Heard on the Tom/Toms
Stephen Frank, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views, 7/6/23 www.capoliticalreview.com
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
“Honesty is telling the truth to ourselves and others. Integrity is living that truth.” Kenneth H. Blanchard
Judge LAGOP Chair Tim O’Reilly by his deeds, not his words.
When elected Chair of the LAGOP, O’Reilly said he wanted an open and transparent Central Committee. He has gone to numerous GOP clubs, promoting openness, transparency and inclusiveness. Folks, rightfully, after years of closed doors and Republicans not allowed in meetings, thought this was a breath of fresh air. Yet, when he had the ability to open a meeting, he shut it down.
On June 30, he had the LAGOP Secretary send a note to members announcing a July 17 countywide meeting.
“As for our July meeting, the calendar states that Monday, July 17th will be an open meeting. We have changed this to a closed meeting for two major reasons. We would like to propose & vote on the LAGOP Budget and the LAGOP Early Endorsement Criteria.”
This after the June meeting did not have a quorum. By closing the meeting, Republicans will not get to know about the results of the voter registration program, the financial status of the organization, question it role vetting candidate for legislative office, etc.
Maybe the budget could be done in Executive Session—but to secretly discuss the criteria to use in endorsements? Worse, they want to endorse PRIOR to the closing of filing for office—and even worse, before filing OPENS.
If you are going to be open, why close the meeting when you are discussing “Early Endorsement Criteria”? All Republicans should be able to hear this discussion. This should not be done in secret. Who does things in secret? By doing this in secret, by his leadership he is making the endorsement less valuable. It will be used against those they endorse, harming the selected candidates he wants to help.
O’Reilly must continue to be using Andy Gimmeekandy as his advisor—Andy took great pride in throwing our Republicans from LAGOP meetings. He believes that Republicans should be told what to do, not sit at his table and promote an open GOP.
If folks believe the GOP is filled with Establishment Country Club types—O’Reilly is making that case.
O’Reilly actions are louder than his words. And this is why the GOP in LA County is in such trouble. We complain about Democrats doing deals behind closed doors—and Chair O’Reilly is imitating them, not his words or GOP principles.
- Between all our candidates for the U.S. Senate, not even one million has been raised. “CA-Sen: Representative Adam Schiff (D) raised a record $8.1 million in the second quarter while he was being censured by the House. Being dinged by House Republicans gives Schiff a $29.5 million cash on hand advantage.
- If you are a tourist, you are playing Russian Roulette with your business or vacation. Unions have decided not to run a single strike—but strike on a moments notice—leaving you to clean your room, get your own room service, etc. at a SoCal hotel. Your best bet is to avoid California until unions agree to work.
L.A. hotel workers back on the job, but say more strikes to come — Thousands of service workers at 19 hotels in Los Angeles and Orange counties returned to work Wednesday after three days of strikes over the busy Fourth of July weekend. Helen Li, Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ — 7/5/23
3. This is how Democrats demeaned black folks in California.
‘Are you two the token Black kids of the department?’ The snubs and insults that accompanied affirmative action — An unintended consequence of affirmative action — a policy meant to boost diversity — is that it can been wielded like a weapon to make people of color feel like they don’t belong. The Times spoke with Black and Latino Americans who wonder if this stigma will persist. Akiya Dillon, David Wharton in the Los Angeles Times$ — 7/5/23
4.This is how the Democrats think—hire based on race, not quality. Discrimination has many forms—affirmative action is the road to failure, for everybody.
Affirmative action ruling could be a blow to diversity in tech — Some in the sector say last week’s decision against race-conscious admissions in higher education could invite more legal challenges on the diversity, equity and inclusion — or DEI — initiatives that have become common among Silicon Valley companies. Trisha Thadani in the Washington Post$ — 7/5/23
(Periodically the California Political News and Views will publish tidbits of political news, to keep you in the loop of what the pooh bahs know. The phrase “tom/tom’s” comes from my mentor, Lorelei Kinder who never passed a rumor, just called to tell me what she heard on the “TomTom’s”. This column is named in her honor.)
