Jan
19
Los Al solid waste contract: Rolls Royce? Tax increase? Payback to Briggeman?
Filed Under 2010 Issues, City Council, George Briggeman | 13 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 1/19/2010) 
As reported here earlier, tonight’s Los Alamitos City Council meeting includes discussion and recommended approval of almost 200 pages of documents relating to the Request for Proposals (RFP) for solid waste collections services for 2011 – 2020.
It’s interesting that for at least the last 20 years our trash contract never went out to bid. The hope was that an open bidding process would result in lower costs for Los Alamitos residents and businesses.
Some were, suspicious, however of Read more
Dec
19
Los Al Council to consider consultant for trash contract Monday
Filed Under City Council Meetings, George Briggeman | 3 Comments
(12/26/2009, Los Alamitos) It looks like for the first time in 30 years Los Alamitos’ city wide trash contract will be going out to bid. To me, at first look, this looks like a good thing, but some citizens Read more
May
25
Is it Seal Beach vs. Los Al @ two Base meetings on recycling tomorrow, Tuesday, 5/26?
Filed Under 2009 Issues, City Council, George Briggeman, The Base, Traffic | 20 Comments
The view last week from Rossmoor Highlands back yards.
(5/25/2009, Los Alamitos, by Dave Emerson) The Joint Forces Training Base is now routing 10 – 15 big 18wheeler trucks on a circuitous route through Los Alamitos five to six days a week as part of their new 5 year green waste recycling program.
The come and go by taking the 405 freeway to the 605 freeway to Katella to Lexington. Once they enter the base the trucks backtrack to the western side of the base where they follow a narrow road directly behind Rossmoor Highlands all the way around the perimeter of the Base until they finally arrive at the recycling site northeast of Arbor Park. Then they turn around and exit by the same crazy spiral, occasionally passing incoming 18 wheelers on the narrow road.
General Combs, who will be retiring this year, was hoping to route that traffic more directly off of Lampson, but ran into a major snag when Read more
Nov
21
Coming soon to a Joint Forces Base near you?
Filed Under City Council Meetings, Community News, Education & Schools, George Briggeman, Traffic | 31 Comments
Ready for a commercial recycling plant at the Base?
This & the prior post have generated a very interesting discussion in the comments. So far those two posts have generated over 50 comments here at LetsFixLosAl.com! That’s about how many “Letters to the Editor” the News Enterprise prints in five non-election months! Be sure you check them out, maybe even add your own thoughts.
This is the second installment of LetsFixLosAl.com’s coverage of the Monday, 11/17 Los Alamitos City Council meeting, which included a revealing discussion of possible long term leases of Joint Forces Training Base land, including relocating City Hall and building a major recycling center. We’ll also touch briefly on two significant budget updates and the scheduling of the next meeting. For the first installment, including how Troy Edgar and Chuck Sylvia could cost Los Alamitos over $50,000 in legal fees, see “Monday night’s Council Meeting: Brutal!“
(by Dave Emerson) Besides the shocking disclosures of the legal fees run up by Troy Edgar and Chuck Sylvia, last Monday’s Council meeting also brought talk of two different recycling plans at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base.
This is somewhat confusing, and wasn’t clarified that well at the Council meeting. Near the end of Sean Belk’s excellent article in The Sun on Thursday, Sean lumped them together, but there were actually two different recycling programs at the Base being discussed.
The Base’s plan for recycling to create fertilizer for use on the base
From what I understand, the base is in the process of testing a mulching program to recycle a combination of greenwaste and treated sewage for use by the strawberry farmers on both the Joint Forces Base and the Naval Weapons Depot. This apparently does not involve George Briggeman, and appears to be something initiated by the Base. Supposedly the additional traffic and odor will be minimal. This program is about to be implemented, as I understand it.
Mr. Briggeman’s Desire for a Commercial Recycling Plant in Los Alamitos
The second program is in the discussion stage only, and involves our “former” trash contractor George Briggeman’s open desire to build a large recycling center in our town.
Mr. Briggeman has reportedly discussed with several Council Members his desire to move his tenant, Gemini Forest Products, from their current location on Briggeman Way to a property he hoped to acquire on Sausalito north of the Royal Oak Mobile Home Park. That property, however is owned by “Sausalito Partners,” who have been trying for four years to build a public storage facility there. Their representative appeared before the Planning Commission at their last meeting (see item 7 on the 11/10 Planning Commission agenda) and indicated he has been working on this for four years now. He also expressed a willingness to pay the city a $18,000 use fee to offset loss of sales tax revenues, since there’s no sales tax involved in storage rentals.
Digression: I sure wish the hospital and all those medical offices would offer a sales tax mitigation fee! Cypress gets the Costco, Seal Beach gets the Target, Kohl’s, Home Goods & restaurants, and we get very minimal sales tax revenue from a hospital & doctors offices. Oh yeah, and a pool on the base that cost the City $134,540 last year, according to the 4th Quarter FY report given to the Council on Monday. (Maybe that’s why some of us weren’t that thrilled with Sylvia & Poe’s accomplishments on the Council.) Marilyn, I remember you stating at the Parkewood Candidates’ forum that the Pool was no longer costing the city anything, and that you had set it up that way. Wish you’d been right on that one. Sigh. I guess we’ll see if your team can do better for our city this time. A really good first step would be to make like our President elect & try to recruit the best possible people to work with you, even if they were your opponents in the last election. Because it’s going to take all of us working together to get Los Al where it needs to be!
But I digress.
Back to Briggeman’s Recycling Plan A: I’m not sure what’s been holding up Sausalito Partners’ storage place for 4 years, although I have a suspicion. I’d love to see Gemini relocate there, since they’re a major sales tax generator for the city, but I’m not real enthusiastic about the extra heavy truck traffic and related problems of a recycling center going in on Briggeman Way. I’d like to see that land used for retail sales, which ideally should be viewed as the revenue generator which could drive our city forward. (I’ve got a few more ideas about that in a few paragraphs.)
Regardless, the residents of the adjoining Royal Oak Mobile Home Park apparently prefer the storage usage, and showed up in force at the last Planning Commission meeting to say so. That may well have been at the urging of Sausalito Partners’, but their attendance did make an impact on the planning commission.
In any case, Mr. Briggeman’s been looking around for a “Plan B,” for his recycling plant, and leasing land from the base appears to be one of the options.
The recycling at the Bae came up at Monday’s Council meeting when Mayor Parker asked about “Expand recycling programs,” one of the “Departmental Goals” listed for the City Manager on page 11 of the 1st Quarter FY 2008-09 Financial Report received by the Council.
According to City Administrator Rudat, the money the base was getting from the farmers who lease land there is now going to the E.P.A., so the Base is looking for new sources of funds through long-term, non agricultural leases. I believe he referred to it at “advanced use leasing.”
Move City Hall onto the Base?
One of the options which I know at least some of the continuing Council Members are interested in would be moving the City Hall and City operations onto leased land at the Base in order to free up the current location along Katella for possible retail development. Some traffic studies would be needed, and other locations on the Base might be more viable, but the concept’s well worth exploring.
I believe that it is imperative that the City of Los Alamitos focus on ways to bring additional major sources of sales tax revenue into our town. The City’s land along Katella, combined with that of the Chamber of Commerce and the office buildings to the west of City Hall are an great location for retail.
Ideally, I’d combine that with the current site of Oak Middle School, and relocate Oak to a location further South, possibly off Lampson on Base land or off Seal Beach Blvd. either on Boeing land or Naval Weapons Depot land. This would be a win-win that would actually reduce traffic caused by parents from Rossmoor, College Park East, and all of Seal Beach driving their kids to and from Oak every day. It simply makes no sense for all three of the Los Alamitos Unified School District’s three secondary schools to be located at the far north of the school district.
What’s needed is for the new Council to invest some of the remaining surplus into a study by the very best consultants out there on both short and long term strategies to maximize Los Alamitos’ sales tax income. With our location on the 605 freeway, with Katella running through the heart of our town, with major upscale residential neighborhoods surrounding us, and with lots of underdeveloped and even undeveloped land, we’ve got an economic engine just parked on the tracks! Again, I digress. Why talk about sales tax when the man who paid for our incoming City Council would rather talk about trash trucks. . . .
Mr. Briggeman’s On-Base Recycling Inquiries
Gerri Mejia indicated that George Briggeman had spoken to her about building a solid waste recycling plant at the base, and indicated that he was “very interested.”
Dave Rudat indicated that such “enhanced use leases” would be negotiated by the Army Corps of Engineers, and appeared to confirm that Mr. Briggeman does have an interest in such a project. He indicated that a variety of environmental studies would be required, and stated that “While I’m here, I’m watching closely.” Of course, the problem is that Mr. Rudat will most likely have to move on within a few months, and General Combs will probably be moving on fairly soon as well. And we all remember how the Base tried to sneak in a fleet of Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Helicopters without even notifying the city of Los Alamitos.
At this point, Mayor Parker indicated that Mr. Briggeman had also discussed a recycling center at the base, possibly at a location just east of Rossmoor Highlands, with the trash trucks entering on Orangewood (just north of St. Hedwig’s Catholic Church. Parker indicated he told Briggeman that the community would not be interested in the increased traffic and potential pollution.
Then Mr. Briggeman suggested routing the traffic in off of Lampson, but Parker again indicated he wouldn’t support that. I’m guessing this may have had something to do with Mr. Briggeman apparently spending so much money to defeat Mayor Parker and Cat Driscoll (and me) ( (see “The $20,000 tip of the Briggeman/Poe/Stephens iceberg“).
Parker wanted to approve the 1st Quarter Financial Report with some sort of statement by the Council opposing major recycling at the Base. The City attorney indicated “multi-level reviews” would be required before such a center could move forward, and that seemed to end the discussion. For what it’s worth, Dean Grose paid close attention during this discussion, while Troy Edgar sorted through papers most of the time. (I thought paying attention was the more appropriate behavior, in case you’re wondering.)
Next Meeting. . . 12/1?
The next scheduled Council meeting comes immediately after the 4 day Thanksgiving weekend this year, which is actually 5 days since Friday 11/28 would normally be a “dark Friday” for city workers anyway. (The city workers work 9 hour days most days and get every other Friday off.) That means the City Clerk would have to prepare and mail out the agendas next on Tuesday, 11/25. It also means that the Orange County Registrar of Voters might not have the election certified by that time. (For details from the City Manager, see “Special Meeting 12/8 for the Installation of new Council Members”.)
Normally, the first meeting in December after an election is opened by the old council, then the new Council is sworn in and, after a reception, elects the new Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem. Most years there’s also only one Council meeting in December. Staff suggested meeting on Monday the 8th instead of the 1st, but several Council Members indicated they couldn’t make it then. Mayor Parker and Interim City Manager Dave Rudat disagreed on an earlier conversation, when Parker either indicated he could or couldn’t make that date, and I guess they finally “agreed to disagree.” Marilyn Poe had told Rudat that she would be out of town on 12/15, the second regularly scheduled meeting. Apparently staff had not checked with Cat Driscoll, who also couldn’t make the 8th, or with Gerri Mejia, who thought she might be out of town then for her Uncle’s funeral.
I’m actually available on the 15th & would be happy to fill in for anybody, but I’m not sure Marilyn would go for that. Hey, if we couldn’t schedule a forum, I guess it’s no surprise that they can’t schedule a Council Meeting either?
Things were left with the current schedule, but with the provision that staff would continue to seek a mutually acceptable date. I’ll let you know if I hear, & you let us all know via a comment if you find something out.
With that we moved on to Council Member remarks & the meeting gracefully was over by 10 p.m.
Like I said, brutal. We’ll see what the future holds. . .
Your comments, as always, are welcome. If you don’t find a comment box or any comments below, scroll to the top and click on the blue “Comment(s)” under the headline. Please try to use polite language and be relatively respectful. Everyone’s comments are welcome, and post instantly. Your “name” becomes public, but not your e-mail. (I just sell that to spammers to help pay off my campaign debt.) (Just kidding!)
Nov
4
Last Night’s Council Meeting: CPLA crew goes down swinging wildly
Filed Under C.P.L.A. & L.A.T.A., City Council Meetings, George Briggeman | 13 Comments
(by Dave Emerson) I didn’t make it much past the “Oral Communications” part of Monday night’s City Council meeting, but that was enough for me. Too much, actually.
The meeting began on what were probably the high notes of the evening, then went downhill from their. A simply profound invocation from outgoing Council Member Cat Driscoll, the first victim of the CPLA/LATA/Silvia-led/Briggeman-funded smear campaign our small little town’s been subjected to for the past ten weeks.
Cat graciously prayed that the Council and the community could put that vicious campaign behind them and move forward. She bemoaned the pitting of “neighbor against neighbor” and asked the Almighty for a return of grace, peace and sanity. It was heartfelt and beautiful. A prayer we would all do well to echo in our own way.
Awards
The Kims receive their award.
Then, after a brief report from the OC Human Relations people, Louis and Marie Kim were presented with their “Citizen of the Month” awards for the work done with our youth through their National Hapkido Center based in Los Alamitos. I particularly liked the five points each young member is to affirm weekly:
- I will obey my parents.
- I will do my homework.
- I will brush my teeth.
- I will wear my seat belt.
- I will be polite, sir.
I’m thinking maybe we could hire Mr. and Mrs. Kim to teach those rules to our Council and the Citizens for the Preservation of Los Alamitos. Although on a bad day I might be tempted to skip the seat belt part for some of them. (Humorous reference: Not to be taken literally, my CPLA attorney, sir. Now go brush your teeth.)
Then came the presentation of an award to the city’s Administrative Services Director, Nita McKay, for Outstanding Financial Reporting from California’s Society of Municipal Finance Officers. That’s an impressive award for a city staff member. Don’t think I’ve seen anything positive about Nita from the Sylvia’s and their gang (literally. . . er, no, Mr. Attorney, just a pun, actually. Another attempt at humor, nothing more. No intent to impugn anyone. After all, I will be polite, sir). I do believe she was brought in by the current Council majority, possibly while they were taking a break from raising our taxes, raising their pay, “taking luxurious vacations,” and riding around in town cars at taxpayer expense.
Actually, I guess I’m foreshadowing the scaled-down but turned-up Sylvias and friends show that came during that public comments time. That’s what got my blood boiling.
Oral Communications: Cypress, Gemini, & Briggeman
First we heard from the former mayor of Cypress, who seemingly hasn’t stopped showing up to complain at city council meetings since she moved into Old Town. Not exactly sure who rode her out of Cypress, but I’m thinking the CPLA must be grooming her for a run for Council.
Anyway, Ms. ex-Cypress Mayor decided to bash Gerri Mejia for “bashing” Gemini Forest Products at the last Council meeting. Funny, my memory was that she made a passing reference to Gemini in relating the very unsettling meeting George Briggeman arranged about two years ago with two brand new Council Members (Mejia and Edgar) and Lucy Serlat, the City Manager at the time, who was fired by those two Council Members plus Dean Grose shortly thereafter, allegedly for not cooperating sufficiently with Mr. Briggeman.
Now there are two accounts of that meeting that vary slightly in the details, but according to Gerri Mejia’s version, Briggeman suggested at that meeting, apparently in passing, that Gemini (his tenant) was underpaying their sales taxes, but that was to be kept confidential and not acted upon. When our now-former city manager heard that, she requested a sales tax audit of Gemini, despite being asked not to act upon the information by Mr. Briggeman. Soon thereafter Lucy Sertat was fired, over the objections of Ken Parker and Cat Driscoll. Essentially for doing her job.
That’s the version of what happened Gerri presented at the prior Council meeting. Troy Edgar saw things slightly differently, saying she should have talked with Gemini before doing the audit. That sounded to me a little like the police having a sit down with crack dealers before raiding their crack house–nothing like a heads’ up to the possibly guilty party before beginning an audit. Give ‘em a little time to get their books in order, show ‘em you care.
What I’d like to know is, what ever happened to that audit once Serlat was fired.
The interesting thing was that Gerri, anticipating that Troy would say she got it wrong, had already arranged two possible times that week for both of them to take a lie detector test. Troy was silent about that offer.
Well, that’s a summary of the two versions, as best I remember them. Please correct me, Gerri or Troy, if I got something wrong. (I’ve been told you both frequent this blog.)
So I guess Ms Cypress ex-Mayor, who’s name I can’t spell, thought that was “beating up on” Gemini, and apparently on Mr. Briggeman as well, who had been so generous to the city as to lease his land to Gemini rather than develop it. What’s interesting here is that the word on the street is that Briggeman wants to relocate Gemini to another one of his Los Alamitos properties so he can develop the current Gemini site into a trash processing/recycling center. Gee, that wouldn’t add any traffic congestion to our city, while not generating a penny of new sales tax. Wonder if that might have anything to do with Briggeman apparently throwing well over $100,000 into the current City Council race?
Actually, I think Ms. ex-Mayor may have further pried open a can of worms that needs some serious investigation. But if you, like her, think our Council is being mean to Mr. Briggeman and his tenants, I guess you should be sure to vote for Ms Poe (who took a $1,000 donation from Gemini for her campaign, as well as her share of Briggeman’s support) and Mr. Stephens (who so far hasn’t taken anything from Gemini that I know of, but has Briggeman’s backing).
Good. Let’s start off by bashing Gerri for not supporting Briggeman enough and for telling the truth. I guess that was the kickoff of the CPLA/Briggeman smear campaign against Ms. Mejia’s 2010 reelection. This time we get two years of mud instead of a little over two months? Great!
Tag Team Sylvia
Well, not forgetting that this election’s not quite over, both Sylvias appeared with written campaign statements. . . er, “oral comments,” to double the five minute per person limit and further extend the meeting.
Mrs. Sylvia went first, and believe me, it was a campaign speech. She extolled Poe and Stephens for earning the endorsement of the city employee’s union, apparently in a meeting I never got invited to. She went on and on about how wonderful and unprecedented this was. I spent eight years teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and I know a little about how a union can take over a school board, so I don’t share Carol’s enthusiasm for city employees pounding the streets in favor of Poe and Stephens. But Mayor Parker and I are already up against Briggeman’s tens of thousands, so why not throw an army of campaign workers against us too. Throw in two Council members for good measure.
Then, after some excellent remarks by J.M.Ivlar, it was Mr. Sylvia’s turn, who concocted a bizarre fantasy without a shred of evidence. First, Syliva pointed out that Mayor Parker had taken a campaign contribution from Consolidated Disposal four years ago. I’ve had no problem with that, because Parker obviously isn’t in the trash guys’ pocket, as he’s the one who consistently has wanted to put the trash contract out to bid.
But in Mr. Sylvia’s strange world, the question is, why didn’t Parker bring up his law to mandate the bidding of the 2010 contract a year or two ago? I was thinking maybe because it doesn’t go out for bidding until next year? No, it was far more nefarious than that. Turns out Parker was trying to extort tens of thousands from the trash guys, and when they didn’t pay up, Parker turned against them. And the evidence? Well. . . . gosh, I guess we never really got to that. But Sylvia says it’s so, and he was a Council Member for two decades, and he certainly wouldn’t say anything that his attorneys hadn’t proven, so I guess that’s all the evidence we need.
Well, by that time my blood was boiling, & I offered a bit of a response to Team Sylvia, as well as my outrage over their approach to this campaign. (See “Have you no decency?” and “Please be more forthright.”)
Last night’s Council Meeting shows the array of forces fighting to regain control of our City Council. Big money Briggeman and his tenants. Two current City Council Members. The City Employees Union. No wonder I sometimes feel like David fighting Goliath. This isn’t exactly the campaign I thought I was getting into.
The only responses I know of are hard work, prayer, and “people power.” Ken Parker and I need you to multiply our efforts. It still isn’t too late. Please call or e-mail voters with whom you might have influence. And please be sure to vote yourself. If you need info on your polling place and hours, or a quick summary of the candidates, check out my prior post, “How to Vote.’
Then check back here for additional election coverage later today and results hopefully Wednesday morning. (I do intend to keep this blog up and running, win or lose.)
Thanks!
Interestingly enough, the meeting was not televised live, at least not on FIOS. If somebody saw it live on Cable, please let us now with a comment below. I suspect we could have been saved a lot of grief from CPLA fans if they knew nobody was tuning in.
Well, that’s my summary, up through oral communications. I couldn’t watch the rest when I finally got home because it hadn’t been on FIOS, so feel free to tell me what I missed. I had some flyers to pass out, because I can’t afford to bring in outside contractors to do that, like Mr. Stephens.
I look forward to your comments and thoughts. Please try to be respectful and polite. Even if sometimes I don’t quite live up to my own standards. And remember to wear your seatbelt. And vote today!
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
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
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!
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
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.
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(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. 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.
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.
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.
