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Yep. Just like we’ve been saying…
CURT PRINGLE. The OC’s self-proclaimed Master of the Universe. Former Assembly Speaker (how many Republicans can say that?) – with the help of the infamous racist Poll-Guard Scandal he’d like you to forget. Anaheim Mayor for eight wasteful (and preparatory) years. And now probably the county’s most prolific and ubiquitous lobbyist, with his Pringle and Associates.
As they like to say, “If there’s sleaze in the OC, and Curt’s not knee-deep in it, then it’s probably not sleaze worth knowing about.” Or, if nobody else has said that, then I just did.
Bankrolling and controlling a majority of Anaheim councilmembers since his departure from the Mayorship six years ago, and literally the employer of Fullerton’s Lobbyist Mayor Jennifer Fitzgerald, Curt can push through almost any crooked and cockamamie project for those who pay him, and it’s almost always bad for the rest of us.
For a while now, citizens – especially in Fullerton where they bend under the rule and whims of a Pringle-employed Mayor – have been asking Pringle & Associates to release a list of their clients, but all to no avail. But now our friend Sean Paden (right) has taken it upon himself to create a list (in progress) of the companies and agencies that WE KNOW employ Pringle’s services.
And this is a work in progress: Sean describes it as a “crowd-sourcing project,” meaning that he hopes readers can add to it. He continues, on Facebook:
Some of these clients are high profile, others are below the radar: Vulcan Industries, for example is apparently the largest supplier of gravel in Southern California (so if a construction project gets built there’s a good chance they’ll make money on it); Mobilite/ Mobilite of Newport Beach is a cell phone tower company, Jamboree Housing recently obtained bond funding from the City of Fullerton for a $5 million low income housing project (approved on March 18, 2014). I’m guessing there’s a lot more interesting nuggets buried below so I hope this is of good use to my fellow muckrackers.
ARTIC, the $185 million white elephant known popularly as Pringle’s Folly.
HERE GOES…
- Airpap (CP&A Facebook post, August 4, 2016)
- AMCAL (CP&A Client List)
- American Center for Wine Food and Arts (CP&A Client List)
- American Logistics Company (CP&A Client List)
- Anaheim Gardenwalk (CP&A Facebook post, February 11, 2016)
- Anaheim Resort Transportation (CP&A Facebook post, October 16, 2014)
- Anaheim Transportation Network (CP&A Facebook post, January 13, 2014)
- Aramark (CP&A Facebook post, October 7, 2015)
- ARCO (liquisearch.com)
- Arroyo Pacific Network (CP&A Client List)
- ARTIC (Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center) (CP&A Facebook post, May 13, 2016)
- Association of California Recycling Industries (ACRI) (CP&A Facebook post, September 11, 2015)
- Atlantic Aviation (CP&A Facebook post, January 12, 2016)
- Atlantic Aviation (CP&A Facebook post, September 4, 2015)
- Backup Training Corp (CP&A Client List)
- Big League Dreams (CP&A Client List)
- Bike Nation (saveanaheim.com)
- Brookfield Homes (CP&A Client List)
- Building Industry Association of Orange County (CP&A Facebook post, March 20, 2015/ CP&A Client List)
- Burger King (CP&A Client List)
- California Apartment Association – South Coast (CP&A Facebook post, May 27, 2014)
- California Apartment Association (CP&A Facebook post, July 1, 2015)
- California Beer and Beverage Distributors Association (CP&A Client List)
- California Forward (CP&A Client List)
- California Rx Card (CP&A Client List)
- California Yellow Cab (CP&A Client List)
- Carl’s Junior (CP&A Client List)
- Charles Company (CP&A Client List)
- Chase Bank (CP&A Client List)
- Chevron (CP&A Client List)
- Children and Families Coalition of Orange County (CP&A Facebook post, April 7, 2015)
- Children and Families Commission (CP&A Facebook post, June 21, 2016)
- CHOCH Children’s Hospital (CP&A Facebook post, June 28, 2016)
- City of Industry (High Speed Rail Leaders Receive Consulting Fees… by Rich Connell, LA Times, October 31, 2010)
- City of Newport Beach (liquisearch.com)
- Citibank (CP&A Client List)
- Coffee Bean (CP&A Client List)
- County of Orange (liquisearch.com)
- CVS Pharmacy (CP&A Client List)
- Dental Group Practices Association (CP&A Client List)
- El Pollo Locco (CP&A Client List)
- Environmental Compliance Solutions (CP&A Client List)
- Evolve Partners (CP&A Client List)
- Federal Signal Technologies (Curt Pringle: Still Master of His Universe, by Adam Elmahrek, Voice of OC, April 3, 2012)
- Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Grocers (CP&A Client List)
- Foothill Transportation Agency (CP&A Facebook post, April 21, 2016)
- Forestar Chatsworth LLC (Los Angeles City Ethics Disclosure Commission Report, 2nd Quarter 2015/ 1st Quarter 2016)
- Gensler (CP&A Client List)
- GovDelivery (CP&A Client List)
- In N Out Burger (CP&A Client List)
- ING/ Aetna Financial Services (CP&A Client List)
- International Jet Sports Boating Association (CP&A Client List)
- Irvine Ranch Water District (CP&A Facebook post, March 5, 2016)
- Jack & the Box (CP&A Client List)
- Jamboree Housing, Inc. (CP&A Facebook post, March 19, 2014)
- Juniper Sierra High School (CP&A Client List)
- Katsuya Restaurants (CP&A Client List)
- LA Football Club (January 8, 2016)
- Level 3 Communications (CP&A Client List)
- McDonalds (CP&A Client List)
- Memorial Care (CP&A Facebook post, October 14, 2015)
- Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (CP&A Client List)
- Mobilite (Los Angeles City Ethics Disclosure Commission Report, 2nd Quarter 2015/ 1st Quarter 2016)
- Mobilite of Newport Beach (As Thick as Thieves: Ignoring the Revolving Door Law, by Matt Potter, San Diego Reader, August 7, 2016)
- Northgate Gonzales Markets (July 20, 2016)
- NRG Energy (January 20, 2014)
- Orange County Business Council (CP&A Client List)
- Orange County Produce (CP&A Client List)
- Orange County Rescue Mission (CP&A Client List)
- Pacific Yacht Club Challenge (CP&A Client List)
- Parsons (CP&A Client List)
- Pieology Pizzaria (CP&A Client List)
- RNL Designs (CP&A Client List)
- Saddleback Motorsports Partners (CP&A Client List)
- Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (CP&A Client List)
- Santa Margarita Water District(CP&A Facebook post, January 29, 2014)
- Serrano Water District (CP&A Facebook post, November 13, 2013)
- Signal Hill Petroleum (CP&A Facebook post, November 10, 2014)
- Smart City Networks (CP&A Facebook post, January 15, 2015)
- Southern California Association of Governments (aka SKAG) (CP&A Client List)
- Space Center (CP&A Client List)
- Stocker Resources, Inc. (CP&A Client List)
- Sun Edison (Los Angeles City Ethics Disclosure Commission Report, June 30, 2014)
- The Corporation for Better Housing (CP&A Client List)
- The Lab Holdings (CP&A Client List)
- Transportation Corridor Agencies (CP&A Facebook post, June 22, 2016)
- United Dominion Real Estate Trust (CP&A Client List)
- Valley View Medical Center (CP&A Client List)
- Venture Strategic (CP&A Facebook post, June 22, 2016)
- Visit Huntington Beach (CP&A Facebook post, February 21, 2014)
- Vulcan Materials (CP&A Client List)
- Western States Petroleum Association (CP&A Client List)
- Witt O’Briens (CP&A Facebook post, January 16, 2014)
- Yamaha Motor Corporation (CP&A Client List)
- York Risk Services Group (CP&A Facebook post, September 15, 2015)
How will this list be useful? I asked Sean, “Does this mean a Pringle employee who’s a politician, like Mayor Fitzgerald, shouldn’t be voting on matters that affect one of these clients (e.g. Chevron in Coyote Hills?)”
He responded, “Yeah, the Chevron vote was problematic, but her conflicts go even deeper than that. For example, ARTIC (a Pringle client) and the Fullerton Transportation Center both have Metro access and free parking, but the City of Fullerton wants to charge for their parking to pay for more police officers. Isn’t that a conflict too, since paid parking would drive commuters from Fullerton to Anaheim and drive up ARTIC’s ridership?”
Me: “heh… it sure needs it. I was at ARTIC two days ago, and it’s still a big ghost town. A LITTLE less of one, but still pretty forlorn…”
Sean: “And that’s the problem with rent-seeking. It isn’t about growing the economic pie, it’s about fighting for the limited pieces that have already been made. I don’t begrudge In’N’Out for their Pringle connections, for example, they merely want to make delicious burgers and cut through red tape inherent in opening a restaurant. But Pringle’s business is NOT about getting rid of red tape, it’s about getting rid of red tape for the companies who pay to play. If anything, red tape is in their financial best interest because it creates the need for their services in the first place. And while it doesn’t hurt In’N’Out, which is an established business, it is murder on the new businesses who may have been just as good but couldn’t stay in business long enough to find their footing.”
Fullerton resident David Jerome chimed in: “Great work Sean! Way to shine some light on these obvious conflicts of interest by our Lobbyist/Mayor. As of the last reporting, Pringle clients such as The Building Industry Assn of OC has donated $2,500 to Fitzgerald, and the OC Apt Assoc has donated $1,000 to Fitzgerald’s reelection. She has raised more “Out of Town Contributions” than all other candidates combined. I wonder if the out of town players want something for their money?”
Sorry, can’t get enough of this 2012 classic:
Discuss, and add to the list if you’re able!
Well THAT is going to come in useful! Nice work, Paden!
P.S. — the source photo ACTUALLY HAD the person’s head hunched down that far. I love how I only changed Pringle’s eyes and now it looks like a cartoon.
i can remember Cunningham attacking Tait’s alleged hypocrisy by citing the City’s involvement in “economic development” at the Packing District. A commenter posited that the choice of a “developer” was on the up and up. And now, Lo and Behold, it turns out that The Lab is a Pringle client.
I don’t think anything in Anaheim is on the level.
P.S. Parking at ARTIC is indeed (still) free. They were supposed to start charging one year in – last November – but they know that if they charge the few hundred communters who still begrudging use the Pringle Mausoleum will evaporate. And this means that the operating deficit is just going to get bigger and bigger.
I think we can add: Anaergia, Inc.
Currently proposing an organic digester on a dinky lot on Lakeview under a deal made behind the scenes with the Anaheim PUD (I have to wonder if the Anaheim utility is not also a Pringle gold mine).
People in Yorba Linda are objecting based on a history of foul odors emanating from a similar plant in Britain. Apparently Pringle’s been lobbying at Yorba Linda City Hall to keep the City from voicing objection via the CEQA review process.
If you know any other clients email them to me with the source of the information (newspaper article, FOI request, CP&A press release) and I’ll add it to the list. I only want to add entities I can source (which is why Disney is not on the list despite the fact that I would be shocked if they’ve never kicked any contributions CP&As way). If I get another 20 or so, an updated post may be in order.
Also, the really important part of the list is the connection between clients and voting records, particularly Fitzgerald’s. The big one I see was the vote to release $5 million to assist construction of the Richmond Park low income housing development Pringle client Jamboree Properties was involved in. The vote took place very close to her formal hiring by CP&A so I think it’s reasonable to ask if she knew a potential business opportunity was on the table when she voted.
Please note these are PAST and present companies on the list. I have personal knowledge that Yamaha Motors has not used CP and A for YEARS so can we please red-line them to so they do not suffer from association with a lobbyist they broke association with some time ago? Thank you.
That’s a fair point. Since Pringle won’t release their full current client list all I have to go are news articles or press releases, some of which are several years old.
The point of the list isn’t really to discredit any particular business though, it is to give the public a better picture of what is in Fitzgerald’s financial interest to help evaluate her voting record. I think punishing any business on this list for no reason other than a past (or even current) relationship with CP&A would be a mistake, unless it was a clear case of rent seeking.