Sunday, September 26, 2010

A glimpse into OC's GOP cronyville

     One of our readers underscored the, um, curiously close association that exists between John Williams and those whose names crop up on his campaign finance records. (See earlier post.) The reader claimed that several of Williams’ recent contributors also contributed to OC Supe Pat Bates’ 2005 campaign.
     Bates was among the Republican Supervisors who, a few months ago, oddly voted not to split up John Williams’ combined county jobs despite recommendations to do so fueled in part by two harsh grand jury reports revealing Williams’ incompetence, etc.
     I Googled two of the names that appeared on Williams’ records (Rackaucas fiancé and PAPG second-in-command Peggy Buff and civil engineer Roy Stephenson) and came across Bates’ campaign records for the first half of 2005.
     Here are the names of some of Bates’ contributors on that record:
• Peggy Ann Buff – $125
• Raghu Mathur – $125
• Nancy Padberg – $200 ($125 earlier)
• Roy F. Stephenson – $125
• John Williams – $200 ($700 within calendar year; $1200 cumulative)
• Tait and Associates, Inc. – $250
• Fieldstead and Co. – $1,500
• Philip L. Anthony inc. – $250
• Mark Bucher – $250
• Michael Schroeder – $500
     Again, Peggy Buff is Williams’ second in command at the Public Administrator/Guardian office; and she’s the OC DA’s fiancé. Pretty cozy.
     You know who Mathur and Padberg are. Until about 2005, Padberg worked for Williams down at the PAPG. Then, suddenly, he fired her.
     Roy F. Stephenson seemed to be involved in some way in some hinky business years ago concerning Yorba Linda City Manager Art Simonian. Stephenson eventually sued the city for failing to provide benefits granted by Simonian, who was eventually let go by the city and then investigated for alleged inappropriate actions and expenditures.
     Tait and Associates was (is?) Tom Fuentes’ employer (F served as Senior Vice President)
     Fieldstead manages the assets of the Howard F. Ahmanson, Jr. family. It funds various religious right causes such as Creationism and the “preservation” of the traditional family (aka the opposition to gay rights).
     Philip L. Anthony was among the rogues recently listed in an OC Register article identifying OC’s corrupt politician hall of shame.
     Mark Bucher is a local politico and among the founders of Tustin’s Education Alliance, which is among the powers behind the notorious CAPO trustees.
     Mike Schroeder is, of course, the Godfather of the OC “Republican mafia.” At the time of Tom Fuentes’ curious arrival on the SOCCCD board of trustees in 2000, Schroeder and Fuentes were closely allied (indeed, at one point, I met with them). No doubt, they continue to close associates.

Grandmothers in jeopardy

     A funny essay—or title, anyway—in today’s Chronicle of Higher Education:

New Semester Results in Huge Loss of Life Among Grandmothers
     Just days into the fall semester, professors say the excuses for missing class have already begun to flow: food-borne illnesses, fender-benders, roommate squabbles, registration snafus.
     Then there are the grandparents, those poor souls who wander about dead but unaware of it—like Bruce Willis's character in The Sixth Sense—conveniently killed off by college students whose tuition they might even be paying. One commenter on a Chronicle Forums thread on student excuses suggests sending out warning notices to the old folks: "The midterm exam for [course and number] is scheduled for [date]. This puts your life in danger. We recommend that you get a physical exam before that date and avoid all unnecessary travel until the test is over. Grandmothers are particularly at risk."
     Writer Don Troop offers some student excuses that readers have sent him:
• This is one I received this morning after a student missed my 8 a.m. class:

"Sorry I missed class this morning but I woke up so stiff I could barely move and didn't no [sic] why so I ended up going to the hospital to see what's wrong and it turns out when I was born my spinal chord didn't grow properly so I ended up pinching some things and that's why I wasnt able to move. Sorry I missed class though but I will bring by my author summary to you. Thank you and sorry."

• One student missed my class because his truck window wouldn't roll up….

• Last semester I did have a student not come to class because, she said, some stalker was licking her windshield, and campus security towed her car.…

• This one is verbatim: "I am really sorry I was not in class today. I some how came down with ammonia and have been really sick for the past 2 days."
     Those strike me as mostly lame.
     The other day, I gave a test, and, as students were finishing it, one kid came up to me and asked for permission to return the pen he borrowed.
     "Absolutely," I said.
     They ask if they can go to the can, too.
     "Sure," I say. "You have my permission. But next time, just go. OK?"
     They stare back, not comprehending. I wave them toward the exit.

The Morning Matinee: (Not Suitable for Playing at Work)


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Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...