A strange world

John A. Vogt

     Many months ago, I was deposed for hours by defendants’ attorney, John A Vogt, for Westphal v. Wagner (the prayer suit, of which I am a plaintiff). He’s a Jones Day lawyer.
     Jones Day is a fancy schmancy “blue-chip” law firm. Very pricey. Very creepy.
     At one point during the deposition, I somehow opined that former OC Sheriff Mike Carona was a corrupt bastard who was headed to prison. Vogt took immediate offense. He commenced interrogating me, questioning my assumptions, forcing me to support my claim. He was pissed. (At the time, Carona had already been convicted, but I do believe that the decision was then on appeal. I guess the appeal didn’t work. As you know, recently, Carona entered federal prison in Colorado.)

Brian A. Sun

     I was perplexed by Vogt’s odd passion for Carona, that manifest rat bastard. (I think I may have referred to Carona as a "rat bastard." You know me. That didn’t help.)

* * *

     I shoulda known. Tonight, reading some old newspaper articles, I happened upon the fact that Mike Carona was represented by Jones Day at his corruption trial.
     —For free. Yep. You’ll recall that Carona quickly ran out of money, what with his endless legal problems. He was damned lucky that Jones Day stepped up, I guess.
     I did a little looking. Near as I can tell, Carona’s attorneys were Brian A. Sun and Jeff Rawitz, both senior attorneys at Jones Day.

Jeff Rawitz

     Rawitz, it seems, was a particularly well-known and respected attorney. Like Vogt, he was a classic, hard-charging bastard of an advocate.
     As it happens, during the Carona trial, Rawitz started displaying odd medical symptoms. Soon after the trial, he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. He died last September. (See 10 times bigger than life, LA Times.)
     Now, why would Jones Day attorneys volunteer to defend a bastard like Mike Carona? What’s that all about?
     What a strange world. There are smart people, I guess, who, as late as 2010, still believed in Mike freakin' Carona. Maybe they still do.
     Damn!

Special board meeting Tuesday

    The district would have us believe that the prayer case, Westphal v. Wagner, is over and done with. How come then the special meeting re W v. W scheduled for tomorrow?
    Here's the notice:

Click on graphic to enlarge

• College receives accredation [sic] warning (Lariat)

Nancy's spin: Americans United responds

     Over the weekend, Queen Nancy (aka SOCCCD board president Nancy Padberg) put out a highly-questionable press release concerning recent developments in Westphal v. Wagner. I responded by noting that the press release exhibited very significant "spin" (see Premature pronouncement).
     It appears that Queen Nancy even contacted the Lariat, hoping that they would promote the fiction that the district has won the case. In any case, I’ve been contacted by Lariat reporters for a story about recent developments. I've urged them to wait until after the Feb. 17 settlement conference.
     AMERICANS UNITED RESPONDS. Today, the Legal Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State (plaintiffs' legal representation) has sent the following to the Lariat:

     The court's decision was far more balanced than the District's press release suggested. The court ruled that The Trustees have twice violated the Constitution by making religiously hostile presentations, and the court ordered them not to engage in any such behavior in the future. So the District actually LOST a significant portion of the case.
     And the plaintiffs are going to appeal the balance of the case to the United States Court of Appeals, where they have a very strong chance of success. So while the District has already spent over a million dollars on a high-priced law firm, its financial hemorrhage will only continue on appeal. And if the plaintiffs ultimately prevail, the District will have to pay the PLAINTIFFS' attorneys' fees as well. So the District could well be out several million dollars when the case is over.
     Public colleges are places of learning, not worship – which is why none of the other 100+ community colleges in California includes prayer at their events. Students and faculty represent the full diversity of this great Nation – Christians, Muslims, and Jews, as well as Buddhists, Agnostics, and Atheists among them. Replacing the prayers with a moment-of-silence would avoid imposing the wishes of the majority on the minority, while still allowing those who wish to pray to do so in whatever way they hold sacred. And it would have the added benefit of allowing the District to focus its resources on teaching, not preaching.

     Readers would do well to remember that the plaintiffs in this case for years asked trustees to moderate their prayer behavior, but, as usual, the board behaved arrogantly and irresponsibly, actually upping the ante by showing “Jesus” videos and imposing pro-religious rants upon the public in scholarship ceremonies. It was only after that behavior that plaintiffs finally pursued litigation.
     And contrary to statements by at least some defendants (e.g., Don Wagner), plaintiffs are not “atheists” whose actions reflect hostility toward religion. Rather, plaintiffs comprise a group of faculty, students, and members of the community who embrace the notion, expressed in the 1st Amendment of the Constitution, that government should not act to establish religion. (In truth, plaintiffs include theists as well as agnostics and atheists.)

COMPARE AND CONTRAST:
     You might want to compare my January 31 post ("The latest on the prayer case") about recent court developments with the district's curious recent press release (see below). Just who's doing the spinning here?

The district's cherry-picked Feb. 4 announcement:

     The plaintiffs previously moved the District Court for a preliminary injunction over such speech. The Court denied that motion. The District then filed a motion for summary judgment, based upon uncontroverted evidence, to dismiss the case as a matter of law. On January 28, 2011, the District Court granted the District’s motion on plaintiffs’ challenge to the constitutionality of the invocations, and found that such speech, in this context, does not violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

DtB's Jan. 31 post:

     Today, Judge Klausner issued a substantive ruling according to which (1) the Board’s generic invocations have a permissible purpose and effect; (2) we plaintiffs are entitled to a declaratory judgment that Mathur’s Fall 2009 “Jesus” video and Wagner’s 2008 scholarship ceremony rant were unconstitutional; (3) the Defendants will be ordered to comply with their policy regarding invocations (i.e., they can’t be sectarian, hostile, etc.).
     Next come proposed judgments (by plaintiffs and defendants) and a settlement conference (with another judge).

Berardino to County: John Williams is the problem

Union head slams county’s public guardian rescue plan (OC Reg; Watchdog)

     A plan by the county’s CEO to hire a new executive manager to step in and overhaul the culture and the personnel at the beleaguered Public Administrator/Public Guardian was blasted by the county’s employee union boss as insufficient and wasteful of taxpayer dollars.
     Oversight and new management are needed to immediately make personnel and policy changes as a result of issues raised repeatedly by the Orange County grand jury and the county’s own investigation into how the agency does business, county Chief Executive Officer Tom Mauk says.
     But Public Administrator/Public Guardian John S. Williams is already being paid $153,206.40 a year to head the office – and Williams, who is elected public administrator and appointed public guardian, has been repeatedly warned he needs to make significant changes to his agency.

The problem

     “The last thing the county needs is another executive with an extravagant salary and obscene perks,” said Nick Berardino, general manager of the Orange County Employees Association. “Adding another executive is not going to solve the problem.”
     The problem, Berardino said, is Williams himself. Adding another layer of bureaucracy isn’t going to fix that, he said.

     Williams’ private attorney Phil Greer, declined to comment….

The OC GOP central committee: "An incestuous mob of fellow sycophants"

     I’VE BEEN THINKING about the curious and mysterious way that Tom Fuentes has made and still makes a living—and then I remembered a great piece about Tom from about ten years ago: “Dear Mr. Fuentes: letters to the most powerful Republican in Orange County, California."
     Writer Nathan Calahan (that’s a pseudonym) is a close friend of a close friend. I’ve met him a few times; he and I always seem to argue. He used to work for the OC Weekly.
     Well, back in 2000, he wrote a marvelous piece about his year-long correspondence (of sorts) with then-GOP chief Fuentes. In truth, the piece is an overview of Fuentes the man and his odd ways—you know, threatening to destroy people, that sort of thing. Mind you, Nathan wrote this four or five years before Fuentes’ fall—i.e., his ouster from the chairmanship of the County Party in 2004. But, as you’ll see (if you read Nathan’s piece), the knives were already out back in 2000.
     Nathan’s piece has it’s highlights—especially his suggestion, to pen pal Tom, that he exploit the, um, absurd rumor that Tom is gay—for political gain.
     But I thought of Nathan’s article because of something else. Here’s one of Nathan’s letters to Tom:

Dear Mr. Fuentes,

     Boy, you must be busy. I completely understand why you haven't sent me your autographed photo yet. You've been out registering new Republicans ever since that Sept. 24 Orange County Register story appeared! What a headline!

REPUBLICANS DIP BELOW 50 PERCENT IN REGISTERED VOTERS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1984.

     Who do you think is responsible for this decline: Clinton Republicans? They'd be first on my list of suspects.
     I'm sure you remember Roger Johnson—that turncoat Republican CEO of Western Digital who endorsed Clinton in 1992 and then went on to be named director of Slick Willy's general services administration. Johnson was the first domino to fall. In 1996, more Republicans—including Mayor Tracy Wills Worley of Tustin, ex-Orange County Supervisor Harriet Weider and Central Committee Member Bill Dougherty—endorsed Clinton for re-election. To top it off, Dougherty called the Orange County Republican Central Committee "an incestuous mob of fellow sycophants who are either on the public payroll as assistants to some Republican office holder or fat-cat corporate lobbyists." Dougherty even got personal when he said that "your leadership and your bigoted Right wing of the party has led us down the path of defeat."

"B-1 Bob" Dornan; tightly wound

     So this Dougherty fella called the OC Republican Central Committee "an incestuous mob of fellow sycophants who are either on the public payroll as assistants to some Republican office holder or fat-cat corporate lobbyists," did he?
     What a guy!
     That reminds me of the time that, on TV, up-and-coming Republican and Congressional candidate, Nathan Rosenberg, called Fuentes "a bagman" for former county Supervisor Ronald W. Caspers! (See KOCE's May 29 Election Special Is Highly Charged, LA Times, 5/20/86.) When Rosenberg was asked to clarify the “bagman” remark, he said we oughta look the word up in Webster’s Dictionary. Yessirreebob!
     But, right now, it’s Dougherty’s remark that interests me, ‘cause, all those years ago, he pretty much hit the nail on the head, near as I can tell. And it's almost as if he were talking especially about Tom Fuentes and his pals today!
     I did some quick research. Turns out Dougherty, who was in his early seventies at the time of the 1996 Fuentes fracas, was the long-time leader of the moderates among OC Republicans.
     From his obit in 2002:

     William A. Dougherty, a Villa Park attorney who gained public attention for his defense of Christopher Boyce, the "Falcon" of the spy duo immortalized in the book and film "The Falcon and the Snowman," has died. He was 77.
     Dougherty, who was known as a lively curmudgeon in Orange County Republican political circles, died Wednesday at his home in the upscale community east of Anaheim. He had prostate cancer and fell into a coma on Christmas Day [2001].
. . .

John Schmitz

     Dougherty also became known around California in the 1970s for trying to move the Republican Party in Orange County away from the dominant conservatism represented by such politicians as former congressmen Robert K. Dornan and John Schmitz. Though he never was successful in winning political office himself, Dougherty was considered a leader among the moderate or liberal wing of the local GOP.
     "I always called myself a Dougherty Republican," said local defense attorney H. Dean Steward, a longtime ally of Dougherty's within the party. "There weren't that many of us, but we were dedicated to moving the party back where it should be."
     Dougherty angered many fellow Republicans in 1996 when he supported Democrat Loretta Sanchez after she successfully defeated Dornan. In her literature, Dougherty called Dornan a "war wimp." It cost Dougherty his seat on the county's Republican Central Committee, but after he filed a lawsuit against the party, he eventually was reinstated.
     A highly decorated Marine fighter pilot during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, Dougherty retired as a reserve colonel in 1976. He founded the November 10th Assn., a local group of ex-Marines that holds an annual dinner to honor the corps' inception, and was active in the Marine Foundation, a fund-raising group.

     I think I'm in love.

See also

• Dornan and Critic Exchange Angry Barbs at GOP Meeting (1996)
• Push Underway to Get Moderates Seats on Central GOP Committee (2000)
• Other Times articles about Dougherty
• Shut Up, Fag!: Quotations from the Files of Congressman Bob Dornan, the Man Who Would Be President

Loretta v. Bob, c. 1996

Kill me now

Tutoring has evolved. It is no longer as anthropocentric as it once was

     Norberto Santana, Jr.'s article about John Williams (in Voice of OC) appears to be updated--and particularly interesting. It really looks like Williams is toast.

Update: that daffy new tutoring referral “protocol”

Who can 'splain it?

     A PROTOCOL FROM HELL—and SADDLEBACK. You’ll recall that, during flex week, the district set up a system for referring students to tutoring. The new system works like this: faculty who open their Spring semester rosters automatically refer all of their students to tutoring—unless they uncheck a pre-checked box appearing at the bottom of the roster page.
     Wacky!
     I first heard about it on Friday of flex week. The next day—two days before the start of the semester—I posted about the new protocol (Referring students, sight unseen, to tutoring? Huh?), explaining that, on my reading of Title 5, it is unlawful, among other things.
     Title 5, I reported, clearly suggests that

… to do this tutoring thing right, all students who are tutored … must be enrolled [in tutoring] on the basis of a referral. The referral must be by a “counselor or an instructor.” The latter must be referring the student to tutoring because of “an identified learning need.”

Justice: some say IVC's VPI practices a dastardly form of "thought control"

     So, obviously, the new protocol ain’t kosher. Or so I wrote.
     A week or two later, the new protocol came up at the meeting of the IVC Academic Senate, and, at that time, VPI Craig Justice expressed unhappiness with the dang thing. The new protocol, he said, did appear to violate Title 5. (But gosh, hadn’t anybody at Saddleback College, the initiator of this daffy protocol, clued him in about it?)

     THE NIGHTMARE IS OVER. Well, at the last IVC senate meeting (two days ago), Justice explained that he had met with his counterpart at Saddleback College (Don B), and it was agreed that the new protocol would have to be undone and replaced with something that would square with Title 5.
     OK, so that’s one problem solved, I guess. (See also The automatic referral "protocol," part 3: violating Title 5.) Send cash prizes to DtB.

"Hey, Buster. I have an identified need."

Neanderthalic science

     It's hard to believe that Bill went to college. How could he not know what causes the tides?
     The poor fellow now asks: where did the moon come from? And so he seems equally ignorant about stellar evolution and the creation of our solar system.
     How can that be? He must have taken some science courses in college, right? He must've passed some of 'em, right? I'm mystified.

www.colbertnation.com

Irvine 11

Irvine 11 Charged With Misdemeanors, Face Jail, Probation, Community Service if Convicted (Navel Gazing; OC Weekly)

11 Muslim students face charges in UCI protest (OC Reg)

…"We are unaware of any case where a district attorney pressed criminal charges over this type of non violent student protest," said Hector Villagra, incoming director of the ACLU of Southern California, in a statement. "The District Attorney's action will undoubtedly intimidate students in Orange County and across the state and discourage them from engaging in any controversial speech or protest for fear of criminal charges."….

Queen Nancy's premature pronouncement

     Queen Nancy [Padberg], President of the SOCCCD board of trustees (and opponent of "heathens"), has put out a press release re the “Westphal v. Wagner” Prayer lawsuit. Here it is in its entirety:

Court Upholds Constitutionality of Invocations at South Orange County Community College Events

    Gary L. Poertner, Chancellor, and Nancy Padberg, Board President of the South Orange County Community College District, wish to apprise the college community of recent developments in the Westphal v. Wagner lawsuit as communicated by the District’s counsel, John A. Vogt, from the firm Jones Day in the following summary:
    Westphal v. Wagner is a federal lawsuit that was filed in United States District Court for the Central District of California in November 2009. The plaintiffs in the case are professors from Saddleback and Irvine Valley College [among others]. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs contend that the Trustees, Chancellor, and President of Saddleback College have violated the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution by including a non-sectarian invocation at Saddleback College graduation and scholarship ceremonies, as well as at bi-annual Chancellor’s Opening Sessions.

The board should not "placate those heathens," wrote* Nancy

    The plaintiffs previously moved the District Court for a preliminary injunction over such speech. The Court denied that motion. The District then filed a motion for summary judgment, based upon uncontroverted evidence, to dismiss the case as a matter of law. On January 28, 2011, the District Court granted the District’s motion on plaintiffs’ challenge to the constitutionality of the invocations, and found that such speech, in this context, does not violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
    The District Court’s decision is now the third federal court case upholding the constitutionality of invocations before public college and university events, falling in line with the opinion of the Sixth Circuit in Chaudhuri v. State of Tennessee, 130 F.3d 232 (6th Cir. 1997) (which upheld the constitutionality of invocations at Tennessee State) and the opinion of the Seventh Circuit in Tanford v. Brand, 104 F.3d 982 (7th Cir. 1997) (which upheld the constitutionality of invocations at Indiana University).

* * *

    The Trustees, Chancellor, and Saddleback College President are pleased with this outcome. They consistently have maintained that the practice of including a brief, non-sectarian ceremonial invocation at significant District and college events—a tradition that traces its roots to the first graduation ceremony at Saddleback College over 40 years ago—is well-grounded in Establishment Clause jurisprudence, as well as our nation’s rich history and culture. Like the invocation given at the annual Army-Navy football game or our presidential inaugurations, the invocations that have been given at district and college events are not used to proselytize or advance one (or any) religion, but instead, to bring about a dignity, solemnity, and gravitas to these important ceremonial events.

Nancy has some interesting views. (Click on graphic to enlarge.)

     There's nothing new here. We reported these developments several days ago: recent developments in the prayer lawsuit. (Please note what Nancy's press release neglects to mention.)
     I stand by what I reported then:

     Today, Judge Klausner issued a substantive ruling according to which (1) the Board’s generic invocations have a permissible purpose and effect; (2) we plaintiffs are entitled to a declaratory judgment that Mathur’s Fall 2009 “Jesus” video and Wagner’s 2008 scholarship ceremony rant were unconstitutional; (3) the Defendants will be ordered to comply with their policy regarding invocations (i.e., they can’t be sectarian, hostile, etc.).
     Next come proposed judgments (by plaintiffs and defendants) and a settlement conference (with another judge).
     Really, lots of things could happen. Don't read too much into this.

     In fact, a settlement hearing is scheduled for the 17th. It has not been cancelled. Now, why do you suppose Nancy and crew will be attending this hearing? 'Cause they've won and it's over?
     It's not over.

*I don't think I've ever been referred to as a "heathen" before. (Click on graphic to enlarge.)

The flight of the Williams

     JOHN WILLIAMS' PORCH FLIGHT. After Kimberly Edd’s disturbing Jan. 20 article about Public Administrator/Guardian John Williams, one of John’s former colleagues wrote a peevish letter to the Reg, complaining that Edd’s story was sensationalistic: "Exposes should focus on facts not on sensationalism."
     At one point, Mr. Peevish writes:

…Edds … tells us Williams took a medical retirement from the Marshal’s Office. Does this further our idea that Williams … has county connections? Of course, if Edds knew of the medical retirement, then she also knew that he suffered the qualifying injuries by being completely blown off the porch of a South County home by a house-leveling explosion from a suicidal individual. …[N]one of this filler material is germane to the important and factual aspects of the Register article.

     Yeah, whatever.
     Does anyone know about this porch incident? Was Williams really “blown off” a porch by an explosion?
     I did some looking, and I can find nothing about this. I even searched through the OC Reg archives, and I actually bought an old (1992) article that looked like it might have the desired info. But nothin’ doin’.
     Does anybody know just what happened to Williams that led to his retirement?

This is gonna hurt, but that's OK, 'cause of that big fat pension.

     WILLIAMS ♥ CARONA. Here’s a factoid for you: from 1988 until 1998, the O.C. Marshal was—you guessed it!—Michael Carona. (The Marshal was appointed by judges.) In 1998, Carona was elected OC Sheriff. Soon thereafter, the Marshal's Dept. was collapsed with the Sheriff's Dept.
     And so Bailiff Boy and Carona are pals. They go way back.

     THE P.A.'S COLORFUL HISTORY. Another curious factoid: I ran across an old article about William A. Baker, Williams' much respected predecessor. At one point, the article notes this bit of fascinating history:

Few voters know of the public administrator's office. That has not always been the case: About 30 years ago [i.e., the mid-60s] Orange County's public administrator was convicted of embezzlement and sent to prison. It's a position requiring someone who can be trusted to work in the people's interest out of the limelight.

     Later on, I’ll try to dig up that 60s story.

     ENDORSEMENTS MATTER, I GUESS. When Williams ran for Public Administrator in 2002, he was opposed by Vicki Landrus, then the assistant public administrator. She received the endorsement of the respected William Baker, her boss.
     But that didn’t matter. Williams had the endorsement of his old pal Mike Carona, "America's Sheriff."

In my mind, Williams was Rocket Man, if only for a second.

     NANCY AND THE PA/PG. Back in 2004, the LA Times noted the apparent conflict of interest entailed by Nancy Padberg's role as Williams' chief of staff (2 Trustees' Job Status Is an Issue). Naturally, the experts said, well yeah, it doesn't look good. Meanwhile, two of Williams' Republican pals on the board—Wagner and Fuentes—insisted that everything was cool.
     "Honest to God," said Wagner, "I've seen nothing to see there is a problem."

     A few years later, Williams suddenly fired Padberg. She was hopping mad. And she stayed that way. Ever since, during board meetings, Padberg has made a point of opposing whatever Williams is in favor of. Evidently, Fuentes was somehow implicated in her firing, and so Fuentes, too, has received Padberg's "insta-contra" treatment.
     Lovely, isn't it?

     P.S.: I came across an old post in which I reported that, back in 2002 when Williams first ran for Public Administrator, he was endorsed by the Faculty Association! That's right. That would have been the post-corruption FA. Sheesh. No doubt I complained about it at the time, but to no avail. I may even have quit the union for a while--until Brenda hounded me until I gave in and rejoined. How come our union is so often so freakin' clueless?

More on Williams!

• Supervisors Considering Ouster of Another High-Level County Official (Voice of OC)

…Several sources briefed on the attorney's report -- which looked at how well Williams handled liquidating large estates with probate issues -- said it painted a picture of his office as "incompetent."

Among the cases highlighted by the attorney, according to those briefed, is Williams' steering of a land sale to a Newport Beach auction company, LFC, that has ties to former Orange County GOP Chairman Tom Fuentes….

• County CEO Seeks Overhaul, Oversight of Public Administrator/Public Guardian John Williams' Office (Navel Gazing; OC Weekly)

...For now, Mauk seeks a manager to oversee Williams. Three of the five county supervisors must buy in, and there is the rub: The Republican-dominated board clinks glasses with powerful GOP allies of Williams. These include District Attorney Tony Rackauckas' fiance, Peggi Buff, who is a high-ranking official in Williams' office, and OC GOP chairman emeritus Tom Fuentes, who served alongside Williams for several years on the South Orange County Community College Board of Trustees. Fuentes is still there; Williams resigned in December due to "family obligations."

With the yin of court losses, serious allegations and investigative reporting and yang of entrenched Orange County politics, it will be interesting to see if Williams can survive one more time. Of course, the more things stay the same, the more they never change here.

Moorlach on Williams: "He’s done a good job of schmoozing"

Lacks the "skill set" ~

     YES, HE'S STILL "TOAST." Here's a remarkable update of that recent OC Reg article about former trustee John Williams:

County exec wants changes at public administrator’s office (OC Reg)

     The Public Administrator/Public Guardian needs oversight and a new executive manager to immediately make personnel and policy changes as a result of issues raised by the Orange County grand jury and the county’s own investigation into how the agency does business, the county’s chief executive officer says.
. . .
     Bringing in an executive manager to make changes to a department controlled by both an elected and appointed county official is unprecedented in the county, according to assistant CEO Rob Richardson and deputy CEO Stephen Dunivent. The request by CEO Tom Mauk for the new position also marks the first public acknowledgment that a confidential review of Williams’ performance has raised serious concerns.
. . .
     Three out of the county’s five supervisors must approve creating the new executive manager position, a request which was buried on page 139 of the 184-page second quarter budget report on next Tuesday’s board agenda. The executive manager would report directly to Mauk.
     Mauk, who has fought for years to split the public administrator and public guardian roles, will decide who to bring in to make changes in the office. County supervisors expressed frustration that their requests for change over the past few years have apparently fallen on deaf ears.
     “We do need to change some of the culture there,” said Supervisor Janet Nguyen. “We’ve given Mr. Williams some time to address these issues and he hasn’t….We have to take action to correct those concerns if he’s not going to. At the end of the day we’re responsible for the county.”
     Williams, who has close political ties to Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and former Orange County Republican Chairman Tom Fuentes, was elected public administrator/public guardian in 2003 after taking medical retirement from the county’s marshal’s office.
. . .
     The county supervisors last year hired an outside law firm to look into Williams’ handling of such cases. The review, which county officials say is protected by attorney-client privilege, still hasn’t been finished. It is unclear whether any details from the report will be publicly disclosed.
     County staff wants the executive manager, if approved, to take immediate action to establish a risk-averse culture, establish new standards for obtaining goods and services, and make personnel adjustments after a human resources audit is done.
. . .
     There are no minimum requirements to hold the position of public administrator/public guardian and combining an elected position with an appointed one leaves the county with few options to take action.
     “With (Sheriff Mike) Carona at least I could say, please resign. I did the same with (Treasurer-Tax Collector Chriss) Street. With Williams it’s really hard,” said board Vice-Chair John Moorlach.
. . .
     “(Williams) has always been a really nice guy. He’s done a good job of schmoozing,” Moorlach said. “He may not have the proper skill set for the job or the ability to select a good assistant to make him a little more successful.”….

Carona? Tom's pal. Street? Tom's pal. Williams? Tom's pal.

The Reg emphasizes the Mathur factor

Tom's pal

Saddleback, Irvine Valley colleges receive accreditation warnings (OC Reg)

     South County's two community colleges have been issued a warning by the commission that accredits them based on unsatisfactory findings from a study conducted last year.
     …The two colleges were evaluated by accreditation teams through visits to each campus last October during routine accrediting studies that happen every six years. The warnings were issued based on information obtained during those visits.
     According to the release, the accrediting commission's primary concerns were with the district's board of trustees….
. . .
     The accrediting study came at a time of controversy and transition at the district, which came under public scrutiny following the early resignation of former SOCCCD chancellor Raghu Mathur last year. Mathur resigned a year before his contract was set to expire, and there was speculation he was forced out by the district's board of trustees.
     Mathur had been criticized for the district's declining enrollment and poor accreditation reports, even receiving three votes of "no confidence" by more than 90 percent of the faculty during his eight-year tenure as chancellor. Interim chancellor Dixie Bullock took over in July until Gary Poertner was appointed as permanent chancellor for the district – around the time of the accreditation team visits….

Accreditation bombshell

     Some have asked for “a little context,” and I’m happy to provide it. 

     A few years ago, Chancellor Raghu P. Mathur and the Board of Trustees—especially trustees Don Wagner and Tom Fuentes, who dominated the anti-intellectualist and right-wing core of the board (John Williams and Dave Lang rounded it out)—approached the accreditation process with contempt for faculty concerns and, at least in the case of Fuentes, with open contempt for accreditors. This produced a harsh ACCJC response that warned that the colleges were in danger of losing their accreditation—should, that is, no progress be made at long last with regard to long-standing issues and recommendations.

     To his credit, trustee Don Wagner took the warning and thus the Accred recommendations seriously, and thus commenced a strong effort, including the direct involvement of trustees Wagner and Lang (on large representative committees), to respond to Accred recommendations in good faith. (Fuentes did not participate and evidently did not experience any change of heart.)

     Ultimately, strong and widely-supported self-study reports were produced and submitted in July/August of 2010—a month or so after the forced exodus of long-time Chancellor Mathur, a source of much of the disquiet and low morale at the colleges and at the district.
     Not long after (in October), the Accreditation Team visits occurred, and they seemed to go well.

     The board election of November 2010 brought the replacement of exiting trustee Don Wagner with the faculty-friendly T.J. Prendergast. In December, long-time trustee John Williams resigned, and he was replaced by (evidently faculty-friendly) Frank Meldau.
     A new Chancellor was hired: the widely respected and liked Gary Poertner. These changes promised a reversal of fortunes for the district. It was about time!

* * *

     In late January, the two colleges received the accreditation results, which essentially warned the colleges that long-standing difficulties concerning especially the board of trustees must finally be addressed. The irony, of course, is that the personalities responsible for these difficulties had either left the district—Mathur, Wagner, and Williams—or were now a distinct and impotent minority (Lang, Fuentes).
     Indeed, the new board direction seems destined to be positive—and very unlike the turn that has brought us all this Sturm und Drang.

* * *

     To see IVC’s letter, go here. Click on the box that says EVALUATION REPORT.
     To see Saddleback College’s letter, go here. Find “reports and letters.” Click on "ACCJC 2010 Accreditation Notification Letter (January 31, 2010)."
     Please remember that this Accred round is based on self-study reports that were submitted in August of 2010, about a month after Raghu Mathur's exodus from the district.
     Below is each letter. Click on graphics to enlarge them.

Irvine Valley College:

Saddleback College letter:

Saddleback College and Irvine Valley College receive warnings

     4:25 - We just received the following from the district:

District to Address Commission’s Recommendations

… South Orange County Community College District (SOCCCD) learned today from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) that it has acted to issue a warning to the district’s two colleges, Saddleback College and Irvine Valley College (IVC), following accreditation visits in October 2010.
. . .
Warnings from the ACCJC are not uncommon and are provided when an institution has pursued a course deviating from requirements to an extent that gives concern to the Commission. Most institutions find a warning from the Commission to be an uncomfortable but useful stimulus to resolve deficiencies, institute improved practices and increase quality.

Gary Poertner, the new Chancellor of the South Orange County Community College District, commented, “We are proud of the 11 commendations our two colleges received in the reports. However, we have some important work ahead of us to correct the deficiencies. We take the Commission’s recommendations and warning very seriously.”

In the letter dated January 31, 2011, the Commission made the following recommendations for areas requiring improvement:

SOCCCD – Develop strategic plans that are inclusive of the planning at the colleges and that are directly tied to district resource allocation for all entities; develop a communications process among the district entities on key issues of concern; communicate results of the Board of Trustee’s self evaluation process; develop a clearly defined policy for a code of ethics which includes dealing with violations of the Board’s code of ethics; provide clear delineation of functional responsibilities; and assess and communicate decision making processes and effectiveness of services to the colleges. [My emphasis.]

Saddleback College – Work with SOCCCD on its recommendations.

Irvine Valley College – In addition to working with SOCCCD on its recommendations, the Commission also emphasized that: “Although the college and its constituent groups have achieved a collegial working relationship with the current president to address issues with a new optimism, the college does not have this same type of relationship with the district leadership and the Board of Trustees. “ [My emphasis.]

Chancellor Poertner will work with the two college Presidents and district services to establish a joint task force that will address each of these issues carefully and thoroughly. The findings and subsequent warnings were issued based on information obtained during accrediting commission team visits in October 2010. It is important to note that since that time, several significant leadership transitions have taken place, including a new Chancellor, several new Trustees and the establishment of a new board leadership.

“We are committed to resolving the Commission’s recommendations so our colleges can become accredited without sanctions,” Poertner stressed. “It is imperative that the colleges and district work together to collectively correct any deficiencies and strive for continual self-improvement on behalf of our students. This is both a challenge and an opportunity.”

Both colleges must prepare a progress report to the Commission by October 15, 2011. Additional information about the colleges’ accreditations can be found on the college websites at here and here.

Williams is toast

     Kimberly Edds of the OC Reg’s Total Buzz reports:

County CEO: Public guardian needs oversight

     The county’s chief executive officer wants to hire an executive manager to oversee the operations of the Public Administrator/Public Guardian and make a series of personnel and policy changes as a result of issues raised by the Orange County grand jury and the county’s own investigation into how the agency does business.
     It is unclear whether those changes could include removing Public Administrator/Public Guardian John S. Williams from his appointed role of public guardian. A quirk of county government, Williams is the county’s elected public administrator but appointed public guardian by the Board of Supervisors.
     Calls to Williams’ private attorney were not immediately returned.
     Three out of the county’s five supervisors must approve creating the new executive manager position, a request which was buried on page 139 of the 184-page second quarter budget report on next Tuesday’s board agenda. The executive manager would report directly to county CEO Tom Mauk.
     Mauk, who has fought for years to split the public administrator and public guardian roles, will decide who to bring in to make changes in the office.
     Williams, who has close political ties to Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and former Orange County Republican Chairman Tom Fuentes, was elected public administrator/public guardian in 2003 after taking medical retirement from the county’s marshal’s office.
     Rackauckas’ fiance Peggi Buff is a high-ranking official in the Public Administrator/Public Guardian’s office. Williams served on the South Orange County Community College Board of Trustees will [sic] Fuentes for several years before Williams resigned in December, citing family obligations.
     The county public administrator settles estates of those who die without a will or someone to take care of their affairs; the public guardian takes care of the elderly or ill who have no one to care for their affairs. Each year, the agency handles estates valued at more than $38 million.
     In the past few years, Williams has been criticized for unnecessarily taking control of people’s estates. Williams has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing by his office, blaming the criticism on disgruntled employees who were fired or passed over for promotions.
     A Register investigation detailed many of the accusations made against Williams, including his attempt to move quickly to take over the multimillion dollar estate of Tapout co-founder Charles “Mask” Lewis even though the mixed-martial arts mogul left behind two children to inherit his fortune.
     In addition to the Lewis estate, where he was rebuked by the 4th District Court of Appeal, he was criticized in back-to-back Orange County grand jury reports in 2009 for “egregious” mismanagement, including dubious internal promotions that cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands. In the wake of those reports, Williams narrowly escaped having the Board of Supervisors strip his appointment as public guardian.
     The county supervisors last year hired an outside law firm to look into Williams’ handling of such cases. The review, which is protected by attorney-client privilege, was finished last month but details have not been publicly disclosed.
     Mauk’s request to bring someone to oversee the operations of the Public Administrator/Public Guardian marks the first public acknowledgment that the county’s review raised concerns.
     County staff wants the executive manager, if approved, to take immediately action to establish a risk averse culture, establish new standards for obtaining goods and services, and make identified personnel adjustments after a human resources audit is done.
     Other immediate actions recommended by staff include implementing the information technology caseload system and updating and completing the agency’s policies and procedures along with ensuring those rules are followed....

     The agenda for the Board of Supe's meeting next week is here. See agenda item 42, pp. 136-7

New flag at IVC

The new American flag

What we had flyin' a couple of days ago

Mr. Bird came by and made an offering

IVC Library, BSTIC: it was another beautiful day

Protesters back UC Irvine students against grand jury probe (LA Times)

…"These students aren't criminals, they shouldn't have their lives ruined by criminal charges at this point," said Carol Sobel, an attorney who has worked with the 11 students who were disciplined and represents the other six students who were subpoenaed. "And we should all move forward."…

G.O.P. Governors Take Aim at Teacher Tenure (New York Times)

Tom Fuentes, 1970 (boy S&L "consultant")

40 years ago

     Tonight, I was thinking about Tom Fuentes’ curious career as a “consultant,” and that led me to reread some old articles about him.
     That brought me to an article, by Roy Rivenburg, written a year or so before Fuentes’ rise to the chairmanship of the OC GOP in 1984:

    "Tom Fuentes is a Man of Plenty," Orange Coast Magazine, September, 1983 (p. 138)

     You’ll recall that Fuentes’ early (teen-through-college) years were spent battling for Republicans in local (OC) races. According to Rivenburg,

…During his final semester at Chapman College, [Fuentes] managed Ron Caspers’ upset victory [June 1970—Fuentes would have been about 21 years old] over an incumbent county supervisor [Republican Alton Allen]. The grateful Caspers awarded Fuentes with a retroactive college scholarship and a position as consultant to the savings and loan firm he owned. The new supervisor also named Fuentes as his senior aid.…

     That all came to an end, I guess, nine days after Caspers' reelection in 1974, when he and nine others disappeared off the coast of Baja (an apparent yachting accident) and were never seen again.

Disneyland

     But enough about that. I’ve heard that Caspers’ 1970 campaign was fierce, and so I did some digging. I found a 1988 Times article about OC recall efforts, including an attempted recall of Caspers’ Board of Supes predecessor:

     3 Recall Attempts in Past 40 Years Failed (LA Times, April 28, 1988)

…The most serious attempt to recall a county supervisor came in late 1969 and early 1970, when board member Alton E. Allen was targeted by a group that used the effort to bloody Allen politically before defeating him in a subsequent supervisorial race.

Fake Newspaper
    The recall group circulated 8,000 copies of a fake newspaper that suddenly appeared on people's doorsteps. The newspaper, the Homeowners Beacon, charged that Allen had been unresponsive to 5th District residents' concerns about airport noise, elimination of a road to the Salt Creek public beach and placement of large landowners' holdings in agricultural preserves.
    The effort was spearheaded by Anthony Tarantino of San Clemente and Paul B. Carpenter, a political activist who later served in the state Senate and who is now a member of the State Board of Equalization. Both men acknowledged at the time their role in mailing the Beacon tabloid.
    The recall drive fell short of the necessary signatures. But before then, Allen had charged that the drive was part of a strategy by a savings and loan president, Ronald W. Caspers to defeat him in the June, 1970, election for 5th District supervisor. Later, both sides conceded that the strategy had worked….

     It sounds like Caspers may have been involved in this "fake newspaper” gambit. Does that suggest that Fuentes, to whom Caspers would soon be so grateful, was also involved?
     Carpenter, a Cypress Democrat, soon became one of the most notorious characters in OC corruption history. Why, at this point, he would be involved in an effort to unseat Allen is unclear to me, especially if the beneficiary of that effort was a Republican—namely, Caspers.
     It does appear that Caspers was a real bastard. And Tom was his boy. And 21-year-old Tom soon became a “consultant” at Caspers’ S&L.
     As I recall, Fuentes majored in Political Science. What would he be qualified to do at an S&L?
     Answer: consulting.

In 1970, OC was even more colorless than now

     The following story, related by Gustavo Arellano, provides some sense of what kind of guy Ronald Caspers was:

Caspers, annoyed that a Mexican-American group of county employees were demanding affirmative action (he had accused one of the leaders of not being an American citizen), called them "bandidos" during a board meeting, then asked county counsel to explore moving the county seat from SanTana to whiter environs because "we are in an area which does not have a normal ethnic balance."
…
…Caspers ended up apologizing for his gaffe during a board meeting, and the other supervisors reprimanded him publicly. Caspers claimed he didn't know bandido was an offensive term to Mexicans, a bullshit excuse considering Chicanos had just successfully axed the Frito Bandito the year before.

     Gosh, just think. Only a couple of years earlier, the Saddleback Community College District board of trustees had chosen the Frito Bandito as the college mascot!
     –Well, not really. But pretty close:

The Saddleback College "Gaucho"

New flag/FPPC complaint/lobbying reform in OC?

     BRAND SPANKIN' NEW AMERICAN FLAG. This morning, we noticed that the very ragged American flag that has flown outside the administration building at Irvine Valley College has finally been replaced—with a very sharp-looking new flag. We’ll have photos tomorrow.

Fancy Schmancy Rutan and Tucker representing Fuentes

     MY FPPC COMPLAINT RE TOM FUENTES. Today, I finally received a confirmation letter from the Fair Political Practices Commission re my complaint regarding Trustee Tom Fuentes’ failure to report his “Senior Vice Presidency” of LFC (a real estate auctioning firm) on his Statement of Economic Interests (form 700). Elected officials, such as Fuentes, must submit these forms,* and, near as I can tell, Fuentes should have included on his 700 that, beyond his title of Senior Vice President, he was given the use of an office, phone, and email by LFC for a period of years.
     It appears that Fuentes has over the years sought contracts for LFC with the County and with the Coast Community College District—the kind of action that would be expected of someone with an economic interest in the company. In an article in the Voice of OC,** Fuentes acknowledges connecting LFC with the County, and I have been contacted by an official at the Coast Community College District who asserts that Fuentes lobbied that entity on behalf of LFC (in 2007).
     The FPPC letter is unremarkable (see below), but I noticed that it is cc’d to Michael Houston of the law firm Rutan and Tucker (see above).
     Hmmm. The South Orange County Community College District has hired R&T over the years (once defending the district when I successfully sued it for violating my 1st Amendment rights in the late 90s). Naturally, Mike Houston is a very active Republican; he is sometimes described as a Republican "activist." I did some quick checking, and he has contributed to “Strickland for U.S. Senate” and the “National Conservative Campaign Fund” (Fuentes is on the NCCF's board of directors) among others and he has written for the right-wing blog, Flashreport, whose John Fleischman is closely associated with the Schroeder/Rackaucas/Carona/Fuentes crowd.

It's in the mail.
Hmmm. Who's payin' R and T?

**From the above mentioned Voice of OC article:

     ...Legendary former Orange County Republican Party Chairman Tom Fuentes at one point had an office at [LFC], and sources close to the transaction said he made the introduction between the company's owner and [OC Public Administrator/Guardian John] Williams.
     Fuentes said he couldn't remember making the introductions but admits it "may well have been the case."
     "I've known the owner of LFC for 30 years. I was there for a couple of years, and I know John Williams," Fuentes said.
     But, Fuentes said, "there's no business relationship" with the firm currently, which is why his state statement of economic interests (Form 700) filed with the South Orange County Community College District doesn't indicate any income from the company.
     Fuentes said he had his offices at LFC several years ago when he became a senior fellow with Claremont Institute because the firm donated office space to the program. He still regularly communicates with an email address with an lfc.com tag.
     Yet Fuentes said he had no knowledge of the LFC land transaction for Williams' office. However, he has always been a strong supporter of Williams, and sources say he has lobbied county supervisors on Williams' behalf.
     Fuentes' introduction of Williams to LFC was around the time that Williams convinced county supervisors to combine the appointed job of Public Administrator (with an annual salary of $20,000) and the elected job of Public Guardian (which pays $138,000) and hand both offices to him.
     Fuentes said he didn't recall lobbying for Williams in recent years but said he is a strong supporter and wouldn't discount the fact that he's let people at the county know his opinions in the past. Fuentes said he's also a big proponent of offices like Williams' being elected offices, arguing that it goes with conservative values of heightened accountability....

     *Note: Fuentes has been an SOCCCD trustee for over a decade (since August of 2000). His "stay" at LFC occurred during that decade-long period.
     Note also that (according to his 700s), during the past decade, Fuentes has (some years) been a highly-paid consultant for the Claremont Institute.

Fuentes' business card

     LOBBYIST REFORM IN OC? Over the years, it appears that Fuentes, often described vaguely as a “consultant,” has been some sort of lobbyist. That he has been in that line while serving as the chair of the OC GOP (from the 1980s until 2004) has raised eyebrows. (Fuentes has been involved in embarrassing episodes of "influence" of government officials. See for instance this.)
     Well, today, it seems that, for the first time, the OC Board of Supes has approved (a draft of) an ordinance that regulates lobbying of the County: Lobby Reform Passes (Voice of OC)

     The Orange County Board of Supervisors took a big step toward transparency Tuesday by unanimously approving the first reading of an ordinance that would require lobbyists who are paid more than $500 to register with the county and file annual reports.
     Today's vote marks a victory for those who for years have been calling for lobby reform in Orange County. Supervisors failed in three attempts in recent months to come to agreement on a law….
     Most large California counties – including San Diego and Los Angeles – have had lobbyist registries for years.
. . .
     Although lobbyists would be required to register under the ordinance, they would not be required to disclose who their clients are. Also, lobbyists would be able to change clients throughout the year without having to report the changes to the county, according to County Chief Executive Tom Mauk. The law calls for lobbyists to start registering July 1.
     A key issue yet to be resolved is whether to exclude non-profit organizations from the requirement….

     It remains to be seen whether the ordinance, if ultimately passed, will have any teeth. Never underestimate the capacity of Fuentes' crowd to protect its hinky and lucrative ways.