Treachery of Unions

The media reported an incident in Costa Mesa last week regarding a union thug falsely accusing Councilman Jim Righeimer of drunk driving. Coverage can be found at http://www.ocregister.com/articles/righeimer-369544-police-dammeier.html

Following is information from P.M. of Costa Mesa. A shortened version of his message was forwarded to this blog:

Protest CM Police Union Thugs: Here’s an account of the events which is different from what was reported in the Daily Pilot. Police union Private Investigator is following Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer around town on Thurs., Aug. 23. Righeimer stops into Skosh Monahan's Restaurant on Thursday afternoon. Drinks 2 diet cokes. Luckily, Mr. Righeimer doesn't drink booze.

Mr. Righeimer leaves Monahan's, gets followed home by a Police Union private investigator. Union PI calls in a false 911 call that said Mr. Righeimer is speeding, drunk and swerving on the road. PI ignores 911 advice and follows Mr. Righeimer to his home. Cops come to Mr. Righeimer's home. Cops give Mr. Righeimer a field sobriety test in front of his kids. Mr. Righeimer and his wife confront the driver who speeds away. No name given.

The 911 call was traced to former Riverside union cop turned PI who works for the same firm the CMPD uses to negotiate contracts. The union tried to take Righeimer down. Someone will go to jail. It is all over LA news. This is scary stuff! This is not the first time a council member has been intimidated. Mr. Monahan (a Costa Mesa councilman) had a brick put through his window.

Righeimer became the target of the union during city negotiations in Costa Mesa. As school trustees, elected officials and conservative candidates have experienced, anyone who crosses the union risks attack.

In the Capistrano school district, the union organized a campaign to remove Trustees Mike Winsten and Ken Maddox from office in 2010. The union also attacked CUSD parents who supported Winsten and Maddox.

In the successful recall of Councilman Lance MacLean in 2010, the deputies union spent approximately $125,000 in a failed attempt to keep MacLean in office. The irony of the deputies’ involvement was MacLean’s history of violent behavior. He lost his job at UCI after assaulting a co-worker, and he hid his history of domestic violence. The UCI assault was widely reported, and the police knew about calls from MacLean’s home after his assault on a family member.

In February 2010, Wendy Bucknum posted a union sign in front of her house, along with a Democrat’s sign. Her Republican neighbors were so outraged with the signs in her yard that they complained to city activists. In the 2010 November election, Bucknum again campaigned for a Democrat, and she spent the election trashing Republicans who had received the endorsement of the Orange County GOP. As a member in the So. Or. County Chamber of Commerce, Bucknum used the chamber’s membership list for political hit pieces she wrote during both elections. Members were offended she was turning the Chamber into an attack machine under the guise of “business.” They said Bucknum’s emails were smutty attacks with false claims that the Republican candidates were trying to destroy business.

In the city election this November, Bucknum is a Mission Viejo council candidate. She recently asked for the endorsement of the OC Republican Party. The OC GOP understands that Righeimer’s council position is on the line for standing up to the union in Costa Mesa. The OC GOP is aware that the Capo school district has been taken over by a union-controlled board.

A relevant item on the ballot this November is Prop 32, the “Paycheck Protection” Initiative. If approved, Proposition 32 will:

• Ban both corporate and union contributions to state and local candidates
• Ban contributions by government contractors to the politicians who control contracts awarded to them
• Ban automatic deductions by corporations, unions, and government of employees’ wages to be used for politics

If the OC GOP is consistent, it will support Prop 32 and reject candidates who have joined union campaigns against conservative Republicans.

In addition to taking a position against the union, the OC GOP has a history of refusing to endorse Republican candidates who have campaigned for and/or endorsed Democrats. In 2006, then-councilman Lance MacLean failed to get the GOP’s endorsement because he posted a Democrat’s sign in his yard. In 2010, the OC GOP rejected Councilwoman Trish Kelley’s request for the endorsement because she endorsed a Democrat.