OC Political

A right-of-center blog covering local, statewide, and national politics

Archive for the ‘California’ Category

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »

Grand Jury Civil Report Financial Recommendations for Diamond Bar

Posted by Allen Wilson on September 29, 2013

logo_diamond_bar

The Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury issued their 2012-2013 report, which included a very detailed 71 pages (page 85-156) section entitled “Cities of Los Angeles County:  Fiscal Health, Governance, Financial Management and Compensation”.

The City of Diamond Bar needs to brush up their fiscal health and best practices, because the city was ranked 64 of the 88 cities for “number of positive responses”.

The City of Diamond Bar was ranked 65 of the 88 cities for “Governance and Financial Management Best Practices”.  According to the Civil Grand Jury report defines governance as:

“…the role of the city council in providing leadership for an organization.”

“Key tools of effective governance include strategic planning and management including performance measurement and monitoring.”

The City of Diamond Bar responded in the negative on the following governance and financial management best practices:

1)  Performance Indicators

2)  Annual Executive Goals

3)  Conflict of Interest Policy

4)  Formal Audit Committee

5)  Updated Policies on Accounting Manuals

6)  Fraud/Ethics Policy

7)  Formal Internal/Audit Functions

The Grand Jury recommended the City of Diamond Bar to do the following:

1)  Adopt financial planning, revenue and expenditure policies to guide city officials to develop sustainable, balanced budgets.

2)  Develop a balanced budget and commit to operate within the budget constraints.

3)  Should commit to not using one time revenues to fund recurring or on going expenditures.

4)  Should develop specific annual goals for the city’s executive.

5)  Should formally establish an audit committee making it directly responsible for the work of the independent auditor.

6)  Should undertake a full scale competitive process every 5 years for the selection of an independent external auditor.

The general demand by the public for transparency of financial matters regarding their local government has been increasing overtime and Diamond Bar is no different, which the Los Angeles Civil Grand Jury has highlighted the various concerns addressed to the 88 cities throughout the county.

It is imperative for the City of Diamond Bar to take corrective action on the Civil Grand Jury recommendations to ensure internal controls are in place with regards to fiscal health and governance best practices.

If no one is watching how their local government spends those tax dollars, then who will.  It is best to ask questions now, than later with regrets.

We surely hope that the Diamond Bar City Council takes the Civil Grand Jury key points with seriousness and not brush it off by putting the report on a shelf to collect dust.

Posted in California, Uncategorized | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

Tilt Heads: Chris Hansen and Orange County-Centric Campaign Consultant

Posted by Allen Wilson on September 16, 2013

When a story has a twist it makes many tilt their heads as questions start to evolve especially when it involve FPPC civil matters.

The Fair Political Practices Commission is a state watchdog campaign finance reporting agency created in 1974 due to passage of Proposition 9 by the California voters, which the initiative was known as the Political Reform Act (PRA).

CAMPAIGN-FINANCE-2

Last week, the Sacramento Bee reported that Chris Hansen settled a $50,000 fine with the FPPC due to failure to properly disclose the source of funding behind the ballot measure to force a public vote on the City of Sacramento arena subsidy.  The arena was to be used for the basketball team Sacramento Kings.

Chris Hansen is hedge fund manger who had desired to relocate the Sacramento Kings to Seattle, which never came to fruition.

The FPPC’s detailed 6 page report to the Commissioners gives a lengthy background information regarding the $50,000 settlement with Chris Hansen, but also mentions the names of Brandon Powers and Lysa Ray as the other two defendants agreeing to the fine.

Brandon Powers is an Orange County-centric campaign political consultant and Lysa Ray is an Orange County-based campaign treasurer.

Brandon Powers is the President-CEO of Powers Communications who managed campaigns for Diamond Bar Councilmembers Ling-Ling Chang and Steve Tye in 2009 and the unsuccessful campaign for GOP Attorney General candidate John Eastman in 2010.

Lysa Ray is the owner of Lysa Ray Campaign Services since 1991, which Ms. Ray has provided campaign finance reporting services for Jordan Brandman School Board in 2010, Larry Dick for State Assembly in 2008, Lorri Galloway for Orange County Supervisor in 2010, Harry Sidhu for State Senate in 2008, currently campaign treasurer for GOP Assembly candidate Diamond Bar Councilwoman Ling-Ling Chang.

What is so intriguing, immediately after the Sacramento Bee article went to print, Mr. Hansen gave his account with regards to the proposed FPPC settlement and what really happened of the events from May 15th NBA vote regarding the relocation of the Sacramento Kings and up to the FPPC fine.

The heads start to tilt as Mr. Hansen asserts:

At this time, a broad-based political committee had not yet been established, and I neither directed nor authorized Loeb & Loeb to make this expenditure on my behalf. During this entire process, I never spoke with, emailed, met, or had any correspondence with GoCo, Brandon Powers, STOP or Taxpayers for Safer Neighborhoods.  

Whoa!

According to the FPPC’s September 9th memo explains Mr. Powers role that could have put Mr. Hansen in the dark with regards to the signature gathering efforts:

…August 9, 2013, a representative for GOCO said political consultant Brandon Powers approached GOCO in order to hire GOCO to provide signature gathering services in Sacramento…

Mr. Hansen admits his error in judgment in the midst of the raw emotions from the get-go beginning on May 15th and never made any political contributions in his life:

Finally, although  I’ve never made any political donations or contributions in my life prior to this (including contributions to PAC’s), with the benefit of hindsight I also should not have relied solely on Loeb’s expertise and discretion in handling this matter and clearly should have asked more questions earlier in the process.

The FPPC role with regards to the Chris Hansen matter has been instrumental in enforcing the Political Reform Act to ensure campaign finance reporting are done in a transparent manner, because it is in the public interest regarding any issue much like the controversial Sacramento arena.

The next time any candidate or campaign committee desires to get themselves in the political mud it is best to get reputable campaign consultant and treasurer that knows what he or she is doing before getting a phone call from the FPPC that would amount to a tilt head.

Posted in 55th Assembly District, California, Orange County, State Assembly | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Former Senator Dutton runs for County Assessor-Recorder

Posted by Allen Wilson on September 16, 2013

OC Political received word that former Senator Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) announces his plans to run as a candidate for San Bernardino County Assessor-Recorder.

image

If Mr. Dutton is successful in his candidacy, he will be the second State Senator to run for county Assessor-Recorder in four years.  Dave Cogdill served as State Senator from the 14th State Senate District until 2010, which then he was elected as Stanislaus County Assessor-Recorder.

Dutton announces campaign for

San Bernardino County Assessor/Recorder

 

Rancho Cucamonga, CA – Former State Senator and long time business owner Bob Dutton will run for San Bernardino County Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk.  In this role, Dutton will look to provide over 2 million residents of California’s largest geographical county with independent oversight on property assessments, accurate information on county documents, and increased efficiency with the administration of public services.

“I have always taken a commonsense approach to the issues,” said Dutton.  “My experience as both a business owner and elected representative will provide the residents of San Bernardino with a voice on the county level.  As we recover from an historic recession, I will look to deliver efficient and effective service for a region in which I have been dedicated for nearly forty years.”

After serving in both the Army Reserve and National Guard, Bob Dutton’s commitment to the Inland Empire and desire to own a business was realized when he opened a real estate investment and management firm in Rancho Cucamonga.  As Dutton’s knowledge of the real estate market grew, so did his ability to affect positive change for the residents of San Bernardino County. He won his first election to the Rancho Cucamonga City Council in 1998 and was re-elected in 2000.

In 2002, Dutton used his knowledge as a business owner and reputation as a community leader to win a seat in the State Assembly. In 2004, he successfully ran for the State Senate where he represented portions of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, and was re-elected with nearly 60 percent of the vote.

“I had the pleasure of working with Bob when he was in the legislature.  His commitment to the residents of San Bernardino County, his knowledge of the issues, and his commonsense approach has always provided a sense of direction when it was needed most,” said San Bernardino County Supervisor Janice Rutherford.       

As the next County Assessor, Senator Dutton will use this approach to offer the efficient and effective service needed for the residents San Bernardino County.  In addition to running a small business and being involved with numerous professional organizations, Senator Dutton is focused on giving back to the community. He has served as president or board member for numerous community and civic organizations including the local Kiwanis Club, YMCA, Red Cross, the Chamber of Commerce and the Community Foundation.

Bob and his wife Andrea Guillen, have been married for more than 30 years.  Andrea, a fourth generation Chino resident, is the Professor and Program Director of Radiology at Chaffey Community College.  Their daughter Kara, who received her Master’s in 2010 from the University of La Verne, is working in the banking industry

Posted in California | Tagged: , | 3 Comments »

Harkey Bill to Fix Bob Baker Problem Signed Into Law

Posted by Chris Nguyen on August 27, 2013

San Clemente Mayor Robert

San Clemente Mayor Robert “Bob” Baker

Many people may recall the rather amusing saga of San Clemente Councilman Robert “Bob” Baker, who had an opponent in the November 2012 election with the same exact name of Robert “Bob” Baker, which OC Political covered here and here last year.

In a nutshell, Councilman Baker (R) was challenged for re-election by a businessman (D) with the same exact name. (In the process, we discovered ballot designations had been created in 1931 to solve this problem, but that clearly took a life of its own.) Under Elections Code 13118, which was left substantially untouched since 1927, when two candidates with the same (or very similar) names were to each select a number to be placed next to their names on the ballot if at least one of them filed a declaration that their names were confusingly similar.

Since Councilman Baker pulled and filed his nomination paperwork first, he got first pick of numbers.  Naturally, he picked the number 1. Easy enough, right? Well, no. Businessman Baker then threw everyone for a loop by picking the number 0. The San Clemente City Clerk initially determined that businessman Baker would precede Councilman Baker on the ballot since 0 comes before 1. Then, the City Clerk sought advised from the Secretary of State, who then recommended the Clerk to do a random drawing to determine who would get listed first (just like the random drawing of the alphabet for the ballot). 0 was drawn before 1, so businessman Baker was listed before Councilman Baker on the ballot.

Businessman Baker eventually dropped out (though his name remained on the ballot), and Councilman Baker was re-elected by a nearly 3% margin. Shortly after the election, his colleagues on the San Clemente City Council selected Baker to be Mayor of San Clemente for 2013.

CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE Member, City Council
Number To Vote For: 2
Completed Precincts: 46 of 46
Vote Count Percentage
CHRIS HAMM 12,308 26.2%
1 ROBERT “BOB” BAKER 10,890 23.2%
JIM DAHL 9,555 20.3%
MIKE MORTENSON 9,145 19.5%
DAVID CLEGG 3,105 6.6%
0 ROBERT “BOB” BAKER 1,995 4.2%

Well, this year, Assemblywoman Diane Harkey introduced AB 1316 in February, which sailed through the Assembly Elections Committee, the Assembly Appropriations Committee, the Assembly Floor, the Senate Elections Committee, and the Senate Floor, getting unanimous votes every step of the way. Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 1316 into law this month, and it will take effect on January 1, 2014.

Sponsored by the City Clerks Association of California, AB 1316 was supported by the Secretary of State, the California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials, and the League of California Cities. Harkey’s office specifically cited the situation in San Clemente as the impetus for the bill, and that was cited by all four official bill analyses in the Legislature (Assembly Elections, Assembly Appropriations, Senate Elections, and Senate Floor).

AB 1316 is quite straightforward.  If any candidate files a declaration declaring that the name of an opponent is confusingly similar, the elections official (the City Clerk for city offices or the Registrar of Voters for federal, state, county, school district, special district, etc.) will now select the number assigned to each candidate with a similar name. The Clerk/Registrar must start with the number 1 and assign the numbers sequentially based on the order that each candidate filed for the ballot. The ballot order will be determined by lottery. AB 1316 also fixed the annoying problem of the number’s location, moving it after the candidate’s name, as existing law had placed it before the candidate’s name.

If Harkey’s bill had been in effect in November 2012, the Councilman would have been Robert “Bob” Baker 1 while the businessman would have been Robert “Bob” Baker 2. Under the pre-Harkey law, as you’ll recall, they were 1 Robert “Bob” Baker and 0 Robert “Bob” Baker.

Due to the inherent advantage of the number 1, I wish AB 1316 had begun with the number 2 instead or that the assigned numbers for the candidates were determined by lottery in the first place.  Oh well.

Sadly (but appropriately), Harkey’s bill also closed my googol loophole: thanks to AB 1316, there can never be a candidate with the number 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

Posted in 73rd Assembly District, California, San Clemente | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Craig Young: Choosing Battles: Local Control, State Mandate and Knowing the Difference

Posted by Newsletter Reprint on August 23, 2013

Craig YoungThis op-ed came across the wire from Yorba Linda Mayor Pro Tem Craig Young…

Choosing Battles: Local Control, State Mandate and Knowing the Difference

The wise leader considers both armies before going into battle.  It is said my NO vote against an Entitlement Program that gives free lunches as well as tens of thousands of dollars to a real estate investor should require that I also vote NO on any funding for the roads we all drive on. Really?? It is also said I should have voted NO on the Housing Element that was approved the night I lost the vote against returning Block Grants.  I am painted as being inconsistent.  The appropriate retort: apples and oranges.

While ideologically a NO vote on the Housing Element sends a message to Sacramento about objection to entitlements, unfortunately that vote bears consequences that would be overwhelmingly adverse to our city. The NO vote on Block Grants has consequences too (e.g. loss of community embraced programs and over $42,000 in general funding). However, we can afford the adverse consequences on Block Grants, we cannot afford those on the Housing Element.

Long before my time, we were painted into a corner with the Housing Element.  Thomas Jefferson said, “A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.”

Disapproving the Housing Element could give the State the ability to freeze development in our city; we would no longer be able to issue building permits of any type. More importantly, a non-certified Housing Element could subject our city to scrutiny and significant legal claims from housing advocacy groups, which could be very costly to our general fund. And worse, the NO vote potentially even bestows Sacramento with control to step in and approve, without our input, construction of housing they seek.

A NO vote on Block Grants keeps us from receiving something we can choose to selectively fund on our own. A NO vote on the Housing Element has the adverse effect of taking sole local control away and giving it to the State. A glance at the balance sheet indicates to me that the negatives tremendously outweigh the positives.

Would I advocate for the State returning control to the local cities? Absolutely!  However, in so advocating, we must carefully craft decisions balancing ideology with pragmatism.

Craig Young is an attorney, active member in the Lincoln Club, and serves as Mayor Pro Tem in Yorba Linda, CA.

 

Posted in California, Yorba Linda | Tagged: , , , | 4 Comments »

BREAKING: San Diego Mayor Filner will resign

Posted by Allen Wilson on August 22, 2013

image

San Diego NBC 7 Reports that embattled Mayor Bob Filner plans to resign as part of harassment settlement agreement reached last night.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/San-Diego-Mayor-Bob-Filner-to-Resign-220675401.html

Diana Palacios posted this YouTube showing Filner leaving City Hall yesterday in a black SUV with boxes to vacate the office.

Posted in California | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

RIP Jane Barnett Former RPLAC Chairman

Posted by Allen Wilson on August 8, 2013

OC Political received this sad message regarding the passing of Jane Barnett from RPLAC (Republican Party of Los Angeles County) Chairman Mark Vafiades:

image

It is with great sadness that we report that former Chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, Jane Barnett, passed away this morning at approximately 8:00am

Jane Barnett had an extensive political career. She was, most recently, the Chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County from 2009 – 2011.

Prior to that she was a candidate for the 43rd Assembly District in Los Angeles County and she was chair of the 43rd Assembly District Republican Central Committee.

She also served as the First Vice President of the Glendale-Burbank Republican Club and was a member of several Republican Women Federated clubs.

Jane was a lecturer/faculty member of the Leadership Institute in Washington, DC from 2001-2003, when she was living in Virginia. She was Director of Donor Affairs for Oliver North’s Freedom Alliance from 2003 -2006. She was Event Coordinator and Fundraiser for Ken Blackwell’s Center for New Black Leadership during 2003, and during that same year served as Director of Donor Relations for GOPAC.

Jane has worked for several elected officials, including California State Assemblyman James Rogan, for whom she served as Administrative Assistant, California State Assemblyman Pat Nolan and California State Senator Tim Leslie.

Jane is survived by her husband, Lou, and seven children.

Jane was a powerful presence in the Republican Party of Los Angeles County. We will miss her.

Posted in California, Republican Central Committee | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Former Executive Director of Los Angeles County GOP arrested

Posted by Allen Wilson on August 2, 2013

ScottHounsellThe Diamond Bar-Walnut Patch and KPCC are reporting that former Executive Director of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County (RPLAC) has been arrested for sending text messages to a minor.

Scott Hounsell has served as Executive Director for RPLAC for six months of 2013 until his departure on June 15th is allegedly sending sexually text messages to a minor will be charged with two counts of misdemeanors according to KPCC.

Hounsell has previously served for former Assemblyman Cameron Smyth (R-Santa Clarita) as a Field Representative and Internship Coordinator.

The story is developing and we will keep OC Political readers updated as the news becomes available.

Posted in California | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works $134K Commissioners

Posted by Allen Wilson on July 31, 2013

City of Los AngelesThe Los Angeles Times reported yesterday about former Mayoral candidate Kevin James who was grilled by the Los Angeles City Council for a seat on the Board of Public Works.

James was appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti and confirmed by the city council on a vote of 11-0.

Then, Times goes on to explain at the bottom of the article that each Commissioner on the Board of Public Works pulls a six-figure salary of $134,000, which is the ONLY city commission that pay such hefty sum.

The Board is comprised of 5 members, which includes former Assemblyman Mike Davis.

If Angelenos didn’t know their hard working taxpayer funds are being used as a salary for a city commissioner should give City Hall a piece of their minds.

So, Kevin: Are you going to call for fiscal restraint by cutting back on the salary as a newly install Commissioner?

Posted in California | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

GOP Picks Up Competitive Senate Seat

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on July 26, 2013

I waited a few days to post about the 16th Senate District race in order to make sure that I did not jinx it for Andy Vidak. The good news is that the California Republican Party has announced that the results appear to be official. In the near future stay tuned for an article praising new CRP leader Jim Brulte for being somebody that understands campaigns in the post Prop 14 world.

Here is the press release issued by CRP earlier today:

Congratulations to Senator-Elect Andy Vidak

The California GOP congratulates Republican Andy Vidak who has been elected to the California State Senate from the Central Valley’s 16th Senate District.

Andy and his team ran an outstanding campaign reaching out to thousands of voters in Kings, Kern, Fresno and Tulare Counties. He worked hard and earned this win.

This victory also demonstrates the power of the Republican Party when we work together.

Hundreds of volunteers from throughout California drove to the Central Valley and walked precincts in the scorching heat. The last weekend alone we had over 500 volunteer days from outside the district volunteers. Volunteers also went to phone banks throughout California and made over 30,000 phone calls into the district. This was in addition to the thousands of callers and walkers who reside in the district.

Kudos also go to Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff. He and his caucus spent hours on this race walking precincts, talking to voters and raising funds to support Andy in his campaign. The Assembly Republicans, under the leadership of Connie Conway, also supported the campaign by walking, recruiting volunteers and contributing funds.

Our Volunteer groups…with the Young Republicans, College Republicans and California Federation of Republican Women leading the way, provided an unprecedented level of volunteer support in this critically important race.

Finally we congratulate you, the dedicated volunteers and supporters of the California Republican Party. Your ongoing support and encouragement has helped in this victory.
Thank you for helping us rebuild this party from the ground up. We have a lot of work to do, but we now know that when we pull together, we can win.

Congratulations again, Senator-elect Andy Vidak.

Sincerely,

Senator Jim Brulte, Chairman
California Republican Party

Posted in California | Tagged: | 2 Comments »

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »