Fullerton Council Member Jan Flory – Is She A Champion of Attempting to Keep Vital Facts and Figures from the Public’s Purview? Is She A True Hero to the City’s Special Interests? I Report, You Decide! By Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson
On September 15, 2015, I went to the Fullerton City Council podium during public comments to discuss the leaked Gennaco investigative report on the Kelly Thomas beating death. It had been leaked (by someone else) almost 2 months earlier. https://thefullertoninformer.com/barry-levinson-on-the-confidential-gennaco-report-on-the-kelly-thomas-murder/
Yet Ms. Flory interrupted my comments to suggest that I was out of line to provide this information to the public and to the council as well. The city attorney informed her that as a private citizen I had every right to discuss anything that was already out in the public including this report.
Jan Flory
Now let us go forward to the last Fullerton City Council meeting on October 20, 2015. A Council member pointed out to Gretchen Beatty, the head of our Human Resources Department that her cost numbers for the general employee union four-year wage and benefit proposal was understated by approximately 900,000 dollars. This understatement was based on not including all the pension costs the city would be financially responsible for over that four-year period. Ms. Flory creatively but incorrectly called the 900,000 dollars a philosophical difference.
Well ladies and gentlemen I do not believe Ms. Flory would identify the 900,000 dollar difference as philosophical if she were personally on the hook for that amount of money.
In fact, I had to remind her that she was supposed to be looking out for the taxpayers of Fullerton and that every dime we the taxpayers are responsible for should be of concern to her in her fiduciary role as a city council member. (Please remember that approximately 85% to 90% of all city employees live outside the city boundaries.)
Two very separate sets of circumstances and the only connection is that Council Member Jan Flory in both instances seemed not to be concerned about the folks living in Fullerton. Shame on you Ms. Flory for taking these two positions that in my opinion champion the special interests over the interests of the people of Fullerton.
P.S. There is however a silver lining in all of this. The silver lining is that Ms. Flory is up for reelection next November, at which time the Fullerton voters can remove her from council.
I report, you decide.
Barry Levinson