I’ve been writing about Capistrano Unified School District and the struggles with our current Board of Trustees.  The teachers went on strike today even as talks began regarding the contract imposed by the Board of trustees.

The details are important because they seem to be getting lost in translation between the media, the administration, the union and the parents.  The issue is that Teachers are willing to take pay cuts, they just don’t want them to be permanent.  There are other issues as well, which I’ve written about but the real issue is the board, who funded their race and the ultimate goal of a variety of organizations to privatize our public education system.

Capistrano Unified School District is ground zero for this fight.  It has been documented in an hour long film called Not as Good as You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School.

Pacific Research Institute is the maker of this documentary and have used it to push their expansion of privatization of public schools and rather than support the structure that is there, the system that has proven to be successful for many years in the past, they are asking for funding for Charter schools and vouchers, which will further weaken our public school system.  This is their rallying call.

Not as Good as You Think was the first-ever study to evaluate student performance in schools located in California’s middle-class and affluent neighborhoods. While this study focused on California, its findings received national recognition. The book was the subject of an editorial by the Wall Street Journal, as well as the basis for Lance Izumi’s appearance on CNBC’s Kudlow & Company. The authors of Not as Good as You Think gave major addresses at the Heritage Foundation, briefed staffers in the White House, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the U.S. Department of Education. Op-eds on the book’s findings have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, New York Sun, San Diego Union-Tribune, San Francisco Examiner, and other newspapers across the country.

In California, Lance Izumi and Vicki Murray briefed Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s top advisors, state legislators, legislative staff, and key education policymakers.  As a result, for the first time in six years, five school choice bills were introduced in Sacramento. The historic number of bills included an opportunity scholarship, a disability voucher, and a safe schools voucher.

Emphasis mine

This film was also brought to Washington and shown to people in Congress.  It’s not an Orange County problem, it’s not just a California problem, this is a National issue.

WASHINGTON – A libertarian think-tank that prominently features the Capistrano Unified School District in a documentary about how the U.S. public school system is broken will screen its 49-minute film this afternoon on Capitol Hill.

“Not as Good as You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School” recounts a five-year effort by the CUSD Recall Committee parents group to bring reforms to a school district plagued by scandal, community unrest and allegations of corruption reaching into the highest levels of its administration.

…

“We have made a national impact here in Capistrano Unified,” said Recall Committee leader and parent Tony Beall, a Rancho Santa Margarita city councilman. “It’s nice that our efforts are being recognized at the U.S. Capitol.”

The 2:30 p.m. screening will be hosted by two leading GOP lawmakers – U.S. House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., the senior Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee.

OC Register

So, there is a trail here of players and one of the is Tony Beall.

OC Register June 24, 2008: HIGH FIVE:Tony Beall (settlement recipeient), left, member of the CUSD recall committee, high fives his wife Jennifer (recall recipient), as they celebrate election results that recalled CSUD trustees Sheila Benecke and Marlene Draper and the election of trustees Sue Palazzo and Ken Maddox to replace the ousted board members. Mike Winsten is in the background as is Craig Alexander. Mr Alexander is on the Board of Directors for The Education Alliance. 1

From the Orange County Register: June 24, 2008 special election victory party at the home of Tony and Jennifer Beall (settlement recipients). Also pictured are Mike Winsten, Ken Maddox, Donna Furniss (settlement recipient), Tom Russell (settlement recipient), Juli Pehrson (original claimant), Sue Palazzo, and others. 2

Source

So, settlements?  Supporters, what does this mean?  

Trustees Mike Winsten and Ken Maddox voted in favor of an out of court settlement resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars being paid to individuals who financially contributed to or supported their candidacies to the CUSD Board of Trustees.

Justifications

Two settlements were reached with CUSD residents who had sued the District over an alleged “enemies list” kept by former CUSD administrators.

The first settlement was approved on a 7-0 vote on September 15, 2009 and resulted in $475,000 being paid to the Case and Reardon families. Jim Reardon contributed directly to Trustee Maddox’s campaign.

The second settlement was approved on a 4-0 vote and resulted in $178,350 being paid to the Beall, Russell and Furniss families. Trustees Addonizio, Christiansen and Palazzo recused themselves from this vote. Maddox stated that those three trustees abstained because the families receiving the settlements had lent money to the political action committee that had elected the three to office.

Trustees Maddox, Winsten, Bryson and Brick voted to approve both settlements which resulted in a total of $653,350 being paid to these families. CUSD insurance policies covered most of these payments but at least $100,000 came directly out of the CUSD general fund to pay the insurance deductible. With more than $550,000 being paid by the insurance company the District’s insurance premiums are likely to be greatly affected. The Beall and Russell families were the primary supporters of the previous recalls and elections that resulted in the current seven trustees being elected to the CUSD Board of Trustees. Mike Winsten chose Mr. Beall to be the person who swore him into office when he was elected to the CUSD Board of Trustees.

Sources

Orange County Register 9-29-09

http://www.ocregister.com/news…

Mike Winsten’s campaign platform, October 26, 2008

“Conflict of Interest Code Draft and adopt a more stringent Conflict of Interest Code that sets standards far greater than the sham standards set by state law, that ensures there are no more cozy hidden relationships involving sole source contracts for years and decades, between CUSD vendors and Administrators, like we have heard about in the recent past;”

– Mike Winsten’s campaign platform Oct 26, 2008

Maddox and Winsten Contributions – Out of Court Settlements Summary – Document is posted on the recall website:

http://www.caporecall2010.org/…

Source

So this is a board struggling with deficits?  Hundreds of thousands of dollars going to people who supported and funded their campaigns.  These people are closely related in business and with the local Republican party and with the Education Alliance.  The Capo Recall 2010 Website outlines millions of dollars of other obscene unnecessary expenditures as this board, on their private recall site continues to call teachers, “Selfish Public Employee Unions” and “Greedy union leaders”.

So who supported this slate of “reformers”?  As I mentioned, Education Alliance is behind the board and their website is clear about their goals.

History

History of the Education Alliance:

Electing Conservative School Board Members

The Education Alliance was formed in 1994, and operated as a political action committee supporting candidates who support local control of our schools, the rights of parents to make educational choice for their children, and an emphasis on basic, academic instruction.

…

Since the 1990’s the performance of our schools has continually declined. Today it is still far below its potential, and the control of our education system by the elite, liberal bosses who run the teachers unions have been consolidated and are now more complete than ever. Even the most modest changes, such as merit pay and charter schools, are strenuously opposed using the funds of teachers who often support these proposals. This was shown in the 2005 special election in which overwhelming union spending was used to defeat Governor Schwarzenegger attempts at reform.

The Education Alliance began to become the organization committed solely to giving a voice to parents and teachers who support excellence for our children through means other than the liberal, self-serving policies of the teachers union leadership and their allies in the education establishment.

The site is full of buzzwords, from local control and “basic” education,  and they call charter schools “modest changes”.  Of course they also like to bash the “liberal” teacher’s unions, which tends to forget the fact that many teachers in Souther Orange County are Republican.  Republicans support public education and this is a fight about extremism.  And Education Alliance is as about extreme as they come.

Here is their Platform

The Education Alliance exists to promote the betterment of our educational system for the benefit of parents, children and society as a whole.

The Education Alliance arose and exists to further each of the following self-evident principles of an effective education system, and to help insure that these fundamental principles are adhered to by those who seek to govern the educational process:

Academic excellence and the teaching of the “Three R’s”should be the hallmark of our education system and we should resist any attempt to impose upon our schools any other goals, objectives or ideologies.

How school districts are run belongs under the control of local parents and taxpayers, not the State or Federal governments.

Parents and other local citizens are closest to, and care the most about, the children in their communities. Therefore, all control over funding, expenditures, curriculum and all matters of administration of publicly run schools should remain in the hands of local parents, voters and locally elected school boards. The more control the State government asserts over local education decisions the less responsive our schools are to local needs. Federal control of education strikes at the very heart of the system of federalism established by the founding fathers of our country and must be resisted. Funding of education by the State and Federal governments is a primary means of exercising control. The failure of many existing school board members to resist both increased State and Federal control of our schools is error.

We therefore believe that all attempts to increase State or Federal control over any aspect of our education system or its funding should be resisted.

Students in the United States should be instructed in the English language.

One indivisible Nation such as ours must be united by a single common language. Failure to follow this policy will lead to an unnecessary and disruptive commercial, social and regional balkanization of the populace and contribute to impoverishment of those who are not educated in English.

We therefore believe our education system has the duty to insure that all students have an opportunity to become proficient in English quickly and that once English proficiency is achieved that all students receive their educational instruction in English.

The unions and other special interests currently control our education system for their own gain and to the detriment of our children.

The proper function of teachers’ unions is not to dictate educational policy, but to support teachers in collective bargaining of wages and working conditions. Unions have usurped unto themselves the role of educational policy makers. Union dues which are taken from teachers’ salaries without the teachers’ consent are used to fund political activities which they often disagree with. the election of school board members who represent the Unions, not the teachers, parents or the local voters. This has allowed the Unions’ handpicked candidates to gain majority status on most school boards and to therefore control educational policy. School board policy should be made for the benefit of children, not Unions.

We therefore support eliminating any ability of the Unions to require membership or dues to be paid as a condition of employment. We also support eliminating the absolutely indefensible practice of allowing districts to act as collection agents for the Unions by taking dues directly out of employees checks.

Our schools must impart positive values and discipline to students in order to maintain an optimum learning environment and to properly prepare students for life as productive citizens after school.

All educational processes necessarily impart values of some sort to their pupils. We reject the fallacy that it is possible to educate children in a “value neutral” manner. It is no more possible to govern schools in a “value neutral” manner than it is to govern an entire nation or state in such a manner. Likewise, just as it is not possible to govern an entire nation or state that is in anarchy, it is not possible to govern a school system or a class that is in anarchy and where discipline is neither maintained nor enforced.

We do not support teaching religion in our schools. Liberal defenders of an education system devoid of values charge that the teaching of values is somehow synonymous with teaching religion. We believe that this is a ridiculous and is designed by the defenders of the educational status quo in an attempt to deflect attention from their own failures.

Is it getting clearer here?  The most appalling thing is that teachers are some how the other, that as local community members they wouldn’t understand what might be best for their students, that they would only be interested what’s best for their own gain.  This is the gist here.  It’s an adversarial stance that creates a hostility between parents and teacher.

The agenda is privatization and it’s insidious.  And our board was supported by this PAC, specifically created to vote in School Board members to support their agenda.

So now it’s all abouttracing the money.

Also waiting to be seen at this point is how much of a financial role the CUSD Recall Committee will play in the June 24 special election. The committee raised eyebrows after reports that it received $17,000 from the Tustin-based Education Alliance, a group that supports education vouchers and local control over schools. It opposes bilingual education and contends teachers’ unions are too powerful. The Education Alliance also gave $5,000 directly to Bryson.

The Education Alliance was co-founded by Mark Boucher, a member of the Republican Central Committee. Rancho Santa Margarita City Councilmember Tony Beall, a leader in the CUSD Recall Committee, is also running for the Central Committee. They would both represent the 71st Assembly district. Also on that list? Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson is an incumbent seeking re-election, and Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, bumping against term limits, is also seeking on the district’s six seats.

And tracing the relationships through articles and nuances, this board has been watching through the last couple of years and there are signs here and there that people get it but not enough people get it.

“There’s a new battle being waged in Capistrano Unified, and it is every bit as dangerous as the battle voters just won,” says district parent Tony Beall, addressing the board of trustees he helped elect as a leader of the CUSD Recall Committee. “Many who directly profit from CUSD’s multimillion-dollar budget are continuing their efforts to frustrate and roll back reforms.”

Beall, a Rancho Santa Margarita city councilman who speaks with the nasal precision of the elder George Bush, has mastered the art of political euphemism. He thinks teachers and staff are making trouble because they don’t like the board’s recent suspension of A. Woodrow Carter, the retired army colonel who has served as CUSD superintendent since September 2007. Trustees say that personnel laws prevent them from saying why they voted 6-1 behind closed doors on Jan. 6 to put the popular superintendent on paid administrative leave after hearing scores of constituents praise him. Carter’s seat at the dais at the Jan. 12 meeting is empty, and the many parents, teachers, students and district employees who say Carter was the most honest, effective, friendly and helpful superintendent they’d ever worked with (CUSD has gone through four people in the top spot since Fleming left in 2006) took the board’s vote as a troubling sign. (The Weekly’s efforts to reach Carter for comment were unsuccessful.)

Campbell’s words jab against rumors that the reform trustees, whose campaigns were largely financed by such conservative groups as the Education Alliance and Howard Ahmanson’s Fieldstead & Co., seek to sabotage public education from the inside out. The Education Alliance, which publicly opposes the influence of teachers’ unions, has been a point of contention for the new board’s critics. The Capistrano Unified Education Association, the local teachers’ union, endorsed trustee Christensen and current board president Ellen Addonizio when they ran in 2006; after the Education Alliance got more involved, though, the union vocally and financially backed the opponents of the “reform” slate in 2008. Posts on the website of the local chapter of the California School Employees Association (CSEA), which represents classified staff (including custodians and librarians), say Carter’s dismissal may have been part of a plan to “break the union,” a charge the trustees deny.

Source

And directly from our local Red County Blog, a press release from Education Alliance regarding the recall.

Dear Education Alliance Supporters:

As you might have heard, last Tuesday the voters of the Capistrano Unified School District voted to recall trustees Sheila Benecke and Marlene Draper. The vote was very lopsided – over 69% voted in favor of the recall. This result was a great victory for everyone involved in the recall and, most importantly, for the students attending Capistrano Unified schools. This district has been run into the ground for almost two decades by incompetence and corruption. At last, the Capistrano Unified School District is governed by a majority of trustees who are committed to reform.

The credit for this victory rests primarily with the CUSD Recall Committee, and it leaders, Mike Winston, Tom Russell, and Tom and Jennifer Beal. They have been working on this for 5 years and have devoted countless hours to documenting the problems in this district, gathering signatures, and campaigning.

The Education Alliance also played a major role by providing financial support that was instrumental to the effort. Many of the funds for this purpose were raised at the Dennis Prager dinner last year, which many of you attended. The recall opponents attempted to make the Education Alliance an issue by orchestrating newspaper stories and emails with dire warnings of outsiders trying to take over Capistrano Unified for some sinister purpose. Unfortunately for them, this scare tactic backfired. Most voters like what we stand for – excellence in education, the rights of parents to make choices for their children, and local control of our schools.

Thank you for your support of the Education Alliance. Together, we are making a difference for our children.

Mark Bucher, Chairman

Education Alliance

There you go, right from the Education Alliance themselves.  And so today teachers were on the picket line, walking to fight for not their pay, not to keep money in their pockets but to fight for public education.

Just go to the Capistrano Unified School Districts Webpage and you will see that the board put two new Charter Schools on their agenda today while teachers walked the picket line.

Do you think that’s not on purpose?  Do you think that Charter Schools being offered on the same day that teacher strike is just a coincidence?

The strike is becoming a national issue since the Huffington Post is covering it but will Education Alliance be written about?

I need you to learn more about and spread the word and let your neighbors, friends and family know that this fight is not about money, class size or  the greedy unions.  It’s about keep public education the best it can be and truly public and within local control.

The Teacher’s issued this statement just about an hour ago which changes the whole situation for CUSD.

Capistrano Teachers Issue Bargaining Proposal Designed to Prevent Strike Challenge Capistrano School Board to back up words with action

ALISO VIEJO – Challenging the Capistrano Unified School District Board of Education to back up vague offers to “entertain discussion” related to bargaining, the 2,200 members of the Capistrano Unified Education Association invite the board back to the bargaining table to negotiate, based upon the following proposals:

The board will reverse the permanent nature of salary and benefits cuts they imposed March 31 by making them temporary;

There will be no increase in class size;

The board will restore salary, unpaid work days, and benefits cuts if unforeseen funds are received;

The board will implement already agreed to contract language that deals with working conditions, transfer of teachers, and leaves as stipulated to in the fact finding hearing.

“It has never been the goal of Capistrano teachers to strike,” said CUEA President Vicki Soderberg. “We have always been willing to bargain in good faith, and we immediately accepted the neutral fact finder’s settlement recommendation. Although the CUSD school board’s unilateral imposition forced us into voting a strike authorization, we much prefer to settle our differences through bargaining.”

“In recent media reports and direct communications to teachers, the CUSD Board of Education has implied that they are willing to bargain with the teachers, but the board has yet to make a formal, direct proposal to CUEA. We want our members, our students, the public, and the board to be perfectly clear that we do not want to strike and that we want to reach a negotiated settlement. We challenge the board to live up to their recent statements and accept our proposal for an agreement,” said Soderberg

Over Thursday and Friday of last week, Capistrano Unified School District teachers took a vote on whether to strike due to the total break down in communications with their Board of Trustees over contract negotiations.

The vote was pretty overwhelming for the teachers to strike and the continued obfuscation by the BOT astounds me as I read the local papers take on the back and forth.  The Orange County Register is the paper of record for local residents, it’s where we get information and although it’s their job to report, not decide it disheartens me to see the board continue to misrepresent their position and that of the Teacher’s union.

Follow me…

According to the OC Register almost 87% of the teachers who voted support a strike.  And still the board insists that the Teacher’s Union has negotiated in bad faith even though they agreed to all the terms of the fact finding group, all of which would be temporary.  

This is one of the big sticking points for the parents and the teachers, the BOT is asking for those to be permanent even though many of us hope this economic downturn will be temporary in nature.  And another of the issues has to the do with a clause in the contract that would allow the BOT to make further cuts if necessary without having to go back to the negotiating table.

So this is how the OC Register paints the following scenario by the quotes printed by Lopez-Moddox, one of the Board of Trustees and also a target of a new recall effort led by area parents unhappy with the direction the new board is taking.

Lopez-Maddox said it would be impractical to “begin an entire year’s worth of negotiations over now” and emphasized that the school board has tried to be responsive to teachers, despite the imposed pay cut.

Well, obviously this is misleading because they wouldn’t have to start all over, it wouldn’t be a year’s worth of negotiations.  They would be sitting down and starting with the fact finders proposal which the Teacher’s union has already accepted, it solves the fiscal impasse that the district is facing and is the whole point of such a uninvolved party taking place in negotiations.  There would be no reason to start over unless you aren’t willing to talk at all and you would prefer to make it seem like that’s the only solution.

Just hours before approving the imposition, the school district removed a clause that was generating considerable angst among teachers, Lopez-Maddox noted. The clause stated that Capistrano Unified “reserves the right to implement further reductions, consistent with its pre-impasse offers, should the district’s fiscal outlook deteriorate beyond current budget projections.”

Just an hour prior to the Board of Trustees meeting during a closed door session.  Just hours before.  Yes, they really are kind of doing things last minute and creating a great deal of chaos in the process for teachers and parents, creating chaos and worry, their own little fiefdom of shock doctrine.

Also, trustees on Wednesday expressed a willingness to meet with union leaders to discuss whether the pay cut will become temporary – via a non-bargaining route known as a memorandum of understanding – although they said they would not reopen contract negotiations.

Okay, so how is this being cooperative when everything in this statement says they want to go via a “non-bargaining” route and they “would not reopen contract negotiations”?   If they had merely sat down before they had voted their own contract this wouldn’t be an issue.  And the question is, what’s the point if it’s not even binding?  This is something that I’ve read elsewhere, that this MOU is not binding in cases of salary negotiations.

“We can never make them happy no matter what we try to do,” Lopez-Maddox said. “Every time the teachers union comes to the board and asks for X, we say OK. Then they say, ‘That’s not good enough. We want you to do Y.’ They have a moving target.”

Which of course is not true, there is no moving target, the teachers were clear from the start what was at issue with the Board of Trustee’s contract.  They have been the ones to negotiate via the media, piecemeal and only half-heartedly.  This is not how you take contract negotiations seriously.  This is not how you bargain with a group of professionals and expect a positive outcome.

And the reaction from the board via press release was also rather disappointing as well.

PRESIDENT BRYSON RESPONDS TO STRIKE AUTHORIZATION

“We are very disappointed that teachers in our district have authorized their union leaders to call a strike. A teacher walkout will be a political statement by the union that will not change the fiscal reality we face as a school district or the need to move forward with the level of concessions required in the CUEA contract. Individual teachers will be asked to pay the price in lost wages for that union decision. The Board of Education has made it clear that we are ready to meet with CUEA to discuss a memorandum of understanding about the temporary nature of these cuts should our fiscal situation improve. The union has rejected this sincere offer and is demanding that we resume the same unproductive talks that led us to this point. We simply cannot do that.

It is time to move on for the benefit of our students and our community. Should CUEA notify the district that they will, in fact, strike, we will take appropriate steps to notify our community and continue to move forward with the important job of educating our students.”

Anna Bryson, President

CUSD Board of Education

What unproductive talks, there have been no talks!

And this is priceless, “Individual teachers will be asked to pay the price in lost wages for that union decision.”  No, teachers voted overwhelmingly to vote for this strike, 1,600 hundred of them did, 87% of those who showed up to vote, voted to strike.  This blatant attempt to make it sound like the Union is forcing all these poor helpless teachers to strike against their will is bunk.

We understand that the budget process in Sacramento has been to cut K-12 and hold the budget hostage, but that’s not the Teacher’s fault, that’s the fault of our local State legislators who refuse to do anything to protect education funding (Despite laws that are in place to protect K-12).  Orange County Republicans are the legislative minority who signed a no new taxes pledge before the bottom fell out of our economy and had to stick to that while vying to retain their seats or win higher office in 2008.  But here in the OC they don’t really have to do much to win, the overwhelming voter registration is in their favor, they merely have to put their name on the ballot and in the case of a primary challenge, they are anointed post-primary as the winner of the general election before one vote is cast.

Ultimately the issue comes to this, the Board of Trustees does not understand the bargaining process and does not understand how to run a school district, especially one that is so large.  As I’ve written in another important Diary this has a lot more to do with dismantling public education than it does with bargaining and the improvement of my child’s education.  MY CHILD.

Education Alliance and Pacific Research Institute are behind this mess and the current Board of Trustees are merely stand ins for the experiment.  Let me share some photos from the Capo Recall 2010 to illustrate my point.

And I want to leave with this, with a message from the Teacher’s union, who have been ravaged by this board and supported by parents like me.  You can decide for yourself about the tone and the professionalism of each party.  Aliso Viejo is where I bought my home and decided to raise my daughter, it’s where I chose to make my life.

ALISO VIEJO – “Capistrano teachers have drawn a line to protect our schools and our profession, and sometimes that line is a picket line,” said Capistrano Unified Education Association President Vicki Soderberg, announcing the overwhelming 87 percent thumb’s up from Capistrano Unified School District’s 2,200 teachers in the April 15-16 vote.

With 85 percent of eligible teachers casting ballots, 1,600 CUEA members voted “yes” and 248 voted “no.” The vote does not compel an immediate strike. Instead, it authorizes CUEA’s Executive Board to initiate one if the CUSD Board of Education refuses to revoke its unilaterally imposed contract of permanent, over-the-top cuts in wages and benefits totaling more than ten percent.

“A strike has never been what teachers wanted,” said Soderberg, “but this thundering strike authorization vote – with teachers at many school sites voting 100 percent in favor – shows just how fed up we are with this board’s harsh, dictatorial behavior and duplicitous tactics.” The Capistrano board’s permanent cuts go well beyond the mutually-selected neutral fact finder’s reasonable settlement recommendation. They also exceed those in settlements agreed to by teacher groups and school boards throughout Orange County.

“We are so grateful that Capistrano’s parents and students understand that a short-term disruption of school is worth the fight for long-term stability in the district,” said Soderberg. As reported April 15 on the Capistrano Unified School District’s website, approximately 10,000 students – or about one out of every five – boycotted school attendance on April 13 in a parent-led protest of school board actions. “How can we teach our students to stand up to unfair, bullying behavior, if we’re not willing to walk the walk ourselves? There are life lessons that can’t be taught by a test. It is so heartwarming to know that parents and students understand the school board is forcing this action upon us and them.”

(An extremely valuable insight into the Republican war on public education – and how the public does not want it. – promoted by Robert Cruickshank)

Our Public School System is under attack, not just in Florida or San Diego but in Orange County as well.  There are experiments happening all over the US to test exactly what the best means would be to destroy our public schools and right now, the easiest seems to be from the inside out.

In the Capistrano School District in South Orange County, California, we have a board of Trustees hell bent on not only using the “evil” teacher’s union to paint the schools as ineffective, but to utterly destroy the parent’s faith in the system, driving children from the schools and force a strike.

The recall that took place in 2008 is documented in a film entitled, Not as Good as You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School.  And it’s been show to GOP leaders all around the Country, it’s their baby of how they can tear apart a school district and right now, we’re on the edge of them succeeding.

WASHINGTON – A libertarian think-tank that prominently features the Capistrano Unified School District in a documentary about how the U.S. public school system is broken will screen its 49-minute film this afternoon on Capitol Hill.

“Not as Good as You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School” recounts a five-year effort by the CUSD Recall Committee parents group to bring reforms to a school district plagued by scandal, community unrest and allegations of corruption reaching into the highest levels of its administration.

…

“We have made a national impact here in Capistrano Unified,” said Recall Committee leader and parent Tony Beall, a Rancho Santa Margarita city councilman. “It’s nice that our efforts are being recognized at the U.S. Capitol.”

The 2:30 p.m. screening will be hosted by two leading GOP lawmakers – U.S. House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., the senior Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee.

OC Register

This was late last year in October.  Now it’s April, the end of spring break and the Board of Trustees have been fighting the teachers over their contract because of budget shortfalls.  If you haven’t been paying attention, revenue shortfalls are down everywhere and they have been horrific here in California due to how we pay for education because of Prop 13 (Another diary).  But needless to say, education is suffering a great deal.

If you go to to the CUSD recall website (These are the bunch who came in to “reform” CUSD), they really don’t hold back their criticism of the teacher’s union, they show their bias and it makes it quite difficult to see how they can negotiate in good faith.

April 8, 2010 CUSD Reform Trustees Successfully Finalize Union Contract Terms That Protect Class Sizes and Teachers’ Jobs. Reaction of Greedy Union Leaders…STRIKE!

After being forced to cut $25 million from last year’s budget and faced with cutting $34 million more this year, the CUSD Reform Board has approved new and sustainable union contract terms that will NOT increase class sizes and will protect dozens of teachers’ jobs. Kudos to the Reform Board whose decision changes misplaced priorities of the past and fulfills important reform promises to the voters of CUSD. In response, selfish union leaders are now threatening to strike, and want to lay off hundreds of young teachers and preserve higher salaries/ benefits for their most senior members at the expense of students, young teachers and taxpayers — and they’re using our children as political pawns to win at any cost! A line in the sand has been drawn. Our Reform Board needs your support and our children need protection from this shameful union greed and exploitation.

This is the rub though, South Orange County is highly Republican, you’d think they would have the parents support if their stance was so reasonable and fiscally responsible.  But every single board meeting has been angry parents who feel that haven’t been heard, a board that continues to have closed door meetings, refuses to meet the teachers half way and have not kept any promises of their recall campaign.

Chanting “Do the right thing!” while clapping in unison, about 400 educators and their supporters rallied Wednesday at Capistrano Unified School District headquarters to protest a 10.1 percent pay cut that the school board is imposing on all teachers.

Many held up signs demanding that Capistrano’s school board “respect our teachers” by returning to the negotiating table to try to work out a compromise with the district’s 2,300-member teachers union.

The board room in San Juan Capistrano was packed to capacity with about 300 teachers and their supporters, while about 100 more demonstrated outside.

…

Many Capistrano teachers are in favor of an independent mediator’s recommendation from earlier this month that suggested teachers take a 6.32 percent pay cut and that the district achieve 4 percent more in savings by raising class sizes across all grade levels by two students each.

“We’re more than willing to accept pay cuts,” said demonstrator Sue Lederman, a special education preschool teacher at San Clemente’s Lobo Elementary School. “The independent fact-finder’s report was equitable, fair and addressed the needs of the moment, plus the opportunity to renegotiate when things get better.”

Republicans are PISSED OFF.  They are organizing a recall of the recall.

And the board continues to act without any regard for the parents anger, outrage and the concern for the school because their agenda has nothing to do with what is best for public education, the kids or the teachers, it’s an agenda that is quite clear.

A great resource for parents is a blog called, Beyond the Blackboard.

And as we approach the vote to decide to strike the news coming from the board is becoming more and more insulting, from their reaction to High School Student protests…

Capistrano Unified trustees said Friday they understand and respect the sudden groundswell of student activism at two district high schools in response to recent teacher pay cuts, but stressed that the walkouts cannot continue and disruptions to learning will not be tolerated.

Reacting to two lively protests in as many days at Aliso Viejo’s Aliso Niguel High School and Dana Point’s Dana Hills High School, school board President Anna Bryson said she supported the students’ free speech rights, but that they needed to follow the law.

“People have emotions, and those emotions sometimes get expressed when you’re young in ways that aren’t acceptable,” Bryson said Friday. “It doesn’t surprise me. But we don’t want to see our students missing time in class. They’re going to college and they’re going to be tested, and they need that class time.”

OC Register

To talk of hiring armed guards for school grounds.  Yes.  And people thought the reaction was “extreme” because this was to protect students from picketing teachers.  They have hired a local contractor for 250 unarmed guards and plan on paying them up to $100,000 (Don’t want to pay teachers, but hey, lets pay thugs to walk the schools!).

“The fact that they are paying for the security guards makes me so mad because that money could be going toward something else,” said Kathryn Gullickson, 18, a senior at Dana Point’s Dana Hills High School, where students have already staged a protest and walkout over the teacher pay issue. “We’re not in danger. The whole idea of them protecting us from the picketing teachers is far-fetched and ridiculous.”

…

‘Extreme reaction’

A local sociology professor who was asked to weigh in on Capistrano Unified’s security plan said the preparations sounded unusual and unnecessary.

“I don’t know what would prompt such an extreme reaction from the school district,” said Judith Stepan-Norris of UC Irvine, an expert on the U.S. labor movement who has no affiliation with Capistrano Unified. “You have teachers you trust your children to everyday. How can you imagine that they would become people you would have to defend from?”

Bryson said the decision was made by senior district administrators, led by interim Superintendent Bobbi Mahler, based on their research into what other districts have done.

Bryson declined to elaborate on what specific threat picketing Capistrano teachers might pose, but stressed that if a strike materialized, the situation would be continually re-evaluated.

OC Register

This is the extremism that a lot of parents are baffled by and completely enraged by how tone deaf the board seems to be.  Not only are these contractors unnecessary, one of them, ABC, was charged with negligence and parents are concerned about them being around their kids.  

So, here is the current recall group, Capo Recall 2010 and why something needs to be done.

Why A Recall?

Written by Dr. Peter J. Espinosa

I am pleased to announce that I was one of the individuals that signed the required notice to recall CUSD Trustees Mike Winsten and Ken Lopez-Maddox. My reasons go beyond their failure to petition the State Board of Education for a waiver which could have expedited the change in how trustees from large districts are elected. As a reminder, the change would have involved switching from the outdated, more costly “at large” voting method to the cost saving “vote by trustee area” that holds trustees more accountable to constituents in their particular trustee area. My reason for signing the petition goes deeper than their role in unnecessarily increasing legal and consultation fees during an era of fiscal hardships. My reason for signing the petition is much broader than their rejection of an appropriate elementary school math text recommended by competent, professional math teachers. Instead, both trustees supported the adoption of a text that benefitted a friend, actually, a spouse of one of the other trustees.

Simply put, I signed the petition because I am strongly opposed to the policy direction of the Education Alliance. It is public knowledge that Trustees Mike Winsten and Ken Lopez-Maddox have significant financial backing of the Education Alliance. This group’s goals are to change the vision and direction of public schools. This group is involved in a local, state and national movement that clearly wants to take the public out of public schools. Their goal is to place the Education Alliance first rather than placing public school children first. The change would reflect a shift in making public schools resemble private schools that are unregulated and religious based with a selective criteria that would benefit some students more than others. For example, highly accountable programs for students with special learning needs and limited English speakers whose first language happens to be Spanish would be negatively impacted. Other examples of their agenda include opposition to state and federal curriculum standards, as well as social health services in schools. They also support vouchers for private schools and the destruction of teacher and classified unions. The Pacific Research Institute supports their effort along with people such as Howard Ahmanson, Frank Ury, Jim Righeimer, Mark Bucher and Craig Alexander. Their ultimate goal is to fund and support candidates for local school boards who are committed to their agenda.

CUSD has historically been a high performing school district. With a student population of 52,000, CUSD has grown to be the ninth largest school district in the State of California. CUSD has the highest test scores among large districts in the state. Teachers at CUSD have clearly had a very long tradition of excellence and professionalism. Equally important, CUSD teachers have a history of adapting to new challenges while maintaining high performance standards for themselves as well as for their students. Teachers and the very competent support staff have demonstrated a capacity and commitment to work through tough fiscal decisions. CUSD needs trustees who would consider partnership in decision making rather than making teachers and support staff the enemy. CUSD needs trustees who are committed to public education. Trustee Winsten and Lopez-Maddox have proven to be masters in dividing CUSD teachers, staff and parents and have also been responsible for the loss of very competent school site administrators to other districts.

Trustee Winsten and Lopez-Maddox are on a path to break CUSD’s tradition of excellence and extend the climate of division and rancor throughout CUSD. Their association with the Education Alliance will assure such a consequence.

I therefore encourage all CUSD constituents to sign the petition to recall Trustees Mike Winsten and Ken Lopez-Maddox. Keep the public in public schools and make all children in our community first.

Here is a video, Oh What a Tangled Web They Weave.  Won’t embed for some reason but it’s a short watch for those who want a quick overview.

My husband and I have a six year old in first grade in the Capo school district.  This is important to us.  We can’t let groups like this destroy our public school systems.  As you know, we are not just Democrats, we are people who get involved around here, we stand up against things that we believe are wrong.

We cannot let this happen here because it can happen in your school district and others.

For those who want, I will keep you posted.

Wow, this guy is a piece of work.  First he shows up to The Democratic Party of Orange County’s Annual Truman Dinner to Protest the Keynote Speaker Nancy Pelosi with the couple of hundred of other protesters and allows one of them to pin a poster of Nancy Pelosi as Stalin to his back.

Dr. Choi is currently sitting on Irvine’s City council and he proudly wore his Council badge to the event, representing the City where the vent took place.  City Council seats are historically “non-partisan” by the way.  And now he’s using the publicity that he’s receiving because of this photograph to raise money for his California Assembly race to out teabag his Republican primary opponents.

But here are some more details…

I was at the event, my husband was on the Committee for it and there were a lot of ugly signs, I wrote about this previously and Choi wasn’t very happy to have his participation questioned..

Steven Choi was also seen “posing with another protester who was wearing a rendering depicting Pelosi as an SS Guard” and “including one portraying President Barack Obama and Adolf Hitler together” and yet he defended his actions.

I’m a Republican Party member and went there to express my disapproval of her policies,” Choi said. “I have big concerns with what is going on with the government pushing down the mandated health issues… As a small businessman it would impact me.”

Choi said a woman who was at the event with the Irvine Republican Council placed the rendering on his back. He described the criticism as a partisan attack.

“They are making a case out of nothing,” Choi said.

So now he’s making this nothing into some fundraising from his website…

Dear Friends:

Thank you for visiting my campaign web site.

Lately, many people have sought me out due to my appearance with the protesters against liberal House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

I am so humbled and honored to receive such an overwhelming outpouring of support from throughout the country (though there are obviously some opponents).

Will you kindly join my contact list to show your support for me?

I also hope you will help me by making a campaign contribution. Thank you so much.

So you know what?  I’m glad that my friend Melissa Fox decided to do the same thing.  I’ve known Melissa for a while know since Gary ran for State Senate in 2008, our kids get a long and I told her I would be happy to help her with her run for Assembly.  I genuinely LIKE Melissa and would love to see her win.

She sent her own email blast out and I think you should send her money and show Choi that he was wrong and that we don’t want anymore representation like him.  No more.

Choi’s Outrageous Behavior

You’ve probably seen the photographs of Irvine City Council Member – and 70th District Assembly candidate – Steven Choi wearing a poster on his back depicting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as Communist dictator Josef Stalin.

Choi’s comparison of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives with a murderer of millions was a low media stunt   I watched him smile and preen in front of cameras and gleefully pose next to images of President Obama and Speaker Pelosi as Nazis, all while prominently wearing his badge identifying himself as a member of the Irvine City Council.  

Is this the representation we want in Sacramento?

Or would you rather have a representative who is interested in solving the real problems we face – critical problems with education, the economy, jobs, and public safety?

Send Choi a Message

Choi’s outrageous behavior does not represent my values or the values of a majority of the voters in the 70th Assembly District.

We need to send a message to Choi that we won’t allow extremism to represent us in Sacramento.

We need to take our campaign for education, jobs, economic growth, and the renewal of the California Dream to the voters, but without your contributions, our message won’t be heard.  Choi starts with a war chest of more than $100,000.  We need to match his fund-raising.

Push back now against extremism by making a contribution of $1000, $500, $100 or whatever you can afford to our campaign to make sure that we’re represented in the Assembly by someone who shares the values of our District and will fight for real solutions.

Thank you.

Melissa

So send Choi a message and Donate to Melissa Fox.  

PLEASE help Melissa show Republicans in Orange County that the tide is turning.

So who is Melissa Fox?  I know that her being a good friend of mine isn’t enough, but I can say why I love Melissa.  Melissa gets it, she’s smart, she doesn’t take herself too seriously and I can kick back in her house when we meet up to talk campaign stuff.  Her family is smart, warm and welcoming and they really care about the things that a lot of us here do at Calitics.  Her husband Michael is a blogger, brilliant and very passionate about the issues just as much as Melissa is.  Their son Max is bright, balanced and precocious and they encourage him to ask questions and be involved.  I can’t say enough good things about them as a family and as individuals and I’m so honored to just know them.

Melissa is a smart, hard-working and passionate advocate for families, the middle class, small business, schools, jobs and economic growth.

She is an Orange County native, a small business attorney, a wife and mother, and a dedicated community leader.

Melissa was born in Garden Grove and raised in Westminster. Her mother was a registered nurse and a librarian and her father was a police officer and later a compliance officer with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He is also a Korean War combat veteran.

Melissa attended high school in Westminster, where she graduated as valedictorian, and then went to Brandeis University and Tulane University Law School.

After law school, she returned to Orange County, where for the last 17 years she has specialized in providing legal counsel to small businesses. Melissa lives in Lake Forest with her husband, Michael, a college professor who received his Ph.D. from UC Irvine, and their 11 year-old son, Max.

MELISSA IS A FIGHTER FOR OUR SCHOOLS, FAMILIES, SENIORS, JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESSES

· As a small business attorney for 17 years, Melissa respects the hard work and knows the problems of business owners – problems that have been intensified by the current economic crisis. As a member of the Assembly, Melissa will fight to reignite our Southern California economy and grow the businesses and jobs we need.

· As a mother with a child in a public school, Melissa knows the devastating impact of the budget crisis on our children and our schools. As a member of the Assembly, Melissa will fight for our students and dedicated teachers, and to make sure that California’s schools are the best in the nation.

· As a middle class homeowner and businesswoman, Melissa knows the financial burden that California’s unfair tax system – including hidden taxes such as increased vehicle fees, tolls, and college tuition – imposes on middle class families and small businesses. As a member of the Assembly, Melissa will fight for tax fairness, making sure that our economy is stimulated by tax relief for small businesses and the middle class.

· As a volunteer Ranger with the Orange County Parks Department who trained with the Orange County Sheriff and Fire Departments, Melissa knows the incredible commitment and dedication to duty of Orange County’s public safety officers. She is just as dedicated to fighting for those who protect us. As a member of the Assembly, Melissa will fight for our police, sheriffs, and firefighters and fight to keep them on the job.

· As a camper, hiker, and advocate for new green jobs and new sources of energy, Melissa knows the need for responsible stewardship of our land, water and air — not only for all the recreational opportunities we enjoy, but also for our economic well-being now and in the future. As a member of the Assembly, Melissa will fight for new local green jobs, the development of new cleaner sources of energy, and responsible stewardship of our natural resources, including our oceans, waves, and beaches.

· As the great-granddaughter of immigrants, Melissa knows the contribution that immigrants from all over the world have made to America and Orange County. She believes that one of the greatest strengths of our district is its diversity. Melissa also knows that it is essential to our public safety and national security that our borders be secure. As a member of the Assembly, Melissa will fight for secure borders, responsible, legal immigration, and for the needs of our immigrant communities.

· As the wife of a college teacher who received his Ph.D from UC Irvine, Melissa knows the crucial role of UCI and our community colleges in creating jobs, stimulating local business growth, and ensuring a brighter future for California. As a member of the Assembly, Melissa will fight for the students and faculty at UC Irvine and our community colleges.

· As the daughter of a combat veteran, Melissa knows the tremendous value of veterans’ service, their core principles of honor, courage, and commitment, and their needs after returning from deployment. As a member of the Assembly, Melissa will fight for those who fought for us.

· As the daughter of seniors, and the granddaughter of a wonderful woman who had Alzheimer’s, Melissa knows and special gifts – and special needs – of our senior citizens. As a member of the Assembly, Melissa will fight for seniors, retirees, their families and their communities.

TIME TO RENEW THE CALIFORNIA DREAM

Melissa’s mission is to renew the California dream – bringing to government a much needed breath of fresh air, new ideas, truth and openness – with a passionate commitment to California’s future.

“Not very long ago, California was the envy of the nation. Our schools and public universities were the best in the country, our beaches and parks were national treasures, our freeways inspired countless popular songs, and our booming economy led the nation in jobs, productivity, and prosperity.

California was the best place in America to live, work, play, raise a family, and retire.

We called it the California Dream.

Now our schools are among the worst in the country, we’re building toll roads instead of freeways, our police and firefighters and teachers are being laid off, our seniors are being forced from their homes, our public universities are increasingly unaffordable, our beaches and parks are being closed, we lead America in foreclosures and job losses, and our economy is among the worst in the nation.

This must change.

Please join me in the fight to make California once again the best place in the nation for our families, small businesses, students, and seniors.

It’s time to renew the California Dream.”

— Melissa

Well, that’s what I would call it, Politico puts it a bit more tactfully,  Targeting controversial House Republicans.

The Stand up America PAC is going after Wilson, in addition to other Republican lightning rod Reps. Michele Bachmann (Minn.), Jean Schmidt (Ohio), John Campbell (Calif.) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor.

I think the Crazy Five has a better ring to it.  And it’s not shocking to find John Campbell on this list.  He’s my representative and sure, I’m used to the crazy here in Orange County but not only is his time up, but we have an amazing candidate to run against him.

The thing is, John Campbell is not as well known as the other four, but he’s been working on it, from “going Galt” to all out birther craziness.  Politico knows this well and as a constituent, we’re glad others are paying attention.

“Michele Bachmann questions the patriotism of the President and First Lady and advocates armed sedition against her own government; John Campbell introduces legislation to inflame “birther” crackpots; Eric Cantor intentionally misrepresents facts in House debate; and Jean Schmidt questions the patriotism a Vietnam veteran and fellow colleague in the House,”

….

Obama actually carried Campbell’s district last year, and is facing a Democratic city councilor who served as the mayor of Irvine, the largest town in the district.

That Democratic city Councilor is non other than Beth Krom and amazingly engaged and vibrant local leader who has decided that the do nothing mentality of the party of “NO” is no longer enough for the 48th district.

We must support the ousting of these extremists from our Congress and the list of five is a good start.  We also have to support those who are willing to run these tough races.  This is not an easy race for Beth Krom but its one that means a great deal to me, I would love nothing more than to have her represent me in Washington (Well, the public option would be another thing I would love).

Speaking of the public option, I’m going to post an op-ed that Beth wrote for the Laguna Beach Independent entitled, Setting the Healthcare Record Straight.

Those in Congress who oppose healthcare reform are focused on the wrong patient. They want to keep the insurance industry healthy at the expense of the long-term healthcare interests of the American people. They want to preserve a marketplace that benefits the bottom line of pharmaceutical companies, even if it means that millions of Americans cannot afford the medicines they need to live.

The debate that is raging over healthcare is as important to the future of our country as any we have had in the history of our nation. Unfortunately, the focus has been on the noise in the periphery and not on the sub- stance of the discussion. When Republicans had leadership in Congress, they did nothing to reform healthcare. Today, their plans for healthcare reform are to do nothing and oppose every other idea on the table. If we allow this to happen, we will continue to pay more and get less and millions of Americans will remain uninsured or underinsured.

Healthcare reform is not about socializing medical care. It is about building accountability back into a system that is broken, and providing basic healthcare access to every American. Without health security, every other aspect of a person’s life is adversely affected. Rich or poor, young or old, regardless of race, creed or color, no one wants healthcare access compromised or denied.

There was a time when people paid for healthcare out of their own pockets. When I was born, the bill to my parents from the hospital was $200. My dad was making about $300 a month at the time, so the economic impact was significant, yet manageable. They weren’t wealthy. They didn’t have insurance, but they controlled their healthcare decisions.

Enter the health insurance industry and decades of shifting accountabilities that have brought us to the unsustainable place we now find ourselves. A healthcare system that is driven by the profit motives of insurance companies rather than the well being of patients. A system in which people have been reduced to profiles, statistics and actuarial projections. A system in which even those with insurance benefits often pay thousands of dollars a year in cost-sharing, co-payments and deductibles just for access to catastrophic care. That is simply wrong.

Ironically, those who have been whipped into a frenzy, disrupting Town Hall meetings to create the false perception of grassroots opposition to healthcare reform, may stand to benefit the most from the enhanced healthcare access it will provide. It would not be the first time political strategy has been employed to get people to vote against their own interests. Without change, those who can afford healthcare access will have it, those whose health access is tied to employment may lose it, and those without health benefits through an employer will continue to be at the mercy of insurance companies who can deny coverage at will.

If you care about this issue, do not rely on talk radio or TV pundits for information. They regard themselves as personalities and entertainers and so should you. Get engaged and educate yourself with non-partisan resources such as www. FactCheck.org. It takes courage to make affirmative change. Courage rarely comes without pressure. Your dollars are already on the table. It is time to reclaim your seat. Reform is needed and our government must take the lead. Nearly nine million Americans have lost their health insurance since 2000. One in six Americans have no healthcare insurance at all. With more than $2.2 trillion spent on health care in America this year, we deserve a better return on our investment. Basic health access for all Americans is in our national interest. That is why I support meaningful reform that makes healthcare accessible for all.

An Irvine councilmember and former mayor, Beth Krom is a candidate for Congress in the 48th district.

Please help support Beth Krom, she needs our support and we need to get rid of the “Crazy Five” to bring a little more sanity to our legislative process.

Donate to Beth Krom

Crossposted at the OC Progressive

We waited, many waited a lot longer than I did and I was lucky to be there in line, waiting and waiting.  It gave us a lot of time to talk, I’m sure the overnighter on Monday was difficult and still enjoyable, except for those who didn’t get tickets.

As I sat and President Obama came in and people chanted, “Obama, Obama, Obama” we knew it, we knew that Orange County was hungry, not for just change but for Democrats to be heard and seen in our County and for our values to be taken seriously by the media.  That 500,000 plus Democrats in “The OC” are not an anomaly but a force to be reckoned with.  And that we had found a voice for those values, a voice that was clear and proud of those values.  Orange County had arrived and was not longer just “red” anymore.

It was a long afternoon for me but worth it, worth the sunburn and the blisters on my feet.  It was worth feeling stinky and a bit sad that I wasn’t closer.  But it didn’t matter really, I was there.

I had a chance to say hi to Loretta Sanchez and she graciously allowed me to have a photo with her.  She always does, I’ve never heard her say no.  She just seems to love it.  I did not take a chance to chat with her because EVERYONE wanted their photo with her.

And a bonus?  

I got my photo taken with Debra Bowen, our amazing Secretary of State.  She’s a proud “nerd” as she put and so glad that our nerdiness was somehow okay under President Obama.  The Wonks had returned and policy issues and complex questions were okay again.

I have to admit, I follow her on facebook, she’s a tiny thing, which she admitted and she’s lovely.  I just adore when people who represent us in Government are warm and open and willing to talk to me.  Someone is willing to hear me.  It’s a nice change.

My partner in crime Gus was a godsend, I have to admit I wouldn’t have been there without him and he was kind enough to pick me up and take me, buy me lunch and give me bottled water.  Gus is a good guy and you could tell he was just overjoyed at every turn.  

President Obama didn’t disappoint, that was the best part.  Sure, I’d heard a lot of the same things I’d heard before but hell, I heard them in person.  It meant something to me to be there and hear him address all the issues we’re currently facing.  You see, Obama said that if others weren’t willing to take responsibility, he would.  He’s President, that’s what you do.

Of course some of the best things he said were important because they are so very true.  We have a President who can “Walk and Chew gum at the same time” and he does have to multi-task.  

Obama talked about how we can’t decide what issues to focus on, right?  I can’t just say, hey, I’ve got something I have to take care of and just miss a week of work?  You know, I can’t pay my mortgage this month, I’ve got other things to take care of, that okay?  It’s so true, we have to tackle all these issues together and it’s because they are so very closely intertwined.

A lot of the afternoon I thought of a friend, I thought of someone I know who’s husband is sick, he’s probably going to get laid off and they are struggling to keep up with his medical bills.  This friend works in an industry that’s struggling, will she keep her job?  I just kept thinking about her and about how she’s going to make it through this.  So much going on for her as she worked long days and struggles to keep things together.  

But I know that I’m not the only one thinking of her, so is President Obama.  I do feel that.  Obama understands that our health care system is strangling those already gasping for air.  

That we cannot fix immigration without fixing the whole thing, from employers who hire undocumented workers, borders that actually work and a humane way of dealing with all those people who are already here and have made roots in our Country.  

One questioner was a teacher who had worked in Santa Ana for 25 years and she had received her pink slip, along with a teacher of the year.  Obama promised that the bulk of the stimulus money that was allocated for education was to save teacher’s jobs.  The main purpose was to be sure that as few teachers were laid off in those States facing massive budget shortfalls just as we are in California.

Someone asked if he would run again in four years.  Yes, but President Obama had a brilliant response.  He said that if he had fixed everything he’d set out to do in the next four years, if he accomplished everything he wanted to, he would have no reason to run.  I highly doubt that will be the case, but I believed his sincerity.  

It was just a good afternoon to hear this amazing man speak to us, to those lost out here in the wilderness of Orange County.  I’m sorry to say but so many of us do feel lost.  And here was President Obama speaking to me, reaffirming my values and my priorities and representing so many dreams that won’t come true unless we do everything possible to change the path of our Country.

What was wrong with asking those making over $250,000 to pay what they paid under Clinton?  Isn’t that a good question, one that Obama was clear to ask.  They were still rich then, weren’t they?  Of course and he has no qualms about raising that 36% to 39% to pay for health care reform and all those other things that have been sorely neglected over the last eight years.

President Obama gets it and even as his Administration makes mistakes, he still gets that those mistakes are part of the learning process.  So, um, yeah, they forgot to invite Dana Rohrabacher, oops.  (Our Republican Congressman who represents Costa Mesa, where the event was held) and had Loretta Sanchez there instead.  I’m not sure if it was completely something that was an oversight or a purposeful slight.  Part of me doesn’t care.

So that was it, there were a lot of other questions and Gary and Charlotte watched it via CSPAN, no Mommy though.  I was there, I was there for sure and it’s something I shall never forget.

Lots of photos to follow. Just click on them to make them bigger 🙂

Crossposted at OC Progressive

Los Alamitos mayor resigns from City Council over racial e-mail

Dean Grose announced his resignation from the City Council in a letter this morning to the city manager.

Last week he said he would step down as mayor after coming under fire for sending an e-mail depicting the White House lawn planted with watermelons and the title “No Easter egg hunt this year.” But city officials had said he would retain his seat on the council.

LA Times Email Alert

Here is the update at the LA Times.  Police will be patrolling Grose’s home since a decimated watermelon was found outside his place of business.

I can tell you that this will make many happy to know that he will not try to hold his City Council seat.  His behavior and reaction were completely unacceptable and we can no longer tolerate the, I didn’t know crowd.

Local businesswoman and city volunteer Keyanus Price, who is black, told the Associated Press on Tuesday that she was offended by the e-mail she received from the mayor’s personal account Sunday.

If you don’t know what the uproar is all about (Seriously, I heard self proclaimed liberals say they didn’t get it), try reading this diary, Lessons from the Watermelon Man at the Daily Kos.  Everyone should know their African American history if they expect to serve public office.  

—————————

As a resident of Orange County and a local progressive blogger, this is good news.  Orange County doesn’t want to be in the news for all the wrong reasons, our reputation as the most intolerant and conservative County in the Country is coming to an end and everyone at the OC Progressive hopes to be part of that shift.

Not only has the DCCC decided to help Bill Hedrick oust Ken Calvert (CA-44), we also have the great news of another successful progressive OC Politician taking on John Campbell (CA-48).  The OC Progressive broke this story on Saturday and I was honored to have an opportunity to talk to Beth Krom, City Council person for Irvine and former Mayor (Irvine, Safest city in America is also turning blue!).

Fellow blogger Joe Shaw put together the reasons why this run might work and we could be blessed with three progressive Dems in Congress for Orange County in 2010.

Here are a few of the reasons Beth Krom is such an excellent candidate for California’s 48th District:

She can win elections.

Beth Krom has won five campaigns, In 2006, she garnered 60% of the vote in her re-election as Mayor and in 2008, won her current City Council seat with 8000 votes more than the next candidate.

She gets things done.

We need elected officials who have experience getting things done for their constituents. Beth Krom is a strong advocate for environmental stewardship. Her vote was instrumental in cleaning up the water along the Orange County coast: she was the first “inland” representative to advocate for full secondary treatment of the effluent the OC Sanitation District pumped out into the ocean and was the “swing vote” in getting the board to fund implementation.

She’s a visionary.

Beth Krom understands that Orange County needs leadership that will advance innovative, integrated transit solutions, sustainable development practices and green technology and jobs initiatives.

She can work across party lines.

Beth Krom has the respect of so many people throughout Orange County because she works with people, regardless of political affiliation, to get things done.

Irvine is one of America’s best run cities.

What other Orange County elected, at the local, state or federal level, can lay claim to the legacy of forward-thinking leadership that Beth Krom has provided in the City of Irvine? “Safest City in America” four years straight; a balanced budget and more than tripling city reserves during her term as Mayor, and advancing a project of regional importance – the Orange County Great Park

The people of the 48th Congressional District – which includes Irvine, Tustin, Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Lake Forest, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Dana Point and parts of Santa Ana and San Juan Capistrano – deserve real representation and not just a “congressional seat-warmer.” Beth Krom is a candidate they can enthusiastically support.