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Well, this takes Mayor Harry Sidhu’s silencing of the Latino Council minority to a whole new level – in the televised version of the Thursday March 26 Emergency Looting Meeting (in which the majority drained $6.5 million from Anaheim’s dwindling reserves for “emergency” marketing of Disney and the resort district), dissenting Councilman Jose Moreno‘s concluding comments were abruptly cut off right after these words:
“Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Colleagues, I’m at a loss for words about the action – ” And then, bingo, as far as the Anaheim’s TV audience was concerned, Jose really WAS at a loss for words, as Channel 3 cut to some public service announcement.
Well, that makes me think we should reprint what Jose went on to say that was so rudely censored, before we put this in the larger context of Sidhu’s assault on the minority’s free speech:
“Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Colleagues, I’m at a loss for words about the action tonight. This council has violated two fundamental principles which we expect of our government and our elected officials. One was transparency and inclusion in the democratic proces, and the second is thoughtful, open, and public deliberation on critical policy budget items that we’re required to do on behalf of the people.
“As you mentioned earlier, this is what we’re elected to do is to make ‘tough decisions.’ And in making tough decisions we have to ask really tough questions. And it seems every time the tough questions start to come, and we don’t have the information or the knowledge or maybe it’s counter to what you believe to be true, you ‘call the question.’ [A parliamentary procedure to end debate and force a vote.]
“I’m also disappointed and disheartened that many of you still continue to propagate and affirm yourselves as people who believe in the free market and fiscal responsibility and fiscal prudence, as you deliberate on budget and policies, and it seems time and time again that this council, who are overwhelmingly Republicans, which is the party that’s seen as having those principles, violates those very principles every time it comes to those who have direct interest in your campaigns.
“This evening we received letters for this ‘economic recovery package’ from the Anaheim Police Officers’ Association – Edgar Hampton and Pete Mitchell, the lobbyists both of whom, and whose entities, have given thousands of dollars to this council. I’m concerned on behalf of our police officers, that instead of being concerned with their health and the work they do today, instead they want us to spend $6.5 million dollars on marketing.
“Our Anaheim Firefighters Association also gave huge contributions to our Counci majority and Mayor. I was shocked that they also sent a letter supporting this ‘economic recovery package’ that diverts $6.5 million of our precious reserve dollars not to support them but to support MARKETING. Again, our firefighters on the front line.
“I’m also disappointed that our Municipal Employees also communicated to me that they support this package, and they are the ones who are experiencing, on the front lines, the LEAST protection, when it comes to their jobs, and when it comes to their health.
“So I ask the people of Anaheim to please continue to pay attention to what’s happening here – we are receiving everyday updates of how the industries in our city and in our country will receive the backing of the Federal government. We know this President, just like our Mayor, absolutely embraces Big Business and those who seek to sustain jobs. So, I have no concern that THEY will recover.
“I am concerned about the single mom in our district, in districts 5, 4, 6, 2, and 1, who’s right now trying to figure out if she’s gonna have a job or not, and how she’ll be able to pay back rent, that she can’t pay over the next two months, and how long they’re gonna have to depend on local nonprofits for food. How long the small business owner will survive being closed and be able to sustain their employees. That’s what we should be focusing on now, colleagues.
“And for you to cut off debate today, and cut off questions, and accountability, is extremely disappointing, based on your own ideology of fiscal prudence, fiscal responsibility and good government, and transparent government at that. We have districts for a reason. 72% of the voters wanted a change in our electoral system, and expanded our council to have more voices. You violated that this evening, Mr. Mayor. Your plan only included two Councilmembers [Faessel and O’Neil] – all THREE of you live east of the 57 freeway. Your plan systematically excluded 2/3 of the population of Anaheim as represented by the councilmembers.
“And it’s really disappointing that the councilman from District 2 [Brandman] would support the idea that somehow, giving $6.5 million to marketing is gonna somehow help the single moms in his district… very disappointing. So I do hope that the voters will remember this. There are elections, they do have consequences, and as we see at the Federal level, when we elect a government that has no concern for the people on the ground, these are the results you get.
“So I hope that you will remember this when we get past this crisis. Myself and Councilmember Barnes have made every effort to reach across the aisle to work, sent e-mails and proposed ideas, and Mr. Mayor you ignore our ideas time and time again. We are also in conversation with industries, and with small businesses, and with residents. We have a lot we can offer. If you cut off debate, and give us TWELVE HOURS NOTICE on a new economic plan that our people really need to hear about, that .. is.. irresponsible. And, in my opinion, not becoming of the office that you hold, and the trust that we all want to put in that office.
“So, I was hoping that somehow this crisis would change our tone, but it doesn’t seem like that happened. So I’ll just end with asking the people of Anaheim to please keep paying attention, and please keep sending your ideas to me… and I hope every councilmember will begin to pay attention to their residents and not just those who give to their campaigns.”
Gee, I wonder why Sidhu and his machine didn’t want Anaheim viewers out in TV land to hear all that? [And thanks to Artie Castillo for the tip!]
So they’ll probably say there was a technical glitch or some human accident that caused all the above words of Jose to be deleted off television, but do you believe that? Listen to the rest of the meeting online if you do – the Mayor tried to shut up Jose’s questions and concerns at least twenty times, and sometimes succeeded. And this comes after sixteen months of systematically changing the rules to make it harder and harder for the Latino minority (Moreno and Barnes) to agendize anything, and harder for the pubic to comment.
This anti-people Mayor and Majority are really in their element right now, with us citizens and residents prevented from showing up and speaking out. COVID-19 is Mayor Sidhu’s friend! Not only does it make a handy (if far-fetched) excuse for any Heist he wants to pull off, it also keeps all us dirty peasants out of the chambers and off the city’s TV screens. We are allowed to send in e-mail comments, but does anybody think they’re actually read by anyone besides Jose and Denise?
And can this really stand a Brown Act challenge, this latest affront? How was it an EMERGENCY, something the public (and the minority) didn’t need to be warned about more than TWELVE HOURS in advance, to immediately funnel $6.5 million in public funds to advertise businesses who won’t even be functioning till the summer at earliest, businesses that can easily afford that advertising themselves when they need it? Even City Manager Zapata thought that was excessive – and I hope he keeps his job!
Well, silver lining, our Recall Sidhu page has been getting more and more hits as public rage grows over this in every district. The Recall itself is on a brief Coronavirus hiatus (another reason the pandemic is Harry’s friend) but we do have a new, compelling item to add to our growing list of Reasons For Recall: “Used the Coronavirus Pandemic as an excuse to raid our reserves of $6.5 MILLION to provide free advertising to Disney and the resort district, with only 12 hours public notice.”
How can the OC GOP suport these clowns?
Well, to the OC GOP’s credit (and they rarely deserve much) they refused to endorse Sidhu or Kring, many times. O’Neil refused to ask for their endorsement, and I’m not sure about Faessel.
Just as Jordan has gotten by without much support from the DPOC for a while now.
These kleptocrats don’t abide by the purported values of EITHER party.
O’Neil asked for the OC GOP Central Committee endorsement and did not get it.
Ah! Thank you, I remembered wrong. It’s possible I fell for some Cunningham spin about Trevor’s non-endorsement.
What about Faessel?
The Anaheim kleptocracy’s name is mud in the OCGOP Central Committee. They cottoned on to Pringle and his puppets long ago.
On the other hand, there has never been a Republican repudiation of Lucetta’s Big Clown Show, where Pringle started his program to hijack all of Orange County government. OC Tax, OCBC, the OC Association of California Cities – all designed with one aim: make consultants and lobbyists rich socializing risk and privatizing profit.
The End.
Best most succint description yet of – what should we call it? – the County’s Kleptocratic Infrastructure.
Vern, that’s a lot of crap.
Jordan had the DPOC endorsement for this current role in enabling the shit show in Anaheim.
Let’s not pretend, even for a second, the machine on the left in Orange County is churning out anything better than anything else.
It isn’t. If you need another example, look at who Anaheim Democrats just endorsed to oversee education for children.
That’s why I didn’t write “without their endorsement” but instead “didn’t get a lot of help.” He barely managed to get the DPOC endorsement (which was shameful and I guess I should have mentioned) against a lot of pushback, and being forced to make a lot of promises (the keeping of which has been spotty.) He wasn’t able to get the DPOC endorsement for Board of Education this year, or Congress in 2015, and has been censured by the DPOC I think twice. And in 2016 when he ran against Jose, Jose got the DPOC endorsement.
When he ran again in 2018, my Anaheim Democrat Club came close to losing its charter speaking out against him any way we (individual members) could. And, in stark contrast to Jose, he ran that campaign with virtually no Democratic volunteers.
But you’re right, the DPOC did – shamefully – endorse him in 2018, because there were no other Democrats running and he made a lot of forced promises with fingers crossed behind his back.
I mean look at that bullshit qualification you just laid. Because there were no other Democrats running?
That’s the problem. It’s spineless, short sided, and tribalistic.
What makes it worse than the kleptocrats on the right is you know better. Real hard to care about you and Dr Moreno complaining about tax dollars being stolen when your political arm in Anaheim just endorsed an actual thief for public office.
You reap what you sow. Don’t want public officials stealing tax dollars? Don’t endorse thieves. Pretty simple.
If you think I’m trying to justify either:
1. The DPOC endorsing Jordan in 2018; or
2. Jose (and some of his overly loyal followers) backing Paulette this year (out of Jordan Derangement Syndrome) – huge lapse on the imperfect Jose’s part
You’re wrong. I fought against both.
We can talk about it offline.
The council having the comment of one of the council members cut out of the tape constitutes a censorship that should be picked up by the district attorney and at least the Orange County register the LA Times and television media should be on top of this I I know they have their hands full with the events of the day but this needs to be spell out, for all to see.
The ACLU?
This isn’t a “there oughta be a law” situation. It’s a “there is a law” situation.
Spoken like TRUE racists.
You fucking race baiting NAZI’S.
There. I was just waiting for a voice of reason to chime in.
It’s funny, I just linked back to an old post getting a little notice on Little Saigon, and some similarly anonymous person — as well as skallywag — tried this same gambit against me.
When lefties accuse someone of racism, we can generally explain our basis for that opinion. The lower dregs of right-wingers — as here — always use a broad brush and rarely delve into particulars. As with Trump, it’s all about the sound bite.
What makes you think it’s a right-winger? It’s just another one of our usual trolls, drunk again. It didn’t deserve three responses.
See comment, below. This creep just pathologically hates anyone who comments on this blog. So I’m a racist and Ryan is a homophobe.
No, you’re a Nazi. Ever sice Greg called you a Surf Nazi because of your strong allergy to carpetbagging.
And I am a racist or rather “race baiter,” just because I fleetingly mentioned race.
We do see that one regularly in the comment trash can.
That particular individual is a cyber-stalker.
Because: this bullshit accusation of racism is obviously not being offered in defense of Jose, whom you don’t attack. Whom else could it be about? I don’t see any other likely possibility but Sidhu.
Now, who’s going to defend Sidhu on that sort of bullshit grounds? (As noted in my comment, which perhaps you missed, i say that lefties will usually defend their accusations of racism with actual grounds.) Seems likely to be a right-winger, like him and his idol in the White House.
It’s just some drunk troll. But now I think the troll got this “racist” thing from Matt’s new piece accusing me of “race-baiting.”
Apparently “race-baiting” means mentioning race as an explanation of anything, and/or making someone feel like they’re being called racist.
And this drunk troll conflates “race-baiting” with “racism.”
Look at us, expending so much analysis on a puddle of troll drool. We really must have time on our hands.
l’ll admit that trashing the comment would have been quicker.
I’m so disappointed in you. Really went ’round the bend dincha?
Ah, it’s Cunningham – he wrote a whole piece about this piece of mine, in which he characterizes me as claiming the REASON Harry & co try to shut up Jose and Denise is BECAUSE THEY’RE LATINO. Of course nobody can find me saying that anywhere. I have started to mention that the two minority councilmembers are also the only two Latinos on council, and I mentioned that twice in this piece. I don’t know what that fact means, it could have something to do with explaining why they’re the only ones who represent Anaheim’s working families. But of course some day we could theoretically see a Duane Roberts or Cynthia Ward… or Sergio Gonzales on Council and the picture would look different.
Well here’s Matt: https://www.anaheimblog.net/2020/03/31/anaheim-in-wonderland-defending-moreno-demagoguery-with-race-baiting-conspiracy-theories/
He uses words that only right-wingers (and PRETEND right-wingers) use. “Virtue-signaling” appears to mean… appearing to have virtue I guess. And “race-baiting” apparently means mentioning race, as I did.
It looks like “Dolly Wiley” is “Who is Cater,” by the way – an assiduous student of the eccentricities and foibles of our crowd.
Whoiscater is that nutcase John Mardahl who keeps popping up like a a demented puppet in a bad horror flick. He was also duplojohn, Tony Serra, carpetbagger, etc.
The fact that Cunningham permits his comments says as much about The Jerb as it does poor, twisted Mardahl.
For a few years Mardahl was “kenlaysnotdead.” We used to tolerate and even enjoy him (even though he sometimes didn’t make much sense) because his usual targets were Matt and Dan.
Well, we reap what we sow. (Or as an acquaintance of mine who doesn’t have a lot of schooling and is far removed from humanity’s agricultural roots says it: “What you rip, you shall sew.”)
It’s not only John Mardahl though. When I talked to him on the phone about five years ago he told me he was part of a group of guys who would get drunk together and write obnoxious blog comments and laugh and laugh.
Also the ever-pustulating “David Vasquez.”
Vasquez disappeared once somebody anonymously called out Mardahl with his phone number on the LOC.
Really looks like Anaheim City Manager Chris Zapata is on his way out: https://voiceofoc.org/2020/04/anaheim-city-manager-might-be-headed-out/
Didn’t I write this in the story above, reporting on that March 26 meeting (which I now call the “Anaheim COVID Heist of 2020”)? –
“How was it an EMERGENCY, something the public (and the minority) didn’t need to be warned about more than TWELVE HOURS in advance, to immediately funnel $6.5 million in public funds to advertise businesses who won’t even be functioning till the summer at earliest, businesses that can easily afford that advertising themselves when they need it? Even City Manager Zapata thought that was excessive – and I hope he keeps his job!”
THIS is ALSO part of Sidhu’s war on free speech.
Zapata was obviously too honest for this crowd, although he went along with them for a while.
I remember when he first came to town and made a point of moving into West Anaheim, which he knew needed a lot of attention and investment, and he would walk the streets every night and talk to the homeless people. (Or he told us he did, and I had no reason to disbelieve him.)
Cunningham coined the ugly term “Unstableheim” to decry how cleanly the Tait council cut out the worst actors on staff, and then he celebrated the “END of Unstableheim” under Sidhu. I would throw that ugly coinage back at him now but I refuse to use such a dumb neologism outside of scare quotes.
¡VIVA ZAPATA!