NO MORE RUBBER STAMPS

Today I received the following email that deserves about a moment of  scrutiny:

Dear Fullerton Mentally Ill Homeless Task Force and FriendsLast night the Fullerton City Council met until the bars closed this morning to deliberate the Multi-Service Year-Round Homeless Shelter being proposed by the County, under the leadership of Supervisor Shawn Nelson, for 301 S. St College Blvd. , Fullerton . 

Passion ran high in the packed chambers where a mixed group of opponents and proponents listened for hours and gave testimony for even more hours. 

Councilmembers Sebourn and Mayor Whittaker seemed determined to prevent the Multi-Jurisdictional Agreement (MJA) language from being added to the State required SB 2 Zoning designation.  This zoning is required by the State to make sure that all cities take some responsibility for their homeless residents.  

Councilmembers Flory, Fitzgerald and Chaffee prevailed with the logic that the County can open a shelter there without permission of the City, and the MJA gives the City the best tool for having a voice in how such a shelter is run. The Second vote of the night was going to be over approval of a draft MJA that included specific responses to the concerns raised by the school and neighbors.  After hours of testimony this item was tabled to accommodate additional specificity requested by Councilmember Chaffee and the City Council to the concerns expressed.  Fullerton staff did a great job putting together a comprehensive presentation, that a number of us participated in, to explain where we are, and how we got here. The final meeting to approve this MJA between the County and City will occur on Tuesday, June 18. 

By that time hopefully the school’s concerns can be more completely answered, and the other concerns expressed can be more comprehensively addressed. 

The challenge for the County laid out by Karen Roper at 1:30am to the City Council, is how to get specific answers to questions that were intended for the non-profit provider to determine in a “design and build” phase, BEFORE the Request for Proposals is sent out.  (since the County wanted to wait to issue the RFP until after they acquired the property.)  SO there are additional steps that will have to be taken to bring this all home.  Hopefully, they are surmountable!! A special thanks to so many of you who attended last night’s meeting, and others who could not be there but wrote letters to the City Council supporting the shelter. 

Sincerelyrusty 

Rusty Kennedy, Executive Director  

OC Human Relations

1300 S. Grand, Bldg BSanta Ana, CA 92705 

714-567-7470fax 714-567-7474 

www.ochumanrelations.org

Rusty Kennedy believes that the multi-jurisdictional agreement (MJA) is a REQUIREMENT under Senate Bill 2 (SB2).  However, the City's attorney, Jeff Goldfarb of Rutan & Tucker, repeatedly made it clear that the MJA was not REQUIRED (shall) but that it was permissible (may) under SB2.  So, while zoning constraints must be identified and codified for shelters, multi-jurisdictional agreements do not need to be codified in the City's municipal code with an ordinance.  It was also made clear by the City's attorney and city staff that the County did not need the MJA in order to proceed with their plans for a shelter anywhere in any city.

Further, since the County can build a shelter anyplace they wish, how much leverage does a city actually have when negotiating the terms of a MJA?  NONE.  So why waste the ink giving the perception that there is a negotiated agreement when in fact there is not?  FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY.

The MJA was a pre-packaged document created without any input from the Fullerton City Council and designed to make residents feel as if the City had a voice or some control over the project.  

NO MORE RUBBER STAMPS.

Villa Park Councilwoman Deborah Pauly to Run for 3rd Dist. Supervisor!

DEBORAH PAULY ANNOUNCES RUN FOR 3RD DISTRICT SUPERVISOR
“Chuck DeVore’s Departure Leaves A Big Hole in the Race That I Intend to Fill”

OCTOBER 17, 2011 – Orange County, Calif.

In a surprise announcement at the regular meeting of the Central Committee, Republican Party of Orange County, Deborah Pauly declared her candidacy for the Board of Supervisors, 3rd District.

“Chuck DeVore’s email last Friday that he was moving out-of-state left a big hole in this race,” said Pauly. “The voters in the 3rd District deserve to see a true limited government, fiscal conservative on the ballot. Chuck was a man of principle and integrity, who could not be bought. He could always be counted on to do the right thing by the taxpayers he represented.

“I was very sad to see him leave the Board of Supervisors race because he best represents the way I think,” said Pauly. “I intend to fill the void that he left.”

The Honorable Deborah Pauly is serving her second term as Councilwoman for the City of Villa Park. In a Tea Party upset of entrenched party leaders this past January, she was elected by her peers to serve as 1st Vice Chair of the Republican Party of Orange County.

The 3rd District is currently represented by Bill Campbell, who terms out in 2012. The district covers Anaheim Hills, Cowan Heights, El Modena, Irvine, Lemon Heights, Orange, Orange Park Acres, Tustin, North Tustin, Villa Park, Yorba Linda and the canyons.

###

Supervisor Nelson to the Rescue

Texas Governor Rick Perry was in Orange County yesterday at a Perry for President rally put on by the OCGOP. The outdoor event was under an oppressive sun with no breeze.

Among the speakers was 4th District County Supervisor Shawn Nelson who gave a well received speech to a melting audience.  Nelson has a knack for getting crowds fired up.  He talked about unions, pensions, sustainable governance, and even echoed Governor Perry's sentiment that Social Security is nothing more than a Ponzi scheme. 

On cue, Governor Rick Perry walked into the amphitheater at Roger's Gardens in Corona Del Mar and the crowd roared with "PERRY PERRY PERRY" chants.  After settling down, the receptive crowd listened intently as Governor Perry spoke. 

Someone from the crowd yelled "HELP" and someone else in the same area of the grandstands yelled something about "medical."  I thought it was odd that any hecklers would be there considering the tight control of the tickets into the event.  More people began to yell.  "WE NEED A DOCTOR!"  "HELP, HEAT STROKE!"

That was when Supervisor Shawn Nelson, in his dark business suit, sprinted to the top of the stands.  You wouldn't think the former football player could still move so fast but he did.  It was like watching a bear charging through the grandstands at a football game!  He threw off his coat and used it as a pillow to support the head of an elderly woman who was ill from the brutal heat.

Supervisor Nelson began to assess her vital signs when, as luck would have it, a doctor arrived! 

Paramedics were called and the woman was taken to a local hospital.

Nelson said he heard the yelling and also thought it was hecklers.  But then it clicked and he realized someone needed help.

Nelson, a Pop Warner coach, has various first aid and emergency medical certificates.  He told me he felt he had to help and credits his training. 

The un-named elderly woman was expected to make a full recovery.  Late yesterday, Nelson said he and Governor Perry were writing get-well notes to her.

It's nice to know our County's leadership isn't just a bunch of hot air! 

Waste And Deception. So What’s New? They’re Unions. (from FFFF)

So far the Orange County public employee unions have spend over a million dollars in this year’s 4th District Supervisor’s election.

Doing what? Calling Shawn Nelson a pedophile supporter; claiming what a virtuous and honorable man Harry Sidhu is. A million bucks.

Lest anybody thinks these goons are going to give up their death grip on the taxpayers without a struggle had better think again. A million times.

Forget issues. They only care about their own selfish interests and Heaven forfend anybody suggests that a County paper shuffler shouldn’t be able to retire at 55 and enjoy most of his pay for rest of his life. Naturally these people are going to do everything they can to distract attention from the main issue of this campaign: unfunded liabilities on the taxpayers caused by public employee union greed and spineless politicians.

And so Hide and Seek Sidhu, carpetbagger and perjurer, the man who doesn’t even know what a defined benefit is suddenly a paragon of virtue; Nelson is an unspeakable monster.



There you have it. Fear and Loathing, and enough to go around.

Self Serving Sidhu Boasts A Whopper

Who would have known that the man behind the mask was none other than OC's 3rd District Harish "Harry" Sidhu?

The Orange County Register's Jennifer Muir wrote up this little blurb on Orange County's 4th District race.  The only shocker reported by Muir is that Sidhu had 28 fast food restaurants in 2004.  And then to read that "Sidhu says he's most proud of steps he's taken to make Anaheim more "freedom friendly," such as deferring developer fees..."  So here is a guy that is in real estate development, has dropped fast food burger stands onto dozens of street corners and has the nerve to boast about being "freedom friendly" by deferring developer fees.  How convenient is that! 

Harry Sidhu might think he has created hundreds of jobs but I think once you wipe the grease off it's clear those are minimum wage jobs taking drive-thru food orders, flipping burgers, and mixing shakes. 

NOW THAT'S A WHOPPER!!!

I wonder if Harry uses E-Verify to check the status of his prospective and current employees... Maybe someone should do him a favor and just do it for him.

Nelson, Hunt, and the AOCDS

Why am I happy that Bill Hunt received the AOCDS (Association of Orange County Sheriff Deputies) endorsement and that Shawn Nelson didn’t bother to ask?

Bill Hunt, 2010 candidate for OC Sheriff, said he did not feel the OCGOP chairman Scott Baugh’s mandate was reasonable. Then he sought the endorsement and received it.  That is consistency.

Shawn Nelson, 2010 candidate to fill 4th District OC Supervisor seat vacated by Chris Norby, declined to so much as interview for the endorsement citing conflict with the OCGOP proclamation.  That is also consistency.

I support both candidates for the same reasons. They both feel strong in their convictions and are not easily moved to change their stance on positions.  In other words, they are consistent.

Specifically regarding the AOCDS endorsements, Hunt is running to be sheriff and this I the sheriff’s union. Logically he should seek their support. Nelson, running for the OC Board of Supervisors does not need their support in the same manner as Hunt but it would be good to have. However, Nelson is also running for the OC GOP Central Committee and as such should play by party rules. Hunt, though active in politics, is not a member of the OCGOP Central Committee nor does it appear he wants to be. Hunt is a law man and Nelson is a politician. Don’t fight it, just realize that they are fight two different battles.

Further, Baugh’s hypocritical proclamation aside, all candidates should seek all possible endorsements without pandering to the endorser's cause. As much as the public employee pensions have hurt us, we must remember that the Board of Supervisors approved the pensions and that he labor unions are supposed to fight for every penny and every bit of compensation that they can get; that is their job. The Board should have done a better job negotiating the pensions and salaries down. We must also bear in mind that the Board’s decision was based in part by data provided by actuaries and that this pension tsunami is everyone’s fault.

Chairman Scott Baugh's Call to Action from Informed Patriots on Vimeo.

Volunteers and Supporters Walk for Shawn Nelson for OC Supervisor

Saturday, March 27th: Volunteers get out and walk for Shawn Nelson, candidate for the OC 4th District Supervisor's seat and current Fullerton City Councilman...not to mention all of the other activities he is involved with. Below are some of the first to arrive before the walk began. 

How Harry Became Harish - The Story of Harry "My Bag Is Packed" Sidhu

My carpetbag is packed!

One day a former City of Anaheim employee told me that Harry Sidhu was a licensed engineer and contractor. Being a licensed land surveyor registered and vetted by the same state board, the California Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (http://www.pels.ca.gov/), I took it upon myself to verify his license. It’s a habit I got into while working for Orange County.

I went to http://www.pels.ca.gov/consumers/lic_lookup.shtml and typed SIDHU into the “Last Name:” field. There were 16 names returned and only one had an Anaheim Hills address. The name for the engineer is “Harish Singh Sidhu” and he is a currently registered mechanical engineer.

That seems a little odd since Sidhu is also licensed as a general contractor. I know several civil engineers who are also licensed as general contractors but this is the first mechanical engineer. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it is just a little odd. So, from this information came the use Harish S. Sidhu so as not to be confused with Harjit Sidhu who is a licensed civil engineer but up in Tracy.

Next, I looked at the contractor’s state license board website at https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/CheckLicense/NameRequest.asp.

The name Harry Sidhu didn’t show up nor did Sidhu Harry which caused me to question the validity of the information I had received. Ah, wait- could it be Harish Sidhu? No, but I did find it under “Sidhu Harish”.

It would appear that he is a Class B general contractor with the designation under License Status that “This license is inactive and not able to contract at this time.” It also says, “The license will need a contractors bond to renew active or reactivate.” Ok, so he sort of has a license but he can’t use it because he needs a new bond or something like that.  Regardless, you can't find out much about Harry Sidhu unless you know he's really Harish Singh Sidhu. 

Alright, so let’s review:
We have a mechanical engineer who goes into general contracting, then into the restaurant business, then runs for Anaheim City Council, and then runs for a pile of vacant or open seats in Orange County! Are you kidding? Not at all. It seems that Mayor Harish “Harry” Sidhu appears to have been job hopping long before he got into politics. If Harry was just the average Joe Citizen and non-politician, no big deal. Or if he had numerous jobs within the same field, that might be ok, too. However, when you are talking about a job where he is supposed to represent his constituents for a 4-year term, I have to question if Sidhu has the willpower to overcome his flighty habit of electioneering every which way to Sunday. Since he is a first-class carpetbagger with a long history of packing his bag and running away, I doubt the people of the 4th can afford such a costly mistake by trusting him.

Precinct Walk for Shawn Nelson - UPDATE

Fullerton Precinct Walk

Saturday, March 27

Please come join Shawn for lunch at 12:30pm

We will start walking at 1:30pm

Location: Hill Crest Park, Fullerton

(On the corner of Lemon and Valley View)

**For those of you with Saturday commitments, let us know because we are walking Sunday too!

Note: If you cannot make this walk, please call or email the campaign so that we may coordinate a precinct packet drop-off at your convenience.

JUST SHOW UP!!!
RSVP (if you can): audra@nelsonforsupervisor.com

Cell - (949) 903-6840

Office - (714) 973-2444

www.NelsonForSupervisor.com

Shawn Nelson for Supervisor 2010 • FPPC ID # 1316599

Getting Involved and Making Changes

If only OC Politics were as pretty as this picture...

Recently, some one near and dear asked me why I get involved in so many activities. The answer is surprisingly simple: It makes me feel good. Those five self-serving words create a singularly selfish reason and is my only motivator.


I know that our civilization is in bad shape. Those elected to represent us are all too often completely disinterested in making their community better. Instead, they seek power and money. It has been said that people to don’t run for office for money, they run for the power. I didn’t realize what that meant or even how true the statement was until I started seeing how often a candidate will say what they will do if elected only hear them boast about all of the programs they have created or worked on and how noble each of them is after they are elected.

I have been a Monday night armchair quarterback in politics for a number of years. It’s a safe place to be. You can rant and rave about this politician or that administration and you never really need to do anything. Talk radio is a great forum for the armchair politician. The host screams about how screwed up everything is since this person was elected or that law passed. You might even feel strong enough about s topic to call in and have your say. And that was the end of my political and civic involvement.

No, not even close. In elementary school I was a cub scout and an alter server (a.k.a. alter boy. And wouldn’t you know it, my son is also an alter server.). In high school I enrolled in the Army JROTC program. In college it was the police academy and sheriff’s academy. After becoming a parent I found myself looking to be involved again but this time with my children. I signed my son up for cub scouts and later boy scouts. I became an Assistant Scout Master and merit badge counselor which meant lots of training. It was fun but my son decided he wanted to focus on his school work so he dropped out of scouting.

When my son began preparing for high school and my oldest daughter for kindergarten, I began to look around at my community, recognizing the good and not so good that was around us. I found an opening on the City of Fullerton Citizen’s Infrastructure Review Commission, I applied, I appeared before the Council, and I was appointed with a 4-0 vote, Councilwoman Pam Keller being absent. Being a licensed land surveyor, I have an appreciation for the condition of our infrastructure and thought this would be a good place for me to help my community. At about the same time I was moved to support a candidate, Chris Norby, who I had believed in for several years for an election to the California State Assembly. Call me an opportunist but I saw this as a chance to elect someone who would actually try to change California for the good of our children. Chris Norby won in a landslide election in January 2010 leaving a void at the Orange County Board of Supervisor’s 4th District. In fact, it was at Chris’ victory party that I saw a sign which poked at my mind triggering that same instinct to pitch in and help for a worthy cause. That sign was quite simply NELSON FOR SUPERVISOR. Having watched Shawn Nelson’s voting record I was convinced that his election to the Board of Supervisors would be good for the County and Fullerton. So I volunteered to walk my precinct, place yard signs, and call voters just like I did for Chris Norby.

There are two other candidates that I support, Bill Hunt and Hugh Nguyen. In a previous thread I noted why I felt Hunt and Nguyen was the best choice for Orange County. Without regurgitating all of that, I will just say that Bill Hunt is as genuine as a man can be and Hugh Nguyen has experience and leadership qualities like no one else in the race for Clerk-Recorder. In a few days I will be holding a sign above a freeway to get people’s attention and remind them of who Bill Hunt is and soon I hope to help Hugh Nguyen. If you would have asked me to do these things just two years ago, I probably would have said, “No thanks!” But we are an ever evolving and changing community that I think needs direction from these people, the same people that need to be elected to office in order to affect change. Correction: we do not need these people to direct us; we need them to direct government to serve the people instead of the politicians.

So, why spend time on local politics and not feeding the hungry or some other civic-minded operation? I already donate money to my church to feed and cloth the hungry and we cannot change as a society unless those who represent us are of the same mindset. With hard work and enough votes, we might see a complete change in local politics from the top down! With these new people we will likely see changes in our jail, labor unions, CCW’s, and agency policies. We could see fresh new ideas that challenge conventional politics.

One thing is for certain: if we continue to let the current team captains (political party leaders) manage and coach our team, we will continue to fail. Our children and grandchildren will have even more problems to deal with. More importantly, our quality of life, whatever life we have left, is certain to grow more dismal unless you make the effort to be involved.

Current Cast Of Characters

Shawn Nelson's List of Endorsements Continues to Grow

Today I received news that Shawn Nelson has been endorsed by OC Supervisor Pat Bates.

FULLERTON, CA -- Orange County Supervisor Pat Bates today endorsed Shawn Nelson in his campaign to be elected Supervisor for the Fourth District. Pat Bates is known as one of Orange County's most respected public servants.

"Shawn Nelson will be a strong ally in the work to make government more efficient, transparent, and responsive to the people of Orange County," said Supervisor Bates. "His experience as a strong advocate for taxpayers will serve the constituents of the Fourth District well."


Pat Bates was the founding Mayor of Laguna Niguel and served as a Council Member in that city from 1989 to 1998. Pat was elected to the State Assembly in 1998. After finishing three terms in the legislature, Pat was elected to represent the Fifth District on the Orange County Board of Supervisors. During the past year, Supervisor Bates served as Board Chair and led the County through a time of great economic challenge.


"Shawn shares my values of fiscal responsibility, limited government and individual liberty. I am proud to endorse his candidacy and look forward to working with him on such issues as balancing the County budget, reforming the pension system, and making county government more accountable to the people," said Pat.


"Finally, I am also troubled by the false charges and character assassination already going on against Shawn. I believe voters will reject these tactics, just as they have in the past," Bates concluded.


Shawn Nelson is a strong fiscal conservative who was elected to the Fullerton City Council in November 2002. He served as Mayor in 2004-05 and 2006-07. Nelson is a California native who was raised in Fullerton and he lives in the district with his wife and children. Nelson was named the "Local Elected Official for 2009" by the Orange County Republican Party.


Shawn has received a number of endorsements.  Below is a list of endorsers from the nelsonforsupervisor website.  One name is missing, however, which I have added to the bottom.

U.S. Representative Ed Royce

State Senator Mimi Walters
Assemblyman Chuck DeVore
Assemblyman Curt Hagman
Assemblywoman Diane Harkey
Assemblyman Chris Norby
Family Action PAC
Orange County Supervisor Pat Bates
La Habra City Councilman Tim Shaw
Buena Park City Councilman Fred Smith
Placentia Mayor Joe Aguirre
Placentia City Councilman Scott Nelson
Placentia City Councilman Greg Sowards
Fullerton Mayor Don Bankhead
LaHabra Mayor Tom Beamish
Villa Park City Councilwoman Deborah Pauly
Chairman Emeritus Tom Fuentes, Republican Party of Orange County

Other Supporters
Peter and Suzanne Alexander
Joe and Tamra Araiza
Dave Bailey
Dee Baker
Mike Barth
Andrea Brown
Marty Burbank
Freydel Bushala
Roland and Sarah Chi
Marie Crossen
Bob Curry
Deena David
Bob Francis
James Francis
Laverne Francis
Rae Francis
Norma Frizse
Cassidy Gayner
John and Jennifer Geiger
Todd Goldsmith
Richard and Beverly Gunter
Rob Hallstrom
Doy Henley
Susan Hirzel
Buck Johns
Greg Sebourn