Tom Schultz from the News-Press did an excellent job today in covering the financial reports in the Goleta race. Although the candidates seem to have raised similar amounts of money within a few thousand dollars, there is far less of an even field when we look at PAC donations.
The South Coast PAC -- the PAC where you can't tell where the Chamber ends and it begins -- has raised more than $25,000 in the race. Most unsettling, however, to see that out-of-towners are spending money on this race. A Goletans for Fiscal Responsibility has raised more than $14,000 and locked up a few slates with $4,600 in expenditures on behalf of Bennett and Onnen.
Strangely enough, Schultz reported that the PAC lists a Shadowbrook Drive address for the organization and a Sheriff's Department uniform was seen on it's doorknob. I guess Ablitt's delivers. The committee's treasurer lives in Laguna Niguel and and another PAC member lives in Orange County as well. Expect a mailer from Hawxhurst screaming "Goleta is not for sale!". It also seems that the News-Press "no address" policy is still in place.
Bennett's quote about not having "a bunch of fat cats" was hard to digest considering the SCPAC and GFR largesse, good enough for several city-wide mailers....
So if one wonders again about The Wall separating the Opinion Church from interfering with the News State in the newspaper content, this address that is forbidden to publish is yet another example.
ReplyDeleteThe local address of a Political Action Committee (PAC) that intendes to influence Goleta City politics is totally newsworthy and the public should know the address. That is how this game is played. All Schultz the writer could do was give the nearest 100 addresses ("6800 block of Shadowbrook Drive"), but also offered a clue about the uniform hanging outside that house.
That whole article revealed, without the exact address, that Orange County developers ("investors") are working with a Deputy Sheriff and are funding challenger candidates for Goleta City Council. Are any such interests also funding a candidate for Second District Supervisor?
Food for thought - County Parks & Rec, California Dept of Corrections, Forest Service, Animal Control, etc, all wear the same type uniform as a deputy. Unless you get up close and personal with the patch, it's not always easy to tell which department a person is with. But then, it could also be a "prop" uniform for an political ad.
ReplyDeleteI just can't envision a "cop" letting his/her uniform hang on a door and advertise to all where they live. They'd get in a huge amount of trouble if their uniform was stolen and used in a crime. dd
New York City investor Stephen Mann = Alvin Dworman = Bacara = John Davies
ReplyDeleteFYI from Google search Steven Mann & Alvin Dworman
ReplyDeleteItem 5. Other Information
At a Board of Directors meeting held on December 21, 2000, the Board of
Directors acted to expand the Board of Directors from nine to eleven directors
thereby creating two additional vacancies in addition to three other vacancies
on the Board. Further, acting in accordance with the By-Laws of the Company, the
Board of Directors filled all five vacancies by appointing Mr. Jerome R.
McDougal and Mr. Francis L. Bryant, Jr. (who had previously been incumbent
directors) and Ms. B.J. Hoppe to the 2003 class of directors and Mr. Nelson L.
Stephenson and Mr. Stephen Mann to the 2002 class of directors. Mr. Alvin
Dworman, Mr. James J. Houlihan, Jr. and Mr. Edward V. Regan remained in office
in the 2001 class of directors, Mr. David A. Shapiro remained in office in the
2002 class of directors and Mr. David J. Liptak and Jeffrey E. Susskind remained
in office as directors elected by the holders of the Company's outstanding
preferred stock.
The Board of Directors also acted to engage Ernst & Young, LLP as independent
auditors of the Company for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001 upon
recommendation of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors elected take the action discussed above to avoid the time
and expense of calling and convening an annual meeting of the stockholders of
the Company.