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I was pleased, but not too surprised, to learn that my Party, the Democratic Party of Orange County, supports the Bushala-initiated recall of lame-ass Fullerton councilmen McKinley, Bankhead and Jones. I would have been very disappointed and ashamed to learn they didn’t. It would have shown that my Party is, indeed, dominated by timid, complacent faux-liberals like these geriatric Fullertonians, subservient to all public-employee unions and positively frightened of actual democratic movements.
Over at our fringe-y Fullerton friends’ place, Mr Peabody and most of his readers expressed puzzlement, and put forth various cynical and non-cynical explanations. Long believing the Democratic Party to be a fully-owned subsidiary of the public employee unions, and knowing those same unions to be the biggest foes of the recall, they experienced some cognitive dissonance.
I’m not a member of the DPOC, don’t have the time or patience or niceness. But I asked a few people on the Central Committee about that vote – I wondered, how close was it? What were the pro’s and con’s given?
And I was surprised to learn that the vote was UNANIMOUS and that it was considered a “no-brainer.” Nobody gave any arguments against, and nobody had to give any arguments for.
Really? Was this just about the sudden possibility of replacing Republican officeholders with Democrats (especially when the Republicans are gonna be riven in half between establishmentarians and insurgents?)
Well, sure, there’s that, I was told. But mostly, it’s a question of good governance, I was told. Fullerton needs good governance and hasn’t had it for years, said my several interlocutors. Just look at how the town has gone to hell under these three Royce/Ackerman acolytes. Letting the police department get totally out of control, and covering up its abuses up to and including murder, is just the most garish example of their incompetence and corruption.
But there’s another thing that doesn’t get mentioned much on Tony’s blog, but is a big deal to lots of Fullertonians and Democrats – the majority vote to let Chevron do whatever it wants with Coyote Hills, the last undeveloped open space in town, when lonesome Sharon Quirk-Silva had several compromise plans that would have worked. Remember, the Democratic Party is about more than just keeping unions happy; we also tend to care a lot about the environment and open space, and sometimes there’s a clash there. (Although there didn’t seem to be any clash this time around.)
Weren’t Democrats worried about what draconian steps a majority of insurgent conservatives or libertarians might do? Not really that much, I was told. Maybe a little, but not enough to oppose the recall. This was an exciting democratic moment, said the Democrats, and they believe their candidates not only have a good chance in June, but will be night-and-day better for Fullerton than the Three Bald Tires they’re replacing.
As a Democrat, I’d like to think so. I’m still pissed that the stellar Green Jane Rands is having to run against not only the best-known and respected insurgent conservative (Sebourn) but also some Democrat nobody’s heard of, pretty much whittling down whatever chance a great third-party candidate might have had to get a foothold in electoral politics. And I’m also gonna track down this Doug Chaffee and find out how “cardboard” he really is.
Track down a candidate? We thought that was supposed to be easy. Meet Matt Rowe, candidate for Fullerton City Council: http://youtu.be/Nd9BMYzScdw
Hey Matt! Good to hear from you! We’ve been trying to track you down…
http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2012/04/which-recall-candidates-will-rule-out-municipal-bankruptcy/
Actually, what are you doing tomorrow? Will e-mail…
Vern,
Chevron has not been allowed to do whatever they want on their property. They wanted to build over 3,000 homes back in the 1970s and 1980s but have since brought the number down to 750± and have offered to dedicate the remainder of land to the public. Not saying its a great development but I am saying your statement is inaccurate. Thanks.
P.S. the public (and Council) get another bite at the Chevron apple in November.
Thanks for the added nuance. It’s true that y’all get another bite in November. I’m just saying that the refusal of the four Republican councilmembers to second or back Sharon’s compromise measures (which I remember the Chevron guy said were acceptable) is one extra reason Democrats back this recall.
Completely agree.
I know that there were opponents of the recall in the audience at DPOC, but I think that they accepted that endorsing candidates while at the same time saying “but we hope that they don’t take office” is a confusing message to send. Some, perhaps many, Dems will vote no due partly to fear of a Bushala planet.
A lot will depend on what if anything the SKL candidates (Sebourn, Kiger, and Levinson) are willing to rule out doing if two or all of them become part of a Council majority with Whitaker. For all of the talk about issues going on, there’s been surprisingly little talk about what — besides “doing something” about the police department; and cutting out the water tax, with whatever fiscal repercussions; and doing something about pensions that may or may not include considering municipal bankruptcy — they would actually do, and commit to not doing.
I have some advice for my fellow Democrats who support the recall — GET OUT AND VOTE JUNE 5! Go on Fullerton’s website and watch the video from the May 1 Council meeting, especially the public comments. First, Ron Thomas tried to distance himself from the Bushala camp — he knows where Tony’s interests lie. Second, watch the behavior and demeanor of the other speakers — and who they sit with when the cameras pan the audience.
Tony’s candidates Sebourn and Levinson attract an interesting crowd. I just wonder how committed they’ll be to associating with them if they win the election. This isn’t about public unions or water rates. Its about ideology and the need for one faction (fringe group?) to impose its will on 136,000 people.
We may need change in Fullerton, but that means we need to vote! Remember JFK’s warning during his innagural speech: “Those who foolishly ride the tiger wind up inside.”
Incorrect. For decades a comparatively small faction has imposed its cretinous candidates on Fullerton. Party affiliation only mattered to each group during election time and after that they chained themselves together.
The result has been 30 years of Redevelopment boondoggles, illegal taxes, successful (and unsuccessful) attempts to spike public employee pensions, and finally a police force whose only mission seems to be to prove themselves bigger goons than the nightly drunken “guests” City policy has invited downtown.
The City is a mess. The recall is not about ideology, it’s about accountability. Accountability is only deemed ideological by those who are trying real hard to avoid it.
I’m still thinking about that tiger…
As well you should…
Tony–
And how did your buddies Chris Norby and Shawn Nelson vote on most of these issues when they were on the Council? Wasn’t it their votes that helped pass the water rates? Didn’t they vote, along with the others, to create the policeis that encouraged so many bars downtown? It just seems strange you are so opposed to these issues now but weren’t then. But maybe I should give you the benefit of the doubt and presume you realize how wrong they were before….