Jan
7
Fleeced! Consolidated boasts of “Keeping [your]… Green!”
Filed Under 2012 Issues, George Briggeman, Trash contraact, Troy Edgar | 3 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 1/6/2012) When we got our quarterly newsletter in the mail today from Mayor Troy Edgar’s favorite Disposal Service, I couldn’t believe my eyes!
“Keeping it Green and Clean in Los Alamitos” screamed the headline.
At first, I thought it said “Keeping your green and keeping Troy Read more
Nov
4
Dancing on Brad Sheridan’s grave?
Filed Under 2011 Issues, City Council Meetings, Decency, George Briggeman, Trash contraact, Troy Edgar | 13 Comments
(11/4/2011, Los Alamitos) The agenda is now up for two City Council meetings this Monday, 11/7/2011, which include separate closed sessions.
Sadly, but perhaps not that surprisingly, the Council majority of Edgar, Stephens, and Poe appear ready to practically dance on Brad Sheridan’s grave just hours after his funeral Monday afternoon.
As you may know, two years ago Sheridan worked long and hard to try to get the City Council to comply with their own law (and with common sense) by awarding the trash contract to the lowest bidder. Instead, the Council majority voted to award the contract to the second highest (fifth Read more
Oct
10
“The process was corrupted. . . NOW is the time”
Filed Under 2010 Issues, 2011 Issues, City Council, George Briggeman, Trash contraact, Troy Edgar | 7 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 10/10/2011)Note from Dave E. Last Friday I requested statements from the “Citizens,” from the City, from C.Mgr. Stewart, from Mayor Stephens, and from Mayor pro tem Edgar. So far the following is all I’ve received. I look forward to printing statements from our city officials, both elected and hired, once I receive them.
Citizen For A Fair Trash Contract press release:
On Friday 10/7/11 the Hon. Andrew P. Banks issued a ruling from the bench in favor of the Citizens for a Fair Trash Contract, stating the City Council violated their own City Ordinance in the awarding of the Read more
Oct
10
Judge rules Los Al City Council “broke the law!”
Filed Under C.P.L.A. & L.A.T.A., City Council, Decency, George Briggeman, Trash contraact, Troy Edgar | 29 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 10/7/2011, updated) This afternoon, after reviewing hundreds of pages of documents submitted to him by the attorneys for Los Alamitos, Consolidated Disposal, and Citizens for a Fair Trash Contract, Superior Court Judge Alan Banks ruled that, despite months of obfuscation by the city, Consolidated, and the best attorney’s a seven million dollar overcharge could by, the obvious is still true: The Council Majority broke the law when the awarded the solid waste disposal contract franchise for Los Alamitos businesses and residents to the fifth highest bidder. As a result, Read more
Jul
13
The $20,500 tip of the Briggeman/Poe/Stephens iceberg
Filed Under 2011 Issues, C.P.L.A. & L.A.T.A., George Briggeman, Trash contraact | 22 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 7/13/2011)This originally posted 5 days before Los Alamitos 2008 City Council election, in which Marilyn Poe and Ken Stephens, assisted by a massive cash infusion from Consolidated Disposal’s consultant George Briggeman, were elected to replace Cat Driscoll and Ken Parker.
I am reposting it now because of it’s relevance to the current lawsuit over Read more
Jul
1
Los Al trash trial moves forward
Filed Under 2011 Issues, City Council, George Briggeman, Trash contraact | 15 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 7/1/2011) Rebuffing Consolidated Disposal’s lawyers arguments that Los Alamitos’ civil code did not require bidding on the Solid Waste Contract, the judge dismissed the City’s demur on the first and primary cause of action, setting the stage for what will probably be a one day trial in the middle of September.
At the same time, the judge sustained Consolidated’s remaining demur, indicating that the plaintiffs did not have standing, but allowing them to amend and resubmit their second cause of action to indicate their standing should they wish.
Further, when Consolidated’s attorneys, who also represent Los Alamitos, asked for Read more
Jun
30
2nd Los Al Trash hearing Friday, 7/1
Filed Under 2011 Issues, City Council, George Briggeman, Trash contraact | Leave a Comment
(Los Alamitos, 6/30/2011) The second hearing on the lawsuit over Los Alamitos’ not awarding the city’s solid waste contract to the lowest bidder is set for tomorrow afternoon in Santa Ana, after being postponed due to the Court’s calendar.
It is basically an attempt by Consolidated Disposal and the City of Los Alamitos to get one or both of the two remaining counts thrown out immediately, rather than proceeding to trial, and is expected to last only an hour or two.
The two charges being considered, as I understand them (& I’m no lawyer, nor am I involved in the case), are that the City violated it’s own ordinance by not awarding the contract to the lowest qualified bidder, and that Consolidated induced the City to break the law by offering to cover the City’s legal expenses if the City’s actions were challenged in court.
This hearing is not Read more
May
12
First hearing on Trash Lawsuit this Friday the 13th!
Filed Under City Council, Decency, George Briggeman | 38 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 5/12/2011) As many of you know, the first court hearing in the lawsuit by the Citizens for a Fair Trash Contract against Troy Edgar, Marilyn Poe, Ken Stephens and the City of Los Alamitos is this Friday at 1:30pm at the Santa Ana courthouse.
It is a hearing concerning a demurrer. The defendants are trying to Read more
Oct
29
Top OC attorney files suit alleging payback, lawbreaking in trash contract
Filed Under 2010 Issues, 2010 election, George Briggeman | 26 Comments
Update: Click here for the actual filing by Citizens for a Fair Trash Contract: LosAlFacts.com. 37 very interesting pages.
(10/29/2010, Los Alamitos, CA) According to an OC Register story posted online this afternoon, it looks like Warren Kusumoto, Gerri Graham-Mejia and Brad Sheridan were right after all.
Last summer City Council incumbents Constantine “Dean” Zarkos and Troy Edgar booted 6 year Traffic Commissioner Brad Sheridan when he warned the Council that awarding the trash contract to the second highest bidder could subject the city to expensive litigation.
Fellow Traffic Commissioner Warren went into the great detail we’d expect from an engineer as to exactly how the Council maj0rity was breaking the law.
And Council Member Gerri Mejia, the only member to vote against the bid that was projected to cost ratepayers an extra six and a half million dollars over the next ten years, stated from the dias that the process was “corrupted.”
Wednesday, 10/27, “Citizens for a Fair Trash Contract” proved Kusumoto & Sheridan, & Mejia’s points when they Read more
Oct
28
(10/28/2010, Los Alamitos) Only 2 local political flyers in my mail today, but I think that included the 4th or 5th big, glossy, professionally prepared mailer for Dean Zarkos, and the third this week!
Zarkos must have some backers with deep pockets, since the best estimates I’ve received for writing, printing, and mailing pieces like Zarkos’ is $5,000 each.
Somebody must be worried!
2 years ago Ken Stevens got elected with only 2 of these, as I recall, and it was the same flyer mailed twice.
Stevens still ran up enough campaign debt that he needed Zarkos’ Apartment Owners’ Association to help him pay it off.
Shortly before Stevens voted to make Zarkos our new Council Member to replace that other Grose Dean who had resigned.
That was shortly after Zarkos moved into Los Alamitos from Read more
Oct
12
George Briggeman’s You-tube video
Filed Under 2010 election, Decency, George Briggeman | 8 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 10/12/2010) It’s been a couple days since our Council majority and Chuck Sylvia’s favorite donor hit You-tube with his “not in my neighbor’s yard” video, and, like his good buddy Dean Grose, George seems to have a way of digging himself deeper into a hole every time he tries to climb out.
For those of you who may have missed the 9 second video, here it is. It goes so fast, you may want to watch it twice. But ignore the links to other Briggeman videos–this one is apparently George’s premier!
The video’s already stirring up a bit of a storm on the internet. Here’s what the Los Angeles Public Radio blog had to say about it:
Kevin Ferguson here, with some political scofflaws of the hyper-local variety. This upcoming election has proven to be pretty hotly contested in Los Alamitos, the Long Beach-adjacent OC suburb. It’s pitted a group of motivated upstarts against another coalition of incumbents and former city council members (including Dean Grose, the ex-mayor who’s sense of humor was deservedly brought under scrutiny last year).
On the establishment side, apparently, is local businessman George Briggeman (he used to own a waste disposal company, one of the largest businesses in Los Al). As discovered by local muckraker Dave Emerson at Let’s Fix Los Al, here’s a video of a man believed to be Briggeman disposing of something he apparently considers garbage: a campaign sign belonging to that same trio of upstarts.
Well, not only have local police confirmed that the man in the video is Read more
Oct
11
“Dirty Tricks” or worse from Grose, Briggeman?
Filed Under 2010 election, Dean Grose, George Briggeman | 28 Comments
Resigned former Mayor Grose and the photo from his e-mail that made Los Al a laughingstock
10/12 update: To see what other blogs are saying bout Mr. Briggeman’s latest escapade, check out Kevin Ferguson’s Taking out the trash in Los Alamitos?
(Los Alamitos, 10/11/10) Well, it looks like “Team Briggeman” was working overtime if not ethically over the weekend.
In case you forgot during Los Alamitos’ last City Council election, there were numerous incidents of signs and flyers for Ken Parker and myself mysteriously disappearing.
Near the end of that election, local volunteers reported a strange confrontation passing out election flyers: They were surprised to see George Briggeman drive up in his Cadillac Escalade.
They apparently were even more surprised when Dean Grose and Briggeman jumped out of the car and told them to stop passing out the flyers. When the volunteers declined to stop, the “Dynamic Duo” started taking pictures of them. Talk about intimidation.
Fast forward 2 years:
Now it’s signs and flyers for “Team Truth” (Kusumoto, Sheridan, & Graham-Mejia) that are disappearing.
One property owner decided to mount a surveillance camera to see who’d been taking them. You’ll never guess who it was.
The video’s only 9 seconds, but well worth watching. To see it on You Tube, click here.
Yup, that’s Mr. George Briggeman taking down a Kusumoto-Sheridan-Mejia campaign sign on someone else’s property.
But wait. . . there’s more! Read more
Sep
9
Why the sudden change Tuesday night?
Filed Under 2010 Issues, City Council Meetings, George Briggeman | 11 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 9/9/2010)We are pleased to announce another contributor! I tried to persuade this person to use their real name, but they preferred “Stop the Presses!” and I must admit, that’s more exciting than their real name.
As I’ve said, I’d like to phase back my writing and have more community members contribute full posts as well as comments. FYI, “Stop the Presses” occasionally uses a little more colorful language than I do.
In this post, “Stop the Presses” gives a unsettling answer to a strange situation Tuesday that a couple of people noticed:
(by “Stop the Presses”) WW & R noticed it Tuesday night while watching the Council meeting on TV:
Well, for a moment there during the $6,400 item I thought hell had frozen over. Read more
Aug
14
The Whole Truth about Los Alamitos’ Trash Contract
Filed Under 2010 Issues, 2010 election, George Briggeman | 10 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 8/14/10) Two years ago the City Council race kicked off early, within a few days of candidates filing, with a flyer attacking the incumbents produced from a file marked “Briggeman” at a local web design firm.
This year, the City Council race also kicked off within a few days of candidates filing, with a flyer praising the incumbents produced and distributed by Consolidated Disposal Services.
In both cases, the flyers were filled with Read more
Aug
5
George Briggeman Jr. pulls papers for City Council!
Filed Under 2010 election, George Briggeman | 14 Comments
(8/5/2010, 5:38 p.m., Los Alamitos, CA) Late today George Briggeman Jr. walked into the City Clerk’s office by himself and pulled papers to run for the Los Alamitos City Council. He was “attentive” to the clerk’s instructions.
Mr. Briggeman is Read more