Tag Archives: campaign

Inherent Conflict of Interest – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

Inherent Conflict of Interest

The Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Associations (unions) bankrolled the Measure B tax-hike campaign. FPPC campaign disclosure forms show the police and fire unions spent an overwhelming $39,247.50 in our city election ($19,033.50 police, and $20,214.00 fire) to influence voters on Measure B and the City Council race.

This is nearly four times the $10,000 they contributed to the “Yes on Measure A” campaign in 2014, for eleven tax hikes, on residents and businesses. The fire union probably spent more than $100,000 on their Measure P campaign in 2012, to outsource our local Fire Department to Los Angeles County for a reduced level of service, for their own financial benefit.

None of the firefighters and only about one-fourth of the police live in town. They campaign in our local elections to maximize their pay and pensions, and raise taxes and fees to pay for it, no matter how excessive and unsustainable.

The latest available El Segundo City Employee compensation data, for 2014, at TransparentCalifornia.com, shows the 58 sworn police employees had the following total annual pay and benefits statistics: Minimum=$139,028; Maximum=$358,536; Average=$228,240; and Median (half above and half below)=$214,867.

The 44 sworn firefighter employees had the following total annual pay and benefits statistics: Minimum=$148,235; Maximum=$375,524; Average=$247,646; and Median=$225,882. The firefighters are paid to sleep and eat, including some of those hours at the overtime rate of 150% their regular pay rate.

The union campaigns have nothing to do with safety and everything to do with union greed.

– Mike Robbins


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Posted in California, Economy and Economics, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), El Segundo Measure B TOT Tax Hike, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Fraud Waste and Abuse, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Measure A - 5 New Taxes and 6 Tax Inceases, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Inherent Conflict of Interest – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

Smear Campaign? – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Marianne Fong

Smear Campaign?

I would like to assure Marie Fellhauer’s campaign supporter, Jenica Brigham, that I do exist. I am not “the same person” as Mike Robbins as she claimed in her insulting 4/7/16 Herald letter. Brigham attacked me, Mike Robbins, and others with childish name-calling and other baseless personal attacks because we reminded voters of Fellhauer’s record on City Council. She used personal attacks because she could not disprove any of our facts about Fellhauer’s true record.

Brigham claimed the residents “think everything should be free.” In fact, we don’t want to be charged twice for the same things, such as $1,850+ fire department ambulance transport fees when taxes already pay for our fire department.

Brigham described herself as “a young woman”, apparently to attract young voters to vote for Fellhauer. But at age 38, she hardly qualifies as “a young woman”. By 38, you’d think she would have registered to vote. She is not even registered to vote in El Segundo, at least not as of 2014.

Another Fellhauer campaign supporter, Beth Schodorf, submitted a letter calling accurate descriptions of Fellhauer’s City Council record a “smear campaign”. Now who’s doing the smearing? Schodorf even defended Fellhauer by attacking Lou Kutil. That was a mistake. For many years Lou Kutil, an elderly resident himself, has volunteered his own time and money to drive elderly residents to their doctor appointments, wait for them, and drive them back home.

– Marianne Fong


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Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter Union Corruption, Fraud Waste and Abuse, Letters to the Editor, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Smear Campaign? – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Marianne Fong

El Segundo Flyer #3 – Vote “NO” on Measure A, and Against BILL FISHER!

by Michael D. Robbins
Director, Public Safety Project, PublicSafetyProject.org

April 7, 2014

Three flyers containing verifiable factual information about Measure A were distributed to residents and small businesses on the weekend of April 5, 2014.

Click on each of the links below to view, download, and print them. Please share them with your friends and neighbors in case they did not get all of them.

Flyer #1: Vote “NO” on Measure A – Eleven Tax Hikes in One Measure! – Distributed on Saturday, April 5, 2014. (119 KB PDF file)

Flyer #2: 36 MORE REASONS TO VOTE NO ON MEASURE A – Distributed on Saturday, April 5, 2014. (206 KB PDF file)

Flyer #3: Vote “NO” on Measure A, and Against BILL FISHER! – Distributed on Sunday, April 6, 2014. (168 KB PDF file)


Below is the content of Flyer #3, with added photos, links, and information documenting the facts contained in the flyer.


Vote “NO” on Measure A, and

Against BILL FISHER!

Measure A is ELEVEN Permanent Tax Hikes in a Single Ballot Measure

Have the Measure A Supporters Earned Our Trust?

The “Yes on A” campaign has lost the debate. Their arguments have been refuted, and many have been shown to be outright deceptive and dishonest. So they switched to using the campaign slogan, Measure A is “supported by people you know and trust”. But if you really knew most of them, you probably would not trust them.

"Measure A - Supported by People You Know and Trust" slogan on a "Yes on Measure A" campaign mailer delivered on 3/29/2014.
“Measure A – Supported by People You Know and Trust” slogan on a “Yes on Measure A” campaign mailer delivered on 3/29/2014.

See PublicSafetyProject.org for more information, details, and proof.

Sandra Jacobs, one of two “Yes on A” campaign co-chairs, was one of a slate of three Fire and Police Union sponsored City Council candidates.

See the details on the below, including the $46,204 in campaign money.

Joe Harding, one of two “Yes on A” campaign co-chairs, was AGAINST the tax hikes when he was a Hacienda Hotel employee. NOW, this ex-employee is FOR the tax hikes that will be devastating to his former employer.

Harding spoke out strongly against smaller Utility Users Tax (UUT) and Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) hikes at the 8/3/10 City Council meeting. Anyone can verify this by watching the City Council meeting video at PublicSafetyProject.org or ElSegundo.org. Here are his quotes from that meeting:

“Joe Harding, representing the Hacienda Hotel and also a resident of El Segundo.” “Most of you have seen first-hand what our industry has endured over the past 27 years.” “Our industry just can’t handle any increase.” You must say ‘No’ to the hotel killer tax!” “A TOT and a UUT would hit us twice. That’d be like kicking us when we’re down, and then running us over for good measure. “The City must make unpopular and difficult adjustments to their payroll and expenses.” “Leave the TOT where it is.”


Click HERE to see the video of Joe Harding making this speech at the 8/3/10 El Segundo City Council meeting, and to read a transcript of his speech.


Looking down the “Yes on A” campaign’s list of supporters (“People You Know and Trust”), we find:

(Click HERE for more details and documentation on these “People You Know and Trust”.)

  • Four were City Council candidates sponsored by the Fire and Police Unions, who get huge pay raises and pension increases in return for their campaign support
  • One tried to steer a City contract to a friend for nearly twice the price – for $120,000 when the more qualified bid was $65,000 for the same job
  • One was a no-show El Segundo City Clerk who worked full-time for another city, but collected TWO government paychecks
  • One is an ESUSD school teacher union member who misused school district facilities, public resources, and students to campaign for a City Council candidate
  • One resigned his elected City Treasurer office due to his extra-marital affair with a current school board member who is also on the list
  • One is a police captain who made the news for bullying and harassing a city resident at his workplace for posting the public record Police and Fire Union salaries on his website
  • And missing from the list are the following employee union Measure A supporters who donated a total of $17,500 to the “Yes on A” campaign as of 3/23/14 (from FPPC filings):
    • El Segundo Firefighters PAC donated $5,000 on 2/11/14
    • El Segundo Police Officers Association PAC donated $5,000 on 2/25/14
    • El Segundo City Employees Association donated $5,000 on 2/28/14
    • California Teamsters Public Affairs Council donated $2,500 on 3/11/14
  • Do you trust all the City employee union members who donated $17,500 (thus far) through their unions – to get a whopping $6.6 Million per year in return to pay for their past and future excessive pay raises and resulting pension increases?

Bill Fisher’s Forgotten History

Let’s go down the memory hole and recover Bill Fisher’s forgotten history. Fisher’s political career was launched by the Fire and Police Unions when they ran a three-candidate slate including Fisher and Sandra Jacobs (“Yes on A” campaign co-chair).

Fisher claims he knew nothing about the union support. However, Fire Union president Kevin Rehm’s cell phone number was on the campaign signs for each of the slate candidates as the contact number for campaign sign management.


Firefighters union president Kevin A. Rehm managed the delivery, installation, and maintenance of the campaign yard signs for all three candidates – Sandra Jacobs, Bill Fisher, and Eric Busch. A sticker appeared on every sign with his cellular phone number. It read:

“This sign has been placed with the permission of the owner. If you have any problems with this sign please call: (310) 422-9411 We will fix the problem ASAP. Thank you!”

I called that number during the election campaign and Kevin Rehm answered. I spoke with him and asked him questions about the firefighter union’s candidate endorsements. You can do an Internet search for the following keywords to see that this is Kevin Rehm’s phone number: (310) 422-9411 Kevin Rehm.

See the photos of the three candidate’s campaign signs with firefighters union president Kevin Rehm’s cellular phone number on them below. The first two photos show the entire signs at a distance to make it clear the close-up photos of the sticker on the corner each sign are of the same campaign signs.

The El Segundo firefighters union installed triple the campaign signs for City Council candidates Sandra Jacobs, Bill Fisher, and Eric Busch at an apartment building on the far east end of Mariposa Ave.
The El Segundo firefighters union installed triple the campaign signs for City Council candidates Sandra Jacobs, Bill Fisher, and Eric Busch at a house on the east side of town.

The El Segundo firefighters union installed double the campaign signs for City Council candidates Sandra Jacobs, Bill Fisher, and Eric Busch at a house on the east side of town.
The El Segundo firefighters union installed double the campaign yard signs for City Council candidates Sandra Jacobs, Bill Fisher, and Eric Busch at a house on the east side of town.

See the photos below of the campaign signs with firefighter union president Kevin Rehm’s cellular phone number (310-422-9411) on them as the sign placement and maintenance coordinator. His phone number sticker was on all the campaign signs for Bill Fisher, Sandra Jacobs (one of the two Measure A co-chairs), and Eric Busch.

Bill Fisher's City Council Campaign Sign.
Bill Fisher’s City Council campaign sign with El Segundo firefighter union president Kevin Rehm’s cellular phone number on it.

Sandra Jacobs' City Council Campaign Sign.
Sandra Jacobs’ City Council campaign sign with El Segundo firefighter union president Kevin Rehm’s cellular phone number on it.

Eric Busch's City Council Campaign Sign.
Eric Busch’s City Council campaign sign with El Segundo firefighter union president Kevin Rehm’s cellular phone number on it.


The unions sent out slate campaign mailers featuring studio portrait photos of all three candidates, with color-coordinated backgrounds.


See the scanned images below of the campaign slate mailer postcard sent to El Segundo voters by the two unions.

The front side of the campaign mailer shows photos of a firefighter standing next to a fire engine and a police officer standing next to a police car. It reads:


“What do El Segundo Firefighters and Police Officers Have in Common?”

The back side has the photos and names of El Segundo City Council candidates Eric Busch, Sandra Jacobs, and Bill Fisher. It reads:


“Firefighters – Police Officers – Paramedics
Support
BUSH – JACOBS – FISHER
The Best Choice For Public Safety
On April 13th Support
Eric BUSCH – Sandra JACOBS – Bill FISHER
Paid For By The El Segundo Firefighters Association – PO Box 55 El Segundo, CA ID #1231824″

The firefighters and police unions claimed that they endorsed “The Best Choice For Public Safety”. That was a lie. They endorsed the candidates who would give them the biggest pay raises and pension increases, and then raise taxes and fees on the residents and businesses to pay for it all.

Click on each picture for a larger view (will open in a new browser window or tab).


Front side of the slate campaign slate mailer sent by the El Segundo firefighters and police unions for Sandra Jacobs, Bill Fisher, and Eric Busch in the 2004 El Segundo City Council Election. The firefighter and police unions spend thousands of campaign dollars each election cycle to get millions of extra tax dollars in their paychecks and pensions each year.


Back side of the slate campaign slate mailer sent by the El Segundo firefighters and police unions for Sandra Jacobs, Bill Fisher, and Eric Busch in the 2004 El Segundo City Council Election. The firefighter and police unions spend thousands of campaign dollars each election cycle to get millions of extra tax dollars in their paychecks and pensions each year.

When then Councilman Bill Fisher was confronted at a City Council meeting about the conflict of interest created from his firefighter and police union campaign support, given that he votes on their pay raises and benefits increases, he claimed he did not know the unions were supporting his campaign!

Notice how the firefighter and police union campaign slate mailer has professional studio photos with color-coordinated matching backgrounds of Bill Fisher and the other two union-endorsed candidates. Clearly, Fisher posed for his professional photo and a copy of it was sent to the unions for use in their campaign mailer. Also, Fisher wants us to believe he did not know who was distributing, installing, and maintaining his campaign signs around the city throughout the his campaign.


Rehm sent a deceitful campaign mailer on official Fire Union letterhead, threatening seniors with “the possibility of our paramedics not being available when you need them” if the three union-approved candidates were not elected!


The El Segundo firefighters union even sent out a campaign letter on their official union letterhead, signed by union President Kevin Rehm, 1st Vice President Breck Slover, and 2nd Vice President John Bilbee, threatening senior citizen voters with “the possibility of our paramedics not being available when you need them” if the three candidates approved by the union were not elected!

See the scanned image of this letter and the envelope it was sent in below.

Click on the letter below to see a larger image of it (will open in a new browser window or tab).


Click HERE to see a larger image of the El Segundo firefighters union campaign letter threatening senior citizen voters, then click the BACK button in your browser to return to this web page.


Letter that the El Segundo firefighters union used to send their campaign letter threatening senior citizen voters.

Click HERE for an analysis and the text of the Senior Scare Letter on our old web site. Then click the BACK button in your browser to return to this web page.


The mysterious “Committee To Continue The Progress Of El Segundo” spent $46,204 including union and out-of-town donations campaigning for the slate. Fisher narrowly lost that election, but was APPOINTED to the Council two years later. That election was CANCELLED due to lack of candidates. The unprecedented campaign spending intimidated potential challengers.


View or download a PDF file containing the FPPC Form 460 filed by the “Committee To Continue The Progress Of El Segundo”. (6.71 MB PDF file)


Fisher rewarded the unions well with 11.25% to 23% in pay raises during the Great Recession, including retroactive pay raises effective nine months before the date of approval, plus additional 5% annual “step-raises”, jacking up compensation and pensions. Fisher also supported single pay raises of 14.9% to 32.3% for the non-union managers (Deputy Fire Chief, Fire Battalion Chiefs, Police Chief, and the Fire Chief) to avoid “salary compaction”.

The pay raises were approved in secret in one or more closed session City Council meetings, and were made public and given a public vote of approval as a mere formality in the April 7, 2009 and December 2, 2008 open session City Council meetings, after they were already a done deal.


These pay raises included the following:

JOB CLASSIFICATION PAY RAISE DATE APPROVED CONSENT AGENDA ITEM
Firefighters 11.25% April 7, 2009 E11
Fire Engineers 11.25% April 7, 2009 E11
Fire Captains 11.25% April 7, 2009 E11
Police Officers 15.0% April 7, 2009 E12
Police Sergeants 15.0% April 7, 2009 E12
Police Lieutenants 18.0% April 7, 2009 E8
Police Captains 23.0% April 7, 2009 E8
Fire Battalion Chiefs 16.9% December 2, 2008 E8
Deputy Fire Chief 14.9% December 2, 2008 E8
Police Chief 23% December 2, 2008 E8
Fire Chief 32.3% December 2, 2008 E8

In addition to the above pay raises, the firefighter and police employees were (and still are) given 5% annual “step raises” in each of the first four or five years after the year they are promoted or assigned to a new position.

In addition to the above pay raises, the firefighter and police employees were (and still are) given periodic “longevity” raises every so many years.


Rehm’s pension pays him $172,516 per year. Measure A will only pay for more union rewards!


Kevin Rehm’s annual CalPERS pension from working as an El Segundo firefighter is $172,516.08 per year according to the CalPERS Database on the FixPensionsFirst.com website at:

http://www.fixpensionsfirst.com/calpers-database/?first_name=&last_name=&employer=EL+SEGUNDO


Fisher hoped to get appointed to City Council again without an election, but a third candidate emerged the last day of the filing period. Please Vote NO on Measure A and AGAINST Bill Fisher on April 8th. For voting information, see ElSegundo.org or contact the City Clerk.

This flyer is a response to late campaign mailers and late campaign contribution reports.
Check the PublicSafetyProject.org web site for documentation, proof, and responses to any last-minute hit pieces.
Authored by Michael D. Robbins. Not authorized or endorsed by any candidate or committee.
Paid for by Michael D. Robbins, P.O. Box 2193, El Segundo, CA 90245. 4/4/2014 Rev. 1


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Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Measure A - 5 New Taxes and 6 Tax Inceases, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Union Corruption, Videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on El Segundo Flyer #3 – Vote “NO” on Measure A, and Against BILL FISHER!

Supporting Proposition 32 – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Michael D. Robbins

South Bay and other California cities are at much greater risk of bankruptcy than residents are being told. Unrealistic optimistic revenue projections by city finance directors have not come to fruition, just as I warned would happen in El Segundo. City revenues actually declined.

Voters can and must help protect against city bankruptcies by voting “YES” on Proposition 32. It puts voters first by cutting the money tie between politicians and special interests and ensuring every individual contribution is made voluntarily.

Special interests have already contributed $43 million to defeat Proposition 32 with totally deceptive campaign ads. The same government employee unions that have been driving cities and school districts toward bankruptcy with astronomical and unsustainable salaries, benefits and pensions have contributed 98 percent of that campaign money ($42 million).

Proposition 32 will break the stranglehold government employee unions have on Sacramento and local government — that has blocked real and meaningful compensation and pension reform, and Senate Bill 1530, which would have made it easier to dismiss teachers who sexually abuse their students. … Continue reading

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, California, Letters to the Editor, Political Corruption, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Supporting Proposition 32 – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Michael D. Robbins

Marie Fellhauer’s ethics lapses pile up as El Segundo election approaches

Police Union member Marie Fellhauer is running for El Segundo City Council.
Police Union member Marie Fellhauer is running for El Segundo City Council
Photo copyright © 2012 by Michael D. Robbins.


Marie Fellhauer is a Police Union member, and her multitude of ethics lapses make it more likely that she will represent the Police and Fire Unions rather than the Voters and Taxpayers if elected to City Council.

Marie Fellhauer has made at least four known ethics lapses:

  1. Fellhauer’s 32 percent absenteeism rate for Planning Commission meetings she was obligated to attend, and her misrepresentation of her Planning Commission record in her campaign literature.
  2. Much of Fellhauer’s campaign assistance is coming from Mayor Eric Busch, who took $10,900 in campaign cash and other support from the Police and Fire Unions in 2008, and paid them back with millions of extra tax dollars per year in a back-room sweetheart deal, and more than 11 to 23 percent pay raises during a recession when they were already grossly overpaid.
  3. Fellhauer knowingly accepted a $700 contribution from a local businessman who tried to cheat the City out of $55,000, and who was bounced off the Planning Commission by the City Council before his first Planning Commission meeting because a majority of the City Council did not trust him. He tried to steer the Golf Course Construction Management contract to a friend who bid $120,000, when the lowest and more qualified bidder bid only $65,000 for the same job.
  4. Fellhauer got caught in a lie where she tried to cover up her Police Union campaign contribution money at the League of Women Voters Candidates Forum.

Planning Commission Ethics Lapse

Marie Fellhauer’s known ethics lapses start with her Planning Commission appointment.

Fellhauer claims in her campaign literature that her appointment to the El Segundo Planning Commission is an example of Marie's Proven Commitment to Community.
Excerpt from Marie Fellhauer’s Campaign Literature.

Fellhauer claims in her campaign literature that her appointment to the El Segundo Planning Commission is an example of “Marie’s Proven Commitment to Community.”

However, Fellhauer has been absent for a third (32%) of all the Planning Commission meetings she was obligated to attend over the last two years, and absent for a fourth (25%) of all her obligated meetings over the last four years.

There are several problems here.

First, Fellhauer failed to meet her commitments for a very important city function for at least four years.

Second, once she realized she could not or would not meet her commitments, she should have resigned but failed to do so. It appears that Fellhauer retained her seat on the Planning Commission solely to use it as a stepping stone to higher office, i.e., City Council.

And third, Fellhauer misrepresented her record in writing in her own campaign literature to gain trust and confidence from voters. … Continue reading

Posted in El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Marie Fellhauer’s ethics lapses pile up as El Segundo election approaches

Vote “NO” on Measure P, the Fire Union’s Initiative

by Michael D. Robbins
Director, Public Safety Project, PublicSafetyProject.org

Below is the content from the front side of an information flyer distributed to residents city-wide in El Segundo, California, on April 8, 2014, the Sunday before the April 10, 2012 General Municipal Election. However, the actual flyer was titled: Vote “NO” on Measure P, and Against SCOTT HOUSTON !

The back side of the flyer provided information on Scott Houston’s true ideology, politics, and track record.

A list of information sources for this flyer and a summary of the election results and lack of union electoral success follow the flyer content below.


Vote “NO” on Measure P, the Fire Union’s Initiative

Background

  • Measure P is the Fire Union’s Initiative – They put it on the ballot to maximize their salaries and job security at our expense in lives and money
  • Disbands our Local City Fire Department for at least ten years under state law
  • Forces our City to contract with L.A. County for significantly reduced fire & paramedic services in a One-Sided Contract that gives L.A. County ALL of the Bargaining Power
  • L.A. County will Unilaterally set the Contract Price, Terms, and Service Level

Service Cuts

  • Cuts number of on-duty Firefighters by 31%, from 16 to 11 – a staffing level even Fire Union President Christopher Thomason admitted was unsafe (on 1/18/11)
  • Eliminates TWO of our THREE Paramedic Rescue Squads
  • Permanently eliminates ALL three of our City-operated Paramedic Ambulances – The L.A. County Fire Dept. DOES NOT operate Paramedic Ambulances
  • Forces residents to use Out-of-Town Private Ambulance Companies – with Significantly Increased Hospital Transport Times and Patient Fees
  • We Need Our Paramedic Ambulances Most – Each year there are 0 or 1 major structure fires, but an average of 758 Paramedic Ambulance Hospital Transports
  • Delays Emergency Response – Routes 911 calls through TWO Dispatch Centers
  • Firefighters serving El Segundo will routinely be sent Out of Town to other L.A. County cities, far more often than out-of-town firefighters will come to El Segundo

Other Issues

  • We already have 70 plus Firefighters Available under Existing Mutual Aid Agreements with L.A. County and South Bay cities
  • 70 Firefighters Responded to the 3/13/11 helicopter crash at Raytheon Bldg. E1
  • No Accountability – Insulates Firefighters and Paramedics from Accountability to any City Official – they will Report to a Remote L.A. County Fire Chief in Gardena
  • Lose Ability to Control Costs – Prevents reduction of Fire Union Excessive and Unsustainable Salaries and Benefits costing $150,000 to $335,000 per employee
  • All El Segundo Fire Dept. Vehicles and Equipment become L.A. County Property
  • Any Cost Savings from Measure P will be Temporary, will result from Drastic Emergency Service Cuts, and will go to Pay for More Big Police Union Pay Raises

This flyer is a response to late campaign mailers and late campaign contribution reports.
Check the PublicSafetyProject.org web site for documentation & responses to any last-minute hit pieces.
Authored by Michael D. Robbins. Not authorized or endorsed by any candidate or committee.
Paid for by Michael D. Robbins, P.O. Box 2193, El Segundo, CA 90245. 4/6/2012 Rev. 4


Information sources for this flyer include:

  • Results from Public Records Act requests by Michael D. Robbins;
  • Text of the Measure P voter initiative petition circulated by the El Segundo Firefighters’ Association (union) members;
  • City Attorney’s Impartial Analysis of Measure P written for the Sample Ballot/Voter Information Guide;
  • The Feasibility Study for the Provision of Fire Protection, Paramedic and Incidental Services for the City of El Segundo by the Consolidated Fire Protection District of Los Angeles County, approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors 8-17-2010;
  • A press conference held by El Segundo Fire Chief Kevin Smith on March 13, 2011, across the street from the helicopter crash site at Raytheon Company (legacy Hughes Aircraft Company) Building E1 on El Segundo Blvd., attended by Michael D. Robbins;
  • Answers to questions asked by Michael D. Robbins of El Segundo City officials including City Council Members Carl Jacobson and Suzanne Fuentes;
  • Direct observation and photographic and video documentation of Los Angeles County paramedic service operations by Michael D. Robbins; and
  • Analysis by Michael D. Robbins and David Burns.

Election Results:

Measure P, the Fire Union’s Initiative, was defeated with 90.1% voting “NO”. Also, the two City Council candidates endorsed and funded by the El Segundo Police Officers’ Association (the police union) – Scott Houston and former City Clerk Cindy Mortesen – were defeated.

The El Segundo Fire Union probably spent more than $100,000 on their Measure P campaign. The union membership voted on December 6, 2011 to provide their professional campaign consultant Frank Caterinicchio with a $75,000 campaign budget. The union hired an attorney to draft the Measure P initiative and petition, and to file a lawsuit against the City and appear in court in an attempt to change wording in the City Attorney’s Impartial Analysis. The union spent money sending out Measure P campaign mailers. And the union hired a professional polling company to do an initial telephone push-poll and two tracking push-polls of El Segundo voters, with numerous questions related to Measure P and public perception of the fire union and the various City Council candidates. The cost of polling increases as the number and complexity of the poll questions increase.

The union even offered to pay for the cost of an early Special Election within a few months in May or June of 2011, that would have given the union a significant unfair electoral advantage, but after much public pressure was applied, the City Council voted 3-2 to put Measure P on the ballot for the regularly scheduled April 10, 2012 General Municipal Election, allowing sufficient time to run an effective low-cost grassroots campaign against Measure P. The cost of the grassroots campaign against Measure P was insignificant. Continue reading

Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative, Political Corruption, Politics, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Vote “NO” on Measure P, the Fire Union’s Initiative

Video – Cindee Topar in Solving Our City’s Top Problems 101 – El Segundo – Public Safety Project



Cindee Topar in Solving Our City’s Top Problems 101


Cindee Topar at a City Council meeting
Cindee Topar at a City Council meeting.
Photo copyright © 2012 by Michael D. Robbins.

LALCV PAC MONEY

Cindee Topar has taken thousands of dollars in campaign support from the radical Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters (LALCV). Although the name may sound innocuous, their agenda and the candidates they support are quite extreme, and they divert and squander taxpayer money for their own private agenda purposes. The LALCV is a political action committee (PAC). They do not plant any trees, clean up any parks or beaches, or do any other hands-on conservation-related work. Their sole purpose for existing is to get candidates who subscribe to their extremist political agenda elected to public offices.

An internet search found that LALCV promotes an agenda ranging from banning plastic bags to increasing taxes and trash collection fees to pay for more of their environmental programs, to “Toilet to Tap”.

“Toilet to Tap” would have recycled Hyperion sewage coming out of our kitchen and bathroom taps if a majority on City Council were to successfully promote it. I don’t think we need that, and I don’t think we are ready for that.

Scott Houston, Eric Busch, Bill Fisher, and Jim Boulgarides have also received LALCV endorsements, and likely also received LALCV cash contributions and/or expensive campaign mailers.

For all races, the LALCV Board of Directors uses a rigorous four-step vetting process in making its campaign endorsements to ensure they only support candidates who will actively pursue their radical agenda. The vetting process includes a detailed questionnaire and in-person interview, followed by an evaluation and recommendation by an endorsement team, then finally, a vote of the full Board. In some cases, the Board will also elect to financially support a candidate or ballot initiative along with its endorsement. Only the most extreme candidates running in races where the LALCV has a reasonable chance of influencing the election outcome get both the LALCV endorsement and the financial support.

The campaign support Topar took from the LALCV included large cash contributions and three expensive campaign mailers when Topar ran for El Segundo City Council in 2008. LALCV has contributed or will contribute $750 to Topar for her 2012 El Segundo City Council campaign.

The third LALCV campaign mailer sent for Topar in 2008 was a large full-color card stock campaign mailer that claimed in large bold letters, “Thanks to CINDEE TOPAR, El Segundo has cleaner air, healthier water and more open space.” You can see the front side of that campaign mailer below.


Third LALCV campaign mailer for Cindee Topar in her 2008 campaign for El Segundo City Council.


Video Transcript:Continue reading

Posted in El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, Videos | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Video – Cindee Topar in Solving Our City’s Top Problems 101 – El Segundo – Public Safety Project

Video – Scott Houston in Disbanding Our Fire Department 101 with Measure P



Scott Houston in Disbanding Our Fire Department 101 with Measure P


El Segundo City Council candidate Scott Houston has completely misrepresented his true record, politics, and agenda. Houston is a tax-and-spend Progressive (ultra-liberal), not a fiscal conservative.

Houston claimed in his campaign literature that he wants to “maintain local control of our fire department”. However, as demonstrated by the video above and the links to the official El Segundo City Council meeting minutes, Scott Houston urged the City Council to enact Measure P as an ordinance that night, without letting the people vote on it, at the February 15, 2011 El Segundo City Council meeting.

Measure P will disband our local City Fire Department and force El Segundo to contract with Los Angele County for a significantly reduced level of fire and paramedic service, for at least ten years under state law, and under price, terms and service levels dictated by L.A. County under an adhesion contract mandated by Measure P, the fire union’s initiative.

Houston read a script nearly identical to the script read by Bryan Partlow, the fire union representative who sponsored Measure P because he is the only firefighter union member that lives in El Segundo. Both Houston and Partlow urged the City Council, to enact Measure P directly into law without an election, and if not then as their second choice, to schedule Measure P for a vote at an early Special Election within only a few months.

That would have given the firefighters’ union a huge unfair advantage, the union can fund and organize their campaign almost instantly, while the residents would be just ramping up their campaign after the election is over. The firefighters’ union can easily raise $100,000 or more almost instantly from among their union members, and they have dozens of volunteers to work their campaign because the firefighters only have to work two out of every six days, and they get paid to sleep.

Scott Houston was clearly upset when he spoke at the second Public Communications period, at the end of the meeting, because the City Council voted 3 to 2 to schedule Measure P for the next regular election, on April 10, 2012, when the he would run for City Council after he lobbied the Council to enact Measure P directly into law without letting the voters vote on it. Those would be the same voters that he would ask to vote for him!

And Scott Houston had proved by his own actions, that he will represent the fire and police unions rather than the voters and taxpayers. … Continue reading

Posted in El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative, Videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Video – Scott Houston in Disbanding Our Fire Department 101 with Measure P

Long memory – Letter to the Beach Reporter by Mary Olinick

I laughed when I learned Jan Cruikshank criticized Michael Robbins’ “Candidate Ranking” letter. I will be voting for Robbins’ three top-tier candidates: Carl Jacobson, Dave Atkinson, and Dave Burns.

It’s not surprising Cruikshank supports Robbins’ bottom-tier candidates – Cindee Topar, Cindy Mortesen, and Scott Houston. Houston is allied with the firefighter and police unions. He took police union money and their endorsement in 2010. He read a script almost identical to the fire union representative’s script at the Feb. 15, 2011 City Council meeting, pressuring the city council to enact Measure P into law without letting the people vote on it. And Topar was campaign manager for a firefighter.

Cruikshank was the firefighter union’s candidate back in 1992. … Continue reading

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Long memory – Letter to the Beach Reporter by Mary Olinick

Unions influencing El Segundo – Letter to the Daily Breeze by Michael D. Robbins

Unions influencing El Segundo

As I predicted last July, El Segundo Mayor Eric Busch and his City Council majority approved new city employee union contracts in secret, letting the new and unproven city manager do the negotiating, then rushed the contracts through a public City Council vote as a mere formality.

Busch tried to rush the official contract approval with less than 24 hours for the public to even see the contracts, because the contract terms are still excessive, unsustainable and almost entirely one-sided in favor of the fire and police unions.

The contracts give automatic longevity and annual step pay raises, and excessive and unsustainable six-figure compensation and pensions, including redundant special compensation and automatic overtime pay. They also guarantee no layoffs for three years, even if it bankrupts the city.

This bankruptcy trap ties the hands of the current and next City Council, taking away their most effective cost-control and bargaining tool. … Continue reading

Posted in Daily Breeze Letters, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Police Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Unions influencing El Segundo – Letter to the Daily Breeze by Michael D. Robbins