Predictably, Mickadeit attacks the BOT

     Wow. It didn’t take long for Fuentes admirer Frank Mickadeit to attack the board (and me?!) for its decision tonight to appoint retiring administrator Jim Wright as the late Tom Fuentes’ replacement on the board: Fuentes' family stung by college board.
     Mickadeit asserts that the board’s deciding, three days after Tom’s death, to proceed with the process of replacing him, was a “stunning affront”:

Tom Fuentes had been dead just 72 hours before the long-fractured community college board on which he sat decided to appoint a replacement. ¶ It seemed like a rather stunning affront to the Fuentes family.

     Was that an affront? The board needed to make a decision whether to appoint or not. They made that decision that night. The only alternative available to the board would have been to schedule a special meeting at a later date—or to wait until next month’s meeting. As trustee Prendergast pointed out (at last month’s meeting), the board was already assembled; why not make that decision now?
     Please note that, during the May meeting, the board did not decide on Tom’s replacement. No, they decided to pursue a replacement. The charge that the board “decided to replace Tom only thee days after his death” sounds appalling only if one erroneously supposes that they replaced Tom that night. They didn’t. (In philosophers' lingo, Team Fuentes was committing the fallacy of equivocation.)
     Some would say that it should have been obvious to the trustees that the right decision was to leave the question of Fuentes’ replacement to the voters in November.
     But we live in a political world—a world in which people play hardball and exploit advantages when they have them. That’s certainly how the game of politics was played by Mr. Fuentes. I have no idea what went on in Nancy Padberg’s mind at the May meeting (I haven't communicated with her; I have made no inquiries about her reflections), but it seem to me that, if the board had decided to take no action and to leave the matter of replacing Tom to the November election, that would almost guarantee the election of someone like Jolene Fuentes, should she choose to run. How do you compete with the noble widow, determined to carry her husband’s torch? –And in a heavily Republican area in which the name "Fuentes" means "Republican"?
     (And let’s face it: there are plenty of reasonable people who will tell you that Tom Fuentes was the worst thing that ever happened to this board. The man played hardball, and fairness was not among his concerns. I respect any fear a trustee might have that the presence of another Fuentes on the board would be a return to that kind of ugly and divisive hardball.)
     It is true, of course, that any appointee will also acquire the “incumbent” advantage. But the selection of the appointee can be made fairly, honestly, objectively. Even though I believe that Mrs. Fuentes did an admirable job tonight making her case for her application, I cannot see how any reasonable person could judge her to be the superior candidate when compared to James Wright. He has had tremendous experience in the community college system. She’s had virtually none.
     Near as I can figure, today, the board made the only reasonable decision, faced with these two candidates.

     Mickadeit clouds the issue with his talk of the “anguish” of TJ and Jolene. He does not object, he says, to the choice the board made; rather, “it was the manner in which the board went about it, and the dismissive, disrespectful way it treated Jolene Fuentes and her and Tom’s odest son, T.J., both of whom expressed their anguish to the board on Monday only to receive stone-cold silence or indifference from the majority.”
     Both Jolene and TJ expressed the view, a respectable one, that the question of Tom’s replacement ought to be left to voters. Does anyone really suppose that they are “anguished” that others might suppose otherwise? Does Jolene suppose that, since she was Tom’s wife (and TJ was Tom’s son), ipso facto their preference in this matter ought to be honored? That would be an absurd position.
     Mickadeit launches into some revisionist history:

The board on which Tom Fuentes was elected to serve 12 years ago was almost completely dominated by trustees whom Fuentes believed catered to the faculty union.

     Really? The board that Tom joined in 2000 included Don Wagner and Nancy Padberg, two arch-conservatives with a record of expressed hostility to unions. It also included John Williams, the fellow that Tom supported to the bitter end in his efforts to become (and to keep the position of) OC Public Administrator/Guardian. (Admittedly, Williams did actively court the union.) And it included Dave Lang, who has never been viewed positively by the faculty union. Does that sound like a board "almost completely dominated" by trustees who catered to the faculty union? In truth, the only trustees who could be described as pro-faculty (in 2000) were Marcia Milchiker and perhaps Williams, two Republicans.
     According to Mickadeit’s clueless revisionism,

Fuentes and a few other conservatives he helped get elected [who would they be?] believed the faculty was generally paid enough, and tried to divert more revenue to other areas. ¶ This ignited a war between the conservative wing of the board and the faculty-backed wing, a war that has ebbed and flowed over the years but has never disappeared.

El Toro Rd. c. 1970

     Who exactly comprised this so-called “faculty-backed” wing of the board? For many years, what the faculty wanted more than anything was the firing of the odious Raghu Mathur, Chancellor. And the board didn’t get around to doing that until Mathur finally pissed off Don Wagner one too many times back in 2009 (or thereabouts). The faculty finally got what it wanted, but only because Wagner could not abide Mathur. As usual, the faculty’s wishes had little to do with the board’s actions.
     Those who have observed the board over the years understand, of course, that a war between two factions did indeed ignite at one point. It was quite dramatic. It was ignited by Don Wagner’s refusal to continue to support Raghu Mathur as chancellor. That "war" had nothing to do with faculty salaries.
     According to Mickadeit’s revisionism, I am an activist in support of the pro-faculty—high salaries—position. In fact, I have never advocated higher salaries, despite fifteen years of writing Dissent (my old newsletter) and Dissent the Blog. I have, however, been attacked for my failure to put “faculty salaries” on my list of issues.

* * *

     I’ve gotta go. More, I suppose, tomorrow.

P.S.: check out the comments to Mickadeit's column

TJ Fuentes “to become the most insightful and wily political monster,” says Tom Fuentes’ hagiographer

Starry-eyed Wu (has dad issues)

     The peculiar Mr. Jack Wu continues his hagiographic labors with yesterday’s column (TJ Fuentes is a chip off an amazing block; Daily Pilot) about Tom Fuentes’ standard-bearer, twenty-five year old TJ, a real up-and-comer.
     Wu notes that young TJ is running to become the Republican Party of Orange County Central Committee representative for the 74th Assembly District.
     Well, that answers one question. The 74th was recently redrawn to include Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and part of Irvine—but not Lake Forest and environs. Hence, TJ doesn’t live in Area 6 of the South Orange County Community College District.
     Back to the multi-generational hagiography: Starry-eyed Wu reminisces:

     I remember, years ago, speaking with UC Irvine student Thomas A. Fuentes Jr. (Tj), and I asked him what he wanted to do when he "grew up."
     "What my dad does," he said.

     I believe the kid means it. I noticed that, on his Facebook page, TJ lists only “my dad” under “People who inspire TJ.” Sheesh.*

E. Burke

     According to Wu, TJ has indeed been the dutiful and devoted son for several years now:

     Since Tom's liver transplant four years ago, Tj has been at his father's side at almost every political meeting, and every political lunch and dinner, quietly soaking up every bit of information spoken, written and implied.
     Tj started attending the Republican Party of Orange County Central Committee meetings, asking me, texting me, emailing me, "Who is that?" "Why are they doing this?" "What does that person do for a living?"
     Tom, Tj and I drove up to Sacramento for the California Republican Party State Convention last March so Tj could meet, see, eat, listen and learn at the state level the difference between principles and politics.
     And while Tom was in hospice care, Tj stayed close and continued to learn while also grabbing what tidbits of information Tom's students like me could contribute.

     What has provided the finishing touches to TJ’s education, says Wu, is his continuing employment with Tom Phillips, long-time Fuentes crony and chairman of Eagle Publishing (which runs Regnery Publishing):

     Phillips … is the founding chairman of the National Conservative Campaign Fund [of which Tom was a Director], among other influential, conservative-based organizations….
     Tj became Phillips' assistant and had a front row seat to another part of politics that most mere mortals could only hope to be touched by: the major donor community. Phillips has been a benefactor to countless conservative causes and candidates for numerous years.
     Now, in order to get to Phillips, you would mostly have to get through Tj first. His education of reading people, learning about their political motivations and intentions, would be part of his job description.
     Couple this with Tom's lessons in principles over politics, and Tj has the potential to become the most insightful and wily political monster at the tender age of 25.

Dad liked this guy; so does TJ (left)

*Under philosophy/political views, TJ lists "conservatism" and provides a portrait of Edmund Burke. I too am somewhat of a Burke fan. Dad would certainly approve.

Tom Fuentes’ heroic labors contra nepotism & cronyism:

• Tom Fuentes goes after nepotizers! (April 25, 2010)
• Vigilant Fuentes on the lookout for nepotism, wants the “cleanest” operation possible! (February 23, 2010)
• Tom's concerned about faculty cronyism! (December 19, 2005)

TJ Fuentes working for Regnery's Tom Phillips

A typically modest event at Tom Phillips' estate

     The OC Reg’s Brian Calle yesterday weighed in with his remembrances of Tom Fuentes: Brian Calle: Fondly recalling O.C.'s GOP godfather.
     Nothing new there. But Calle does provide some info about Tom’s son, TJ:

     In his final months, Tom symbolically began passing the torch to his eldest son, Thomas, "T.J." Fuentes Jr. T.J. accompanied his father to virtually every political event he had the energy to attend. Tom beamed with pride as his son delivered the invocation at last year's O.C. GOP's annual Flag Day fundraising dinner.
     T.J. Fuentes is running for a spot on the county GOP central committee and has already become an activist in such groups as the Orange County Young Republicans. He also is chief of staff to conservative publishing magnate Tom Phillips, one of his father's best friends.

     Tom Phillips, eh? The two Toms are affiliated with the conservative think tank Claremont Institute. Further, as we’ve reported previously:

     Ultra-conservative publisher Tom L. Phillips ... founded and serves on the Board of Directors of Eagle Publishing, which owns the notorious Regnery Publishing. [Tom] Fuentes is one of four “external directors” of Eagle Publishing.
     Among Regnery authors are Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham, Newt Gingrich, Ann Coulter, Dinesh D'Souza, and Ted Nugent.

     It is rumored that TJ is interested in taking Tom’s spot on the SOCCCD Board of Trustees. Indeed, at the May meeting of the SOCCCD BOT, as I recall, Board Prez Nancy Padberg noted that one of Tom’s “relatives” is interested in that office.
     To learn more about Phillips' Regnery Publishing, see Kill It or Grill It.

Tom Fuentes with Jo Ellen Allen (left) Elizabeth Dole (in yellow) and
former IVC Foundation Director Al Tello (next to Tom)