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Eight File for Orange City Council: Alvarez, Grangoff, Labrado, and Murphy Clear Frontrunners

Posted by Chris Nguyen on August 14, 2012

Mike Alvarez

Mike Alvarez

Ray Grangoff

Ray Grangoff

Larry Labrado

Larry Labrado

Mark Murphy

Mark Murphy

Eight people filed for Orange City Council by the close of filing Friday.  Two council seats are up, and they are held by termed-out Councilmembers Jon Dumitru (R) and Tita Smith (D), so there are no eligible incumbents in this race.  In alphabetical order by last name, the nine candidates (and their ballot designations) are:

  • Mike Alvarez (R) – Businessman
  • Richard Callahan (R) – Financial Professional/Author
  • Brian A. Del Vecchio (R) – Businessman/Educator
  • Robert L. Douglas (D) – Orange Business Owner
  • Ray Grangoff (R) – City of Orange Planning Commissioner
  • Lawrence R. “Larry” Labrado (D) – Governing Board Member, Rancho Santiago Community College District
  • Mark A. Murphy (R) – Businessman
  • Josh Nothom (D) – Educator

I’ll get back to Alvarez, Grangoff, Labrado, and Murphy in a minute, but let me briefly describe the other four first.  Douglas is a perennial candidate for council, having run in the last four elections, and only once surpassing 11% of the vote.  Callahan is a frequent letter writer to the Orange County Registerand is a former corporate executive, having been vice president and controller of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group.  Del Vecchio is a salesman, currently a national account representative at Equus Products (Equus sells “diagnostic & scan tools, test equipment, gauges and tachometers” for cars).  Nothom is a teacher at the Lila School of Orange County, is currently developing the Joberu Community School, and is also the lead guitarist in a band called ReaLEyeZ.

Here are the Big Four:

  • Alvarez is a former Orange City Councilman, who termed out in 2004.  He made an unsuccessful bid for Mayor in 2006 when Carolyn Cavecche defeated him 55.7%-33.2%.
  • Labrado is a sitting elected member of the Rancho Santiago Community College District, representing the people of Orange on that board since 1994.
  • Grangoff is an Orange Planning Commissioner.  He’s also Deputy Chief of Staff to Supervisor Pat Bates and was an elected official at the age of 18 when he was a school board member before opting not to run for re-election to attend graduate school.
  • Murphy is a former Orange Mayor and City Councilman, who termed out in 2010.  He was elected by the people of Orange in 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006.

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

Douglas Chapman’s Dual-Office Seeking Leaves Him with Two Major Opponents: Denis Bilodeau & Doug Davert

Posted by Chris Nguyen on July 25, 2012

Denis Bilodeau

Douglas M. Chapman

Doug Davert

As I wrote on Friday, Douglas M. Chapman filed to run for two offices at the same time, seeking re-election to the East Orange County Water District while simultaneously challenging Orange County Water District Director Denis Bilodeau‘s re-election bid.

Had Chapman simply sought re-election to the East Orange County Water District, he would likely have had a nice, quiet re-election campaign.  However, Chapman inexplicably decided to challenge incumbent Denis Bilodeau for the Orange County Water District while still running for re-election for the East Orange County Water District.

Needless to say, that drew attention to Chapman: running for two offices and challenging an incumbent.  (Do you really think OC Political or any other blog was going to cover an East Orange County Water District re-election campaign but for Chapman trying to run for two seats?) Yesterday, former Tustin Mayor Doug Davert pulled papers to run challenge Chapman for the East Orange County Water District.  (Davert left the Tustin Council in 2010 due to term limits.)

Now, Chapman faces a two-front war, with two very formidable, popular opponents.  In the Orange County Water District, Division 2 seat that Chapman is seeking, not only is Bilodeau the incumbent, but he is also the Mayor Pro Tem of Orange – the largest city in the division.  In the East Orange County Water District where Chapman is seeking re-election, the district consists of Tustin, slivers of Orange, and nearby unincorporated areas, but his challenger is former Tustin Mayor Doug Davert – and Tustin is the bulk of the district.  Both Bilodeau and Davert can raise substantial sums of money that Chapman will be unable to match.  To make matters worst for Chapman, their names are the rather similar “Douglas M. Chapman” and “Douglass S. Davert” on the ballot for EOCWD.  Not only that, but the Assembly Member who covers both seats is Don Wagner, whom Chapman ran against unsuccessfully for the South Orange County Community College District in 1998.

Challenging an incumbent like Bilodeau is no small task, and now Chapman faces a tough re-election bid – simultaneously.  Not only could Chapman lose his bid to unseat Bilodeau, but now he risks his own seat to Davert.  Chapman’s effort to win two water board seats in the same election could cause him to go from having one water board seat to none.

Posted in East Orange County Water District, Orange, Orange County Water District, South Orange County Community College District, Tustin | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

Congressman John Campbell Endorses Jon Dumitru for Mayor

Posted by Jon Dumitru on July 23, 2012

This is the latest press release from my campaign:

Congressman John Campbell Endorses Jon Dumitru for Mayor

Orange, CA (July 23, 2012) – Congressman John Campbell is the most recent elected official to get behind Jon Dumitru in his race for Mayor. Campbell serves on the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on the Budget.

“With the 45th Congressional District covering Orange, I find it important to make certain that we have solid local leaders in place,” Campbell said. “Jon Dumitru is the one candidate who will fight burdensome government regulations and wasteful spending.”

“I am honored to have the endorsement of Congressman Campbell who will soon be representing Orange in Congress,” Dumitru said. “My hope is to work closely with him to make certain that we can fight for the taxpayers by lowering taxes, eliminating over-regulation, and cutting wasteful bureaucracy.”

As a member of the Orange City Council, Dumitru has led Orange as one of the most fiscally responsible members of the Council. His voting record as a Councilmember reflects his pledge for “No New Taxes” and the fiscal viability of the City of Orange.

Jon serves his constituents as their consistent voice on the City Council, promoting traditional family values, public safety and less government regulation.

First elected in 2004 and re-elected in 2008, Dumitru is the leading conservative on the City Council of Orange, which is one of America’s most conservative cities.  A home-grown civic leader active in numerous non-profit organizations and charities, Dumitru attended Orange public schools and currently works for the Orange County Fire Authority in the Emergency Command Center coordinating firefighters and paramedics.

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Councilman Jon Dumitru Announces Endorsement From Orange Mayor Pro-Tem Denis Bilodeau

Posted by Jon Dumitru on July 17, 2012

Here is the latest press release from my campaign:

Councilman Jon Dumitru Announces Endorsement From Orange Mayor Pro-Tem Denis Bilodeau

Orange, CA (July 17, 2012) – Orange Mayor Pro-Tem Denis Bilodeau has endorsed Jon Dumitru for Orange Mayor in the November general election. Bilodeau, a respected member of the Orange City Council since 2006, is one of a growing list of elected officials to get behind Dumitru. 

“Jon is the right choice for Mayor in Orange,” Bilodeau said. “We need to have a Mayor who has deep roots in Orange, supports a safer city, and will cut wasteful bureaucracy.”

“Denis Bilodeau is a colleague that I greatly respect,” Dumitru said. “I appreciate having the endorsement of such a true advocate for the people of Orange. With his help, going forward we can make Orange an even greater city to live, work and raise a family in.” 

As a member of the Orange City Council, Dumitru has led Orange with Denis Bilodeau, as the most fiscally responsible members of the Council resulting in millions of dollars in savings. His voting record as a Councilmember reflects his pledge for “No New Taxes” and the fiscal viability of the City of Orange.

Jon serves his constituents as their consistent voice on the Council, promoting traditional family values, public safety, and high academic standards in local schools.

First elected in 2004 and re-elected in 2008, Dumitru is the leading conservative on the City Council of Orange; which is one of America’s most conservative cities.  A home-grown civic leader active in numerous non-profit organizations and charities, Dumitru attended Orange public schools and currently works for the Orange County Fire Authority in the Emergency Command Center coordinating firefighters and paramedics.

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Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas Joins Growing List of Dumitru Supporters

Posted by Jon Dumitru on July 12, 2012

Here is our latest press release:

Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas Joins Growing List of Dumitru Supporters

Orange, CA (July 11, 2012) – Public safety officials are starting to coalesce behind Jon Dumitru, candidate for Orange Mayor. District Attorney Tony Rackauckas has joined a growing list of supporters for the Dumitru Campaign.

“My career has been based on prosecuting criminals who have committed some of the most heinous acts. It is important to make sure that our local elected leaders are going to be tough on crime,” Rackauckas said. “Jon Dumitru is a man that will make sure that Orange has the right policies in place to make it a safer city.”

“Tony Rackauckas has been a great District Attorney in standing up to violent criminals,” Dumitru said. “I am honored to have him stand with me to make sure that Orange becomes a safer city.”

As a member of the Orange City Council, Dumitru has led Orange as the fiscally proven member of the Council. His voting record as a Councilmember reflects his pledge for “No New Taxes” and the fiscal viability of the City of Orange. 

Jon serves his constituents as their consistent voice on the board, promoting traditional family values, public safety and high academic standards in local schools.

First elected in 2004 and re-elected in 2008, Dumitru is the leading conservative on the City Council of Orange, which is one of America’s most conservative cities.  A home-grown civic leader active in numerous non-profit organizations and charities, Dumitru attended Orange public schools and currently works for the Orange County Fire Authority in the Emergency Command Center coordinating firefighters and paramedics.

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Atlas PAC: Orange Councilman Jon Dumitru’s Reception & Del Mar Day at the Races

Posted by Newsletter Reprint on June 24, 2012

This came over the wire from Atlas PAC on Friday…

Upcoming Events                                                                  June 22, 2012
Reception for Orange City Councilman Jon Dumitru

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

Come to my Fundraiser on June 27th

Posted by Jon Dumitru on June 15, 2012

OC Political is shaping up to be a great source of information on Orange County Politics. I am excited to be a part of this endeavor and look forward to posting more substantive stories over the coming months.

For now though I wanted to take a moment to invite our readers to a fundraiser I am holding on June 27th in the great City of Orange.

Here is the info for the event:

You are Invited to a Fundraising Event for Orange City Councilman Jon Dumitru

Candidate for Orange Mayor 2012

Wednesday, June 27th

5:30pm – 7:30pm

OC Taco Joint
1724 N Tustin St. Orange, CA

$50.00 per person
$250 Corporate
$1000 Sponsor

RSVP— dumitruformayor@gmail.com or (949) 230-9609

Paid for by: Jon Dumitru for Mayor 2012 P.O. Box 4284 Orange, CA 92863

Posted in Orange | 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 »

Orange Councilman Jon Dumitru Proposes Business License Amnesty Program

Posted by OC Insider on May 2, 2012

On April 24, Orange Councilman Jon Dumitru proposed a business license amnesty program after being approached by a business that was being sued by the City of Orange.

The strangest thing about this business was that it had never actually opened – it only got the license because it was considering opening a branch in Orange but decided to let its license expire when it did not open the Orange branch.  However, the City of Orange is now threatening to sue the business.  Talk about bureaucratic insanity!

Dumitru proposed an awesome idea: a business license amnesty program.  This would allow businesses that have fallen behind on  license payments but not be forced to go to court.  In other words, if the businesses just pay their back fees, they won’t be pursued by the City.

Councilman Fred Whitaker supported the idea of allowing closed businesses to just let their licenses lapse without having to file any other paperwork.  Whitaker also seemed interested in Dumitru’s business license amnesty program.

Mayor Carolyn Cavecche supported Dumitru’s business license amnesty program.

Kudos to the Dumitru and the Orange Council for trying to ease the burden of government on small businesses during these challenging economic times.  It’s actions like theirs that get government out of the way and help start our economic recovery.

Here’s a transcript of the discussion from the April 24 Orange Council meeting…

Councilman Jon Dumitru: And real quickly, and I know you’ve [Mayor Carolyn Cavecche] been approached and I was approached last night. That’s why this is kind of last moment, but we have a business owner actually from the city of Tustin that approached me. It’s a traffic school, and I guess they at some point in time, were considering opening up a branch office here in the City of Orange.

They had pulled a business license but they had never actually opened, and in the process of the last year, their business license, of course, in Orange they let expire since they no longer operated, or ever operated, and now they’re being threatened with some legal action from the City.

I know we need to kind of get this fast-tracked. Their attorney reached out to me yesterday, Mr. English, about the procedure that has been going on.

But it, really overnight, as I’ve been thinking about this more and more, is we have a number of businesses actually that don’t pull or don’t renew their business licenses and then they start falling further and further behind, and the fees start mounting, and then there’s threats of court action. And I really think, it might behoove the City if we offer sort of a business license amnesty.

You know a number of times during our budgets, budget cycles, have asked to eliminate business license fees, but if we offered amnesty and allow these folks and these businesses to really get kind of government off their back. And the ability to come back and become compliant with what the city requires. It will also get their business licenses up to date and will end, also end, some of the City Attorney work from having to go to court and pursue these small businesses that are struggling these days, but I know – and it’s, I wrote it down, I wrote it down – Times Traffic School, but I think there’s another word to it. And I know, I think they’ve reached out to you [Cavecche], as well.

Mayor Carolyn Cavecche: Actually, I met with one of the City Attorneys on this today…

Dumitru: Oh perfect.

Cavecche: …already, so…

Dumitru: I just thought I’d bring that forward and maybe we can get staff to kind of put together a list or at least a kind of a rough number of how many businesses in our city are non-compliant with the business licenses. And maybe kick around the idea here in the near future of an amnesty program to really allow these businesses to succeed.

Cavecche: Any comments at all? Mr. Whitaker.

Councilman Fred Whitaker: Well, I think there’s kind of two elements. The first would be we need to really look at our code and see if somebody simply doesn’t renew because they’re no longer in business, how do we make sure that we just let that go? I mean somebody should have the freedom to not renew and not have to do anything about that.

And then the second would be, you know: how many folks are actually in business and not compliant and then, you know, just like a code enforcement thing, is there an amnesty program that we can have for those people to help them through and get back to the program? To me, it’s two different things we need to look at.

Cavecche: Any comments? Mr. Bilodeau?

Mayor Pro Tem Denis Bilodeau: Not on this one. Something else.

Cavecche: Okay.  You know, I’m fine with that too. So, Mr. Dumitru, why don’t you sit down and work with Rich Jacobs, our finance director, and kind of get a feel for what we have as far as, or with Mr. [City Manager John] Sibley, and if you’ll take care of that and work with him on that and…

Dumitru: Absolutely…

Cavecche: …kind of get a feel for what we’ve got going on that and then staff can bring that back at a future date, or brief us on it to kind of get a feel for how much is out there as well.

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OC City Council Members Display Courage in Ending Outsized Benefits

Posted by Walter Myers III on March 30, 2012

If you don’t know about the the stand some Orange County city council members in various cities are taking against abuse of your tax dollars, then you will be happy to read a great article on Rancho Santa Margarita City Councilman Jesse Petrilla in the OC Register, which you can find at http://www.ocregister.com/news/petrilla-346622-benefits-council.html. Councilman Petrilla is demonstrating great courage in bringing the issue of outsized City Council benefits to the forefront. Few of us mind that City Council members get a reasonable monthly stipend for their service to their respective cities. It can often be long, hard, and thankless hours of work for those truly committed, so they deserve a token of appreciation from the taxpayers whom they serve. However, many City Councils across Orange County have taken advantage of taxpayers by voting themselves benefits that are only appropriate for full-time employees, particularly health benefits.

In my own city of Tustin, City Council members receive full healthcare benefits, which is perverse in my view because such a benefit can entice people to run for the wrong reasons. Yet Rancho Santa Margarita is particularly egregious, since benefits in excess of $65,000 not used during a term served can be placed in a retirement fund to be used later. This should have us all outraged, so kudos to Petrilla and also Mayor pro tem Steve Baric  for standing against such madness that would greatly benefit them financially. The purpose of being on City Council is to serve and to give back to the community, not to benefit financially. Both Petrilla and Baric  have voluntarily opted out of receiving all benefits, and are proposing that the entire City Council vote to officially end them, following the lead of the Orange City Council. The Orange City Council voted to permanently end stipends, healthcare benefits, and retirement benefits late last year. They are to be applauded for their courage as a council, and I would extend this as well to Councilmen Petrilla and Baric. Tustin would do well to do the same, and I hear there are rumblings this may happen.

On Wednesday, the Rancho Santa Margarita voted 3-2 to postpone action on ending council benefits (not exactly unexpected), so we will continue to watch this story as it develops and report back soon.

Posted in Orange, Rancho Santa Margarita, Tustin | Tagged: , | 5 Comments »