I’ve always been a big fan of Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby – now more than ever. Norby stepped up to the plate and chaired today’s OC Board of Supervisors’ meeting, with BOS Chairman Bill Campbell out of town. In the process Norby was given the chance to oppose OC Sheriff Mike Carona’s ridiculous request for close to $400,000, to conduct a self-glorifying poll utilizing Prop. 172 funds.
Suffice to say, Carona was none too pleased about Norby’s opposition.
According to an OC Register online article, Carona had this to say about Norby, “The silly part about this is we spent more staff time trying to educate Mr. Norby, and clearly, he’s incapable of being educated.” Excuse me – I wonder if he meant to say that Carona can’t be bought off, or pressured, unlike his peers on the BOS, Jim Silva and Tom Wilson? Both of them buckled and voted for Carona to get the money – and surprise – Lou Correa joined with Norby in opposing Carona.
Both Carona and Norby endorsed Carona in the June primary – but clearly they are not going to be, “rubber stamps,” as Norby put it in today’s meeting.
Norby took a much tougher stance against Carona’s request, as compared to Correa, who merely tried to limit the request to a one-year extension.
Arguments against the request included: 1) Public safety tax funds should not be spent in this manner; 2) Carona is conducting campaign-related activities with public dollars; and, 3) the questions in the public section of the poll were just too broad to be useful.
Unfortunately, the matter was not resolved today. Carona can bring it back to the BOS as early as their August 1 meeting. Carona says he will be back.
In a few weeks, we will be able to comment on the August 1 meeting agenda when it is posted to this link. We should also take the time to send letters or emails to Chris Norby and Lou Correa, thanking them for standing up to Carona. We also need to let Carona what we think of his request. You can email his communications department at this link. I could not find Carona’s email address on his website, which figures. No wonder Carona thinks he has to pay a consultant to find out what we think about him – we can’t email him directly.
Lastly, time to let Silva and Wilson have it – please do not let them get away with today’s stupid votes. I warned you all about Silva – but the OC GOP machine still got behind him over the far more ethical and independent Cypress Council Member Mike McGill. Can you only imagine what Silva is going to do once he gets to Sacramento?
We should also start sending our comments to Campbell. Absent public pressure he is likely to go along with Silva and Wilson.
UPDATE – the LA Times has now weighed in on this story too, at this link. Here is what they had to say about Tim Whitacre’s comments to the Supervisors, “Tim Whitacre, a critic of Carona’s who campaigned for challenger Bill Hunt in last month’s election, urged supervisors to have the “intestinal fortitude” to reject the contract. “There is no excuse for you guys to be rolling over every time [the sheriff] comes before you,” he said. “Let him pay for his own polling from his own campaign funds.”
OC Register columnist Steven Greenhut has also put in his two cent’s worth about Carona, at this link. Here’s just some of what Greenhut has to say about Carona, “The sheriff thinks, apparently, that the board should rubber stamp all his expenditures. He thinks it’s beyond the pale for anyone to question his decisions. Given the allegations of misbehavior in the department, the latest unanswered jail death, the retaliation against members of his department who did not support him in his re-election bid, the sheriff definitely needs more oversight, not less.”
Good for Correa. I am sure Daucher would have buckled and supported the corrupt sheriff. This is an example of why he is needed in Sacramento to succeed Joe Dunn.
Good for Norby and Correa. Looks like I have finally found something I can agree with them on.
On a seperate note…
Is it just me or does Norby look like Cheney in the picture here?
Chris Norby a.k.a. “Darth Bull”
Chris Norby isn’t my supervisor and I’ve never been a big fan of his, but I’m impressed! Go Norby!
I think a recall is in order for Sherriff Carona. This guy is going to get bolder and bolder. If he is not put in check soon, I predict even grander scandals that will rock our county and divert attention, energy and tax dollars away from a myriad of issues that are more productive. I for one am weary of being left with nothing less than a corrupt individual to choose from in elections. Be it for sherriff, assemblyman, school board trustees, ad infinitum.
Even Greenhut kicks Carona’s butt on this.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut from time to time.
Did anyone see the LA Times article on this?
Tim Whitacre spoke at the meeting against using Prop 172 funds as well. He also told the Board of Sups to “Show some intestinal fortitude and stop rubber stamping everything Carona asks for.” He also told them they might as well pass a law making it illegal for anyone in the Sheriff’s or DA’s office to run for office because of the way they have let Carona and his attorney push them around -absolutely classic!!!
Carona’s lesbo Assistant Sheriff actually told the board that “It didn’t matter whether the money came from Prop 172 funds or the general fund because it’s all taxpayer dollars.” – WHAT THE FRICK???
172 money has been specially set aside for public safety only. I agree with Tim, it would be a misappropriation of taxpayer dollars to fund any polling under the cover of “public safety.”
The other Departments in the County use the CEO’s office and county employees to accomplish the same thing Carona wants to waste our dollars on. Again Tim was right when he told the board that Carona and his attorney were “Pompus, arrogant asses.”
There’s going to be a re-vote on this on August 1st – that’s something Carona is used to getting with his Republican friends. We must all call Campbell, Silva and Wilson and encourage them to vote against this bogus request
Yeah, well I speak to and there is not to many that come out as far as I see people.. So lets see you come out next week instead of just blogging please! Tim is not to only one!