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Larsen wheels 'em in.
I’d meant to break this news right after last Tuesday’s packed Anaheim City Council meeting, but I was waiting for a better picture of Take Back Anaheim’s Larry Larsen wheeling in 15,000 signatures on a dolly, putting the lie to Disney/hotel hacks’ contention that the movement for democracy in that town enjoys no support. But none were available so I have to go with this quick blurry photo I made from a distance on my stupid smart phone.
After all, getting 15,000 signatures for a measure that will “Let The People Vote” before giving away any more precious millions of dollars of tax money was child’s play. Folks of all political stripes like the idea of making these decisions themselves, once they realize how bought-and-paid-for their elected officials are.
In fact, a recent poll, commissioned by the Mayor, Republican Tom Tait, showed an amazing 85% support for the measure. It’s hard to see such a popular measure being defeated at the polls, so its terrified opponents – Disney, the big hotels, the developers, and their three RINO servants on council – have been doing their best to nip it in the bud.
Most recently, they made an obvious deal with the local unions to withdraw their financial support. But that was nothing compared to the sudden revelation by the City Clerk a couple months ago that the petition would need not 15,000 but 22,000 signatures to qualify. Ostensibly an honest mistake on the Clerk’s part, but it was a body blow that there was no time to get over, and it did play into the hands of the anti-reformers.
And SO, since this WAS a mistake, honest or not, on the part of the City, that stymied the petitioners’ efforts, it was reasonable to ask for redress from the Council, who is perfectly able to put it on November’s ballot themselves with a majority vote. And that was the reason activist Larry Larsen wheeled in the thousands of signatures on Tuesday, to ask the Council to honor the wishes of these thousands of citizens, atone for the City’s mistake, and place the measure on the ballot themselves.
And Mayor Tait (one of the Council’s two sympathizers to the movement) did agendize that motion, which will be heard at the next Council meeting.
Realistically, nobody really expects any of the “three clogged sinks” – Harry Sidhu, Gail Eastman, Kris Murray – to do the right thing. They will sit on their hands and continue to hide behind the cloak of “representative democracy” while they give away the store to their big donors and don’t even ask for anything in return for the city.
Realistically, this movement, helmed by progressive firebrand Lorri Galloway and Tea Party activist Tim Whitacre, will be picking up where it left off next year, with an aim toward a mid-year special election. (An expensive one which the council could still avoid if they make the right call.)
There’ll be a LOT of change coming to Anaheim in the coming year or so, between the coming Ward elections 
(forced by ACLU suit) and the resurgence of this democratic movement. And you KNOW that the Orange Juice Blog will be there when that happens! We will…
“be all around in the dark. We’ll be everywhere. Wherever you can look, wherever there’s a fight, so hungry people can eat, we’ll be there. Wherever there’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, we’ll be there. We’ll be in the way guys yell when they’re mad. We’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry and they know supper’s ready, and when the people are eatin’ the stuff they raise and livin’ in the houses they build, we’ll be there, too.”
Oh look, there’s John Leos, tool for Orange County Employees Association. Since it’s time to submit your application to run for Anaheim City Council, OCEA has taken his name off it’s Board of Directors list again, for which he has served for MANY years. Does OCEA now have to get their dues paying members to agree to spend big bucks to get this guy elected?
I’m not sure exactly HOW much of an OCEA tool John Leos is, since OCEA has pretty much backed off direct support of this pro-democracy movement apparently as part of a secret deal with the Council RINOS, while John Leos has NOT.
I’ll be supporting Republicans Leos and Kring over Disney Democrat Jordan Brandman, not even close.
OCEA bankrolled his last effort to win a seat on the Council, spending over $150,000.00 from what I was told, and he almost came in dead last. I am confident the bankrolling will continue.
Yes, everyone knows all that. But the point is, OCEA has ditched the democracy movement, at least temporarily, while Leos has not. Ergo, even if he IS an “OCEA tool,” he is more than JUST an OCEA tool.
How is finishing third for two seats with thirteen people running fininshing dead last? Math is not your strong suit.
Fred, Fred … and here I was taking you at your word on that point.
3rd or 12th – he lost. Sorry if I mislead anyone with my “almost came in dead last” comment. My point being, is that he out spent the other candidates probably 10-1. Most, if not all, of the negative campaign advertisements were all paid for by OCEA. I am sure Mr. Leos cares about Anaheim. I just wish he would be honest in who is campaigning for him and what his status is with OCEA. Is he or is he not on the Board of Directors? He was last year until just before the election, and was put back on right after the election, if I am not mistaken. Now he is back off again (just looked on their website). OCEA is not slamming the other candidates and council members because of the back-door deal they reached with OCEA General Manager Nick Beradino to give all the City of Anaheim employees nearly $3,000.00 bonuses this year while all the other cities are near filing for BK.
Not a single negative campaign piece was paid for or distributed by OCEA or the Leos campaign itself during the 2010 election. SOAR, the chamber and other cronies however did outspend the OCEA campaign by 10 to 1 (over $1,000,000) to elect Eastman, Murray and Tait.
Do you have a link to campaign finance reports? If we’re going to argue about this, it would be nice to have some primary source material.
Curious, I live in Anaheim and received many of these ads in my mailbox, all with “Paid for By OCEA” all over them in small print! I guess we have a differing of opinions as to what “negative” means.
Perhaps in addition to a math deficiency you have an overall problem with brain function. You are confusing negative mail OCEA sent about outsourcing libraries and parks in 2011 and about the taxpayer giveaways to developers in 2012. None of those mailers had anything to do with either the election in 2010 or the upcoming election in November.
One has to remember that Galloway is termed out. During her tenure,there are few if any (and I am being generous) achievements she can point to. Allone has to remember is her performance in her last run for OC BOS. The voters knew and rewarded her with a hugely awe inspiring rejection at the ballot box. Given her move to Taormina’s property from the hills, the less than stellar record of accomplishment on the Anaheim CC, the financial records of her non profit and its history of operating deficits (all publicly available), the well documented history of hiring family members, and the bankruptcy claims others have made, it is not surprising to see her in this photo. She realizes she is on the cusp of oblivion and doomed to that place. The parallels to Mary Hayashi (excepting the shop lifting situation) are amazing.
Hm. Does any of this discredit the Take Back Anaheim movement? The Let the People Vote initiative? District elections? The movement to reform the APD?
Um, no.
Is Lorri running for re-election?
Un, no.
So do I care about all this?
Nah, not that much.
PS. Lorri, thanks for being such an energetic force for all the above causes – at least as long as I’ve known you!
Galloway’s performance in the BOS election is a function of Art Brown and Rose Espinoza splitting the vote with her. Had she been the sole Dem running (or maybe even one of two), she would have beaten Sidhu to make the runoff.
To clarify: Nelson took the seat vacated by Norby immediately, but the November runoff was for who would hold the seat in the following four-year term. (And, obviously, Nelson won the runoff as well.)