Head bangers

Gosh, the GOP “Voyeur” scandal just keeps rolling. It's wonderful.

It was never really about this Erik Brown character, a local “Young Republican” and businessman who has done business with the likes of Chuck "Tea-brain" DeVore and our own Don “Spanky” Wagner. Mr. Brown evidently was told by an RNC staffer to help take these people to the kinkyesque Voyeur nightclub (inspired by the movie "Eyes Wide Shut" and artsy-fartsy decadence and weirditude), and when the staffer’s credit card was rejected, he offered his own. Under the circumstances, clearly he should have been reimbursed (as indeed he was).

Chip "Staunch" Hanlon of Red County has been hopping mad about this whole business—mostly, it seems, ‘cause he really dislikes RNC chairman Michael Steele and his lavish and sloppy ways. (Or maybe it's because Steele isn't right-wing enough for 'im.) He’s defended Brown from the start.

Today, he’s still plenty steamed (THIS is the RNC's Response?!!). He notes the ugliness of the RNC’s handling of the scandal:

So, let’s see… in response to this week's little spending scandal, so far the RNC has:

• Let [Brown] twist in the wind while his business has been devastated

• Initially issued a misleading statement meant to mollify donors that it would recoup that money from [Brown]. The RNC has known all along that it would not be recouping money it reimbursed him for. [Brown] has categorically denied that he would ever repay the RNC money it owed him, something which the RNC is both aware of and agrees with (privately).

• Fired one staffer, one who obviously had the impression that spending money at a risqué nightclub was a normal RNC business expense

• Misled on the topic of leadership in attendance; in fact, two national committee members were present at Voyeur….

I’m looking forward to the inevitable leakage of the identity of these “two national committee members.”

Gosh, what do you suppose they’ll say?

“We really didn’t want to be there—gosh, we were scandalized! But, y’know, we didn’t want to embarrass our hosts, so….”

Right, so you stuck around and spent two grand.

 * * * *

Earlier today, I was in our office at Irvine Valley College. The Reb and I laughed about John Stewart's treatment of the scandal last night—and our recent Wagner/Brown post with its faux Wagnerian sexy political campaign literature.

After a bit, I said: “OK, this is funny, but you know—we’re being kinda unfair.”

I was referring to Brown and Wagner. I mean, these guys deserve ribbing, sure. But, really, this schnook Brown is obviously just a little guy who was thrown under the bus by the RNC. (Why is nobody surprised?)

And you can’t expect Don to know that his local right-wing propaganda supplier is stupid enough to go along with this faux-lesbian “Voyeur” excursion!

So, it’s a little unfair.

“OK, slightly,” said Reb.

Still….

“It’s the hypocrisy,” said the Reb.

Yes, that’s it. All the goddam endless hypocrisy.

 * * * * *

Got home a couple of hours ago. Just got a call from the Reb, who was still at the college.

Said Reb: “Good grief! Look at the email we just got!”

I looked. The email, from a certain IVC administrator, was entitled, "University of Phoenix Classroom Presentation." At the top of the email was the University of Phoenix logo (see).

The administrator(?) wrote:

[U of P] Offers online and on-campus degree programs at the associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral level — each is a balanced combination of academic theory and practical application.

The University of Phoenix is interested in presenting a 5 minute overview of the degrees offered on their campus.

Help your students learn about another transfer opportunity.

To schedule a presentation please contact Michael XXXX, Corp. Ed. Liaison University of Phoenix at 949-380-XXXX

What?! Good freakin’ grief!

Reb told me that she couldn’t find anything at the college hard enough to bang her head against.

So she decided to head home.

(See Troubles Grow for a University Built on Profits (NYT))

Orange County’s nonprofit investigative news agency? Bring it on!

Well, here it is: Voice of OC: Orange County’s nonprofit investigative news agency. Check it out.

Read all about it in the OC Weekly’s Navel Gazing blog:

Voice of OC Launches!

The much speculated-about, much delayed, non-profit journalism website helmed by ex-Register digger Norberto Santana Jr. went live today....

I checked out some of the reporting on VOC, and it looks promising. Perhaps most interesting among today’s reports is:

Big Questions About a Little Known Tax

Workers at the County Assessor's office say the county has allowed as much as $125 million in uncollected taxes to slip through it's fingers because of a secret tax break offered to large businesses who use government leases.

"I'm very worried," said County Supervisor Bill Campbell after listening to a presentation made by Orange County Employees Association General Manager Nick Berardino at this week's supervisors' meeting.

Berardino came to the supervisor's meeting at the urging of assessor employees who say County Assessor Webster Guillory has been shorting the public on uncollected taxes….

The Morning Matinee: 2 Girls, 1 GOP

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
2 Girls 1 GOP
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Reform

Don Wagner hired B*ner Boy—er, Bondage Boy

Today, Chris Prevatt of The Liberal OC (More Erik Brown OC Consulting Connections) describes GOP Party Boy (Bondage Boy?) Erik Brown’s connections with some local politicians, including Chuck DeVore, Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor, and—Don Wagner!

… South Orange County Community College District Trustee Donald P. Wagner … is running for the GOP nomination in the 70th Assembly district. … Mr. Wagner has availed himself of $2, 392.49 in services from this guy, paid for on March 9, 2010.

Prevatt provides a helpful graphic. Check it out (last item).

Meanwhile, The Hill’s Ballot Box reports that DeVore is trying to “downplay” his relationship with Brown, calling it “brief and straightforward.”

Ah, but

state and federal records show DeVore has spent more than $70,000 with Brown's company, dating back several years. That's hardly insignificant. Moreover, Brown served on the board of the Orange County Young Republicans – a group that DeVore has courted.

For more on DeVore/Brown, go to Chuck Devore did not have a guy-night boner with Erik Brown

Naturally, as a fellow widely known for his high regard of Don Wagner (he's "an anti-union, liberal-bashing, prayer-making right-winger. But he’s smart," I enthused), I’m more interested in the latter’s connection with Bondage Boy of Voyeur fame. DeVore? Who cares.

BB produced some “campaign literature and mailings” for Don. Earlier today, somebody slipped some campaign literature under my door. Don shoulda known better. (See Erik Brown's "Young Republican" praise of Wagner here.)

Gosh, do you suppose this is what Don had in mind?

The wallpaper at Voyeur. Family scenes, I guess.

Heck of a job, Brownie

High-Tech Cheating Abounds, and Professors Bear Some Blame (Chronicle of Higher Ed)

"Grading homework is so fast when they all cheat and use the illegal solutions manual," quipped Douglas Breault Jr., a teaching assistant in mechanical engineering at Tufts University. After all, if every answer is correct, the grader is left with little to do beyond writing an A at the top of the page and circling it. Mr. Breault, a first-year graduate student, ended his tweet by saying, "The profs tell me to ignore it."….

Some Students Want 'Our Lord' Removed From Diplomas (Inside Higher Ed)

Some students at Trinity University, in Texas, want the phrase "our Lord" removed from the institution's diplomas,The San Antonio Express-News reported. The students note that not everyone at the university views Jesus as their lord….

'Math wars' over national standards may erupt again in California (San Jose Mercury)

Hold on to your graphing calculators: The passionate, contentious debate over how California students should learn math is ready to erupt again. ¶ While math formulas and properties may be delightfully precise, how best to teach them to children is not. As the United States prepares for the first time to adopt nationwide K-12 "common core" standards, mathematicians and educators are split….

ERIK BROWN:

You know who Erik Brown is, right? He's the local guy at the center of the latest Republican scandal. He’s also the President of Dynamic Marketing, Inc. here in Orange County (Rancho Santa Margarita).

He’s listed as the “Political Director” of the OC Young Republicans.

Well, I visited his Facebook page. And guess what? Listed there are his friends. Only one friend appears.

It’s our own Adam Probolsky! Adam has lots of connections to our district and to IVC.

Adam's connection to our district goes way back. He was the large fellow in the room helping Tom Fuentes engineer replacing Steve Frogue on our Board of Trustees back in 2000. He’s a member of the so-called OC Republican Mafia.

I'm trying to determine just how close Erik and Adam are. One thing for sure. Members of the power group of which Probolsky is a member are uniformly special. Gosh, anything's possible.

O.C. man billed Republicans for event at sex-themed club (Total Buzz/OC Reg)

A man who billed the Republican National Committee almost $2,000 for an event at a sex-themed West Hollywood nightclub runs a political consulting business in Orange and is listed as a member of the Orange County Young Republicans’ executive board. ¶ The Associated Press reported Monday that the RNC is seeking repayment from Erik Brown, the owner of Dynamic Marketing Inc., who was reimbursed for $1,946.25 spent on Feb. 4 at Club Voyeur. ¶ The club is described by Club Planet, a nightlife directory, as a place where “the female employees disrobe, pornographic pictures double as wallpaper, and patrons are advised to be ‘uninhibited’ in the photo booth.”….

The Red County blog has much to say about this Erik Brown brouhaha. Check it out:

Michael Steele's Bondage Party Has an O.C. Connection (The Hammer)

…DMI President and Gen Next member, Erik Brown, was who picked up that tab and ended up expensing it to the RNC.

According to sources who were in attendance that night, the "official" part of the evening started with 50+ person dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel, then carried on throughout the evening, eventually ending up at Voyeur. While RNC employees, who were in town to recruit members to its "RNC Young Eagles" program, did participate throughout the entire evening and did find their way to the bondage-themed club, Michael Steele himself was "not in attendance" for any portion of the evening. Brown, by the way, is reportedly a "Young Eagle" himself, a fundraising sub-group of the RNC which targets larger donors based on age group.

Presumably, the Daily Caller (which broke this whole story on its website earlier today) is continuing to pour through RNC disclosure documents. If so, it will likely find significant sums spent by the RNC on services rendered by DMI; not only do local politicos report that Brown liked to brag about his ties to this and other state-wide and national organizations and campaigns, but it would seem consistent with someone who would think he could get away with running through such a large expense….

But the story doesn’t end there. Later, Chip Hanlon wrote about the snafu, placing the blame not on Brown but on GOP chairman Michael Steele:

One Little Bar Tab Should Put Michael Steele at Risk

“Take us to the hottest nightclub in town.”

Those were the instructions given to Orange County’s Erik Brown by RNC staffers and in L.A., that’s one heavy-duty request. On Grammy weekend, it’s an even taller order, one which led to the now-infamous night at Voyeur in February, 2009 which was first reported on by the Daily Caller yesterday.

After a follow-up Red County post reported exclusively on some of the details missing from that original DC piece, for the rest of the day I found myself in contact with a number of that night’s key attendees, some of whom I know personally. After speaking with multiple sources I understand how the whole night went down but for the sake of putting the focus back where it belongs—the RNC—in my opinion there is only one moment from that night that matters….

Is Mr. Williams accountable? Apparently not

Remarkably, trustee John Williams is also Orange County’s Public Administrator/Guardian. As you know, two "scathing" recent Grand Jury reports have accused the fellow of gross inefficiency (his area became top-heavy with new managers), curious and worrisome promotion practices, and whatnot.

This led to a dire moment of decision by the OC Board of Supervisors, his bosses. Williams didn't show for that. But his lawyer, Phil Greer, did. You know Phil Greer. He was Chris Street's lawyer. He represented Raghu Mathur to get 'im the best deal for his "resignation." He's had some ethical lapses over the years.

But here's the thing: Phil Greer has also represented four of the five Supes. Conflict of interest, anyone?

So, naturally, the Supes took a look at Williams the County Officer and pronounced him okey-dokey. Remarkably, he kept his job. Amazing. Appalling!

And utterly predictable.

Still, some of Williams’ employees and former employees at the county refuse to play the OC GOP Crony Mutual Support Game; they persist in drawing attention to Williams' abuses and misconduct. One motif in the litany of criticism is the notion that Williams often seems to be somewhere else than at work. (As we've recently noted, Williams has spent weeks in Orlando on the district's dime—in just one year!)

One such critic contacted me back in January. I'll call him or her "Pen Pal." In that email, he (or she) described his former position at the Public Guardian/Administrator Office. He (or she) then wrote:

I am interested in obtaining the dates John Williams traveled out of town on SOCCCD business. My intent is to then do a public records request from the County to see if he used personal leave time or as my gut tells me falsified his timesheet and went out of town on the County dime.

He hoped that I would have the needed data concerning Williams' SOCCCD travel. I informed him that, regrettably, I did not have that data. But I encouraged him to get in contact with the OC Reg's Jennifer Muir who had recently made a documents request (as it turns out, he had already done that) and suggested that he do his own public records request with the district (SOCCCD).

He responded in a friendly way. He informed me that Williams would have competition come the next election. That turned out to be true. He said that he would keep me posted on his efforts.

I told him who to contact to acquire info from the SOCCCD. “Good luck,” I wrote.

A couple of weeks later, various events inspired Pen Pal to finally pursue the request with the district. He explained that he would compare the data from the district with County timesheets (these are signed “under penalty of perjury”). He felt confident that he could find evidence of fraud on Williams’ part if he could get to the relevant data.

In early March, he (or she) heard back from the district. District officials provided records of Williams’ district travel from 2007-09. Unfortunately, said the district, records prior to 2008 exist, but are hard to get to.

Two weeks later, I heard from him (or her) again. Pen Pal reported that the County was “stalling” regarding his requests for Williams’ timesheets. The data he requested are electronically filed, and yet, somehow, this information was taking forever to sift through.

Pen Pal informed me that, evidently, at least 19 people had read his request for Williams’ timesheets. Hmmmmm. What’s that all about?

A few days later, I put some of Pen Pal's data (re district travel) on the blog.

Today, Pen Pal sent me a quick note. He had received one timesheet from the County. He wrote:

There are two incidents on the one timesheet [that the County] sent me that shows how Mr. Williams spends his time at SOCCCD on the County of Orange time.

On the [information] that I received from SOCCCD concerning 4/20/2007, it states that Mr. Williams had a meeting from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. with the OC … Public Education [official] with then assemblymember Walters.

His timesheet for that day stated he worked 8 hours.

The SOCCCD [information] shows [that, on 4/23/07, Williams] had a special board meeting at 3:00 p.m.

His County of Orange time sheet shows 8 hours worked that day.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to [see a problem here]. Even though he is not required to submit a timesheet, he is still required to put in his hours is he not?

The county states that he does not have to fill out a timesheet, but I know for a fact that he submitted a time sheet every pay period, at least to the PA/PG HR manager. I will have to revise my request and resubmit.

Can’t wait.

Pen Pal is very concerned that some of the people at the county are—how shall I put it?—south of ethical. He's worried that timesheets are being shredded.

It's FuentesTown, Jake.

Enough with the lowlights! Here's the HIGHLIGHTS

Tracy’s always scintillating—and colorful!—“SOCCCD Board of Trustees meeting highlights” are now available here.

Tracy reports that the following actions were taken at the March 25 meeting:

• all consent calendar items, academic and classified personnel actions (except for 6.9….)
• retaining Community College Search Services as the hiring consultant firm in our district's search for a new chancellor, following interviews with five firms.
• accepting a $551,724 grant to IVC from the California Community College Chancellor's Office (CCCO) for Career Development Work-Based Learning Linkages to Professional Organizations.
• accepting a $79,000 grant to SC from the for the CCCO Community Collaborative Grant.
• agreement with R2A Architecture for $109,000 from basic aid funds for architectural services for the SC bridge replacement.
• SC certificate and degree revisions for the 2010-11 academic year.
• contract for independent auditing services to Macias, Gini & O'Connell….
• second and third year faculty contracts.
• resolutions approving the elimination at SC of two categorically funded classified positions through layoff, due to the completion of the 2008-10 enrollment growth for nursing AA grant and termination of funding.
• acceptance of the SOCCCD Faculty Association proposal for review and study, and set a public hearing on the proposal at the April board meeting.
• nominations for the California Community College Trustees Association 2010 Board of Directors.

Also included: “Reports and Comments”