February  2010  

The Orange County's Newest Dance Craze:  The Mumbaugh! 

Posted By CotoBlogzz 02-08-2010 9:00 AM

Rancho Santa Margarita CA - A new dance craze is sweeping Orange County.  It is a fusion between Irish step dancing and California move.  It is not a re-incarnation of the Macarena, Salsa or Mambo.  It is more like Riverdance, the phenomenon from ten years ago; Riverdance is a theatrical show consisting of traditional Irish step dancing, and notable for its rapid leg movements while body and arms are kept stationary for the most part.  Dubbed the mumbaugh (rhymes with Mambo), like Riverdance it consists of rapid leg movement, but in this case,  in complete silence and in the dark, most popular with the politicians throughout Orange County, triggered by what we have called the Baugh Initiative.

The Baugh Initiative advanced by Orange County GOP’s Chairman Scott Baugh requires politicians to choose:  the GOP or the  the union?-  in this case the AOCDS. . We think that regardless of the politician’s choice, the initiative will be a game change in the 2010 elections starting with the Orange County Sheriff’s race.  We were not disappointed, as no sooner was the initiative announced in the local media, a controversy developed between the Orange County Register and Poldex leader Lt. Hunt on exactly what it was the Lt.'s position.   We now understand that the main reason the Lt. does not like the initiative, is that it stifles free speech.  Poldex© runner up, Chief Craig Hunter has signed on to the Baugh initiative, while scoring last place, incumbent Sheriff Hutchens rejects it. All this signals that taxpayers will have a choice as to whether they think the party’s or the union’s agenda is more closely lined up with their own interest. Noteworthy is that while Sheriff Hutchens has the lowest Poldex score, she is leading in the all important war chest game, outpacing both Chief Hunter and Lt. Hunt.

Others not only do not agree with us that the Baugh initiative is a game changer, they think it is useless “I take issue with the Baugh initiative because it is basically meaningless, ie, it really doesn't matter what these candidates state up front anymore, as we learned with Barack Hussein Obama’s  campaign: he signaled right and turned left, off a cliff.  Furthermore, the candidates in general will say anything and then when they are in office do something else.  HOW do we know who's telling the truth anymore? HOW do we, the public know who we can and cannot trust anymore.” - for reference, we think we have a really good handle on how to pursue the truth, however, the old adage applies:  "truth hurts, but it will set you free" - those interested in the framework we use to pursue the truth, just write to us, but I digress.

And still others opine:

 “I have to disagree with Chairman Baugh's efforts.  It is not the unions that force a politician to pull  a lever for a bill.  Research your candidates more.  It's like jumping on the bandwagon to go after Smith and Wesson for a crime committed with their gun.  People should have the right to associate as they wish.  Talk about stomping on freedom of speech” adding that "This just smells of being a little too opportunistic... but then again, look who we are talking about."  such assertions however were quickly disputed “It is not the unions that force a politician to pull a lever for a bill."  Are you kidding me!  If this race wasn’t so serious, your statement would be laughable”, says a CotoBuzz Journal reader, who adds:  "You say "This just smells of being a little too opportunistic..." INTERESTING, I SUPPOSE THE UNIONS ARE NOT OPPORTUNISTIC?" 

The last comments is reminiscent of the old adage about success versus failure:  "Success claims a large family, while failure is an orphan".  Take for instance the "Safe  City" moniker.  As soon as a "Safe City" award is announced, politicians, local governance and law enforcement  quickly run to associate themselves as being deserving of recognition:  The question is, what did each contribute, or not,  to make that city the so-called safest city?  What about the least safe?  Who should be held accountable?  What is each politicians, local governance and or law enforcement individual doing or not, that makes a city the least safe?

Newsflash:  Whether a city is the safest city in the county or not is primarily a function of residents and local governance, not law enforcement.  More details below:

The only person, other than the Sheriff candidates, we have been able to track down to date, who supports the Baugh Initiative is Rancho Santa Margarita's council member candidate Jesse Petrilla:  "I endorse the paycheck protection initiative. It’s not a choice between the unions and GOP, it’s a choice between the unions and conservative principles of liberty. I’m not a GOP marcher, and believe that the GOP must return to its founding principles, and it is a step in the right direction that the GOP is willing to address the issue of unions forcing their members to fund left-wing political agendas" and thinks the best way to deal with the OCSD union is a combination of the Reagan/Brown model " I believe unions must return to being about their members and the jobs they represent. All too often we have seen unions rally for causes which have absolutely nothing to do with the purpose they were founded to represent," he added.  Seconds before publication, we received an email from Mission Viejo's Frank Ury with references to local media - we have not gotten a chance to study.

Holding firm to our convictions, we decided to  test our premise that the Baugh Initiative is going to be a game changer in the Orange County’s 2010 elections, by trying to contact every city council member in the county  with two simple questions: 

Now, there are twelve cities in Orange County that outsource public safety to Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD):  Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Stanton, and Villa Park.  The OCSD is also the law enforcement agency serving the unincorporated areas of Orange County.

As we launched into our search for which of the 12 city halls in Orange County would  mumbaugh the most in The OC,  we quickly realized the vitality and diversity in the county’s local governance:  We tried to contact council members via email, telephone and even fax, as not every city council member uses email – or so we were told. Lake Forest for example, uses a website powered by civica, does not allow you to contact city official via email and instead uses the GovPopolous mail system.  The bad news is that after we set up an account using GovPopolous, the system would not allows to login.  Fortunately Benjamin Siegel, Lake Forest Assistant to the Lake Forest City Manager was kind enough to make sure that each city council member got our message.

 Specifically anent public safety, the buck stops at city hall:  Whether that city is considered the safest city or not, is mostly a function of the leadership displayed by city hall - such leadership includes vision and a willingness to engage with residents, supporters and critics alike. The OCSD is a service provider, which merely implements the statement of work defined by city hall.  Typical politician's and  union’s simplistic approach to public safety by merely  throwing more bodies to the problem, instead of applying common sense solutions,  is not only not sustainable, but this is the same approach at the core of Detroit’s demise

Take for instance the leadership demonstrated by the cities of Lake Forest and Mission Viejo: Lake Forest's ordinance issuing a 45-day moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries in the city or the Mission Viejo City Council  pioneering work with underage drinking, being the county's first to pass the Social Host ordinance.  Certainly these two cases illustrate a more cost-efficient and proactive approach to public safety than say the AVOID program final 2009 Holiday results  which required three law enforcement agents  for every  arrest.

Our efforts to contact Orange County City Hall is proof positive that our assertion is accurate.  To date, every incumbent city council member has refused to respond to simple Joe the Taxpayer questions.  This attitude is not reflective of the accountability and transparency the Tea Party Movement is looking for-, quite the contrary.  Resembles too much the Washington DC smoke-filled backroom where the Louisiana Purchase, the Cornhusker Kickback and the Union Bribe were concocted.

That is, every Orange County politician we have tried to contact is doing the mumbaugh – Mum on the Baugh Initiative and seemingly does not want to be transparent and accountable.  Heck, even Scott Baugh is doing the mumbaigh! But perhaps more importantly, why?  It is no that the union has taken Orange County City Hall Hostage - right?

Certainly not due to lack of, or low threshold, of political convictions or even political expediency. Not as a result of the union's threat to get involved in the City of Newport Beach politics if city hall were to support taking over the Sheriff’s Department’s responsibility for patrolling Newport Beach harbor.  Not the blocking of Sheriff Anderson's attempt at jail reform. Or even last week's union's involvement in the Mission Viejo recall effort.  What about the  union’s systemic involvement in attempt to circumvent PRA letter and spirit or even the union’s involvement in systemic attempt to adopt any and all forms of objective performance reviews.  So, why the deafening silence in The OC? As the old adage goes:  "Beware of what you don't say, as it is more  telling  than what you do say"  

So where is the problem?  "It’s the AOCDS' leadership that is the problem. The rank and file are hard working public servants who are not always well versed in the complexities of many political issues and therefore place trust in their leadership, leadership which has more interest in their own personal self preservation." told a high ranking official, intimately familiar with the machinations of the department.  This not only rings true, but supports our previous assertions regarding the Voter Burger.

Then added " The AOCDS' leadership's lying and misinformation to the voters in the union's failed attempt to influence the results of the recent Mission Viejo recall is an example of misguided bullying tactics. AOCDS' members need to ask its leadership why they wasted $105,000 in PAC funds in the Mission Viejo recall effort when the results of the recall not matter the outcome would not have benefited the membership. AOCDS' leadership has a lack of accountability to its own members.

Suggestions: When a candidate solicits your vote, say in a Tea Party or Town Hall meeting, questions to ask may be:  Do you do the mumbaugh?  Why or why not?

The same questions can be asked of your elected officials during the next city council meeting, or board of supervisors meeting, for example.

See the list below for the city council members we have tried to reach - To be fair, some of these elected officials may not have had a chance to read our questions.  If and when they do respond, we shall update the list.

 Orange County City Hall All Do the mumbaugh  

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