From my friends in the Capo Recall movement:
Time
Friday · 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Location San Juan Capistrano Community Center
25925 Camino Del Avion
San Juan Capistrano, CA
Attention all volunteers, parents, educators……….. EVERYONE!!
Your attendance and participation is formally requested at this important event on September 10th. Please mark your calendars! Invite EVERYONE that is committed to restoring balance and sanity to CUSD. Please forward this information to everyone!
This will be a HUGE rally to kick off our Recall, Remove, Recover election efforts. Election strategies will be discussed,… all five Children First candidates will be in attendance, election and campaign materials will be distributed and we will unite to take back CUSD!!
This is a “must do” event and will be attended by hundreds of concerned citizens. Please arrive in time to park and be part of the kick off celebration at 4PM. Several hundred parking spaces are available at the facility, next door at Marco Forster, and on Camino Del Avion.
Election “materials” will be distributed to everyone at a minimal cost.
Please bring cash or a checkbook.
*
Vern here again. To help put things in context, and get us into the proper spirit, I hereby reprint the final section of my “Capo Recall Primer” :
It’s helpful to view the district’s recent events through the eyes of Iranian history.
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- James A. Fleming (dramatization)
Looking at Iranian history of the last 50-60 years helps us remember that sometimes democracy needs more than one Revolution.
It helps us remember that sometimes you can overthrow one group of tyrants and another slightly different group of tyrants rises up to take their place – whether a little better or a little worse is academic.
It helps us remember that an enemy of our enemy is not necessarily our friend.
And that striving to overthrow the new tyrants in no way means we want the old tyrants back.
The fact that we’re fighting to overthrow the Reform Ayatollahs doesn’t mean we want a return to Shah Fleming, his disdain for the law, and his disdain for the parents and taxpayers of the district.
It sure doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten the $52 million he wasted building the extravagant “Taj Majal” district headquarters – hell, we’re still using it now.
- The current CUSD board. (dramatization)
It sure doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten who’s responsible for the stupid-ass location of San Juan Hills High School, and the nasty portables in which our kids were interned.
It sure doesn’t mean we want a “rubber stamp” board that’ll go along with everything the Superintendent decrees, as in the Shah Fleming days – but the arrogance of these Ayatollahs is just as bad as that of Fleming.
It sure doesn’t mean we’re yearning for the days of enemies lists and lawsuits against the district for harassment.
It does mean we know we can do ten times better, our children deserve a real Board of Trustees, and we’re not quite there yet.
The Reform Ayatollahs can call us the tools and dupes of outside interests all they like, but that doesn’t make it so. We know who we are.
We are students, parents, teachers, taxpayers, conservatives, liberals, Americans and voters. And THIS is what Democracy looks like:
- The Children First Alliance 2010 (dramatization)
Well, Vern,
You are working the play book.
I really like the FALSE and MISLEADING ‘dramatization’ of the rally.
By the way, don’t forget that MV just voted 5-0 to oppose Measure H, and as my feeble mind can recall, it is the recover pillar of their trifecta and as the rest of the community becomes informed, Measure H will be understood to be exactly what it is and with that maybe you should just remove these silly posts now and go back to your normal rants.
Ha ha, I used recall, remove and recover in once sentence. Can I be your PR person now?
Thanks Vern for posting this notice. The handful of people that support the current board couldn’t fill a living room so the demonstration of activism you will witness on Friday should be an eye opener. I think you summarized the current state of affairs fairly well but to add a few more points:
Measure H and The Recall were initiated, organized and financed entirely by parents and voters with no union influence. That is a fact period.
Measure H is in response to one of many broken promises made by the current trustees when they ran. They changed their minds when they got elected and it took the parents to force the issue.
Mission Viejo’s city government is a sad case of control by the Beall mafia. Remember them? They got $655,000 in out of court settlements and all of that money was sent to donors and campaign supporters of the trustees that voted to approve those settlements. Only in Bell and CUSD. At least in Bell they resigned. In CUSD they think this is cause to run for re-election?!?
Those of us energized to remove five of the current trustees are doing so because of severe disappointment. We were lied to. They lied about where they got their campaign money, they lied about what they true agenda would be before they took office, and they lie repeatedly about some non-existent union connection to the placement of Measure H or the Recall on the ballot. If all you have is lies then you are doomed to fail at the ballot box. There aren’t many people that believe that hooey but these twelve people keep repeating it over and over any way.
Recover means for CUSD to finally recover from years of mismanagement. Many of us voted for the original recalls because we were lied to. Many of us voted for some of these current trustees because we were lied to. Few of us ever supported Fleming. Now we have a new Fleming – Tony Beall. Just as arrogant and just as much a dictator as the Fleming. We did trade one bad for another.
ENOUGH!
A balanced and sane slate of candidates has now been presented to CUSD and all five of these candidates will be seated on the CUSD Board of Trustees.
Meanwhite…back in RSM…….Supt. Beall and friends promised if they ever won any money from those law suits that they would pay the money back to CUSD. Where is that promised money? Our kids need paper.
Rah Rah Rah,
Always Rah Rah Rah. a lot like a high school cheerleader. Looks nice, but not much substance.
One of the things I am seeing from the union side is that all they can do is belittle everyone who disagrees with them. That is why they will never understand it when they lose in November.
Of course, the MV council is bought off, and the judge who spanked the union candidate and the judge who threw out every union claim were bought off, and that anyone who spoke at a board meeting, wrote a letter to the editor, wrote on a blog or appeared at any event in opposition to your views are stupid/ignorant/fools/dumb/idiots/dolts/douches/bought off/looking for contracts/looking for retainers/etc…
And then, anyone who supports your myopic view is the ‘every man’ altruistic parent of a child in the district who has been disenfranchised in a personal way by every trustee.
Do you not see how ridiculous your view looks to an outsider?
There is virtually zero gain for anyone to share their true feelings with people on the union side. The risk of retribution for the kids and the abuse one must endure is just not worth it.
So, Rah Rah Rah, keep reading your own press and enjoy the warm fuzzy feelings until November. For I fear it will be a cold dark winter for you.
Lie #1
Alpay isn’t a union candidate. Maddox, Winsten and Bryson are. Maddox is taking money from the Teamsters as is Winsten. Alpay isn’t even close to being a union candidate.
Lie #2
That the Recall or Measure H was union initiated. Proven over and over that this isn’t even remotely true
Lie #3
That the trustees will be re-elected in November. Every voter in OC will soon know that Rizzo=Beall and corruption is rampant in CUSD just like in Bell. Buy yourself a school board, sude and get paid off. What a great way to run a great school district into the ground.
Lie #4
That you know anything about what you are talking about.
Thanks for your succinct breakdown of your understanding.
It is too bad that it is off in every way possible.
I will address each of your points as follows:
#1 – There is not a single shred of evidence (in any way, in any scintilla of a way, in any electronic bitty bit of a way) that Mr. Winsten and/or Mr. Lopez-Maddox have asked, consulted, requested, desired, delivered, received, accepted, or any other descriptive that you could utter, from the teamsters. ***the union has put this out in all their blogs etc… and they have been asked numerous times to support their assertions and since there isn’t any evidence, they go silent every time they are called.
Mr. Alpay took money from the Association of Fire Fighters in his last election. (IT was in the court submissions) and, Mr. Alpay is supported by CUCF, which has taken money from the CUEA (this was supported by the CUEA’s HOPE PAC form 460 that was submitted to the Courts).
Now, Mr. Alpay did not get his ballot statement struck that said “I am not being supported by the Unions” or some such statement. And while the judge declared numerous other statements of his to be False and Misleading, this one stood the narrow test due to the fact that he had yet to take any money THIS election. The Judge said that since it hadn’t happened yet, it wasn’t a false statement. (We shall see how badly he will crash on that statement later)
So, there is zero evidence that Winsten or Lopez-Maddox have taken anything or even asked, and there is evidence of Mr. Alpay’s past performance as well as the CUCF support and endorsement. So, ‘Lie #1’ is actually a lie.
#2 – Measure H is not union initiated. Well, that one is a tortured lie too in so many ways. Measure H came about because the union candidates lost their last election in 2008. Duane Stiff and Erin Kutnick were the two union candidates and right after the they lost the election, they went to the County Committee and started working on the process to disenfranchise the voters in Capo. (the evidence was submitted in the court documents and was submitted ironically, by both sides).
Second, the unions did submit and speak at the County Committee on behalf of the Yes side. (That again is not disputed by either side).
Now, the NO on H side sued to remove a very very specific statement (Which the YES on H side has expanded way out of the judges context). The NO on H side sued to strike the statement “NO union has been involved in placing this measure on the ballot”. That statement is quite specific and narrow. The judge asked the parties specifically ‘who’ put the measure on the ballot and the statement by ALL parties was that it could only get there by the board ordering it. Thus, the judge ruled that by the narrow specific statement that it could remain. BUT, all parties agreed that the union was involved IN THE PROCESS. Further, the YES on H was required to strike a number of other statements in their ballot argument.
So, is the union involved in the process in getting Measure H to the ballot. I would argue that it is.
What I would like to see is how the poster above argues that Kutnick and Stiff have zero connection to the union. That would be an interesting dialog.
#3 – We don’t know who will win. But we do know that the union has really upset a whole pile of people with the strike and how they manipulated the population. And, we know that as soon as people learn about the flaws in Measure H, they are coming to a conclusion that it is a bad deal.
So, will the union succeed in taking over this district? I guess the old adage of time will tell is really telling here.
#4 – Whether I know anything or not is up for those that read what each of us post here. I am trying to share the basis for my views instead of just jumping up and down and making blind statements without any fact or merit.
I would say the voters will figure it out.
It is really funny how desperate the attempts to make things up become. Anything to avoid addressing the wasteful spending, the out of control spending, the out of court settlements and the complete failure in every area of responsibility for the current trustees.
1) The Teamsters themselves are telling people they have endorsed Maddox and they also told people that Maddox brought Winsten in with him to ask for support too. So it is ok for your pet trustees to take Teamsters help but not ok for the teachers who live in CUSD and teach our kids to help in the election.
Alpay has not and will not take any union money from any union for this election period. CUCF never got money from the union. CUCF was established in 2009. There were independent expenditures made on behalf of candidates but those donations were not made to Children First. Children First is not accepting any money from any union in this election. Union money contributed to a candidate supported by Children First is not money contributed to Children First.
No one is claiming that the so called “reform committee” is union supported because two of your trustees are union members or two of your candidates are being supported by The Teamsters. So your lies continue to be exposed. Alpay isn’t a union supported candidate, Maddox and Winsten are both union supported candidates, Children First isn’t getting money from a union and the judges you continue to cite with Biblical authority didn’t say anything but that candidates can write anything they want to in their candidate statements. You can’t use either of those judges’ statements to support any claim by either side for anything….period!
I was there on Friday and I know that you weren’t. You are completely making it up as if you somehow know not only what he said but what he meant. So you have lost any possible credibility you might have since you are grasping at straws on this. Your focus on some fictional union crap is your attempt to avoid addressing the hundreds of thousands of dollars that were stolen from the classrooms and our children’s education and funneled into the bank accounts of Tony and Jennifer, Reardon, Russell and other campaign supporters.
Money was donated to candidates and when those candidates got elected they took money out of the classroom and sent it right back to their campaign donors. WAIT! Don’t talk about that….let’s change the subject and talk about non-existent and fictional connections to unions! The Bealls and friends promised to give the money back if they ever won any money in their lawsuits. WAIT!! The basis for the lawsuits was thrown out by a judge. We can’t return the money because we spent it on cars and pools….quick…let’s talk about a non-existent and fictional account of some obscure judge’s ruling about something inconsequential. ANYTHING to avoid addressing the money we stole from the classroom and promised to pay back. While kids go without paper the Bealls drive their Mercedes and pull the strings of their union backed candidates and union member trustees: Maddox, Bryson and Winsten. Now that is a CROCK!
2) The union was not involved in the process of getting H on the ballot. Had you actually been at the board meetings you would have realized that the law requires that all interested parties provide input on a change in voting methodology. The County Committee on Elections required this. CUEA and many other groups provided their comments. And providing comments does not magically jump to “union involvement”.
I understand the desperation of your small clique of settlement recipients to try to blow something out of nothing but it shows the lunacy of your thinking. Newsflash: just because you want it to be true doesn’t make it true and just because you repeat it over and over doesn’t make it true either. It is still a lie. If you actually knew anyone involved in the Measure H and/or Recall groups you would know how stupid it is to claim some sort of union connection or cooperation. It is as stupid as saying Obama is a Muslim or born in Indonesia. You might want to believe it and you might want others to believe it for some cynical perverted gain politically but it is still a lie and an ignorant lie at that.
3) I think you will find that the strike, since it was forced on the community by arrogant and incompetent trustees being manipulated by Tony and friends, helped the anti-trustees more than you think. The job action was a reaction to a board that felt they could impose a contract. CUSD was the only district in CA that had the arrogance to think they could go a different direction and they got spanked for it. Parents were overwhelmingly in support of the teachers. Yes there are a handful of parents that disagreed with the teachers on this and many of them are influenced by black Mercedes driving, settlement winning, and anti-teacher, anti-public education wackos from the gated fringes of Orange County. But the mainstream and well informed parents are very much in the camp of the teachers.
4) I look forward to today’s rally where parents will join with others in the community in a show of numbers never seen for a political rally in South Orange County. As your dozen board supporters scheme up new ways to spin a conspiracy around every action thousands of anti-board activists are going to take back CUSD from corrupt and ineffective trustees.
Folks. Tell you what. As I live and vote in the CUSD I will watch our incoming mail and slates to see if there is an evidence of an IE. For those not familiar with that term it simply represents an “independent expenditure” that is NOT connected with the candidate (or Ballot Measure) being supported, or opposed. I will report if I find any evidence of union paid mailers.
Candidates are not to know that said expenditures are being made nor are they to be engaged in IE’s in any form.
Follow the money always is a good first step in elections. While the GOP Central Committeee will not support candidates who accept union money I find it interesting that within three weeks of being elected in the MV recall election Dave Leckness received a $2,500 contribution from the OCFA union. Trish Kelley is our self appointed representative to the OCFA.
Did she encourage their leaders to provide that money to Dave is the $64,000 question.
Or was it a simple investment for Dave’s support as he is a Democrat. Who knows?
Got to love these guys that speak with forked tongue and all they seem to be able to do is say that those that don’t support their cause are stupid and/or there are only a ‘hand full’ etc…
I always find it interesting that the the 69% of teachers who didn’t understand that they were being manipulated by their fearless leader now want to blame the strike on the evil board.
I was missing the evil board comments, so I am glad you have brought them back up.
It continues to shock me that that you still feel you are a victim of your own choices.
Your claims are so over the top, with no support or proof, and I am growing bored of the same inane rhetoric that the union isn’t involved in this whole charade.
The evidence is there, it has been presented in court and has resulted in the NO side winning on EVERY challenge the union side put forth.
Keep posting this junk as I think the electorate will appreciate it.
Hey Vern,
What happened to the top billing you were giving to this story all week. I can’t believe you pushed it off the front page when no one showed up on Friday.
Too bad for the union on this one.
By the way, what is your deep interest in this issue? I sense you have a special interest in getting the ideology of the board changed.
May I ask why someone from north county would be so worried about the southern tip?
what a crock,
Guess you forgot that Ken Maddox-Lopez moved from Garden Grove to Dana Point, after he lost a State Senate race to John Campbell. Then, surprise, Ken resurfaced on the Capo board…with a new last name too.
So, Art,
Does that mean that Vern wants to get on this board too?
Sure would make sense the way he is pandering to the union.
Aside from you trying to name drop, how does your answer address my question?
What a crock,
What it means is you are a hypocrite, supporting Maddox who moved into your area and immediately jumped back into politics, while having a problem with Vern, who edits a countywide political blog, covering politics in your area.
If you don’t like Vern’s coverage then don’t read it.
I hear 300 people came, less than they were hoping for, but still a lot of excited motivated people. My friends are feeling very optimistic right now. I ALWAYS bump up announcements of upcoming events to the top, and then bump them back down after the event happens.
I’ve written at length about why I’m interested in this struggle, and grow weary of repeating myself. I get inspired by mass movements I see around the county that bring together conservatives, liberals, Republicans, Democrats and independents, in resistance to the extremism that’s been slowly taking us over these last few decades. The anti-government extremism, the anti-worker extremism, the anti-education extremism, the anti-environment extremism.
The struggle to save the OC Fairgrounds is like that. The struggle to save Huntington Beach and Bolsa Chica is like that. The struggle to save Capo USD is like that.