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Daren Nigsarian, retired long-time moderate Republican Mayor Steve Simonian, and Rose Espinoza.
Lest we forget, as we sometimes tend to do down here in the warm womb of central Orange County, our very northwesternmost burgh, let’s check in with our La Habra friends Daren Nigsarian and Rose Espinoza, because something seems to be smelling bad up there. And sure enough, it looks like hanky-panky, of the power-consolidating, anti-democratic, totalitarian sort.
What we have is a slowly-growing council majority led by tireless control freak Jim Gomez and baby-faced weightlifter Tim Shaw – who’s a protégé of and District Director for far-right state senator Bob Huff – gradually sidelining and eliminating all voices that are not approved, unquestioning members of their close-knit clique – much like When Righeimer First Came to Costa Mesa.
Before I get into more detail, I should point out that none of what the La Habra Majority is doing is illegal, or even “corrupt” at this point. It is just a lamentable departure from long-observed civil traditions that have worked so well for decades in fostering healthy, vibrant and balanced local governments. And it’s part of a pattern we’re seeing more and more in cities and states across the nation in these cutthroat times – the ruthless suppression of all dissenting voices – and very sad to see in a little town like La Habra that had been relatively insulated from the ugliness plaguing the rest of LA and Orange Counties.
AND as Daren alludes to in the video below, it is exactly how places like Bell, Maywood and Cudahay began their slippery slides into lavish, unaccountable corruption.
Thwacking Deputy Nigsarian
Daren Nigsarian, a 27-year deputy sheriff and community activist, was named one of seven planning commissioners back in 2006, and elected chairman by his colleagues in 2009 (after a year of being chairman through natural rotation.) Unlike in some other cities, commissioners in La Habra go through an application and interview process and then are chosen by the full council. In 2008 and 10, Daren had the “temerity” to run for council himself, against majority-endorsed candidates.
Tim Shaw, La Habra’s next mayor, lifting weights at home!
During his last run, the council majority made its first radical break with tradition in order to defeat Daren – placing his opponent Mike Blazey onto the Community Services Commission without even announcing the vacancy publicly and without requiring an application or interview – unprecedented! (And shades of Mansoor’s shoehorning of Riggy in CM.) This gave Blazey – by all accounts a nice fellow but dependably loyal to the Gomez-Beamish-Shaw majority – a real leg up in the race, although ALL of the six other commissioners – Blazey’s new colleagues – endorsed Daren.
The very close 2010 council race was also probably the most expensive in La Habra history, with incumbent Gomez raising over $85,000 (and dragging Blazey along for the ride) and Daren raising $53,000, and falling only 900 votes short.
Last month, the Majority’s punishment for Daren’s audacity began, as they stripped him of his Planning Commission seat – the first time in La Habra history anyone had been denied a second term. And the punishment continued with the yanking of the stipends of the community services commissioners who had endorsed Daren (a mere $50 per meeting – not important to the city’s budget but a clear message against defying the Majority.) It’s fully expected now that all commissioners who backed Daren will probably be replaced as each of their terms expire.
Take a break and listen to Daren’s fiery, unscripted, farewell speech, but I should point out that before the point this cell-phone recording began, Daren had spent several gracious minutes thanking and complimenting his colleagues as well as several opponents:
Rosie sent to the Garage
Rose Espinoza and her constituency.
With Daren out of the way, the Majority can focus on sidelining and eventually eliminating the one other prominent La Habra pol who is not part of their fiefdom – the beloved community organizer Rose Espinoza – up for re-election in 2012.
If you’ve somehow missed out on Rose’s inspirational story, here’s a short version: twenty years ago, as a concerned mother living in a high crime area, wanting to make the neighborhood safer for her son and his friends, she decided to devote all her energy to making sure all the youth of the area got the educational opportunities they needed. So in 1990 she opened up Rosie’s Garage, an after-school tutoring program which over these decades has steered hundreds of La Habra kids away from gangs and into college, drastically reducing crime and earning Ms. Espinoza national acclaim and buku awards.
Rose has been on the La Habra council now since 2000, and been Mayor twice – in 2004, and 2008 – according to tradition, whenever her re-election comes up. But, as you may suspect, she is not an accepted part of the new La Habra Majority that is inexorably consolidating their power, and to make matters worse, she endorsed Daren both times he ran. So now Rose has been denied the Mayor Pro-Tem position which should be hers this year by tradition, and it’s expected young Tim Shaw will be named Mayor next year instead of her.
And the Majority is already grooming her replacement for 2012 – the supremely ambitious and wealthy Korean-American real estate magnate Charles Kim. Another acolyte of Bob Huff, whose wife works for Congressman Ed Royce, Mr. Kim has promised to bankroll not only his own run but also the re-election of Tim Shaw. Just the guy they need to complete their five-man Kremlin, the Majority has now given him their old tried-and-true leg up by naming him – over several more qualified candidates – to Daren’s old spot on the Planning Commission.
This sidelining of Rose Espinoza, this abandonment of long traditions to deny traditional rotating mayorship to a woman who doesn’t take orders from OC GOP puppetmasters, has to remind us of what also happened this year to Sharon Quirk-Silva in Fullerton (denied her turn as mayor simply because she’s a registered Democrat, even though she’s actually more fiscally conservative than at least two of the Republicans on Council) as well as Wendy Leece in Costa Mesa (actually a staunch conservative Republican, but one who makes decisions based on the best interests of her city rather than jumping to Scott Baugh’s every command.)
Slippery slope to Bell-ville?
Daren, who has studied the pathologies of the notoriously corrupt South LA cities named above, contends that they all began this way, with the ruthless and systematic consolidation of power by a small group of men, and then, inevitably, corrupted absolutely with their absolute power. I think it’s important to look clearly at what’s going on – a very unfortunate pattern of anti-democratic behavior – so that you can recognize it and stop it when it comes to YOUR town. Because this totalitarian urge IS all the rage in the OC, in the 2010’s.
And this has been a La Habra Hanky Panky story
NOT having anything to do with the OctoMom!
“La Habra Hanky-Panky”…….. Hmmmm
Did found “Hanky” in your story but couldn’t find “Panky”.
Definitely it will drive them underground these Racist Republican / Teacrat cucarachas.
Into the OctoMom’s basement. There they belong.
Maybe Panky is there.
Tim Shaw makes me want to paraphrase Matt Taibbi.
All of these smug little jerks look alike to me – from Tim Shaw to Eric Cantor to Jeb Hensarling to Rand Paul and Paul Ryan, they all look like overgrown kids who got nipple-twisted in the halls in high school, worked as Applebee’s shift managers in college, and are now taking revenge on the world as grownups. They all look like they sleep with flags beside their bed, and keep their feet in dress socks when doing their bi-monthly duty with their wives.
Senator Bob Huff – District SD29
We in Wisconsin oppose the e-mail that was sent by the GOP member Marilyn Davenport showing the racism against our President.
We also have seen what’s happening in your fine state starting with La Habra, where the GOP is targeting Daren Nigsarian and Rose Espinoza. This is what we have going on in Wisconsin with an out of control Governor and it is happening all over the USA. We need to write letters to all the Senators, Governors and leaders who WE THE PEOPLE vote into office to let them know that we are watching the activity as we make the year 2011 “recall year” and the year 2012 “the year to take back our country.”
Some people misunderstood politics and thought that Barack Obama had the majority when he was elected and that he hadn’t done enough so they replaced Democrats with Republicans but now realize that it was the “Blue Dog Democrats” that needed to be replaced so amends will be made.
It seems as though, Republicans have now declared war against the middle class, the poor, the elderly and even our own children as far as education, I could go on and on. Republican figured that by busting the unions and executing the voters ID law, that it will bring them victory in 2012, THEY ARE WRONG, DEFEAT is in your future. UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL.
The scam was started with the Supreme Court Justice Race in Wisconsin, as the college kids were turned away by the hundreds, lost registrations, registrations with errors and lack of proof of identity, drivers license had home addresses and public service bills in landlords names. Colleges writing letters to prove residency not good enough and some kids not on leases, so thousands of students weren’t able to vote. Madison of course was the place it occurred the most or at least where I am most aware of. Good job, along with the mysteriously 14,0000 votes that appeared two days later that put Prosser in and took the vote away from the real winner Joanne Kloppenburg.
Well I will post all this on my Face Book and hope the kind people of Wisconsin will pressure your fine honest Senator to know that he too will be watched as the 2012 election time is coming up and Facebook is a nice way to spread the work about wonderful Senators that do a great job!!! Hugs B!
Ha ha, my Wisconsin friend Barb is on the warpath against Republican State Senators right now, no surprise. Bob Huff better stay out of her way!
I am a proud democrat, I like Rose (helped on her campaign), am found of Darren and all he has given to our city…however I am appauld at the use of religious rederrick used to persecute via words a member of our city. As a catholic, the republicans wrote hateful messages and articles using language like you have to create fear over Kennedy…don’t do this too. Attack the facts not a person or their religion. Dem’s are better then that…please think before you write such slander on a person…it hurts our party, it hurts Darren’s reputation and a community of mormons, our friends, all who are in this blog…and our community.
Look back to how Hitler used the word “Jew” to cause fear and breed hate, how he used it to terrorize people…and here you have done the same thing. Please, remove this use of religion when describing someone, bullying is hate and is only spread when people do this. Encourage civil disobedience through positive forms of communication, not racial and religious hate like this.
Thanks,
amber
Hm… I hear you, Amber, but I think you’re over-reacting. I did say “not that there’s anything wrong with that,” and from what I hear, Mr. Shaw is a very proud Mormon, like Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman who are running for President.
I realize you say there is nothing ” wrong with that”…but why even use it. Would you use the word “mexican” or” black” or ” catholic” or” white”?? I totally support posting how you may feel or how you may think… I do the same thing when passionate on injustices I feel are being done in our city or country. But I would never use a religion while attacking someone I don’t agree with it. And while I might be reacting…it is not an over reaction, we both know small things like these which go ignored in the long term, as history has shown with with those I mentioned, or even Bush with the over use of” terrorist” cause fear and encourage hate. You’re a better person then that, I just hate to see the Dem’s associated with this type of
politicking…. thanks for reading my post.
Vern
I don’t think your reference to Tim’s Mormon-ism is in any way equivalent to Hitler’s attack on the Jewish people. However, I do think it detracted from your overall message about politicization of our O.C. cities, which I entirely agree with. Folks like Amber get stuck on a small item like that and don’t have to think about the actual issue you’re trying to discuss. In other words it gives the DINO-types (Democrats in Name Only), and others who may timid about challenging the powers that be, an excuse to avoid confrontation and continue accepting the outrageous behavior of their Republican friends.
We need to focus on the reality of what’s happening here without distraction, so that we can fight back. Your article was very clear and convincing and I hope others can get past that first paragraph and into the gist of it.
Amber and Sharon got me thinking, and I decided you guys are right. My “not that there’s anything wrong with that” was backhanded and disingenuous; I have to admit I mentioned “Mormon” partly to draw a picture of the guy but also subconsciously thinking “You all have weird feelings about Mormons, like most Americans do, well, go ahead and have those same feelings about Tim Shaw.”
So, I’ve taken that word out! The picture and “baby-faced” are good enough!
Thanks Vern. I think you’re right about the new version. And now no distractions from your eloquent message 🙂