Archive for category Fullerton politics
FAA Grant Assurance Violation investigation opened against the city of Fullerton-puts the brakes on the lease agreement with Hangar 21 Helicopters and the potentially illegal proposed public land use zone change at the airport
Posted by Joe Imbriano in Air Combat USA, Bruce Whitaker, Fullerton politics, FULLERTON PRAVDA, Hangar 21, The Fullerton Airport on December 1, 2017
Ladies and gentlemen, hospitals are for sick people, churches are for sinners, bars are for drunks and Airports are for aircraft. I wonder how some people in this community have attempted to cleverly devise a way to make an airport into the place for all of that?
Well it appears that the best laid plans of mice and men combined with what I believe to be the worst intentions of some have amalgamated into a huge problem for city officials and ultimately, you guessed it, the taxpayers.
Fullerton is being sued again, and this time it is not by the parents of someone murdered by some deranged cops, or someone who was molested by some pervert wearing a badge, nor someone whose ball joints have been busted by these busted up shitty roads. This time it is over what appears to be a case of crooked cronyism. The city of Fullerton is the subject of a 500 million dollar lawsuit between a local business and city officials and now the Feds are involved.
Public works director Don Hoppe. He is the airport manager Brendon Oreily’s boss.
City manager Domer needs to check his email today
Well, word to the Fullerton Informer is The City of Fullerton is now the subject of an open FAA investigation. The phone call and letter to city officials from the FAA is on its way to stop the agenda item on Tuesday night’s council meeting docket.
An official FAA Grants Assurance 22 non discrimination violation investigation has been opened at the Federal level brought about by allegations made by Mr. Blackstone on behalf of Air Combat USA who is also involved in a 500 million dollar breach of contract lawsuit with the city of Fullerton. The lawsuit alleges that actions of city officials involving collusion, alleged intentional misrepresentations and alleged interference, all allegedly intended to breach Air Combat USA’s contract.
The battle over the hangar at the Fullerton airport is between a 20 year Reserve La Habra PD Narcotics officer named Rob Sims who owns Hangar 21 helicopters who has operated at the Fullerton airport since 2016. He wants to expand his helicopter and events business.
Rob Sims
and a 25 year commercial airline pilot, named Mike Blackstone, who owns an aviation company called Air Combat USA who has operated at the Fullerton airport for nearly 30 years. He wants to stay at the airport and expand his business.
Mike Blackstone
In spite of the city being made aware of the lawsuit which I have posted here —-FAC_Blackstone_8 , the potential grant violations, and requests of Mike Blackstone, Barry and myself to remove this item from the agenda forecast at the previous meeting, city staff, under the auspices of our new city manager, Mr. Domer,
and with the clearance of our city attorney, Dick Jones,
still doubled down and had decided to place the item on the agenda anyway, ignoring everything before them. Even the entire city council ignored the lawsuit and everything that the three of us presented in public comments. The worst offender of all is the mayor (Tony Bushala bought and paid for plant) Bruce Whitaker who, as Barry Levinson had pointed out, ignored the potential for this action to compound the outcome of the lawsuit. He said and did nothing and still put this potentially crooked scheme on the agenda for the next meeting.
The other (Tony Bushala bought and paid for plant) Greg Sebourn, also just ignored everything presented and rocked back and forth in his chair waiting for it all to end.
(Police, and fire Union plant, bought and paid for union puppet) Doug Chaffee could barely keep his eyes open the entire time as this issue was brought up, He did nothing, and said nothing.
(Poker faced master of the municipal time card) City attorney Dick Jones just sat there ignoring and digesting (no pun intended) everything as usual.
(Shawn Nelson darling, Royce Hack, Curt Pringle operative, Tony Bushala’s teflon girl, Union puppet and Agenda 21 operative) Jennifer Fitzgerald actually had the nerve to laugh at the speakers during the public comment period.
I also might add that I received an anonymous comment that I should remove the picture of Rob Sims and that for my safety I should remove the entire article about the Fullerton Municipal Airport and the Air Combat USA, Inc. lawsuit, I take that as a threat against both Mr. Levinson and myself. We have taken the necessary precautions as well as have alerted those necessary. Both Mr. Levinson and myself have instructed several different people of this threat and who law enforcement including the FBI should look at if anything happens to either of us.
Fullerton is broke folks, these people are not helping and depending upon their behavior on Tuesday night, it may just get a whole lot worse for everyone. Huge lawsuits are not a good thing for a city that has no money left for even a firework show on the fourth of July.
Holding leaders accountable is 6th grade civics, and boy scout basic material. It is time for all of you to get involved because Fullerton’s leaders are not who you think you voted for and the city government is run by people that are not who you think they are. Like Barry Levinson said at the last meeting he attended, the chickens are indeed coming home to roost. Yes they are one at a time.
COLLEGE TOWN COMETH FORTH
Posted by Joe Imbriano in Fullerton politics on November 27, 2017
One of the last retail stores anchoring College Plaze is leaving. Goodwill will be closing its doors and the 99 cent store will be gone by late next year. A source to the Fullerton informer recently told us that the City of Fullerton is in secret dealing with developers to rezone the parcel and place Low Income Section 8 Housing on the southeast corner of Chapman Avenue and State College Blvd. replacing a much needed in place Shopping Center. 
This is a shopping center made up of stores such as Big Lots, Round Table Pizza, 99 Cents Store, Thailandia Restaurant and the Goodwill Store along with many others. It is one of four corners that makes up most of the shopping areas in that part of town. Yet the city elders apparently simply do not care what are the needs of our citizens. You know the ones that already live here and pay the taxes and their salaries. All the council members seem to care about is their desperate attempt to look for short term fixes for our financial woes, which will make our financial condition worse in the long run and were caused in very large part by very poor decisions by past and current city councils.
We now know that at least two of these stores will not be continuing. Big Lots will be closing this January 2018 and the Goodwill Store will be closing in April 2018. Does the owner or owners of that shopping center know something or have assurances from members of the City of Fullerton government that is related to these imminent store closures? If there are no plans to replace these stores with other retail tenants, we would have our answer.
Retail space is in very short supply throughout the city but is even in shorter supply in that neighborhood. Last year the city itself reported that only 6%of the real estate in Fullerton is either retail, commercial or industrial. This is way below average for any city in Orange County and it is not a healthy balance of properties as far as our tax base is concerned. Residential property costs the city much more than commercial properties in service required by the city. Therefore, a low commercial percentage of properties is not good for the long term financial health of our city. A cities financial health in large part depends on a good mix between residential and commercial/industrial properties. Everything the city council and the city planning department has tried to accomplish will further reduce the commercial/industrial base in the city, while increasing residential mostly high density, high-rise apartments and/or condos.
another back room deal is in the works
This article is based on an anonymous tip so I can’t vouch that it is accurate. However, past anonymous tips sent to the Fullerton Informer have overwhelmingly turned out to be true. Based on their desperate need for an infusion of quick cash, it makes sense that the city would be looking to rezoning retail space to housing, ignoring the long term negative consequences to our tax base and net revenue collections (remember College Town that would have replaced the current stores on the north side of Chapman Avenue and added housing for nearly 14,000 students, faculty and staff
The idea is to provide low income housing, yet the city will add almost 6 or 12 million dollars to the development cost (assuming 500 or 1,000 units) by adding the Park and Recreation Department Fee of $11,700 per unit (of any size). If providing low cost housing is the goal, should not the city be reducing normal costs for its building not adding to it extremely high “fees” known by its more appropriate term “a tax”. Based on the building of 500 units this will bring in a one-time only windfall of $5,850,000 ($11,700 X 500). Based on the building of 1,000 units this will bring in a one-time windfall of $11,700,000 ($11,700 X 1,000).
Please remember that the city several years ago tried to ram through both the DCCSP (The Downtown Core and Corridor Special Plan), College Town and then the DCCSP Lite Plan. All going down to defeat with only the College Town Project getting a lot of negative feedback from the public. We here at the Fullerton Informer were steadfast in letting the good people of Fullerton know about all three of the above boondoggles.
Six million or 12 million going supposedly to the Parks and Recreation Department, which is already wasting millions on substandard stairs and a bridge to nowhere at Hillcrest Park. Yet in fact the city needs more than 100 million dollars to help fix our dilapidated roads that have been virtually ignored by numerous Fullerton City Councils for decades. A citizen brought large pieces of our broken streets to city hall to show our city council members but they want the money I believe for salaries and pensions not for us. Remember money is fungible so that it can be easily diverted to be used for whatever purpose the city leaders select. Salaries and benefits now consume approximately 80% of our general funds. This excludes the hundreds of millions of dollars of unfunded pension and retiree health care liabilities we as taxpayers are still on the hook for.
Where do you think that $100 million or more needed for decades for our Fullerton roads actually ended up?
What we do know for sure is that our neighboring cities all had and spent those dollars for their roads. It should make you wonder about those running our city both past and present!
Air Combat USA files a $500 million dollar lawsuit against the Fullerton airport manager and the City of Fullerton by Barry Levinson.
Posted by Joe Imbriano in Fullerton politics, FULLERTON PRAVDA on November 27, 2017
Barry Levinson
WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON OVER AT THE FULLERTON AIRPORT?
Here is the lawsuit:
Complaint_FAC_Exhibit_All
At the November 21, 2017 Fullerton Council meeting, Mike Blackstone, Joe Imbriano and myself spoke about the lawsuit and things related to it. Unfortunately both Mayor Bruce Whitaker and Council member Jennifer Fitzgerald behaved rudely and disrespectfully to the speakers.
Mike Blackstone, Barry Levinson and Joe Imbriano speak at the 11-21-17 Fullerton City council meeting as Air Combat USA filed a $500 million dollar lawsuit against the Fullerton airport manager, and the City of Fullerton alleging breach of contract and more.
While both Mr. Blackstone and myself were speaking on this subject during public comments, Council member Jennifer Fitzgerald saw fit to smirk and laugh throughout our presentations from the dais. What kind of an arrogant, contemptuous individual behaves in such a manner while representing the good people of Fullerton? Obviously the answer is one Jennifer Fitzgerald.
Next, Mayor Whitaker added to his many previous sins by not being truthful while both Mr. Blackstone and myself had the floor to speak to them. I spoke about the fact that Mike Blackstone of Air Combat USA, Inc., who between himself and his father spent the last 38 years being a tenant at the Fullerton Municipal Airport, met with Bruce Whitaker about the failure of the city to provide him a new lease for his business. When Mr. Blackstone did not receive any follow-up from our Mayor, he decided to attend the last Talk Around the Town that our Mayor holds monthly. You know the one that is advertised that the Mayor will answer the public’s questions about any matter concerning our city. Well Mayor Whitaker would not acknowledge Mr. Blackstone during his question and answer period although he had his hand up throughout that part of the event. So after being I believe intentionally ignored by our Mayor, he waited to the very end to approach the Mayor just to have a minute of two of his time. Mayor Whitaker brushed him off stating he had to leave immediately.
So what did Mayor Whitaker rudely do while I was speaking, he continuously shook his head “No” and mouthed words denying my comments. These poor excuses for elected representatives demand from us that we be respectful and follow their self-imposed rules but when it suits them they throw all the rules out the window.
Of course, the remainder of the city council ignored our comments as well. That would be Doug Chaffee, Greg Sebourn and Jesus Silva. I believe that all five council members know or at least at this time should know that the city has breached its contract with Mike Blackstone of Air Combat USA. And what do these corrupt moral midgets (and I am not referring to their height) do, they along with our new City Manager have placed an agenda item for the very next council meeting to change (I suspect expand) the zoning for the Fullerton Municipal Airport for one of the main antagonists against Air Combat USA who wants to take over their space at the airport. I am referring to a relatively new business at the Fullerton Municipal Airport, called Hanger 21 owned by La Habra Reserve Officer Robert Sims who works as a Reserve Officer in the Narcotics Unit of the La Habra Police Department.
Rob Sims
Finally, since Mr. Blackstone reached out to Joe Imbriano and myself prior to filing his lawsuit against the city, I can state unequivocally that his case not only has merit but that he has the documented proof I believe necessary to prove his case before a judge or a jury.
I report, you decide-Barry Levinson
Council Member Jennifer Fitzgerald And Her Close Confidant And Appointee To The Parks And Recreation Committee, Gretchen Cox Acting Badly As Her Apparent Representative, Striking Out Against The Truth and The Truth tellers (That Would Include Me) With Baseless Defamations! By Barry Levinson
Posted by Joe Imbriano in Barry Levinson, Fullerton politics, FULLERTON PRAVDA, radical feminist social engineering, save the males, Who's who in Fullerton politics on October 20, 2017
Barry Levinson
Question? Why are the facts for some like Council member Fitzgerald and her confidant and appointee Gretchen Cox so difficult apparently to deal with?
Question? Why is the truth for some like Council member Fitzgerald and her confidant and appointee Gretchen Cox so difficult apparently to deal with?
Jennifer Fitzgerald became Vice President of Curt Pringle & Associates shortly after her election to the city council.
A Brief Summary Of How The Power Brokers In Fullerton Intentionally Mistreat Both The Truth Tellers And All the Good People Of Fullerton California. By Barry Levinson
Posted by Joe Imbriano in Barry Levinson, Fullerton politics, FULLERTON PRAVDA on July 2, 2017
Barry Levinson
I have been posting regularly about the many faults of our Fullerton City Government for years. I have done this not for personal profit, not for power and certainly not for any glory as it sets me up and my family as a big target for all those power players that have something to loose from my truth telling.
After all this time I have yet to see or read one defender of our Fullerton City Government discredit even one of my articles, videos, or public comments that now totals in the hundreds.
The question then remains if they can’t provide any cogent argument against my various articles, videos or public comments, then how do they choose to respond to me.
This is what they do instead. First they try to make me a political prisoner with totally baseless charges against me as corroborated by not only the city’s own video camera but the very words at city council of the alleged victim that she could not remember if I laid a finger on her at any time.
Please let me review the facts. First the city own video proves I am totally innocent as it clearly demonstrates no such assault and battery took place. Second, the alleged victim at city council meeting states she has no recollection that I ever laid a finger on her at any time. I can understand now why our former Police Chief Dan Hughes took it upon himself to interview the so-called witnesses and take charge of the police report, which recommended that the Orange County District Attorney prosecute me. In my humble opinion the evidence seems to show rather clearly that this was nothing more than a criminal conspiracy lead by Dan Hughes to make me a political prisoner.
Yet, Disney Corporation seemed fit last November after I assume was an exhaustive search and background check of all its final candidates to hire Dan Hughes to a very high level security post.
I wonder when or if Disney Corporation will realize that hiring Dan Hughes makes the Disney Corporation look extremely bad to many of the good folks of Fullerton. Question for the Disney Corporation. How many alleged scandals does Dan Hughes have to be involved in before Disney cuts its ties with him?
Next Bruce Whitaker fired me with no cause or reason given to me from a position I had held for 5 and one half years and in my second term as Park and Recreation Committee member.
Finally, throughout all of this time, they routinely call me just about every four letter fowl name their sick and evil minds can think of and make up defaming stories about me and of course call me crazy, a lunatic and unstable for good measure.
Well they have been doing this now for many years and it has not yet worked for them. I would say that their disgusting, dishonest tactics against me has been an utter failure. I say this with the knowledge that the only thing it has proved is their total lack of decency and honesty.
P.S. But it is “heartwarming” to note that our former Mayor, Jennifer Fitzgerald did defend so-called comedian Andy Dick for his outrageous and disgusting comment at a Fullerton Cares benefit for autism. He called all people with autism retards and then signaled the only reason he came to Fullerton was he needed a paycheck. What a guy and what only a depraved council member such as Jennifer Fitzgerald could defend in my opinion.
I report, you decide!
Is Fitzgerald’s usefulness to Curt Pringle gone despite her best efforts to turn Downtown Fullerton into Downtown LA?
Posted by Joe Imbriano in Agenda 21, Fullerton politics, FULLERTON PRAVDA, Fullerton's downtown core and corridor, The DCCSP, Tony Bushala on June 28, 2017
With the DCCSP and the mini DCCSP they wanted to build massive high density housing in and around the Downtown area as well as expand the Downtown area. The DCCSP, if passed, would have allowed for up to ten story buildings all throughout the major thoroughfares in Fullerton.
Jennifer Fitzgerald was given a walk up right on to the city council by people including Tony Bushala who is a long time associate of Shawn Nelson. Right after she was elected, she was given the very lucrative Vice President position at Curt Pringle and Associates.
Curt Pringle and Associates is in the business of selling influence and getting large projects developed. On their website they highlight not what they know but who they know. Meet Curt Pringle, Jennifer’s Boss for now.
The claim to fame of Curt Pringle and Associates is their connections. Fitzgerald is Nelson’s darling and an ardent pro development vote every time. With Bushala’s boys Seaborn, Whitaker and Kiger, plus Fitzgerald, there would have been 4 votes guaranteed for the DCCSP.
Bushala’s boys Seaborn, Whitaker and Kiger, plus Nelson’s darling Fitzgerald stacked the planning commission so the DCCSP would pass and it did. They even doubled down and put a SCAG senior planner on the commission just for good measure.
Well thanks to Barry Levinson and others, it never got passed the council. Thanks to Barry Levinson the revised version never got off the ground either.
Well, the DCCSP is dead for now, the mini DCCSP is also dead for now, and College Town on is ice, The Polly’s shopping center project is off the table, and The Sunrise Village development has been head off at the pass Is the handwriting on the wall? Is Fitzgerald’s usefulness to Curt Pringle gone despite her best efforts to try to turn Downtown Fullerton into an Agenda 21 version of Downtown LA?
Thank you Barry Levinson for exposing the corrupt scheme and laying bare the achilles heel of dirty Fullerton Politics. It is very healthy for Fullertonians to know who all the power players are and what their real hidden agendas may be. The animus against us is directly a result of our doing just that. We are exposing the strings to and from all the power players in our city including Tony Bushala.
We are exposing the power players who are the reason our city is in such awful shape. For doing what is right by the citizens has never been at the top of our city council’s agenda. As is the case always, just follow the money. We did and found that Bushala over the years bankrolled Whitaker, Kiger and Sebourn’s campaigns to the tune of upwards of six figures between the three of them. Bushala, the founder of the SOCO walk high density apartment development, was notably silent on the massive development plan called the DCCSP and so were his hired hands Kiger, Whitaker and Sebourn. Well the DCCSP is dead for now.
Is Fitzpringle done? Perhaps. Was Bushala’s involvement in getting Newman elected an attempt to influence state legislation that would bypass local control over certain zoning changes? We believe so. Nothing else makes any sense to us.
Was Bushala’s involvement in getting Newman elected an attempt to influence state legislation that would bring high speed rail to downtown Fullerton? You know right to the train station whose lease Bushala controls along with his many parcels in the area that can be turned into giant SOCO walk monstrosity ten story high rise apartments as he opens pot clinics and bars to serve all the patrons he could be wharehousing if he can get his peeps into the places where they can pull the strings? We know the local strings have been exposed and almost cut at this point.
Right after the recall election, Shawn Nelson who is Bushala’s buddy became Jennifer Fitzgerald’s mentor.
Tony Bushala totally gave her a pass throughout the entire 2012 campaign, and remained silent during the 2016 campaign. The negative comments now about her by The FFFF crowd after she has been elected to another 4 year term are some of the most Machiavellian style subterfuge I have ever seen in my life. It is all overseen and orchestrated by one of Fullerton’s major pupeteers, Tony Bushala.
If Jennifer Fitzgerald is washed out and the residents have woken up to the secret plans to turn Fullerton into downtown LA, ending the local officials ability to ram massive development through, then it would make sense to try to influence it at the state level. Bills like SB35 would make certain local zoning a thing of the past and must be fought with just as much might as the local power players trying to ruin our city for their own interests. We will keep exposing them, fighting them and keep you posted folks.
Why Are So Many Regular Unnamed Supporters/Defenders of the FFFF Website Running Scared? By Barry Levinson
Posted by Joe Imbriano in Fullerton politics, FULLERTON PRAVDA on June 27, 2017
They claim Tony Bushala has nothing to do with the FFFF website yet Google and their own site clearly prove otherwise.
Here is my one comment I made on the FFFF website in response to the post entitled Gretchen Cox and Fullerton First dated June 26, 2017 by pseudonym, Mr. Peabody. .
“Barry Levinson June 26, 2017 at 1:47 PM Joshua Ferguson, Anonymous raises a very simple question and up to now you have completely dodged it. Why? You brought forth a problem with the quality of the construction and safety of the Hillcrest Stairs. Yet since then the Fullerton City Council including Mayor Whitaker and Council member Sebourn (two council members that Tony Bushala and/or one of his PAC’s have supported politically and financially) have not taken one tiny step forward to hold either the outside contractors or the city inspectors accountable. Why? Your silence since that May 16th city council meeting makes absolutely no sense and I am sure it puzzles many Fullertonians. You bring it forward once and then you drop the subject completely at subsequent council meetings. Could it be that your support for Sebourn and Whitaker has convinced you to remain silent going forward? Is protecting their total lack of follow through more important than holding those inside and outside city hall responsible for all the apparent construction and design defects. Again what is your explanation for your total lack of follow through on this problem at any city council meetings after your remarks at the May 16 meeting? Second question that your readers deserve an answer to is why the FFFF a Fullerton local political blog waits until right after the 2016 election (with three seats to be chosen for the council) to come back online? That also makes no sense to me unless the purpose of this blog is not to help reform Fullerton but rather to help Tony Bushala with his development agenda for his many downtown Fullerton properties.”
Now here is a sampling of the comments of FFFF pseudonym contributors attacking me for the above comment as follows:
Seek Help June 26, 2017 at 1:51 PM “if I were Bushala I would sue your useless and ungrateful ass for serial defamation. Unfortunately you don’t have anything except a big fat mouth which is of use to no one except, apparently your fellow paranoid nut case Joe Embryo.”
nipsy June 26, 2017 at 3:22 PM “Please, neither of the Kook Brothers are fit to stand trial.”
“Joe Sipowicz (pseudonym) June 26, 2017 at 1:56 PM “Hey dumbass, Bushala is no linger (his spelling not mine) affiliated with this blog.”
The most outlandish claim is that Joe and I are plants for Jennifer Fitzgerald and her friends. This tells me that the FFFF crowd is getting very worried that the motives of the leaders of that blog are no longer hidden in my opinion. The blogger who is spouting this nonsense calls himself/herself Conspiracy Lunatic. Here are just a few videos those blows that claim to smithereens.
………and the list goes on. We don’t work for Curt Pringle but she does.
The FFFF comments go on and on and on with no facts but pure unadulterated character assassination. I am more than willing to have a debate on the facts but the likes of Seek Help, nipsy and Joe Sipowicz prefer name-calling and nothing more. I ask serious questions about city business without the use of any pejorative words and I am called a kook, dumbass, a paranoid nut case and a useless ass. Wow and many of these comments are coming from regular bloggers on the FFFF website.
What is most disturbing about the FFFF website and an iron clad reason that no smart and objective person in Fullerton should ever trust this website is that the majority of articles are written by nameless people. How credible is that Fullertonians? There is logic to allow people to respond to posts without giving out their real names but there is absolutely no good reason to allow people to post articles making unfounded and unsubstantiated claims and insults under the cover of anonymity. In other words they are cowards and bullies pure and simple and the people running the FFFF are the same. It is my educated opinion based on 8 years of very closely watching Fullerton politics, that it is all about placing Tony’s pals into elective offices with the grand prize to maximize the value of each and every one of Bushala’s properties here in Fullerton.
Gretchen Cox, the Fitzgerald sycophant doubles down on protecting corruption
Posted by Joe Imbriano in Fullerton politics, FULLERTON PRAVDA, Gretchen Cox, Pam Keller on June 23, 2017
Fullerton is in dire straights financially with our infrastructure in ruin. Dirty Agenda 21 deal after dirty deal gets passed by the council shortchanging the residents twice a month on TV. We have the worst roads in Orange County, with police, and fire overtime pay skyrocketing, a corrupt police department that has learned nothing from the past, high rise developers chomping at the bit, all but losing their patience, a bought and paid for city council, and a city hall crowd that is so scared of the truth that it has to enlist the help of anyone that they can get their hands on to run interference.
Is Pringle about to dump Fitzgerald because we have derailed all the ten story buildings that he wanted her to ram through on the clowncil?
So what is in it for these establishment water boys and girls? Well they get to have some thinly veneered phony friendships and they get to go to the phony establishment happy parties.
Well lately, this ardent Fitzpringle sycophant and lackey, Gretchen Cox, who for years among other things, has ignored a 5 million dollar finding of fiscal mismanagement and potential malfeasance on the Park and Recreation commission brought forward by former commissioner Barry Levinson, has been rearing her head trying to bury the facts about all the aforementioned getting exposed with a bunch of fluff and calling truth tellers who expose corruption “bullies”, “malcontents”, “flat earthers” ,”tin foilers”, and the like. Heck it is easier to believe the earth is flat than to believe Fullerton is run by honest people. Just look around.
Cox in a rare moment on Park and Rec trying to shut Barry Levinson up as he exposed the Five million dollar shortfall to the taxpayers with the American Golf contract. Bruce Whitaker fired Barry for exposing this and other items like calling out the commission and council for approving blank contracts.
We expose the real bullies like those that did this. Where was Gretchen when the real “bullies” did this to a totally innocent man?
Of course it looks like she has teamed up with the self declared queen of the limousine liberal establishment, FPOA attack dog Pam Keller who defended the killer cops.
Keller moments before obsessing with me as she got within one inch of my face with her cell phone camera.
Hey forget the potholes, the holes in the budget, the blank contracts the council approves, the blank grant applications, the downtown bar owners that cozy up with and parlay the patsies on the council that allowed to write the district election maps as they suck us dry and ruin our community, forget the massive development they tried to ram through, the multi-million dollar overtime scam, the busted water mains, the killer cops, the crooked cops, the deranged cops and the just stupid cops, the dead trees, neglected parks, gopher holes all over the ball fields, dead grass, the bums all over the place, the building code violations found on multiple municipal projects, the run down shopping centers turning into homeless encampments whose owners were promised the high density payday development bonanza by the crooked city hall insiders that never came thanks to us and of course the abuse and ripoffs by city employees, because we work for them right? Well, not exactly but Gretchen and Pam certainly do. I expect Jan Flory to join in any day now. I hear the divorce business is slow because of the all the scumbags who have trained everyone not to get married anymore.
Good news about Fullerton
from Fullerton Hills
“Are you sick of and bored to death by the ” fraternity” of chronic malcontents that plague our city by endless complaining on every subject at most city meetings, unsubstantiated accusations of malfeasance and general mis-information, rants and bullying on their blogs?
I am, so come check out the “Fullerton First” group on Facebook! I started it to give the normal people a place to post and share info. about good things happening in town. Feel free to comment or post about anything, any activity, any people, teams or groups that you think are doing something fun, something interesting or just good things for the city. You can do so and not be afraid of being insulted or bullied by the naysayers and flat-earthers and conspiracy theorists. We can and will, however, call THEM out from time to time, as needed. But not too much… I’d like this to mostly be a positive place to highlight our wonderful town.
Come join Fullerton First and let’s encourage a positive spin on the town we live in!”
Casting pearls before swine: Another night as Joe Imbriano and Barry Levinson address the corrupt Fullerton City Council
Posted by Joe Imbriano in Fullerton politics on June 22, 2017
Please Read The Words Of Long Time Resident Lee About The Motives Of The Friends For Fullerton’s Future Website and Tony Bushala And All His Connections with Fullerton Council Members Past and Present (Bruce Whitaker, Greg Sebourn, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Chris Norby, Shawn Nelson and Travis Kiger) By Barry Levinson
Posted by Joe Imbriano in Fullerton politics, FULLERTON PRAVDA on June 16, 2017
-
-
COMMENTARY BY BARRY LEVINSON BELOW
Barry Levinson
-
Lee thank you for your comments above. All I can say is that you my friend have been paying very close attention to the political games being played in Fullerton for decades.
With regard to the District voting that will start in 2018, I would like to clarify what transpired at Fullerton City Council earlier this year. The city was dealing with an agenda item to determine the sequence of district voting starting in 2018. The concept of the district elections as mandated by the courts was to have local council members representing each of the districts (in our case 5 districts) within Fullerton. Mayor Whitaker and the rest of the council got their map approved 5 to 0. This was not one of the many maps worked on by citizen groups for many months as part of the process but rather a late entry by Slide Bar owner Jeremy Popoff, a contributor to past Whitaker campaigns. I like to call this map the downtown developers map because it basically disenfranchised all the voters living in and around downtown by splitting that area into all the other five districts grossly diluting their voice through the ballot box. The first vote by the council approved a schedule that would result in having one representative for each of the five districts starting in 2018. This schedule to have elections in District’s 2 and 5 in 2018 was approved with Whitaker’s yes vote along with Chaffee and Silva. A motion by Fitzgerald seconded by Sebourn to have District 3 instead of District 2 in the 2018 election failed 3 to 2.
The problem for Bruce Whitaker was that Greg Sebourn’s four year term would run out in 2018 and his Third District would not vote again until 2020, while still being represented by Jesus Silva. So ignoring all democratic principles, the rationale for going to district voting in the first place and the will of the majority of the people, so-called limited government Bruce Whitaker decided to totally limit, i.e. disenfranchise the Second District from 2018 to 2020 (the one coincidentally both Joe Imbriano and I live in) in order to help keep his buddy Greg Sebourn on the council.
The problem with this move again was that it was totally undemocratic for it disenfranchised the Second District for 2 years while giving the Third District 2 representatives, Jesus Silva and Greg Sebourn or a challenger.
Bruce Whitaker after the first vote on the 2018 District voting schedule was completed had a choice. He could let the vote stand (as is the case in 99.999% of agenda votes) as the most democratic and most popular choice to handle the district elections; or he could as Mayor attempt to change the just approved voting schedule for what I believe was the dual purpose to please his campaign benefactor Tony Bushala and allow Greg Sebourn (also financially supported by Tony Bushala) to run for reelection in 2018.
What did self-proclaimed statesman and Appointed Mayor Bruce Whitaker do facing this not so tough choice? He chose to throw democracy and the people of the Second District under the bus for the express purpose in my opinion to take care of his fellow council member Greg Sebourn and his campaign benefactor Tony Bushala.
I believe the knowledge of this latest chicanery by Bruce Whitaker is more than enough to prove that this self-proclaimed statesman, is nothing more than a phony and extremely flawed politician.
The Strong Case Against Making Fullerton Captain John Siko Our Next Fullerton Police Chief And A Few Comments About The Just Departed Interim Fullerton Police Chief David Hinig. By Barry Levinson
Posted by Joe Imbriano in Fullerton politics, FULLERTON PRAVDA, Government sponsored terrorism on June 8, 2017
ACTING CHIEF JOHN SIKO
the die has been cast but we cannot allow the ink to dry on this
Just a few weeks ago, Interim City Manager Allan Roeder gave the citizens of Fullerton an update on the status of finding a new Police Chief. He said then that it was only a few weeks away until the city named this new Police Chief.
Here is a photo of the New Fullerton Police captain John Siko eager to help shape future of agency back in 2015-shape it into what?
During the short time since 2011 since Siko was promoted to lieutenant and later to captain by Dan Hughes who was the chief, 35 percent of the Fullerton police force left for greener pastures and these were the good officers who left leaving us the dregs. Yes he and Hughes sure shaped it alright and shaped in in their image leaving the worst of the worst to take care of the population of Fullerton.
A week or two later, I learned to my surprise (not a complete surprise since nothing the city does truly surprises me anymore), that the city has named Fullerton Captain John Siko (pronounced psycho) as our new Acting Police Chief. I then asked myself why this turn of events. Why didn’t Hinig wait a few more weeks for the naming of the next permanent Chief of Police as was the plan according to City Manager, Allan Roeder?
The city attorney dozing for dollars while chief Heinig prematurely abandons ship
Did the scheduling of that event just change due to the recent corruption allegations against our last permanent chief Dan Hughes? Did Hinig finally have his fill of embarrassment to continue as chief? As an example he remained publicly silent about a very important police matter, i.e. the repeal of a law enacted to help protect our children from pedophiles, Ordinance 3149. For he did not speak on that agenda item at all. He sat in his chair during that Agenda Item and said absolutely nothing on a matter that should have been front and center for any police chief. Well all I could say is that the only thing for sure that David Hinig appeared to do from my vantage point was to collect a whole bunch of money for 6 months?
Heinig on the right. Was the heat was too much for Heinig?
Will Mayor Bruce Whitaker or any of our other council members bring up that the city just wasted approximately $100,000 or more to bring in an very high price temporary employee for the sole purpose of being a powerless figurehead? Why did they ignore their fiduciary responsibilities once again?
Now lets talk about the guy who really has been running the FPD since Dan Hughes retired from his police chief role in early November 2016. The person I am referring to of course is none other than the recently appointed ACTING POLICE CHIEF JOHN SIKO.
My only exchanges with then Captain Siko (Captain of the Fullerton Uniform Division) was a few weeks ago twice at the Fullerton Police Department. Both times he showed up to deal with our request to file a police report against former Police Chief Dan Hughes for criminal obstruction of justice. The first time he told us that we could not file a report. The second time he told us that he actually filed the police report for us. I specifically asked him then if the police report stated that we were filing charges of obstruction of justice against Dan Hughes. He responded in the affirmative. We learned a few days later from a Cadet at the front desk that Captain Siko did not file a police report on our behalf but rather a Miscellaneous Report outlining the conversation that is solely a Receive and File Report. Unlike a criminal police report that requires the department to investigate the allegations in such report, the Miscellaneous Report requires absolutely no action by the department. Its only function I guess is to gather dust in a file cabinet.
So what did these two encounters teach me about our new Acting Police Chief? First that he can look me in the eye and flat out not tell me the truth. Second, I learned that as the Uniform Officers’ Division Captain that he apparently was already running the FPD micromanaging the department or at least the potential scandals. For I learned that he was informed by the Watch Commandersf when Joe and me made a request concerning former Police Chief Hughes. For in an honest police department, filling out a police report is a very simple and straightforward activity. But Captain Siko apparently had made it his business to be notified of our attempts to file such a report immediately each time. He then chose to take total control of the situation twice while telling us he was actually off-duty both times. Why this perceived kind of paranoid interest in making sure that he would deal with us personally?
One might expect that over the top involvement by an off-duty police captain or chief to come from the Nazi Gestapo or from another fascist police organization but certainly not from an honest small city police department that has nothing to hide.
I have learned one more very disturbing alleged fact about Captain Siko. An unnamed reliable source claims that it was Captain Siko who called the four initial responding officers to the Joe Felz accident into his office a few days after the incident. The source claims that Captain Siko chastised them for not having the common sense to turn off their Axon cameras in such a political situation and for ruining a good man’s life (Joe Felz). This by itself, if it could be confirmed by one of those officers would be such a serious violation of police procedure and ethics to merit severe punishment, even dismissal. For the source is alleging that Captain Siko was upset that the officers did not destroy evidence (shut of their cameras). He also was alleged to be upset with them for being truthful about the condition of Joe Felz at the scene of that accident (i.e. the stench of alcohol). I am hoping that one of those officers or anyone who has first hand knowledge to come forward to stop our City Council from making John Siko’s appointment permanent. We have one former Police Chief, Dan Hughes being accused of criminal obstruction of justice by a OCDA investigator. We certainly can’t afford to appoint another one who allegedly condones the obstruction of justice by FPD personnel.
The Evidence Is Piling Up To Conclude That The Fullerton City Government Is Not Capable And/Or Not Willing To Honestly Carry Out Their Fiduciary Duty To Represent The People of Fullerton. The Following People Must Be Held Accountable: Mayor Bruce Whitaker, Council members Jennifer Fitzgerald, Greg Sebourn, Doug Chaffee and Jesus Silva as well as City Attorney Dick Jones, Former Police Chief Dan Hughes and Former City Manager Joe Felz. By Barry Levinson
Posted by Joe Imbriano in Fullerton politics, FULLERTON PRAVDA, Greg Sebourn, Jesus Silva on June 4, 2017
Barry Levinson
There are at least a half dozen major scandals in full view now playing out in Fullerton City Government. Yet our esteemed five-member city council (Mayor Bruce Whitaker and Jennifer Fitzgerald, Greg Sebourn, Doug Chaffee, and Jesus Silva) have all remained silent on each and every one of them. What a City Council?
Silva
Sebourn
Chaffee
Whitaker
Fitzpringle
Why are the City Attorney, Dick Jones,Interim Police Chief David Hinig* and our Interim City Manager Allan Roeder also being totally silent as well? Here is a partial list of the scandals going on right now as follows:
- City Attorney provided blatantly false information about a Fullerton city ordinance 3149, (the Fullerton Child Sex Offender Residency Restriction Act) and then used that to support and argue for its repeal. I disclosed to the city council and to the city attorney their “error” and what does the city attorney and all five council members do, they ignore the facts and me and vote to repeal a very good and sound law. It seems to me that California attorneys’ have been sanctioned or even disbarred for less.
- Then the city via the FPD and the Interim City Manager provides this false information to the Fullerton School District and they in turn send out via recorded phone message and emails to every parent in the district, a false assurance that the kids are still protected as if nothing has changed. Others and I then put them on direct notice of their “error” and yet they too have not corrected their blatantly false statement to the parents. Why not Superintendent Robert Pletka? The Fullerton School District Mission Statement states that safety of our students is a major goal of the FSD.
- Dan Hughes after being contacted by Joe Felz at approximately 2 AM gets a ride home by the FPD instead of following normal police procedure to arrest him for DUI and leaving the scene of an accident with damages. All five council members, new police chief, new city manager, long time City Attorney all have been completely silent on what I believe clearly demonstrates the corruption as well as a criminal conspiracy lead by Dan Hughes.
- The next scandal is the City Council voting to approve a Grant Application that was not yet produced by the City. But that did not stop our former now disgraced City Manager from putting this on the Agenda for approval and then to my astonishment being passed by the City Council. This is the equivalent of Approving a “blank check”. This is a total and complete abandonment of the City Council’s and the former City Manager’s collective fiduciary responsibilities. I came up with a simple and no cost solution going forward and every council member refused to take those steps to make this problem go away permanently. What a City Council.
- Ignoring documented evidence/proof of city council voluntary actions that over 20 years starting in 2010 will waste 4 to 5 million dollars of taxpayer monies relating to the management of the Fullerton Golf Course. I was Bruce Whitaker’ appointee to the Park and Recreation Committee, yet he and all the other council members refused repeatedly to have any discussion about this very important and very costly issue to the Fullerton taxpayers. As of today a portion of that money is gone for good but I have made it abundantly clear that current remedial action by the city council could save upwards of 2 million dollars going forward. Unfortunately they are apparently not interested in discussing taking action to save up to 2 million dollars. However our current Appointed Mayor Bruce Whitaker has chosen to talk instead about one or two $300/$400 dollar employee hotel bills. Which do you believe has the greater financial impact on our city? Question: Why won’t Bruce Whitaker and the rest of the council discuss this issue?
- At the last council meeting we learned that the just completed 1.7 million-dollar Hillcrest Park to Lions Field Stairs has many very serious construction and design issues. Way too many of the concrete foundations are cracking already and in at least one case has a large portion already broken off. In addition, the wooden posts are all too often way to close to the edge of the foundations, a structural defect. Also the poor design had the wood posts sunk into the concrete foundations making it incredibly more expensive to replace and repair any of the wooden posts. Wood as any laymen knows has a much shorter lifespan than concrete so this makes absolutely no sense from a structural design point of view. How much did we pay some design company for this fiasco? We should be asking for our money back and then some for this as well. This is not a complete list of the design, construction and safety issues. But one member of the city council, Greg Sebourn indicated after Joshua Ferguson displayed these major problems via pictures that the council should get a refund from the contractor.
So after SEBOURN made that statement, he of course brought forth a motion to sue the contractor for damages, quickly seconded by another council member. Well that never happened. Well then of course he made a motion to put the possible lawsuit against the contractor on the next city council agenda for consideration. Well that did not happen either. So GREG SEBOURN did absolutely nothing along with so-called self-proclaimed fiscal conservative Mayor BRUCE WHITAKER. Thank you Greg for sounding indignant and then doing absolutely nothing. Yet after all this, Ferguson defended Greg Sebourn’s total lack of action on the FFFF website. Well I guess because they are political buddies you and the FFFF owner and administrator will support them right or wrong. So this begs the question as to what is the real agenda of the FFFF website. Apparently it is not to hold all council members responsible to the people. Certainly not the ones that Tony Bushala went to great lengths to get elected and then reelected, namely Bruce Whitaker and Greg Sebourn. This is only my opinion based on everything I know and I Fullertonians I know a lot about this.
However, we the people do not have to and should not give Sebourn and Whitaker along with the rest of the city council a pass for their dismal failure to do right by the citizens of Fullerton. I guess 1.7 million dollars does not buy us much if you have the unfortunate reality of the Fullerton City Council looking out for us.
What does all these items above have in common? They have several things in common. First, the abdication of the city council’s fiduciary duty to run the city with a modicum of honesty, transparency and decency. Second, when very credible evidence and documentation is provided directly to the city council they refuse to deal with it and bury it like they have in each of the issues/scandals above.
What the city needs is a full time ethicist/historian to keep track and document each scandal fully? Since the City of Fullerton has no one like that on the city payroll, I have taken it upon myself, free of charge to the good people of Fullerton to fulfill this very important role.
What this all proves is that there is no real difference between any of our council members for each and every one of them went along with or failed to deal with each and every scandal mentioned above. For when it really counts, each and every one of them fails us. The next time one of our council members states what a great job they are doing for us, please feel free to provide them a copy of this article and watch them ignore you afterwards. After all ignoring the public is one of the few things our City Council does extremely well. For example, after Barbara Rosen Sunny Hills resident, spoke about the terrible condition of Las Palmas Avenue bringing large chunks of the road, Mayor Whitaker stated that her concern would be addressed at the completion of all the public comments. Yet, neither Mayor Whitaker nor anyone else on the dais addressed her specific concern about Las Palmas Avenue. All you have to do is pay attention at any city council meeting and you learn very quickly that our city council members are anything but good public servants.
* Well I have just learned that Interim Police Chief David Heinig has stepped down and now we have Captain Siko as the Acting Fullerton Police Chief. Based on my recent past experience with FPD Captain Siko, I will do everything I legally can to make sure that the next City Manager and our City Council do not appoint him as our next permanent Chief of Police. I also will strongly request that the contracts for our next Police Chief and next City Manager be no longer than 2 years each. For not to do this shows that the City Council has not learned any lessons from its past mistakes. With that statement, I am making a very generous assumption that the City Council wants to have a city government more answerable to the Fullerton public going forward and we all know that all the evidence does not support that contention.
GOLFER TIGER WOODS VS. FULLERTON CITY MANAGER JOE FELZ. IF ONLY TIGER WOODS HAD FULLERTON’S FORMER POLICE CHIEF DANNY HUGHES LOOKING AFTER HIM DURING HIS DUI PROBLEM. BY BARRY LEVINSON
Posted by Joe Imbriano in Dan Hughes, Fullerton politics, Joe Felz on June 1, 2017
I recently was thinking about the similarities and differences comparing the Tiger Wood’s DUI arrest a few days ago and the free cab service home provided thanks to the FPD and Danny Hughes for Fullerton City Manager Joe Felz back in the wee morning hours of November 9, 2016.
Former City Manager Joe Felz
Fullerton Police Chief Dan Hughes. Don’t let the cross fool you.
If only the same never seen DUI arrest protocol referred to by Danny Hughes was in place for the police department handling the Tiger Woods DUI arrest and booking, there could have been a different result for Mr. Woods.
Obviously, the police department dealing with Tiger Woods had not yet gone through a similar extensive and complete reformation as had already been accomplished by Danny Hughes in Fullerton. For Danny Hughes thank goodness had already completely reformed the FPD.
For if that reformed minded DUI arrest protocol was in place for Tiger Woods, he too could have gotten to speak to the police chief and that chief of police could have explained the protocol to Tiger, thereby negating any reason to arrest Mr. Woods. Yes if only Danny Hughes was in charge, Mr. Woods would not have had to be subjected to a very, very bad mug shot at police headquarters. Yes, if only Danny Hughes was in charge of the Tiger Woods case, Mr. Woods would have found himself taken directly from the DUI scene to his sprawling mansion to be tucked into bed like the proverbial bug in a rug!
Tiger Woods is known for starting and supporting various charities by giving millions of his own dollars, while Joe Felz as City Manager gave away millions of our tax dollars not his money for bigger and bigger safety raises and benefits. Yet with all his celebrity and his 100’s of million dollars of net worth, Tiger Woods had to face the laws just like any other citizen but FOD (Friend of Dan) Joe Felz is not held to account by the FPD.
We the entire Fullerton public were so darn fortunate that Dan Hughes ran the FPD ship (kind of like Jack Sparrow in the most recent Pirates of the Caribbean film) for so many years. In fact we were so darn fortunate that it is still paying the good people of Fullerton dividends.
Yes and if Tiger Woods had his little car problem in Fullerton, he too would have been assured that everything should be done following normal procedures, which was the alleged comment by Mayor Jennifer Fitzgerald to Danny Hughes in their phone conversation shortly after the early morning accident. I guess the Mayor also was a big fan of strictly following the FPD DUI arrest protocol. Thank God that our former Police Chief and our former Mayor were seeing eye to eye on this case. For I am absolutely sure that under the exact same set of events that Joe Imbriano or Barry Levinson would have received the exact same treatment as did Joe Felz. Does the good news relating to our Fullerton City Government ever end Fullertonians? I guess the answer to that is no unless we the people stop similar charades and/or farces like the one that took place concerning Joe Felz on the morning of November 9, 2016 going forward.
A PROCLAMATION TO ALL FULLERTON RESIDENTS. MY POSTINGS ARE HAVING THEIR IMPACT AGAINST THE FORCES OF CORRUPTION IN FULLERTON. IT IS PRECISELY BECAUSE I AM INFORMING THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE TRUE NATURE OF OUR CITY GOVERNMENT, OUR FULLERTON POLICE DEPARTMENT AND OUR CITY COUNCIL THAT HAS FORCED A FEW TO CRAWL OUT OF GUTTER AND TO MAKE TOTALLY FALSE AND UNFOUNDED CLAIMS AGAINST ME! BY BARRY LEVINSON
Posted by Joe Imbriano in Bruce Whitaker, Fullerton politics, FULLERTON PRAVDA, Tony Bushala, Who's who in Fullerton politics on May 29, 2017
P.S. THIS MEANS TWO THINGS FULLERTONIANS. FIRST IT MEANS THAT OUR MESSAGE IS GETTING OUT TO MORE AND MORE PEOPLE. SECOND IT MEANS THAT THE CORRUPT FULLERTON GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP AND THEIR SPECIAL INTEREST SUPPORTERS ARE GETTING VERY WORRIED THAT THEIR PLANS TO DESTROY FULLERTON, AS WE HAVE KNOWN IT MAY NOT COME TO FRUITION.
Here is an excellent example of the depths my enemies will go to try to ruin my reputation straight from the on-line comments of the recently dug up from the ashes Friends for Fullerton’s Future website approved by Travis Kiger
Travis Kiger-administrator FFFF
“The City Attorney explained it to you Barry..remember?
“Barry was let go from P and R due to him repeatedly harassing an employee who was just this side of suing him and the city for not protecting her from Barry. But Barry lies and says he has no clue why.”
The comments quoted above directly from the Friends for Fullerton’s Future website are a total and complete lie. The city attorney explained absolutely nothing to me and I did not harass any city employee or anybody else for that matter.
How very sad and very disgusting at the same time that it was none other than current Appointed Mayor and my former friend Bruce Whitaker who stated this falsehood for the first time in the July 2016 Fullerton Observer approximately 5 weeks after he informed me that he would remove me after stating that he considered doing this for months. For the record , he never gave me an explanation then or did he to this day every contact me with a direct explanation from him. What a guy!
Here is Whitaker’s shameful totally false defamation of me as follows: “The (Fullerton) Observer asked Council member Whitaker for his reason for removing his appointed commissioner. He sent the following response:” ““Faced with an imminent employee action which would have likely generate substantial cost to the City, to avoid that action, I opted to remove the commission member. That member’s term would otherwise have expired in December 2016. As you know there had been an effort by Council members in October 2014 to remove that same appointee from the P&R commission which failed on a 3-2 vote. An involuntary removal required four votes.””
What Whitaker so deceitfully left out was that he voted against removing me and said at the time that there was no evidence to support my removal but that it seemed to be nothing more than a political vendetta against my activism by then Police Chief Dan Hughes and members of the City Government. What a guy you are Bruce. Can you be any more deceptive than with that quoted statement sir from the Fullerton Observer? Here below are your exact words on the City Council dais. You paint a totally different picture on that night of November 4, 2014 as follows:
Now for the readers I can’t tell you how many times in the past after I spoke out on some problem facing Fullerton during a Fullerton Council meeting that Council member Whitaker would call me immediately after the meeting to thank me for my great input and to keep up the good work. I never ever received any criticism for any of my service to the community as a Fullerton resident activist at City Hall or for my service of almost 6 years (well into my second term) as Whitaker’s appointee to the P&R Committee. Funny that he has never mentioned any of this false storyline to me. I guess this would be another example of his failure to do his fiduciary responsibility for the good people of Fullerton. Because if there were any bit of truth to this, if I were his boss, I would have immediately discussed the accusation with him. The first time I hear this total fabrication is indirectly thru the Fullerton Observer article over five weeks after he removed me.
To the anonymous writer of this complete defamation, please give me your full name and address and I will take appropriate action against you. For you are a low life, a coward and a liar all wrapped together in one disgusting human being. (Please note that the only difference between the actions of Bruce Whitaker and the anonymous person commenting on the FFFF website is the fact that Bruce Whitaker gave us his name.) Please also give me the name of the employee that you allege I harassed!
To the administrator of the FFFF website (which was Travis Kiger and I suspect still is), I demand that you give me the IP address of the person who spewed out those defaming comments. I would ask you to do this on your site but you have already seen fit to block any more of my comments. So much for your so-called libertarian beliefs.
Fullertonians please take note that this is all that the phony and corrupt people supporting our corrupt city hall have as a defense. When they can’t handle the truth and when the heat gets too high, they turn to libel, slander and defamation. In other words, they have nothing to defend themselves, for you can’t defend yourself from the truth and the facts. So they make up totally false allegations in an attempt to assassinate someone’s character, namely mine in this case.
Is Bruce Whitaker telling another tall tale or worse?
I seriously doubt you will come out from the shadows because you know you are not being truthful and do not want to get sued. I have asked Bruce Whitaker to provide details to his false character assassination story. He has remained dutifully silent. What does that tell you about our Appointed Mayor?
There are some very morally bankrupt people participating and defending our city government. It it contemptuous that there are allegations given anonymously with the person allegedly harassed by me conveniently not identified, nor the nature of the alleged harassment. It is very simple that you can’t provide a name that does not exist. Your allegations are so, so dishonest, baseless with absolutely no specifics whatsoever. I deal with facts and if you can’t live with the facts I suggest that you change your behavior. I am putting those responsible for the FFFF website on notice that going forward I expect that you either do not post these defamations or respond to the defamations that they are to be ignored without the weight of any evidence.
FFFF’s Travis Kiger eating his …….
Why would these miscreants go to such lengths to defame me, when all I have done is to speak the truth and give the facts? For you see Fullertonians if that were not the case many of these big money special interests would have already filed lawsuits against me. They had nothing before and they have nothing now, but to lower themselves by defaming my character. All I can say when you read or hear these lies….Remember the Source (when they actually give the source, which is very infrequent).
Here’s Bruce Whitaker shovelin’ more …….
It is so very sad that Bruce Whitaker had a golden opportunity to make a difference if only he meant a small portion of the things he told his supporters and constituents. He failed us miserably over the past six and one-half years as a council member and now finds it necessary to defame me without any proof for any of his defaming remarks.
Barry Levinson
3 by Lee on June 14, 2017 – 9:39 am
“I have been involved in Fullerton politics for over 2 decades as a lifelong Republican. There is nothing new under the sun and there is nothing going on now that wasn’t going on when downtown was just a bunch of thrift stores. The opportunists back then always used the political process to achieve their goals. The pay to play system was dominated by the redevelopment machine and the rewards it churned out for the players who knew the game were handsome.
The council was always effective at one thing, maintaining a crooked republican majority. This gave rise to the corrupt police department, the disastrous fiscal health of the city and the malfeasance that has left our infrastructure the laughing stock of the State.
This monopoly of power held in place by the centrist right working with the limousine liberals in Fullerton took care of its own and its own exclusively. This became problematic for those who wished to enter the ring and cash in on the looming development bonanza because no one was leaving their seats at the card table. This is where the left leaning libertarian political element on the outside looking in decided to run interference and come up the political sideline. These attempts were unsuccessful for almost a decade.
The tragic death of Kelly Thomas in 2011 presented an unprecedented opportunity to harness the momentum of the masses and redirect all the rage against elected officials whose hands were tied by the judicial process and the police officers bill of rights. The people of Fullerton were livid as they lined the streets demanding justice while looking for leadership.
Tony Bushala, who for years, without success, tried to chip away at the power structure at city hall, had finally found a fan for the flames with his FFFF blog. He immediately bought the picture of the bloody face of Kelly Thomas, posted it and then ponied up $250,000 for a recall election. He hired signature gatherers and orchestrated a successful recall campaign that launched the political careers of our current city council majority, Fitzgerald, Whitaker and Sebourn as well as Kiger’s 6 month failure.
TONY’S TOOLS
Kiger, Whitaker, Sebourn, Fitzgerald
The prior years of taking cheap shots, mud slinging, and chipping away at the establishment paled in comparison to this political firestorm.
Bushala’s connections to people like Chris Norby and Shawn Nelson were crucial in carefully charting the course he would take to orchestrate the payday he had spent decades preparing for. The city’s redevelopment agency was disbanded as a result of his crony Chris Norby’s legislative action in Sacramento.
Meanwhile, he and his brother continued to amass a small fortune in real estate holdings in Fullerton, namely in the downtown area. It was always their intention as developers to develop their properties. The recall of 2012 was the moment they had been waiting for. No longer would their plans remain obscure and dependent upon the help of a handful of connections like Chris Norby or Shawn Nelson. Bushala finally had the control of the council after years of failing to influence the political process through his obscure web site. He now had the power to control the entire city with his hired hands. He personally bankrolled the entire campaigns of Travis Kiger, Bruce Whitaker, and Greg Sebourn and got them elected. They in turn would stack the various commissions to pave the way for the fulfillment of the Bushala brothers’ dream, high rise transit oriented development all over Fullerton and for once, they would dictate how and where these projects would be built instead of the “republigans” that controlled the council and the redevelopment contracts for decades prior. If hatched, this plan would have proven to make the Bushala Brothers upwards of 100 million dollars if the plans were to proceed over the next decade.
In a bizarre turn of events, one of Bushala’s hired hands, Travis Kiger was voted out of office 6 months later in the general election. The strategy of running Kiger for the short term seat may have been the safest short term bet but turned out to be a costly mistake creating long term uncertainty for the brothers.
The wild card in all of this was really somewhat of an enigma. Jennifer Fitzgerald was allowed by Bushala to walk on virtually unchallenged in 2012 as a result of Tony Bushala’s agreeing to let Mr. Nelson’s wishes to do so be honored. Fitzgerald was actually the insurance money in the entire transaction that took place in the recall. An ardent political opportunist, she could be relied upon for a yes vote on every development project imaginable. As it originally stood, Bushala really had four out of the five votes locked up, or so he thought.
While all this political theater was playing out, the ducks were being lined up for the huge payday jackpot. The City of Fullerton, in the vacuum of the redevelopment agency’s dismantling, was in the midst of a massive undertaking in hopes of revamping the entire city turning it into a burgeoning metropolis. The DCCSP was the city’s ambitious forward thinking plan that would transform this once quite bedroom community into a bustling high rise transit oriented oasis in the heart of Orange County with ten story lining the streets.
After the 2012 elections, Bushala pulled the plug on his FFFF website and as expected, would never mention the DCCSP. The DCCSP went before the planning commission that his hired hands appointed and it was passed. Bushala sat quietly waiting in the wings for the most important vote in Fullerton City Council History. 3 years after he had spent upwards of $500,000 and 2 years after the flames of the Kelly Thomas event were doused by the waters of time, the DCCSP vote would finally be before the council. The problem was the council at that time did not have the four votes owned by Bushala as Kiger was defeated 2 years earlier. Jan Flory took Travis out in a major upset narrowly defeating him by a handful of votes. That night, in August of 2014, at a council meeting in the library room with no live video coverage, the 100 million dollar vote would be before 5 council members only to be tabled. The Bushala brothers plans were immediately thwarted and their properties remain in their original condition and subject to the same zoning restriction that were placed on them before the half a million dollar expenditure to liberate them had begun.
Bushala’s so called limited government, libertarian, fiscal conservative types who have run for office like Chris Norby, Chris Thompson, Greg Sebourn, Travis Kiger, and Bruce Whitaker have all been on Tony’s payroll for the most part. They understand the power structure, what they need to say and not say and they will perform when the time comes for them to perform. This is not limited to slandering and threatening anyone who gets in the way.
The only person that I know that would never play ball with this crowd was Barry Levinson. When Barry realized that Tony was playing him, Barry must have realized that there was never any room on that team for Barry. Barry may not have realize Tony’s agenda at that time, but because Barry is financially independent and not beholden to anyone’s ideology, he freely speaks his mind and has done a tremendous service to the residents of Fullerton by staying unbiased, objective and most importantly, involved. As a result, this has thwarted some of the most dastardly of development plans namely the DCCSP. Barry was the ONLY person to fully expose this undemocratic power grab and call it what it was. He also exposed how this would be ripe for graft and bribery if passed. He also continued to fight the cities attempts to bring this item back in different shapes and forms defeating it every time.
Fast forward to four years later and the newbies who recently ran for office either do not understand the power structure that is in place and the games that are being played or simply choose to look the other way. They are just weak-minded people with very limited financial resources and are willing to cozy up to the power structure as they hope to latch on to Tony’s pocketbook and maintain their connections. Their behavior speaks for itself. Listen to their rhetoric, watch their willful ignorance of the issues and of course their refusal to propose, or demand solutions. They do not even realize they don’t have a full grasp on the problems that we face so how in the world could they ever propose solutions? Fortunately those people will never get elected so we don’t have to worry about them. Tony Bushala has effectively co-opted, compromised and controlled the loyal opposition in town.
He has done well in figuring out how to throw them a bone so he can control them to work for his agenda. These people people don’t want to believe what his agenda is because to accept what his agenda is and to understand what his agenda is means that they may not get a couple thousand dollars in campaign contributions if they decide to run for office. The whole agenda is for Tony Bushala to build high-rise apartments all over his slums. That’s what he’s all about because he’s a developer. He plays all these political games and engages in political gamesmanship. It is and always has been Tony’s political chess game, and most of you have been and still are his pawns.
I am grateful for the platform that Mr. Imbriano has provided to put this information out for the people to read and to Mr. Levinson for his steadfast and uncompromising commitment to the good people of Fullerton. “