Oct

31

“Have you no decency, Mr. Briggeman? Mr. Sylviar?

Filed Under C.P.L.A. & L.A.T.A., Decency, Traffic | 8 Comments

(by Dave Emerson) I certainly hope Mr. Sylvia, his benefactor, Mr. Briggeman, and their two Council candidates, Marilyn Poe and Ken Stephens will have the human decency to denounce the outrageous 4 page hit piece Los Al voters received on Friday from the infamous “Los Alamitos Taxpayers Association.”

Their deception, distortion, dishonesty, and lavish expenditure have reached a new low.

Back to the darkest days of the 1950s?

I can only echo the famous rebuke with which attorney Joseph Welch silenced legendary demagogue Joseph McCarthy during the climactic moments of the infamous Army-McCarthy hearings. Upon McCarthy’s violation of a pre-hearing agreement, Welch began the exchange:

Until this moment, Senator, I think I never gauged your cruelty or recklessness….

[When McCarthy resumed his attack, Welch cut him short:]

Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator…. You’ve done enough.

Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?

Have you left no sense of decency?

Welch’s famous words pretty much sum up my thoughts after finally sitting down to read the deplorable piece of garbage I received in my mail from the LATA today.

I can only hope that it was prepared by a “professional” hit (piece) man and Briggeman and Sylvia had not thoroughly reviewed it. According to the laws regulating organizations like LATA, Stephens and Poe should have been as unaware of this piece as I was until it arrived at their door. The only thing that would incriminate them in this (character) assassination plot would be their continued failure to denounce it.

Infinitely worse than a pile of dog poop!

Yesterday, in “Just plain wrong,” I decried the delivery of a pile of dog feces to Chuck Sylvia’s lawn by some immature malcontent. I said it was just plain wrong to treat a former Council Member and Mayor that way, no matter how strongly you disagreed with him.

Today, the LATA delivered verbal dog poop to every voter in Los Alamitos, then smeared it all over our current mayor, and the thousands of Los Al citizens who have elected him to two terms.

If all I cared about was winning an election, I’d keep my mouth shut, lie low, and quite possibly waltz into a City Council seat under the radar thanks to LATAs attacks on the Mayor.

But I just happen to care a whole lot more about fairness, decency, and integrity than about being sentenced to two years as one of two ignored members of a Council ruled by a threesome heavily influenced by our towns’ most politically involved businessman, Mr. Briggeman.

So I’m going to say what I believe to be right. Then, unlike LATA, CPLA, or any other candidate’s website, I will give you, the reader and voter, the opportunity to comment freely on what I have said.

Not even close to the truth!

Let’s start with the back page of LATA’s flyer:

20 tax increases. Just to pay for pay raises & vacations.

We’ll get to the tax increases later, but does anyone honestly believe the primary purpose of those alleged 20 “tax increases” were to pay for Mr. Parker’s vacations and pay raises? If they were, how on earth did he get three other Council members to vote with him?

Remember, Mr. Parker was in the minority for the first 4 of those eight years, so at least one of the CPLA’s beloved threesome of Poe, Jempsa, and Bates would have had to vote with Parker for a “tax increase” just to pay for Parker’s vacations and pay raises.

If that’s not a lie, I don’t know what is.

The front page states that Parker

. . . has voted to raise your taxes more than 20 times in the past 8 years. . . .

but it only lists seven such instances. I assume these are the most coherent seven of the alleged 20 tax increases, but not one of them makes sense to me:

I didn’t even know I paid “Park and Recreation Taxes.” I’m guessing some fees were raised over the past eight years for some programs, but the flyer sure doesn’t explain what this means.
I wasn’t aware that the council had the power to raise my sales tax. I’m guessing this must apply to an OCTD tax that was approved by the voters?
Utility tax: I believe Parker voted to cut that a bit, sure can’t remember him raising them. Specifics would be helpful. Same with that “trash tax.”
“Raised your property tax bill” I don’t even know what that means, but I guess it’s LATAs awkward reference to Parker’s vote as a member of the Sanitation District to raise sewer fees in order to pay to treat our sewage before it goes into the ocean (see my “Memo to the CPLA” for details). As someone who goes to OC beaches with my kids & grandkids, I appreciate that vote.

I think you get the drift. No way to really know what’s being discussed. Somehow I get the feeling it’s not as bad as it’s made to appear. . . and those have to be the most impactful of the alleged 20 tax increase votes.

Now we’ll move on with a question raised at the bottom of page one and supposedly answered on pages 2 and 3:

And what has he used all of that extra money for? . . . To raise his own pay & take luxurious vacations at taxpayers’ expense

Again, does anyone believe that Parker used “all of that extra money” to raise his pay & take vacations? LATA isn’t just smearing Parker, they’re insulting the intelligence of our city’s voters!

Page 2 discusses the pay increases, citing what I’m guessing is the 25% raise the OC Sanitation board approved and probably an increase on some other board. I know the city council didn’t vote themselves a 50% pay raise this year, but that’s what the flyer wants you to think.

This just in (8:18 a.m. 11/1): P-dex points out in his excellent comment at the end of the post that “about three years ago, the Council increased their stipend by a 5-0 vote because it hadn’t been done in 20 or 30 years just like many service fees had not been taken care of by Chuck and the past councils. Mrs. Poe was also on the Council when they voted 5-0 for a Stipend increase of about 30% three years ago. So, CPLA/LATA you should have put Poe’s face on that flyer too if you wanted the truth to be told.” Thanks, P-dex. I just love interactive websites!

Page 3 talks about Parker’s 3 “luxurious vacations.” Another rehash of an old CPLA flyer. If these repeats are all they’ve got, they ain’t got much. These were simply trips on city business. Most of the specific charges have already been rebutted by Parker, but that doesn’t keep the CPLA from repeating them.

To call these vacations is just more character assassination and lies. And to say all the money from all those “tax increases” were used exclusively for Parker vacations and pay raises is absolutely ridiculous.

This sort of excrement is ripping apart our quaint little town. There’s no excuse for it.

And there’s no excuse for Marilyn Poe and Ken Stephens not to come out publicly against it. With only 3 days left until we vote, and many absentees voting this weekend, that public repudiation needs to come now. You could call the Register’s Jaimee Lynn Fletcher, or simply repudiate this latest hit piece in a comment here.

The same goes for Chuck Sylvia, George Briggeman, and every other CPLA member who is appalled and disgusted and agrees that this smear campaign has gone too far.

It also applies to the Council Members Dean Grose and Troy Edgar, who have been walking the streets on behalf of the CPLA/LATA candidates.

I say to each of you, from Poe and Stephens to “regular” CPLA members to Grose and Edgar what I say to George Briggeman and Chuck Sylvia:

Until this moment, Mr. Briggeman, I think I never gauged your cruelty or recklessness.

Let us not assassinate this lad further, Mr. Sylvia…. You’ve done enough.

Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?

Have you left no sense of decency?

March 2009 update for newcomers to this blog:

If you’re interested in learning more about the extent to which local trash hauler George Briggeman bought the current Council in last November’s election, you might want to check out “The 20,500 tip of the Briggeman/CPLA Iceberg,” or “Gotcha!“

If you’d like more example of the unethical tactics of the CPLA, check out “Memo to the C.P.L.A.: Could you please be more forthright?“or “A closer look at Chuck Sylvia’s pre-election lawsuit againts Ken Parker.”

(Of the four posts linked above, the first three were written before Los Alamitos’ November, 2008 City Council election, the last was written 3/7/2009.)

Oct

30

The $20,500 tip of the Briggeman/CPLA iceberg

Filed Under C.P.L.A. & L.A.T.A., Election Issues, George Briggeman | 3 Comments

Saturday morning update: The worst part about Briggeman’s estimated $100,000+ effort to defeat myself and Ken Parker is how he spent that money.

Yesterday we found the worst example yet in our mail. I discuss that in more detail in my post, “Have you no decency, Mr. Briggeman. . . . “

(by Dave Emerson) By now it’s been made pretty clear that George Briggeman Jr. has used a sequence of 3 discreet transactions to channel money and support to the two candidates “recruited” by the Citizens for the Preservation of Los Alamitos, 3 term former Council Member Marilyn Poe and new resident Ken Stephens.

Background and links to the details on the $20,500.

We’ve laid out the background in my October 23rd post last Thursday, “Is George Briggeman funding the CPLA?“ Then, in my Saturday (10/25) post, “Gotcha!” we documented the money trail, capped with the “smoking gun” proving that Farquhar Partners LLC and George Briggeman were, indeed, “the same parties,” to quote the quit claim deed George signed in 2007.

The Orange County Register finally broke the news online on Tuesday, 10/28. The article repeated the basic info you read here three days earlier, but also had some pretty intriguing quotes from Mr. Briggeman, Mrs. Poe, and Mr. Sylvia (see “OC Register finally reveals what we told you last Saturday“). A revised version of the article finally made the print Register today (Local p. 4, Thursday, 10/30), but was posted online on Wednesday.

What was not disclosed:

The $20,500 was revealed in filings by the CPLA’s sponsored political organization, the Los Alamitos Taxpayers Association (LATA) and the San Clemente based Taxpayers for Safer Neighborhoods (TSN), through which Briggeman apparently channeled his money. The filings, however were only for LATA and TSN, and were only for the 18 days from October 1 – 18, 2008.

What’s missing?

Additional donations in the hot run-up to the election and beyond. Typically large donors will only give what is absolutely necessary through the end of that filing period, 10/18 this year, with the bulk of their donations coming after that. Significantly, both Ken Stephens and Marilyn Poe have loaned themselves thousands of dollars. Not a real great practice for someone running on a platform of bringing the city’s budget into balance, but a common practice when large donations are anticipated.
Donations to the CPLA. Since the CPLA is a “non-political, non-profit educational” organization, it is not required to reveal the source of it’s funds. In the Register article Sylvia indicated “at least six local businesses” had donated to the CPLA, but “Sylvia said he would not give the names of the businesses.”

Let’s do our best to try to figure out what those two additional figures might be. It’s not that hard to get a rough idea:

# 1: What we can reasonably estimate: 10/18 through 11/1: $50,000

The Register indicated LATA had received $21,000 through 10/18, and $20,000 of it came from TSN, to which George Briggeman had donated $20,500. My assumption is that the additional $500 helped cover the operating and administrative expenses of TSN.

Interestingly, on 10/13 Briggeman donated $10,000 to TSN, and TSN donated $10,000 to LATA. Of course, Briggeman’s donations were hidden because the donor was listed as “Farquhar Partners, LLC,” but we now have the grant deed indicating the two are apparently one and the same.

Given the $20,000 donation in the first 18 days of the month, and the tendency for large donors to hold back until after the filing period, an additional donation of $20,000 to $60,000 would hardly be unreasonable.

Let’s pick a middle number: $40,000, but please bear in mind that’s only an educated guess. It could be less, or a lot more, partly based on the polling LATA spend thousands of dollars on already.

Additional spending we know of: LATA’s expense records through 10/18 show no payment for their first anti-Parker hit piece, was the same size as the “oppose Driscoll” piece (that’s the label they used on their report, by the way), which they reported spending $4,987 on. Stephens has already put out two full color card stock flyers the same size and style, and his campaign is deeply in debt to himself, possibly anticipating a large donation. If those two flyers cost cost the same each as the anti-Driscoll one, that’s another $10,000.

Then there’s Stephens full page, full color News Enterprise ad, plus the 1/2 page “Los Al Employees support” ad that was actually paid for by Stephens and Poe’s campaign–maybe another $4,000 for the two ads. Marilyn had already overspent on her campaign and loaned her campaign about $5,000 as of 10/18, so that’s probably going to get reimbursed as well. Then I’d say we can expect at least one more big expensive “support” flyer each for Stephens and for Poe, plus maybe one last minute “against” flyer for me and one for Parker. (Be sure to check here when you get any last minute hit pieces in the remote case they may have misstated or overstated anything.) Those 4 last minute flyers x $5000 = another $20,000.

Friday mail update: Received a 4 page glossy 4 color mailer from the Los Alamitos Taxpayers Associaton, which would be one of the four flyers I projected above, but twice the pages and probably costing more like $8,000. Even more deceptive than prior CPLA and LATA pieces, even repeating accusations publicly discredited at Council meetings and in the OC Register!

Also got two pro-Marilyn flyers. Like Stephens, she keeps sending me the same flyer over and over again. Either the two Briggeman candidates don’t think I have a very long memory, or they aren’t terribly creative.

Last, I received my own small post card mailer. Yup, I finally decided early morning flyers and door knocking alone wasn’t going to compete with Briggeman’s bucks. Dig through all those big political flyers and see if you can find it, then let me know what you think. It’s short on vague generalities but long on specifics, and includes endorsements from some important local people but no Washington or Sacramento incumbant politicians.

In their 10/1 – 18 statement LATA reported spending $9,526 on polling. I really don’t think they’d stop polling over two weeks before the election day, so let’s figure another $9500 for additional polling?

Add all our projected expenses up, and you get $53,500 miscellaneous, accounting, or operating expenses included! So maybe that original $40,000 “middle number” is low! Let’s round it up to $50,000 to be more in line with our projected expenses.

Estimate for CPLA: $53,000

Well, we know the CPLA paid for at least 3 hit piece mailers, plus a couple that were distributed by hand. According to the Register, the hit piece mailer on Cat Driscoll cost “nearly$5,000.” So lets say $5,000 x 3 plus maybe an average of $2,000 for the two hand delivered CPLA flyers, assuming the members deliverd them and not a “walking man” type service. I’m working a bit from memory here, so correct me if I’m wrong. The first two mailers were actually 4 pages, the LATA one on Cat was just one page, so my numbers may be on the low side. That would total $19,000 for mailers.

Then there was attorney’s fees and research. According to the Register, Mr. Briggeman’s former attorney was the one who requested and no doubt reviewed Parker and Driscoll’s expense records. I can count three City Council meetings where the CPLA had an attorney present. An attorney no doubt prepared their incorporation and other non-profit papers. I’ve been told by membes that an attorney was also present for at least one of their meetings to caution them on what lines not to cross. Orange County corporate attorneys fees range upwards from $300 an hour, but let’s be conservative and say $400 an hour x 40 hours for a total of $16,000 for attorneys’ fees.

Then there’s the CPLA website, which was professionally designed. Not a simple blog like this, but lots of design, scanning documents, locating stock photos, multiple pages. I’ll just guess $10,000 for now, but I’ve got a text in to someone who’s done website design who may have a better idea. So about $10,000 for a website.

Now LATA spent a lot of money on polling, so it’s possible CPLA did as well. There’s other research, possible travel, administrative expenses–and you may thnk of others. For now, let’s just go with $8,000 miscellaneous. Again, could be high, could be low.

Add it up, & you’ve got $53,000 for the CPLA plus $50,000 for LATA after 10/18, and we’re at $93,000, not counting the original $20,000 revealed here and in the Register in TSN’s 10/1-18 report.

How much of that estimated additional $103,000 did George Briggeman pay?

Well, we know from the filings and the Register that he paid $20,000 out of the $21,000 the LATA received from 10/1 – 18, roughly 95%. Apply that 95% to our $103,000 estimate and you’ve got just under $98,000, which would assume over $10,000 was raised from other sources, a pretty hefty sum! Again, the number could be higher or it could be lower, but I say we stick with the 95% we got for LATA.

Add that $98,000 to the $20,000 “tip of the iceberg” and you’ve got an estimated $118,000 George Briggeman may well be putting into our local election! Assuming 2,500 votes to win, that’s over $50 per vote if just one of his candidates win, the most likely outcome given the high name recognition of both Marilyn Poe and Ken Parker.

Remember, Briggeman only needs to win one seat to gain a majority. If either Poe or Stephens win, he’s got 3 votes locked in. Edgar and Dean are both walking the streets for Briggeman’s two candidates.

In fact, with Cat Driscoll out of the race, the worst outcome possible for George, his CPLA, and his LATA is a 2-2-1 split, with myself as the swing vote. About $118,000 says they wants more than that!

Please bear in mind that these numbers are rough guestimates. The actual numbers could be less. . . or (gasp!) more. I’m hoping it’s less. . . Sylvia or Briggeman could clear things up quite easily if they’d come clean with their books. I’m pretty sure I can trust Sylvia, but I can’t say the same for Briggeman, and usually the person writing 95% of the checks is the one in charge.

Why spend $118,000 to win at least one Council Seat?

Well, Briggeman told the Register that “he holds about $20 million worth of property in Los Alamitos.” I’m thinking with the right zoning changes the value of that property could double. . . or more. Let’s see, invest $118,000 to make $20,000,000? That’s a return of over 18,000% on his $108,000 investment! That’s right: Over eighteen thousand per cent! By the way, did I mention that the Poe family owns an awful lot of property in town as well?

That ignores completely the trash contract, in which Briggeman says he has no interest, never mind that his name’s painted on the trucks. If I was Republic, I’d have a local guy on some sort of a bonus or commission to make sure I continued to get the business. The next contract will deal with the contract. Ken Parker and myself are the only candidates committed to putting it out to bid to save our residents, our taxpayers, our businesses and our schools as much money as possible.

We only have 4 days left to stop the $120,000 Briggeman juggernaut.

When I got into the Los Alamitos City Council election, I was aware of the no-bid trash contract Marilyn Poe approved almost ten years ago, but I didn’t think it was that big an issue. I was focused on traffic and teamwork: Less gridlock on our streets and in our Council Chambers.

I’m still focused on those issues, but I now know keeping the Council independent is even more important. If Ken Parker and I (Dave Emerson) are elected, that will result in a 2 – 2 -1 vote, with myself as the swing vote, focused on what’s best for the city alone, with no strings attached, other than the commitments that I’ve made to you here & elsewhere. Bidding out the trash contract is one of those commitments, and on that I am definitely aligned with Ken Parker and Geri Mejia. I look forward to working with them, as well as the other two Council Members on a number of issues.

Hopefully, a ringing defeat of Briggeman’s candidates should free Troy Edgar and Dean Grose of any undue influence. Last election Briggeman poured thousands of dollars into Fred Freeman’s campaign but still lost. But Fred didn’t really walk the neighborhoods. This time Poe and Stephens are both spending a lot of time “walking, knocking, and talking.” So are Grose and Edwards,as well as the city hall employees.

Time for action!

Briggeman has bragged that he can get a mailer produced and delivered to your door in 48 hours. You may be inundated over the next four days. This blog alone gives his advisors 44 different posts he can cull through to find quotes to take out of context. We’ve already seen distortions and untruths about me (like that I want to close the base!). Check back here for the truth–if nothing’s posted yet, post the key information, I may not have the hit piece yet).

The only way the people can win this one is to get the truth out there (and to pray!) First and foremost, make sure every voter in your house understands the need to vote for Dave Emerson and Ken Parker this time around. If they don’t like one of us, then just vote for that one. Make sure they know not to vote for Poe or Stephens, and that they know that Cat Driscoll has withdrawn on doctor’s orders. She has endorsed me and Parker.

E-mail links or just the web address or excerpts from key posts to your friends in Los Al. If you want to get a group of friends together over the weekend, let me know & I’ll try to stop by for a while, or send someone who understands the situation.

I’ve still got signs if you’ve got a good place to put them. Corners and busy streets and entrance streets into tracts are especially helpful. Ken and I still have a few banners if you’ve got a wall or business on a main street. Donations are still needed as well. And people to help get out some important flyers. Hand made yard signs or banners are also highly effective. Just keep it polite and positive.

A word about my opponents and their backer

Personally, I don’t think Marilyn Poe or Ken Stephens are bad people. I just don’t think they’re what our Council needs at this time. And I think they’ve made some very bad decisions on who they’re accepting support from.

For the record, I’m not saying that George Briggeman’s a bad person either, although after the latest smear flyer on Parker, I’m beginning to wonder. I’ve only met him once, and I’d be happy to sit down with him again. He’s an important local businessman, and has been generous in his support of local non-profits. If he wants to renounce the dishonest approach taken by his campaign advisors and become a team player, I say let’s welcome him to the team! I’d like to think there are ways we could work together to help the city and his business interests. I’m big on finding “win-win” solutions–it’s what I’ve done for a living most of my life.

It’s now up to you. Please help us get the truth out.

If you want, please feel free to post a comment. Remember, try to be polite and respectful, with “family friendly ” language appropriate to our town. Your e-mail remains private, and you can chose not to use your full name or even use a pen name. If there’s no comment box below, scroll up to the headline & click it.

4 days and counting. . . .

I can be reached at 562.430.0262.

em>Saturday morning update: The worst part about Briggeman’s estimated $100,000+ effort to defeat myself and Ken Parker is how he spent that money.

Yesterday we found the worst example yet in our mail. I discuss that in more detail in my post, “Have you no decency, Mr. Briggeman. . . . “

Oct

30

Happy Halloween from the Emersons!

Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Halloween never really was our favorite holiday. Back when I was teaching school, it meant two days of hyperactive kids leading up to the 31st, then a week of hyper-on-candy kids after.

Barb and I have never been big sugar fans, especially when the kids were young. We’re also not real big fans of witches, devils, & the like, so we looked for Halloween alternatives up until they figured out that their friends were getting bags of candy and they weren’t.

At that point, we gave in to trick or treating, but Barb came up with the clever idea ending Halloween with an “auction” of small toys she had picked up, with the girls bidding quantities of the candy their trick-or-treat candy. Eventually the girls conspired to keep the bids low: They outwitted us!

Still, it’s fun for the kids, and the Los Alamitos Recreation and Community Services Department went all out again this year for their Halloween Carnival at Laurel Park.

Ready to race through the "pumpkin patch" at Los Al's Halloween Carnival Thursday evening

I stopped by to check it out, and was impressed by the turnout, the cute costumed kids, enthusiastic parents, and variety of free events put together by the good people at our Rec Department.

Racing through the maze to search for treats.

Of course, this was all just a preview for the big event taking place tomorrow on streets throughout the city. This is the first time I can remember Halloween coming before Daylight Savings Time ends. That means it there will be a little more daylight for the little ones who start out early. (The other good news is that we get to “fall back” early Sunday morning, so we get an extra hour of sleep Saturday night!)

The little ones were just too cute. The staff had nice photo shoot locations set up, too.

So, please remember to be extra careful driving home or driving around tomorrow. Stay close to the kids, keep an eye on the teens, and let’s all enjoy a safe and friendly Los Alamitos Halloween.

Then it’s time for the election. Now that’s scary!

Oct

30

Just plain wrong!

Filed Under Teamwork | 8 Comments

(by Dave Emerson) Got a call from my friendly political adversary Chuck Sylvia a couple hours ago. The Sylvias and I have for the most part managed to disagree agreeably during this campaign. Sometimes we agree agreeably too. Mr. Sylvia spent 20 years on our City Council and served multiple times as Mayor, and I respect him for that, even though I disagree with the tactics of the organizatons he heads.

“Dave, this is Chuck Sylvia!” came the friendly voice.

“How are you doing, my friend,” I replied.

“Dave, did you dump a pile of dog poop on my lawn?”

“What?”

“Dave, did you just dump a pile of dog poop on my lawn? Or was it Marilyn Poe and Ken Stephens?”

“Who is this?” I asked, suspecting a joke.

Sadly, it was Mr. Sylvia, and it was no joke.

I was shocked. I told him I’d be right over, changed into my grubbies, grabbed my camera, a shovel, latex gloves, and a couple of trash bags, & headed over. (We assistant scoutmasters are trained to “be prepared.”)

Fortunately, it wasn’t a huge pile, but it looked like somebody had been saving it up for several weeks. A small trail led from the curb to the pile.

I got out my shovel to clean it up, but Chuck wanted to leave it for the time being. I did help round up the stray components into one compact pile. There’s gotta be a ton of jokes here, but I’m going try to resist them and just give you the straight poop.

Oops.

Seriously, this is completely out of place in Los Alamitos. I’ve still got a link to Romans 12:12 up as an open tab from my “Sunday sermon” post:

Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Payback is wrong and just spirals downward. Just look at the Middle East, or the streets of any gang-infested neighborhood. Grace is good.

Community–and worthy accomplishments–are built on mercy, manners, cooperation, and love. Not hatred and revenge.

Don’t make me repeat my Sunday sermon!

It may seem funny, but I really don’t think it is. It’s always best to choose the high road. Hopefully it was just some immature or poorly adjusted individual who needs help.

If you were involved, an apology & a clean up would be appropriate. Preferably with a gift certificate. If you hear of this sort of thing, please discourage it.

Let’s move forward, not spiral down.

Oct

29

What did you think of this week’s “Backstory?”

Filed Under Uncategorized | 6 Comments

(by Dave Emerson) News flash: Wednesday night, 10/29, at 7 on LosAlTV, Backstory featured on-the-street interviews with three of the candidates, myself included. It will repeat Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at noon and 7 p.m., and Monday afternoon at 4. It’s approximately 45 minutes.

I’m told due to “excessive heat” I’m “washed out” during parts of my interview. I didn’t think I got that hot, but at least he didn’t say I was “washed up!” Backstory airs on cable & FIOS channels 3.

I’m putting this page up for open comments after the show begins airing. If you’re new to this blog, you may want to scan through the section on comments on “How to use this website.”

The show was filmed in Rossmoor highlands this past Saturday. Three of the four candidates were able to make it.

Oct

29

Today’s News Enterprise

Filed Under Election Issues | 12 Comments

News flash: Tonight at 7 on LosAlTV, Backstory will feature on-the-street interviews with three of the candidates, myself included. It will repeat Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at noon and 7 p.m., and Monday afternoon at 4. It’s approximately 45 minutes. I’m told due to excessive heat I’m “washed out” during parts of my interview. I didn’t think I got that hot, but at least he didn’t say I was “washed up!” Backstory airs on cable & FIOS channels 3.

(By Dave Emerson) This is it: The last pre-election local paper. A record 28 pages, due to all the political ads.

I was hoping Brian Smith would find some time to delve into the issues we’ve been exploring here about George Briggeman’s support for CPLA, LATA, Marilyn Poe & Ken Stephens, but didn’t really expect it, knowing it would take a miracle or a sleepless night just for him to get out that record-setting paper.

Brian did, however, find time to grace us with some wise words on page 3:

There is more to life than nasty politics. Family, friends, and the relationship we have with our Creator are infinitetly more important than an election. Let’s hope that once the election is over, those with differing opinions can come back together and agree to disagree about a subject but still remain civil.

Actually, I’m still hoping that we can learn to remain civil during the last week of the election!

I did notice that Brian didn’t list his beloved Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings when ticking off the really important things, but I’ll bet they may have crossed his mind. Hopefully Brian will still be able to remain positive after our beloved Anaheim Ducks restore the world to it’s proper order tonight by defeating those evil Red Wings tonight at the Honda Center ;-). Oops–losing my civility already! Sorry, Brian!

Back to politics, I was interested to see the only full page color ad in today’s News Enterprise was purchased by Ken Stephens. Wonder where he got the money to pay for that. . . .

The Employees Union Supports. . .

Both of Briggeman’s favorite candidates are apparently now also the favorites of the Los Alamitos City Employees Association, based on the p. 3 half page and the smaller p. 6 ad they bought to support Marilyn Poe and Ken Stephens.

I’ve been told the Employees Association is an affiliate of the Teamsters’ Union. I’m actually a card carrying member of the United Autoworkers Union, from back in the days when I worked at GM’s South Gate plant to help pay my way through UCLA. (Well, I would be a card-carrying member if I could find the card.) So I’m sympathetic to the need to treat our city workers with decency and respect. We’re back to the “Golden Rule:” Treat others the way you’d like to be treated.

I was also a member of the United Teachers of Los Angeles during the first part of my seven year tenure with the Los Angeles Unified School District. While a member I faithfully walked the streets of Los Angeles in support of the Union’s hand picked school board candidates every year. I was amazed at how easy it was for us to control the board and, thus, our employer. Pretty much the fox guarding the hen house. Eventually I became disheartened with the union using my dues money to support incompetant teachers that really needed to find another line of work. I went into teaching to help the kids of inner city Los Angles, but that was clearly not the Union’s top priority. Eventually I cancelled my membership, although I still had to make mandatory “representation” payments to the Union, as I recall.

No disrespect to our many fine city employees. Just something to think about before you vote.

What about the Independent Candidate?

If you look real closely, you’ll find my ad on page 6, just below the Union’s second ad for Poe and Stephens. I kind of like the placement. Directly below the Poe/Stephens ad that was “Paid [for] by The Los Alamitos City Employees Association,” my ad proclaims “Elect Emerson! Independent. Competent. Honest. . . New Leadership We Need.”

Some people say that now that Cat Driscoll and Ken Parker have come out in support of my candidacy I’m no longer independent. They obviously haven’t spoken to my wife or kids. I think the comparative sizes of Poe & Stephens ads to mine, not to mention their joint sponsorship by the union, is a pretty good indication of who’s independent.

I got into this race because I was frustrated with the City Council’s bickering and politics taking the place of teamork, planning, and priorities. If I get elected, I’ll do my best to bring people together to move our small town forward and to tackle the issues, including traffic, revenue, resident service, safety, fiscal responsibility, and synergy with our schools.

And I’ll do my best to work together with every other Council member to do that. Because ultimately, we’re all on the same team. It’s time to stat acting like it!

As always, your comments are welcome. Remember, polite language & tone, please. Your “name,” whether initials, full name, or pen name, is public but your e-mail is not. If another poster chooses to be anonymous, please respect their desire for privacy. We’re trying here to lead our way out of this mudbath by example! Thanks.

Oct

28

OC Register finally reveals what we told you last Saturday

Filed Under C.P.L.A. & L.A.T.A., City Council Meetings, Election Issues, George Briggeman | 14 Comments

Wednesday morning update: Our “former” trash hauler is quite likely spending over $20 per vote to make sure Marilyn Poe and Ken Stephens are elected to our City Council (details below). Incumbents Troy Edgars and Dean Grose are working diligently in support of Marilyn Poe and Ken Stephens.

This is probably the biggest story of our local election. On Monday I gave News Enterprise editor Brian Smith a photocopy of the “smoking gun” deed showing that George Briggeman is the mysterious Farquhar Partners LLC. In the first 18 days of October, Briggeman/Farquhar apparently funneled $20,000 through Taxpayers for Safer neighborhoods to the CPLA controlled Los Alamitos Taxpayers Association, which spent it. according to the documents they filed with the state, for polling, to support Ken Stephens and Marilyn Poe and to oppose Cat Driscoll–after she had withdrawn!

Editor Smith had one word when he saw that deed:

“Wow!”

But he also had a record 32 page paper to get out, a wife battling pneumonia, and a Publisher who sometimes shys away from the political or controversial.

Will the News Enterprise cover this breaking story? Will Marilyn Poe and/or Ken Stephens have large, expensive ads in today’s News Enterprise? How can we get the word out to “absentee” voters who are already voting?

Please check back this afternoon for more details. In the meantime, check out what we have so far in the post and comments below and elsewhere on this website.

If you can help spread the word, please tell us so in a comment & we’ll e-mail you back, or leave your contact info at 562.430.0262. Thanks.

(by Dave Emerson) In an article released online this afternoon, the Orange County Register’s Los Alamitos reporter, Jamie Lynn Fletcher, documents some of what we reported here last Saturday in “Gotcha!” and last Thursday in “Is George Briggeman funding the CPLA?”

Ms Fletcher summarizes her story in the first paragraph:

Questions are being raised about who is providing financial support for a self-proclaimed citizens group that has mounted a well-organized and relentless campaign to drive out the incumbents in the upcoming City Council election.

Then she goes into some of the details:

Campaign filings show the CPLA is a sponsor of the Los Alamitos Taxpayers Association, a political action committee that has brought in $21,000 as of Oct. 18. Contributions to the taxpayers group have all come from outside the city, records show.

“I am not saying it raises any questions of impropriety,” said Planning Commissioner Art DeBolt, a supporter of Parker and Driscoll. “But why would anybody spend this much money to support or oppose candidates in a small town like Los Alamitos?”

The taxpayers committee has spent nearly $5,000 on mailers opposing Driscoll, who withdrew her candidacy last month citing medical reasons. It also put up $3,200 for slate mailers supporting council challengers Marilyn Poe and Ken Stephens.

“I know nothing about it,” Poe said. “But I am honored and thankful that they feel I am a candidate they can support.”

Hold on a minute, Marilyn. The Los Alamitos Taxpayers Association paid $1670 to get your name “endorsed” on about a dozen different “slate mailers,” and you knew nothing about it? They neglected to mention what they were doing on your behalf?

They spent another $1670 to do the same for your “running mate,” Ken Stephens. Even if they didn’t tell you what they were doing, which is pretty hard to believe, when the mailers stated arriving in your mailbox from the “Democratic Voters Choice” and the “California Republican Voter Guide,” along with about ten additional “slates,” exactly how did you think your ad and Mr. Stephens’ ad got there? It appears that either someone isn’t telling the truth, or someone may not be alert enough to represent us on the Council.

According to record on the Secretary of State’s website, the Los Alamitos Taxpayers Association also spent $9,526.10 for “polling,” yet they never shared the polling results with you?

Back to the Register article:

As a sponsor for the taxpayers group, Citizens for the Preservation of Los Alamitos is responsible for soliciting contributions for the political committee, said CPLA leader and former Councilman Chuck Sylvia. Because the CPLA has filed as a nonprofit with lobbying capabilities, state law prohibits the group from contributing to campaigns 45 days before an election.

At least six local businesses have donated directly to the CPLA but Sylvia said he would not give the names of the businesses. The CPLA does not have to disclose its contributors.

“We thought this year, if we’re going to have any impact at all, we would have to go out and get some funding so we could help candidates,” he said

OK, to have “any impact at all” I have to get a local businessman to give me $20,000? Wow. I wonder if I can even get my wife to vote for me.

More interesting, the group that’s been so big on transparency doesn’t want to tell us who’s giving them money. Well, I’ve got an idea:

About a month ago I asked Carol Sylvia “Is George Briggeman funding the C.P.L.A.?” “We have many supporters,” she replied. “Is he giving money to the C.P.L.A.? I responded. “We have a broad base of support,” came Carol’s reply. “Is more than half of the C.P.L.A.’s money coming from George Briggeman?” I then asked. “We have lots of people supporting us,” was again Carol’s reply.

Sounds to me like Briggeman’s behind more than half of the CPLA’s funding. If we use the numbers from the Los Alamitos Taxpayer’s Association (LATA) as a guide, he’s apparently behind 95% of their funding. Now, we can only guess what CPLA has spent, but I can think of five hit pieces, plus an expensive web site, plus an attorney doing a lot of research and showing up at City Council meetings, so I’ll guestimate $35,000 for now. Hopefully Mr. Transparency will come forward with the books shortly so we’ll know.

Well, if Mr. Briggeman paid for 95% of the CPLA, like he has so far with the LATA, that would mean he’s spent about $50,000 to win an election with fewer than 7,000 registered voters according to the candidate handbook the city gave me. Assuming a record 70% turnout, it would take 2,500 votes to win, so Mr. Briggeman is paying about $20 per vote. And that doesn’t include the frantic last two weeks of the campaign! That just doesn’t seem right in our small town! The bigger question, however, is “Why?”

Some have contended that the CPLA has tried to hide their funding behind multiple political groups to cover the involvement of Los Alamitos business owner and former trash hauler George Briggeman Jr.

Briggeman said he openly supports the CPLA and has attended their meetings.

“The notion that this is some sort of secret society couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said. “I don’t know where these people got this from.”

Mr. Briggeman doesn’t know why people think the CPLA has tried to hide their funding, or why they think it’s secretive? Let me help out:

Scroll up 4 short paragraphs in the Register article: “At least six local businesses have donated directly to the CPLA but Sylvia said he would not give the names of the businesses. The CPLA does not have to disclose its contributors.”
The first hit piece I got from the CPLA had no names associated with it. Neither did the website. I’ve never seen a list of CPLA members or supporters. In fact, when their members speak in mass at City Council sessions, disrupting city business for petty politics and character assassination, they seem to go out of their way to be appear independent. I don’t recall anyone identifying themselves at a Council meeting as speaking on behalf of the CPLA.
A while back one CPLA supporter told me George Briggeman had attended at least two CPLA meetings early on. After I posted that on October 23, she called me, quite upset. She told me that Mr Sylvia had called her, very upset wanting to know why she said what she said. She then told me that you, Mr. Briggeman, had NEVER been to a CPLA meeting, although you had been to some meeting, somewhere, maybe about St. Isadore’s, but she wasn’t sure. Sounds to me like Chuck Sylvia was going out of his way to conceal your involvement until the “smoking gun” linking you to Farquhar Partners, LLC, appeared.

Briggeman contributed under his business name, Farquhar Pavilion Partners, LLC.

So that’s his primary business name. Well, I just did a search, and the only property Farquhar Pavilion Partners LLC owns in all of Orange County is at 3747 Farquhar in Los Alamitos. However, there are three additional properties in Los Alamitos alone in the name of George S. Briggeman, Jr. And an additional 4 in the name of Briggeman Dr LLC. Guess those aren’t his “business names,” even thought they all appear to be commercial property. Wonder why he picked the one LLC that didn’t use his last name at all–one what was quit claimed into Farquhar Pavillion Partners just last year.

Jamie, I know you’ve had a lot of stories to cover, but did you just accept what Mr. Briggeman told you without checking it out. Farquhar Pavillion Partners LLC sure didn’t sound like Briggeman’s main “business name” to me, and it didn’t take me that long to check it out.

He [Briggeman] said he opted to donate to Safer Neighborhoods because the group disperses their funding to other causes he believes in. This was the first time he has donated to the group since it formed in 2004, according to campaign filings.

Thanks, Jamie, for pointing out this month marks the fist time Mr. Briggeman donated to his new favorite political group. Jamie, was Mr. Briggeman able to mention, off the top of his head, what those “other causes” were, by any chance? Did you ask him?

Kind of interesting that on the same day that “Farquhar Partners, LLC” gave $10,000 to Taxpayers for Safer Neighborhoods (TSN), TSN just happened to give $10,000 to CPLA’s political arm, LATA. Just a coincidence, I suppose. Like the fact that Briggeman–make that “Farquhar”–gave $20,500 to TSN between October 1 and 18, and TSN gave $20,000 to LATA during the same period. I’m thinking the $500 went to bank, accounting, and administrative expenses for TSN, but maybe that’s one of those “other causes” Mr. Briggeman was talking about.

Mr. Sylvia & Mr. Briggeman, please don’t insult our intelligence. Why don’t you just come clean with exactly what’s going on. Especially about why.

Mr. Briggeman, I know you’ve been generous in your support of non-profits in this town, especially non-profits like the pool at the base that have been favored by our “old school” Council Members like our former Mayor Bates (with the water-polo playing daughter) and his colleagues Mr. Sylvia and Mrs. Poe. I know your wife is doing a great job raising money for the kids of military families. I appreciate your generosity, but what’s with the apparent “win at all costs” mentality that promotes personal attacks. How much better to be a uniter, not a divider. There is so much about our little town that should bring us all together.

The Briggeman/Sylvia/CPLA coalition has already eliminated Cat Driscoll from the next Council, and with her the Parker majority. From day one I’ve been the truly independent candidate who’s trying to bring both sides of the Council together to work as an effective team. All I want is what’s best for Los Alamitos. Why can’t that be enough for you and your supporters?

But no, the fact that Ken Parker and Cat Driscoll prefer my independent candidacy over the twosome recruited by the CPLA means I’m no longer “independent” enough for you or for them. I suspect “independent” isn’t what you or they wanted. Especially when independent means occasionally siding with Ken or Gerri, when I think they’re looking out for Los Alamitos. Like when I agree that the trash contract should be put out to bid this time around, something Poe and Stephens won’t commit to.

Why not go along with the team approach? Why over $50,000 to make sure your hand-picked candidates control 4 of the 5 Council seats? Apparently, even that isn’t enough–lately I’ve been hearing talk among the CPLA faction of recalling Gerri Mejia after this election’s over.

Sometimes I think I’m the one who really wants to Preserve the decent, civil, yet progressive Los Alamitos I thought I moved into 20 years ago.

Let’s use respect, civility, common interests, gracious forgiveness, and love to build a Los Alamitos we can all be proud of, even when we disagree on specifics.

Why can’t we all just get along? Why can’t we all win?

George’s $20,000 to LATA is just the tip of the iceberg. For a glimpse of what may be lurking beneath the surface, be sure to check out “The $20,500 tip of the Briggeman/Poe/Stephens iceberg.”

Oct

27

Candidate Forum cancelled again, this time it’s Poe & Stephens who are “too busy”

Filed Under About Dave Emerson, Community News, Election Issues | 3 Comments

5:30 p.m. Monday update on Backstory air times: As mentioned below, LATV-3’s Backstory will be presenting an expanded Election Special this eek and weekend in the runup to Tuesday’s election. The hour long program will feature on-the-street interviews with candidates for the Los Alamitos City Council.

Backstory airtimes are this Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday at 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at noon, and again next Monday evening, possibly before the City Council meeting. I would suggest using your DVR to record it this Wednesday. Air times may be sugject to change. Now for what happened to my one fianl attempt to put together a Candidate Forum:

(by Dave Emerson) The short version is, the October 28th Los Alamitos City Council Candidate Forum I’ve been working to arrange with the League of Women Voters was canceled because Marilyn Poe and Ken Stephens said they were “too busy” to participate.

However, candidate interviews should be airing later this week on John Underwood’s Backstory on LosAlTV. I’ll post times and dates here once I get them. I believe the program is being edited as I keyboard.

Now, here’s the more detailed version of my efforts to bring a Candidate Forum to the voters of Los Alamitos:

From day one, I’ve been the only Los Alamitos City Council candidate actually working to have a public, televised Candidate Forum.

Three happy candidates, photo by Mr. Gabler

The only candidate forum this year was the one sponsored by the Parkewood Residents Association

I want the voters to know who I am and what I stand for, but I also believe open discussion of the issues helps build community unity, helps us better understand one another, and is a step towards building that team spirit I so long for on the Council.

That’s why I’m the only candidate with an interactive website which welcomes real time posting of comments from every side of this debate, as long as the language is clean and the tone relatively respectful. (So far I’ve only had to edit out a couple words–good job, Los Al voters! I’d tell you what they were, but then I’d have to edit them out!)

I’m also the one of only two candidates who don’t have the benefit of over $20,000 of George Briggeman’s money to buy their Slate advertising (details in a later post) and fund “push polls” & attacks against their opponents (details at “Is George Briggeman funding the CPLA?“ and “GOTCHA!“) I’m also on of only two candidates who hasn’t already served on the Council (in Marilyn Poe’s case, for 12 years, from 1994 – 2006).

I was the candidate who initially contacted the Chamber of Commerce to find out when the forum would be, and learned that their staff was stretched too thin with Wings, Wheels, and Rotors to pull off the forum this year.

I was the candidate who followed up on the Chamber’s suggestion that John Underwood might be able to pull something together, and encouraged him to fill the gap.

I was the candidate who objected to Gerri Mejia’s suggestion at the October 6, seven hour marathon Council meeting that some candidates not participate if John was the moderator. (I later learned more about Gerri’s concerns, which had more validity than I initially thought, although we still disagree on the response.) Ken Stephens was at that 10/6 Council meeting; he could have stood up for the Forum, but he didn’t. Marilyn Poe wasn’t even present for that marathon–maybe a smart move, in hindsight.

I was the only candidate who continually updated my website on Tuesday, October 14, to get the word out to the voters about where and when the forum would be while John Underwood was looking for a new venue to comply with the Council’s controversial decision to avoid the use of the Council Chambers upon learning from the City Attorney of possible litigation risks.

I was then the only candidate who actually contacted the League of Women Voter’s to schedule a date for them to provide a moderator and a time keeper so we could still have a forum. (Interestingly enough, it turned out that at least one citizen, Jody Schloss, had also contacted them previously to enquire about available dates.) I then announced that date at last week’s Council meeting.

When I had reserved the date with the League on Friday 10/17 I e-mailed all the candidates to see if they were available. Ken Parker indicated he thought he could make it, but I hadn’t heard back from Ken Stephens or Marilyn Poe. When I saw Mr. Stephens during a break in the meeting, I checked with him, and was disappointed to learn that he felt he was just too busy walking neighborhoods and meeting voters to participate in the forum the League of Women Voters had scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, 10/28.

That just didn’t make a lot of sense to me. The forum was scheduled to take an hour and a half. In that amount of time, I can speak personally to maybe 10 – 25 voters, if I’m lucky. In a forum I’d expect at least fifty interested voters would be present in the audience, and they could compare all the candidates side by side. With it replaying on LosAlTV for a week before the election, hundreds of other voters would also tune in, no doubt. Let’s see–make my case to maybe 18 voters, or appear on a panel that would be viewed by hundreds. Seemed like a no-brainer to me!

Some of the Parkewood voters who gave up their Saturday afternoon to be informed

Even on a warm Saturday afternoon the Parkewood forum attracted a good crowd

I then decided I’d better check in with Marilyn Poe to make sure she’d participate. Marilyn was still out of town, so I got her cell phone number from a relative and called her while she was on the road in Arizona. She pointed out that the forum would be airing later than we originally planned, and that many of our permanent absentee voters would have already voted, a fact I had pointed out earlier that week. Eventually, Marilyn also decided that she was just too busy to participate, much to my dismay.

All of this “too busy” was a bit interesting to me, since I was the one spending the time to try to coordinate the event. All that Marilyn and Stephens had to do was show up. I still had to locate a venue, a sponsor, and a TV crew. And now I only had two candidates participating, and who knows if Ken Parker would still want to participate if half of the candidates had already dropped out. The deciding factor for me was that I didn’t think it was fair to the League of Women Voters to tie up their moderator and timekeeper any longer if there was still doubt that the event might take place. So I told Marilyn I thought I’d better cancel if she wasn’t participating, and she agreed with that decision.

However, there was one thing Marilyn Poe and I did agree on during that phone call: We both wanted John Underwood to do some sort of candidate interview program for LosAlTV as quickly as possible. I’d been encuraging John to do so ever since his forum was scratched by forces beyond his control, but he was still “licking his wounds” from that battle, and Ken Parker had already told me he was too busy to even do that. Finding common ground with Marilyn, however, I asked her if I could e-mail John with the date she would be back in town, along with her cell number so John could contact her.

As a result, John began taping his candidate piece for his Backstory program last Saturday. Happily, Ken Stephens changed his mind and agreed to participate.

So, the good news is, we’ve at least got a candidate show on TV. And we now have evidence that, with a lot of effort, even our candidates can find some common ground and work together. Because the only way great things are ever accomplished is if people put aside their egos and decide to work together as a team for the common good.

We can always hope.

Oct

26

Sunday sermon: Jonah, Ninevites, & the C.P.L.A.

Filed Under C.P.L.A. & L.A.T.A., George Briggeman, Inspiration, Teamwork | 15 Comments

Warning: It’s Sunday, & this post’ includes religious content, although I don’t think you have to be religious to appreciate it’s wisdom. Actually, Jesus’ relationship with the Pharisees, the religious leaders of his day, shows that religiosity can get in the way of truth.

(by Dave Emerson) Last night, in response to a troublingly candid comment from Cat Driscoll’s husband, I wrote:

I need more time to process what you have shared . . . . Perhaps after a good night’s sleep and some time in church & in prayer tomorrow I’ll have a better handle on it. You’ve shared some heavy thoughts, and I need time & guidance to process them.

Interestingly enough, I ended up at a different church than I’d planned on this morning, where some of the words from the pulpit seemd to apply pretty directly to the challenge of how we respond to evil. I don’t think that was a coincidence.

I occasionally help cook for a “Homeless church” that meets in Bellflower. Today, despite my dubious skills as a chef, I was needed to help at the breakfast omlet bar longer than I had expected. As a result, once my culinary skils were no longer needed, I ended up going to my son’s church, Parkcrest Christian Church, on Woodruff just south of Carson.

Pastor Dru Boles’ sermon, “God Doesn’t Give up on You,” was part of a series on Jonah, the ancient Hebrew prophet with the best “big fish story” on record. Pastor Dru discussed God’s faithfulness to both Jonah and to the people of Ninevah, despite their disobedience.

“The Ninevites were self-serving, evil, dark vile people,” Pastor Dru told us. “They were known for extremely cruel torture of their enemies. [Sound like anyone you know?] Yet God still desired a relationship with the Ninevites,” and sent Jonah to reach out to them on His behalf.

The good Pastor’s point was twofold:

God cares about every one of us, and none is beyond His love and grace.
God expects us to follow His example of extending forgiveness, grace, and mercy to those who have offended us.

As the Hebrew profit Micah wrote,

He has showed you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you:

To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

That got me thinking about some of Jesus’ teaching about loving our enemie, such as Luke 6:27-36, possibly some of the most radical teaching of Jesus. Below are some excerpts from the free-flowing The Message paraphrase by Presbyterian pastor Eugene Peterson (bracket italics are my remarks, bold added for emphasis):

There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. [Sounds a little like election politics to me!] Popularity contests are not truth contests. . . . Your task is to be true, not popular.

To you who area ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. . .

I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never–I promise–regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.

Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults–unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back–given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.

Like I said, possibly some of the most radical teaching you’ll find. A standard so high none of can live up to it, and we often don’t want to, either. But it enables us to build bridges instead of walls, to put the past behind us so we can move forward, and to avoid the cancer of bitterness.

Saint Paul encouraged young Timothy to “Speak the truth in love.” That’s the delicate balance: Truth motivated by love. May God help us all to achieve it more consistantly.

Oct

25

GOTCHA!

Filed Under C.P.L.A. & L.A.T.A., Election Issues, George Briggeman | 8 Comments

(by Dave Emerson) Two days ago, I asked “Is George Briggeman funding the CPLA?”

At the end of the post, I personally appealed to Chuck or Carol Sylvia to answer that question. In an update Thursday night, I again appealed to them personally and to George Briggeman himself to come forward with the truth.

Their silence was deafening, although Mr. Sylvia did call a supporter I quoted in my “connecting the dots” section to ask that person to correct what I distinctly remember being told. (I respectfully modified that part of the post at her request. “Do unto others. . . .” No sense getting people angrier than they already are.)

Marilyn Poe voted to rename part of Sausalito

Well, the Sylvias, their candidates, and Mr. Briggeman wouldn’t answer my question, but now someone else has.

Sadly, the answer is a resounding “YES!”

Turns out, our local trash hauler and developer has apparently funded the Citizens for the Preservation of Los Alamitos, their sister political organization, Los Alamitos Taxpayers Association, and their two council candidates, Ken Stephens and Marilyn Poe, to the tune of AT LEAST $20,000.00! And that’s just in the first eighteeen days of October!

The Smoking Gun

Someone went to great lengths to hide the source of funds, but someone else went to even greater lengths to get to the truth, and now we have it. At least part of it.

The smoking gun was buried in a secretive exchange of money between Taxpayers for Safer Neighborhoods, the Los Alamitos Taxpayers Association, and a corporation known only as “Farquhar Pavilion Partners, LLC.” It came out on the California Secretary of State’s website when financial filings for October 1 – 18 were posted.

Here’s the short version: Farquhar Pavilion Partners, LLC gave $20,500 to the Taxpayers for Safer Neighborhoods, who gave $20,000 to the Los Alamitos Taxpayers Assocation (LATA), a political sister organization to the non-profit, “non political” Citizens for the Preservation of Los Alamitos (CPLA). LATA, in turn, has assisted both the Poe and Stephens candidacies, and has also funded two political mailers so far, one a repeat of the CPLA’s hit piece on Parker raising our property tax 61.5%.

Who is “Farquhar Pavilion Partners, LLC?”

Well, it turns out this seemingly anonymous organization owns a piece of property in Los Alamitos, consisting of four parcels. According to public records, they acquired that property by means of a Quit Claim Deed that was filed with the Orange County Recorder at 12:47 p.m. on February 27, 2007. That deed was signed by George S. Briggeman, Jr., as the trustee of the George S. Briggeman Separate Property Trust, which Quit Claimed the property to Farquhar Pavilion Partners, LLC.

Now you know that when a property changes hands in California, it gets reassessed for property taxes. Under Prop 13, that can be a huge hit. However, if the property is being transferred between organizations with the exact same owners, Prop 13 allows the owners to avoid that reassessment, as long as they check a box near the top of the deed. For example, when Barb and I quit claimed our home into our living trust, we checked that box and the home didn’t get reassessed. That’s because the Emerson Family Trust has the exact same owners as our house did.

Here’s exactly what that box says: “The Grantors [the people or organization quit claiming off the property] and Grantees [the people or organization taking title to the property] in this conveyance are comprised of the same parties who continue to hold the same proportionate interest in the property.”

So George Briggeman apparently is Farquhar Pavilion Partners, LLC. It was Mr. Briggeman who gave $20,500 to “Taxpayers for Safer Neighborhoods,” who gave $20,000 to “Los Alamitos Taxpayers Association,” who’s spending it to defeat Ken Parker and Cat Driscoll (even though she’s withdrawn from the race!) and to elect Marilyn Poe and Ken Stephens!

Stephens & Poe signs on Briggeman's Farquhar property

Briggeman shows his support by the signs on his properties

What’s interesting now is that, with Cat Driscoll withdrawing her candidacy, it’s already guaranteed that the current majority block will change. But Briggeman keeps pouring money in, adding another $10,000 to Taxpayers for Safer Neighborhoods (which was immediately transferred to Los Alamitos Taxpayers Association) on October 13. That was a week after Cat had withdrawn. Apparently he wants a 4-1 majority, or at least 3 – 1 – 1 control. 2 – 2 – 1 with me, the independent candidate from day one looking out for the city as a whole, apparently just isn’t good enough for him.

The sad thing is, I’m afraid this may just be the tip of the iceberg. Most big donors hold off until after the October 18th end of the second reporting period to put in the big bucks. Some of that is often covered by candidates loaning money to themselves in the interim. On their 10/1-18 filings, Marilyn Poe had a $5,025 loan to herself outstanding which was included in the $9,853 she’s received so far, and Ken Stephens had loaned himself $2,500. (Stephens listed total money and loans received at $4,786 and total spent at $6,003.63. And he’s running on a platform of balancing the city budget!) (BTW, through the 10/18 reporting period, I’ve received $2,000, all from Barb & myself, and spent $1,234.)

That doesn’t mean the all CPLA’s supporters are evil, although some of them have done some things that are evil and extremely hurtful. (If you want to get an idea of some of the harm they’ve done, read the thoughtful comment from Cat Driscoll’s husband, Loren, in the comments at the end of this post.) Many of them have a number of concerns, and some of them are legitimate. The ones I’ve met all seem to care deeply about our community. The goal is to put aside our differences and learn to work together as a team for the common good. Unfortunately, secrecy and massive donations from someone with a vested interest tend to make that more dificult.

There’s more to this story, and hopefully I’ll get it up later today or this evening. In the meantime, please feel free to post your thoughts and comments in the Comment box below (No box? Then scroll to the top, click the headline, & scroll back down.) Please try to be relatively polite and respectful, even when disagreeing. We need to look forward to a future where we can all put aside our differences and work together for the good of Los Alamitos. Thanks.

You might also want to check out my post on improving service at City Hall, “Nordstrom Service, Costco Value,” or “Moving Forward, Together.” Or you may just want to get the details & scheduled highlights for tomorrow’s free Wings, Wheels and Rotors Expo at the Joint Forces Training Base, or learn a little more about how to use this website.

11:30 p.m. update: Let me strongly urge you to check out the comments below, especially the second comment, where Cat Driscoll’s huband Loren pulls back the curtains enough to give us an inside look at the harm caused to one young Los Alamitos family by the tactics of George Briggeman and his CPLA. Loren’s words have caused me to modify one portion of this post, but I need time to more fully process their impact. Loren’s comments may well be the most important thing ever posted on this blog, or any other Los Al related website. Read them and weep.

Late 10/30 update: George Briggeman’s $20,000 to LATA is just the tip of the iceberg. For a glimpse of what may be lurking beneath the surface, be sure to check out “The $20,500 tip of the Briggeman/Poe/Stephens iceberg.”

Oct

24

Nordstrom service, Costco value: My model for city hall

Filed Under Election Issues, Teamwork | 1 Comment

(by Dave Emerson) As I’ve been walking our neighborhoods, putting up signs, and talking with our residents about city government, the two most dominant concerns I hear relate to dysfunction on the City Council and resident services from City Hall.

I found that affirming, because back on September 23, in my post on “8 priorities for our Council” I identified “Resident and Business Services” as priority # 6. In fact, just a few days ago, in “A businesslike approach to city government,” service again came up as I discussed the four core values Barb and I used to build our businesses: integrity, excellence, innovation, and service.

The ladies know what I'm talking about.

When I sat down for my interview with News Enterprise editor (and Detroit Redwings Hockey fan) Brian Smith, what he wanted to know more about was my idea about a “concierge/trouble-shooter” approach to resident services at City Hall, and how to pay for it.

My answer to Brian was that, properly implemented, outstanding customer service doesn’t cost–it pays! I’ve found it doesn’t cost that much to implement outstanding service, and in the long run it saves money much more than it costs. Largely, it involves a positive attitude and a strong commitment to service from the top through every member of the team (there’s that word again!).

One of my businesses involves operating some rental properties we own. We train all our people to respect and promptly respond to the concerns of our residents. (We have “residents” or “clients,” not “tenants.” Just like we have “challenges,” not “problems.” Language is important!) Residents are to always be treated with respect, especially when they (or our staff) may be in a bad mood. Maintenance requests are to be handled within 24 hours, less if an emergency. The quicker we address a request, the less time we have to spend on it. We try to followup to make sure the concern was addressed. Our goal is to provide “great values on great homes for great people.” That attracts, creates and retains happy, quality residents.

We’re talking about attitude, training, and systems to make sure concerns are addressed quickly. It’s not that hard, because in any business, including government, you tend to deal with the same issues repeatedly. The key is training, enabling, organizing and motivating the staff at all levels to take good care of the customers. In the city’s case, the customers are our residents and businesses. It’s really not that hard, because most people really want to do a good job and take care of their clients/customers/residents.

While I’ve found city staff to be professional and courteous, they don’t seem to always be organized to effectively address residents’ concerns. For example, a few weeks ago a junior lifeguard felt she had to actually address the City Council to get a bike rack installed at the Pool at the Base. She said she had e-mailed the city a year ago and never heard back. That e-mail should have been responded to promptly and the need addressed, without involving the Council at all. Let alone the city attorney, city engineer, city financial manager, chief of police, and city clerk, all of whom had to sit through that unnecessary presentation. An auto response should have gone out immediately, with a personal reply within 6 business hours and ongoing followup until the situation was resolved. That saves time & satisfies our residents.

The goal, to use Ken Blanchard’s term is to make “raving fans” of our residents and businesses!

We do that by creating “Nordstrom’s” class of service (if you don’t get it, ask your wife) at a “Costco” price (I know you get that). It isn’t that hard, once people catch the vision. And it saves everyone time.

Another example was the lady that felt she had to bring her injured dog to a Council meeting to get the city to refocus on the coyote problem. One phone call or e-mail should have handled it, if front-line staff is properly trained and empowered.

The list could go on and on. A Rossmoor Highlands resident pointed to the city trees on the Bradbury island that were growing at a crazy angle. He had called repeatedly, but city staff didn’t respond until the problem was almost too severe to correct. One call should do it, with a followup back to the resident. “A stitch in time saves nine.” Saves the city money, too. That’s how you get Nordstrom’s service at Costco prices.

And that should be one of the priorities for our City staff and City Council. If I’m elected, I know it will be one of mine!

Oct

23

Is George Briggeman funding the C.P.L.A.?

Filed Under C.P.L.A. & L.A.T.A., Election Issues, George Briggeman | 14 Comments

Late update: For the latest on this story, read “Gotcha!,” and “The $20,500 tip of the Briggeman/Poe/Stephens iceberg.” Sadly, we now know the answer to the above question.

10:30 p.m. update (Thursday night, 10/23): It’s been a bit over 14 hours since I posed the question in the headline above, then repeated it in more detail specifically to the Sylvias at the end of the post. In those 14 hours over 100 people have read this post, including the Sylvias, but no one has answered the question.

So I’ll pose it again:

Mr. & Mrs. Sylvia, we should have nothing to hide. So far I’ve received $2,000 in my campaign, all my own money, although I hope that changes soon! I meet with all kinds of people to try to gain an understanding of their position, but that makes me more independent, not less. I had coffee with Ken Parker this morning, where I also briefly saw Troy Edgar. We might have sat down to talk together, but none of us wanted to violate that Brown Act. I also saw Gerri Mejia today, as well as Dean Grose. I spoke with Art DeBolt, and also Pat Blancher. We have different opinions, but we all care deeply about Los Alamitos. I believe we can all learn to work together, part of that involves being open.

Mr. & Mrs. Sylvia, I know you follow this blog, and I’m glad you do. I think it’s a good thing, and I thank you. So, please, no need for secrets here. Please answer my question. Exactly how much support is George Briggeman giving to the C.P.L.A., to the Los Alamitos Taxpayers Association, and to Marilyn Poe and Ken Stephens’ campaigns? Not just directly, but indirectly, through other groups as well. I know you have an idea. I do too. We all know how to do research.

I’m not here to judge Mr. Briggeman, nor to say he can’t support causes and candidates in our town. He and his father have done a lot of good here over the years. I would hate to think he’s trying to buy influence, but I’m beginning to wonder, as I indicate below. What troubles me most is the secrecy.

Mr Briggeman, maybe you’re the one who should answer my question. You’re free to post here, you know, as are my fellow candidates, and every concerned citizen.

Hopefully, Chuch, Carol, or George will step forward. Please be honest with the people of Los Alamitos. Just how much money is Mr. Briggeman pouring into the CPLA, the LATA, and Poe and Stephens candidacies, both directly and indirectly? Hopefully candor in this area can lead to greater candor and respect throughout our city. We really can all learn to work together, in a spirit of teamwork and mutual respect, putting the community’s interests ahead of our own. The best way to lead is by example.

Be the leader you’ve both in the past. Do the right thing.

The truth will set us free.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

(by Dave Emerson) I like Chuck and Carol Sylvia. They’ve always been helpful and cordial when we’ve spoken. Chuck’s even come by to drop off interesting documentation on some items. He served on our City Council for 20 years, 5 times as Mayor, I believe, and he tells me that during his 5 terms there was never a 3-2 vote on the Council. I applaud him for his years of service.

The CPLA and LATA

The Sylvias aren’t perfect, but neither am I. Or you, for that matter. As I keep saying, we need to be gracious with one another or we’ll spend our lives in a downward spiral of retribution. That’s a cycle I’d like to put an end to here in Los Alamitos. Anyway, I have no doubt that the Sylvias care deeply about Los Alamitos, as does almost everyone who visits this web site. In fact, it’s my understanding that their group, the CPLA, decided not to use some negative material because they felt it might create problems for some kids. I applaud their restraint in that case, but wish they had exercised more restraint in other cases.

I have been troubled by the tactics of their organizations, the Citizens for the Preservation of Los Alamitos and now the Los Alamitos Taxpayers Association. Unnecessary, sometimes demeaning personal attacks. Expensive, deceptive hit pieces in the mail. Costly telephone “polling” campaigns. Distortions. A Dana Point attorney showing up repeatedly to speak at our City Council meetings. Taking time away from big issues like traffic, city services, and overbuilding to focus on toothbrushes and Ken Parker’s landlord’s sign.

Where’s the money coming from?

Another big question is, where’s the money coming from to pay for all this. So far, Barb and I have paid for every aspect of my campaign out of my pocket to avoid outside influence. I just turned in my reporting form, and so far I’ve spent $1,234 and taken in $2,000, every penny from my own pocket, although I’d appreciate it if you’d help me change that (more about that in my comment in the comment section of this post).

The last thing our city needs is businesses dumping huge amounts of money into city elections–especially businesses that contract with the city, or businesspeople who have huge property interests in our town. The one individual that most fits that description would have to be the former owner of our trash company, George Briggeman. Based on the sign on the trash truck in my neighborhood a week ago, it appears he still has some sort of interest in it.

Please don't tell me Briggeman's no longer involved with our trash hauler. Picture taken in Suburbia on 10/15/08.

Please don't tell me Briggeman's no longer involved with our trash hauler. Close up of trash truck in Suburbia Estates taken 10/15/08.

People keep telling me that Mr. Briggeman no longer has any connection with the trash company. I know he sold it to Consolidated, who sold it to Republic, but I’m thinking he must at a minimum have received stock in the new company, and possibly a consulting contract with a bonus for extending the contract. If I get a chance I’ll try calling him to find out. In any case, he owns a lot of property in our town, so perhaps he’s spending this money to protect his development issues.

Now, please don’t get me wrong here. George Briggeman and his father have been very generous in their giving to community causes, from the Pool at the Base to veterans and school causes throughout our town. I wish every business person in this town were half as generous as Mr. Briggeman. But he has also made an awful lot of money from our town. Businesspeople are welcomed to get involved with local elections, but I draw the line if they’re funding a ruthless smear campaign to attempt to gain total control of our City Council. The luster comes off all his good deeds if that’s the case.

Stephens & Poe signs on Briggeman's Farquhar property

Not only does George appear to have a financial interest in the no-bid trash contract he negotiated with Marilyn Poe and her colleagues back in 2000, he also has vast property holdings in our town. They’re pretty easy to identify right now, as they’re brightly adorned with “Poe” and “Stephens” signs. He’s also got lots of land to develop here in town, and big plans on how to do it. He’d sure like to have a City Council majority. All it would take is either Poe or Stephens wining a Council seat, & George would have three votes.

That’s why it would be a travesty if it turned out that George Briggeman was the major funding source for the Citizens for the Preservation of Los Alamitos or the Los Alamitos Taxpayers Association. We don’t want any business person, local or out of state, trying to buy our city Council, let alone dragging us all into this mud bath just for his own financial gain.

“Connecting the dots”

When I first got involved in this race and started asking questions about the smear campaign, the firing of Lucy Serlet, and alliances at city hall, I was repeatedly told to “connect the dots” and to “follow the money.” Well, after two months of this, the dots are getting bigger and things are starting to line up, and I really don’t like what I think I’m starting to see.

About a week ago I had a conversation with a CPLA member about who’s been involved with CPLA. Like other CPLA supporters, I appreciate the efforts this person makes for our town even when I don’t agree.

We have slightly different memories of what was said about George Briggeman’s involvement in the early days of the C.P.L.A. I thought I was told that George was present for at least two of the early C.P.L.A. meetings, so that’s what I posted here earlier. The CPLA supporter then called me today to correct that impression, indicating that George might have been present at some of early meetings that led to the CPLA’s formation, but not once the CPLA had formally organized.

I was told that once the CPLA was formed, only a couple businessmen remained active, and they actually lived in Los Alamitos. When I pointed out that George Briggeman is registered to vote in Los Alamitos, my contact seemed as surprised and somewhat befuddled. It’s my understanding that we’re supposed to register to vote at our “primary residence,” so now I’m confused too.

I have no problem with Mr. Briggeman being involved with the CPLA, I just don’t like that involvement being hidden. I don’t object to him supporting the CPLA, but if he’s giving thousands of dollars to them or their candidates or their sister Los Alamitos Taxpayer Association, I think that information should be public knowledge, not concealed.

Back to connecting the dots. A Dana Point attorney known for representing trash haulers keeps showing up at Council meetings on behalf of the C.P.L.A.

At the last Council meeting Gerri Mejia charged and Troy Edgar confirmed that Briggeman arranged a lunch meeting a couple years back between himself, Gerri, Troy, and City Manager Lucy Serlet. Shortly thereafter, Gerri, Troy, and Dean Grose united to fire Lucy.

I think I’m starting to connect the dots, but I really hope the picture that seems to be emerging is not true. Now we have a new organization, the Los Alamitos Taxpayers Association, with a treasurer in San Clemente. Seems more like the San Clemente Taxpayers Association to me.

Please tell us the truth

Chuck or Carol, please answer the question. To what extent George Briggeman funding the C.P.L.A., or the new “Los Alamitos Taxpayers’ Association, or Marilyn Poe or Ken Stephens either directly or indirectly? Is he channelling tens of thousands of dollars to your candidates or your groups? Please say it ain’t so! But please tell us the truth.

Oct

22

Moving forward. . . together

Filed Under Election Issues, Teamwork | Leave a Comment

Onward and upward. . . as a team!

Staying positive in the midst of a campaign like we’re experiencing here in Los Alamitos can be a challenge, but I haven’t survived 28 years of ups and downs in the real estate industry by letting circumstances get me down.

So, despite the current polarization, I continue to believe that it is possible for all five members of the Los Alamitos City Council to put aside their egos and their differences and work together for the good of the community.

One of the easiest ways I know of to bring people together is to focus on clear, shared goals. Over time, communication improves and trust can be built. Mountain climbers must work as a team to achieve the summit. That involves incredible trust, as they literally hold each other’s lives in their hands. Such trust if built over time, beginning with simple challenges and building towards greatness.

With that in mind, I’d like to suggest a few common goals I believe the Council can work on together to begin building true team spirit. Most of these are issues our Council has been working on, priority issues that need to be tackled together, issues that would be a far better use of the Council’s time than some of the bickering we’ve seen lately both on the dias and from the audience:

Improve traffic flow and safety: Many projects are underway that could help in this area, including a the addition of southbound on and off ramps to the 605 freeway from Cerritos Ave./Spring St. and the possible addition of a third westbound lane to Farquhar at Los Al Blvd. There’s much that can be done, and there’s no reason the Council can’t work together on most of those items. For details on some creative ways I think the Council could make a dent in our traffic challenges, see my post on “7 Ways to cut local gridlock.”
Increase sales tax revenue and gradually phase back or out utility tax: Again, some work is already in progress on this, and the Council all seem to be in agreement. There is huge potential here to increase city revenue without harming our quality of life if proper care is taken. It’s critical that our next City Manager have a strong track record in this area. This is far more important than arguing about toothbrushes and signs. The Council needs to work together on the things that will impact our city for decades to come!
Take additional steps to minimize the effects of the current economic slowdown on the city and maintain a balanced budget: At the last Council meeting I spoke about the need to be proactive, and to look now at possible cost-saving measures to implement immediately and if the situation worsens. We also need to continue working proactively with the Orange County League of Cities to try to minimize future reductions by the state in funding to our city. Again, there should be much room for common ground in this endeavor.
Teamwork with other cities, with our schools, and with one another will allow our town to reach new heights.
Work to identify and expand synergistic opportunities with our schools. I am the only candidate who has spent time (eight years) as a school teacher, and I also have a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from Pepperdine University. I believe my background gives me a unique perspective on how to work together to support our local schools, and I am proud to have the support of local educators like Dennis Sackett. As a real estate broker, I know how important our school district is to people looking to buy in the area. Not only do good schools increase our property values, they also attract quality families to our community.

Well, those are just a few of the areas where I hope to build on some of the work already done by our Council and city staff. They are the sort of priorities I want to focus on. I elaborate on a few others in my Septermber posts on “7 priorities for our City Council” and “8 key issues in our Council race.”

As always, please feel free to add your comments, critiques, or thoughts. In the spirit of teamwork and mutual respect, please try to keep your tone respectful and language family friendly. We really can accomplish much more working together!

Oct

22

Wings, Wheels, & Rotors Expo at the Base this Sunday

Filed Under Community News, News you can use | 1 Comment

(by Dave Emerson) If you’d like a break from local politics, and you’re looking for a fun, free family outing this weekend, you might want to check out the 7th annual Wings, Wheels, and Rotors Expo at Los Alamitos’ Joint Forces Training Base from 9 – 4 this Sunday, October 26.

According to the event sponsor, the Los Alamitos Area Chamber of Commerce, the community event is scheduled to include over 650 classic and vintage cars and motorcycles, military and civilian in static display, games, entertainment, two food courts, over 150 vendors and exibits, and the ubiquitous “much more!!!”

Parking and admission are free, but you might want to bring comfortable walking shoes, sunblock, a shade hat, and a water bottle. The asphalt can get hot.

Here are some highlights from the events schedule:

9:30 Helicopter rides begin (all day, pricing not indicated)
10:00 T-6 flyover, official opening
12:00 Blackhawk flyover
1:00 Army Golden Knights Parachute Team Demonstrations
2:00 Goodyear Blimp fly-by
3:00 Jet fly-by
3:45 Helicopter departures
4:00 Airplane departures

For more info, here’s the link to the Expo’s home page.

If you’ve got additional info about the event you want to share, whether it’s before or after the event, just post it in the comment box below. No comment box? Then scroll up and click on the headline above. As always, keep the language family-friendly and the tone respectful.

Oct

21

October 20 Council meeting: Sewage, trash, forums, lawyers, setups, venom, & lie detectors

Filed Under C.P.L.A. & L.A.T.A., City Council Meetings | 22 Comments

(by Dave Emerson) The good news is, the public portion of last night’s Los Alamitos City Council meeting was over by about 10 p.m., when Council went into private session for a performance evaluation of the interim city manager. What’s more, nobody had to be threatened with removal, and the rules of decorum didn’t even have to be read.

The bad news is, there was still plenty of time for enough craziness to last a year in most cities. The C.P.L.A.’s lawyer (who also represents George Briggeman, I’m told) ordered our city attorney to file a “cease and desist” order against Ken Parker because he didn’t like the “faux city seal” on one of Ken’s flyers. Said it would lead to our seniors being taken advantage of. I’m guessing this is the same guy that didn’t like Ken referring to himself as “Mayor” on the ballot, and that also filed a complaint that”businessowner” was not a compound word. I’m so glad the Citizens for the Preservation of Los Alamitos is focused like a lasar on the issues that really matter!

Then we had Gerri Mejia challenging Troy Edgar to a lie detector test after he called her a liar. In fact, anticipating the charge, Gerri had already lined up a couple dates when the machine and operator were available. Troy didn’t accept Gerri’s invitation, at least not during the meeting. I was thinking maybe they could sell tickets to the event–just not sure if it could be held in Council Chambers.

Then I was accused during the public comments of (gasp!) passing out flyers in a “gated community” on Chestnut. Now I did pass out some flyers on Chestnut about a week ago, but I sure don’t remember going through any gates, although I did slip a flyer or two under some gates. Apparently someone passed out Ken Parker’s flyers the same day, proving once and for all that I’m no longer an independent candidate.

An alert reader called me today to say she was sure no Ken Parker flyers have yet been passed out on Chestnut, and she suspected a setup. She also noted that there was a second speaker from Chestnut, a former Cypress Councilwoman, who cited Art DeBolt’s flyer about Marilyn Poe, although that flyer also was never passed out on Chestnut. Apparently someone from another part of the city is feeding people things to say? That would explain how one of my Old Dutch Haven flyers ended up on Chestnut.

I guess I should take it as a compliment that I’m on their radar screen. Maybe it’s time for an expensive hit piece on me to be coming to your mailbox or porch. When it arrives, please let me know about it by posting here, then check here so I can correct any distortions that somehow might have slipped through (See “Memo to the CPLA: Could you please be more forthright?“)

Now, I’ll admit, once Cat Driscol had to withdraw from the race Ken Parker & many of Cat’s supporters decided they much prefer my truly independent candidacy to the CPLA slate. (Marilyn Poe and Ken Stephens, who held a joint fund raiser, attend CPLA meetings, and have been jointly endorsed in the News Enterprise by at least three different Citizens for the Preservation of Los Alamitos members.) I certainly welcome the votes and support of Cat’s supporters, but I haven’t taken a penny of their money, & I’m just as independent as I was before Cat dropped out.

My goal is to try to bring everybody together for the common good. I think I actually have a better chance if Ken Parker is reelected so that the Council has a 2-2-1 split, with me as the independent swing vote trying to get everyone on the same page more often. Once the dust settles, I don’t think that’s really impossible, if everyone can just move forward and focus on the good of the community.

If you’re wondering what all of this has to do with moving our city forward, so am I. In one positive sign, however, the council unanimously passed an ordinance requiring competitive bidding when the trash contract comes up for renewal.

Your trash hauler supports. . . . signs in front of Briggeman's "residence" complex.

Your trash hauler supports. . . Marilyn Poe & Ken Stephens. Signs in front of Briggeman's "residence" complex.

However, that just appeared to be a case of the minority going along for the sake of political expediency. If either Marilyn Poe or Ken Stephens get elected, George Briggeman will again have a majority that can overturn that law in a heartbeat. Maybe that’s why Mr. Briggeman has so many Poe and Stephens signs on his various properties throughout the city.

It seems to me that our trash hauler’s gain would be our loss, in terms of higher trash fees. What’s worse, those higher fees are also charged to our businesses and our schools. You get especially hard when you are forced to hire a dumpster from the Briggeman Division of Consolidated Disposal. So I think open bidding on the trash contract is a no-brainer. So does Ken Parker. But Marilyn Poe voted against it about 9 years ago when she was serving her first twelve years on the council. So, yes, this is one area where I agree with the Mayor.

Actually, the meeting kicked off with a dirty debate about treating sewage before it gets dumped into the Pacific Ocean. Apparently the Citizens for the Preservation of Los Alamitos and their supporters aren’t terribly interested in preserving the Pacific Ocean. Maybe they just want to preserve it in it’s present polluted state.

Apparently Council Member Edgar is OK with the CPLA putting out deceptive flyers about Ken Parker “voting for a MASSIVE 61.5% increase to your property tax bill,” or orchestratomg a parade of irate citizens repeating the allegation and demanding an explanation. But when Mayor Parker responds to the citizens’ requests and asks the financial officer of the OC Sanitation District to take ten minutes to explain the facts of the increase, well that’s inappropriate, and Mr. Edgar seemed intent on taking more time demagoguing the issue than it took for the OCSD official to actually give his report.

Please don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of areas where I disagree with the current majority, as in the issue of the candidate forum. I can understand Troy and Dean’s frustration in feeling marginalized all too often, just as I understand Parker & DeBolt’s frustraton when they were in the minority and Marilyn Poe was in the majority.

I believe in working together in a spirit of mutual respect, looking for common ground and building an effective team for Los Alamitos. Ultimately, we need a lot more respect and grace flowing from both sides of the current divide. It’s in everyone’s best interest.

Speaking of that candidate forum, I spent a fair amount of time over the last four days trying to arrange for the League of Women voters to conduct a forum for Los Alamitos. I sent an e-mail to Ken Stephens about it last Friday, but never heard back. When I caught him at the meeting last night, I asked him about it, & he said he was just too busy. So I asked him about having John Underwood do an interview program with myself and Ken Stephens, the two new faces, an option I thought we’d agreed on last week when we were both disappointed (I thought) in the original forum’s cancellation. Again, just too busy. So I moved on to a virtual forum online where all candidates and the public could discuss key issues. But Mr. Stephens was just too busy for that either.

The funny thing is, last week Mr. Stephens was complaining pretty loudly about the original forum’s cancellation. Then when I finally give up some of my door-knocking time to try to pull it together myself, Stephens wants nothing to do with it, even though his supporters turned out in force to complain about the cancellation tonight. Right now, I’m planning to move ahead with both next Tuesday’s forum and the virtual one. Ironically, this time Ken Parker was the first to confirm. I’m still waiting to hear back from Marilyn Poe, who’s traveling right now.

Well that’s some of my impressions. If you were there, or happened to tune in, I’d appreciate hearing yours. Just complete the comment box below, using “family friendly,” relatively respectful language. If there’s no comment box, scroll up to the headline of this post, click it or the blue “Comments” below it, & the box will appear at the end of the post.

There are some very interesting comments that have been added to this post. If you are just scrolling through this blog, you’ll have to scroll back up to the top & click the blue “Comments” under the headline to see them.

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