: Tom Fuentes died
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-me-thomas-fuentes-20120520,0,433525.story

I can understand why readers may have had difficulty understanding what she wrote, so here’s a version with the grammar and spelling corrected in red (I’ve not bothered correcting capitalization errors, as those are not impediments to understanding what was written):

From: Carol
Date: May 20, 2012 8:31:34 AM PDT
To: 
Cc: 
Subject: Fwd: Tom Fuentes died, Thank You GOD, one more bad guy gone.

The Woman Hater, Tom Fuentes of the OC Republican Party, [and] whom [our] current Chairman Scott Baugh could not [kowtow] [to] fast enough, has finally died[,] and he is in God’s hands.  Thank “God” for Fuentes that he will be forgiven BUT God does not allow one to get away with the evil that a person does while on earth.

To the [women] who have dealt with Tom [Fuentes’s] [backlash], his tear down of women, keeping women off the OC Central Committee leadership positions and EVEN [his] Audacity to ask elected women to step down for [the] MEN’S control, you have now been freed of one of the BAD REPUBLICANS who has been ruining our County, State[,] and Country.

But, there is Scott Baugh who couldn’t bow fast or low enough to Fuentes[,] and Scott is still sitting as Chairman of the OC Central Committee[,] so the work of the honest Republicans, the REAL Republicans who are REAL Americans, is not done.

The NM Leaders need to take hold of Baugh and stop turning their heads, [as] he’s unethical[,] and I am one word away from [describing] what he really is besides unethical.  Put the picture together[,] as to whom he does business with, shares offices with, and [whoever] speaks favorably of Scott in the NM then a word of heed is to ‘beware’.

The good leaders of the LC have been [bedazzled] by the BAD [I’m not even sure how to correct this one], even [if] a Valedictorian does not [mean a person] [necessarily have the] common sense or street smarts to see through those who have been corrupt and [misleading] the association.

I hope no one is going to forward this to Scott Baugh and the Lincoln Club because it will be very disappointing to hear who did and who cannot understand who the good and bad are.

If people in the USA continue to be complacent[,] we are going to lose this country to the following ‘groups’ : Gangs (Mexican especially); Cartels (Mexican Cartels are in 300 Cities throughout the US already)[.]  go to CNN [in the past week and] [to] check out a brief story [from the past week] by Anderson Cooper [to] find out how the Cartels are infiltrating and gaining control in the US by controlling the [illegals] and gaining friendships with [the] corrupt cops, District Attorneys, et[.] al.; Russian Mafia (oh yes[,] they are here and are hacking [the] computers [to the banking], [at banks] and all the [other] sites[,] like [Craigslist,] etc.; of course[,] the long[-]lived Italian Mafia and don’t forget the Unions who are nothing less than Cartels right under our feet [I’m not even sure how to correct this post-semicolon section].

The Hispanic Illegal Immigration problem started when the Guest Worker Program (aka The [Vassero] [Bracero] Program) came to a halt in the 1960’s under President Johnson.  Since the Hispanic people [could] no longer [to] obtain [‘][” guest]worker permit[s] [cards’][,”] they had to sneak over the border.  This [sneaking, thus being] Illegal [action][,] has given the Gangs and Mexican Mafia/Cartels   control over these people.  These people fear the gangs[,] and they know the gangs are holding hands with corrupt cops and other legal officials[,] as this is no different than in Mexico.  The result?  The Hispanics will not call for help when there are crimes, they will not report known drug trafficking, [and] they will not call to report a child [being] kidnapped (these children are put into trafficking).  Thus, the Gangs and Mexican Mafia/Cartels gain more and more control[,] and that means they are gaining control over you too!

Simply placing the Guest Worker Program back into existence will be the first step to take away the Gang, Mafia/Cartel controls within the USA.

Placing the Guest Worker Program into existence should begin to: eliminate [the] free health care[,] as we will know who these people work for [and] [, so] we can make sure they have health insurance; provide correct wages for these persons[,] so they can live openly in adequate housing and stop the [hoarding] of humans in housing[,] as we will [be able to] know where they live; we can hold the companies and persons who hire these workers responsible [and] [, so] we will not be bearing these costs.

This is real, this is not a joke, and everyone needs to wake up and work together to stop the corruption or lose this Country.  If you do not believe me[,] then start doing some research[,] but for [GOD’S] SAKE[,] pull your head out of the sand.  The Republican Women’s [Federated] group is already a formation [what?], pull together [and] [to] start fighting for your Country.

It does not matter if you are Republican or Democrat, the good people need to get together and fight [the] crime in both parties[,] as they have been infiltrated by corruption.  The bad [people] in both parties and in all the Gangs hold hands.  They work together[,] and that is how their strength grows.  This means the GOOD PEOPLE MUST HOLD HANDS [and] [to] work together.

I have been threatened to my face [too weird to fix] by Steve Sheldon on behalf of Denis Bilodeau and the corrupt, to turn my head ‘or else’ [this entire sentence is a lost cause].  His departing statement [was], “remember, I offered you an olive branch.”  That message was a month before these guys hired a Hispanic Gang Member from El Modena (Orange) to climb my back fence [and] [to] kidnapp[ed] Romeo.  Since [then], I have had THREE women deliver the exact same message, one to my face at a park inside Big Canyon [What is with her obsession with making grammatically-flawed uses of the phrase “to my face” in this e-mail?].  The message [was], “you’re a marked woman”.  The woman in Big Canyon Gated Community stated she was a member of the Newport Beach Republican Women’s [Federated] group[,] and she claimed to be a resident in Big Canyon on the south side of the main entry in one of the townhomes.  The others were over the phone[,] and yes, of course[,] I have names[,] and those names have been forward[ed].  Yes, there is a police report filed about Steve Sheldon’s terrorist threat [at] [with the] Irvine Police Department (he’s an attorney[,] [and] [but] the California [State] Bar [Association] has done nothing).

During the election[,] Denis Bilodeau passed me on the sidewalk in front of the Senior Center and made this comment to me, “the more you walk[,] the worse it’s going to get.”  I laughed then[,][:] what a wimp, and I am laughing more now because each day[,] he is getting closer to prison bars[,] as are his corrupt connections.  That [include’s] [includes] newspaper reporters who are part of the corruption[,][:] remember News of the World in London?

My mother, who was 90 years old at the time, received terrorist calls about Romeo.  How would anyone get her unlisted phone number?  Well[,] elected officials and those well[-]entrenched in corruption can gain private telephone numbers [via Google and numerous public records, as the idea of private telephone numbers in this day and age is completely laughable].

I have not stopped[,] and I am not giving up.  Think about your grandchildren, nieces[,] and nephews.  If you do not work together [and] [to] take back this Country  [and] [to] stop the corruption[,] then will we have freedom[,] or will everyone live in fear of the Gangs, Mafias and Cartels (including the Unions who swung the pendulum far from doing what is good for workers)[.] [?]

You all know how to contact me.  You can all type[,] and you can all make your comments on all the newspaper and blog sites throughout the US and the world. [Well, here you are on a blog.]

Sent: Sat, May 19, 2012 9:36 pm
Subject: Tom Fuentes died
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-me-thomas-fuentes-20120520,0,433525.story

Posted in Newport Beach, Orange, Orange County, Republican Central Committee | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Bay Area’s Munger Spending on Behalf of Daigle in OC’s AD-74 Rises to Over $470,000

Posted by Chris Nguyen on May 23, 2012

Leslie Daigle, Charles Munger, Beth Gaines

Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, Santa Clara County Republican Party Chairman Charles Munger, Jr., and Assemblywoman Beth Gaines

We reported previously here and here about the vast sums of money that Santa Clara County Republican Party Chairman Charles Munger, Jr.’s Spirit of Democracy California PAC has spent on behalf of Newport Beach City Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, who is running against Assemblyman Allan Mansoor and businessman Bob Rush for the 74th Assembly District.  (Daigle and Mansoor are both registered Republicans, though it is widely known that Mansoor is the candidate of the conservatives, libertarians, Tea Party, etc. while Daigle is the candidate of the moderate and liberal-leaning factions.  Rush became a registered Democrat in February.)

The Spirit of Democracy California PAC formed by Munger, the son and namesake of Warren Buffett’s business partner, has now spent nearly half a million dollars on Daigle’s behalf in the last two weeks.  Specifically, it’s $470,671, which is broken down this way:

  • May 21: $145,000 for TV Commercials
  • May 21: $21,306 for Mailers
  • May 21: $20,190 for Mailers
  • May 21: $15,619 for Slate Mailers
  • May 15: $20,973 for Mailers
  • May 14: $180,000 for TV Commercials
  • May 14: $20,973 for Mailers
  • May 14: $7,500 for Consulting
  • May 14: $7,500 for Consulting
  • May 14: $25,111 for Mailers
  • May 14: $6,499 for Mailers

(Note that the $150,000 previously reported by Munger’s PAC was amended to $180,000 in a subsequent campaign finance report.)

This totals:

  • $325,000 for TV Commericals
  • $115,052 for Mailers
  • $15,619 for Slate Mailers
  • $15,000 for Consulting

The only other beneficiary of the largesse of the Spirit of Democracy California PAC is Assemblywoman Beth Gaines (R-Roseville), who has received $175,334 in independent expenditures from the PAC.

Munger has contributed $726,826 to the PAC.  Besides Munger, the only other contributor to the PAC is the California Dental Association, which has dropped $150,000.  That’s a total of $876,826 in the PAC.  They’ve spent a combined $646,005 for Daigle and Gaines, leaving $230,821 available for future spending.  Of course, Munger also has the deep pockets to drop far more into the PAC at a day’s notice.  After all, he and his sister, Molly Munger, have spent millions of dollars on California ballot measures.

Posted in 74th Assembly District | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

BREAKING: PAULY REMOVED AS OCGOP FIRST VICE CHAIR

Posted by Chris Nguyen on May 21, 2012

As we reported earlier, Deborah Pauly has been removed as the Republican Party of Orange County’s First Vice Chair by a 47-16-1 vote.

Posted in Republican Central Committee | Tagged: | 19 Comments »

Live from OCGOP Central Committee: Efforts to Remove Deborah Pauly as 1st Vice Chair

Posted by Chris Nguyen on May 21, 2012

Republican Party of Orange County Central Committee Meeting, May 21, 2012, Irvine Hyatt

Republican Party of Orange County Central Committee Meeting, May 21, 2012, Irvine Hyatt

The Republican Party of Orange County Central Committee meeting started shortly after 7 PM. After the invocation, the Pledge of Allegiance, the swearing-in of several new alternates, a resolution was brought up at 7:30 PM in memory of OCGOP Chairman Emeritus Tom Fuentes, who passed away on Friday. The Fuentes memorial resolution was adopted unanimously.

Then, there were some brief remarks about the OCGOP Flag Day celebration and a description of the state of the 74th Assembly District race between Assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesa) and Councilwoman Leslie Daigle (R-Newport Beach).

The Pauly Removal Motion

At 7:47 PM, OCGOP Chairman Scott Baugh brought the motion to remove Villa Park Councilwoman Deborah Pauly from her post as First Vice Chair of the OCGOP.

He cited Youth Associates deciding to stop participating due to their discomfort with Pauly’s criticisms of the Party.

He cited Pauly’s allegations of corruption against Baugh. He said he should be removed if this is true.

He stated Pauly is divisive at a time when Republicans need to be united against Democrats.

He cited her use of the OCGOP First Vice Chair title as misrepresenting her as speaking for the OCGOP.

He cited her “Tweets of vulgarity” as unbecoming of the First Vice Chair of the OCGOP.

He cited a need for a smooth-running, unified party.

Baugh then recused himself from presiding as maker of the motion. Pauly was also recused as subject of the motion. Then, 2nd Vice Chair Mary Young became presiding officer.

Dean Grose was ruled out of order for attempting to refer the matter to Ethics Committee.

Orange City Councilman Fred Whitaker, Pauly’s predecessor as First Vice Chair, seconded the Baugh motion. Whitaker stated Vice Chairs should not distract from the Party and its campaigns. He always saw the First Vice Chair’s role as being a “supporting actor” in the Party.

Parliamentary Procedure

At 8 PM, Young asked Parliamentarian Kermit Marsh for clarification on the motion. Marsh stated it would require an absolute majority of all members; any absent members would have their votes sought by mail, with mail ballots returned within 10 days.

Marsh, who is also Ethics Committee Chair, noted he had not received an Ethics complaint against Pauly, and there was only the motion to remove at this point.

Marsh stated Robert’s Rules dictated that each side in favor and against of the motion should have alternating speakers and that Pauly should be allowed to speak in her own defense without being counted in the alternating speaker sequence.

At 8:07, Pauly opted to defer her remarks to the end, wanting to hear what others had to say first.

Speakers Debate the Motion

At 8:09, Lynn Schott was concerned that this was the first she heard of this motion so soon after the death of Tom Fuentes. She urged to delay until after the election to avoid interfering with the supervisorial election.

At 8:10, Fullerton Councilman Bruce Whitaker urged “victory through unity.” He noted the disruptions led by Gil Ferguson against Fuentes and argued Fuentes was able to deal with Ferguson and his allies without removing anyone. He urged the OCGOP to not take action that could interfere with the supervisorial election.

At 8:12, there was an arcane parliamentary procedure discussion that concluded Baugh and Fred Whitaker were the first two speakers in favor of the removal and Schott and Bruce Whitaker were the first two speakers against removal.

At 8:14, Huntington Beach Councilman Matt Harper spoke of his situation when he was YRFC Chair and had a Vice Chair from another faction, which distracted from the group’s efforts to grow the Republican Party and advance its candidates.

At 8:15, Dean Grose stated there were no complaints from Youth Associates. He questioned the timing, believing it could affect the supervisorial race. He complained of the circular firing squad and the need of Republicans to battle Democrats.

At 8:18, Fred Ameri spoke of being Tom Fuentes’s business partner for 17 years. He spoke of Fuentes being a man of action who sought to grow the party. He said there was too much time being spent on the distractions from Pauly. Ameri called on Pauly to resign to spare the time and controversy.

Pauly Speaks

At 8:22, Pauly declared this the funny season of politics. Citing Baugh’s allegations that she was misusing her title, she stated Baugh had actively campaigned and raised money for her supervisorial opponent (Todd Spitzer). She said it was his right, and there was no need to remove him (and implicitly no need to remove her). She spoke of her disgust that the Youth Associates were dragged into this, particularly since she knew of no complaints from them.

She spoke of having only missed one Central Committee meeting in 5.5 years. She spoke of her concern at the shrinking of the Republican Party, as Republicans registered No Party Preference. She spoke of her time volunteering to grow the party, including registering new voters on a near-daily basis.

She said it was her responsibility to represent not just the Central Committee to the public, but the public to the Central Committee. She stated Baugh was seeking to “do away with” her using the supervisorial race, as she stated he was already attempting to find a way to remove her.

Pauly stated on May 31 (the day the mail ballots for her removal were due), that Spitzer would send out a hit piece about her Republican peers removing her.

She questioned who would count the ballots on the vote to remove her.

She said she would never leave the Republican Party, as she is a true believer in the principles of the party.

She said she first ran for Central Committee to reform the corruption she saw in the party, specifically citing Mike Carona.

She cited Daigle and Spitzer’s 3%@50 votes.

She said Fuentes told her that the Chair and First Vice Chair should meet regularly. She said when she arranged her first meeting with Baugh, he berated her for everything she’d done wrong.

Pauly stated the effort to remove her was solely to provide Spitzer with a June 1 hit piece, just before the June 5 election for Supervisor.

She stated this effort to remove her should be properly noticed for the June Central Committee meeting.

Pauly stated there is right and wrong, and that this is wrong.

Baugh Speaks on the Motion

At 8:36, Baugh asked Spitzer if he would use this removal in a hit piece, and Spitzer pledged he would “not spend one red cent” on this.

Baugh then stated he had been urged to bring this motion thrice before.

He then stated that he would be out of the country in June, the Central Committee is dark in July, and August was election season again. He stated that’s why he brought the motion in May.

He made the distinction that Spitzer did not know about the true cost of 3%@50 when he voted and now apologizes for it while Daigle knew the true cost and continues to lie about her votes.

Baugh stated that there is nothing wrong with disagreement and competition, but that it is wrong to make provocative and incendiary statements that embarrass the party.

He said the motion is to prevent a house divided, not divided on ideas but divided on personality.

Parliamentary Questions

At 8:43, Matt Harper asked to extend the balloting period to June 6 to avoid interfering with the election. Marsh said the by-laws require exactly 10 days.

At 8:44, Fred Whitaker asked if the 10 day period applied to those present and voting. Marsh said it only applies to physically absent people whose alternates were not present.

Marsh stated Secretary Zonya Townsend and Sergeant at Arms Norm Dickinson would be responsible for counting the ballots.

At 8:46, a question was asked if minutes could be provided to absent voters. It was pointed out that minutes report actions not quotes.

At 8:47, Matt Harper asked if it was 10 calendar days or 10 business days. It was quickly ruled (while both sides shouted) that it was 10 calendar days.

At 8:48, Pauly asked to speak to rebut Baugh. Young refused.

Pauly then asked for a roll call vote.

Pauly then stated she could battle Democrats’ accusations of the GOP’s war on women.

She asked who would be next after her for removal.

She said she has not used her OCGOP title to run for Supervisor while Spitzer had used his former Assemblyman title.

Young and Pauly fought back and forth about whether Pauly was out of order, but was able to get the remarks above out.

A Central Committee member shouted out calling for a roll call vote. Young rejected the proposal because the motion was made with the expectation of written ballots.

Voting

At 8:53, voting began.

At 9:14, Young asked for the remaining two voters to cast their ballots: Westminster Councilman Tyler Diep and Deborah Pauly herself.

At 9:16, Young declared the balloting closed.

At 9:19, Rhonda Rohrabacher spoke about precinct walking opportunities to help Allan Mansoor and using smartphone apps for precinct walking.

At 9:20, US Senate candidate Greg Conlon spoke about how “vulnerable” Dianne Feinstein is and that Republicans will gain the Senate. He stated he believed that Feinstein would resign rather than be in a minority. He stated Jerry Brown would then appoint Gavin Newsom to the Senate. Conlon spoke of his previous candidacy as the Republican Nominee for State Treasurer in 2002. He stated he was sending 1,000,000 pieces of mail and has residual name ID from 2002.

At 9:24, Walter H. Myers III spoke of the American Dream Outreach Committee’s efforts to attract more voters to the Republican Party. Myers spoke of the committee’s presence at the Black April commemoration in Little Saigon. Myers spoke of the committee’s presence at the Taiwanese Heritage event. Myers spoke of the committee’s presence at the Israel Expo. He credited Mark Cohen and Deborah Pauly for organizing these. Chandra Chell, Dean Grose, Craig Alexander, Emily Sanford, Cuong Cao, and a couple names I didn’t catch (sorry, readers).

RESULTS

At 9:28, the votes were announced.

Out of 71 members, 66 votes were cast. 5 will need to be mailed.

47 votes to remove, 16 votes against removing, 1 abstention.

PAULY REMOVED.

At 9:29, Pauly said she had no report but was honored to have served as First Vice Chair.

At 9:30, Young reported 5,000 Republican voter registrations.

At 9:32, Townsend reported Dianna Gadberry was the OCGOP Volunteer of the Month.

Posted in Republican Central Committee | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 111 Comments »

Munger Drops Another $366,604 into Pro-Daigle PAC Bringing Total Contributions to $876,826

Posted by Chris Nguyen on May 18, 2012

Two days ago, I wrote about the $360,222 that Santa Clara County Republican Party Chairman Charles Munger, Jr. dumped into the Spirit of Democracy California, a committee that spent $217,583 on behalf of Newport Beach City Councilwoman Leslie Daigle and $83,171 on behalf of Assemblywoman Beth Gaines.  Daigle is challenging Assemblyman Allan Mansoor while Gaines is being challenged by attorney Andy Pugno.  (Daigle, Gaines, Mansoor, and Pugno are all registered Republicans.)

The California Dental Association had also dropped $150,000 into the committee.  The committee has now received $876,826 from Munger’s two contributions and the Dental Association’s single contribution.

The PAC has since spent $20,973 for a pro-Daigle mailer, on top of the $217,583 it previously spent for her, bringing its total pro-Daigle spending to $238,556.

The PAC has since spent $17,992 for a pro-Gaines mailer and $15,000 for pro-Gaines TV ads, on top of the $83,171 it previously spent for her, bringing its total pro-Gaines spending to $116,163.

The Spirit of Democracy California PAC still has more than half a million dollars cash on hand ($522,107, to be exact).  Munger has also demonstrated he can still dump in hundreds of thousands of dollars at a moment’s notice.

Posted in 74th Assembly District, Independent Expenditures | Tagged: , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Dentists & Bay Area’s Munger Spend $218,000 in 4 Days to Support Leslie Daigle

Posted by Chris Nguyen on May 16, 2012

Leslie Daigle, Charles Munger, Beth Gaines

Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, Santa Clara County Republican Party Chairman Charles Munger, Jr., and Assemblywoman Beth Gaines

Santa Clara County Republican Party Chairman Charles Munger, Jr., who funded Proposition 11 of 2008 and Proposition 20 of 2010 (Prop 11 formed the redistricting commission while Prop 20 extended the commission’s jurisdiction to Congressional districts), and the California Dental Association together spent $218,000 between May 10-14 to support Republican Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle in her bid to unseat incumbent Republican Assemblyman Allan Mansoor.

  • On April 13, Munger dropped $360,222 into the “Spirit of Democracy California” PAC.
  • On Thursday (May 10), the California Dental Association IE PAC dropped another $150,000 into the PAC.  That same day, the SDC spent $39,110 in for Daigle.
  • On Monday (May 14), SDC spent $83,171 to support Sacramento-area incumbent Republican Assemblywoman Beth Gaines in her bid to defend her seat against Republican Attorney Andy Pugno.  That same day, SDC also spent $178,473 to support Daigle.

That leaves $209,469 left in the SDC PAC.

For visual learners:

Munger
Contributions		 Dental
Contributions		 Pro-Gaines
Expenditures		 Pro-Daigle
Expenditures		 Cash on
Hand
Spirit of Democracy
California		  $360,222 $150,000 $83,171 $217,583 $209,469

Here’s a breakdown of the Spirit of Democracy California IEs for Daigle thus far: one $150,000 payment for TV ads, three mailer payments totaling $52,583, and two consultant payments, each $7,500.  For Gaines, there’s one $54,000 payment for radio ads, one $14,171 payment for a mailer, and two consultant payments each $7,500.

For visual learners:

TV Ads Radio Ads Mailers Consultants Total
Pro-Daigle IEs  $150,000 $0 $52,583 $15,000 $217,583
Pro-Gaines IEs  $0 $54,000 $14,171 $15,000 $83,171

For those of you reading carefully, you may have noticed the $150,000 figure for TV ads for Daigle is exactly the dollar amount that the California Dental Association dropped into the Spirit of Democracy California.

Munger’s spending a lot of money this month.  Just last week, he spent $750,000 to fund the California Reform Institute, run by Senator Sam Blakeslee.

With $209,469 left in the Spirit of Democracy California PAC (and Munger’s very deep pockets), this could be a long three weeks for Mansoor and Pugno.

Posted in 74th Assembly District, Independent Expenditures | Tagged: , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Mayoral Candidate Brags About Endorsement from Serial Killer on Death Row

Posted by Chris Nguyen on May 14, 2012

Leonard Padilla

Sacramento Mayoral Candidate Leonard Padilla,
Proudly Endorsed by Death Row’s Speed Freak Killer, Wesley Shermantine

A strange tale from over the weekend…

Sacramento Mayoral Candidate Leonard Padilla, who is one of three candidates challenging Mayor Kevin Johnson‘s re-election bid, is proudly announcing his endorsement by Wesley Shermantine, who is half of the serial killer duo known as the Speed Freak Killers and currently sits on death row.

Padilla told Sacramento’s Fox40: “When you have a guy on death row endorsing you, you have to be somewhat proud of that.”

Why does he think that?  Well, he stated, “If I go out here to the unions, or if I go to the firemen, and ask for their endorsement, they’re going to want something in return.  I mean, this man, he cannot ask for anything in return.”

Well, I guess technically, he’s right that he won’t be beholden to any special interests.

On the potential drawback of the serial killer endorsement, he said, “I don’t think it’ll have any backlash because there’s nothing about the man that’s a secret.”

That’s ridiculous.  The backlash is because of what’s known about him.

Padilla even told Fox 40 he was considering making a commercial about Serial Killer Shermantine’s endorsement.

I’m going to name the Padilla for Mayor 2012 campaign the winner of my “Dumbest Campaign Strategy Ever” award.

This is clearly a publicity stunt, but the “Any press is good press” expression has its limits.  He will definitely lose many of what few votes he had, and I’m not sure if this will attract any new business for his bail bondsman or bounty hunter operations.  I would think a bounty hunter wouldn’t want publicity.  I would also think even those seeking the services of a bail bondsman would hesitate at using someone backed by a serial killer.

(Readers, feel free to insert a bad Sacramento joke here.)

Padilla came in 58th out of 135 candidates for Governor in the 2003 recall.  Padilla came in 4th out of 4 in the 2004 Sacramento mayoral primary and came in 3rd out of 5 in the 2008 Sacramento mayoral primary (behind only Johnson and then-Mayor Heather Fargo).

I’m still waiting for the Association of Ketchup Thieves to Endorse Steve Rocco for Supervisor and the appropriate independent expenditure on behalf of Janet Nguyen by Heinz, Hunt’s, and other ketchup manufacturers.

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