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Murray sees a win coming either way. But it won’t happen if Anaheim Hills understands what she has tried to do here.
Something absolutely amazing has been happening at the Anaheim City Council, last meeting and tonight: Anaheim Hills has been poor-mouthing the rest of the City — including its large non-profit sector — about its potentially losing access to money (directed through the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce) to fund its annual 4th of July fireworks event.
This event — including a parade, a 5K run, a pancake breakfast, a dog show, and more — has been going on for quite a long time. Then, the fireworks industry sponsored, and citizens passed, a measure to allow fireworks in the city (except for Anaheim Hills) to allow funding for non-profits. (Many of us raised in Orange County recall this sort of project from our youth when we would clear a vacant lot of its weeds and our parents would erect and run a booth from which fireworks were sold, after which we’d clean up.)
Part of the pitch to the voters on this measure was to give Anaheim’s non-profits a new way to raise money. But when the City put the Measure into practice, the Honda Center — technically “Anaheim Arena Management,” but essentially the owners of the Honda Center — was given the role of hosting the sole outlet to sell those fireworks and the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce was given the role of managing it. That management included setting up a complicated system wherein non-profits could receive up to 30% of the gross profits of sales if their supporters remembered to bring the proper form to that non-profit and to present it at the time of their sale; there was no list of non-profits to which people could designate 30% of their money and most people (whom I interviewed at the time) departing from that stand didn’t even know that such a designation had been possible.
That “long-standing” tradition of the City steering money to the Chamber of Commerce so that part of it would eventually help to fund the parade has been taking place for … only two years! And yet, alternative proposals — Moreno’s now-abandoned pitch from last week to allow the Anaheim Union High School District Foundation take over management and work directly with other non-profits, or just letting non-profits work directly with the city — are being attacked on the basis that they would take money away from the Anaheim Hills Fourth of July parade. (Kring’s still-active counter-proposal, to let the Anaheim Community Foundation — which BigBox in comments below calls a “slush fund” — manage it, wouldn’t pose a problem, because that’s what slush funds are for!)
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT, in the eyes of those from Anaheim Hills, that the City continue to cut the Honda Center and the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce in on the money — because it’s too late to raise money for the event at this point (because who among the 7,000 attendees would consider forking over some money to become the savior of this event popular with a largely wealthy client base?) Thus, Anaheim Hills Councilwoman Kris Murray, who will be running for a state or county legislative seat representing Anaheim Hills but not the rest of Anaheim, has ginned up a campaign howling that the City is trying to destroy the Anaheim 4th of July parade!
This must seem like a political win-win to Murray. If the Council goes along with her plan to keep control in the hands of her big and supportive contributors such as the ACOC and the Honda Center’s owners, then she saved the parade! And if they don’t go along with her, then she has a bloody shirt to wave to rally her people behind her!
The truth does not work quite as well for her, though. As I write, during public comments at the meeting where the fireworks plans is to be considered, the dishonesty and lack of transparency of this attempt to portray the Anaheim City Council as retaliating against the Anaheim Hills parade, rather than that they want to be more fair to all non-profits in the city is itself the major threat to the parade.
The campaign to arm-twist the Council to use public money — by channeling an opportunity for gain through the Chamber of Commerce that has been allied with Murray — is GOOD FOR MURRAY but BAD FOR ANAHEIM HILLS. It’s picking a fight that the residents of the Hills don’t need!
There is a kernel of truth in the complaints of Anaheim Hills residents tonight. Four months before the 4th of July event IS starting to cut it close — although I still expect that this would be a great sponsorship opportunity from some large local businesses. And so there’s a straightforward solution to the problem: the City should just vote to guarantee them the money that they need this year from the General Fund, if they cannot find private sponsorship for the parade. (If this can’t be done at this meeting, then call a special meeting!) Next year, they can go back to fundraising for the parade — as they’ve done for every year of its history but two — without a demand that the city not change from an unfair system. Everyone’s satisfied — the parade continues, and the system that is unfair to the non-profits on the flatlands gets fixed.
You can tell that Kris Murray is involved in this fake fight — if it’s not obvious — because her fingerprints are all over it. The head of the Anaheim Hills Neighborhood Association, who made a good case for the importance of the parade to the Hills (and thus to the city of which they are a part), made a point of saying that no public funds would be expended on the parade. Well, using public power to steer profits towards one or another entity IS A DE FACTO USE OF PUBLIC MONEY! That’s the sort of misleading argument that Murray tends to make.
Also, another speaker from Anaheim Hills, Trevor O’Neil, reported the candidate being groomed to run for District 6 next year) quoted a study in opposition of the “many small stands” idea saying that a city can only sustain one fireworks stand for ever 10,000 residents. A fake-sounding study that no one gets to see — another Murray specialty! (This is an argument that she used to push for the need to spend oodles on keeping the Angels, estimating ancillary profits to the city based on a study done of Houston where the stadium is something like ten miles away from the next closest city!) Look, Anaheim is not an island — people in adjoining cities are RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET and also come into Anaheim to buy fireworks — so they should get counted as potential customers too. Was the study based on similarly situated cities? O’Neil does have the grace to note that only HALF of the amount that had been targeted to go to the City’s non-profits actually GOT to them.
(Let’s see that study!)
I’m told by Brian Chuchua that in the past non-profits have made $30,000-$90,000 on their fireworks stands. (Probably that’s in today’s dollars; if not, it’s all the more impressive.) Non-profits at public comments today talked about getting $250 to $600 from the largesse of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce’s monies. That’s not fair, however Councilwoman Murray wants to spin it for her private political advantage.
UPDATE 3/8, 3:30 p.m.
Murray replies — deceptively!
Your Voices Were Heard
Dear Friends,I want to personally thank all of the residents, groups and families who contacted City Hall in recent days to share your support for Anaheim’s Annual July 4th Celebration – and most especially for maintaining the city’s current guaranteed funding stream for this wonderful community program. Unfortunately, we were not successful in our efforts, but your voices were heard.
Due to the outpouring of messages, I am confident we will be able to come together and find alternative funding options. I am committed to this action and have already begun preliminary talks with the Anaheim Hills Community Council, who have already started a GO FUND ME campaign online, as well as Anaheim businesses and several other organizations willing to assist. I look forward to a successful outcome and encourage you to contact me with ideas and thoughts on the matter.While I am confident that we will come together as a community to protect our patriotic fireworks program and festivities on July 4th, I am deeply disappointed that the final decision last night has consequences for many of our student groups, non-profit organizations, charities and churches across our city. Sadly, the new system will disenfranchise nearly 100 such groups from enjoying this unique fundraising opportunity.
The previous system allowed every non-profit in the City an opportunity to participate at no cost. The new system will be limited to 16 total groups and half of those will be determined by a lottery. All of the groups selected will be responsible for the costs and liability of operating a fireworks stand so many will be limited simply by not having those resources. Full inclusion and equity is something we should always strive for in programs sponsored by the City. I am a strong believer that we should not pit organizations against each other or exclude groups because they are smaller or less established. With that in mind, I would like to remind residents that my office has consistently given sports and events tickets to Anaheim groups who request them. I will continue to do so and ask that you remind groups you may be affiliated with to send requests throughout the year so that we may support groups throughout Anaheim in a fair and equitable manner.
Although I am the resident council member in District 6, I am committed to working on behalf of all of Anaheim to ensure equity and fairness.
I’ll have an analysis of this deceptive response up later tonight. Lies will be highlighted in hot pink and numbered. Have at it before then, if you’d like!
Update, 3/10, noon
I’m a day late on this — I don’t follow Tom Tait’s Facebook page, but a friend alerted me to it — but Tait has a statement that might be considered in part a response to Murray’s above. Here it is:
I am pleased to announce that on Tuesday the Anaheim City Council passed a new plan that will fairly and equitably disburse proceeds from firework sales throughout our city. This plan will dramatically increase the amount of money that will go directly to all eight Anaheim public high schools and eight non profits, the latter be chosen by a lottery. This plan closely models what nine other Orange County cities use.
The previous plan, a pilot program (that the OC Register concluded as a failure) was implemented in 2015, giving the lion’s share of all proceeds from firework sales to support the festivities that were run by the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, leaving a minimal amount to schools and nonprofits.
There has been much politically motivated misinformation about me somehow wanting to cancel the Anaheim Hills 4th of July celebration. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I have supported it both personally and as an elected official for many years, including hosting a fundraiser at our home.
I have asked the leadership of the Anaheim Hills Community Council to meet with me and bring their financial statements, and if there is a shortfall, rest assured, I will do everything to ensure that the 4th of July celebration, a 30 year tradition, will continue to serve the community through business, volunteer and city support. If you have any questions, please call me at (714)765-5247 or email me at ttait@anaheim.net.
Please see the city’s official press release.
I’ll add just one thought to that:
Nothing necessarily prevents groups of non-profits from joining together in the lottery system to submit joint bids, or from contracting to after bids are awarded. In fact, if I were with an eligible Anaheim non-profit, that’s exactly what I’d do: get together with other non-profits and submit multiple bids with the agreement that if any one of them is selected, all of the groups will cooperate in running it and will share in the profits. In fact, the city should consider offering 8 “slates” for smaller groups to join, which would give the major non-profits a better chance to win a spot. (The City should ensure, though, that if a member of one “slate” in the lottery, the slate only gets that ONE spot.) Conceivably, the placement of ALL interested non-profits onto slates could even be negotiated to the point where it is no longer even necessary to HOLD a lottery at all — and everyone wins!
OJB may just try to broker such deals itself, if the City won’t do it!
The whole thing sounds like entertainment welfare for comparatively rich people in Anaheim Hills – since NONE of the revenue is coming from there.
However, more to the point: let’s see some agreement between the City and ANYBODY that requires revenue be directed to a fireworks show in District 6.
The fact that Cunningham is pimping this but can’t reference any legal obligation by the City to fund anything speaks volumes.
I would suppose Murray shook down the Honda Center to kick in money from their ill-gotten monopoly to help finance the Chamber’s completely unnecessary participation in this whole fiasco.
Oh, yeah — I forgot to mention the other reason that you know that Murray is behind this political stunt: the Cunningham News Service is all over it. Jubal and Murray Antoinette have been like two heads coming out of the same torso, telling the same story, before and after each Council meeting for at least a couple of months now.
Has Matt actually claimed that the City has a legal obligation to continue this program? That’s deliciously loony, if so. If so, then I hope that Kris repeats that fake assertion for the cameras!
I’m surprised Matt isn’t outside yelling at kids, telling them to get off his lawn.
Cunningham doesn’t say there’s a legal requirement. But he says the City decision would deprive the Hills of their (subsidized – bad, bad conservative) fireworks show. A typical Jerbal half-truth.
But he fails to mention that was never any part of any agreement when the City gave the Honda Center managers a stupid, unnecessary monopoly (bad, bad conservative) on fireworks sale as a “pilot program” (give it a fair chance, then fix it if it doesn’t work!).
Well, its getting fixed and that isn’t sitting well with the Kleptocracy.®
i.e. “intellectually dishonest.” No, wait. Just dishonest.
Yeah. When I was first a baby blogger, nine years ago, I started to notice him always saying that, “Intellectually dishonest,” and I called him on it; “How is that different from dishonest?”
And his answer was so convoluted and nonsensical that I retained my suspicion: It’s just how you say “dishonest” when you wanna sound intellectual.
No, it’s how you say “dishonest” when you don’t have the courage to come out and “you’re a liar.”
Wait a minute . . . Public entitlements are . . . Bad?
Even for rich white people?!
What a disgrace. The really sad part? There’s absolutely no real issue about getting this funded. Just requires a little work from Kris Murray, or even Cunningham, to get it funded.
But they’d rather complain. About their government handout. And patriotism.
Hypocrites. Shameless hypocrites.
What? Patriotism? (I left early.)
So if the taxpayers don’t pay for their little fireworks exhibition, the taxpayers are unpatriotic? WHY DO YOU HATE AMERICA???
Maybe, just maybe, if Kris Murray hadn’t been so busy burning bridges and sucking up PUBLIC MONEY and GIFTING IT to the Chamber of Commerce over the last four years, this wouldn’t be an issue.
Maybe.
Yeah, that should have been an explicit part of my thesis above.
It’s not good when the majority of the Council thinks that Murray is trying to rip them off.
By the way, I note (as debate has begun) that Mayor Tait’s comments somewhat track what I’ve written. I haven’t spoken to him, Mishal, or any intermediary (I don’t think that Brian and Cynthia count as such here) about this issue this year, which is when what Tait delicately declines to identify as Murray campaign to defame the Council began.
It’s just that if you look at this situation fairly, you can’t see it other than one way. Anaheim Hills people — if this doesn’t pass, it’s due to Murray’s hijacking your beloved event for her own political gain.
Huh — O’Neil says that the budget for the program goes to the “Community Council,” which in turn has hired the Chamber (for what he guesses is $10,000) to staff it year-round. He doesn’t know the exact amount.
Tait proposes that schools and non-profits can operate one of 16 “safe and sane” fireworks stands will be allowed to operate it. Eight of them will go to the high schools; eight to other non-profits: civic organizations, youth sports organizations, etc. He keeps citing the Register’s editorial pointing out what a miniscule amount has gone to the charities.
Kring explains that, when she was chair of the Anaheim Community Council, she could not raise the money for the fireworks. (That either says something about the program or about Kring.)
Kring wants to have the Anaheim Foundation be the middleman.
Murray says that the high schools made $17,000. She also says that 100 groups “participated” last year — one would like to see that spreadsheet!
She says that Arena Management pays $40,000.
Murray: “In six years on the Council, I’ve never received as many communications as I have over this.” Well, that’s no surprise: she beat the bushes to drum them up! And that high response rate was based on her fake call that the Anaheim Hills parade was at danger!
She adds: “We are not six districts, we are one city. Everyone has access to this parade.” Yeah, well thanks to Murray in particular, they can have their own fireworks! “There is no limit to how much the non-profits can raise.”
Examples of how much earned:
Murray is fighting hard for her constituents — meaning the Anaheim Chamber of Commernce and the owners of the Honda Center!
Greg Garcia says that the City HAS been funding this effort in the past — to the tune of $5000, $7500, and more recently $10,000 (last year asked to be in-kind) — after all! (Sorry, Anaheim Hills Neighborhood Association guy!) Tait says, “talk to me, we’ll make sure that you get at least $20,000.”
Faessel raises a point worth considering: Now, he says, only 16 of the 100 groups that received some money last year would get money, and the other 80 or so would be shut out. Tait says: Yeah, but the pie will be bigger now. Most got only only $200 ro $500.
(Hey, here’s an idea: non-profits can band together to submit joint bids, with the money to be apportioned as they wish, for example in proportion to “sweat equity” each group provides! Any reason that that can’t happen?)
Vanderbilt notes that the pitch for Measure E, which approved the fireworks, was that community groups would get about $350,000 per year. (!) He drily notes that that has not been happening under the present system.
Murray does not see how the non-profits can possibly make as much money unless they give the Honda Center’s owners and her precious Anaheim Chamber of Commerce a big cut! It’s insane!
Kris Murray cannot stop interrupting out of turn to save her political career. The rules do not apply to her.
She and Kring complain about how long the meetings go, and I think that if you counted up the minutes those two talk more than the other four non-Mayor Councilmembers combined — and certainly interrupt far more.
Tait finally notes that Murray is the one driving the letter campaign — and that it is based on lies. Moreno notes that he was at an event last night that an Anaheim Hills rep falsely told people that HE had voted to end the parade!
Anaheim Hills residents, do you want to be represented by the likes of this, after having had much time represented by honest people like Tait and Vanderbilt? Do you PREFER being represented by a brazen liar?
Write the City Council and let them know!
Moreno mentions the problem of the reactions to fireworks in the flatlands by veterans and family pets. Good for him — maybe Measure E wasn’t entirely well thought out?
He asks whether a Council member brought this up initially, or whether it was the Charter Review commission? It was the Charter Commission. And who chaired the Charter Commission? IT WAS ANAHEIM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HEAD TODD AMENT — WHOSE ORGANIZATION THEN PROFITED FROM IT!
Murray says that she wants the City to commit to giving $40,000 to the Anaheim Hills 4th of July organization every year. Tait says that the Council can’t vote on that. She’s also convinced that the smaller pie that someone else has eaten most of will provide more food.
Moreno tells Murray to bring back a proposal to fund the 4th of July proposal directly; he’s favorably inclined.
Vanderbilt says his office will give the comp tickets they get from the Angels etc., valued at $1000 each (for each pack of 4), who don’t win the lottery.
It is cynically hilarious to see the factions squabbling over small monetary differences, and missing the BIG CON- While all other charity beneficiaries have to “roll the dice” with the Arena operator and hope their flyers will show up to be counted at the checkout, NEITHER the Hills Fireworks NOR the “Anaheim Community Foundation” (i.e. Slush fund for the CITY INSIDERS favorite groups – go read its website) have to lift a SINGLE FINGER or print a SINGLE FLYER, much less hope they’ll be collected – they are GUARNTEED a FIXED RAKE OFF of the pot with NO EFFORT WHATSOEVER! You want fairness? Let’s see the Hills Fireworks supporters and ACF Groups out there passing out FLYERS, for a LEVEL PLAYING FIELD ! But that will never happen in Anaheim !
$40,000 for Girl Scouts and empowering career choice for young women.
Nope. We want fireworks, because we want fireworks.
Uh, I don’t think I missed that point, did I? But you said it well.
I don’t think that there will be flyers anymore.
So what happened with this in the end. Did they give the $$$$ to the high school group?
Thats a terrible move, if so. The schools are in terrible shape.
I’m not clear on your question. Which high school group?
I’m also not clear on why, if “the schools are in terrible shape,” you think that it would be “a terrible move” to give them money.
Once you clarify your question I can (probably) answer it.
And once again it is missed ENTiRELY that there has NEVER been an issue with the POINT OF SALE of fireworks, no matter who is selling them they have to go through the Fire Department to get a permit, and that permit fee funds the Fire Dept’s time for review…in short, there was NO public interest in creating the original monopoly for the Anaheim Arena Management…except right around this time they took one for the team and funded improvements required by an ADA lawsuit that I understand Anaheim should have shouldered more of the cost for. But that is just Cynthia being politically motivated and misinformed.
No, the REAL problem is the use of ILLEGAL fireworks, when City Council was TOLD by the Fire Cheif before implementing this program that EVERY CA city that brings back “safe and sane”(which are actually neither) sees an uptick in ILLEGAL fireworks, as the use is masked by the legal stuff. But our elected leaders pushed forward anyway. Now add the complete lack of enforcement of the laws limiting them to JULY 4th. In my area (Colony-Central Anaheim) the KA-BOOM begins in MAY, and often the little sweet darlings wait until 1 or 2 am to light them up, so this is not a celebration of America’s freedom from tyrannical subsidy and/or taxes to benefit the British tea industry. This is useless punks with nothing better to do at 1 am than interrupt the sleep of otherwise peaceful neighbors who have to be at work in the morning. This continues from May to August in my area. EVERY NIGHT. And the entire FIRST WEEK of July is horrifying, with the crescendo on the 4th so bad we cannot go to the fireworks display at Peralta Park, because someone has to be home to drug the dogs. Keep in mind these are dogs who have spent their entire lives beneath the nightly BOOM of Disney’s airborne carcinogen festival with the neighborhood “bonus” pyrotechnics increasing from May to August, so they are not exactly wimpy Corgis. But the warzone we endure beginning days ahead of the holiday and maxing out on the 4th is beyond description, and at some point, their poor little heads just explode in panic (thankfully I think we have a handle now on the indoor pee.)
So instead of limiting the POINT OF SALE I say let anyone who can get a permit cleared by the Fire Dept set up a stand, Hell put them on your front lawn I don’t care. But limit the POINT OF USE to defined locations like the school parking lots, let people buy a space like a swap meet, and then hire outside contractors to let the hounds of enforcement Hell patrol our neighborhoods, and descend upon violators of the law, with fines punitive enough to act as FUNDING for the outside hired staff, and deterrent when word gets out that bottle rocket and M-80 (sometimes combined, always a pleasure) will set you back $1,000.
But then, I am not in charge of anything and nobody who is in charge listens to me so what is the point? Please, feel free to let your charities and schools make a buck on the misery of my family, I’m not bitter at all, really. And let’s not get into the whole Veterans and PTSD thing. Kindness my ass. This holiday has gotten out of hand, and there was NO organic demand from constituents, it was manufactured by TNT who bought off the head of the Charter Review committee who conveniently fronted the campaign for the Measure and conveniently WAS paid by Anaheim Arena Management. How is this NOT fraud and how was that NOT a franchise that was not set up as one?
Nope, I have no opinion on this at all. Carry on.