Aurelio Mattucci's Huge Win Against Two-Time Loser RINO Dishonest Mike Griffiths

 

I cannot rejoice enough over Councilman Mattucci's major win over former city councilman Mike Griffiths for the Torrance City Treasurer position.

Griffiths has a horrid reputation for lying to people in the city.

In 2018, I wanted him to support a Resolution against the Sanctuary State Law, SB 54. He made a bunch of excuses, stating that he didn't want to bring a "circus" of protesters to the city council.

How ironic that another circus--Black Lives Matter--would show up and shut down city council business for years. But that's another story for another day.

Griffiths said he would not support it. And yet, at the next city council meeting, there was a request for concurrence on a resolution against SB 54. Griffiths voted for it, along with Mattucci and Chen.

Councilman Milton Herring voted against it, along with Rizzo, Furey, and Goodrich, so the request for concurrence failed. Why would Griffiths tell me he opposed it, then went along with it when he had the chance?

This kind of double-dealing became commonplace with this guy.

I have shared before that Griffiths was particularly rude to me--as well as diffident--about supporting a Resolution of No Confidence in George Gascon. How could anyone find this problematic? 

Of course, there was his long of history of arrogance toward the general public. I remember when he attended some of the Beach Cities Republicans meetings, and he would snap back at some of the questions posed by the members.

On the council, once George Chen became mayor, Griffiths would routinely remind the public: "Well, since I am the city councilmember with the most experience ..."

Of course, having experience does not make one an expert. The 15th US President, James Buchanan, had more political experience than most presidents before and after--and yet he's regarded as one of the worst presidents in our nation's history. Experience is not enough. Elected officials have to have class, honesty, and integrity.

Those are characteristics which Griffiths has long lacked.

He ran for Treasurer in 2022, and one would think that as a sitting city councilmember, he would have had the best chance. There were four other candidates, including, at that time, former city councilman Tim Goodrich (who left his seat for career reasons, I guess?). The current treasurer, Dana Cortez, was not showing up to work, and there were two other candidates, including conservative Rick Marshall (who managed to send out a mailer that year, too!)

Goodrich won. Griffiths couldn't beat a former city councilman, one who had quit his job before the end of the term! That is pretty sad. I also remember visiting Griffith's campaign Facebook page, and someone had posted my blog post calling out Griffiths for not wanting to take a stand against Gascon!

After George was elected mayor, Griffiths didn't want to issue a Resolution of No Confidence in the Los Angeles Health Director Barbara Ferrer. His opposition failed, since Sharon Kalani went along with it, and Asam Sheikh abstained (something he does quite a lot on the city council dias).

Griffiths supported tax increases. Griffiths was OK with the Pride Resolution. Griffiths wanted to increase the spending. He was never a true Republican.

Then he ran again for city treasurer.

What kind of support did he muster for his second bid for city-wide office?

Councilman Jeremy Gerson endorsed him, but do you notice anything funny about the photo?

It's AI! You can see the Google Gemini logo in the bottom right corner.

It's fake, just like the persona that Griffiths tried to present to the public over his last two campaigns.

Why didn't Gerson bother to show up for a photo shoot, anyway?

Gerson is a Democrat now, by the way, so that showed where his growing interests lie.

Speaking of Democrats, look who else endorsed Dishonest Mike:

If you can't read the circled section, here's a larger print:

Yes, the liberal Democrat state assemblyman, who thinks it's OK for teachers to keep secrets from parents about their children, who made it easier for sex offenders to avoid the sex-offender registry, who wanted to make it harder to fire pervert teachers, who raised our gas taxes, he endorsed Griffiths.

If this doesn't scream RINO, I don't know what will.

I was stunned when I first saw this, and I had hoped to write something about it, time permitting. What a betrayal! Why would anyone, especially a supposed Republican, promote an endorsement from an abusive Democratic lawmaker like Muratsuchi? The state assemblyman even pushed for his chief of staff, Andrew DeBlock, to run against Griffiths in 2020!

I didn't have the time to go after this perverse endorsement. Getting out the vote for Mattucci was more important. Thankfully, that decision paid off.

Former city councilman and two-time loser for city treasurer, Mike Griffiths, has used the domain name "I Like Mike" for his campaign website ever since he ran for office, starting with the city council in 2014. It's time for him to get the message: No, we don't like him, and it's time for him to move on.

The Repeated Disappointments of Councilman Mike Griffiths

Two years ago, Torrance City Councilman Mike Griffiths made excuses for not wanting to support a Resolution of No Confidence against LA County DA George Gascon. I shamed him for his disrespectful attitude towards me (and others), and reported his reticence to the public. I was really surprised how far that blog post traveled throughout the city. People were really angry with Mike Griffiths for his petulance.

Ultimately, he caved in with the leaders on the city council at that time--George Chen and Aurelio Mattucci--and he supported the Resolution of No Confidence against George Gascon.

That move was too little too late, apparently, since he was then unsuccessful the next year in his bid for City Treasurer. But I suspect it was more than just his reluctance to stand against George Gascon that cost him that city-wide office.

His disrespect and disregard for the will of voters has been unmistakable. Like Frank Scotto and Pat Furey before him, he shows off an elitist mentality which disdains the opinions of others, but focuses more interest in his narrow interests or self-serving outcomes.

A number of residents have shared with me their frustration with Councilman Griffiths, too. He mkes promises or assertions to residents in the city, only to backtrack or betray those pledges after the fact. He did that to me a number of years ago regarding a potential resolution against SB 54 in 2018, the legislation that turned California into a lawless sanctuary state for illegal aliens. He told me that he would not support such a measure, but then voted for it at the next city council meeting, only to witness its defeat when Councilman Milton Herring killed the measure. Why tell me one thing, then do something different on the dias? This kind of double-dealing has a long history with Griffiths.

During his three campaigns for city council, he gave off an insufferable arrogance, as though he doesn't have to answer people's questions, or respect their concerns, either. Sadly, this kind of attitude has been all too pervasive with a number of Torrance councilmembers. Something happens to politicians generally once they get elected. Too many of them forget that it was voters, not their own intelligence, work ethic, or connections which get them into office. That is a particular problem in the city of Torrance.

Mike Griffiths is just one more sad example of this.

Over the last two years, his repeated dishonor to Mayor George Chen is particularly disappointing. He repeatedly challenges his leadership on the dias, openly disagrees with him, and shames him directly when unique challenges come before the council. Yes, the council had to call a number of special sessions, but so what? At least more city business is taking place in the public square, so that all of us can see what is happening.

At the first city council meeting following Chen's installation as mayor, Griffiths went out of his way to bellow to the public: "I am the senior member on the city council." Yet his advice has not been effective or worthwhile. He has spent more time simply promoting himself or undermining his colleagues. For exmaple, he seemed to contradict his campaign pledge for more fiscal discipline when he questioned Councilman Kaji's request for a comprehensive citywide audit. Why would he oppose that? Why would he question getting specific answers on how the city is allocating its funds while (hopefully) avoiding waste and fraud? It makes no sense other than the fact that he is unhappy with the Election 2022 results and just wants to frustrate the new governing majority on the council.

From his pattern of dishonesty to determined self-interest instead of public interest, to his disdain for the voters, it's no surprise that Mike Griffiths is not City Treasurer, and likely will never serve as Mayor of Torrance.

Strangely enough, Griffiths touted during his campaing for Treasurer in 2022 that many people in the Torrance community wanted him to run for mayor. Of course, he would have ended up spliting votes with Mayor Chen and allowing Cliff Numark to be the next mayor. Very likely, a number of forces in city politics told him to back off and allow a candidate who had already won two elections in two short election cycles (once while running at large, and the second time running in one of the new districts). Despite Griffith's extensive "experience" on the city council, nearly 80% of the Torrance voters did not want him as Treasurer. That's a pretty damning outcome, to say the least.

The city will be better served once he is gone for good. Let's hope, however, that city voters continue to raise their standards and expectation of their elected representatives. For too long, Torrance city councilmembers have maintained an elite arrogance, a constant disdain for the voters in the community, caring only for their limited interests while ignoring the ongoing concerns of the residents. Mr. Griffiths is just one more sad example of this, and hopefully the last for a long time to come.

Torrance City Council Elections 2022, Reflections: The City Treasurer

The outcome of the Torrance City Treasurer's race was a mixed bag for me.

For the last four years, I have wanted Dana Cortez out of that office. She got elected in 2018 unopposed, and then she disappeared. She refused to do her job, she issued sick-leave requests and absentee notices repeatedly. She cried to the press about her health problems, and then some of her supporters also shared with me that she was unfairly treated by the city council.

Even if the city council had done her wrong, she had no right to harm the entire city by not showing up to work.

So, five people filed to run for City Treasurer. And with such audacity, one of the candidates was the do-nothing, MIA incumbent.

It was a widespread fight throughout the city, certainly. I saw signs for all five candidates, and I received mailers for three of them: Tim Goodrich, Rick Marshall, and Mike Griffiths.

Come election day, the initial vote tallies had Goodrich ahead, with Griffiths a close second. As the weeks progressed, Goodrich's lead increased until he was 5% ahead of Griffiths. There was no way that the initial second-place finisher could overcome those numbers.

I am not thrilled that Tim Goodrich got elected to this office, especially since he reneged on his responsibility to serve the city of Torrance as councilmember for a full second term. He complained that he had to resign for the sake of his work, but then he suddenly has time to run again, this time for the Treasurer's seat? Really?

Let's be frank: he only won because there were four Republicans pulling apart the vote from different interests and segments of the city. The strong conservative faction voted for Rick Marshall. Anyone who was interested in putting another lady into city government, and who still respected Pat Furey's endorsement, voted for Melissa Wright. Then there were the uniformed voted who still selected Dana Cortez, just because she listed her name as incumbent.

And last of all, there was Mike Griffiths.

Yes, he had the longer political pedigree in town compared to the other candidates. Well, expect for Tim Goodrich, since he got elected in his own right in 2014, and Mike Griffiths was appointed to fill Pat Furey's place a few months after. However, Griffiths has lived in the city of Torrance for decades, while Goodrich carpet-bagged into the city from Buffalo, New York.

Griffiths was elected for two terms on the city council, and before that he was the consensus pick to replace the mayor. Before that, he had served on two major commissions: environmental quality and planning.

He had sent out two mailers, compared to Goodrich sending out only one. Rick Marshall sent out two mailers, but I received them both on the same day, and very late in the campaign season. Judging by the large number of his signs in the city, I thought that Griffiths was going to sweep the seat.

And yet Griffiths lost, and I am not sad about that outcome one bit.

Griffiths was a major part of the old political establishment that crashed and burned Election Day, 2022. He was one of Scotto's people, and he was buddy-buddy with liberal Republicans like Tom Brewer and Bill Sutherland. I have also shared how rude he has been to me and other voters in the city.

And that, in the end, was his downfall.

Griffiths could have been elected treasurer if he had treated his base of voters with respect instead of contempt. That lack of respect has been an ongoing problem in the city, whether from Furey's camp or Scotto's camp. These elected officials forget who elected them, and they think that they do not have to keep their word or respect their concerns. 

That kind of dishonor was roundly punished in this last election.

Don't get me wrong: Tim Goodrich is bad for that office. He should never have been elected to city council in the first place, since he spent so much of his time pushing his left-wing agenda, at the expense of what was common-sense best for the city.

One can only hope that the new city council will take steps to eliminate the Treasurer position altogether, thus saving the city some money.

Yikes! Mike Likes Tax Hikes

Councilman Mike Griffiths.

He has been involved in Torrance politics for more than twenty years. Once can go back as far as 2005, when he was seeking to be appointed to a vacant city council seat. He has served a number of times on the environmental and planning commission, too.

Yes, he is very much a part and parcel of the Torrance Way of politics in this town.

And apparently, it has all gotten to his head.

He has a serious attitude problem, to put in mildly: he thinks that he is entitled to his seat on the city council, and that he should be the next mayor.

The truth is that he did not decide against running for mayor because of a death in the family. The truth is that Councilman George Chen has a better following and more political capital in the city than he does.

And is anyone surprised?

Mike Griffiths dragged his feet on supporting a Resolution of No Confidence in George Gascon. His arrogant demeanor with me (and others, no doubt) regarding this matter is just too much to ignore. Like many Torrance politicians who have been part of the establishment for so long, he uses the voters, then refuses to listen to them.

That kind of arrogance hurt him, especially if you visit his Facebook page. People give him a hard time for not supporting the resolution.

But worse than that, rumors persisted out of city hall that Mike wanted to impose a vaccine mandate on all city employees! He had no problem with violating people's health freedom, their bodily autonomy, and for what?

The vaccine was experimental at best, and many people suffered terrible adverse side effects from the shot. Why would anyone want to push for a violation of people's health integrity?

And of course, like the majority of the current city council, Mike likes the tax hikes.

He wants to raise the city sales tax because he is too lazy or too beholden to the "establishment" in the city of Torrance to think outside the box and come up with more innovative ways to save money and bring in revenue to the city.

Mike likes tax hikes, and for that, the voters should tell him to take a hike regarding his bid for city treasurer.

Election 2022: Torrance City Treasurer, An Office with High Interest

Election 2022, and the race for Torrance Treasurer has cashed in on some growing interest.

Five people are running for Treasurer this year, a position which was uncontested four years ago, with Dana Cortez running unopposed, presumably because she was doing such a great job?

Or because no one was paying attention.

Torrance residents are starting to pay attention to their city council and mayor. For the last eight years, the city of Torrance has suffered under unprecedentedly bad leadership. Pat Furey has been an embarrassment to this city.

He was taking campaign money from McCormick Ambulance, and then he was the deciding vote to kill the city's ambulance contract with Gerber. He was busted in campaign violations connected with the PAC working with McCormick Ambulance. His son, Patrick Furey (Jr.), has quite a dirty reputation, as he faced numerous campaign violations over his career. Thankfully, he was pushed out of the campaign consulting business in 2015 following the reports from the California Fair Political Practices Commission--and we got him off the Torrance traffic commission, to boot!

But what about the Treasurer position. Why so much interest now?

Dana Cortez, the incumbent, has been missing in action for the last four years. She got elected, and then she stopped doing her job. She refused to show up to work, issuing doctors' notes and other excuses why she wasn't coming to city council, and why she wasn't answering emails. When the city and the staff faced a budget crisis in 2018, they had to take unprecedented steps to divest power away from the current Treasurer position and give the key tasks to other civil servants in the finance department. The situation was so dire, because at the time Cortez was the only person who had access to the city's bank accounts to pay bills and manage investments. 

Cortez put herself first, ignored the needs of the city, and harmed the residents. The funny thing is that I met her while going for a walk one afternoon in late 2017. She was very supportive of me, of all the things that I had been writing about and sharing with city residents. Of course, all her nice words don't make up for her dereliction of duty. It's quite an embarrassment that one of the key elected officials never bothered to show up for her work during her second four-year term on city council. Because she's elected, the voters have to fire her, just as they had hired her.

For the last four years, Deadbeat Dana Cortez has been collecting a paycheck and benefits, and doing no work. I connected with a group of people in the city who wanted to recall her. Unfortunately, such an effort required collecting a minimum of 10,000 signatures, and even then the voters would have to vote to fire her.

To add insult to interest, Cortez is running for re-election! How stupid does she think the voters are? This is really insulting!

But the insults don't stop there.

Let's consider who else is running for the Treasurer position:

1. Mike Griffiths, city councilman.

2. Tim Goodrich, former city councilman

3. Melissa Wright, Cultural Arts commissioner

4. Rick Marshall, former planning commissioner

Mike Griffiths is probably one of the most arrogant people on the city council today. He has routinely scolded residents in the city for not making purchases in brick-and-mortar stores in the city, which "deprives" the city of sales tax revenue. Since when does a resident owe the city the necessity of purchasing goods in a building as opposed to online? All of this condescension connects to his push to raise the sales tax. He and his colleagues for the past eight years should have been cutting costs and reducing spending when they had the chance. He refused to make the tough choices, and now he expects the already cash-strapped residents to pay more. It's outrageous!

The last straw for me was his attitude toward passage of a Resolution of No Confidence in pro-criminal LA County District Attorney George Gascon. When I spoke to him about this issue last year, he made nothing excuses, and he just shut me down about the whole proposal. I exposed his arrogant resistance to this very popular proposal last year--and he sure changed his tenue a few months afterwards when he joined with four of his colleagues to approve the resolution.

Mike Griffiths does not respect the will of the voters, he doesn't take the lead to build revenue, he wants to tax residents more, and he has the audacity to run for another office simply because he wanted to run for mayor, but could not compete against Cliff Numark or George Chen. Let's state the truth plainly: Griffiths wants to be treasurer so that he can position himself to run for mayor in four or eight years. This is not about serving the city. This is about serving himself. I don't like Mike.

Adding further insult, we have former Torrance city councilman Tim Goodrich running for the treasurer position. I mean ... really? This guy quit his job as city councilman last year because the demands of his job were too great for him, and he could not devote the time needed to the job. In other word, Tim Goodrich has the "Quittin' Cliff" syndrome.

Goodrich didn't even live in Torrance for the greater part of his life. He is a carpet-bagger from Buffalo, New York. Torrance is better than this.

Tim Goodrich also protested the troops but then (attempted to) cover up his unpatriotic record as he wrapped himself in the American Flag, all while pushing left-wing causes and raging against the country and the military. Really sickening, really insulting. Unfortunately, the voters didn't pay attention then.

Hopefully, they are paying attention now. He quit his job on the Torrance city council last year--LAST YEAR!--and now he is running for another position on the city council. Why should anyone believe that he will stick to his word and stay on the job? Why should anyone trust him on anything? This whole thing is a joke. Really, I am so tired of these social-climber politicians who leave office when the going gets tough, or the promotions get few and far between. There are many reasons why Torrance voters should say "No" to Tim Goodrich.

Then there's Melissa Wright. She has a long record of service in public and private efforts in the city, and she has plenty of accounting experience. She is not a quitter. I am grateful for her record of service. But she has two strikes against her, and one of them is quite insulting, too.

First, she is endorsed by "Creepy" Pat Furey, the retiring failed mayor of our city. He has been an absolute disgrace to the city of Torrance. Any candidate running for office should repudiate his endorsement, and she has not done that. The second problem is that she supports the tax increase, as do Griffiths and Goodrich. What is the matter with these people?! The residents, the business owners in this city are struggling enough as it is. Why make it worse? High gas prices, staggering inflation, sluggish business growth, all of this is weighing on the minds and wallets of Torrance voters. Enough is enough. The city leadership needs to take the necessary steps to cut taxes, cut spending, innovate public services, and streamline other costs in the city. There is no excuse for our elected leaders to keep passing the buck and putting the costs on We the People.

Melissa Wright is probably a "No" for city treasurer for anyone who finds Pat Furey disgusting, and for anyone who does not want a sales tax increase, too.

What about Rick Marshall? He has accounting and budgeting experience as an employee at UC Irvine. He has served on the city Water and Planning Commissions. He has stated clearly and unreservedly his opposition to any sales tax increase. 

And he led the effort, as frustrated as it became, to recall Do-Nothing Deadbeat Dana Cortez. I wish Rick Marshall the best in his latest bid for office in the city of Torrance, but I am not sure he can pull this bid off. He has not served in any major capacity for the last two years. Furthermore, he has a strong following, but there are many people in the city who simply do not care for him.

What is the best path forward for the Treasurer position? Who should replace Dana Cortez?

Councilman Mike Griffiths Makes Excuses, Won't Support Resolution Against Pro-Criminal LA County DA George Gascon

Torrance City Councilman Mike Griffiths answered my call last week.

I talked with him about getting the city of Torrance to go on record opposing LA County District Attorney George Gascon.

He just blew me off: "Not gonna happen."

And why not?

The gist of his answer was this:

The city attorney does not approve of it, and it's going to hurt the police department.

Really. That was his excuse.

And last year, Griffiths was more than happy to (rightly) open up the city and defy the lockdown orders from LA County Board of Health and the Governor of California.

Now he is worried about potential displeasure from the city attorney? Or lawsuits? Give me a break.

This is outrageous.

The city attorney, Patrick Sullivan, is not an elected official. The city council does not work for the city attorney. The city attorney works for the city council, and the city council works for us.

Residents of all backgrounds in the city of Torrance want LA County DA George Gascon OUT! Eighteen of the 88 cities in Los Angeles County have gone on record official issuing resolutions of No Confidence, including Rancho Palos Verdes and Manhattan Beach. Torrance City Council should not be dragging their feet on this issue, and that includes Councilman Griffiths. 

This attitude of ignoring the will of voters to cater to civil servants in city hall is a growing problem in the city of Torrance. Elected officials on the dais are not following through on their promises, and they are following orders from the city attorney, when they should be listening to the residents of the community.

Yes, the corrupt, pro-criminal district attorney George Gascon has reopened the case against two of Torrance's police officers because of their officer-involved shooting against Christopher "Cowboy" Mitchell. The previous DA, Jackie Lacey, declined to file charges, and even asserted that the officers rightly acted in self-defense. A growing audience of viewers and commentaters have also asserted that the two police officers acted in self-defense when one considers the full contents of the video. Am I saying that every police officer in the city of Torrance is good, or that the LA County DA should not pursue officer-involved shootings in the event of foul play? Of course not.

But in this case, and with what the city of Torrance is potentially facing with a pro-criminal county DA, and based on what residents have been saying for the last three weeks, it's time for the city of Torrance to go on record and issue a Resolution of No Confidence in George Gascon. There is nothing wrong with the city decrying the LA County District Attorney's bad behavior, disgraceful conduct toward constituents, and his pro-criminal policies which openly violate state law. This does not cast aspersions or undermine the well-being of the police officers who face investigation. In fact, the fact that the current, corrupt DA insists on reopening this case shows that he is partisan and political, rather than principled and pragmatic towards his office. All the more reason he needs to go!

And all the more reason that the city of Torrance needs to issue a Resolution of No Confidence in LA County DA George Gascon!

Gascon is putting murderous thugs back on the street, and trampling on the needs of victims and law-abiding citizens generally. He needs to be recalled. 

And the city of Torrance needs to go on record opposing him.

Contact Councilman Mike Griffiths, and DEMAND that he support a resolution of no confidence against corrupt, pro-criminal LA County District Attorney George Gascon. Remind him that he works for the people, not the city attorney.

(310) 618-2801

Email: mgriffiths@torranceca.gov

My Opening Comments to Torrance City Council--June 14th, 2016

Good Evening Torrance City Council:

My name is Arthur Schaper, long-time resident, life-long citizen.

First, I want to celebrate and congratulate Milton Herring, Mike Griffiths, and Geoff Rizzo on their electoral victories.

I am particularly glad for Pastor Milton Herring’s election. He was in third place during the early part of the ballot count, and then vaunted to first place.

His election is historic, not just because he is an African-American, and a Republican, but because of his moral backing and the widespread support he received in this community.

I underestimated his campaign last year, and I am glad that he stayed in and won.

This city is looking for new, moral leadership, where our elected officials serve in the public’s best interest, not just for the financial well-being of special interests.

I also welcome Mr. Griffiths independence and Mr. Rizzo’s measured appreciation for issues as they face the council in the years to come.

I want to further remark that the last-minute machinations of Congresswoman Maxine Water came to nothing, as the candidate whom she had endorsed was ultimate exposed as disloyal and untrustworthy.

No, the reason why these three men won on Election Day has nothing to do with race, bigotry, or narrow-mindedness, but an indication from Torrance residents who want good government, integrated representatives, and a respect for our balanced, conservative values.

Last of all, I wish to share my deep condolences for the tragic massacre which took the lives of forty-nine Americans, and wounded many more following the Islamic Terrorist attack on the Pulse Night club Sunday evening.

Regardless of their personal choices, or their, these men and women did not deserve to die.

LIE-Lani endorsed By the Crazy Black Lady

This terrible act of terrorism in Orlando Florida was not the result of gun ownership. Gun Control will not solve this problem. Imagine if more individuals in that club had possessed a concealed-carry permit. Where law-abiding citizens can exercise their Second Amendment rights, you will find more law-abiding citizens, since wicked miscreants like Omar Mateeen would think twice about attacking any place where someone possess a firearm.

This massacre is a result from the ongoing pattern of despicable political correctness, practiced by our current President and the media at large.

The assassin was a devout, radical Muslim. Twice the FBI had profiled this man. He had professed his radical adherence.

It’s time for people in this county to put aside the skittish political correctness which has silenced so many from speaking the truth.

We are not just talking about radical Islam, or a few lone-wolf fanatics. Islam itself has a problem.

And I am not saying this myself. From atheist Bill Maher to the Egyptian leader to the son of the Founder of Hamas, Mossab Youseff-who is now a devout Christian—Islam has a problem.

For now, though, I will just congratulations to Milton Herring, Geoff Rizzo, and Mike Griffiths for their Election win.

Thank you.

Beach Cities Republicans, June 16th, 2016 Invite

Hello, South Bay Conservatives!

We have a great evening scheduled for everyone this Thursday, June 16^th!

Congratulations to Beach Cities Republicans’ three endorsed candidates for Torrance city council:

1. Milton Herring

2. Geoff Rizzo

3. Mike Griffiths

From the left; BCR VP Tracy Hopkins
Milton Herring, Mike Griffiths, and Geoff Rizzo

Our efforts and outreach are paying off here in the South Bay, and we have three more conservatives, and a Republican majority, back on Torrance City Council.

Conservatives are winning local races, and pushing back against the liberal, progressive machines which have dominated this area for so long.

Now let me tell you about our guests for our upcoming meeting.

Kent Hori

1. Kent Hori, Hawaiian born native, long-time South Bay Resident—and Republican—will be sharing about his story as a young Japanese-American who joined the GOP, and his successful efforts to reach out to fellow Japanese-Americans to support our Assemblyman David Hadley in the general election this November!

And …

Who says conservatives can’t have fun? Or take a joke!

Eric Golub

Well-known, nationally-renowned conservative comedian Eric Golub will share with us a great night of laughter with his politically (right) leaning routine.

Also, at the outset of the meeting, I would like to have a brief discussion about the current Prop 14 jungle primaries here in California. We as a club should take into account that a number of key races in the state will not have ANY Republican competing in the general election.

Let’s discuss what can be done about this frustrating state of affairs for the California Republican Party.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

All the best,

Arthur Schaper

President, Beach Cities Republicans

Election 2016: More Torrance City Council Race Takeaways

I have shared my preliminary happiness about the Torrance City Council race outcomes.

This was a Presidential election year, with an incredibly high Democratic turnout.

Yet in spite of the largely liberal bent of the voters, Three Republicans won the three open council seats.

Good, solid, reform-minded, action-oriented conservatives.

Independent thinking is a must in Torrance.

We need to not just stop the Big Green agenda trying to work its way through the city.

We need leaders in Torrance who will stand up to the labor unions, demand the best for our local businesses, who will ensure that public safety and economic development remain top notch.

The success of the June 7th turnout was a real relief for me:

I had already shared about the signature victory of electing the first African-American to the Torrance City Council.

The greater achievement, however, rests in his service to our country and the ministry of the Gospel. What a wonderful combination we have received in Milton Herring!

Mike Griffith's victory is noteworthy because the mayor's political machinations were determined to remove him. Why? Griffiths had the smarts to call out the mayor, suggesting that he should have recused himself on account of the pro-McCormick spending big money on his election big in 2014. I have heard the store from a number of sources that ...

Mayor Furey attacked Mike Griffiths in front of his colleagues shortly after the McCormick vote. That was wrong. That is evil.

Furey still snaps and mocks people who do not agree with him. His time is short.

Griffiths received no union-backing, either, and yet he won! Good for him. We need common-sense fiscal prudence free of Big Labor interventions.

Also ...

LIE-lani Kimmel Dagostino bit the dust, big time.

I had long-standing contacts with her throughout the election cycle. Shortly after her untimely loss in 2014, when she was within a few hundred votes of making it into the Top Four.

Then she went to the dark side.

First, she started bad-mouthing other people in the city.

She told me that the other candidates running were saying nasty things about the police department, fire department, etc.

She gossips a lot.

Then she allied herself with Pat Furey. I learned so much about what was going on behind the scenes in the city through her.

She had informed me of the mayor's attempt coup to place Ray Uchima on the city council, even though he had not run for office, and was basically trying to buy influence through ethnic peddling.

For all her efforts to bring reform and balance in the beginning, all of it fell away within the last six months.

I saw her at the ExxonMobil meeting in January, and she walked passed me without talking to me. I told how snubbed I felt, and it seemed at the time that she understood how I felt.

Then the news hit the headlines about Pat Furey and son engaging in illegal practices with McCormick Ambulance, and the Fire Department PAC, too.

By then, I had asked Leilani what she was going to do next. She needed to drop Pat Jr. as her consultant and campaign manager.

She was very evasive at that point, stopped returning my calls, and even unfriended me on Facebook.

She drifted further and further away from any kind of principled leadership and campaign integrity at that point.

Then she posted this "endorsement":

Leilani "endorsed" by Maxine "Tea Party Can Go Straight to Hell" Waters

This was too much for many, including me, although by this time I had given up on supporting her.

She was covering up for Pat Jr which according to the campaign filings was still working for her, but under a different company heading.

A lot of concerned conservative voices in the city feared that many women voters would vote for Leilani because ... she was a woman. A number of her supporters were convinced that she would do very well because of her gender.

I am so glad that the voters in Torrance were paying attention to all the facts.

The Daily Breeze even reported the disturbing facts about her campaign. Leilani had boasted to me that she would probably raise $60,000 by January.

She didn't. She had to loan herself a lot of money, and she depended on donations from outside of the city, too!

Now that's just sad.

It was good to see integrity and honesty win out in this election.

It also spells further doom for Pat Furey and his corrupt connections throughout Torrance.

He will probably not remain mayor for much longer, either.

Torrance City Council Election 2016: Success and Restoration

Election Night, June 7th, 2016.

The national and statewide races were not the most compelling element of the evening for me.

Two Democrats running for US Senate.

Dem on Dem fights throughout the state.

I was not as dismayed about David Hadley's second place showing. After all, the turnout throughout the state was huge for Democrats.

Things will not go so well for them in November, I fear, if the civil between Bernie Sanders socialist-activists and the pro-establishment Hillary Clintonites dos not heal.

But right here in Torrance, CA, a restoration of good government and positive principles won out.

Check out the final tally:

At 11:00pm on Election Night, Milton Herring was in third place.

At the end of the final tally, Milton Herring--father, pastor, retired military officer--was in FIRST place.

Incredible.

Milton Herring

From what I have heard, Herring was the last political client for consultant Paul Nowatka, who has served as a Torrance police officer, city councilmember, state assembly candidate, and Republican party central committee chairman.

What a way to end a storied career in The Balanced City! Thanks for your great work, Paul!

Now, Councilman Herring!

He is also the first African-American elected to the Torrance City Council.

More importantly, he holds strong, solid principles.

I also want to stress that he is a Republican!

Here are some of his comments about his political affiliation:

I am a Republican because I believe in the prosperity of America and believe that the Republican Party’s approach is the most prudent one. I believe in strong families are the foundational social order and defining marriage between a man and a woman is the Capstone of the family. I believe in the support of Israel. It is the party that was founded to prevent slavery from spreading into the new Territories and it is called the party of Lincoln. We promote limited government, and maximum freedom. This party led to fight for the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendment to the Constitution.

Wow! Milton makes me feel proud to be a Republican.

I look forward to his leadership and representation on the Torrance City Council.

We have longed for honest government in our city. Since the fallout over Mayor Pat Furey's corrupt practices and disrespect to voters and homeowners in the city; plus the fallout over his corrupt son's campaign lawlessness, the residents of Torrance are looking for honesty and integrity once again.

Sandra Goetz could not have said it better: "The residents of Torrance elected an ordained minister to city council, and he won with the most votes. The city sent a clear message to the city council. We want good government."

Yes, indeed.

Geoff Rizzo

I candidly share that I had concerns about Rizzo. I respect very much his service to the city, including his long career as a police officer and member.

He is also receiving a pension from the city of Torrance. Six figures!

The city needs to address its long-term pension obligations. Certain reforms have been effective, but leadership needs to ensure that public revenue goes toward addressing all public needs.

I have remarked also that he has taken bolder steps to address concerns about public safety and integrity in the city. He is thoughtful and deliberate. He has repeatedly taken time to sit down with me and share his concerns.

I do not see him as corrupt or badly influence in regards to the McCormick vote. Please keep in mind that Councilwoman Heidi Ashcraft wanted to end the contract, but did not receive enough time to review the other bidders.

He is respectful and knowledgeable, and he cares about this city. I had no reservations voting for him.

Mike Griffiths

This candidate has been the most surprising and welcoming of all.

I had not given Griffiths a great deal of hope or attention during Election 2014.

I had sent out a series of questionnaires to a number of candidates, and he did turn in his answers to me on time (I admit I had not articulated a clear deadline).

To see a candidate who had finished in eighth place, then receive an appointment to the council--I thought something fishy was going on.

Or at least that this process was unfair.

And yet Griffiths has articulated the need for a number of key reforms. He has sought ticket forgiveness for city residents who park on the street during the widespread street-sweeping days. He called out Mayor Furey for his controversial, now corrupted, vote for ending the city contract with Gerber and taking on McCormick,

He also aided with the push to remove Patrick Furey Jr. from the Torrance traffic commission.

I underestimated Griffiths, and I am glad that he won his seat in his own right.

Final Reflection

Election 2016, June 7th was a good night for this Torrance Republican!

Congratulations, Milton, Mike, and Geoff!

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