"The most consistent and smartest thinking and writing about progressive politics isn't happening in Sacramento, but being churned out day after day on sites and by organizations like Calitics, Orange County Progressive, and the California Budget Project." - CalBuzz
Attorney General Jerry Brown responds to the festering scandal surrounding the sale of the OC Fair Ground with a stunning move in a letter dated December 1st to the Chair of the OC Fair Board.
The AG's initial response was as an attorney representing a state agency, with the the 32nd Agricultural District Fair Board as a client. But he put the staff to work, found the relevant section of the law, and has left the eight Fair Board members and Orange County Republican insiders on their own.
In the letter from Matt Rodriguez, the ranking staff attorney in the AG's office, there's one killer sentence.
"Given the seemingly intertwined and potentially conflicting interests of the District, the District Board members and the nonprofit, we have determined that we should withdraw from providing legal services."
This may read like a simple bureaucratic letter, but in fact it's a stunning rebuke to the political appointees at the Orange County Fair Board. When you're a state agency, the Attorney General is your attorney. In general, when your attorney quits you, it's a devastating sign that you've really screwed the pooch. When your attorney is the Attorney General of the State of California, and he quits, it's probably time for a bunch of folks to be looking for criminal attorneys.
Jerry Brown acted decisively and quickly here, given the necessity of acting in the best interest of the state.
Update
Pacific Progressive does a nice job of covering this story, including a link to the letter.
Reggie's conclusion is obvious. We need a new Fair Board, with every member of the current board, and the Executive Director resigning.
We also need a new governance structure that includes appointees from different constituencies, including the City of Costa Mesa, the vendors, the equestrian community, and the agricultural community.
In response to formal requests from legal counsel from the OC Board of Supervisors, the Attorney General's office has responded by advising that the blatant violations of the law be prosecuted by the local DA, who stood silent as Sheriff Carona became such a cancer that federal prosecutors intervened.
Is Jerry Brown out of touch? How does he think he'll get the votes of over half a million Democrats in Orange County if he continues to blow off the scandal surrounding the sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds?
The story is simple yet complex. Eight patronage appointees of the Governor run a state agency, the 32nd Agricultural district, which runs the Orange County Fair. Until scandals erupted, they gave themselves and their friends hundreds of thousand of dollars a year in free passes and front-row concert tickets. Sheriff Mike Carona's wife Debbie was a Fair Board Director, and there are reports of a concert where 300 of her friends had free tickets to a sold-out concert.
Earlier this year, the Fair Board lobbied to have the state sell the Fairgrounds as part of a budget package and simultaneously created a corporation to buy the Fairgrounds.
The details have trickled out, but it's an ugly story where the rule of law was a victim.
And the legal representative for the Fair Board has been a Deputy Attorney General, somehow silent or complicit while there was an open conspiracy to violate public meeting laws, as well as clear conflicts of interests, and failure to comply with laws regarding lobbyists.
Does Jerry know about the scandal himself?
Yep, I cornered him at the E-Board meeting, where he admitted he was aware of the issue. He can't deny that he is protecting his inept Deputy AG's, while ignoring a conspiracy to defraud the taxpayers of the state, with blatant conflicts of interests, a conspiracy to violate open meeting laws and illegal lobbying by Dick Ackerman.
The story started with coverage of the Fair Board by one local blog, where activists alerted us the stench and we've been writing about this since February. This OC Progressive post that was cross-posted at Calitics lays out the story.
The Attorney General's office is the legal representative for the 32nd Agricultural district, which controls the Fairgrounds, and the Deputy AG who has been at the meetings has been disappeared, with an email address that bounces back and a disconnected voice mail.
Democrats now have a candidate with a knit hat and a red and white striped sweater, hiding in the background of the picture.
But wait, he also wants it overturned? That's the news EQCA broke. Apparently even though Jerry Brown wants H8 enforced now, he ultimately wants it overturned in the future by the federal courts.
After the flip is the announcement from Geoff Kors. I guess this is ultimately good news, but it's hard to keep up with all the new twists and turns in the ongoing Prop H8 saga.
To be fair, I'm letting you know about this message I just got from Jerry Brown... Yes, our current AG who's running for Governor but doesn't want you to realize it yet. You know, he's known for more than just dating Linda Ronstadt over 30 years ago. Jerry actually has a long history of environmental progress!
EPA to Adopt California Emission Standards
Dear Friends:
After years of battling the Bush Administration and the car companies, we are on the eve of a major victory. California and President Obama have reached an agreement with the auto companies -- they will drop their lawsuits and embrace new Federal emissions standards based on California's historic legislation curbing greenhouse gas vehicle emissions.
This is an historic agreement that will lead to a fleet wide vehicle standard of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016, four years earlier than Federal law requires.
This agreement will lead to a 30% reduction in motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions nationwide and will end a seven year legal battle, with the automakers finally accepting that their future depends on cleaner and more efficient vehicles.
Go to www.jerrybrown.org to get the latest on this breaking news.
My goodness, what a convention we had! The "mainstream" corporate media may have just seen it as a massive foodfight, but beneath the surface something amazing happened. As I saw and Calitician Robert Cruickshank noted, the "Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party" finally started to take control of the CDP.
Progressives flexed their muscle yet again at this convention, showing that they are the force to be reckoned with in the party - even if progressives did not always speak with a single voice. The refusal to endorse Propositions 1A, 1D and 1E was a sign that progressive delegates are not going to be dictated to by Democratic leaders, and that they feel empowered to say "No" when it is warranted. That's a sign of a healthy and mature progressive movement. People power is here in the California Democratic Party - and although it has yet to find sustained expression, it's only a matter of time before that power revitalizes the party.
As all of you who followed my Tweets saw, the vote was close on all the May Special Election Initiatives. And yes, debate was heated. But while the "mainstream" reporters were just focusing on how "divided!!!!" we were (like this was the first time?), they missed what the rest of us saw. They missed the progressive grassroots taking charge, speaking truth to power, and letting their voices be heard at what's supposed to be their convention.
Let me explain my thoughts some more after the flip...
What I saw at the convention on Saturday: Growing excitment about San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's race for governor, a visit to the Governor's mansion with Jerry Brown and a contentious Controller race that turned out to be not much of a race. And a former Fugee!
Newsom gave a great speech on Saturday, which featured a line that was on many delegates lips throughout the day. "So what are we going to do next year - will we offer the voters of California a stroll down memory lane, or a sprint into the future?" Newsom asked.
Newsom's speech, his continual recitation of his progressive record in San Francisco and the organization he had in Sacramento this weekend have greatly raised the profile in the race for the Democratic nomination for governor.
But Attorney General Jerry Brown, who is expected to run for governor, but hasn't declared so yet, had a few things to say as well. He touted his record and the record of his father in his speech to delegates. He worked the crowd like he was running at his "Recession Reception" at the former Governor's Mansion, and many Jerry Brown 2010 buttons were spotted.
Eric Bradley lost his re-election bid to Hilary Crosby. Bradley unfairly wound up as the target of activists angry at outgoing Party Chair Art Torres for giving millions away to former State Senate Leader Don Perata and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. In reality, it probably doesn't matter much who the controller is, the real power will still reside with new Party Chair John Burton.
Torres was honored on Saturday evening at a tribute dinner, and every speaker at the convention has had kind words for the outgoing chair, who has been the party chair for 13 years.
Later, hundreds partied at the Wyclef Jean Block Party sponsored by Newsom. A good time was had, but many were expecting a larger crowd.
This morning, the only exciting thing on the Democratic menu, is the question of whether the delegates will support an endorsement of the state budget propositions, particularly 1A. More on that later.
Look who's serving beer in a tent at the Jerry Brown reception at the former Governor's mansion. It's Joe Kerr and Tony Bedolla of the OCPFA, the Orange County Professional Firefighters. I don't know if they're endorsing Brown, or just showing that they know where the real power is at a political convention.
From what we've seen at the convention, where Mayor Villaraigosa was notable by his absence, the Govenor's race is between Gavin Newsome, channelling Obama, vs Jerry Brown, perhaps the most qualified candidate in California history.
Using the former Governor's mansion as the backdrop for his convention party highlights the essence of Brown's campaign. The last governor to live in the mansion was Pat Brown, and it's impossible to see Brown in this setting without feeling his central position in the history of the state. Jerry Brown was first elected to follow a Republican actor-Governor in the post-Watergate era.
