Wabbit
it was clearly apparent that mccann and cartmill DO NOT want campaign donations LIMITED. why would they? jim carmill has been wallowing in the trough of massive contractor donations FOR YEARS. john mccann jumped right on that band wagon in his past run for the board seat. john mccann took money from mr flores and mr bunton, both owners of companies that have plead guilty in the PAY TO PLAY scandal that is plaguing our community. both will no doubt be testifying in the upcoming trials, all eyes and ears will be on these two contractors as they tell the stories of the demands for campaign donations and other gifts that were generated by sweetwater board members. jim cartmill SINGLE HANDIDLY received $30 thousand dollars from mr. flores's company - (see registrar of voters for confirmation) WHY, why would flores donate such a large amount? why would bunton donate to help pay mccann's campaign debt a year after mccann won the election? (see registrar of voters for confirmation) now keep in mind these donations are legal, but that is exactly my point. when community members attempted to change the bylaws and limit campaign contributions they were denied - here comes that question again WHY>>>>>>>>>>>
brand had the gall to sit up there and act as though the erick hall audit did not mention the real need to limit campaign donations - when offered a copy by Mr. Marinovich, president of the BOC, to confirm brand declined to even look at it. WHY??????? yes why is brand hell bent on seeing to it that those campaign contributions from contractors and vendors are not stopped ?
what about this agenda item was so time sensitive? the erik hall audit was released HOW MANY MONTHS AGO??????????????
Maty Adato, one of the most respected women in the South Bay. a woman with integrity who continues to fight for our children.
she challenged brand to look at the audit, the president of the BOC handed it to her for brand's preview - but truth of the matter is brand knew what was in that audit - his good friend barry dragon works for hall..............................................
I have a question about that P-1 and it refers to McCann, Cartmill and Brand trying to push it through...If they had passed it now the way it stands, without any mention of the campaign contributions, would their little rule recently added about not placing items on the agenda that had been discussed within the last 12 months have prevented them from having to deal with this for a year?
This has got to be one of the most, if not THE most dysfunctional school boards and superintendents, ever. Now we have a volunteer oversight committee chairperson being harassed. Why? He questioned them. That's his job! This is ridiculous. On top of it all, these subpoenas will ultimately co$t u$. What's new?
Public opinion--the sector that is informed--is building toward "something being done". Let's all wake up and participate--and not have this election turn out like the poll in the Star-News of a couple of weeks ago. We all know there are no depths to which Brand will not stoop, so we do need to be prepared for all sorts of dirty tricks.
The dysfunction can end if enough of us intervene to restore transparency and fair practices to this district, in all areas, for all people.
Anniej correct as usual. Brand tried his best to get this pushed through without all the correct information being put forth. What a dirty dog he is.Everyone but Bertha is lined up at the contractor feeding trough. Wait til the DA gets done with them they will be squealing but it won't be all the way home. We at least will be done with Ricasa and Pearl. How to get rid of the other two porkers McCann and Cartmill? Any ideas? Then there is Brand,maybe the spiking contract that was just given to him will come to haunt him like it did Gandara.
erupting, others have experienced such an "awakening ", usually just before the DA is to hand down an indictment and shortly after having been served with a search warrant. Bertha was recruited by Gandara to run against Jaime Mercado, a vocal critic of Gandara, Bonnie Garcia, and illegal practices of the district. Gandara actively sought and obtained ten of thousands of dollars for her campaign from contractors. Once on the Board, she was a supporter of Gandara, accepting gifts in numerous forms from companies doing business with the district. Yes erupting, I have read the indictments, several times, and am very aware of timelines. It sickens me to think that the best this community can come up with to run against Bertha is Bert Grossman. Shame on me, and shame on all of us.
jibaro: you are a poster that i respect, on this issue we will have to agree to disagree. yes. lopez did take campaign contributions, yes, lopez as the new board member did participate in a few dinners and such - i, however, saw no mention of gifts. having said that - it is important to look at the actions and voting record of the board members. lopez went to the da BEFORE any of this started - lopez has voted in line with what is best for the students and taxpayers.
when you know better you do better - when lopez saw what was going on, she made it clear to gandara and the rest of the board - no way no how.
regarding Mr. Mercado, i have a great deal of respect for this man - i believe he was one of the best board members sweetwater has had - i did however, take exception to the familial personal attacks against lopez's family - that was out of line. as matter of fact as i am about the issues involved - family members and situations ARE OFF LIMITS, and rightfully so.
What the heck is wrong with these people? These stories are better than watching any reality show on TV. Seeing how ignorant people can be without trying to act in front of a camera is actually priceless. These board members and superintendent just dig their hole deeper and deeper dont they? Why wouldnt they vote to add campaign contributions to this gift thing it is so stupid for two of them to recuse themselves WTH. My question to Brand would be why the rush? Why not make sure you get it right so the public will leave this alone? He is just as corrupt as the board he serves. Kudos to that Ms. Lopez for making a decision and voting no since she didnt like the way it was written, I truly think this lady has balls (no offense Ms. Lopez).
What gives when a board lets a superintendent call a member of the public a liar in open session. I hope the people that were at this meeting when this conversation took place come forward to show Brand as the one for being the liar. This superintendent has issues major issues and folks you got a long road ahead of you. Good luck
It seems to me that it is too late for the UCAN board to bury this, after spending $800,000 trying to defend itself and its former executive director. If SD nonprofits are not really nonprofits, but are being milked by insiders, then the public MUST learn the truth. If the US attorney tries to bury the FBI's findings, there will be a bad taste more lingering and corrosive than the Moores/Stallings government coverup. Best, Don Bauder
What offends most Mr. Bauder, is the trust and confidence we put in these charlatans who claim they act in our defense by notifying us on what is really going on as they perform their slight of hand only to bring their hypocrisy to light. Really, who do we trust? Whom do we turn to without worrying if they really are concerned about our plight? History unfortunately has proven time and time again that the deception will always win over the truth. Woe unto you who makes all the evil in the world right and all the good, evil. Do the math, sit down, place your heads between your legs and kiss your asses goodbye! Paraphrased but, pulled from the pages of this week's Reader. What we support and approve of because of our enlightenment in this age only proves and demonstrates our distance from our creator. We swear that we are an advanced civilization accepting the behavior that has always been deemed evil. The laws of God haven't changed! Only our morality has. Less than five hundred years ago, merchants were the scourge of the earth, slightly higher in value than musicians and lepers. Today, animals like Trump and Turner are admired and even worshipped. Even as they act only to fill their pockets and to fulfill their personal agendas These days, the horrible truth perpetuates on as us 99%ers deal with the hard facts and create subversive movements, get arrested, become a part of the system and eventually come face to face with the puppets of corporate america only to deal with whatever punishment their system allows. When does it stop? How long you been out?
Shame on you Mr. Shames! What was all that grandstanding in front of the cameras about? Maybe shame on me for trusting another public figure to use our fears and concerns only to end up like all the money grubbing bastards who tell us they work for us while only nurturing their greedy needs to be the richest merchant on the block? A wolf in sheep's..., well, you know. If you only knew what you're teaching the borderliners who teeter on the fence of good and evil. Let me tell you something! You will answer for your deeds. The forces of karma have been accelerated by your actions! Do us all a favor 'though. When your life is in turmoil and your actions have led you to to the edge of the abyss, don't you dare look up and ask, "Why is this happening to me?" Live long,.......and suffer.
Thank you again, Susan, for letting us see this in "print".
Regarding the $1.00/year lease--does this token payment really allow the no-bid condition to prevail for the entire project at Montgomery Middle School? I can't imagine that this usage is what the "lease-leaseback" arrangement was meant to handle--I would think that that type of arrangement came into being in order that specific projects that were outside the area of expertise of the usual project managers would be handled (better) by those with the knowledge--or some such line of thinking.
It can't really be in place merely to allow a company to do and charge whatever they want and then have the district pay for it!
How does anyone even know what is being done? How do we know they aren't just taking the money and pretending to do something? Or, doing a really bad job while charging top dollar? Who signed off on this? Can someone tell me why Balfour Beatty got such a contract?