PROFILE: the Foundation’s Adam Probolsky, Superhero

.....IN MY OPINION, not enough is said about the remarkable people who serve on the Irvine Valley College Foundation.
.....—People like the ubiquitous ADAM PROBOLSKY, who serves on the Foundation’s Board of Governors along with his pal Jon Fleischman, who, until about a year ago, was Sheriff Mike Carona’s Deputy Director for Public Affairs.
.....Dissenters first encountered Adam Probolsky back in July of 2000, when the GOP’s Tom Fuentes showed up at a special board meeting to apply for the role of replacement of resigning trustee (and Holocaust denier. Oops!) Steve Frogue. At the time (see Duck crap), we reported:

.....Fuentes’ appointment seemed to be, well, highly orchestrated. Consider: of the three candidates who were interviewed on the 12th [of July, 2000], only Fuentes showed up with written answers for each of the Board’s questions. Someone in the audience told me that the pro-Fuentes remarks offered that night by three Old Guard unionists [including Ray Chandos and Sharon McMillan] were read from documents written in the same font as was displayed on Fuentes’ prepared answer sheets. Possibly this verbiage was provided by the remarkable Adam Probolsky, a fat man in a white shirt who kept running around the board room fixin’ things. Probolsky, one of Fuentes’ lieutenants, is a consultant for local right-wing politicos. His partner is the son of Lou Sheldon (of the “Traditional Values Coalition”).

.....Another remarkable personage entered (or reentered) the picture at the time—Mike Schroeder, OC kingpin and head of the local “Republican mafia” (evidently, a role he inherited from Fuentes). I had a meeting in July or August of 2000 with Fuentes in which Schroeder sat in. Schroeder had been the state GOP chair, and, in that role, he assisted our attempt to recall Mr. Frogue.
.....Still with me? OK. Just two days ago, Mr. Probolsky’s name came up in Dana Parsons’ column (see Replacement for Carona too close for comfort) in the Times. Parsons revealed the curious politics behind the selection of Jack Anderson as exiting OC Sheriff Mike Carona’s replacement:

.....…Under federal indictment on corruption charges [Oops!], Carona had returned to office Jan. 7 after a two-month paid hiatus but decided to step down this week so he could get free legal help—something he couldn't do if he stayed.
.....Slight problem. Who would take over?
.....When he took his initial leave, Carona tapped loyalist Jo Ann Galisky to run the department.
.....Slight problem. It's unclear whether the county [Republican] party would fall in behind her as the permanent face of local law enforcement.
.....However, it would fall in line behind Jack Anderson, an assistant sheriff and member of the party's central committee. So, Carona, who made it clear this week he wanted Anderson to succeed him on a permanent basis, named him second in command.

.....Here we see the Mafia in action. Pay attention to what comes next. According to Parsons,

..... [Carona] couldn't name [Anderson] undersheriff, the position Galisky held, because Anderson didn't meet the county requirements for the post. Before he left office, Carona demoted Galisky.

.....—Garsh!


.....Our boy Probolsky now enters the picture. Parsons continues:

.....Anderson met the press Tuesday, assisted not by any of the paid Sheriff's Department spokesmen, but by Adam Probolsky, an ex-officio member of the GOP's central committee and a volunteer with the Sheriff Department's reserve program.
.....Probolsky serves on a few local governmental positions and is a pollster by trade. He said he helped Anderson in his role as volunteer reserve. He has stepped in for the county on other matters, Probolsky said, such as helping out with media during the protracted wildfire season. All he did for Anderson, Probolsky said, was provide reporters with names of public officials who had worked with Anderson and could offer perspective on him.
.....Not to be naive, but I asked Probolsky—well-known as an unapologetic political animal—if politics shouldn't have been separated from Anderson's press event.
....."I don't think you have to separate the politics," he said.
.....The central committee is sprinkled with names of people holding elective office, he noted, adding that the Sheriff's Department is a political office, as well.
.....I asked him how he happened to be at Anderson's event. "Did I get a call from a higher power?" Probolsky said. "No. I took it upon myself to say, 'Here's a project I think I can help with.' "

.....Mindful of Probolsky’s outsized helpfulness and ubiquity (he even helped with the fire!), Rebel Girl calls Adam a kind of “superhero”—you know, with special abilities from some higher power. I've got to agree.

.....A couple of summers ago, Adam suddenly appeared in one of my philosophy courses, listening intently. Amazing! How does the man do it all!

.....Another place where the P-man pops up is the current JANET NGUYEN saga. You remember: back in 2007, she ran against Schroeder-anointed Trung Nguyen for OC Supervisor in a special election to replace resigning Lou Correa. Carlos Bustamante also ran—seemingly as the GOP cigar-chompers' favorite. But on election night, it appeared that Trung won, though just barely. But Janet had her eye on the Mafia and she cried foul over perceived irregularities in Westminster. (See Claiming voter fraud.) So she got a recount, and she emerged the winner by three votes! But, see, Team Schroeder hates to lose, and so he took the matter to a higher court and, yesterday, the matter was finally settled in Janet’s favor. (See Janet Wins.) Whew!
.....But what about Probolsky? Here’s where things get seriously zany. Eleven months ago (see Probolsky won’t involve himself ), we had occasion to quote Martin Wisckol’s THE BUZZ. Martin had quite a story to tell concerning that wacky special Supervisor election. Prima facie, the local GOP backed rising star Carlos Bustamante, who was opposed by Janet Nguyen and Trung Nguyen, among others. Here's the story:

.....The venerable Lincoln Club apparently had its own money used against it to defeat the club's candidate, [Republican rising star] Carlos Bustamante, in this month's special election for county supervisor.
.....The OC club is made up of Republican business people that participate in campaigns on many different levels….
.....The PAC, which was coordinated in part by GOP consultant Adam Probolsky, ended that election with about $2,700 left. The account was collecting dust when somebody decided to rename it, raise more money and use it for attacks on Lincoln Club-endorsee Bustamante.  [My emphasis.]
....."It just gets weirder and weirder," said Matt [“Jubal”] Cunningham, the Red County/OC Blog editor trying to unravel the intra-party cloak-and-dagger affair.
.....The new treasurer of the committee, now called the Orange County Healthcare, Education & Neighborhood Leaders PAC, hasn't returned Cunningham's calls. But Cunningham tracked down some of the PAC's latest contributors as also being Janet Nguyen supporters.

.....Probolsky, it so happens, has done some work for Nguyen, and that has lead to speculation that he had a hand in transforming the PAC.
....."There is no advantage for me to get involved in that discussion," Probolsky told the Buzz when asked if he would deny the speculation.

..... .....--Now wait a minute. Probolsky's pal Mike Schroeder is Janet Nguyen opponent Trung Nguyen's attorney. Right?
.....This don't add up. Well, whatever. The point is that the Foundation’s P-man sure does get around. And he's clever. And he sure is helpful.

TRIVIA:

.....I looked up the above-mentioned PAC (see Contributors) and found that, in October of ’06, the Lincoln Club gave $15K to this PAC. That makes sense, I guess. That’s when the PAC was geared to getting Bustamante, not Janet N, elected.
.....Another contributor listed is the “LAW OFFICES OF HOWARD J. KLEIN,” who contributed twelve days earlier.
.....Wait a minute. Isn’t Klein the Chairman of the IVC Foundation? (See IVC Foundation.) Yep.
.....Klein was also a contributor to Sheriff Mike Carona’s first campaign, as was the Foundation’s Mark H. Cheung, John Fleischman, Mary Aileen Matheis, and, of course, Adam Probolsky.
.....As you know, several years ago, the IVC Foundation named Mike Carona IVC’s “Hometown Hero.”

.....Oh yeah. Guess who's the treasurer of the Saddleback College Foundation Board? It is none other than Adam's brother, Brian!
.....Gosh, it sometimes seems like everything’s connected! Know what I mean?