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Cunninghams: The klepto-scribe and the to-be-appointed councilwoman.
The vagaries of this year’s Orange City elections managed to get Republican Chip Monaco onto Council, and return Kimberlee Nichols, but then left a fifth seat vacant for appointment or special election. Supporters of the third-place finisher, progressive Democrat Beatriz “Betty” Valenzia, have been lobbying to have her appointed at tonight’s meeting – after all, she got the votes of nearly 11,000 Orange citizens, and would balance off the council nicely. But the council has also expressed a criterion of their own making: the appointed fifth councilperson has to be “someone we can work with.”
Well, now we know who it is that the Council feels comfortable working with: a trusted Orange Republican source tells us they’ve settled on Laura Cunningham, the wife of fabled blogger/consultant Matt (known ten years ago as “Jubal” when he ran the Red County Blog, and currently best known as Orange-dwelling purveyor of the kleptocratic, Chamber-funded Anaheim Blog.)
There’s a LOT all of us know about Matt, most of which I won’t get into right here, but not that much we know about his wife Laura. A Mexican-American Republican who grew up in Orange’s El Modena neighborhood (with Paul Lucas’ big sisters), SHE is best known as the professional Latino outreach person for 2008’s Proposition 8, which made same-sex marriage illegal in California.
That’s right, the Orange Council is rejecting the gay Latina immigrant Valencia for the professional anti-gay activist Latina Cunningham. Does it sound like Orange is on the right side of history here?
Pedroza created this fine image for me in 2010 when we officially declared Orange a “ruled by clowns city,” in parody of them unanimously declaring themselves a “Rule By Law (anti-immigrant) City.”
I’m told that intensive lobbying on the part of the Cunninghams has given way to indiscreet boasting, and who can blame them? This would mark a return to power in Orange, for the Cunninghams, since husband Matt was removed from the Planning Commission in 2011 for getting paid for “consulting work” by clients who had business before the Orange Council. (Technically Matt “resigned” the seat rather than face certain removal as agendized by Councilman Dumitru.)
- In 2012 Matt started the Anaheim Blog, reliably providing the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce spin on political issues in this city, while being paid by the Chamber.
- In 2013 he was removed by Todd Spitzer from the county Parks Commission, and lost a couple of OCTA contracts as well, as a result of his grotesque “Teddy bear” prank ridiculing the police killings of Anaheim Latinos.
- In 2015 he was extremely active in whipping up anti-homeless sentiment in East Anaheim to fight (unsuccessfully) against the Bridges at Kraemer shelter – if he was paid for that or by whom is not known.
Over the years we have seen Mrs. Cunningham at Matt’s side helping him with his “consulting” projects – for example telling speakers where to sit at council meetings and handing out talking points while the two were “consulting” for the development of Orange Park Acres. I’ve also heard Laura is paid (or has been?) public money for typing up the minutes of Orange Council meetings. But we will learn a lot more when she has to fill out 700 forms for herself and her busy husband.
And in 2020 we fully expect to see her replaced by Beatriz Valencia, the progressive gay immigrant Latina who will not be giving up.
I hope they publish her 700 form, which must include her husband’s sources of income as well, first.
I don’t think that would tell you something you don’t already know.
I was unaware that Matt knew how to juggle.
What a totally irresponsible article. You, as well as the rest of us, have no idea what’s going on. Aside from your pro-Betty stance, this is all fabrication. The fact is that Betty’s 71 votes over 4th place is hardly any sort of mandate (it’s less than 0.007%), and the voters put her 4,305 votes behind 2nd place. You’re trying to stir a pot that’s not yet full by rallying Betty supporters with nothing but gossip and propaganda.
Words with no logic. Someone get that 700 form…quick!
Betty received about 10,000 more votes than Laura Cunningham, who earned ZERO votes.
Closer to 11,000!
How would that 4th place contestant feel about someone who didn’t even run get appointed over them?
Valencia for Orange 2020!!
Her folks are still gonna be pushing tonight for either: her appointment, or a special election.
Orange needs voting districts because East Orange and Old Towne Orange have been the areas providing councilmembers while other parts of town are ignored. Valencia is the right choice.
Valencia is the right pick.
Thank you Vern for letting us know about this. I do not know anything about Laura Cunningham. I sure know about her husband Matt and I have no respect for him or his actions on the Anaheim Blog. I am very Disappointed by this because I like Betty’s progressives positions. I can only hope that Laura is a better person than her husband.
The fact that she happily accepted pay to get Mexicans to vote against letting gays get married makes me doubtful about that.
Makes you wonder what they talk about over the dinner table.
“Hey, Honey, guess what I did today? I set a Teddy Bear on fire and set up votive candles around it, ya know, in a satiric display.
As usual you are intolerant of people that don’t agree with your hard left views. The fact that any person opposes gay marriage doesn’t mean they are part of a sinister movement. If you want respect, you ought to start by giving some.
There is/was nothing left or right about wanting to deny gay Americans the right to marry. It was just mean-spiritedness and ignorance. And SOME Republicans, a decade ago, saw it as a political winner as well.
Personally I think it’s more likely the council will vote for a special election. The optics of appointing someone who didn’t even run would just be too bad to escape outrage. That being said, they sure as heck do not want to appoint Betty. So I think a special election is their only out.
They aren’t cheap.
$400,000 is the estimate in Fullerton.
If this was to happen last night, then it already happened or didn’t happen by the time you wrote this. So what did (or didn’t) happen Tuesday night?
Only discussion it wasnt on agenda so it could not be decided at that time
*Yeah, read the Brulte Buzz in the Register today! Oh my, the Republican establishment in The OC is in huge trouble. They are desperate and scampering around looking for any job or rule they can find to stay in power. If they thought the mid-terms were bad….we can’t wait for the 2020. Sweeping up the small trash will be amazing. With the current Congressional Group in charge…it won’t take them long to discover the outlayers that are double dealing at the lower levels…like at the City Council and Bureaucratic Elected levels. The Republicants had it going for sometime, when Nationally – they could bring in various conservative stars from around the country to pump up the volume! Well, who are they going to bring in now? Kennedy from Louisiana or Chuck Grassley or Orrin Hatch? Good Grief……the whole party is on its last legs. As our Uncle said back in 1961….”Make sure you put on your job application that you speak Spanish and Type!” So, “Vaya Con Dios Amigos Compadres Repbulicanos!”
[Ed note from GAD: Fake email address + attack on real people -= troll. Excised.]
Last [edited out] … do this.
Votes count
[Ed note from GAD: Fake email address + attack on real people -= troll. Excised.]
That [edited out] … white ones!
“Too Gay….or Not to Gay….that is the question!” Good Grief, can’t these people just make phone calls or e-mail the proper folks….like the City Manager? So, people don’t want people that are part of the system? Hmmm. Maybe, if they just had had, a nice dog to kick….they could rightly understand about what it means… to be an underdog!
The two comments above the last one from the Winships sound like Cunningham-shop defamation. Lots is spurious charges against Valencia and one sweeping one against non-white candidates. Unless someone with a verifiable identity can verify that Betty “brought a mob” and was “backstabbing” Tita Smith, I’m going to spike them before this blog is used to spread lies. (OC already has enough blogs devoted to that purpose.). Can anyone who attended or saw the meeting weigh in on this?
*Dr. D., great to see we have everyone in the Holiday Spirit of things. Party after party, chocolate and liquor store promos……Yeah, right where we want to be – out there sharing the warm cozy feelings of the Christmas Season…just like The Trumpster would want us to do! How about singing a few Christmas Carols? Or maybe watching “A very Snoopy Christmas”? Yeah, the Republicants of The Greater OC….need to do some serious consumerism this season. They could get Dave Ellis to send out a few Gratuity Checks for all those that worked their fingers to the bone – doing those negative Robo Calls before the November 6th election. Anyway, we applaud your wisdom in spiking “the stupid and profane” during this great Holiday 2018! Party on dude – hearty!
Greg, yes [edited out] … here.
[Note: if you have any brains at all, and if you want to be taken seriously, this tarnished handle is not one you should use here.]
Was there a knife? Seems like media is missing on what really happened, except the fish-wrap-register. Can’t wait till this is outed.
Eh, I’ll tell you about the knife, and everything else, when I get home to my computer.
I stand by this story even though Mayor Murphy sniffed, “We have nobody in mind despite what SOCIAL MEDIA has been saying.” At this point the Council has probably been embarrassed out of appointing Cunningham, although they probably won’t appoint Valencia either.
The Orange Council is most likely to limp along with four members until March 2020. Apart from the $400K quoted for a special election, this law section really seems to say that the council should wait for the next regularly scheduled election which is March 2020: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=36512
Orange is turning enthusiastically pro-Beatriz and anti-Beatriz. The guy who brought a switchblade to the council meeting was anti-Beatriz. After he gave a passionate anti-Beatriz speech, he headed to the back of chambers, and was allegedly followed by some pro-Beatriz people who argued with him, allegedly felt threatened, and pulled out his blade – both dumb and unnecessary, right in front of a bunch of cops. They removed him from the meeting; I don’t know if they arrested him or not.
Beatriz should stay in the public eye doing something constructive and non-divisive in Orange, and she’ll probably win in 2020.
Correction only one guy, the guy who was video recording him walked in his direction while he was still recording. Thats when the guy pulled the knife. It was onky one person not a group of people.
You’re probably right – in crowded tense situations like that different people see different things.