Business Partner of Developer Tied to Alvarez Flap Pumped $5,000 into DPOC Chair Barbaro’s ‘Victory Fund’

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MONEY TALKS: According to campaign finance reports available online at the Federal Election
Commission website, the “Orange County Victory Fund,” an independent committee controlled by Frank Barbaro, Chair of the Orange County Democratic Party, received a hefty $5,000 contribution from Allan Fainbarg of S&A Properties, Irving Chase’s business partner and father-in-law.

 

I’m not a fan of Claudia Alvarez, but I’ve been of the opinion the only reason why her flippant remarks about Adolph Hitler at a recent Santa Ana City Council meeting got her into hot water has to do with the fact she committed an unpardonable sin: she offended a rich white man who is politically-connected.

I mean, I’ve personally witnessed Alvarez act like a total jerk at prior meetings of that body. One time, she began whispering loudly to a colleague while a speaker during public comments was criticizing city cops for their rough treatment of people who participated in a non-violent march against police brutality.

Did anybody on the council dais, like Mayor Miguel Pulido, who’s been hizzoner practically forever, raise even so much as a peep to condemn Alvarez for behaving so rudely? No. But then most persons speaking at the podium the night I was present were working-class Mexicans. So who cares about them?

And now that Frank Barbaro, Chair of the Orange County Democratic Party, has decided to throw his hat into the ring and join along with the chorus of other loudmouths bashing Alvarez, his involvement in this circus proves my suspicions were correct way beyond my wildest expectations.

In an article that appeared in the Orange County Register last year entitled, “Political fund spends thousands for Santa Ana mayor,” it reported that Barbaro controls the “Orange County Victory Fund,” an independent committee created specifically to funnel cash to Democratic party candidates of his preference.

According to campaign finance reports available online at the Federal Election Commission website, on October 4, 2010, Barbaro’s “Victory Fund” received a hefty $5,000 contribution from Allan Fainbarg of S&A Properties, Irving Chase’s business partner and father-in-law. Small world, isn’t it?

In fact, a thorough search of the FEC database shows that Fainbarg himself has given Democratic party candidates–everyone from Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez to Senator Barbara Boxer–literally thousands of dollars over the years. The records make it clear the old guy has got a lot of chump change to spread around.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Alvarez’s remarks were inappropriate. But let’s face it: the only reason why she’s still being pilloried over them is because she pissed off a rich white man who is the business partner and son-in-law of another rich white man who tosses money at politicians the same way a farmer throws slop to pigs.

And now all the friends and wannabe friends of these politically-connected rich white men are strutting about the streets of Orange County like oversexed peacocks fluttering their plumage almost as if they were performing some kind of bizarre ritual to determine who amongst them is the most über anti-Alvarez.

I feel sorry for the working-class Mexicans who make up a majority of people living in Santa Ana because this farce won’t do a thing to improve the quality of their lives. But then they aren’t rich white men. So who cares about them? The politicians in the pockets of Fainbarg and Chase don’t, that’s for sure.


About Duane Roberts