Well, the OC GOP Central Committee meeting turned out to be lacking in drama after the smoke cleared tonight. Tim Whitacre took the hill the French way, by not even showing up. OC GOP Chairman Scott Baugh noted that Whitacre’s absence was not excused.
The big winner of the night was none other than our former co-blogger, Ryan Gene Williams. Ryan was appointed to represent the 69th Assembly Caucus on the OC GOP Executive Committee. I asked him to serve in that capacity and I am glad my fellow Caucus members agreed.
Supervisorial candidate Janet Nguyen was also there tonight, as was the Trannie candidate Trung Nguyen. Carlos Bustamante showed up, in a bomber jacket no less, but he left sans endorsement. No se puede Carlos!
Lupe Moreno was there too, but Ryan has decided to look for new blood with regard to selecting his alternate on the Central Committee. Good move Ryan! I also am looking for a new alternate as Ray Gawronski has elected not to continue in that capacity. I wish him well in his future endeavors.
Finally, SAUSD school board member Rosie Avila showed up, for whatever reason, and apparently she has joined Moreno in endorsing Bustamante. I’m sure that will help him in Santa Ana – not! Now Benny Diaz can send out a mailer showing Bustamante flanked by Moreno and Avila. Latino voters will no doubt reject Bustamante – and then they will do so again in two years when he runs for the City Council again.
Rosie Avila probably showed up because she is a Central Committee alternate!
Poster 1,
Really? I wonder who appointed her? She did not support ANY of our endorsed Republican local candidates this summer. Instead she backed Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido’s Democrat candidates. And of course they all lost except for David Benavides, who was not opposed by a Republican candidate. Avila didn’t even back Evangeline Gawronski, a conservative Catholic who has taught at Mater Dei for 20 years! I always supported Avila before – but not anymore. Besides, she is part of a school board that has utterly failed the children of Santa Ana. I hope that whomever appointed her as an alternate will reconsider.
Congratulations to Janet and the other Rep. candidates. This must have been another real blow to the Lewis/Bustamonte political team. They worked really hard making phone calls all day trying to get votes for Carlos but it is obvious the support was not there. The fact that the Irvine Co. did it’s own polling showing Bustamonte is a bust and will not do an I.E. for him shows that the Bustmonte campaign has gone bust!
I can see the Spanish language mailer now with Carlos, Lupe, and Rosie, Pete Wilson, Prop 187, and the Minutemen!!!
Art, Poster 1 is correct.
She is Tan Nguyen’s alternate.
Or how about 20,000 Robo-Calls a day in Spanish explaining the Carlos, Pete Wilson, Lupe, Rosie connection?
Art:
You are being dishonest. At last night’s Central Committee meeting, there was no attempt by anyone or any campaign at anytime last night to seek an endorsement for any candidate for any office. No one had even been contemplating it.
So your headline is meaningless. You’re trying to create the appearance of a failed attempt where no attempt was made or contemplated.
Ana at 8:02 a.m.: You’re flat out lying. Like an idiot, I thought there might be something to Art’s rumor that Bustamante might go for an endorsement last night, so I checked it out yesterday and no one I talked to knew what I was talking about.
Rosie became part of the problem years ago. She used to care about kids and had some moral beliefs she held to but now she is just another tool of the staff who hangs on to get medical insurance. We need term limits on the school board to get rid of dead weight like Rosie.
Congratulations to Ryan Gene as well for getting appointed to the ETAC comm. at tonights S.A. city council meeting! Way to go! Congrat’s also to Sean Mills for going on the Planning Comm. That should make for some sleepless nights for S.A. staff members:)
The Bustamonte Republican camp is accusing Umberg of
Lewis et al is a paper tiger. He loses as much as he wins. Last year he won in Orange and lost big in Mission Viejo. His problem in this race is Carlos is a boob and doesnt deserve the seat he occupies much less a supervisoral office.
Jubal,
Our party did fail to endorse a supervisorial candidate, so no I am not being dishonest. Consider that the Democrats did unite behind one candidate – we should have at least tried to do so as well.
Had we united behind Janet Nguyen, Umberg would be running scared right now.
Lastly, I don’t know who you spoke to, but clearly the Bustamate team failed to get enough support to even mount an endorsement effort. He would have lost so they retreated. Why would they fess up to that now?
#8
Yes, term limits and ward specific elections for school board. Furthermore, ALL parents – regardless of citizenhsip – should vote for school board members. After all it’s their kids that are impacted by the board’s actions. If it’s good enough for NYC, it sure as heck should be considered by SAUSD voters.
There are current school board members who do not have children or have shipped their kid outside SAUSD for a public school education. Others have otped for the charter school option, also removing their kid from the SAUSD system.
Term limits and ward specific elections for school board members.
Representation for all four corners of the city!
Jubal please keep your idiots straight! The idiot was 7:44am!
Art: Yeah, your headline is dishonest. You could say that about any central Committee meeting at which no candidate is endorsed — which would be nearyl ebery meeting. So unless you’re willing to use that headline after every Central Committee meeting at which no candidate is endorsed, then fess up and admit what your real purpose in writing it was.
Jubal,
Your the one being dishonest.
When was the last Central Committee meeting that Carlos Bustamante attended?
Then why did he show last night?
Why should Carlos expect the support of any Republican, when Carlos failed to support any of the Republican endorsed candidates during the last city election, and went so far as to endorse Tino Rivera who ran against an endorsed Republican?
Why won’t your blog tell it like it is?
Why does your blog delete comments that show Carlos in a negative light?
Why won’t you comment on the Carlos child support paperwork, when you know full well the truth?
Delete all the comments you want Jubal. The truth will be made known and Carlos will lose both this race and his city re election.
You guys can also check out the Sexual Harrassment claims against Carlos Busca Amante at the County of Orange. Apparently one young Asian girl wasn’t looking for a lover.
When was the last Central Committee meeting that Carlos Bustamante attended?
I don’t know, but I’ve seen him there before.
Then why did he show last night?
Probably for the same reason Janet Nguyen and Trung Nguyen were — they’re running for Supervisor.
Why won’t your blog tell it like it is?
We do.
Why does your blog delete comments that show Carlos in a negative light?
I don’t. I delete comments that violate the rules of the comments section — such as the untrue rumor I presume you posted. I see that you posted it here and it is still here — one difference between OJ and OC Blog.
Why won’t you comment on the Carlos child support paperwork, when you know full well the truth?
Because I checked into that story after one of the other campaigns shopped it to me, and found the “Carlos has an illegitmate child” rumor to be untrue. Furthermore, the campaign shopping rumor knew it to be untrue.
Anonymous commenting is one thing. Using it as a shield to maliciously slander others is cowardly. And you are a coward.
“Why does your blog delete comments that show Carlos in a negative light?”
Jubal, your answer still doesn’t actually answer the question being asked.
There have been a few votes that Carlos has cast on the city council which are sketchy at best (i.e. the Crevier deal).
Yet, everyone else living outside of the bubble known as Santa Ana seems to be completely oblivious to that fact.
It’s as if Carlos is, for a better-term, the perfect candidate.
If Carlos was the perfect candidate, there wouldn’t be any rumors of anything. I’m still waiting for him to come out hard (no pun intended) and take a stand against the unions.
My only fear is that if Carlos wins, he will completely sell us out… and make you all look like yahoos for backing him.
I’m willing to bet you that if the unions throw down enough money, Carlos will get in bed with them faster than a hooker on Harbor Blvd. and I’m willing to take that to the bank!
Pedroza, sorry to burst your pompus ass MBA bubble but your little buddy, Ryan Gene Williams has not been appointed to jack! Even though the ambitious little guy gleefully volunteered himslef to be the 69th rep for executive committee and he briefly convinced the other two members to vote for him, the vote is invalid.
Any appointment must be confirmed by majority vote. Since you, Whitacre and Franklin weren’t there last night, no vote could take place. You also either heard wrong or intentionally lied about Whitacre not being excused for last night’s absence. He was. Your derrogatory comments to the contrary only show you to be the fool you are. Rosie Avila was there because she is an alternate to Tan Nguyen, who I doubt we will ever see at a meeting again. At least he did us a great favor by appointing Rosie before all the crap hit the fan.
The only rejecting going on around town is the resounding “NO” from all electeds when it comes to considering you to any sort of board or commission.
You are simply brain damaged goods!
Avila and Moreno are women of courage and conviction. You used to be on their side before you started to get the warm fuzzies for Michelle Martinez and other liberal lefties. Now that the left has embraced you, hopefully they will adopt you. However, I’m told your reputation preceeds you in their leadership ranks as well and even they don’t want you. Poor little bastard child…
Ryan Gene:
Young man, I answered the question very directly. Perhaps you ought to read the comments over at Red County/OC Blog. I can assure you there is no shortage of anti-Bustamante comments.
What that yahoo is complaining about is I don’t allow people to post sleazy rumors on my blog. They have OJ for that.
If Carlos was the perfect candidate, there wouldn’t be any rumors of anything.
What does that even mean, Ryan?
And for the record, I haven’t endorsed anyone in this race.
“committee watcher,”
Sorry Tim, you might be able to delay it, but Ryan will be our exec committee appointment before long. After all, your pick, Oscar Garza, is now off the Committee altogether – and neither Ryan nor I intend to select him as an alternate.
Vaya con Dios Oscar. Maybe Rosie will keep you on the Bond Oversight Committee now that she has decided to go with the Dancing Scotsman over you.
It figures that Tan Nguyen picked Rosie as his alternate. You know what they say about pajaritos of a feather.
By the way, I really hate to break this to you, but I will now be serving our city on the Housing & Redevelopment Commission. Thanks Michele for your trust in me!
Michele Martinez is a woman of courage and conviction – I have come to realize that Avila and Moreno represent extremism, not the people.
Finally, I am shocked that you would use a phrase like “poor little bastard child.” That is an awful thing to write about someone. I learned my work ethic from my hardworking father – and I credit my mother for making me the writer I am today. She took me to the library hundreds of times when I was a child and that made all the difference. I am no bastard Tim – I am the proud son of two of the greatest parents ever to live. Shame on you for resorting to such diatribes. And please stop hiding behind silly anon names! We know it’s you!
Matt/Jubal,
You know darn well that you delete comments that you object to for reasons other than what you indicated. I hear all the time from folks who have had comments deleted. That undermines your credibility – and it is dangerous to your success. Eventually people will stop going to your blog.
Yes, we end up with some crazy posts. So be it. I really don’t like deleting posts. Unless they contain F-bombs I let them go – even when I disagree and even when I am ripped, which is quite often. That is just the way we do things here.
Be honest – the only reason you guys at Red County stopped posting anon, for the most part, is that we established the policy of not letting our blog team post anon. So you can put us down all you want, but we have moved the ball her in OC more often than not.
And it doesn’t matter that you have not endorsed in this race. Your blog is overwhelmingly in favor of Bustamante – just look at your posts – not the comments – and it is plainly obvious. We don’t pretend to be objective. We don’t like Carlos, period. Why pretend otherwise?
My advice – be more judicious when you delete comments. That is a dangerous road you are on. Once folks catch on they will look elsewhere for their blog fix. It is just a matter of time.
BTW, I thought it was an awful decision for you to become Red County instead of OC Blog. You instantly wrote off your Dem readers. Why do you think our blog took off at about the same time? I really thought you had something going as OC Blog – that was a great name for a local political blog. Now that you are Red County you have painted yourself into a corner that is not particularly popular in the US right now. Bustamante will find this out when Umberg blows him out of the water in a few weeks.
I don’t wish you ill, just so you know. But you have often complained that I am sanctimonious. Pot calling the kettle black?
“What does that even mean, Ryan?”
Jubal:
Young man, if Carlos was the “perfect” candidate, we wouldn’t be having this discussion and Art, myself, and Brett Franklin (aka 1/2 of the 69th AD Caucus) would be walking precincts for the guy.
The fact the rumors even persist about him regarding votes on the council and other things… plus the fact that at least 4 members of the 69th AD caucus are not Carlos fans… clearly means that he is not the perfect candidate for this specific seat.
You know darn well that you delete comments that you object to for reasons other than what you indicated. I hear all the time from folks who have had comments deleted. That undermines your credibility – and it is dangerous to your success. Eventually people will stop going to your blog.
Baloney. You can believe me or the malcontents who think their comments are deleted because I disagree with them. One look at the comments on Red County/OC Blog is evidence you are wrong once again.
Funny how traffic at Red County continues to climb, while your model of allowing people to anonymously post sleazy rumors is keeping yoour traffic mired in the mud, if your Sitemeter is any indication.
Be honest – the only reason you guys at Red County stopped posting anon, for the most part, is that we established the policy of not letting our blog team post anon. So you can put us down all you want, but we have moved the ball her in OC more often than not.
You’re kidding, right? Man, you really ARE an egomaniac.
BTW, I thought it was an awful decision for you to become Red County instead of OC Blog. You instantly wrote off your Dem readers.
If you think that, then it must have been a smart decision.
We have as many Demo readers as ever, because they can find out what’s happening politically in OC.
Why do you think our blog took off at about the same time?
Do you ever read your traffic stats, Art? I do. Your blogged hit a plateau months ago. The page views you get in a week Red County gets in two days. I’m not boasting — just pointing out that your claims and assertions are hallucinatory.
Honestly, Art — sometimes I think you just make stuff up and hope people will believe it.
The fact the rumors even persist about him regarding…
That’s quite a standard you have set, Ryan. Let’s hope you are never at the wrong end of it.
Matt/Jubal,
There’s the rub – we are open and honest about our hits – anyone can find out what they are by clicking on the sitemeter logo at the bottom of any of our web pages. No one knows for sure how well your site does – but I would expect that your site would do quite well given that you have a magazine behind you, etc.
Our sites also have different goals. As you indicated, yours is about political news – we don’t even try to match you on that front. You have four to five times as many writers as we do and as such can cover more ground. And it seems at times that you musts spend over 40 hours a week on your site. My writers all have real jobs and what we do here is a spare time gig.
As for our numbers, I am quite happy with them. Over the last year we have seen our numbers go up five-fold. If you owned stocks with that kind of growth you would be rich. We are only going to keep growing over time. That we are able to do this in our spare time is really something.
Our approach has always been very different from yours. As I noted, we never tried to pull the wool over our readers’ eyes with anon names. That is a very important consideration. And we have been open about our readership from day one. Transparency is important to us.
You can call me an egomaniac if you want. I don’t think I have ever resorted to calling you names, but that is your prerogative. My friends know that I am anything but an egomaniac. What we are trying to do here is accomplish social change – we are up against the rich and the powerful but nothing is more powerful than the written word. It is the great equalizer that has allowed us to contend with your bevy of insider consultants. Believe me, we take great glee in thwarting in-bred political machines as often as possible.
We don’t wish you and your blog ill. You often break interesting stories and I know all my writers frequent your site. I realize you guys do not respect us at all and that is fine. We don’t need your blessing. Nor do we need your respect. Go ahead and laugh at us – I think we will get the last laugh – particularly when Carlos Bustamante goes down in flames in a few weeks. We will look like prophets then…
Art:
Amazing how, when I point out particular items where you are wrong and don’t know what you are talking about, you simply ignore it and slide along to something else.
The magazine only came out a couple of weeks ago, so don’t ascribe the Red County blog’s success to that.
Our blogpen may by nominally larger, but you’ll notice only about four of them — beside me — post with any regularity.
I actually respect other bloggers here. I think the posts by Larry Gilbert, Thomas Gordon, Claudio and Luis are genrally substantive and reasonable. Thomas did an outstanding job calling the SAUSD to the carpet on their refusla to divulge the names of those applying for the school board vacancy.
Your posts used to be, and sometimes still are — your Wal-Mart Supercenter post comes to mind. But in recent months they’re characterized more by bile, vindictiveness and personal attacks. After I initially bought into that fairy tale about the special S.A. council session where Solorio was going to resign over the phone, I take your claims with a huge grain of salt.
My blog prospered and grew even when it was just me and I did it in my spare time. I’ve worked to keep it — and especially our comments section — from turning into a cesspool.
And for the last time, abandon the posture of moral superiority because I used a pseudonym and you haven’t. I’ve explained mny reason numerous times, and I have no problem with having used a pseudonym. I was always conscientious about not abusing it.
And don’t play innocent about “Not calling me names.” You have frequently, ignorantly and incorrectly attacked my motives and integrity.
I am open and honest about our traffic — but since I’m paying for the traffic monitor and not using free Sitemeter, i’d prefer to keep the information proprietary. Besides, making your numbers public is a condition of using Sitemeter, so you can dismount your high horse on this one.
“That’s quite a standard you have set, Ryan…”
I’ve always had high standards.
Jubal said…
I am open and honest about our traffic
How many unique visits a day do you get at OC Blog?
It depends, but generally speaking we get 900-1,200 “visitor sessions” on weekends, and 1,300-1,900 during the week.