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(1) The Content of His Character
In my inbox from Harley Rouda, 6:02 p.m. Feb. 28:
It’s how the civil rights movement started. It’s how we fought for clean air and water. And it’s how the students in Parkland, Florida are taking on the NRA.
People power.
We’re building this campaign in backyards and living rooms, in coffee shops and union halls. We’re going to change the world, neighbor to neighbor, one conversation and one vote at a time.
Chip in $8 and help us grow our grassroots movement to take back Congress.
Holy moley, what khutzpah! Yeah, sure, it’s just like Dr. King in Montgomery — and it’s even more similar, given the seeding by PR professionals, to how the Trump campaign started. It is probably no coincidence that — less than six hours after Rouda asserted that his drive to win the CA-48 nomination despite being rejected by CDP delegates was in the spirit and model of the Civil Right Movement (!!!), “so give him $8” — Black History Month suddenly ended.
(2) Why, Why, WHY DId Keirstead Meet With Lenore “Not-Yet-Suspended” Albert
Rouda’s nemesis Hans Keirstead is the CDP-endorsed candidate in CA-48, so I am not supposed to endorse anyone else in this race nor derogate him as a candidate. I believe that I can still report facts, though, and I’d love to see either the local or state party try to tell me otherwise. So: I have asked literally a half a dozen people to ask Keirstead to get in touch with me to explain why he and his Political Director Anita Narayana met with not-yet-suspended attorney Lenore Albert-Sheridan at a Starbucks in Huntington Beach last month.
What common interest were they pursuing? They won’t say. So just to remind Keirstead of the continuing costs of leaving this rendezvous unexplained: Lenore apparently decided to step in and represent the former wife of Victor Valladares in a custody hearing this morning, reportedly filing a 67-page brief (!) that I just cannot wait to have in my hands.
A reminder: anonymous character assassins at Liberal OC and it’s apparent natural ally — a white-power site in Huntington Beach that hates Victor — have been trying to push a story claiming (without a shred of actual evidence and with no one willing to complain to police under their real name) a story implicating Victor as a sex criminal. They even have a tape, they say implausibly. These same anonymous cowards have repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to seed their defamation of Victor on this blog — leading to complaints that we are “censoring” them — AND recently tried to push the local Democratic Party to summarily cut all of its ties with Victor on this basis. (That hasn’t happened. Due process, you know.)
Child custody disputes are horrible — the bogus charges that Darrell Issa dreamed up against Douglas Applegate in 2016, which Mike Levin’s supporters have embraced so tightly that Applegate’s wife has had to publicly come forward to defend her ex-husband and scold them for lying, are another example of their corrosiveness — and it’s no surprise that a hyena like Lenore would be attracted to this one. The question is whether Hans wants to leave the impression that — by keeping his association with Lenore as she attacks Rouda supporter Victor — he is having Lenore and her de facto allies in the white power movement do his dirty work.
Call me, Hans! My number is in my listing in the California Bar Attorneys list — and you can look up Lenore while you’re there!
(3) My Compliments to Andy Thorburn, Gil Cisneros, and Mai-Khanh Tran in CA-39
Yesterday, Herbert Lee joined Suzy Park Leggett as the only two people — both of them Democrats — to have filed their Declarations of Candidacy in the race to replace Ed Royce. (Note: I’ve only checked the OC ROV so far in writing this.)
I’ve been hard in the past on deci-billionaires Andy Thorburn and Gil Cisneros and on Dr. Mai Khanh Tran for what I expected would be their bigfooting into the race — getting in quickly and creating a “fact on the ground” around which others would have to navigate — despite each of them having plentiful other and better options to run elsewhere, promising not to support them (or anyone else) at all if they did so. (There’s no real need — remember, because Royce is still eligible to run but won’t, filing ends on March 14 rather then March 9. One can decide to jump in after almost every other race has closed.)
Well, I doubt that it had much to do with me — maybe with other Democrats — but all three of the above wealthy candidates have shown unexpected and admirable restraint. They all made it through February without making an unbreakable commitment to be on the ballot and split the Democratic vote — likely leading to an R-on-R (or an R-on-NPP) runoff. I recognize this, I admire it, and I thank them for it.
(4) Brian Forde Pays His Fee in CA-45
Only Mimi Walters and Katie Porter have filed their candidacy in this race. (Porter was what game theorists call a “defector.” No thanks due to her. Dave Min hasn’t even yet taken out papers!) Brian Forde and Kia Hamadanchy are the other Democratic competitors — and this is an advance on Forde’s part. If one of them drops out, I honestly think that the other might be able to ride the “disgusted with the UCI professors” vote to victory.
(5) Nothing Much Happened in CA-46
An NPP named Will Johnson has paid his fee. splitting the NPP vote with Ed Rushman.
(6) Doug Applegate on the OCROV Board in CA-49
Applegate doesn’t have to file with the OCROV, being a San Diegan, but it would be foolish not to and he ain’t no fool.
(7) Democrat Melissa Fazli Challenges Greg Fritchle in AD-55
Gregg Fritchle told me at the convention that he will not step aside for Melissa Fazli, as he doesn’t see her as more likely to win than he is. (We’ll see what happens if one of the wealthy CA-39 candidates switches to this race!) Fazli has now paid her fee, but. since Fritchle won at the preendossment meeting, party delegates cannot support her without the threat of losing their positions. Republican Scott Lebda has also paid his fee for the race.
More as it develops!
(copied over from another thread to this more appropriate one)
Has the “video” been given to law enforcement? That is the most urgent.
Or are these men actually passing around an alleged recording of a sexual assault but not reporting it?
If so why would they circulate evidence of a violent crime but not turn the evidence that they have in their possession over to the proper authorities?
Is that with holding of evidence also considered a crime?
Why is anyone besides a sex crime detective or prosecutor watching recorded evidence of a woman that they believe is being sexually brutalized?
How is that aiding the victim or the court? It seems exploitative and an obstruction to justice.
Is this how substantiation of an alleged criminal sexual assault on a woman in Huntington Beach should be handled? Whether a neighbor, sister, mother, daughter, wife, friend or stranger no one attacked in any city should be subjected to any further victimization. They deserve an ethical, respectful, compassionate, dignified and circumspect investigation and carriage of justice by trained professionals.
Friday’s update of Thursday’s findings:
(1) Young Kim has paid and filed in CA-39.
(2) John Graham, an NPP, has filed in CA-45. So I guess that this is the guy that we’re worried about will take the second spot, edging out the top vote-getting Democrat. It’s a theoretical worry — but as worries go, it’s pretty theoretical. It’s not like Greg Raths getting into the race (and, in fact, even if Raths now got in Graham would be likelier to take votes away from him than from anyone else.)
(3) Dave Min paid his filing fee yesterday, but has not yet filed his declaration of candidacy in CA-45. Maybe he just really likes visiting the ROV office on as many days as possible.
(4) Lou Correa filed his declaration of candidacy in CA-46. I guess that Chevron finally granted him the green light. (Note: this is not a forbidden criticism of Lou! Given the support that he has gotten from corporate interests, I’m simply recognizing his success!)
(5) Harley Rouda has now paid his fees, but no Declaration of Candidacy as of yet.
(6) Did I mention yesterday that Democrat Deanie Schaarsmith entered the race yesterday, raising the total number of candidates in CA-45 to 14? No? Well, she did and it did. She paid her fee, too.
(7) Rachel Payne, Democrat in CA-45, also paid her fees. NO DEMOCRAT has as yet filed a Declaration of Candidacy. Only Dana Rohrabacher has done so. I’m going to declare an amnesty on people who want to file, where the first one to file automatically loses the OJB endorsement — you’ve all demonstrated admirable restraint this long.
(8) Mike Levin filed his Declaration of Candidacy in CA-49 — so I guess that he’s not going to run for Supervisor after all. (That’s a joke, parodying Chumley on Doug Applegate, whose speculation on Applegate switching races was also a joke — specifically a farce.)
(9) Tom Umberg, whose being shut out of the special election runoff to replace Lou Correa on the Board of Supervisors (a seat won by Janet Nguyen in “The Battle of the Nguyens”) marked my return to OC politics from my years of travel abroad, is taking up arms against Janet for her Supervisorial seat in SD-34. I’m for the silver-tongued blind Filipino Berniecrat Jestin Samson, who would probably do just as well and has less baggage.
“Lenore apparently decided to step in and represent the former wife of Victor Valladares in a custody hearing this morning, reportedly filing a 67-page brief (!) that I just cannot wait to have in my hands.”
Victor prevailed yesterday and got a lot more custody – another Lenore Albert fail and all for the best. She was lying about the length of the brief btw, it’s only 12 pages. (It sounds like he could do better with not pestering his kids with questions about what happens with their mom.)
And yeah, it’s impossible not to conclude that the notorious video is the sick fantasy/invention of Dan Chmielewski’s anonymous brood. THERE IS NO “RAPE VIDEO.” What a bunch of evil perverts. Good on the DPOC for ignoring all their e-mails and blog comments.
Some updates based on communications with Victor this morning:
(1) Contrary to Victor’s expectations, which had led him to retain his own lawyer, Lenore DID NOT show up to the hearing. So that was inaccurate — but, far from being defamatory, was based on my presumption that if you file a brief for a hearing and serve the counterparty then you DO intend to attend the hearing rather than letting the person whom you represented in that act go in on their own, because that’s what my experience of the practice of law leads me to expect. Obviously, it may differ from Lenore’s impression of a counsel’s duties. So, yes, I regret giving her the level of “benefit of the doubt” credit that I would give to pretty much any other lawyer. She’s welcome to post her explanation here for why she filed and served a document for what it looks like was an unrepresented party, rather than sending them to the self-help legal clinic.)
(2) The only non-family member with Victor’s ex-wife was a woman named Gracie whom he says is associated with the white-power “Proud Boys” gang. So maybe Lenore’s absence wasn’t that much missed after all.
(3) Lenore DID submit the Opposition (its technically correct term), which was 12 pages. A communication from Victor’s ex-wife explains that the filed 12-page Opposition was culled from a 67-page report on him. So I don’t think that Lenore (or anyone) lied about it’s length; Victor was told that it was 67 pages and — reasonably unwilling to open a document that for all he knew would be booby-trapped, until instructed to do so by his lawyer — passed that information to me. His ex-wife may not have known which would be filed.
(4) The Opposition contained a Declaration nominally taken from Victor’s 7-year-old son that I will never, ever, print here because the fact that the responses it contains were even SOLICITED from the young child makes me absolutely sick and I will not compound the damage.
(5) Lenore has sent me a demand letter saying that this post defames her and must be modified or taken down. I am composing a reply, in part explaining what defamation is and ain’t. Accusing me of somehow conspiring with George Olivo to have him throw an ashtray (or whatever it allegedly was) at her head is, if false — and it sure is false, which is a necessary element of defamation — defamatory. Falsely stating that Victor was captured raping his ex-wife (or whatever the anonymous character assassins said on Chumley’s blog) is DEFINITELY defamatory. Everything that I have presented here ain’t.
(6) The person pretending to be Paul Lucas writing under his supposed pseudonym (converted to include the name “Paul”) wrote most of the DPOC Executive Committee, the CDP Officers, and various others (including campaigns) to tout these charges — EXPLICITLY EXCLUDING me and Vern from the recipient list. (I only found out about it from Victor this morning.) I suppose that that slick move was just in keeping with the anonymous coward’s creed.
(7) I’m not permitted to write about things confined to the DPOC Executive Committee and whoever has business with them, but I think that I can say that the anonymous coward Lucas-pretender claimed that his email was not at all ignored — who (trustworthy) knows? (This is the one thing the pustule has said that I believe.) I’ll add that, even in the face of extortion if she didn’t immediately purge Victor from the party, DPOC Chair Fran Sdao kept her cool and didn’t pull any trigger. That can’t have been easy — she has tried to avoid the blog fighting, so dealing with this level of filth is new to her — and she deserves great credit for doing so.
(8) The fact that the purported video wasn’t even presented or mentioned to the court at this moment when Victor prevailed on the motion he brought forth last December strongly suggests that this rumor was a conspiracy between Victor’s ex and the White Power Victor-haters to affect a child custody suit — and was a tasteless and actionable bluff. Nevertheless, we can expect continued attacks on HB’s leading Latino activist from the White Power crowd in HB and beyond based on its supposed existence. It’s not going to play over here; I hope that people will ask Chumley (Dan C., for those just visiting) whether he will continue to give it oxygen — and, if so, WHY?
(9) Lots and lots of people appear to have received this scurrilous and false attack on Victor and, by extension, the Democratic Party. (I received a copy from Brian Chuchua, for example.) EVERYONE SHOULD IGNORE IT. It’s false, it’s a nasty libel by racist cowardly anonymous haters, and it doesn’t belong in OC’s political environment. So please — and this plea goes out to everyone including Chmielewski — spread the word around: no real story here!
Oh – I don’t think you had mentioned yet, so maybe you hadn’t heard?
Lenore is running for DA as well!
(I know, you gotta laugh to not cry…)
Who, or what is Lenore? I don’t want to sound judgmental, but she sounds, um, like a nut.
Yeah, it’s hard to get her full nuttiness across. It’s probably worth its own story. She has been a really bad lawyer but a great self-promoter, and has recently wormed her way into the Democratic Party, impressing guys like Dan Chmielewski and helping with any dirty work that needs to be done.
You see it sometimes, and try to take the lesson to heart yourself: UNSHAKABLE CONFIDENCE can get you pretty far!
You gotta read my posts, Vern — she’s taken initial steps to run for OCDA, AND for AD-72, AND for Superior Court Judge against that judge who showed discretionary mercy in sentencing some young guy who committed some sex crime against an infant. (I don’t recall the details, but I do vaguely recall that the OC Bar defended his action as within bounds.)
Her running just makes things harder for Murdock and for Vellakkatel, an LA County prosecutor whom Muhammed Aly is touting. (I’m unconvinced that he has a better shot than Murdock.) So objectively she’s doing a favor for Racky and Spitzer — the only question is whether this is simply a gratuitous quid, or whether it is pro quo.
the plot thickens:
https://www.ocregister.com/2018/03/03/former-spitzer-aide-who-got-150k-settlement-from-o-c-sues-ex-boss-again-this-time-for-defamation/
Check out who her lawyer is,, Paul. I haven’t checked myself, but I’ve heard one hell of a rumor….
Greg, is there any way to obtain the ip address of that email that went out? Also, with the Irvine Troll enabling this kind of slander, can he be held liable?
Those pieces of shit LONG AGO figured out how to change to random IP addresses. What you think they’d have the courage to even RISK people knowing who they are?
youre right. what was I thinking?
Maybe for good measure we could cross check the IP address of epting public info request for employment applications with this email slandering victor?
I can’t comment on that, Paul. Or at least prudence advises against it.
Would you please repost the comment that was accidently put in the wrong spot here? Thank you either way. It was in response to a really crude comment on a different thread.
After seeing one of the men who has been front and center pushing the narrative that they really do care so much about women “like” (since removed his endorsement) a comment that stated Gina was “too ugly” to claim sexual harassment and all the ongoing personal comments about her eyes, accessories, hair etc. Oh! And one little gem is that she is the “kind of person who commits suicide”. It is just ever more obvious who they really are and what they are really all about.
If this man is not “liking” horrible facebook posts anonymously, it would be okay if you named him here. Otherwise I’ll just think it’s Chmielewski or Epting or Johnson.
That last comment of yours, I think I can find it and restore it; I think Greg mistakenly thought you were blaming all the ugliness on him and me – you did say something like “a couple of dirty old men” but *I* was pretty sure you were referring to the anonymous sex-obsessed jackals who harass us. (I don’t think me and Greg are dirty old men.)
You are correct. It was their ugliness. Specifically the really shameful, hurtful comments they were making while allegedly “defending” women.
Restored, and in response to an obscene comment from “OC DEM” that we eventually deleted:
That’ll do pig.
Posted February 23, 2018 at 11:29 AM
If you truly believe that a woman was sexually assaulted and choose to make such a rude, casually cruel and vulgar comment as the one made above on 2/12 then you are sub human.
There are a couple of despicable, perverted, old men on social media that are making the most ignorant, offensive, callous and degrading comments about women who feel that they have suffered abuse.
If a crime has been committed that is a police matter. Let law enforcement do their job.
The nature and context of these disgusting, insensitive remarks show that these gross old men do not care at all about the alleged victims and have no respect for women overall.
This is about lashing out at their male enemies. NOT advocating for women in any way.
Is there anything grosser than appropriating a vulnerable, traumatized stranger’s nightmare to exploit for one’s own petty game of revenge against another?
Women will be afraid to come forward for fear of this kind of repeated degradation and embarrassment. It’s so humiliating and further victimizes. And it is exactly one of the top reasons why women say that they remain silent. This is being done in a lascivious, mean spirited and self serving manner. Often for political reasons. And due to the lewd nature of the language utilized it also appears to titillate these concupiscent old guys. SO DISGUSTING
Fine. We put up with enough vicious fecal splatter here that occasionally the towel of sanity may wipe out some of the good with the bad.
It was Joseph Devore. Rick Cram. A woman and some other guy who liked the comment about Gina being “too ugly to claim sexual harassment” Probably deleted by now but was up for plenty of time for folks to catch it.
In addition to this type of healthy, constructive, grown up, political discourse about a local mother on a school board there was some bonus advice for women in general. About staying home to raise your kids. How to be the “right” kind of strong woman. All from men. All in earnest. All hilarious.
Ugh. A couple of silly HB bros? I don’t think they could be “OC DEM” and friends, who seem to know so much about county politics and Democrat politics but are also gross, cruel and illiterate.
Actually I don’t know Rick Cram, who’s that? Maybe he has me blocked.
Don’t know Rick either. Don’t know many of those halfwits aside from witnessing them act like total embarrassments. But indubitably some of the aforementioned detestable on here, on there and everywhere are one and the same.
And certainly they have turned that recording of multiple felonies over to the police by now, right?