Can Augusto Bisani help save Los Angeles?

It is clear to me that the City of Los Angeles and it's obnoxious ballot requirements..(who wants to chase down 500 voters for their signatures... over Thanksgiving Holidays !!?).. are designed to keep people OUT of local elections. And they are doing a great job. In 2007, five of the sitting City Council Members had no opponent in the election. The way things are headed right now, it won't be a repeat of 2007, but it won't be much better, either.

As of right now, no challengers have qualified for the ballot to face The Dark Lord in CD 2.

Augusto Bisani may be the last hope for freedom and democracy in the Valley.

After I dropped out of the race due to signature issues, and Frank Sheftel followed me in leaving the race, it appears that the Al Bundy of CD 4 (Tom LaBonge) might only be challenged by two left-leaning foreigners, Stephen Box and Tomas O'Grady. They might be able to pull 30-40 % combined of the vote, but I think LaBonge has handed out too many City certificates and kissed too much butt to be denied another term by these newcomers.

I really like David Barron in CD 6. He is a man of character . His website is great.

Now, lets just hope he makes the ballot. Tony Cardenas should probably be in jail right now, but with the sorry state of Los Angeles politics, there is always the chance that he'll be re-elected instead.

Unfortunately, nobody has yet qualified to be on the ballot to face Betty Pleasants favorite politician : Bernard Parks. Betty, please put out a Soulvine alert!

In Council District 10, I am happy to say that a good option exists for voters. Austin Dragon has been involved with Republican politics for some time now. He's a million times better than Herb Wesson, the man I like to to call "The Little Rooster" for his continual preening and bravado while at the City Council meetings.

It will be difficult to stop the takeover in CD 12, where Mitch Englander has spent the last two years building for this race. Englander will probably have several challengers for the open seat of retiring Greig Smith, but it would not be smart to bet against him.

CD 14 looks to be the real bloodbath in this election, with businessman Rudy Martinez already having billboards and a campaign office open and ready to take down Jose Huizar. Mud is already flying between the two camps, and the ballot positions haven't even been drawn yet. This one is going to get very ugly. Some of my friends in the CD 14 area seem to be moving towards Martinez, based more on animosity towards Huizar than anything else.

Happy Hanukkah

I'd like to take this chance to wish a Happy Hanukkah to all of my friends who are Jewish.

As a Catholic, I do not practice Judaism, but I do have a deep respect and admiration for the ancient religion.

All Christian faiths came from Judaism. Jesus was Jewish and so were the 12 Apostles.

I could never do a good enough job of explaining Hanukkah, so I found a great page to link to.

Read more about the history of Hanukkah here.

Badgers headed to Pasadena! And so am I.

It looks like I'll be getting my birthday wish a day early as tomorrow the University of Wisconsin Badgers will accept the invitation to play in the Rose Bowl on New Years Day against Texas Christian University.

It has been a long time. I got a bit spoiled by watching Badger victories in person in the 1994, 1999, and 2000 Rose Bowls.

I can't wait for Jan. 1st.

Darkness descends on Council District 2

Deeply troubling reports are coming out of the Valley today. Freedom and Democracy are under siege.

The Dark Lord may, indeed, face no challengers on the ballot March 8th.

Reports from those closely involved say that none of the three candidates who have filed to run against Krekorian have been able to complete the obnoxious (and possibly illegal) requirement by the City that they present 500 valid voter petition signatures to the City Clerks Office in order to be on the March 8th, 2011 ballot. In fact, some of them aren't even close. Although there are a few days left, the possibility of these candidates completing the task becomes less and less likely.

An uncontested four year term resulting in unprecedented destruction is what awaits the poor residents of CD2. Horrified residents are scrambling to help out the challengers, but it may already be too late.

Aided by Dangerous Enemies of Freedom like Judy Price and Lisa Sarkin, The Dark Lord continues to expand his power and control over Council District 2.

Challenging and defeating The Dark Lord in the March 8th election is probably impossible. What is even more disturbing is that there appears to be no one who can even slow him down.

Council District 2 voters see only darkness ahead ...and it might be here for a long time.

A message from John Fer

Please allow this letter to inform you of my declaration of candidacy for the Chairmanship of our RPLAC. Attached to this e-mail message is my platform, explaining the reasons why I am running. My decision has been positively received by many of our fellow Republicans and resulted in unsolicited endorsements from Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich; Gene Dotson, recent past president of the Peninsula Harbor Republicans; and best-selling political author and lecturer Lt Colonel Robert “Buzz” Patterson, USAF-Ret. These admired and well-respected Republican leaders reflect well-placed confidence in my ability to restore Republican greatness to our much-needed county.

As you know, our performance in this month’s general election was, to put it simply, an embarrassment. While the rest of America was recapturing the core of Constitutional government of, by and for the people, and “one Nation under God,” we here in Los Angeles County were confounded once again by the good old boy network of self-interest and self-preservation. Consequently, California continued its downward spiral.

I come before you as an outsider, and not as an establishment operative. Please know, this is not about “me!” and know, I will work with every patriotic and dedicated Republican as I have done both in times of war and peace. This election is not about personalities, but in marketing ideas: Conservative ideas to those not voting Republican.

Please review my candidacy and I welcome your contacting me with any questions.

Sincerely,

John Fer

Col, USAF-Ret

SUBJECT: Candidate for Chairmanship of RPLAC

I am running for Chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County to restore Republican greatness to our community. As most of you know, Los Angeles County is “ground zero” for the rest of the state, i.e., when we win Los Angeles County we win California.

Our performance in this month’s general election was, to put it simply, an embarrassment. While the rest of America was recapturing the core of Constitutional government of, by and for the people, and “one Nation under god,” we were confounded once again by the good old boy network of self-interest and self-preservation. Consequently, California continued its downward spiral.

I come from the viewpoint of a fellow native Southern Californian, born and raised in San Pedro, who has seen our once great Party fall from grace. It is axiomatic that when the organization fails to reach its stated objectives, most often it is because of failed leadership.

Following my release from a Vietnam prisoner of war camp after more than six years, I continued to serve our country by supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. During that twenty-eight year career, I held positions as an aircraft pilot and eventually earned the rank of Colonel with responsibilities to lead and manage hundreds of military and civilian personnel and multi-million dollar budgets, both in the field and at the Pentagon. I have the experience and credentials to go out into the business, religious, and veteran's communities to raise funds which no other candidate can compare with.

After serving our Nation, I became a school principal for fourteen years and I hold two Masters Degrees: Political Science and Educational Administration. I currently serve as the Director of Ministries for the largest Los Angeles Catholic Parish, exercising the coordination of ministries comprised of Latino, Eastern European, African-American, and Asian citizens.

As Chairman, I intend to bring a fresh and enlightened leadership to the RPLAC:

• I come as an outsider, not an establishment operative: and this is not about “me!” I will work with every patriotic and dedicated Republican as I have done both in times of war and peace. This election is not about personalities, but ideas: Conservative ideas.

• As Chairman of RPLAC, my philosophy will be to work with all dedicated Republicans who desire to win elections by marketing our Party’s principles and platform to those who are currently not with us, in order for them to understand that we offer opportunity for all and believe in personal responsibility.

The major thrust of our efforts must be the establishment of relationships with those who have not voted Republican: those voting Independent, Democratic, or other parties primarily because we Republicans have not articulated our message of Constitutional fidelity, religious freedom, fiscal conservatism, and personal liberty and traditional family values—all virtues that are deeply imbedded in America.

• My personal relationship with national, state and local leaders makes me the logical choice for Chairman because I have established relationships with them; and also with voters across all politico-socio-economic levels. Only by executing a vigorous effort to market our Conservative Republican platform to all voters, can we be assured of winning elections.

Having a business degree or engaging in commerce is not enough: building trusting and meaningful relationships is critical to earning votes from communities our Party has ignored. I have worked, lived and served with people of all backgrounds in my twenty-eight years in our United States Air Force. I understand the dynamics politically, educationally, culturally, and I know how to organize resources in order to complete missions.

In order to be a successful Republican Party of Los Angeles County we must:

• Effectively raise funds to support our mission;

• Re-establish Republican conservative principles of limited government, individual liberty, and fiscal responsibility;
• Recruit and support quality, principled candidates for all RPLAC-related seats;
• Eliminate self-serving and self-promoting individuals who undermine our efforts to work together and win elections.

The challenges we Republicans in Los Angeles County face are formidable, however, I am convinced that by working together we can forge a credible and competent team to achieve convincing electoral victories not only in 2012 but beyond. And in order to do this I humbly and respectfully request the honor of your vote.

Sincerely,

John Fer

Col-USAF, Ret.

Jane Barnett throws down the gauntlet

Stunning news today as Republican Party of Los Angeles County Chairman Jane Barnett has sprung a surprise on everyone involved with County activities.

Jane Barnett issued an email from the County website asking people to re-elect her as Chairman.

She really threw down the gauntlet to all challengers.

Not only did she hype her own achievements, but she also included a list of her supporters.

In my opinion, this is clearly an attempt to intimidate any potential challengers.

(Easy to win an election when the votes are already in your pocket.)

I have written before about the chaotic situation at the County level for the Republican Party.

Lawsuits, threats, counter suits, etc....

The court battle continues on appeal.

My problem with this whole situation is the way that people went about it.

If some supporters weren't happy with the leadership, they should have done something five months earlier during the scheduled election in December of 2008.

But to come storming into a meeting in May of 2009 and say that you have the right to vote every officer out of his job? That is lunacy. The new officers, in my opinion, pulled off a coup d'etat that night. It was a sudden and illegal seizure of power.

Jane Barnett - Chairman, Gary Aminoff - First Vice Chairman, John Cozza - Second Vice Chairman, Alex Burrola - Secretary, Davina Keiser - Assistant Secretary, Leonard Lanzi - Treasurer, Gwen Patrick, Assistant Treasurer.

In the minds of these new officers, it was O.K. with them to justify invalidating the results of a legitimate election just because they weren't happy. If the above-mentioned officers were so set on controlling the County GOP, then why didn't they run for those posts in the legitimate December election?

Instead, they used the tactics of banana-republic dictators to achieve power.

Then at a later meeting, Jane Barnett and Gary Aminoff decided to throw out elected members of the County Central Committee. It was a shocking display of arrogance.

How in God's name did they feel they had the right to disenfranchise thousands of voters who actually elected Jose Aguilar and Robert Vaughn? On a mere whim of theirs?

Any person who participated in any of this nonsense is showing just how far they have strayed from Republican core values. Seeking power for the sake of being in power is not a Conservative value. It is the opposite of what we believe in.

The people who carried out this coup d'etat felt justified on a whim to invalidate the results of a legitimate pre-planned and announced election. They violated the personal freedoms of those officers to finish the terms they had been elected to...which had been agreed upon by all parties involved.

These plotters also failed to see the bigger picture and destroyed trust between the party and the voters by throwing elected officers out of the party, effectively saying to those voters that "you are unimportant and your voices are not worth listening to."

If this is what these people in power think it means to be a Republican in California, then I am ashamed to call myself one. If you can't follow the rule of law, then you have no business whatsoever being in power.

These new leaders have lost every single election they have injected themselves into, and I think it's time for a change. We need strong, principled leaders of character in our party.

Not ones who will blindly follow people like Whitman and Fiorina over the cliff.

Daily doses of tyranny

I'm getting tired of these little daily doses of tyranny from the Obama Administration.

The government will keep all our food supply safe by banning small growers and producers ?

I suppose the government will do a bang-up job with this....

Just like how the government kept the skies safe on 9-11.

Like how they keep Amtrak on time and under budget.

And operate the Postal Service at a profit.

And operate Medicare and Medicaid without any fraud, waste, or abuse.

Keep these fools away from my dinner table!