Bertha Lopez is quite changeable in her support of outrageous spending on lawyers. She herself joined the unanimous Chula Vista Elementary Board time after time is authorizing hundreds of thousands of dollars to be paid to lawyers to cover up district wrongdoing.
The San Diego Union-Tribune is also all over the map regarding which lawyers it protects and which lawyers it exposes. It hasn't breathed a word about the unconstitutional injunction obtained by San Diego County Office of Education's favorite law firm.
Sweetwater legal fees exceed peer districts
The cost is more than $33 per student, compared to $11.65 elsewhere
CHULA VISTA — The Sweetwater Union High School district is paying almost three times as much per student for legal services as its peer districts, according to a survey by county education officials.
The district is paying about $1.4 million per year to its general counsel, Garcia Calderon Ruiz LLP of Los Angeles, and other firms, according to the review of the past two years of data.
With an enrollment of about 42,000, that amounts to more than $33 per student per year. The county compared Sweetwater to five peer districts, which collectively spent $11.65 per student per year.
The district with the next highest annual cost per student was Escondido Union High School District, at $22.13. The lowest-cost district was San Marcos Unified, at $5.51 per student per year.
The comparison was conducted at the request of acting Sweetwater Superintendent Ed Brand, who is reviewing a wide range of district operations after the removal in June of Jesus Gandara as top administrator.
“The County Office of Ed did the analysis comparing us with five other districts in the county and we turned out No. 1 in terms of total costs, so in terms of our comprehensive review, we want to be at the other end of the spectrum,” Brand said.
While Sweetwater’s law firm declined to comment on the specifics of the report, Spokesman Dave Garcia said, “GCR will provide the taxpayers and children of the district the best representation available and will use all tools available to maintain that standard of support.”
According to the county’s report, Sweetwater’s legal bills also were higher as a portion of operating budget. Over two years, Sweetwater paid 0.43 percent of its operating budget for legal fees, compared to 0.16 percent in the peer districts.
The lowest legal cost as a percentage of budget was, again, San Marcos — where Brand last worked as a superintendent. The district spent 0.07 percent on legal fees.
The report notes that the Sweetwater law firm’s $83,000 monthly legal retainer is “not common among other local school districts” and could be the cause of the higher bills.
The county’s largest district, San Diego Unified, has an in-house general counsel on salary, while Poway Unified and Grossmont Union High School District maintain no general counsel and simply contract with firms as needed. Both Chula Vista Elementary School District and Vista Unified maintain an outside firm as their general counsel and are paid on an hourly basis.
Sweetwater school board President John McCann said in a statement, “The district needs to reform and restructure the way it handles its legal services to decrease costs. I believe that the district can save up to a half a million dollars in legal fees by improving decision processes and implementing cost controls.”
Trustee Bertha Lopez, who has taken issue with the district’s legal services for months, said, “The audit just confirms what I had been thinking that GCR had been overcharging us and in these crucial budgetary times, we need to make cutbacks and GCR was one of the ones on my priority list.”
In addition to costs, Brand said he is reviewing the structure of legal fees — that is, the retainer setup and whether an attorney needs to be present at all board meetings. He’s also examining a contract clause that has been criticized, which allows the law firm leeway to hire outside consultants such as public-relations professionals at district cost.
Brand will make a recommendation on how to decrease the district’s legal costs at the Aug. 30 board meeting.
The county analysis follows a report completed by the district in June, before Gandara was fired. That study by district staff indicated the legal fees were not out of the ordinary.
In that analysis, San Francisco Unified and Sacramento City schools were cited as districts that spent a larger percentage of their operating budget on legal fees than Sweetwater did in 2009-2010.
When Brand took over, he determined those results could have been skewed by the districts selected and sought the independent review of districts he found more comparable.
The firm’s main lawyer for Sweetwater is Bonifacio Garcia, who was hired by Brand in the mid-1990s during Brand’s previous tenure as superintendent.
Trustees have already taken steps to change the way legal services are obtained in the district.
Under Gandara, all legal and investigative services for the district were obtained under the authority of the general counsel, as authorized by trustees. On July 20, trustees voted to authorize the superintendent, not general counsel, to obtain legal and investigative services for the 2011-2012 school year.
Showing posts with label CVESD Trustee Bertha Lopez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CVESD Trustee Bertha Lopez. Show all posts
Thursday, August 04, 2011
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Bertha Lopez reveals some personnel records, hides others; Jaime Mercado opens his file at SUHSD
In 2002 I sued Chula Vista Elementary School District for violations of the labor code and other illegal actions, and Bertha Lopez and other trustees refused to produce my personnel file for the case.
What are she and the rest of the CVESD board hiding?
Is it something that's in the file, or, more likely, is it something that's missing from the file? Among the very few documents produced by CVESD were documents that were altered, pre-dated or post-dated. CVESD hid or destroyed other documents, and failed to create any paper trail at all on important occasions.
Bertha Lopez violated the law in a regular manner during her years as a CVESD board member.
Jaime Mercado, on the other hand, is clearly a person of decency who doesn't step on other people to get ahead. He cares enough about others to give a pay advance to an employee whose salary schedule included two months with no pay each year.
Former superintendent Ed Brand and Bertha Lopez are very much a part of the unethical and greedy inside circle that controls schools in San Diego County.
Here's today's SDUT article about Bertha's request to open personnel files:
Candidates open personnel files; 1 has reprimand
By Chris Moran
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
October 25, 2008
CHULA VISTA – Rivals in the race for a seat on the Sweetwater Union High School District board opened their personnel files to The San Diego Union-Tribune, revealing overwhelmingly positive evaluations of the 30-plus years each has spent as an educator in South County public schools.
The file of candidate Bertha Lopez, a National School District teacher, contains positive evaluations and no reprimands.
In addition to positive evaluations, incumbent Jaime Mercado's file contains a 2002 letter reprimanding him for using Associated Student Body money to make a loan to an employee. Mercado was principal of Palomar High School in Chula Vista at the time.
Then-Superintendent Ed Brand declined to suspend Mercado in part, he wrote, because “although your judgment was poor, your actions were not self-serving.”
Mercado said he authorized the loan because the employee faced two months without a paycheck because of a lag in the district's payroll system. Mercado said the employee told him that without the money, he would not be able to pay his rent.
The money was restored to the account a month later. Mercado said he used his own money to pay back the account and that the employee reimbursed him in installments.
In a letter of response to the reprimand, Mercado wrote at the time, “I was making up for a payroll system that has for years shamefully abused the basic right of employees to get paid in a timely manner.”
In an interview this week, Mercado called the reprimand letter retaliation by Brand.
[Blogger's note: Ed Brand has become famous for illegal retaliation. He was connected to widespread wrongdoing when he was superintendent of SUHSD, including the Mary Anne Weegar case, in which he retaliated against an administrator who complained that the law was not being followed by the district. He suddenly resigned from San Marcos Unified School District in August 2006. I'm not surprised to hear about more illegal retaliation by Ed Brand.
In the months before the letter was issued, another Sweetwater principal had filed a sexual-harassment claim against a high-level district administrator, and Mercado had agreed to make a declaration that the same administrator had mistreated him. The principal eventually filed a lawsuit alleging that she was wrongfully demoted in retaliation for the sexual-harassment complaint. The district paid $150,000 to settle the lawsuit.
Lopez asked the Union-Tribune to review the files after being asked about a petition dated April 21 signed by her co-workers at John Otis Elementary School. It states that Lopez “is not a team player, and in actuality she has worked assiduously at creating division and tension among staff members.”
Lopez transferred to another school in August, and her personnel file shows that she volunteered for the transfer. The petition and its allegations are not part of her file.
What are she and the rest of the CVESD board hiding?
Is it something that's in the file, or, more likely, is it something that's missing from the file? Among the very few documents produced by CVESD were documents that were altered, pre-dated or post-dated. CVESD hid or destroyed other documents, and failed to create any paper trail at all on important occasions.
Bertha Lopez violated the law in a regular manner during her years as a CVESD board member.
Jaime Mercado, on the other hand, is clearly a person of decency who doesn't step on other people to get ahead. He cares enough about others to give a pay advance to an employee whose salary schedule included two months with no pay each year.
Former superintendent Ed Brand and Bertha Lopez are very much a part of the unethical and greedy inside circle that controls schools in San Diego County.
Here's today's SDUT article about Bertha's request to open personnel files:
Candidates open personnel files; 1 has reprimand
By Chris Moran
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
October 25, 2008
CHULA VISTA – Rivals in the race for a seat on the Sweetwater Union High School District board opened their personnel files to The San Diego Union-Tribune, revealing overwhelmingly positive evaluations of the 30-plus years each has spent as an educator in South County public schools.
The file of candidate Bertha Lopez, a National School District teacher, contains positive evaluations and no reprimands.
In addition to positive evaluations, incumbent Jaime Mercado's file contains a 2002 letter reprimanding him for using Associated Student Body money to make a loan to an employee. Mercado was principal of Palomar High School in Chula Vista at the time.
Then-Superintendent Ed Brand declined to suspend Mercado in part, he wrote, because “although your judgment was poor, your actions were not self-serving.”
Mercado said he authorized the loan because the employee faced two months without a paycheck because of a lag in the district's payroll system. Mercado said the employee told him that without the money, he would not be able to pay his rent.
The money was restored to the account a month later. Mercado said he used his own money to pay back the account and that the employee reimbursed him in installments.
In a letter of response to the reprimand, Mercado wrote at the time, “I was making up for a payroll system that has for years shamefully abused the basic right of employees to get paid in a timely manner.”
In an interview this week, Mercado called the reprimand letter retaliation by Brand.
[Blogger's note: Ed Brand has become famous for illegal retaliation. He was connected to widespread wrongdoing when he was superintendent of SUHSD, including the Mary Anne Weegar case, in which he retaliated against an administrator who complained that the law was not being followed by the district. He suddenly resigned from San Marcos Unified School District in August 2006. I'm not surprised to hear about more illegal retaliation by Ed Brand.
In the months before the letter was issued, another Sweetwater principal had filed a sexual-harassment claim against a high-level district administrator, and Mercado had agreed to make a declaration that the same administrator had mistreated him. The principal eventually filed a lawsuit alleging that she was wrongfully demoted in retaliation for the sexual-harassment complaint. The district paid $150,000 to settle the lawsuit.
Lopez asked the Union-Tribune to review the files after being asked about a petition dated April 21 signed by her co-workers at John Otis Elementary School. It states that Lopez “is not a team player, and in actuality she has worked assiduously at creating division and tension among staff members.”
Lopez transferred to another school in August, and her personnel file shows that she volunteered for the transfer. The petition and its allegations are not part of her file.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Bertha Lopez sows strife at Otis Elementary in National City School District
The San Diego Union Tribune has supported Bertha Lopez in recent editorials, and has covered up her wrongdoing in the past, so the editors deserve a nod of appreciation for allowing this story to be published. Perhaps one day Don Sevrens will break down and allow Chris Moran to write the full story of Castle Park Elementary.
Candidate ripped in letter signed by teachers
By Chris Moran
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 18, 2008
CHULA VISTA – Teacher Bertha Lopez, who's running for Sweetwater Union High School District board, switched schools this summer after a majority of teachers at her old campus signed a letter accusing her of creating division and tension among the staff.
Lopez said she asked to transfer from John A. Otis Elementary to Rancho De La Nación Elementary, both in National City, for personal and professional reasons...
Lopez is president of the Chula Vista Elementary School District board and said she is running for the Sweetwater post now that her son is in middle school.
In April, 18 teachers on a staff of about 25 at Otis signed a letter addressed to National School District board members criticizing Lopez. The San Diego Union-Tribune obtained the letter through a public records request after being told about it through an anonymous tip.
The two-page letter from Otis teachers says of Lopez: “She is not a team player, and in actuality she has worked assiduously at creating division and tension among staff members.”
The letter also says: “A great majority of the staff have lost all confidence in Ms. Lopez as an effective language arts specialist for our school. She has continually fostered a negative environment.”
[Blogger's note: Why is Bertha Lopez running for the Sweetwater board? One reason may be to kill two birds with one stone: to expand the power of what I call the "Judd group" into SUHSD while maintaining her CVESD seat in the hands of the same group. CVESD has a habit of appointing board members when a trustee leaves. This is how Larry Cunningham and David Bejarano got their positions on the board.]
Candidate ripped in letter signed by teachers
By Chris Moran
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 18, 2008
CHULA VISTA – Teacher Bertha Lopez, who's running for Sweetwater Union High School District board, switched schools this summer after a majority of teachers at her old campus signed a letter accusing her of creating division and tension among the staff.
Lopez said she asked to transfer from John A. Otis Elementary to Rancho De La Nación Elementary, both in National City, for personal and professional reasons...
Lopez is president of the Chula Vista Elementary School District board and said she is running for the Sweetwater post now that her son is in middle school.
In April, 18 teachers on a staff of about 25 at Otis signed a letter addressed to National School District board members criticizing Lopez. The San Diego Union-Tribune obtained the letter through a public records request after being told about it through an anonymous tip.
The two-page letter from Otis teachers says of Lopez: “She is not a team player, and in actuality she has worked assiduously at creating division and tension among staff members.”
The letter also says: “A great majority of the staff have lost all confidence in Ms. Lopez as an effective language arts specialist for our school. She has continually fostered a negative environment.”
[Blogger's note: Why is Bertha Lopez running for the Sweetwater board? One reason may be to kill two birds with one stone: to expand the power of what I call the "Judd group" into SUHSD while maintaining her CVESD seat in the hands of the same group. CVESD has a habit of appointing board members when a trustee leaves. This is how Larry Cunningham and David Bejarano got their positions on the board.]
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Chula Vista candidate forum for CVESD and SUHSD
Sponsored by South Bay Forum and
Castle Park High School student government
October 1, 2008
CHULA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT CANDIDATES
SEAT TWO
David Bejarano
David Bejarano
Appointed governing board member
While children were being humbled for not having lunch money, Mr. Bejarano was spending tax dollars on lawyers for the sole purpose of maintaining the power of the small group, led by Patrick Judd, that has controlled the district for many years. Bejarano paid public lawyers to fight community efforts to create trustee districts.
* MY PICK SEAT TWO: ARCHIE MCALLISTER
Archie McAllister put an end to humiliating children at lunchtime.
Archie McAllister,
Retired Navy and educator
Mr. McAllister is the best candidate for seat #2 in my opinion. He has mainstream, pro-community attitudes, and is smart and well-organized. He brought an end to the policy of humiliating children who didn't have lunch money by giving them the dreaded cheese sandwich. (Cheese sandwiches are terrific, it's just that kids came to associate them with punishment.)
Norberto Salazar, right, fanning himself.
Norberto Salazar,
teacher (and spoiler?)
Norberto fell all over himself during the forum to tell David Bejarano (on two different occasions) how great he is. So why is he running against him? Clearly, Norberto is a Bejarano supporter, and is running once again for CVESD board for the sole apparent purpose of splitting the anti-incumbent vote. He read prepared statements, and constantly fanned himself while the other candidates on the stage sat calmly.
Diego Vargas, parent
Willard "Doc" Howard, program assistant analyst
SEAT FOUR
*MY PICK SEAT FOUR: RUSSEL CORONADO
Russell Coronado is the candidate of those who hope to pry Patrick Judd's fingers from the chair he has held for over twenty years.
Russell Coronado
Educator, parent and administrator
Mr. Coronado has a perfect combination of ability, experience and passion for helping children. Coronado came close to winning against Pamela Smith in 2006, and should win handily this time against Patrick Judd. Mr. Coronado is open about his work experience, while Judd refuses to comment on his recent departure from Mountain Empire School District.
Patrick Judd
Patrick Judd,
incumbent and retired superintendent
Patrick Judd has ruled the district with an iron hand for over twenty years, covering up problems by forcing employees to commit perjury and paying $100,000s to lawyers. He has succeeded in keeping the truth about CVESD out of the mainstream media.
Mr. Judd was a no-show at this forum, much like he was during his mysterious absence the last months of his job at Mountain Empire School District. He finally retired without coming back to work, and announced that he had not been on sick-leave. One suspects that there were some serious problems at the district, and Judd was part of the problem. Judd is now up in Los Angeles.
Aurora Murillo-Clark
community volunteer
I have no idea what Ms. Murillo-Clark's agenda is. I can't help wondering if she was recruited by Bertha Lopez and Norberto Salazar to run as a spoiler to protect incumbent Patrick Judd.
[Update: It seems I was correct in guessing that Murillo-Clark and Bertha Lopez were connected. The list of CABE board members (below) includes both of them.]
California Association for Bilingual Education, Board of Directors 2010 conference edition of The Multilingual Educator, see page 3
Oscar Medina ~ President
Karling Aguilera-Fort ~ Immediate Past President
Pilar Mejía ~ Vice President
Lauri Burnham Massey ~ Director of Legislative Affairs
Aurora Clark ~ Director of Community Affairs
Jeff Penichet ~ Director of Financial Affairs
Rosa Armstrong ~ Director of Para-Professional Affairs
Barbara Flores, Ph.D. ~ Director of Secondary & IHE Affairs
Maricela Parga ~ Director of Parent Relations
Ramón Zavala ~ Region I Representative
Peggy Morrison ~ Region II Representative
Robbie Wedeen ~ Region III Representative
Bertha López ~ Region IV Representative
Irma G. Villanueva ~ Region V Representative
Herman Sillas ~ Legal Counsel
Union-Tribune
Aurora Clark
Age: 39
Community involvement:
South Bay Forum;
district English Learners Advisory
Committee; Latino Summit Steering Committee;
California Association for Bilingual Education board;
Chula Vista City/Schools Community Task Force.
Occupation: Community volunteer
Education: Attended Southwestern College
SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT CANDIDATES
SEAT TWO
My pick here is Pearl Quinones.
Lorenzo Provencio, retired educator
Pearl Quiñones, president of the governing board
[Note to Pearl: What's up with the Bonny Garcia legal bills? What were you thinking?]
Gabriel Rodriguez, finance representative
SEAT FOUR
*MY PICK SEAT FOUR: JAIME MERCADO
Jaime Mercado and Pearl Quinones
Jaime Mercado
Incumbent, former teacher and principal
Jaime Mercado is clearly interested in his work for the board, and is not just interested in his own advancement. I can't say the same for Bertha Lopez (see below).
Stephanie Alcaraz and Bertha Lopez
Bertha Lopez
Chula Vista school board member
Bertha Lopez is trying to extend the control of the Judd group to Sweetwater district. This group has stood in the way of educational reform, choosing instead to protect cronies at the expense of children and taxpayers. Members of the group are both Democrats (Lopez, Norberto Salazar) and Republicans (Judd, Bejarano), and only one thing is required for group membership: members must protect other members at any cost, and be silent if the group takes action that conflicts with any principles one might have.
Stephanie Alcaraz, nurse
Trina Lopez, retired instructional aide
Castle Park High School student government
October 1, 2008
CHULA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT CANDIDATES
SEAT TWO
David BejaranoDavid Bejarano
Appointed governing board member
While children were being humbled for not having lunch money, Mr. Bejarano was spending tax dollars on lawyers for the sole purpose of maintaining the power of the small group, led by Patrick Judd, that has controlled the district for many years. Bejarano paid public lawyers to fight community efforts to create trustee districts.
* MY PICK SEAT TWO: ARCHIE MCALLISTER
Archie McAllister put an end to humiliating children at lunchtime.Archie McAllister,
Retired Navy and educator
Mr. McAllister is the best candidate for seat #2 in my opinion. He has mainstream, pro-community attitudes, and is smart and well-organized. He brought an end to the policy of humiliating children who didn't have lunch money by giving them the dreaded cheese sandwich. (Cheese sandwiches are terrific, it's just that kids came to associate them with punishment.)
Norberto Salazar, right, fanning himself.Norberto Salazar,
teacher (and spoiler?)
Norberto fell all over himself during the forum to tell David Bejarano (on two different occasions) how great he is. So why is he running against him? Clearly, Norberto is a Bejarano supporter, and is running once again for CVESD board for the sole apparent purpose of splitting the anti-incumbent vote. He read prepared statements, and constantly fanned himself while the other candidates on the stage sat calmly.
Diego Vargas, parent
Willard "Doc" Howard, program assistant analyst
SEAT FOUR
*MY PICK SEAT FOUR: RUSSEL CORONADO
Russell Coronado is the candidate of those who hope to pry Patrick Judd's fingers from the chair he has held for over twenty years.Russell Coronado
Educator, parent and administrator
Mr. Coronado has a perfect combination of ability, experience and passion for helping children. Coronado came close to winning against Pamela Smith in 2006, and should win handily this time against Patrick Judd. Mr. Coronado is open about his work experience, while Judd refuses to comment on his recent departure from Mountain Empire School District.
Patrick JuddPatrick Judd,
incumbent and retired superintendent
Patrick Judd has ruled the district with an iron hand for over twenty years, covering up problems by forcing employees to commit perjury and paying $100,000s to lawyers. He has succeeded in keeping the truth about CVESD out of the mainstream media.
Mr. Judd was a no-show at this forum, much like he was during his mysterious absence the last months of his job at Mountain Empire School District. He finally retired without coming back to work, and announced that he had not been on sick-leave. One suspects that there were some serious problems at the district, and Judd was part of the problem. Judd is now up in Los Angeles.
Aurora Murillo-Clark
community volunteer
I have no idea what Ms. Murillo-Clark's agenda is. I can't help wondering if she was recruited by Bertha Lopez and Norberto Salazar to run as a spoiler to protect incumbent Patrick Judd.
[Update: It seems I was correct in guessing that Murillo-Clark and Bertha Lopez were connected. The list of CABE board members (below) includes both of them.]
California Association for Bilingual Education, Board of Directors 2010 conference edition of The Multilingual Educator, see page 3
Oscar Medina ~ President
Karling Aguilera-Fort ~ Immediate Past President
Pilar Mejía ~ Vice President
Lauri Burnham Massey ~ Director of Legislative Affairs
Aurora Clark ~ Director of Community Affairs
Jeff Penichet ~ Director of Financial Affairs
Rosa Armstrong ~ Director of Para-Professional Affairs
Barbara Flores, Ph.D. ~ Director of Secondary & IHE Affairs
Maricela Parga ~ Director of Parent Relations
Ramón Zavala ~ Region I Representative
Peggy Morrison ~ Region II Representative
Robbie Wedeen ~ Region III Representative
Bertha López ~ Region IV Representative
Irma G. Villanueva ~ Region V Representative
Herman Sillas ~ Legal Counsel
Union-Tribune
Aurora Clark
Age: 39
Community involvement:
South Bay Forum;
district English Learners Advisory
Committee; Latino Summit Steering Committee;
California Association for Bilingual Education board;
Chula Vista City/Schools Community Task Force.
Occupation: Community volunteer
Education: Attended Southwestern College
Update March 2016 on Aurora Clark:
Did citizens lose when Councilman McCann won?
Aurora Clark, a community advocate, has been ordered to pay Chula Vista councilman John McCann $99,918 to cover legal bills in connection with a 2014 election challenge. According to a recent U-T article, San Diego Superior Court judge Eddie C. Sturgeon ordered the decision on March 11.
In 2014 McCann won by two votes the city council seat contested between him and former Chula Vista mayor Steve Padilla: McCann had 18,448 to Padilla’s 18,446. With the assistance of attorney John Moot, Clark sued the County Registrar of Voters and McCann in an effort to ensure provisional votes were counted.In a March 21 interview, Clark said, “I have been a seasonal poll worker for years. I was trying to be a hundred percent sure to honor the people's vote, and if the registrar could not honor them at least they could notify them. This was not about McCann. The way the votes were going he might have won. It was about honoring the votes people cast.“As poll workers we learned about people who lost their homes or jobs during the financial crisis. We were trained that those people had rights, too…. During our training, each time we [poll workers] asked about provisional ballots they said the only way that a provisional ballot would not be counted was if someone voted twice....“A citizen is supposed to have a right to challenge anything that might be unjust. Federal rulings say if a citizen sues on behalf of the public, they are protected as long as they don’t seek personal gain. With this new decision people are told, ‘Don’t exercise your right or you’re going to be penalized.’ The judge said his main concern was if he didn’t rule against me, pretty much, he was afraid that people who ran for political office would be intimidated. He was more concerned about those seeking political office than citizens and taxpayers….“When I went to the hearing, I went hoping that the judge would listen to the true statement of my financial status; he said he would let me speak if I wanted to say something, but he was not going to consider any corrections to the…information that McCann’s lawyer gave him. I feel like I didn’t even get my day in court….“I’ve got three children that are in college. I negotiated in my alimony to better care for my boys. I have a second home; that was the agreement. That house is my sole income and the only way that I can pay my mortgage.”While McCann did not respond to an email or phone call from the Reader, he told the Star News, “We won the election, the election audit, the election recount, the election lawsuit, unanimously won the appeal with the three-judge Fourth District Court of Appeals and now we won our children’s college money back.”Clark’s attorney Moot was surprised by the judge’s decision: “There’s no legal precedent for the ruling. No one in [Clark’s] position has ever been responsible for attorney fees before, of any case I can find anywhere.“I don’t know what was going through the judge’s mind. He issued a four-line opinion. He didn’t provide legal analysis. His only real comment at the hearing was he was concerned about the chilling effect it had on the candidates, to which I said — there’s nothing in the law that says you should take into consideration the chilling effect of the defendant….“At no time did this case involve Mr. McCann or anything he did. It was testing how the Registrar of Voters was counting votes; McCann was only named because the election code says you have to name the person who won the election because if the votes get counted and it changes the result then the court has to be able to issue an order.“These same votes would be counted in the Orange County Registrar, but the San Diego Registrar did not count them. The registrar has discretion…."...
SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT CANDIDATES
SEAT TWO
My pick here is Pearl Quinones.
Lorenzo Provencio, retired educator
Pearl Quiñones, president of the governing board
[Note to Pearl: What's up with the Bonny Garcia legal bills? What were you thinking?]
Gabriel Rodriguez, finance representative
SEAT FOUR
*MY PICK SEAT FOUR: JAIME MERCADO
Jaime Mercado and Pearl QuinonesJaime Mercado
Incumbent, former teacher and principal
Jaime Mercado is clearly interested in his work for the board, and is not just interested in his own advancement. I can't say the same for Bertha Lopez (see below).
Stephanie Alcaraz and Bertha LopezBertha Lopez
Chula Vista school board member
Bertha Lopez is trying to extend the control of the Judd group to Sweetwater district. This group has stood in the way of educational reform, choosing instead to protect cronies at the expense of children and taxpayers. Members of the group are both Democrats (Lopez, Norberto Salazar) and Republicans (Judd, Bejarano), and only one thing is required for group membership: members must protect other members at any cost, and be silent if the group takes action that conflicts with any principles one might have.
Stephanie Alcaraz, nurse
Trina Lopez, retired instructional aide
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Jury finds Steve Castaneda not guilty; Patrick O'Toole apparently will now go after Cheryl Cox, Bertha Lopez, Larry Cunningham...
See all posts re Steve Castaneda.
After the jury came back with a "not guilty" verdicts yesterday in the case of Chula Vista city councilman Steve Castaneda, who was accused of hiding his "intent" to buy a condo while testifying during a grand jury investigation that found no wrongdoing, prosecutor Patrick O'Toole said, "It was a case from our end that we thought had to be brought -- that the obligation to tell the truth under oath is one that we're going to fight for."
Wonderful news! O'Toole says that the obligation to tell the truth under oath is "one that we're going to fight for."
I've been waiting for a long time to hear someone in Bonnie Dumanis' office say this.
I assume this means that O'Toole is finally going to do something about Chula Vista Elementary School District trustees and administrators who obstructed justice and committed or suborned perjury. The District Attorney received my complaint in 2005.
Here is the story from Fox News:
Councilman Found Not Guilty of Perjury in Condo Charges
Last Update: 4/23/2008
A Chula Vista city councilman accused of lying to the county grand jury regarding his personal interest in an apartment complex that was being converted into condominiums was acquitted Wednesday of six of 10 perjury counts.
Prosecutors will decide later whether to retry Steve Castaneda on the remaining four counts on which jurors deadlocked.
"I'm very happy that I'm vindicated. I'm very happy about the fact that I can now go on with my life," Castaneda told reporters outside the courtroom.
Defense attorney Marc Carlos said jurors gave it their best shot -- deliberating for five days after a two-week trial -- before coming to a decision.
"They've had hundreds of exhibits and thousands of pages of grand jury testimony, and that's as good as they can do and there's nothing there," Carlos told reporters. "I think (District Attorney) Bonnie Dumanis should do the right thing and step up and dismiss the remaining counts. They've spent a lot of money on this case and it's gone nowhere."
Prosecutor Patrick O'Toole said: "It was a difficult case. Everybody knew that going in. It was a case from our end that we thought had to be brought -- that the obligation to tell the truth under oath is one that we're going to fight for."
http://www.fox6.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=3866874d-c8bd-43b4-a142-5eaa4837d9c4
After the jury came back with a "not guilty" verdicts yesterday in the case of Chula Vista city councilman Steve Castaneda, who was accused of hiding his "intent" to buy a condo while testifying during a grand jury investigation that found no wrongdoing, prosecutor Patrick O'Toole said, "It was a case from our end that we thought had to be brought -- that the obligation to tell the truth under oath is one that we're going to fight for."
Wonderful news! O'Toole says that the obligation to tell the truth under oath is "one that we're going to fight for."
I've been waiting for a long time to hear someone in Bonnie Dumanis' office say this.
I assume this means that O'Toole is finally going to do something about Chula Vista Elementary School District trustees and administrators who obstructed justice and committed or suborned perjury. The District Attorney received my complaint in 2005.
Here is the story from Fox News:
Councilman Found Not Guilty of Perjury in Condo Charges
Last Update: 4/23/2008
A Chula Vista city councilman accused of lying to the county grand jury regarding his personal interest in an apartment complex that was being converted into condominiums was acquitted Wednesday of six of 10 perjury counts.
Prosecutors will decide later whether to retry Steve Castaneda on the remaining four counts on which jurors deadlocked.
"I'm very happy that I'm vindicated. I'm very happy about the fact that I can now go on with my life," Castaneda told reporters outside the courtroom.
Defense attorney Marc Carlos said jurors gave it their best shot -- deliberating for five days after a two-week trial -- before coming to a decision.
"They've had hundreds of exhibits and thousands of pages of grand jury testimony, and that's as good as they can do and there's nothing there," Carlos told reporters. "I think (District Attorney) Bonnie Dumanis should do the right thing and step up and dismiss the remaining counts. They've spent a lot of money on this case and it's gone nowhere."
Prosecutor Patrick O'Toole said: "It was a difficult case. Everybody knew that going in. It was a case from our end that we thought had to be brought -- that the obligation to tell the truth under oath is one that we're going to fight for."
http://www.fox6.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=3866874d-c8bd-43b4-a142-5eaa4837d9c4
Monday, December 24, 2007
CVESD board members use public funds to fight grassroots "trustee area" campaign
Is this legal? Are school board members allowed to use public resources to affect elections?
Is Pamela Dempsey of Parham & Rajcic the lawyer who is being paid to do this?
Here is a quote from the minutes of a recent CVESD board meeting:
CHULA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT
MINUTES
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Regular Meeting
November 13, 2007
7 P.M.
"...President López recessed to public session at 8:47 p.m and reported the following: The Board directed Legal Counsel to take all steps necessary to avoid litigation while educating the County Committee of the negative repercussion of the political actions related to the Petition for Trustee Areas..."
http://www.cvesd.k12.ca.us/cvesd/schoolboard/boarddocs/pdf/minutes11132007.pdf
Is Pamela Dempsey of Parham & Rajcic the lawyer who is being paid to do this?
Here is a quote from the minutes of a recent CVESD board meeting:
CHULA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT
MINUTES
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Regular Meeting
November 13, 2007
7 P.M.
"...President López recessed to public session at 8:47 p.m and reported the following: The Board directed Legal Counsel to take all steps necessary to avoid litigation while educating the County Committee of the negative repercussion of the political actions related to the Petition for Trustee Areas..."
http://www.cvesd.k12.ca.us/cvesd/schoolboard/boarddocs/pdf/minutes11132007.pdf
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