For all of you county employees who have been harmed by the idiotic managers who run this county and county citizens whose complaints have fallen on the deaf ears of your elected officials, you will get the last laugh.  Our Board of Supervisors will learn really soon what happens to elected officials who want to sit on their hands and delegate their authority to despot managers  that could not care less about employees or constituents—only about their own paychecks and power.

I’ve been trying to warn Neil and Brad that they have an obligation to correct wrongdoing, even if it is to a lowly janitor or a welfare recipient.  But neither want to be bothered holding managers such as Linda Haugan, Andrew Lamberto, Doreen Boxer and Ruth Stringer accountable for their malfeasance.  There is a very steep price our electeds are going to pay soon.  Neil knows exactly what I’m talking about. Neil, I’m sure you thought recent events put a stop to it.  They only made those behind it all the more determined.

Just like you guys chose not to support county employees, we are not going to support you.  It shall be fun to watch you squirm.  Wonder if the five of you will want to stay in office or will decide to get real jobs.

Of course, this payoff begs the question of Why?  Well, the answer is easy. A mistake by the District Attorney’s office has alerted corruption defendants to the fact that Brown was involved in attempting to get his boss, Second District Supervisor Paul Biane, on tape in an undercover operation.  It would be highly detrimental to Supervisor Paul Biane’s re-election chances to have his former Chief of Staff tell what he knows before November 2.

Some would say the effort by Brown to implicate his boss is a noble one.  Normally, that is true, but not in the world of politics.  Had Brown first resigned, he would have our sympathy.  Instead he is nothing more than a jailhouse narc in a fancy suit.  He is slime.

And then to add insult to injury, Brown makes hostile work environment accusations that he created for himself.  There are certain things you simply don’t do as an employee of an elected and this is one of them. He should have taken the high road, resigned from his cushy job, and then cooperated with the District Attorney.  Instead, he used the situation to blackmail the county into giving him an equivalent position that he is not even qualified to have.  And the CAO/BOS went along with it.

I have little doubt that today’s result is due to more stellar legal advice from our resident cracked legal Beagle Ruthie Stringer.  We keep being told her departure is near.  Why don’t we just pay her to leave?  It would be cheaper than dealing with the results of her crap legal advice.

Devereaux and Board, you all should once again be ashamed of yourselves for wasting taxpayer money.  But we know you are not.

I am sure that you are funnelling these issues to Supv Derry since he has frequented this blog in the past. However, the way you have treated him during these past few months is not condusive to him wanting to return. I would be surprised if he bothers to take the time.

As to the specifics of this issue, why do you believe Supv. Derry is the responsible party when the BOS has placed that duty squarely on the CAO? It would seem prudent to direct these departmental issues to the CAO, and if one or more Supv. still follows this blog and is interested in the case, then they or the new unit in the CAO’s office can follow-up.

Let me respond.  I do not expect Neil to return to the blog ever nor do I care.  As far as I am concerned, Neil has become one of the problems, just like the other four; not the solution.  However, I know anything addressed to anyone on the Fifth Floor will be read by staff up there, so I will continue to address him this way.  He doesn’t respond to emails so there is no point in trying that means.

I do not care how much the five board members decide to shirk responsibility, ultimately, they are the ones responsible for what goes on in this county.  Devereaux can grab all the power he wants with their permission, it is those five who answer to constituents.

As to contacting the CAO directly, actually I did exactly that and my email was ignored.  Addtionally, I have at one time or another spoken directly to almost every one of the individuals that have been transferred to the CAO about the issues at TAD and all each one of them did was blow it off.

And finally, those new units are a joke.  When I worked up there, that was my job.  I worked for the TWO analysts that handled all special projects for the Board of Supervisors, handled ALL of the county’s legislation, handled ALL of the 258 boards, commissions and committees that included members from more than one district, handled the agendas for SCAQMD, CARB, Omnitrans, MDAQMD, etc.  Note:  I said TWO ANALYSTS as in two Administrative Analyst IIIs, not the ridiculous classifications and salaries these jokers have.

Also note that back then there were far less cities and much more unincorporated area in the county so the board members had a lot more to do.  A lot of what the THREE of us did back then is now handled by cities.  I think the Fourth District, for example, has a grand total of eight square miles of unincorporated area.

In case you didn’t notice, you hit a nerve when it comes to this so-called reorganization to “save money.”  That is the biggest bunch of bs.  And Neil has bought it hook, line and sinker.  He’s happy to spend his time getting pothole filled and singing Sinatra while Devereaux runs the county.  So why do we need a board of supervisors.  I say we do away with them and let Devereaux run the whole show.

]]> http://iepolitics.com/2010/08/26/iepolitics-a-comment-about-supervisor-derry/feed/ 14 http://iepolitics.com/2010/08/25/iepolitics-speaking-of-stupid-supervisors/ http://iepolitics.com/2010/08/25/iepolitics-speaking-of-stupid-supervisors/#comments Wed, 25 Aug 2010 07:06:21 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=5075 Supervisor Derry,

No, that title is not in reference to you. I was asked to pass this along in reference to your question a few weeks ago regarding SBPEA and the County of San Bernardino.

It seems Andrew Lamberto/Linda Haugan/Bob Blough are at it again. Remember that email I sent  to you and George that you both ignored regarding PID Chief Virginia Lugo, et al., using C-IV to run all employees to see if they have ever been on a welfare case of any kind?  Well sometimes illegal activities backfire.

And this is one such case.  You see there is a TAD supervisor who just happens to be very, very, very close to a TAD client, if you know what I mean.  That TAD supervisor instructed a subordinate to go into that TAD client’s case and make changes.  That’s right. They did not just look at the case; they had changes made to the case on behalf of their very, very, very close “friend.”  Well, darnitall if they didn’t get caught.  What is poor Linda/Andrew to do when one of their favs gets caught committing a crime?

Well, we know what happens to PID Chief Virginia Lugo when she gets caught committing a crime.  Nothing . . . absolutely nothing.  But the crime victims get fired.

We cannot have double standards, now can we?  So that means since this is a TAD supervisor, we should pretend nothing happened.  And that is almost what happened.  You see, unlike any subordinate that would have been FIRED!!!, the TAD supervisor was allowed to instead transfer to another office.

But the most interesting part of this whole deal is that this TAD supervisor just also happens to be a member of the Board of Directors of the San Bernardino Public Employees Association.  That $50,000 sure did go a long way. If I were you, I’d demand your share since you seem to want to turn a blind eye to Blough’s wrongdoing. You should get paid for it too just like the other four supervisors. I’m sure Bob and Scott will be happy to cut you a check for say . . . $50,000.  Or have they already?

These rumors can almost always be traced back to our favorite yellow singing Canary, Confidential Informant No. 1, Mr. Max Factor himself, Adam Aleman.  It seems that every time Mikey has to face bad news he deflects with disinformation through Adam.

We have heard rumors that these two are going to be arrested so many times, we rarely print them any more.  What sets things apart this time is that we have another factor in this.  Jerry Brown needs an arrest made in this county.  He wants Jeff Burum but that is not likely and could get pretty ugly.

We hear from excellent sources that the Attorney General’s office is putting a lot of pressure on Mikey for an arrest or other headline news.  No one says the arrest has to be based on factual information.  We know Judge Duke Rouse will sign anything for Mikey.

So, time will tell whether this rumor proves to be true or more disinformation and threats from Adam.

Pure Peruvian Cocaine

Hypocrite is defined by Webster as:

1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

In case anyone hasn’t noticed, we have a hypocrite or two or three on the fifth floor of the County Government Center.  We have been reminded of that several times during the past couple of years.

The first time web saw their hypocrisy was when our Board of Supervisors expressed their self-righteous indignation over the discovery that then-Assessor Bill Postmus has a drug problem.  That self-righteous indignation would have been more than acceptable if there were not similar issues among their own.  But there are and that makes them hypocrites.

As a matter of fact, at least three of the supervisorial districts have connections with illegal drug usage.  At least one supervisor has serious issues with drugs and alcohol himself.

I find the other example of their double standard even more egregious however.  There is a considerable amount of marijuana usage by employees on both sides of the Fifth Floor.  We are talking about recreational marijuana usage, not medical Cannabis, and other drugs.  Yet, meeting after meeting these same supervisors listen to the testimony of constituents, some of whom are suffering, beg for the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors to enact a reasonable policy so that they can receive the medical Cannabis they have been prescribed to relieve their suffering.

We can argue all day long on whether or not Marijuana should be legal.  The bottom line is that medical Cannabis is legal; we have BOS members who use Marijuana for recreational purposes; and those same board members deny suffering constituents the ability to purchase it legally in this county.  So a board member can buy and use it illegally and that’s okay?  But a patient who has been prescribed it by a doctor, cannot purchase it legally.  Hypocrite is a term that fits and then some.

And where is Mikey in all of this?  Once again, while real crimes are being committed by members of the Board of Supervisors, he is off chasing windmills, hoping to find a smoking gun that doesn’t exist.  Mikey, here is one more “real” crime we have told you about.  How about using your crack surveillance team to unravel this matter and make arrests?

Hey, Bud Randles.  Wrightwood is nice this time of year.

The reason you know about the situation is because of me and my incident on Thanksgiving Day. The issue is, of course, Hartford Insurance.

Hartford took over the county’s short-term disability program last year with the intended outcome of reducing the number of county employees.  Don’t tell me otherwise.  I’ve been dealing with them for ten months now. But this is not about my situation, although I am going to describe it first just as a reminder. It is about many county employees who are being abused by Hartford and that abuse could very well cause a death.

In my case, Hartford has ruled that the four doctors who have provided them with information regarding my claim are wrong and their analyst who has never met me knows more about what is better for my health than my doctors.  The result is that I have been with no paycheck whatsoever since February 15. I have lost almost everything I own. I sleep on the floor as I have no furniture that can be used for sleeping.  I have no heat or hot water and haven’t since November.  As a matter of fact I have not had a hot shower since November.  No, I don’t have television, a real stereo, or  high speed internet.  Don’t even have a PC.   I do have a printer/scanner/fax machine, which okay except I can’t fax from a cell phone.   I do get food stamps, which is the only way I eat, so I’m thankful for them.  All cooking is done in an electric skillet or microwave, so I am lucky in that way too, but I can’t help but want to bake or roast something once in a while.  In the winter the inside of my house stayed right around 41 degrees.  These days it rarely falls below 90.

I sound like I’m whining and really I’m not.  I’m long past the point of suicide, although there were a total of four attempts as a result of this particular part of the situation.  I can’t get medication, and haven’t had any whatsoever since February 25, which has actually been a good thing.  I feel a lot better without it although I’m sure if I could see a doctor they wouldn’t be happy that I haven’t had blood pressure, stomach, allergy  or thyroid medicine in six months.  Don’t bother telling me to go to Arrowhead, because a) I’d rather be dead and b) can’t afford the gas to get there anyway.  But honestly, I’ve come to accept it.  Having some really great attorneys and knowing what complete idiots the county hires makes this easier because I know one day there will be a payout and I can start over with new furniture, heat, a/c, a stove to cook on, and all the rest.  I know things will work out in the end.

The actual trigger to this post is an employee who was ordered off work by her doctor in her third trimester of pregnancy.  Apparently, Hartford analysts know more about high-risk pregnancies than her doctor.  Guess what?  They are refusing to pay her as well.  Now, she was lucky in that she has a spouse and there was other income coming into the family.

But she is far from the only one in that situation.  Actually, it has become quite common for Hartford to refuse to pay in high risk pregnancy cases.  Instead they are telling the women they have to go back to work or they delay the claims so long and then deny them after the fact.  It is also happening with employees going through chemotherapy, heart procedures, liver and kidney situations, etc. Hartford knows better than any doctor whether employees can work or not.  Heck even the county doctor refused to release from work, but Hartford says I have to go anyway.  Tell me how you work around that situation.

So, will you or any of the BOS feel any remorse whatsoever for allowing this situation to go on for almost a year if one of these women loses her baby because she has no choice but to return to work? I didn’t think so.  Thinning the ranks is far more important than the well being of county employees.  So what if there is a dead or deformed baby or a dead employee along the way.  You’ve done your job.  You’ve reduced the workforce.

We aren’t allowed to prosecute welfare cheats but by God we are going to make damn sure no county employee gets disability that doesn’t deserve it even if we kill a few along the way

BTW, we all know none of you have any empathy or even understanding because you all get your entire medical premiums paid for your entire family at taxpayer expense. And if that should fail somehow, just go see Dr. GnanaDev.  He will make sure you are taken care of without having to pay for it.

Linda Haugan

An edict has been issued.  The peasants are no longer allowed to have fans or radios at their desks.  It costs too much in electricity.

It must be nice working in that castle where every office has a flat screen television, a stereo, maybe a refrigerator, and maybe a fan and/or heater.  We could never allow our royalty to break a sweat or have to sit in a hot office where the odor from the unwashed masses reaches puke level.

Yes, we should be happy with the occasional crumb we are thrown.  We are lucky to have jobs.  Let us eat cake as long as it is not at our desks.

Brad, what the heck were you thinking?  We expect these kind of stupid decisions out of Josie because she is stupid ,and out of Paul because he is usually drunk, but we expect a tempered, well-reasoned decision out of you.  Today we did not get it.

In a 3-1 vote, with Supervisor Neil Derry dissenting and Chairman Gary Ovitt absent, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors voted to appeal the decision by Superior Court Judge Michael Mink to award attorney’s fees to the San Bernardino County Public Attorneys Association.  The county of San Bernardino, i.e., two of our county’s three great legal minds, Ruthie and Doreen, sued our own attorneys and the case got thrown out by Judge Christopher Warner.    The defendants, having prevailed, came back and requested attorneys fees.

Now, had the Association lost on at least one cause of action, today’s decision by the Board of Supervisors could be justified.  But it never got that far!  It was thrown out!  Period!

Brad, think of it this way.  Let’s say someone sues you in a case that has no merit.  You would have to hire an attorney to defend yourself.  Wouldn’t having to waste that money really bug you?  When the case was thrown out, wouldn’t you want your attorney’s fees paid?  And don’t you think you righteously should have them paid by the party who filed the frivolous suit?  You know you would think that.  Well, this is the same situation.

The county didn’t just lose, it lost big.  It should have to pay fees of the opposing party.  That’s how it works.  I read that whole pleading.  There is a ton of case law to back up the Association’s contention.

If you don’t like the ruling, perhaps next time you should think twice before authorizing County Counsel to file a frivolous lawsuit.  Then we would not have this problem.

Even if the Court of Appeal were to reduce the amount owed, and I’m not sure that is within the scope of what they can do, this appeal is going to cost the county more than just paying the bill.  Why would the county appeal it?

This appeal is a perfect example of why Ruth Stringer needs to go and a professional attorney who has the county’s best interests should replace her.  As it stands, the county doesn’t care how much taxpayer money it loses just so long as it can be vindictive to those who oppose it.  As unethical as it may be, that tactic may work often, but it is foolhardy when the defendants in the case are a large group of attorneys, attorneys who actually practice law every day and have even appeared in court on occasion.

When the Fourth District Court of Appeal rules in the Association’s favor, expect a giant “I told you so” on the blog and expect a California Public Records Act request be filed to find out just how much this one frivolous lawsuit cost the county.

Brad, you should be ashamed of your actions today.

However, this lawsuit highlights some of the much bigger points I’ve been making on the blog for years and some of the reasons I am so frustrated with Supervisor Neil Derry.  Here are a few of those points:

• Sex on the job between a manager and a subordinate IS the business of all of us.  It does not matter if it is consensual nor does it matter if the subordinate should have known better.  The bottom line is that taxpayers foot the bill for the escapades if one of the parties feels wronged in the end.  It would be nice if no taxpayer funds are used to defend Mike, but the reality is that this will cost taxpayers one way or another.
• Andrew Lamberto had the chance to nip this in the bud, but instead played politics with this situation.  If he had done his job properly, this lawsuit would have never happened.  But Andrew NEVER does his job, and almost across the board, complaints of sexual harassment and hostile work environment are not dealt with appropriately.
• The Board of Supervisors, but particularly in this case the Fourth District, had the ability to settle this situation long before it got to the lawsuit stage—and I’m not referring to a financial payout to Ristow.  Mark Kirk, in particular, chose to take the low road because he is so afraid of Mikey arresting him, and now the whole county pays for his lack of backbone.
• The county’s legal beagle Ruth Stringer also played a significant role in this situation getting to the point it has.  Here is just one more case where her interference into matters she should not be involved in because she wanted to protect her buddy Mikey has and will cost the taxpayers a significant sum of money whether Ristow is successful or not.
• Ruth Stringer should have been fired over a year ago because of her piss poor legal advice.  This is not Devereaux’s decision or obligation.  This situation sits firmly on the shoulders of the the five members of the Board of Supervisors to which she directly answers to.  Once again, the Board of Supervisors showed they have no backbone or concern for taxpayer dollars.

Neil, you know this situation better than anyone, and you know first-hand what the incompetence of Andrew Lamberto and Ruth Stringer has done to the taxpayers of this county and those involved in this suit.  You keep asking me for examples of what I meant.  Well here is yet one more example.  You and the remaining board members know of Lamberto’s and Stringer’s incompetence.  But both are willing to do the dirty work, even illegal work, on behalf of the board.  Therefore, you turn your head and pretend you don’t see what is going on.  And yes, that makes you as corrupt as every other board member.

Haven’t you had enough yet?  Honestly, why wasn’t County Counsel Ruth Stringer fired today?  She does not work for County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux.  She works for you.  And she should have been fired TODAY!

I only wish I could share with the readers of iePolitics the details of her latest fiasco—a fiasco that has already been expensive and one that almost cost you, the taxpayers, an additional very large sum of money.

For the readers who have not been following this particular Ruth Stringer saga, Stringer was behind the civil suit filed by former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer for his lawful AND contractually adhered to termination last November 17.  Our favorite legal Beagle Stringer was so up to her eyeballs in aiding and abetting Uffer in all of his misdeeds, that when it came time to terminate Uffer the Board of Supervisors could not even confide in Ruthie they were going to do it.  Instead, they worked it out with the second in command, who took care of the legal aspects of the Uffer termination.

One of Ruth’s most expensive misdeeds has to do with the civil suits, filed prematurely at best, against the corruption scandal defendants.  As with Erwin’s written agreement that no lawsuit would be filed, Uffer also had no basis for a lawsuit because he was terminated without cause pursuant to the provisions in his contract.  Under those provisions, he received a year’s severance.  But Ruthie apparently missed Contracts 101 in law school.

Like with so many other situations, Ruthie couldn’t keep her nose out of things.  She helped to convince Uffer to sue the county despite the terms of his contract.  It has been said that she assured him the county would settle with him to make him go away.  After all, County Counsel isn’t known as the “settlement specialists” for nothing.

But when Uffer submitted his ridiculous claim, burning almost every elected official and their staff members with more lies than truth, the Board of Supervisors dug their heels in and agreed to fight Uffer.  The case went before Judge Alverez on Monday to rule on a demurrer filed by the county.

Guess what?  As has already been reported elsewhere, Judge Alverez threw out two of the three causes of action, leaving only the cause of action regarding whistle blowing intact.  And the issue with whistle blowing is no one knew until Uffer filed his suit that he was a “whistle blower” so it throws a big monkey wrench into that cause of action as well.  Uffer has20 days to amend his complaint to the satisfaction of Judge Alverez, which does not seem possible since most of Uffer’s claims are fabricated.

Prior to yesterday’s hearing, Ruthie, having reviewed the lawsuit and knowing the demurrer was being filed, attempted to get the Board of Supervisors to offer Uffer a settlement—a very, very large settlement—to shut up and go away.  I don’t think there is a reader of this blog who would not be outraged if they knew the amount Ruthie wanted the county to pay to Uffer to shut him up.  Thank goodness for once the Board of Supervisors showed some wisdom.

But Board Members, by keeping your legal Beagle on for another year, you have cost taxpayers millions of dollars.  It is absolute dereliction of duty for you to allow Ruthie to remain employed with the county one more day.  Show some backbone and do something about this travesty.

And to Cassie, Joe, Imran and the other reporters, there is a very big story here.  You want to write about corruption in San Bernardino County?  Well this is a good start.  The relationship between Ruthie, Mikey, Andrew, Mark and Dennis is fraught with corruption and has cost taxpayers millions of dollars.  Don’t let the PR machine at the CAO’s office cover this up.  Ruthie, like Mark, needs to be terminated and then investigated.

For weeks now there has been behind-the-scenes chatter about what exactly was going to be done to pull off the transfer of San Bernardino County Second District Chief of Staff Matt Brown to the Auditor-Controller/Recorder/Tax Collector office.  Many of us figured there would be wrangling to send Brown to the Assessor’s Office next year when the Recorder’s function is transferred to that department.  The question was how.

Although rumors of discord between Assistant Auditor-Controller Betsy Starbuck and Auditor-Controller Larry Walker over Chief Deputy Recorder De Ana Thompson have been floating around for months, Starbuck’s firing on Friday came as a surprise to everyone.  Starbuck is educated and professional while Thompson is uneducated and despised by subordinates for lack of leadership skills.  Starbuck had been Walker’s assistant for decades.  Thompson has been Walker’s paramour for an unknown period of time.

Now only two working days later Walker announced that Brown will be appointed to the newly created “Assistant Recorder” position.  The organizational chart for the department no longer shows Thompson’s position.

It could be that Walker is going to do the right thing and terminate Thompson as well.  And we can all start to believe in Santa Claus again if that, in fact, happens.

What we are all expecting is to see Thompson promoted to the position Starbuck vacated.  In other words, we expect to see Walker protect Thompson from the ramifications of being transferred to the Assessor’s Office next year.

What are we talking about?  Well, if you are a long-time reader of the blog, or an unfortunate Thompson subordinate, you know what I mean.  But if you depend on the Sun for your news, you are likely scratching your head.

You see, Sun reporter Joe Nelson has had this story for over a year.  He did a very short version, leaving out most of the information, in a story early 2009—and not a word since.  We would think, since Nelson interviewed some or all of the employees involved, Nelson would have jumped on this latest chapter.  Of course, we would be wrong.

Thompson has been accused of creating a hostile work environment for most of her staff.  I believe at one point there were six staff members out on Administrative Leave at once.  Since then, several others have been transferred out to get away from her while others have been trying to hang on, hoping the county would do the right thing since the County Administrative Officer  and all five members of the Board of Supervisors are aware of the problem and have been for over a year.

We should point out that, unlike Thompson, these employees have Bachelor’s degrees or higher and work in a professional capacity such as accounting.  It should also be noted that at least four legal actions have already been filed against the county with more expected.

So, we had all hoped that since Walker will not do the right thing and fire Thompson, Assessor Dennis Draeger would take care of the situation after the first of the year when Thompson and her staff are transferred to his office.  It doesn’t look like he will get the chance.

The two most shocking aspects of this story are that 1) Walker is being so blatant in his actions with no regard whatsoever for how this appears; and 2) the Board of Supervisors and County Administrative Officer hid this for Walker in the 2010/2011 budget.  As we said, every time we think they can’t get more stupid, they do.

]]> http://iepolitics.com/2010/07/21/iepolitics-even-they-cant-be-that-stupid/feed/ 17 http://iepolitics.com/2010/07/20/iepolitics-matt-brown-appointed-assistant-recorder/ http://iepolitics.com/2010/07/20/iepolitics-matt-brown-appointed-assistant-recorder/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:20:14 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=4615 From San Bernardino County Auditor-Controller/Recorder/Tax Collector Larry Walker:  Matt Brown Appointment

Matt Brown previously worked as Second District Supervisor Paul Biane’s chief of staff but has been out on administrative leave for a couple of months while a hostile work environment investigation was conducted.  Brown alleged he started being harassed once it was discovered he cooperated with the corruption investigation by San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos against Biane.  Brown is said to have attempted to get Biane on tape through secret recordings.  It is not known if those recordings produced evidence against Biane.

Last week Walker’s long-time assistant, Betsy Starbuck, was suddenly terminated.  Starbuck had been Walker’s Chief of Staff  since at least 1991 when he was chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and became his assistant upon his election to the Auditor-Controller/Recorder post.  However, in the months since employees from the Recorder’s division came forward regarding intolerable working conditions under Assistant Recorder DeAnn Thompson, rumors have sprung up regarding a growing rift between Starbuck and Walker.

DeAnn Thompson also followed Walker over from the Board of Supervisors.  Her previous gig was as a clerk at J.C.Penneys.  Many staffers have complained about her leadership skills and lack of eduction beyond high school.  However, she is rumored to be Walker’s mistress.

Brown’s appointment  brings to mind several questions our ATC readers may be able to answer.  Starbuck wasn’t assistant recorder was she?  I thought she was Assistant ARC and Thompson was assistant recorder.  I may have this messed up but where did Thompson go and who is going to the Assessor’s Office next January?

Somehow this feels like Larry is keeping DeAnn with him and sending Matt packing next year, but I could be wrong.  That would protect Larry’s mistress and keep a politico from the opposition out of his office, but even I can’t believe the county is this corrupt.  Or can I?

]]> http://iepolitics.com/2010/07/20/iepolitics-matt-brown-appointed-assistant-recorder/feed/ 19 http://iepolitics.com/2010/07/20/iepolitics-gosh-i-take-a-few-days-away-from-the-blog-and/ http://iepolitics.com/2010/07/20/iepolitics-gosh-i-take-a-few-days-away-from-the-blog-and/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:13:16 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=4598 I have to admit I cringed when I saw the story on Joe Tuner.  I think very highly of Joe.  He’s been accused over the years of some things that haven’t necessarily been accurate, but accurate or not, he has tried very hard to clean up his reputation.  And he has done a good job.   Mostly, it is gonna just take time.

I think the story tonight illustrates perfectly one of the points in Jason Whited’s piece last week.  Because of technology, especially the Internet, past mistakes are not nearly as easily forgotten.  Mistakes in the last five years and on into eternity could come back to haunt us for a lifetime.

For example, Jeff Burum will always be the businessman who buys prostitutes for government officials whether it is true or not.  Paul Biane and Mark Kirk will always be John Does Nos. 4 and 5 whether they are ever charged with anything or not.  Pat Morris will always be connected with a program for at-risk youth that allowed a child molester to work for the program whether it was intentional or not.  The list is endless right here in San Bernardino County.

The internet has put a date stamp on every aspect of our lives unlike any generation before us ever imagined.  Transgressions, real or imagined, are no longer petty or private.

Thompson has been the subject of numerous articles due to the hostile work environment she has created for staff.  The situation with Thomson became so egregious that Supervisor Neil Derry had to intervene on behalf of her subordinates when Human Resources director Andrew Lamberto and former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer refused to deal with the situation.  A half dozen or more lawsuits against the county have been or are in the process of being filed.

Another interesting angle to this situation is that Second District Chief of Staff Matt Brown has been offered a position with Walker.  Starbuck’s position is likely the only position in an equivalent pay range.

Brown was placed on administrative leave after he complained of  a hostile work environment.  Brown’s claim came about after it was discovered he wore a wire or participated in attempting to get his boss, Second District Supervisor Paul Biane, on tape regarding a wide-reaching corruption scandal.  Biane is a John Doe in an extensive case alleging bribery and extortion in the $102 million Colonies Settlement.

If anyone has additional information on Starbuck’s status, contact me at sharon@iepolitics.com.

May 5, 2010

Honorable San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors
Gary Ovitt, Chairman – Fourth District
Josie Gonzales – Vice-Chair – Fifth District
Brad Mitzelfelt – First District
Paul Biane – Second District
Neil Derry – Third District
Greg Devereaux, County Administrative Officer
Gerry Newcombe, Deputy Administrative Officer
385 N. Arrowhead Avenue, 5^th Floor
San Bernardino, CA  92415                                                          Via Hand Delivery

Dear Chairman Ovitt, Vice-Chair Gonzales, Supervisors Mitzelfelt, Biane, and Derry, Messrs. Devereaux and Newcombe:

I have given notice to leave my position with the County of San Bernardino effective June 4, 2010, after over 20 years of employment.  I feel it is import to share with you why an employee with that much time in the organization would choose to resign.

About Me

I am hoping that some background information about me will lend credence to what I have to say in this letter.

I started with the County of San Bernardino in October of 1989, at the age of 20, as a Transcriber Typist Trainee, with what was then known as the Department of Public Social Services.  During my employment, I earned by Bachelor’s Degree from California State University, San Bernardino.  I continued promoting within the County until I reached my current position as a Senior Associate Planner with the Solid Waste Management Division (SWMD) of the Public Works Department.

I have participated in ongoing, continuing education and I am a member of several noteworthy organizations, including, but not limited to:  County Womens Network (I have also served as a mentor for the last two years); Leadership Development Network (I am a graduate of the Management and Leadership Academy and have served in a Leadership Lab); and Southern California Waste Management Forum (I am on the Board of Directors and currently serve as Treasurer).

I have also obtained and maintained certifications related to my profession, including, but not limited to:  Solid Waste Association of North America (Manager of Landfill Operations certification); American Planning Association; and Association of Environmental Professionals.

Additionally, I have been recognized for my efforts as an employee on several occasions (i.e., Employee of the Quarter, nominee for Employee of the Year, etc.).  Outside of work I have participated in the Redlands Climate Action Task Force, as a fundraising organizer for the Parent-Teacher Fellowship where my children attend school, and as a team parent for AYSO (soccer) and RBY (softball).  I have attached my resume for your reference.

Issues in SWMD

As you may or may not remember, I copied all of you (except Mr. Newcombe) on an e-mail dated March 30, 2010 explaining why I would not be attending my 20-year County employee pin ceremony because my Division Manager, Peter Wulfman, had “resigned” (been fired) that day (copy attached).  Two days after sending that e-mail, I was called into a conference room at work by Mark DeBoer from Human Resources, and Art Rivera, SWMD’s acting point of contact at that time.

Essentially, I was bullied and harassed about that e-mail and questioned about a petition rumored to be circulating to have Peter Wulfman reinstated, as well as being put on notice that I was to respect whoever would be leading our division from that point forward.  I was so upset by this encounter that I left work early that day and ended up documenting what happened with the San Bernardino County Public Employees Association (SBPEA) for my own protection (copy of e-mail dated April 6, 2010 attached).  (I forgot to mention in the e-mail that I was walked publicly through our office by these gentlemen, which led to a fair amount of gossip and some embarrassing questions being asked of me by my co-workers about why Human Resources and Art Rivera had taken me into a conference room (without my supervisor or a union representative).  (Couldn’t this have been handled more confidentially?)

When I was initially hired at SWMD, one of the duties assigned to me was to stay up-to-date on municipal solid waste conversion technologies.  Since that time,  I have maintained an electronic database of technologies, followed the progress of neighboring jurisdictions and pilot projects, attended continuing education activities, maintained an information database of articles, presentations, websites, etc., and shared information with appropriate staff as necessary.  I am also proud to say that I suggested the use of SWMD-owned properties for potential renewable energy projects, along with the formation of a renewable energy team (RET).

Peter Wulfman was very supportive of the idea and allowed me to utilize money to commission a feasibility study, which was completed in 2008 (with promising results) and to form the RET (I served as chairperson), which consisted of staff from planning/permitting, operations, and engineering.  He also supported my participation in ongoing training for renewable energy.

As you are all aware, there was great interest expressed by the Board last year to consider these types of projects.  Since that time, under Peter Wulfman’s direction, I prepared a Request for Proposals (RFP) for renewable energy projects on SWMD-owned properties, and an RFP for a municipal solid waste conversion technology consultant, along with a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for municipal solid waste conversion technologies.

I also led the selection committee for the consultant to be hired under the RFP and expanded the RET (selection committee) to include staff from finance, contracts and Los Angeles County.

In the meantime, I was considering leaving my position with the County to spend more time with my children, daughters – ages 12 and 6.  However, because of my belief in the above-referenced projects and my commitment to SWMD, I sent an e-mail to Peter Wulfman and my immediate supervisor, Nancy Sansonetti, stating that I would consider part-time or contract employment.  (Copy of e-mail dated February 1, 2010 attached).

Unfortunately, my proposal was unable to be addressed before Peter Wulfman left SWMD.  It did not feel right to immediately approach Bow Bowman (Public Works Director) about the issue because everything in SWMD was in transition.  I decided to wait until things settled down.

As you’ll note, thing went downhill for me here after Peter’s Wulfman’s departure.  In addition to the actions referenced above that were taken against me, I was removed as project manager for both the renewable energy and waste conversion technology projects and replaced by Art Rivera.  Mr. Bowman sent us an e-mail stating he had developed a task force (this task force has the same professional background personnel as the RET did and when I attended the first task force meeting the project manager and chairperson were unsure of what had occurred to date and referred to me for information/status) and only through the generosity of my immediate supervisor (she was asked if she wanted to be on the task force instead of me and said no, stating I was the most knowledgeable) was I able to remain on as at least a member of the task force.

In addition to this action against me, my name was removed as contract administrator for the municipal solid waste conversion technology consultant and replaced with Art Rivera’s.  This occurred after I had done all the negotiating and finalized the Board item to be heard on May 11, 2010.

I sent the attached e-mail to Art Rivera, with a copy to Bow Bowman because of ongoing communication issues with Mr. Rivera, and in light of Mr. Bowman stressing improved communication, asking why my name was removed.  Not only did I never receive the courtesy of a response from Mr. Rivera, but Mr. Bowman phoned my immediate supervisor to express his dissatisfaction with the contents of my e-mail.  He seemed to interpret it as me being uncooperative.  When I saw Mr. Bowman at an event the next day, I apologized that my e-mail came across the wrong way and reiterated why he had been copied on the e-mail.  I then asked if it was possible to meet with him and explain my point of view.  He agreed to a meeting, which occurred on Friday, April 30, 2010.

In advance of the meeting, I prepared the attached talking points/highlights to explain my frustration with being removed as project manager (which I consider a leadership opportunity) and share the extensive background work I had performed for the projects.  The meeting was not very productive.  Mr. Bowman told me I am too emotional (that I should leave my emotions at home or vent to my husband) and that I lack the expertise to oversee these projects.  He stated we would just have to agree to disagree and that he felt Mr. Rivera was more qualified than me.

I did not have a chance to go over the talking points/highlights specifically, but left a copy of everything with him.  I also ended up giving my official notice of resignation because, at that point, I saw no need to offer part-time or contract employment.  (I should note that since these actions against me began, I have had to seek medical attention for stress and have been placed on medication.  No job, full-time or part-time, is worth my health).

After giving notice, I told Mr. Bowman that I would be more than happy to help in any way I can before I leave.  I went back to the office and provided written notice to my immediate supervisor, Nancy Sansonetti.  (Copy of e-mail dated April 30, 2010 attached).  I have heard nothing further from Mr. Bowman.

The Bad

The last several months at SWMD are truly the worst I have encountered in a County organization.  Once Mr. Bowman was hired, the negative effects of the management changeover ended up spilling over into our office and affecting day-to-day operations, and, more importantly, employee morale (lack of leadership, being told that to participate in County-sanctioned events one must now utilize personal leave time, despite joining organizations with the understanding that participation would occur on County time, little to no communication about the division’s direction, etc).

Since Mr. Wulfman’s departure thing have become even worse.  Mr. Bowman has been in SWMD only a handful of times, does not have a lot of background information needed for projects/decisions, forgets information already provided to him, and the person who has been acting as SWMD’s point of contact, Mr. Rivera, has either been out of the office or unresponsive to staff.

Additionally, I (and several others) have a history of frustration with Mr. Rivera because he regularly does not provide requested information needed to perform my job.  He also has a tendency to treat women as incapable of performing their jobs (multiple complaints of discrimination are on file with County Human Resources) or less than capable if they are not engineers.

The planning/permitting section was created in 2005 to save money being spent on outside consultants and provide independent review of SWMD documents.  While great cost-savings have occurred, there is still a culture of the engineering section immediately contacting a consultant for work rather than utilizing very qualified in-house staff.  This is a very frustrating waste of taxpayer money and causes one to question the nature of the relationship between County employees and said regularly used consultants.

I can only hope things will improved with Mr. Newcombe acting as SWMD Division Manager.  As a general comment, however, I think it would be prudent in the future to have a specific management plan in place before firing high level executives in the County because it is the rank-and-file employees who end up suffering with the ensuing chaos.  These employees work hard and deserve better.

The Good

The County has, overall, been a wonderful organization to work for.  This is mostly in part to my immediate supervisors and my co-workers.  I have been fortunate enough to be mentored and encouraged along the way by too many people to mention.  What I have gained as a professional and as a person far outweighs the negatives I have encountered.  I leave with no regrets and hope that I will be remembered as an employee who always tried my best, provided a good work product, was a team player, and tried to leave things better than I found them.

Suggestions

I believe when someone complains, he/she should be willing to provide suggestions and/or solutions to the problem(s).  As such, I offer the following:

• As our highest officials/employees, you should consider the far-reaching consequences of your actions.  While I was listening to Mr. Devereaux speak at the Leadership Development Network luncheon last week, I was thinking about how many times I have heard his general message over the last 20 years; i.e., now the County is going to change, things are going to get better, etc.  The continuous change in your ranks would not be necessary if our leadership got along with each other and acted in an ethical manner, considering possible repercussions over personal goals/objectives.
• Spend some time with us; i.e., the rank-and-file employees.  We look to you for leadership, but we never see you.  Consider sending a day or two per month going to different County departments and seeing, first hand, how operations work.  Ask management to suggest a couple of employees that are worth talking with.  In addition to the hard work we perform and the excellent customer service we provide, we are also constituents.
• Don’t vote to give yourselves raises, or provide raises to positions you are filling in the exempt class, then ask general employees to give up their raises.  Again, these are the employees doing the hard work and the budget deficit occurred through no fault of theirs; this type of action is demoralizing.
• Consider allowing part-time employment, as allowed in the Memorandum of Understanding, as a cost-saving measure.  I am guessing there are many employees who would consider this option.
• Consider the costs of litigation.  Had the County not had to spend money because of corruption and misdeeds (former supervisors, the Colonies, etc.) there would be no deficit to contend with.  As an example, the Board voted to allow former Supervisor Postmus to add furniture, positions, etc. to the Assessor’s budget, so I really cannot imagine that it was truly, or should not have been,  surprised at what happened.
• Stress OPEN communication.  It is very unfortunate that many employees have to seek information from outside web blogs to learn what is going on in the County.
• Political placements of employees are unfair to existing County employees who end up denied employment and possible promotional opportunities.  On several occasions during my employment I have had to work with, and sometimes train, employees placed in this manner.  It is especially frustrating to know that they kept exempt pay and benefits (more than I and others were making) and were unqualified for the positions they were placed in.  (This statement does not speak to their eventual job performance, but simply to the way they obtained their positions).

I am sending this letter before my employment ends so that I can make myself available if you have any questions or would like additional information.  The intent of this letter was to make you aware of why a long-term employee would leave, but, more importantly, I hope it is an opportunity for improvement/changes in the County organization.  Thank you for listening!

Sincerely,

N. Traecey Anthony

Today, I will tell you that was the dumbest position we ever took on this blog.  I don’t believe that Brad is justified in hating me for most of what he hates me for, but I have to admit I deserve his animosity on this one.

Board Chairman Gary Ovitt was missing from today’s meeting, at least the parts I watched, so Gonzales chaired the meeting.  As I watched and listened, all I could think of was, “We can’t have two years of this.  We simply cannot.”

The final straw came today when the Nursery Products vote took place.  It was a 3-1 vote with Ovitt absent and Gonzales dissenting.  That did it.  Josie is as stupid as my Fifth Floor contacts tell me she is.  She really is.

The Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, whose website states, “[CRPE] is an environmental justice litigation organization dedicated to helping grassroots groups across the United States attack head on the disproportionate burden of pollution borne by poor people and people of color,” is behind the HelpHinkley group attempting to stop the Nursery Products project.  And Josie bought their rhetoric hook, line and sinker.

Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about racism and bigotry, but CRPE’s claim’s are absolutely ludicrous.  There is no logic involved whatsoever, which is why Josie agreed with them.

Josie’s vote did not affect the outcome.  The project was approved.  But it did point out that Josie cannot comprehend scientific data, a quality that is imperative in today’s high-tech world.  Particulate matter, ground water contamination, erosion, runoff,  and other environmental concerns impact almost every project the Board of Supervisors votes on.  We simply cannot afford to have someone serve as chairman, guiding public policy, when she cannot process scientific data and draw a rational and logical conclusion.  Rather than analyzing the facts, she would rather believe some off-the-wall conspiracy theory that a compost plant is being built in the middle of nowhere because poor people live out there than because IT IS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE where impacts would be minimal! Get it Josie?

Josie even asked how close this project is to schools and was told eight miles to one and ten miles to another.   Did you not hear the response Josie?  The facility is not even in their community like they claim.  So unless you think rattlesnakes and lizards are poor people of color, there is no validity to their argument.

This county has had to deal with a chairman for the last year and a half that has been castrated by the district attorney.  We need some strong, intelligent leadership and Josie isn’t it.  I hope Brad and Neil step forward to take the two top spots.  They are Marines after all.

]]> http://iepolitics.com/2010/07/13/iepolitics-josie-gonzales-is-she-stupid-or-just-plain-dumb/feed/ 16 http://iepolitics.com/2010/07/12/inlandpolitics-the-brown-biane-saga-%e2%80%93-part-2/ http://iepolitics.com/2010/07/12/inlandpolitics-the-brown-biane-saga-%e2%80%93-part-2/#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:00:38 +0000 Administrator2 http://iepolitics.com/?p=4350

• Written by Administrator
• Posted July 11, 2010 at 6:05 pm

• Written by Administrator
• Posted July 10, 2010 at 9:00 am

www.inlandpolitics.com

San Bernardino County may have identified a source for potentially significant savings.

Significant as in $2 million per year, according to sources. A nice amount especially in light of budget constraints.

Last December 1st, county supervisors approved a $144,000 contract with Mercury Associates, for the purpose of conducting a study of the county’s vehicle fleet operations.

The study, which took about six months to complete, identifies several areas of wasteful spending related to unnecessary vehicle usage.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

I’m sure there is a term for this mentality, and with our current corruption scandal, that mentality has become very frustrating.  Otherwise intelligent people seem to be more interested in finding blame than finding truth.  The fact that so many have bought into Batman and Robin’s conspiracy theory is proof that logic and critical thinking have given way to hysteria and enjoyment in the fact that someone with power may be taken out, not for wrongdoing, but because they have power and wealth.  I suppose the weak hope to bask in the demise of the powerful.

The current Colonies conspiracy theory is a perfect example.  Other than Ramos’ hacks, I have yet to hear of a single attorney, who actually took the time to examine all of the documents available and compare them with the elements of the crimes being alleged, state they feel a crime took place.  When one looks at how many things had to occur perfectly in order for this “crime of the century” to be a crime, it is simply not possible.  So many who comment on these cases are doing so with emotion rather than accurate information and logic.

Am I saying that I believe there was no corruption involved in the Colonies situation?  No, I am not.  I absolutely believe there was corruption.  But notice, I referred to the “Colonies situation,” not the “Colonies Settlement.” And there is a difference—a very big difference.

What prompted this posting was an interaction I had yesterday with another county employee.  I knew before I ever called her that she had messed up.  I also knew to have all my ducks in a row before I made the call.  And that I did.  When I finally got a hold of her, she was quick to put the blame on me and she copped a bit of an attitude.  I knew I was right and I asked her to check something on her computer.  That something could not have been changed without me finding out about it.  Well she did, and then she had a 180-degree change in attitude.

I know the system inside and out and was able to get my situation resolved in minutes.  But the average citizen does not.  Instead of admitting mistakes, so often government workers (not just San Bernardino County) cover up, attempt to assign blame to the citizens they are supposed to be serving, and plant their feet firmly into the ground, refusing to admit error or correct the situation.  Sometimes it is line staff, but it usually gets worse as one tries to go up the chain of command.  And it is always about power and control.

We see this phenomena in the Transitional Assistance Department (TAD) frequently where former welfare clients are hired.  The best case workers in the world are those who were once clients and remember the emotions and problems they had being on welfare and trying to deal with the system.  The worst case workers in the world are those who were once clients and now look at their new positions as positions of power and a way to improve their low self-esteem by terrorizing their clients.  You all have both kinds in every office and you all know who they are.

But we see it in every other government office as well.  For example, have you ever had a code enforcement officer come out to your house?  Some will bend over backwards to help you resolve your situation while others only want a way to punish you.  They want you to know they are in control of your future and can make your life miserable.  Animal Control and restaurant inspectors are the same way as is the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Social Security Administration and a host of agencies at the municipal, county, state and federal levels.  Customer service is a lost concept on many government workers, and those of us who believe in it, pay for their sins.

Colonies Partners would have never had to sue and would not have been given a dime had county employees done their jobs.  I don’t mean the Board of Supervisors.  I mean the employees in Building and Safety, Flood Control, Planning, County Counsel, or whatever other departments were involved in this debacle.  I bet if it were investigated, one would find one or more employees who wanted to show who was boss.  I suspect they put up every roadblock conceivable, took their sweet time doing it, and dared anyone to knock that giant chip off of their shoulder.  Does this sound like any middle or upper management types you have in your department?  We all know the county is full of them.

That brings me to the last two of my points.  When the Burums and Lewises of the world donate to political campaigns and otherwise involve themselves in politics, they generally are not buying illegal favors.  What they are buying is the attention of elected officials.  It is that attention of say, the chairman of the board of supervisors, that gets things done.

Have you ever had someone from the board of supervisors contact you about something you are working on?  Does that not get your attention?  You make sure you get it done right, don’t you?  And timely?

And, this is where most of the problem is at.  It is a small percentage of employees who are not doing their jobs, management that allows their favorites to get away with it, and a county administrative officer and board of supervisors who just don’t care because it is only affecting average citizens and not their campaign contributors.

We point out cases of malfeasance in county government every week on this blog.  Much of it could be easily corrected by the county administrative officer and/or board of supervisors but it is instead ignored.  The public defender, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, the Transitional Assistance Department, the Department of Children’s Services, Human Resources, County Counsel, and many others are rampant with problems that may not result in $102 million settlements individually, but then again they may.  And no one cares because it is the taxpayers who will ultimately foot the bill, not our elected and appointed officials.

What makes our county’s administration corrupt is not a court of law deciding the county erred or businessmen fighting for what they are rightfully owed, but rather a dereliction of duty, an air of arrogance, and an attitude of apathy by our San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and County Administrative Office.  Yes, corruption is alive and well in San Bernardino County, and until our elected and appointed officials take responsibility for running this county with integrity at all levels, it will remain that way.  The buck stops with them.

]]> http://iepolitics.com/2010/07/10/iepolitics-corruption-on-the-fifth-floor-and-elsewhere-everyone-wants-to-blame-the-rich-guy/feed/ 13 http://iepolitics.com/2010/07/05/iepolitics-smoke-and-mirrors-on-the-fifth-floor-part-2/ http://iepolitics.com/2010/07/05/iepolitics-smoke-and-mirrors-on-the-fifth-floor-part-2/#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2010 20:31:07 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=4210 Here is an email I received this morning:

Sharon:

Greg’s reorg is not about money. It’s a power shift. Think about the personnel the Supervisors are giving up.

1st: Devereaux is after O’Toole
2nd: Brown took himself out
4th: Ovitt gave up Kirk
5th: Devereaux is taking Page

Devereaux isn’t going after anyone in the 3rd, because Derry doesn’t have anyone who can help Derry match wits with Devereaux.

And the email is absolutely correct and one of the biggest points we plan to make with this series.   There is a shifting of  power taking place on the Fifth Floor.

As I have mentioned a few times recently, I have a very well informed crystal ball.  I’m not at liberty to announce publicly what it knows, but both Neil and Brad know, and I doubt either has kept it secret so I’m sure the whole Fifth Floor knows by now.  That makes what Devereaux is doing so particularly sad and funny at the same time.

We are learning that Josie is not the only IQ-challenged board member.  Apparently they all are.  If they are nothing more than figureheads used to rubber-stamp whatever Devereaux wants, exactly why do we need them there full time or earning $152,000 a year plus tens of thousands in benefits?  They might just as well be relegated to the same status as city council members where the real work is done by a strong city manager.  No staffs, no paycheck, no benefits.  They get a per diem and have to find real jobs to support themselves.  What a concept!  And what a way to save taxpayers real dollars.

Footnote:  By the way I totally forgot about  Mary.  John is who was originally mentioned as the sacrificial lamb and now I can remember if both Mary and John are being sent to the County Administrative Office or just Mary.  Someone let us know.

We are trying to get as accurate information as possible through California Public Records Act requests but we are being stonewalled by the County Administrative Office.

Let’s take this district by district.

First District:

One field representative, John Richardson, has been cut from staff.  With wages and benefits that likely equates to a cut of less than $150,000.  At least it is a good start, huh?  Well not exactly.  You see they created a brand new  job for John on the other side of the isle in the County Administrative Office.  Therefore, no net savings to taxpayers or reduction in the budget.

Second District:

It looks like Second District Chief of Staff Matt Brown is being cut, which with salary and benefits equates to $250,000.  Well that’s a little better than then the First District.  Once again, not exactly.  First, like Richardson, Brown is scheduled to be transferred to a new position at the Auditor-Controller’s office AND he has asked to be reimbursed for legal fees he incurred due to the “harassment” he suffered because he dropped a dime on his boss.  And it is rumored that Supervisor Paul Biane is hiring or promoting a replacement.

Third District:

Third District Supervisor Neil Derry laid off  Analyst Wanda Nowicki at a savings of likely around $150,000.  We haven’t heard of any more cuts, but the Third District rules so far.

Fourth District:

Chairman of the Board Gary Ovitt generously sent two of his employees packing, Chief of Staff Mark Kirk and an analyst.  “Generously,” of course is the operative word because they didn’t have to move far.  They moved all the way across the hall to the County Administrative Office where brand new positions were created for them so their $400,000 in salary savings was not a savings after all.  On top of that, Ovitt recently hired his pastor,  Larry Enriquez, as his new field representative and he has been promoted to Chief of Staff.  So technically, there has been an increase in money spent on personnel.

Fifth District:

Well Josie would be in first place because she laid off a field representative and her Chief of Staff Bob Page has finally been pardoned.  But, once again a brand new job is being created for Bob at the County Administrative Office AND Josie is hiring a new chief of staff.

We would like to digress a moment and congratulate Bob for likely being the first to leave Josie without being fired.  And we hear your sanity is still intact too.  Congratulations Bob for a feat we thought to be impossible!

Back to the point.  So, the $2.5 million in savings has dwindled just a bit, like by $2.4 million.  When you add in the start up costs like ISD costs for computers and phone changes; Printing Services costs for business cards and gold-embossed letterhead; FACMAN charges for carrying the coffee cups from the old desks to the new desks, rearranging cubicles, steam cleaning chairs, and dusting furniture, there is how much savings to the plan?  But the fat cats on the Fifth Floor all have their jobs intact and that is what is important.

And finally, what exactly is this new Inter-Governmental Affairs division?  Sounds like something Mikey will like.

Hi Sharon.  I’ve thought long and hard about this, and now that I’ve got my thoughts together, I’m going to write you a detailed message.  I hope you’ll have the time to read it.  There are several issues that need to be investigated regarding SBPEA in respect to newer employees.  Although I’m sure you’re aware of them, I just want to refresh your memory and perhaps these can be added to the formal complaint.

#1.  Back when the contract was originally negotiated in 2008, employees with under 15 years with the county agreed to the elimination of flexible benefit plan dollars in order to receive the three raises.  When the county could not keep up their end of the agreement, the newer employees should have been returned to the pre-contract agreement regarding the flexible benefit plan dollars.  If one side of the agreeing parties takes away what they agreed to, then the other side should be granted the same rights.  I feel the county and our union negotiated in bad faith and knew at the time of the agreement that we would never see those raises.

#2.  Employees were asked to give up our raise in 2009.  When the employees voted to keep their raise, SBPEA decided to take the vote again, saying we really didn’t understand what we voted for.  If this was true, whose fault was it?  I would say the association’s.  Have you ever heard of such a thing?  Let’s say after President Obama was elected into office it was decided by congress that people didn’t understand who they voted for and the vote was thrown out and taken again.  This would never happen.  Why was it okay for SBPEA to do this?  And by the way, voting was done by bargaining unit.   So again, SBPEA and the county negotiated in bad faith telling employees we would get our raise, but not until 2009.  They knew all along we would never get it.  County CAO Uffer sent out threatening emails to all county employees telling them to either vote down the raise this time or else.  Employees buckled out of fear and the re-vote came back in favor of foregoing our raise.

#3.  Biggest concern of all for myself and many others.  As an employee with under 15 years in the county, I have been discriminated against with this so-called alternative package.  The choices were either take your raise or give the county an alternate choice, which is far worse than just giving up the raise.  It’s obvious our association is working for the BOS, not the employees who pay them!  Not only do newer employees (or new to their positions) give up the 6% raise, but also have their step raises reduced by half.  So in effect, I and my fellow newbies give up 8.5%.  This is discrimination.  None of the employees on their top step gave up anything equal to the step reduction of the newer employees.  This aspect should not have been included or at least only voted on by those it would effect.  It is unfair to allow employees on the top step to take away full step increases to those who are not on their top step.  Thus, the vote was lopsided.  Our association likes to pit the employees against each other in order to achieve the association’s goals.

The activities of the association are very suspect.  I for one would like to see the rejected/discounted votes, which I believe totaled over 90.  I would like to see just why they weren’t counted.  I would also like to see the ballots that made up the alternate package.  Why would members vote for all negative options?  That is ludicrous!   I would also like a recount of the recent vote.

I am thoroughly, utterly and completely disgusted with the association’s leadership and shady tactics to force their agenda.  They are robbing me of $20 every month and they do not provide the representation I am allegedly paying for.  They sold me out.

I don’t always agree with you, but I do thank you for taking this issue and fighting for what’s right.   You will gain much admiration for your efforts.

First, it looks like County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux undid all the completely stupid and self-serving changes former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer made last year.  No more empire building for Ufferites.

Second, unless I missed it, which is possible, this reorganization did not go before the Board of Supervisors for approval.  I know when I worked for the Deputy Administrator for EPWA, one of the last projects we worked on was a large-scale county reorganization that took Architecture and Engineering and another important division that I can’t remember now away from Marie Alonzo and made a number of other changes including eliminating our own jobs.  I know that had to go before the Board of Supervisors for approval as has other county reorganizations since so I wonder:  Is this Devereaux’s way of showing who is boss?

Third, I noticed the Legislative Affairs/Intergovermental Relations division (in this county both of those titles are just plain wrong!!) and the newly created “Board Projects” division, are both under the County Administrative Officer.  When I worked for the Board of Supervisors, our division was called “Governmental Relations” if I remember correctly, and it came out of the CAO’s budget and answered to the BOS.

Before I was hired, there were three analysts, Linda Hardy, Fazle Quadri, and Deborah Barmack.  I was hired just shortly after Deborah went to SANBAG and she was not replaced because, guess what?, the county was facing a severe budget crisis.  So I worked for Linda and Fazle only.

Our division handled the entire county legislative package, produced multiple position board items each week, was responsible for the recruitment and appointment (and sometimes creation such as the EMCC) of all boards, commissions and committees where two or more districts had appointees.  Sometimes we did it for individual districts as well, especially the creation of new MACs, etc., because the districts tended not to have qualified staff for such work.  We also handled the OMNITRANS, SCAQMD, and CARB analysis and agenda preparation as well as special projects for the board such as Norton Reuse, Water Awareness Expo, and the exhibit for the State Fair.

When Jerry Eaves came aboard, one of his first acts was to get rid of us.  We answered to the whole board and that didn’t really agree with him.  So we because a victim of the “budget ax.”

Eventually, the county added back in a legislative analyst which has now blossomed into a whole division.  And now we are adding a “Board Projects” position or division.  We are not clear on that.

But what makes this all the more amazing is that today all five board offices has their own analysts, their own chiefs of staff, their own media liaisons, and their own deputy chiefs of staff.  So that is 20 employees on that side of the isle plus however many employees make up Legislative Affairs/Intergovernmental Relations/Board Projects to do the work that three of us did back then.

Back in the day, staff consisted of the board member and usually about five to seven other employees—field representatives and secretaries—depending on field offices, etc.  The chairman’s office was granted an extra secretary who floated with the chairmanship.  And there were three secretaries to handle reception, paying the bills, babying board members, etc.  Things sure have changed!

Does it seem that the Board of Supervisors is more productive now with millions more in staff salaries to pay?  It doesn’t seem that way to me.

Why do districts need both a chief of staff and a deputy chief of staff?  It seems to me a chief of staff, at a $150,000 a year salary, should be able to handle supervising a dozen or less employees.  And why do districts still need analysts now that they have Devereaux?  It was justified with Uffer—even I will admit to that—but now that they have a “professional” CAO, there is no need for each individual board office to have its own analyst.  Every district should be required to eliminate both their analyst and their deputy chief of staff positions.

And finally, the county has David Wert.  Why do the districts also need press release specialists?  Seriously, he can’t write any more?

So, as the rest of the county is asked to cut, the Board of Supervisors is all the more bloated.  As I mentioned about my crystal ball . . ..

]]> http://iepolitics.com/2010/06/19/iepolitics-what-is-old-is-new-again/feed/ 8 http://iepolitics.com/2010/06/18/iepolitics-politics-101-selling-your-soul/ http://iepolitics.com/2010/06/18/iepolitics-politics-101-selling-your-soul/#comments Fri, 18 Jun 2010 09:20:25 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=3820 You need to scroll down to the bottom and work your way up to get this.

I have kept quiet about this only because I really wanted to see Larry Walker defeated.  Ensen took Zook’s advice and distanced himself from me and the blog.  He and/or his girlfriend even posted some nasty remarks about me on the blog.  We can see how much good it did him.  Maybe he will get that Airport Commission position for his effort.

One of the things all of you o the Fifth Floor need to realize is that this blog is far reaching.  Yep, I have my detractors, but I have a heck of a lot more secret supporters who do what they can to help out, send us intel, etc.  Some are right under your noses.

For example, a couple of months ago someone was nice enough to get some items from my personnel file and send them anonymously to my attorney.  These were emails between Mark Uffer, Andrew Lamberto and Matt Brown about the blog showing they were investigating me once again and going to put me on Administrative Leave because of the blog.

Another example is a copy of an email I received where Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt said some very derogatory things about me.  And there is the very recent package I received with copies of email from someone from the Fifth Floor who will remain anonymous for a little bit longer to CAO Greg Devereaux about me, also less than flattering.

As I said last night, I have a crystal ball and the crystal ball says things are not going to be so good up on the Fifth Floor very soon.  It won’t be me doing it, because I don’t have that kind of money.  But I sure wish I could be a fly on the wall when you all get notified.  I will thoroughly enjoy your pain.

From: Ensen Mason
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 11:48:50 -0800 (PST)
To:
Subject: Re: Your blog

Haha, you remembered that. It’s what was crossing my mind. He said something else too… He said that being I’m part of the airport community, Brad was considering appointing me (or recommending, not sure how that works) to the airport commission. But with how much I’ve been dogging the BoS, he’s not sure it would go through…. Perhaps he can say that I just made a mistake and I can still be considered. Is this how the game works???

Don’t say anything about that, not sure if it’s for real or if it’s suppose to be made public.

Ensen Mason
emason@westernaccounting.com
www.westernaccounting.com

From: “sharon@iepolitics.com”
To: Ensen Mason
Sent: Wed, February 3, 2010 11:40:27 AM
Subject: Re: Your blog

Support? Brad wouldn’t even meet with you. David is something else.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
From: Ensen Mason
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 10:43:28 -0800 (PST)
To:
Subject: Your blog

I guess your blog has rocked some boats. This morning David Zook strongly suggested that I stop posting to it or risk losing his and his boss’s support. I guess that’s why many post with aliases, huh? Ah, the American way.

Ensen Mason
emason@westernaccounting.com
www.westernaccounting.com

I have a prediction.  In my crystal ball I see the future, the near future.  And in that near future San Bernardino County Medical Director Dr. Dev GnanaDev and San Bernardino County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux will be the most loathed two men on the planet by members of the Board of Supervisors and their entire staffs.  You see, Dr. GnanaDev and Arrowhead Regional Medical Center director Patrick Petre convinced CAO Greg Devereaux to sell out the members of the Board of Supervisors.  Seem far fetched?  You ain’t seen nothing yet!

The five members of the board will rue the day they listened to Dev or Dev because the taxpayers do get the final say.  So what has brought on the wrath from those in a position to do something about it you ask?  Well here is your answer.

We have been discussing for months the issues at ARMC, the county’s only county-owned hospital.  The hospital is being investigated by entities from the federal, state and local government including a California Attorney General’s criminal investigation, which is on-going.  In the meantime, the culprit’s contracts are about to expire.  The county has the ability to extend the contracts but in its infinite wisdom, at Greg Devereaux’s insistence, the county renewed $28.1 million in contracts with the persons who are being investigated criminally, for malpractice, for patient abuse, etc.

This board of supervisors consists of the five laziest, stupidest, and most corrupt individuals this county has ever seen.  And they are going to pay a price for it.  If only we could make them aware of just how steep of a price that really is.  But all in due time.  Stay tuned because EVERY reader of this blog is gonna love it unless they work for the Board of Supervisors.  Dev, this ain’t Ontario as you are about to find out.

You see, the story that Mark Uffer and Andrew Lamberto told to the Board of Supervisors and the media wasn’t exactly the truth.  As a matter of fact it was a huge cover up for their own lies and empire building.  Those two tried to destroy Pat and Dan for their own financial rewards.  And Mark and Andrew covered for a few others who were greasing hands of certain politicians.

Every member of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors knows this, although not all know as much of the truth as I do because certain members didn’t want to be bothered with the truth.  But you see I know all about who is sleeping with whom, who is using a union expense account to wine and dine various women while living with a BOS staff member, who is using union dues for fancy vacations, who is trying to get promotions they did not earn, who is trying to get positions upgraded by taking on functions they cannot do under the law, who is using their friendship with Mike Ramos as a means of political assassination, and a heck of a lot more.

Now, two members of the Board of Supervisors did apologize to Dennen for what he was put through, but not one has made things right by letting the media know that they were wrongly accused, who the real culprits are, or by paying back Pat (not sure about Dan) the thousands of dollars he was fined for something he did not do.

So, guys, here is the deal.  Pat is gone and you can’t hurt him now.  Either the county comes clean or we start a multi-part series on kickbacks, bribes, and a hell of a lot more involving the fire union, district attorney’s office, the CAO’s office, Human Resources, and the Second Supervisorial District.  Take your choice.  I’ve been chomping at the bit to write this story since December when Biane did what he did to me.  I didn’t because Pat asked me not to.  Now I can and I will.  But more important to me is to see Dan’s and Pat’s names cleared and the real culprits identified and punished.   Pat and Dan are good people.  Andrew, Bret, and several others are not.

So is our illustrious San Bernardino Board of Supervisors up to stupid again?  We hope not.  But we won’t know for sure until Tuesday’s meeting.  BOS agenda item No. 16 has left us scratching our heads.  This board item approves new,2-year contracts with all of the various medical providers for Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC), with the exception of the Anesthesia contract, which is extended six months.

ARMC has been under investigation almost continuously since the final quarter of 2009 for a variety of reasons including malpractice, patient abuse, billing issues, and violations of state regulations.  All three levels of government, federal, state and county, have been involved in these investigations and they have not been completed.  The situation at ARMC remains so dire that it could lose its Medi-Cal and Medicare funding which in turn could lead to the hospital being shut down.

Special Agents from the California Department of  Justice are currently investigating possible criminal misconduct at ARMC.  It is rumored that it has to do with, among other things, the medical care received by Supervisors Biane and Gonzales and former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer and his family and friends.  That makes sense because otherwise it would be the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office investigating.  However that agency has very close personal ties with all involved and that is why it appears the investigation has been turned over from the District Attorney to the Attorney General.

There has been a battle going on at ARMC for months now.  Those doctors who are tired of the mismanagement and despotic rule by ARMC Medical Director Dr. Dev GnanaDev have started speaking out.  And at least one has paid a price for doing so, that being the doctor in charge of Anesthesia, which is why his group’s contract is being extended rather than receiving a new 2-year contract like all others at the facility.  Dr. GnanaDev wants to replace him with one of his own but there is too much heat to do so right now.

The new series of contracts has one change and that is there is a separate contract for Dr. GnanaDev as medical director and one for Dr. GnanaDev for patient care.  However, the conflicts of interest still exist:

1. As corporate president and owner, Dr. GnanaDev has the right to select and provide the services of the Medical Director (GnanaDev again), who then has the right to appoint himself as Chair of the Department Of Surgery (GnanaDev yet again) and negotiate an Independent Corporate Contract to provide Administrative, Teaching and Supervisory services to ARMC by personally hiring all personnel by the Corporation that he owns and has appointed him Medical Director and Chairman of Surgery.  The county pays him a set amount for the performance of duties allocated to each position.
2. Not only does Dr. GnanaDev hire the personnel, he does their billing for them and retains 10 percent of the billings.  To maximize the earnings for these services he interferes with the proper operation of the O.R. schedule by demanding changes and activities that are in the best interests of the Department of Surgery, rather than the patients, O.R. personnel and Operating Surgeons in Specialty’s in which he has no financial interests.
3. Dr. GnanaDev negotiates on the Behalf of ARMC an Affiliation Agreement, part of which includes $300,000 per year paid by the Western University of Health Sciences to the county and then passed through to him. In addition his corporation may be receiving funds from the County for the same person to perform the same services.
4. Dr. GnanaDev has frequently been absent from his contracted duties as Medical Director and Chair of Surgery for over one year while he traveled around the country and state representing the needs and ideas of Physicians whose interests are totally opposed to those at ARMC.  In doing so he received a salary of $50,000 and all travel and related expenses.
5. As past President he continues excessive absences representing these same physicians and at the least is reimbursed for all expenses.
6. Dr. GnanaDev purchased land around the proposed location for ARMC including the large lot on the corner of Pepper and Valley View and has not reported said purchase on his FPPC form 700.
7. Dr. GnanaDev owns a billing group that does all billings for general surgeons and other specialty surgeons employed by his corporation at a rate of 10 percent of collections. Surgeons have stated that they have no choice but to use his services.

We have heard that Dr. GnanaDev and ARMC CEO Patrick Petre have attempted to influence County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux, knowing health care is not his expertise.   We also know that trying to get Supervisor Paul Biane and Supervisor Josie Gonzales to do the right thing in this matter is impossible because of all of the free care they received at ARMC.  We can only hope that the three remaining supervisors will do the right thing.

In makes no sense whatsoever to approve new 2-year contracts with this cloud hanging over the hospital.  Additionally, we are told yet another investigation into ARMC’s administration is starting tomorrow.  The prudent decision by the BOS would be to extend all current contracts 90 days so that the various investigations can be concluded and findings made before the county contracts for another $21.9 million are approved.

Dr. GnanaDev claims to have three votes in his pocket at all times,  I guess we will know for sure on Tuesday whether it is corruption as usual in this county or at least three members of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors have grown some backbone.

]]> http://iepolitics.com/2010/06/13/iepolitics-armc-our-bos-wants-more-stupid/feed/ 2 http://iepolitics.com/2010/06/09/iepolitics-chris-jones-defeated-yet-again/ http://iepolitics.com/2010/06/09/iepolitics-chris-jones-defeated-yet-again/#comments Wed, 09 Jun 2010 09:38:49 +0000 Administrator http://iepolitics.com/?p=3666 Some may not consider it a loss, but when a two-term incumbent cannot even pull 35 percent of the vote, it is a loss.  I will predict here and now that Paul Biane will lose to Janice Rutherford in November.

Again, we have a situation where a candidate/consultant ran a very dirty campaign and the voter’s saw through it.  Congratulations Janice!

Yep, that is right.  There are a few people who are shopping this weekend for leak-proof undergarments.   Monday the Rex Gutierrez criminal trial will be underway.

Let’s see . . . first up is our favorite yellow singing Canary, Confidential Informant No. 1, “persona au gratin,” the star witness for the prosecution  . . . Adam Aleman.  I wonder which stories he will tell next week.  There is such a long list of them.  Maybe it will be the one about the off-shore bank accounts. By the way Adam, Bill and Jim found their debit cards so they don’t need your help after all.  Or perhaps it is the $1.02 million Jim Brulte received in kickbacks.  Or the rat trap left on your porch.  The bullet through the mail, maybe? Oh, the list is endless.

So Adam, has the District Attorney’s office broken the news to you?  You know you will be on the witness stand right?  Remember my previous advice.  Wear a dark suit.  Then you won’t need the Depends.

Next up is the illustrious prosecuting attorney.  We hear he hasn’t taken a case to trial in over three years.  We hear Jim Reiss had a really big smile on his face on Friday.  We hear that Judge Rouse didn’t buy the “conspiracy theory.”  We are wondering why the “conspiracy theory” wasn’t presented at the prelim and why Rex wasn’t charged with conspiracy.  Oops, we forgot.  At the prelim, the District Attorney’s office was still hoping for a gift from Heaven . . . a smoking gun showing a crime had actually been committed.  Wonder what they are going to do now.  We hear that the District Attorney’s office has offered Rex a plea deal:  If Rex will plead to petty theft, Mikey will endorse him in his run for mayor . . . just kidding.  Maybe they aren’t THAT desperate, but we hear they are pretty close.  Their case has fallen apart but they can’t let the public know until after June 8.

Then there is the deputy attorney general.  We hear she is another attorney who hasn’t been in a jury trial in a very, very long time.  You see, the Attorney General’s office is used to prosecuting guilty people who will accept plea bargains . . . not innocents who will not plead to jaywalking.  We hear Jim Reiss is especially looking forwards to eating her alive and spitting out the bones.

Then there are the district attorney investigators who know they did wrong but were hoping as well for that miracle smoking gun.  Rumor is we shall see some “retirements” very soon.  Now in the Sheriff’s Department a criminal can “retire” and all of his misdeeds are forgotten.  But the FBI isn’t investigating the Sheriff’s Department, at least not yet, so cover up may not be the name of the game with malicious prosecutors and investigators who abuse people under color of authority.

And let’s not forget Mikey.  There is the matter of those six employees we haven’t been allowed to discuss on the blog yet.  Yeah, you know which ones.  Next week is going to be a free-for-all.  I can hardly wait.  We hear the feds can hardly wait either.  So what color jumpsuit do you think you’ll get Mikey?

Finally, there is the testimony I can’t wait for, and that is from Andrew Lamberto.  We do plan to point out once again how Andrew violated numerous county policies by lying under oath in his official capacity at the preliminary hearing.  So why hasn’t Andrew been fired yet?  Because we have a bunch of spineless board members, that’s why.  Collectively, they don’t have even one testicle between them.  So whatcha gonna do BOS about your department head committing perjury?  We all want to know.  Devereaux?  How about it?  Do you condone Andrew’s lying under oath and committing a felony?

]]> http://iepolitics.com/2010/06/06/iepolitics-a-few-worried-souls/feed/ 3 http://iepolitics.com/2010/06/04/appointed-sheriff-rod-hoops-endorses-his-good-friend-paul-biane-for-supervisor-again/ http://iepolitics.com/2010/06/04/appointed-sheriff-rod-hoops-endorses-his-good-friend-paul-biane-for-supervisor-again/#comments Sat, 05 Jun 2010 02:23:15 +0000 Candidates http://iepolitics.com/?p=3430 Hoops he did it again!  The legacy of the good old boy club continues.

Its time for a fresh start. Break the club. Its time. We deserve better.

Elect Paul Schrader as Sheriff of San Bernardino County 2010. www.sheriffpaul.net

A review of campaign finance disclosures filed with the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters this week gives some interesting twists in the race involving Second District Supervisor Paul Biane.

Biane is seeking a third term amongst a field of five challengers. A run-off is all but assured.

For the latest pre-election reporting period covering sixty days, Fontana Councilwoman Janice Rutherford raised $136,196.25, including a late contributions of $10,000.00. Rutherford has remaining cash-on-hand of only $7866.93.

Supervisor Paul Biane raised $101,756.00 for the same period and has remaining cash-on-hand of $188,645.12.

Biane has outspent Rutherford on a ratio of at least 2 to 1 and is retaining significant resources for a most likely November runoff election with Rutherford. A runoff in the same election as match-ups involving Meg Whitman vs Jerry Brown and Carly Fiorina or Tom Campbell vs Barbara Boxer, will be costly for both candidates.

The reason? High turnout.

In the November election, lower propensity voters will turnout in the supervisorial race due to the up-ballot contests, driving up costs for both candidates in reaching out to less-informed voters.

It’s the less-informed voters that can hurt any candidate.

This prospect hurts Rutherford, who will be under financial pressure depending on here showing on June 8th. Rutherford hiring Pennsylvania-based consultant Tab Berg was a mistake. Berg is definitely not on par with Sacramento-based Chris Jones, who is consultant to Biane. Rutherford’s early campaign literature was crap.

Rutherford may as well have designed her own mail literature.

An intensifying anti-incumbent mood could play against Biane, and any additional legal issues could make his reelection problematic.

Second-tier challenger, Chaffey Union High School Board member Art Bustamonte. could skew the primary numbers since he was able to run a skeletal campaign. Bustamonte’s mistake was using John Lightburn and Fred Shorett to help him. All these two men did was waste Bustamonte’s money and irritate people, including Bustamonte.

Of interest in the campaign finance reports, is Rutherford appears to have raised the bulk of her funds from interests related to two sources. Those being Beverly Hills-based developer David Weiner and Upland-based Lewis Group of Companies.

To read the rest of the article, click here.

Josie, do you know how stupid you sound?  Seriously.  Granted, your threat to speak out is a serious threat to any of us who have ever had to listen to you.  Hear you’re a bit worried about all the free medical care you received now that Mikey is no longer investigating.

Is Assemblyman Bill Emmerson (R-Hemet/Upland/Redlands/Wherever) turning against one of his strongest endorsers? For years, DA Mike Ramos and Bill Emmerson have been politically close. DA Mike Ramos has endorsed Emmerson for legislative offices through the years, and Emmerson has backed Ramos for district attorney.

However, is that supposedly close political relationship about to change?

With much fanfare, it was announced in February 2010 that DA Ramos believed that Second District County Supervisor Paul Biane (who was identified only as a “John Doe”) was an unindicted co-conspirator in alleged malfeasance related to the 2006 Colonies settlement. Biane, like most of those charged by Ramos, denies all allegations, and he himself has not yet been charged. However, at a press conference that attracted statewide media attention, Ramos made clear when unveiling Biane’s possible involvement in an alleged corruption scheme that the criminal investigation remains “ongoing.”

Given Emmerson’s closeness to Ramos, why then, is the assemblyman not only endorsing Paul Biane’s re-election, but actively campaigning for Biane?

Noteworthy: Supervisor Paul Biane’s top political aide is Omar Gonzales. Mr. Gonzales is married to Emmerson Field Representative and former Emmerson for State Senate Communications Director Gina Gonzales. Official FPPC documents disclose that Omar Gonzales himself received payments for work associated with Emmerson’s recent election campaign for State Senate.

Just this past weekend, Emmerson’s current legislative staff rallied around beleaguered Camp Biane and spent a Saturday door-knocking, precinct walking and encouraging Second District residents to vote FOR an individual whom DA Ramos has tagged as an unindicted co-conspirator.

That Assemblyman Bill Emmerson is inserting himself in this San Bernardino County regional race is surprising in itself, since former Redlands resident Emmerson relocated to Riverside County in order to accept a state senate seat in that jurisdiction.

Perhaps Emmerson is supporting a fellow politico whom he believes has been unfairly targetted by Ramos–that the allegations are inaccurate. Of course, if Supervisor Biane is being unfairly targeted, then surely others–like Bill Postmus and Jim Erwin–are as well.

Also of note, Bill Emmerson’s civil attorney (who defended Emmerson in a legal matter regarding a court challenge to Emmerson’s new Riverside County residency) is Jim Lacy. Lacy, who in addition to being an lawyer is also a prominent political slate mail vendor, just donated a mailing that blasted supposed deficiencies of DA Mike Ramos.

So, the question is this: Is Bill Emmerson associating with Ramos opponents because he has no faith in Ramos? Or is it a lack of faith in Ramos’ investigation?

The relationship between Bill Emmerson and those Ramos has in his cross-hairs is curious, to say the least.

Emmerson and his staff are clearly in league with DA Ramos’ targets, and it is odd that Emmerson, given his public support of Mike Ramos, is heavily engaged in Biane’s re-election campaign.

It’s highly likely that Ramos is learning of this association between Emmerson-Biane-Jim Lacy for the first time. So, if Mr. Ramos is reading this, the truth is clear: Bill Emmerson is actively helping those Ramos is investigating, while simultaneously befriending Mike Ramos and friends of Ramos.

The only question is “Why?”

As a child growing up with a mother who prescribed to old-fashioned thoughts about medical care, I was always told never to allow doctors to operate on cancer because exposing cancer cells to air would cause them to grow exponentially.  Of course, today we know how to use surgery to cure an otherwise fatal tumor.

Several years ago all of Southern California watched the crisis at the Los Angeles County-run King-Drew Medical Center.  If history can predict the future, we have a similar, fatal cancer growing at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) that needs to be excised fully and quickly.

The residents of San Bernardino County are being led to believe that the current investigations and accusations at San Bernardino County’s only county-run hospital are routine and relatively minor.  We keep hearing that they are part of the “learning process.”  ARMC has been in business for over 10 years and San Bernardino county has operated a hospital for decades before that.  If the county hasn’t learned how to run a hospital by now, I’m not sure it ever will.

ARMC Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Petre, and ARMC Medical Director, Dr. Dev GnanaDev, have been downplaying the recent state and federal investigations into medical care at the facility.  They attempt to describe them as routine.  These investigations are anything but routine.

When a hospital reaches a point where it is about to lose its Medicare and Medicaid (Medi-Cal) funding, it is serious.  It is so serious that such an event would likely cause the hospital to shut its doors.  And such a condition does not happen overnight.  By the time the Feds make this threat, they have found substantial and repeated violations that the hospital has not corrected after at least two previous warnings.  We are now at a critical stage and it requires critical measures.

It is time for Dr. Dev GnanaDev to be removed from ARMC.  He should not only be removed as the Medical Director, but his contract with the hospital should be canceled in total.  Too many stories of retaliation and heavy-handed tactics are surfacing, suggesting a man out of control.  Combined with some of the horrendous stories of patient abuse, our Board of Supervisors and County Administrative Officer owe it to the residents of San Bernardino County to take fiscally and morally sound action and replace GnanaDev when his contract expires on June 30, 2010.  Anything short of this action is dereliction of duty.

Insiders say that three other individuals need to also be replaced forthwith if there is any hope of ARMC surviving and regaining its stature in the community as a first-class trauma center.  They are:  Patrick Petre, Maureen Malone, and Frank Arambula.  All three of these individuals are accused of a systematic scheme of retaliation against any employee who speaks out about the wrongdoing at ARMC.

I can speak from personal experience as an employee of ARMC for a year.  I thought I was doing the right thing by telling former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer of the concerns employees brought to me regarding patient abuse, sexual harassment by managers, and multi-million-dollar billing issues.  At his request, I spoke with Petre and had other employees do the same.  The only result was for those employees to be disciplined or threatened with discipline, some for the first time in their entire careers, and for Uffer to remove me from a job he promised I could keep until I retired—for no disciplinary reason whatsoever other than I operate a blog that they were afraid I would use to expose what was going on at the facility.

I witnessed and experienced retaliation first-hand, at the hand of the powers that be at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.  If those powers that be were truly concerned about the hospital and the patients it serves, they would remove the cancer rather than killing the messengers.  Instead the cancer has metastasized into the most critical areas of administration.  All four individuals must be removed if ARMC is to survive.

So far in this series we have discussed the District Attorney’s office and the Conflict Panel.  There are three other components to justice, or the lack thereof, in San Bernardino County:  the Public Defender, the Sheriff’s Department, and the Superior Court bench.  Today, we will discuss the office of the Public Defender.

The Mission Statement on the wall of the Public Defender reads:

The Public Defender protects the constitutional rights of indigent defendants by providing skilled legal counsel and passionate advocacy at all critical phases of state level criminal and civil commitment litigation.

It is hard to believe that Public Defender Doreen Boxer would have the audacity to post such a blatant lie once one knows what really goes on at the Public Defender’s office.  iePolitics has been contacted by numerous Public Defender employees with stories of retaliation for helping clients and tales of conspiracy with the district attorney’s office to the detriment of justice.   And both actions seem to be allowed and rewarded.

But is it really that bad?  I mean, crooks going to jail, and deservedly so, is a good thing, right?.  The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads:

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

So, yes.  It really is that bad.  Anything that violates the Constitutional rights of any citizen of the United States is bad, very bad.  Perhaps today it is a serial murderer but tomorrow it could just as easily be you or I.  Once we lose our freedoms granted to us by the Constitution of the United States, America no longer exists.  And that why what is happening in San Bernardino County’s justice system is so troubling.  Literally, we are watching those who have committed no crime be prosecuted with malice.  And those who are trying to defend any who have been charged, punished for doing their jobs.

How did the condition of our justice system in San Bernardino County become so dire?  There is no one complete answer, but most of the answer revolves around one man:  a man of no moral character; a man with great political ambition; a man without conscious; a man with no respect for the profession in which he practices or the system of which he is a part.  That man, of course, is District Attorney Mike Ramos.

Through intimidation, illegal use of the powers granted to him under the law, and through placing his opponents in compromising situations, he has gained the upper hand in all matters of justice or injustice in San Bernardino County.  And that includes his relationship with the Public Defender’s office.

As pointed out in Part One, only in San Bernardino County would one find the District Attorney banging the Public Defender with no repercussions.  Our Board of Supervisors and our County Administrative Officer have chosen to look the other way.  As with every other wrongdoing in our county, “cover up” has been the name of the game.

So why would our own Board of Supervisors and County Administrative Office not take action?  The answer is simple.  All five members of the Board of Supervisors and the current County Administrative Officer have been threatened, publicly or privately, with prosecution of one type or another.  Once Ramos’ patsy, former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer, was removed from office and his successor was named, Ramos wasted no time making it known he was investigating County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux for a Fair Political Practices Commission violation.

Although the investigation may have started months before Devereaux’s appointment was officially announced, his appointment to the office was also known months before it occurred.  Anyone who thinks Ramos did this without an agenda clearly has their head stuck deeply in the sand.

But the issue with the Public Defender’s office goes deeper than simply the Board and CAO not providing adequate oversight to a department head who can’t keep herself out of compromising situations.  Staff members talk about a department head out of control; a manager who has little or no adult felony trial experience who attempts to micro-manager an experienced and highly successful criminal defense and that can only be construed as an attempt to assure defendants are found guilty, or preferably, plead out.

And as with the Conflict Panel, “plead out” is likely the most important term.  Defendants who plead rather than take their cases to trial cost the county a lot less money, at least up front.  Incarceration versus a “not guilty” verdict costs far more in the long run but our county has never been about long-range planning.  So getting a defendant to take a plea is the ultimate goal of both the District Attorney and the Public Defender.  It keeps costs under control and keeps members of the Board of Supervisors happy.  But in the end justice is not served.  But that does not matter to those who benefit from it, does it?

It does matter to those who care deeply about their jobs.  Attorneys in the Public Defender’s office could just as easily have become deputy district attorneys.  But they chose a profession where they felt called.  It is too bad our leaders don’t see the importance of justice in our county.  I wonder if they will feel any differently if they are indicted.  We can only hope the FBI is making a serious attempt to clean this mess up.  They seem to be our only hope now.  Time shall tell.

There is a lot I have not been able to write about the situation with Chief Dennen because of the precarious position he has been in due to plotting and conniving by former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer and Human Resources Director Andrew Lamberto.  Now that Pat is retiring from the county and taking a position with the state of California, I will be able to write the truth.  Expect to see some shocking revelations in the near future.

The secrets have been hard secrets to keep.  But I have hardly been the only one who knows the truth behind what happened last year.  Between Jim Erwin and me, we made sure a couple members of the Board of Supervisors knew too.  The one that I was directly responsible for was Chairman Gary Ovitt.

And knowing that Supervisor Ovitt knows the truth and has done nothing to fix the situation is bad enough, but the fact he didn’t even bother to send a representative to the Chief’s retirement dinner is reprehensible.  I know he is up for election and I’m sure he and his top staff members had election-related functions to attend, but for crying out loud, he has the largest staff.  He could have sent the lowest-level employee to at least make it look like he gives a crap about one of his department heads retiring after 36 years of service.  And since he knows what was done to Pat, this neglect makes it all the worse.

Similar behavior was expected from Supervisor Paul Biane and there will be a story on iePolitics soon about his contempt for County Fire.  So it is not surprising he did not have a representative at the function.

I have made a conscious effort not to attack the Fourth District in recent weeks because the animosity I feel towards Mark Kirk isn’t healthy for me.  But, I swear, the Fourth District consists of the most selfish individuals and sometimes one has to call a spade a spade.  This is one of those times.  Shame on you Chairman Ovitt.

Sometimes I really wonder who is the worst lawyer, District Attorney Mike Ramos or County Counsel Ruth Stringer.  From Ramos we have learned that the Constitution of the United States is not applicable in San Bernardino County, at least not in connection with political enemies.   And County Counsel Ruth Stringer has taught us that copulation involving public resources is covered by the “deliberative process” and therefore not subject to review, not that we wanted to review the copulation, only the expenditures attached thereto.

Now we find our two legal beagles are at it again.  Well, not with each other we hope, but in consort of sorts, with those at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) who wish to cover for the misdeeds of members of the Board of Supervisors, the county’s Medical Director Dr. Dev GnanaDev,  ARMC Chief Executive Officer Patrick Petre, and a handful of doctors and other ARMC employees.

Last Tuesday, San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Agenda Item No. 13 was debated.  It reads:

13) Approve the Joint Conference Committee Meeting Minutes of a meeting held on March 31, 2010, and direct the Clerk of the Board to maintain confidentiality pursuant to Evidence Code Sections 1157 et seq.

(Affected Districts: All)
(Presenter: Patrick Petre, Director, 580-6150)

Well when this inquiring mind saw the item and the fact that the Clerk of the Board would be directed to maintain confidentiality, it was obvious further investigation was required.  If one takes the time to read the actual item, it states:

A meeting of the Joint Conference Committee was held on March 31, 2010.

The agenda items discussed at this meeting included updates on the ARMC facility, Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit, medical staff issues, legislation, and state and federal budgets.

So, exactly why would updates on a building, legislation, and the state and federal budget require confidentiality?  To get to the bottom of it, I looked up Evidence Code section 1157, et seq., which reads in pertinent part:

1157. (a) Neither the proceedings nor the records of organized committees of medical, . . . shall be subject to discovery.

(e) The amendments made to this section by Chapter 1081 of the Statutes of 1983, or at the 1985 portion of the 1985-86 Regular Session of the Legislature, or at the 1990 portion of the 1989-90 Regular Session of the Legislature, or at the 2000 portion of the 1999-2000 Regular Session of the Legislature, do not exclude the discovery or use of relevant evidence in a criminal action.

Well, it is truly once again a matter of the “Stringer Rule of Law” or “baffle them with BS” and maybe no one will notice.  Evidence Code section 1157 has to do with peer review committees.  The Joint Conference Committee is NOT a peer review committee.  I understand the concept of peer review committees but not well enough to explain it to others.  Perhaps one of the doctors who reads this will take a moment to explain why the Joint Conference Committee is not the same as a peer review committee and what a peer review committee does.  But the bottom line is that Stringer, et al., are applying a law that does not apply in an attempt to cover up for Dr. GnanaDev’s misdeeds.  In this case the misdeed is the termination of the Anesthesia contract, or rather the reasons behind it, which we have discussed some and will discuss further in a separate entry.

To add insult to injury, our other legal beagle, Mike Ramos, has been conducting an investigation into ARMC.  We have known about this for weeks but were not free to discuss this on the blog.  The District Attorney’s office was supposed to serve a search warrant on ARMC a couple weeks ago to confiscate all the paper, handwritten files kept on Supervisors Biane and Gonzales, among others, and Mark Uffer.  These files prove the allegations of free health care, etc.  Sources are telling iePolitics that that did not occur but rather Ramos is allowing ARMC perpetrators to back-date documents and create computer entries for supervisors where none previously existed.

Fortunately, we also know that the United States Department of Justice is already here, watching Ramos’ every move, and they have expert forensic auditors that can undo this mess.  Someone asked me yesterday if I thought Dr. GnanaDev might be indicted.  As I watch the cover up at ARMC unfold, I am starting to think we are going to see a number of  current and former top-level county officials indicted, and it won’t be Ovitt, Kirk, Brown, Erwin, Postmus, Derry, Mitzelfelt, Burum or any of the others whose names are constantly bantered about as corruption figures.  To quote Waylon and Willie, it will be “doctors and lawyers and such.”  And deservedly so.  Mark, you should stayed on your horse.

This is why we need a fresh start in the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.  I have been at meetings where Rod Hoops has said there are big problems on the 5th floor with the Board of Supervisors and he will not go there without a witness with him.  Then he supports one of the problems. I also received the flier with Hoops and Ramos together.  The voters get it.

Why do we need a fresh start? When you have a cloud of corruption over all county government and the board appoints the Sheriff, it is time to vote out all the incumbants.

What do I want to bring into the Department?

Transparency

As part of my fresh start approach to the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, it will be my duty to see that the Department is above reproach in order to restore and retain the respect and trust of the public. My first objective is to make all areas of the Department transparent, especially the jails. There will be an open dialogue maintained with the community and community activists who have questions regarding the Department, including the jails.

In order to bring justice to those wronged and closure to those who have done right, I will have all internal investigations expedited. The community will know the truth, and Deputies will be treated fairly and in accordance with “The Peace Officer’s Bill of Rights”.

Elect Paul Schrader for Sheriff of San Bernardino County.

Everyone knows I have my normal friends and then I have my “political” friends.  I’m sure my “political friends” are happy with the suggestion that they are not “normal” but everyone else knows what I mean.

My “political” friends keep chiding me over my support of grass roots candidates.  To the man, they do not believe a single grass roots candidate stands a chance on June 8.   However, my “political” friends spend a majority of their time with their millionaire developer/businessmen/politician-type friends.  Fortunately for grass roots candidates, developers, wealthy businessmen and politicians only get to cast one vote each just like all of us peons.

Or do they?  Well, my political friends feel the only way to win a campaign is to raise lots of money and send out the most fliers.  Of course, those fliers are mostly paid for by contributions from developers, wealthy businessmen and political groups.  So, in an indirect way, I suppose it could be said that those individuals do have more than one vote, or at least the influence on how more than one vote are cast.  And those individuals are supporting incumbents.  Therefore, the conclusion by my political friends that incumbents are unbeatable.

But I’ve spend a good deal of time talking to real people these past weeks.  On the campaigns for which I have volunteered I have talked to hundreds of voters and there is a common theme.  Vote the bums out!  Young, old, black, white, male, female, it does not matter.  Voters are fed up with the status quo.  They say they are voting against all incumbents.

And, in doing some of what I’ve been doing lately, like the newsletter and the voter’s pamphlet, I thought the incumbents would blow me off, especially since I spend so much time criticizing them.  Instead, with one exception, Gary Ovitt, the incumbents have been quicker to respond and cooperate with what I’m doing than the grass roots candidates.  And I think that exception is just because Mark Kirk is so damn stubborn.  He better watch out because I’m starting to actually believe Ron Wall might stand a chance!   But I digressed to get in a barb.  (Pun intended Mark.)

I have learned in recent months that the average voter in our county has no clue who Bill Postmus, Mike Ramos, Rod Hoops, or anyone else is.  They don’t know there is a corruption scandal and they do not care.  But they do know this county, and especially this state, is a mess and it is time for change.  It will be interesting to see how it plays out on June 8.

The other day a friend of mine gave me the percentages by which each incumbent will win his seat with Supervisor Paul Biane being the only one that will have to wait for victory until November.  About three weeks from now, I may be the recipient of a quite a few “I told you so’s” that I’m so good at dishing out.  But I’m not ready to give up on my fellow San Bernardino County citizens.  I think every incumbent should be worried.

Evidence is surfacing that a major coverup is in progress at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC).  Allegations surfaced months ago that San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Second District Supervisor Paul Biane and Fifth District Supervisor Josie Gonzales received extensive free medical care at ARMC.  A complaint has been filed with the Fair Politicial Practices Commission (FPPC) alleging Form 700 violations due to the fact that these supervisors, along with former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer, received free medical care, which constitutes a gift of public funds, and did not report said gifts as required by law on their Form 700s.

Today, iePolitics learned that ARMC Chief Executive Officer Patrick Petre at the behest of  ARMC Medical Director Dr. Dev Gnanadev, has ordered privacy statements  be signed and backdated by ARMC employees in regard to anything they witnessed in reference to members of the Board of Supervisors or other elected and appointed officials who may have been given free  medical care at the facility.  It appears that this process has been put into place to interfere with a criminal and/or Grand Jury investigation into practices at ARMC.

iePolitics has been contacted by employees who have been threatened with HIPAA violations if  they discuss the wrongdoing at ARMC.  It appears every effort is being made to sweep the current scandal under the rug.

Additionally, iePolitics has learned that ARMC staff has been directed to enter previously off-the-chart doctor visits and medical procedures provided to elected officials into the hospital’s Medi-Tech system in what also appears to be an attempt to coverup past unethical practices.  Past practice has been for elected officials to make arrangements with Dr. Gnanadev for personal treatment that often is not charted so that there is no computerized record of their procedures and no billing.

Finally, iePolitics received clarification on the issue of co-payments for Board of Supervisors members and other officials.  The charging of co-payments is discretionary by the doctors as those are fees they themselves receive, not ARMC.  In other words, if a doctor chooses to waive a co-payment for a member of the Board of Supervisors that he/she would not waive for a regular patient, that is his/her prerogative and does not cost taxpayers anything.  However, from the standpoint of the board member, if the cumulative waiver over the calendar year reaches $50 or more it must be reported on his/her Form 700. That is not being done and is yet another, separate 700 violation.

(Click image to enlarge)

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San Bernardino County Supervisor Paul Biane (Pictured) saw his campaign sign in a neighbors yard and called the Sheriff’s Department to “remove his property” from the yard.

You will notice the change made to the artwork.

Anyone with verifiable information about these three can send it to me at sharon@iepolitics.com or PO Box 2722, Apple Valley, CA 92307.  Also, I can be reached at (760) 954-0280.

As mentioned in the last Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) article I wrote, San Bernardino County Supervisor Paul Biane had two MRI’s under anesthesia at the hospital.  As we have been reporting, board members frequently have procedures done without charting so that they do not have to pay for the procedures or co-pays.  And Biane expected the same in this instance.  But the anesthesiologist refused to complete the procedure without charting.  So Biane doesn’t want the contract renewed.  And Biane and Gnanadev cover for one another.  Are you listening Mike Ramos?

‘They said they’re putting me on leave to protect me from any possible retaliation, to take me out of the situation until they complete their investigation and to protect the county from any liability,’ Brown said Wednesday in a conference call from the office of his attorney, Sanford A. Kassel.

San Bernardino Sun, May 5, 2010

Two important things struck me about this quote.  First, “protect me from any possible retaliation.”  What a crock of bull!  Employee after employee in this county makes hostile work environment claims and is forced to work day after day with the perpetrator(s), sometimes even on those rare occasions when Andrew Lamberto can’t cover it up and the claim has been found to be true.  Why is Matt receiving paid Administrative Leave and special treatment?  This is disgusting!

This county not only does NOTHING to discourage hostile work environments for line staff, they encourage it.  One has to look no further than Service First to see that.  Every employee in this county was subjected to foul language, threats, and absolutely obnoxious behavior from an administrator.

And it is that administrator, FORMER County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer, that brings me to my next point.  Is there anyone close to this situation who doesn’t believe that Mark Uffer orchestrated this whole thing right down to getting Matt to use the same attorney Uffer uses?

There is honestly a part of me that feels sorry for Matt Brown.  Matt was one of many who was harassed by district attorney investigators.  Although I don’t agree to kowtowing to their whims, I do understand that a married man with a family and has other interests to look out for.  And so to a degree it is hard to blame him for what he did.  At the same time, there are certain things one does not do when they works for an elected official and he did one of them.  That is too bad.  I don’t like to see it and it makes me all the angrier with Mike Ramos.  Mike has ruined a lot of lives in the pursuit of his political career.

When I wrote the “John Doe No. 5″ post the other day, some of you may have noticed there was no suggestion of Supervisor Paul Biane doing anything wrong in connection with the Colonies settlement.  That is because I absolutely believe nothing was done wrong in the Colonies settlement.  Not by Paul or Gary or Mark or Bill or Jim or Jeff or Patrick or anyone else.  It really is too bad that Matt was intimidated enough into taking the action he took, but as I said, Mike’s scheme has a lot of victims.   And that is too bad too.

For some reason, my attitude towards medical marijuana confounds my fellow Republicans.  I absolutely believe medical marijuana should be legal and easily available to anyone with a valid prescription.  I have total contempt for what our San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors has done regarding this subject and feel the same way about any other city/county that has used loopholes to ban dispensaries in contempt of the will of the people.

I have never used marijuana or any other illegal drug in my life.  I doubt I could smoke a joint if I had to.  I don’t drink either.  But I do not see the difference between using marijuana and drinking alcohol, except that alcohol has fewer medicinal purposes.  Every one of our board members drinks, some to excess regularly.  They are complete hypocrites.

But the real argument for me is this.  If I have a medical condition and have two choices available to me, one a created chemical and one appearing in nature, which do I feel safer putting into my body?  Honestly, I would rather have the marijuana.  They would have to give it to me in capsule form, which is fine and effective.

I am not one to buy into the drug company conspiracy theories, but the medical marijuana issue is one area that gives those theories some credence.  I would be willing to bet if marijuana could be fully controlled and taxed, it would be the best new medication since Penicillin.  It is only because it can’t be controlled enough, that proponents are having such a difficult time.  And that is a shameful reason to deny sick and dying people something that may relieve their misery.

San Bernardino County Supervisor Paul Biane ended a not so good week taking an ironic slap at a former friend and colleague.

The week started with a new controversy surrounding a complaint from Biane’s chief of staff Matt Brown. Brown claims he’s being harassed and retaliated against for cooperating with county investigators in a probe which has targeted his boss. Brown’s complaint letter made waves for Biane most of the week.

Then yesterday comes along this beauty of a campaign piece delivered to Second District mailboxes.

Can you say awkward.

While stomping a former friend into the ground may be a viable tactical strategy, it doesn’t seem to be a great concept at this point in time. Considering one, Postmus, is currently a charged defendant and two, Biane is running from the same dark clouds.

Considering all the legal and political cross-currents.

When Biane fired the self-proclaimed shot at Postmus back in 2007 he ended up hitting himself in the back of the head. One things for sure. It doesn’t seem to have taught the two-term supervisor much of anything.

Biane is a candidate for reelection in a field of six, with Fontana Councilwoman Janice Rutherford the strongest challenger followed by Chaffey Union High School Board Member Art Bustamonte.

Rutherford being a female, and Bustamonte a Latino, brings gender and ethnicity into the mix. Both of which work against Biane.

If Biane continues to take body blows, it will be interesting to see if he can still place a strong first in the field and head to a likely November run-off.

To read the rest of this story, click here.