[First published at OC Politics]
I loathe referring to politicians as liars. The accusation is generally not exactly true; even if an elected official is in fact lying, rarely do they do so without the fallback of plausible deniability. Anaheim’s councilwoman Kring has no such luxury. At the OC GOP Central Committee meeting this week, the candidate for Mayor was forced to admit what she is: a liar with nothing but contempt for the voice of the people.
Kring, a purported Republican, is running against Mayor Tom Tait, another Republican in good standing with the party. She along with her sidekick, councilwoman Kris Murray, spoke this week at the first OC GOP Central Committee meeting of the year. This is the group of party insiders which will decide who, if anyone, will receive the Republican party nod for mayor of Anaheim.
During Kring’s presentation, her support of a controversial $158 million “giveaway” (Kring’s words) to a hotelier became the topic of conversation. Party Chairman Scott Baugh, who I wrongly assumed would treat Kring with kid gloves, asked her if she had campaigned for council on the promise that she would vote to put all such “giveaways” to a vote of the people. Lying to the Chairman’s face, as well as to the entire committee, she insisted that she did not. The Chairman asked again if she had not promised people that that was how she would vote. Kring then clarified (to laughter) that although no such promises were made in her campaign literature, she did in fact make the promise to voters, including Mayor Tait who endorsed her council candidacy on that basis. Of course, upon her election she opted to support the “giveaway,” to the same interests that are now supporting her campaign for mayor. (Watch the entire exchange below.)
Justifying her new position, she argued that taking the matter to the people would be too expensive and too complicated for the average voter. Ms. Kring then, knows better than the voters, and feels that it is more cost-efficient to give millions away to her campaign contributors without the hassle of attempting to convince voters.
Likewise, Lucille Kring maintains that the details of the negotiations surrounding the Angels Stadium land lease should be kept from the public. She argued that if the public knew what the land was worth, it would disrupt and frustrate the negotiations. She voted to lease the land around the stadium to Angels owner, Arte Moreno, for one dollar a year. When Anaheim voters learn that the land is worth around $300 millions, it will indeed disrupt negotiations. But it is the people’s land, and one would think that their outrage is relevant to the ongoing negotiations. Kring maintains, with little too no justification, that such measures are necessary to keep the Angels in Anaheim. Again, her credibility on the matter is nothing but suspect.
Ultimately, Kring feels secure in her position. She is on the record stating that special interests run Anaheim. She thinks that popular opinion is not here nor there, as long as she has the backing of special interests.
Listening to her speak last night, it seems as if she has no clue as to what she is doing in office. She does not seem to appreciate the economic impact of picking winners in a less-than-free-market through hundred million dollar “giveaways,” again her words. Her contempt is not limited to the voters, but encompasses the free-market as well.
Ms. Kring is not a conservative, she is an unsophisticated statist with no credibility. Moreover, as a committee member pointed out, her candidacy risks splitting the Republican vote in the city and handing the mayorship to the Democrat’s candidate. Indeed, this may be what some of her strongest supporters are hoping for, some of her strongest supporters being Anaheim’s public sector labor unions. Some people have no shame.
BONUS: Video from SaveAnaheim.Com
Watch Lucille get the third degree at OC GOP Central Committee from
1) Scott Baugh; 2) Deborah Pauly; and 3) Allan Bartlett.
And watch the video for Jason’s clarifying annotations.
Classic, when she admitted that she’d “told SOME people” that she’d support the “let the people vote” initiative on hotel subsidies; but that it wasn’t a big deal because she didn’t mention it in her campaign literature.
“Some people” included Mayor Tait, Brian Chuchua, Cynthia Ward, Jason Young, and myself – all people that she knew wanted to hear that answer, and all people that she knew had either substantial or modest influence on public opinion.
It was a LIE, and one of many.
Maybe a reason I’m reluctant to be Sharon Q-S’s errand boy communicating her secret position on Poseidon.
And this Scott Baugh cross-examining of Lucille comes less than a week after I send Baugh an e-mail (on another pretext) chiding him to take a stand between the conservative values of his purported friend Tait and the crony capitalists of the party. Is it possible Far Left Vern actually has an influence on Scott Baugh? Nah … probably not. What’s it Zenger says, “Post hoc ergo propter hoc?”
*Chairman Vern,
Scott will even listen to the little animals out in his garden ..at this point. Hey, we love Lucille and when anyone runs Mayor…..positions need to be flexible.
You two flower children love everybody.
Good question! Vern!!!!!!!
Compared to what?