Mayor Sharon Kalani Morning Meeting at Torrance Bakery (Full Videos)

 

Mayor Kalani wouldn't provide specifics about how she would bring in more police officers. She stated during the campaign that the previous mayor had failed to bring in more police officers. I wanted to know what specifically the previous mayor had failed to do, and she wouldn't speak to that.

On a positive note, she announced her opposition to red light camera ticketing and all the other schemes.

Big win! This is great, and I sense that this whole scheme is going to crash and burn. Don't let this issue slip by!

She provided everyone an opportunity to introduce themselves. Some of the people attending the meeting were city commissioners. I think that more residents should be attending. With all due respect, I think that commissioners attending is not the most representative for the city.

This was a bigger discussion, for sure. The deadline for filling councilwoman-turned-mayor Kalani's seat on the council was today at 5:00pm.

The city council will appoint the next councilmember on August 25th, 2026.

I brought up that the city needs to change the charter and the process so that the voters get to choose the next city councilmember. It's unfair for the city council to make the first choice and set up the successor with an election advantage on the council.

Either we allow a special election to fill the seat, or we should change the policy so that whoever is appointed cannot run for election for a full term. I am open to other suggestions, but this is wrong.

I recall in 2014 how local leaders were hoping to put Ray Uchima in the seat. They had had numerous discussions behind the scenes to make this happen. It was really dirty. Ultimately, the city council appointed Mike Griffiths to fill the seat vacated by newly elected Pat Furey as mayor.

I am glad that Sharon wants to change this process, too, but we need to organize the elections so that the successor election will take place in November after the city elections in March. Those are my thoughts. Another lady at the meeting agreed with me that we should figure something out.

Homeless issues came up. If anyone wants to challenge the points made, I am listening. For my part, I am glad to see far fewer homeless people wandering and loitering about. There are still issues here and there, but it's not nearly as bad as it used to be. Commissioners at this meeting also shared that the homeless moving into tiny housing have gotten care and training so that they move into housing and off the streets.

It costs less to replace sidewalk pieces than to clean them. Who knew? Is there another way to fix these issues?

Another resident asked why the city is taking control of all of Hawthorne Blvd. This is a big issue, but at least the city will have more say on how to run and clean and reorder the whole thoroughfare.

I have not been following the Hawthorne Metro takeover as closely as other issues, but the LA Metro Board has voted to shove this project onto our city, and there's nothing we can do about it ... so far.

There have been so many legal and political delays, however, that we may never (have to) see any Metro trains coming down Hawthorne Blvd. That works for me!

LA Does Not Love LA

 

Rolling down Imperial Highway 

Sweet Nasty Redhead on my side

Santa Ana winds blowing hot from the north 

We were born to ride.

I love Randy Newman, and I love his signature song “I Love LA.” When he won the mayor’s race in 2001, James Hahn played that anthem to celebrate his victory. From city attorney to mayor, Hahn worked to ensure some decency and competence in the city.

Fast forward to today, and Los Angeles is a hollowed-out, burned-out, blown-out shell of what it was.

Hollywood is leaving, and last year, Pacific Palisades went up in flames.

There’s no Richard Riordan or Sam Yorty to save the city now.

Two Democrats, a Bolshevik and a Menshevik, will fight for what’s left.

Los Angeles had a chance to build on the county’s election changes in 2024. In an unprecedented reversal, a Republican turned independent, Nathan Hochman, took on George Soros's handpicked District Attorney George Gaston. He received the support of numerous Democrats, and certainly of Republicans and independents, and he wiped out George Gaston. 

Los Angeles County residents were tired of lawlessness. They were tired of seeing the intimate scenes of incarcerated gangbangers raising a toast to a pro-criminal district attorney who was fast-tracking their early release. The same year, California voters overwhelmingly approved Prop 36, which re-criminalized property theft and gave local and state law enforcement more tools to crack down on crime. The work isn't done, since County courts are stuffed with woke judges putting personal preferences and idiotic ideologies ahead of public safety. But Los Angeles County is going in the right direction, and even the city of Los Angeles voted in larger numbers for Hochman. 

Then came January 2025, and the untouchable Palisades went up in flames. Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass was attending the inauguration of the next president of Ghana, and she could not be reached.  The Palisades Inferno was a massive failure on many levels—and preventable if anyone had heeded the warnings. Seven years ago, entire sections of Northern California went up in flames. Families desperate to flee the raging infernos ended up stuck in traffic and consumed by the rushing flames. The California Democratic political class didn't care then. 

 

Surely, the Democrats in Sacramento and Los Angeles would care about the left-leaning Pacific Palisades, wouldn't they? 

Nope.

This year’s primary results clearly indicate that Los Angeles city voters have not listened to their better angels. The demons have come in seven times stronger, too, since they find the place burned up and empty, and since no one's there, they've brought more of their vile hordes. How was it possible that voters across the city would embrace more of the same destructive progressive ideology when it's crystal clear to anyone that these failed policies—plus the arrogant lack of concern--are a direct result of this progressive madness?  Even in San Francisco, a growing cohort of voters has started taking over the county Democratic Party, and they have fought for some restoration of common sense, law & order, and commitment to enforcement in public safety. It's not enough, but there have been some steps, however minute.

In sad contrast, Los Angeles continues to double down on the same stupid. This isn't just foolish; it's absolutely dangerous. Unwise people with no regard for the well-being of the everyday citizen have no problem putting more of them in danger. Trump Derangement Syndrome and allergies to anything Republican truly are a mental malady, which has trapped Angelenos in a perpetual doom loop. 

A few weeks ago, TMZ host Harvey Levin complained about what has happened to Los Angeles during his lifetime. A multi-generational Angelino, Levin has seen the best of the city. Now, he cannot ignore how crappy it has become. The relentless homeless shelters, the skyrocketing crime rates, the overall lack of cleanliness and peace, and the desecration that has overrun a once-getaway destination and a second home for the rich and famous are unavoidable. 

Yet the same Harvey Levin repeatedly castigated, shamed, and openly mocked the one candidate who had a campaign platform, character, and commitment to remedy all these problems. Spencer Pratt may have been a reality TV star. But he was also a father and a homeowner who lost everything in the fires. He was fed up, and he decided that he was going to run. He launched AI commercials slamming opponents Bass and Raman with an impressive media blitz. He did a fantastic job in the debates. He cut an incredible cloth as a truly independent candidate. Not beholden to any political party, he didn't care about Trump or Biden or Kamala Harris. He did care about the incompetence of incumbent mayor Karen Bass and her socialist left-leaning challenger Nithya Rahman. 

He's a common-sense guy, and anyone with sense would have elected him mayor. But common sense is no longer common—or welcome—in the City of Angels. They stopped electing Republican mayors in 2001, and then they stopped electing Democrats with any regard for the well-being of the city after 2013. 

It's a tragedy to see the once-heavenly Los Angeles turn into a hellscape. It's a tragedy that so many voters don't love LA, that their hatred of Trump, their disdain for Republicans, and their insistence on all of the shallow, shameful progressive issues are far more important than the necessities to make sure that their city can function. 

I never thought it would come to this, but Angelenos simply haven't hurt enough. How many more homes have to go up in flames? How many more families have to be torn apart by the death of a mother or a father because of crime or natural disaster? How many more businesses have to be destroyed, desecrated, forced to shut down because City Hall refuses to use its power to do what is best for the rest? 

These problems festered two years earlier. Before anti-American immigrant socialist City Councilwoman Nithya Raman Challenger made it into the runoff against Karen Bass, she had won re-election to City Council outright in 2024! For weeks during the March 2024 primary, business owners and homeowners repeatedly complained about the homeless and the crime in the streets. And yet for all their complaining then, and a recent protest test of makeshift homeless encampments outside of Rahman's home this year, voters still sent the elitist socialist to city hall.

Los Angeles, be afraid.

The Democratic Socialists of America have aggressively targeted you. Four of the city council members are DSA all the way. They are vying for a city council majority and the mayor's seat. Registered Republicans can’t help you now: they have given up on voting or moved out of the city altogether. 

What will it take? I am astounded at the destruction and degradation. New York City was one thing. President Trump had pretty much solved the migrant crisis and allowed some degree of enforcement, so New Yorkers got complacent, perhaps? But Los Angeles witnessed the unprecedented disaster that destroyed homes. We all saw the unconscionable incompetence of Los Angeles's political class. 

Yet even with that, LA voters voted for more of the same. 

I love LA, but clearly LA no longer loves LA.

LA Does Not Love LA

Rolling down Imperial Highway 

Sweet Nasty Redhead on my side

Santa Ana winds blowing hot from the north 

We were born to ride.

I love Randy Newman, and I love his signature song “I Love LA.” When he won the mayor’s race in 2001, James Hahn played that anthem to celebrate his victory. From city attorney to mayor, Hahn worked to ensure some decency and competence in the city.

Fast forward to today, and Los Angeles is a hollowed-out, burned-out, blown-out shell of what it was.

Hollywood is leaving, and last year, Pacific Palisades went up in flames.

There’s no Richard Riordan or Sam Yorty to save the city now.

Two Democrats, a Bolshevik and a Menshevik, will fight for what’s left.

Los Angeles had a chance to build on the county’s election changes in 2024. In an unprecedented reversal, a Republican turned independent, Nathan Hochman, took on George Soros's handpicked District Attorney George Gaston. He received the support of numerous Democrats, and certainly of Republicans and independents, and he wiped out George Gaston. 

Los Angeles County residents were tired of lawlessness. They were tired of seeing the intimate scenes of incarcerated gangbangers raising a toast to a pro-criminal district attorney who was fast-tracking their early release. The same year, California voters overwhelmingly approved Prop 36, which re-criminalized property theft and gave local and state law enforcement more tools to crack down on crime. The work isn't done, since County courts are stuffed with woke judges putting personal preferences and idiotic ideologies ahead of public safety. But Los Angeles County is going in the right direction, and even the city of Los Angeles voted in larger numbers for Hochman. 

Then came January 2025, and the untouchable Palisades went up in flames. Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass was attending the inauguration of the next president of Ghana, and she could not be reached.  The Palisades Inferno was a massive failure on many levels—and preventable if anyone had heeded the warnings. Seven years ago, entire sections of Northern California went up in flames. Families desperate to flee the raging infernos ended up stuck in traffic and consumed by the rushing flames. The California Democratic political class didn't care then. 

 

Surely, the Democrats in Sacramento and Los Angeles would care about the left-leaning Pacific Palisades, wouldn't they? 

Nope.

This year’s primary results clearly indicate that Los Angeles city voters have not listened to their better angels. The demons have come in seven times stronger, too, since they find the place burned up and empty, and since no one's there, they've brought more of their vile hordes. How was it possible that voters across the city would embrace more of the same destructive progressive ideology when it's crystal clear to anyone that these failed policies—plus the arrogant lack of concern--are a direct result of this progressive madness?  Even in San Francisco, a growing cohort of voters has started taking over the county Democratic Party, and they have fought for some restoration of common sense, law & order, and commitment to enforcement in public safety. It's not enough, but there have been some steps, however minute.

In sad contrast, Los Angeles continues to double down on the same stupid. This isn't just foolish; it's absolutely dangerous. Unwise people with no regard for the well-being of the everyday citizen have no problem putting more of them in danger. Trump Derangement Syndrome and allergies to anything Republican truly are a mental malady, which has trapped Angelenos in a perpetual doom loop. 

A few weeks ago, TMZ host Harvey Levin complained about what has happened to Los Angeles during his lifetime. A multi-generational Angelino, Levin has seen the best of the city. Now, he cannot ignore how crappy it has become. The relentless homeless shelters, the skyrocketing crime rates, the overall lack of cleanliness and peace, and the desecration that has overrun a once-getaway destination and a second home for the rich and famous are unavoidable. 

Yet the same Harvey Levin repeatedly castigated, shamed, and openly mocked the one candidate who had a campaign platform, character, and commitment to remedy all these problems. Spencer Pratt may have been a reality TV star. But he was also a father and a homeowner who lost everything in the fires. He was fed up, and he decided that he was going to run. He launched AI commercials slamming opponents Bass and Raman with an impressive media blitz. He did a fantastic job in the debates. He cut an incredible cloth as a truly independent candidate. Not beholden to any political party, he didn't care about Trump or Biden or Kamala Harris. He did care about the incompetence of incumbent mayor Karen Bass and her socialist left-leaning challenger Nithya Rahman. 

He's a common-sense guy, and anyone with sense would have elected him mayor. But common sense is no longer common—or welcome—in the City of Angels. They stopped electing Republican mayors in 2001, and then they stopped electing Democrats with any regard for the well-being of the city after 2013. 

It's a tragedy to see the once-heavenly Los Angeles turn into a hellscape. It's a tragedy that so many voters don't love LA, that their hatred of Trump, their disdain for Republicans, and their insistence on all of the shallow, shameful progressive issues are far more important than the necessities to make sure that their city can function. 

I never thought it would come to this, but Angelenos simply haven't hurt enough. How many more homes have to go up in flames? How many more families have to be torn apart by the death of a mother or a father because of crime or natural disaster? How many more businesses have to be destroyed, desecrated, forced to shut down because City Hall refuses to use its power to do what is best for the rest? 

These problems festered two years earlier. Before anti-American immigrant socialist City Councilwoman Nithya Raman Challenger made it into the runoff against Karen Bass, she had won re-election to City Council outright in 2024! For weeks during the March 2024 primary, business owners and homeowners repeatedly complained about the homeless and the crime in the streets. And yet for all their complaining then, and a recent protest test of makeshift homeless encampments outside of Rahman's home this year, voters still sent the elitist socialist to city hall.

Los Angeles, be afraid.

The Democratic Socialists of America have aggressively targeted you. Four of the city council members are DSA all the way. They are vying for a city council majority and the mayor's seat. Registered Republicans can’t help you now: they have given up on voting or moved out of the city altogether. 

What will it take? I am astounded at the destruction and degradation. New York City was one thing. President Trump had pretty much solved the migrant crisis and allowed some degree of enforcement, so New Yorkers got complacent, perhaps? But Los Angeles witnessed the unprecedented disaster that destroyed homes. We all saw the unconscionable incompetence of Los Angeles's political class. 

Yet even with that, LA voters voted for more of the same. 

I love LA, but clearly LA no longer loves LA.

Who's the Boss? Trump, That's Who!

 

He sets the stage.

He makes the demands.

Trump’s in charge, ladies and gentlemen of the Republican Party. Get in line, get out of way, or you will get gone. You push back on his agenda, and you are gone.

Congressman Thomas Massie is the latest to learn this lesson too late. He could talk about “his principles” all day long, but what did he accomplish?

Nothing.

He went along with Speaker-designate Kevin McCarthy in January 2023. In exchange for Massie’s support, McCarthy gave him a coveted spot on the House Rules committee.

In May 2023, McCarthy was pushing through another porkulus spending debt-ceiling increase. Fiscal conservatives were clamoring for its failure. It came before the must-pass House Rules Committee, where it squeaked by to the floor on a 7-6 vote. Thomas Massie, Mr. “National Debt Alarm Clock” principled libertarian conservative, was the tie-breaking vote.

At that point, I realized that Massie was all talk and no walk. There were no principles he was willing to fight for, if it meant losing a seat on a key committee or not being able to grandstand against President Trump.

The same President Trump had endorsed him in 2020, even though Massie had made him mad by calling for a voice vote on the COVID-19 pandemic spending. The same President Trump backed him in 2024, as well.

When 2025 rolled in, with Trump at the helm and Republicans running both chambers of Congress, Massie just threw a fit and stalled the Speakership vote. Instead of incumbent Speaker Mike Johnson, Massie nominated Tom Emmer. The Minnesota Congressman had withdrawn his name for consideration two years ago because he was too liberal, more liberal than Johnson!

And yet, “principled conservative libertarian” whatever Massie chose the liberal Minnesotan. Make it make sense!

It doesn’t.

Massie was a grandstander, a virtue-signaling grifter throughout the Second Trump Administration. He voted against immigration enforcement. He voted against the spending reforms (and cuts!) in the Big Beautiful Bill.

Then he started bellyaching about Israel and the Epstein list.

Massie had long cast contrarian votes on bills and resolutions relating to Israel. There’s nothing wrong with voting the will of one’s constituents when they clash with Trump.

Massie picked too many fights, though, and he lost. He angered the general conference by forcing votes. He set off Christian Zionists with his hostility to Israel. He then outraged Trump and his MAGA base by voting down the BBB, then blasted the President over the Epstein files and voted against the party’s main-line agenda.

Massie should have limited himself to two targets, and one of them should not have been Trump.

As Scott Jennings shared on a recent CNN roundtable, Trump has transformed himself into the consummate party boss. And not a moment too soon! The Republican Party has long struggled with unity and organization. An incumbent President often serves as the leader of the party, but the boss-like maneuvers that Trump has employed rival all of his previous Republican presidential colleagues. Bush I and II, Reagan, Ford, Nixon, and onwards into the past all showed more of a deferential attitude toward the GOP conference, oftentimes because Republicans not in the majority to begin with. Playing along was essential in those days.

Trump has changed political dynamics, ensuring Republican majorities with sustained party discipline.

If you cross Trump, you'd better knock him out, step aside, or get ready to lose your seat.

By and large, this kind of policy and political discipline is refreshing. Republican voters have long had to tolerate campaign conservatives who moved in line with the Potomac two-step once in office. Voters didn’t realize the importance of holding incumbents accountable until the Tea Party movement, and even then, it was a hit-and-miss effort.

With Trump, bad incumbents are getting the heave-ho, and it’s all for the better.

Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy was always a moderate, and he showed his conciliatory (read, backstabbing) ways when he voted to convict Trump. That kind of wishy-washy failure has no place in the larger movement.

Sure, some will complain that Trump is turning the GOP into a Trump-Only cult. The truth is that some Republicans in both chambers have voted against the President, even criticized him openly, and yet Trump doesn’t trash them or force them out. Consider Congressman David Valadao (R-CA) and US Senator Susan Collins (R-ME). Both of these moderate-to-liberal RINOs are popular in their respective Democrat-majority constituencies. They have to lean to the left to scoop up enough votes.

Collins and Valadao don’t showcase their resistance to Trump, though. They just disagree with him, vote against the party on some bills, but they support the GOP leadership across the board, which enables the majority of conservative priorities to pass.

Trump is bossing out the RINOs, the sellouts, the grifters, the bad Republicans in deep-red districts who insist on selling out and undermining the larger cause. The Republican conference needed this kind of cleaning out for a long time, and I am grateful.

Of course, Trump as the boss has had some misses. He bombed during Election 2022, when all of his US Senate nominees challenging open seats or Democratic incumbents exploded. This year in California, his endorsement frustrated two Republican gubernatorial candidates from getting into the Top Two.

Nevertheless, Trump’s endorsement misfires are getting rarer with each election cycle, and with Election 2026, we have witnessed TWO RINOs get the boot, with clear assurances that stronger Republicans will take their place. We can look back at 2010 and 2012, when the Tea Party Movement was stretching its legs and learning to flap its wings. There were more devastating misses, like the US Senate races in Delaware and Alaska, and then bigger US Senate failures in Missouri and Indiana in 2012.

Republicans, following Trump’s more media-savvy messaging, have learned to knock out the RINOs but maintain a more mainstream message. They win the independents and some of the disaffected Democrats. State your MAGA principles, but focus on the bread-and-butter issues, and you win more elections.

Trump the Boss is calculating with long-term wins in mind, not just the next election cycle. It’s about principled victory through pragmatic means, ensuring that liberal Republicans, feckless consultants, and retired GOP brass keep their mouths shut or go away.

Trump the Boss is also finishing off the left-leaning podcasters, pundits, Woke Right wrecks who have spent more time targeting Jews and Israel rather than focusing on the needs of America and Americans. Corporate media did its best to prop up anti-Trump wannabe America First candidates, and they have all crashed and burned. 

Boss Trump’s current coalition is managing internal and external opposition, but he’s trouncing the dying corporate media, decaying academia, and fussy big business interests trying to get cheap labor. Trump has maintained a warm and ready steady hand of leadership, pushing his agenda through. 

His aggressive stance has taught Republicans how to fight, or has forced them to fight, or has forced them out because they fight him or won't fight at all. That's what a good boss should do:  Maintain the well-being of the party, ensure that the mission is accomplished, and provide good standing for everyone so that they're all getting the job done.

Sore Loser: Cagey Kaji Plays the Race Card Following Election Loss

Now this is just shameful.

Towards the end of the campaign, Councilman Jon Kaji was the subject of an FCC complaint from the FBI.

Here's how he responded:

Whether the "FBI" is an acronym for a private entity or the letters refer to the actual Federal Bureau of Investigation is immaterial to my point.

Why does Kaji mention 1942?

Because he's tying this political attack to Executive Order 9066 and the discrimination, incarceration, deportation, and internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

He literally compared his campaign setback to the Internment of Japanese-Americans.

This response is not serious.

In fact, it's quite offensive.

I don't recall David Kartsonis:

1. Forcing Kaji to sell his goods.

2. Forcing Kaji and his family to move out of their home.

3. Forcing Kaji to live in a horse stall as temporary shelter

4. Forcing Kaji and family to live in an internment camp

Did David Kartsonis do any of this?

Last time I checked, Kaji and his family are still safe and sound in North Torrance. There are no internment camps. Japanese-Americans in general are facing nothing like that level of discrimination today.

Most importantly, Kartsonis has done nothing of the sort to suggest or advocate for such treatment.

People are more than welcome to have their differences with Kartsonis (I certainly do).

But to implicate him with such abject racism and abuse is a low blow.

To disparage and exploit the Internment of Japanese Americans because you lost an election, that is just despicable.

Kaji was his worst enemy this election, and I must say at this point, he deserved to lose.

Update (July 16, 2026)

The Rational Animal summarized the base character of Kaji's retort very well, responding to disgraced Congressman Ro Khanna's racist remark earlier this week:

And here comes the race card. Not long ago I thought Khanna was the Democratic frontrunner for 2028. He's been spiraling fast, and now he grabs the oldest trick in the playbook: address a policy fight as racial martyrdom.

Bowman and Bush didn't lose over "Black martyrdom." They…

— The Rational Animal 🤔 (@theobjectivist) July 15, 2026

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.

Lessons From The California 2026 Primary

 

In a previous article, I analyzed the big winners and losers of the California primary. I didn’t mention my preferred candidate, Sheriff Chad Bianco, because to me he’s still a winner, even if the rest of the state (and Trump) rejected him.

California needed saving, and I believed that the sheriff was just the man to get the job done.

I thought Trump’s endorsement wouldn’t matter. 

I went through 5 minutes of grief after I saw Bianco getting a distant fourth place in the gubernatorial race. I went through the stages of grief fairly quickly, arriving at the place of acceptance. When I could look at the assumptions I operated under and see where I went wrong, it gave me hope - and I hope it gives hope to others - that there is a way to turn things around in California. But just not right now, and not as fast as I would like.

My calculations were way off for this race. I had such hopes. Not only did Bianco lose, but Republicans running in my state assembly and state senate districts got locked out of the general election, too!

Reality TV actor Spencer Pratt, as an outspoken common-sense independent candidate for mayor, lost his chance to challenge Karen Bass for Mayor of Los Angeles in November.

Where did I go wrong? What did I learn?

1. I thought that Californians really had suffered enough, and they were ready to go in a new direction. Look at all the homes that went up in flames in Pacific Palisades! Across the states, homes have gone up in flames due to poor forestry and water practices from the Democratic-run government. The election results indicate that Californians have not suffered enough. They haven't learned that voting Democrat means more destruction. 
2. I thought the DEI dominance of the Democratic Party would frustrate their candidates and allow two Republicans into the Top Two for governor and other races. Every identity and interest group in the state of California gravitates towards their preferred candidate. Former state controller Betty Yee would get the Asian vote. The California state superintendent of schools, Tony Thurmond, would get the black vote. Former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villagosa and former Congressmember Xavier Becerra would compete for the Hispanics. Tom Steyer, with billions to burn, played Bernie Bro, embracing the most aggressive left-wing policies. Katie “Karen” Porter would get the single white female vote. However, Democrats, even though they are determined to articulate intersectionality as much as possible (no straight white males, please!), the Democrats’ drive for power remained  number one, and they figured out how to winnow the field (force out Swalwell, sideline Mahan), and ensure at least one Dem made it through to the Top Two.
3. I assumed that the hardcore progressive Berniecrats and Democratic Socialists of America would harm the Democrats with their own infighting and help Republicans. Tom Steyer blanketed the state with mailers, including high-propensity Republican voters like me. California State legislators and statewide officials split behind Steyer or the more Establishment Democrat (Porter, Becerra, Swalwell). Ultimately, Big Business and Big Labor still call the shots in California Democratic politics. Their paid politicians will pay lip service to progressive platforms, like advancing single-payer health care, enacting a ban on gas-powered everything, and eviscerating the Second Amendment. In the end, however, just like in prior elections, California Democratic power brokers muted support for the most progressive policy positions and sidelined the Berniecrats. The Democratic Party of California is performative, not progressive, and they promoted Becerra to advance into the general election. 
4. The California Republican Party faces some serious soul-searching. They face an electorate that is two to one liberal against them. The Democratic dominance is not just concentrated in the big cities, but is spreading to the suburbs. Orange County, California, was a bastion of conservatism from FDR. While the state went blue in Presidential elections from 1992 onward, Orange County stayed red. Those days are gone now. For so long, I hoped that Republicans in California could change their brand, reshape their outreach, and augment a more common-sense policy platform to appeal to disaffected Democrats and independents. Sadly, Trump Derangement Syndrome has proven too malign for liberal voters to overcome. Democrats will not vote for more reasonable people unless the candidates are registered independents, like the current Los Angeles County District Attorney, or are Democrats unafraid to buck their party and the system, like Los Angeles City Councilwoman Tracy Park.
5. Trump is the boss, even when I don’t like his endorsements or choices. The boss may make mistakes, but the boss still makes the final call. The Republican Party is now Trump's party, even in California. He has been good for the national party, since he has adopted working-class populism to win the Rust Belt. That political coalition does not resonate in blue coastal states like California. Trump expanded the electoral map and the demographics of the GOP. Those gains have not helped California. The Golden State has become an amalgam of aggressive public sector unions, festering hot beds of indoctrination in universities and public schools, plus an overwhelming population of illegals and recent arrivals committed to getting rich off the government. With interests like those, sound constitutional conservative policy cannot break through. I don't blame Trump; I blame the liberal majority in California. And this disappointing reality reverts back to my first lesson: California voters want their abject liberalism, even if those policies cause nothing but suffering. 

 

Trump will move on. Perhaps the California Republican Party can rebuild and have a future? Will there be any hope of the Republican Party brand resurgence when Trump retires? A successor can build on Trump's current policy successes, learn from his messes, restore GOP suburban outreach, and bring in disaffected upper-middle-class moms and dads. Republicans in California have to find a way to bridge that gap, including tech elites and factory workers. There are signs that such a shift can happen.

Hispanic voters, especially in California, are moving to the right, but there is a need for real economic freedom and change. The decline of public schools and the rise of homeschooling suggest that the younger generation will be more independent and certainly more open to constitutional conservative thinking. With those kinds of changes, they will open up to the Republican Party.

If we want constitutional rule restored for certain in California, it will take a religious revival, which can happen. Argentina was a socialist basket case for 100 years. Only as Christian revival surged throughout the country, a new generation of voters began to reject the bland, played-out legacy of socialism. Then, outspoken charismatic libertarian economist Javier Milei announced his bid for president, with a new party, and then took the Argentine political class by storm as their new President. 

Californians can wake up, and they can vote themselves out of political bondage. Of course, not just a change of minds in younger voters, but the welcome intervention of election integrity measures from the federal government will go a long way to ensuring a viable political system in California where the constitutional rights and the everyday needs of Californians can be respected and relieved. 

California Primary Election 2026: A Reflection

 

The California Election 2026 primary is over.

And yet, it’s not over because the counting continues.

Democratic leaders will justify the Golden State’s drawn-out counting because they emphasize ease for everyone to vote. Everyone gets a mail-in ballot; everyone can vote wherever they please in the state; and everyone should like it.

The state allows ballots to be counted up to seven days after Election Day, provided that the ballots are postmarked ON Election Day, too. UGH! It’s Election Day, as Justice Alito commented in a recent Supreme Court case, which could have upended this month and a half of counting long after Election Day.

Republicans are right to call foul on this inordinate amount of time to collect and count California’s ballots. How can anyone trust an election system in which ballots keep rolling in day after day, and certain margins start flipping seats here and there? Republicans have benefited from sudden changes in the voting, sure, but Democrats, by and large, benefit even more. It’s not a sound, integrated system.

Thankfully, the federal government is investigating the election centers. The California Post exposed the LA County voting center for having only one person manning a desk while all the other desks sat empty, all with a $336 million budget! After the expose, lots of employees showed up to start counting ballots.

So far, so good.

Let’s set aside the recriminations about voter fraud, and let’s assume the results as they stand statewide will remain relatively stable until certification. Who are the winners and losers on California’s Primary Election Night 2026?

Let’s start with the biggest winner: Trump.

He endorsed British Fox News anchor and author Steve Hilton in April (Easter Sunday, in fact), and the momentum never stopped building for him. His main rival, the Riverside County Sheriff, had launched his campaign in February 2025, and then Hilton followed about two months later. Early in the election, polls indicated that Hilton and Bianco would take up the Top Two spots. Hilton alone made it, all because of Trump.

The next winner: Xavier Becerra.

This long-time politico was struggling along with single-digit support for a greater part of the campaign season. As candidates began dropping out, including serial #MeToo creep former Congressman Eric Swalwell, Becerra’s chances increased. Democratic activists (including Indivisible chapters) networked to push back on the single-digit gubernatorial contenders, and a wide array of liberal coalitions lined up behind the former Assemblyman, Congressman, state attorney general, and Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Another winner: Steve Hilton, obviously.

A Republican made it into the Top Two again for Governor, when some of the polling disturbingly indicated that two Democrats could lock out Republicans from the governor’s race! Hilton had some slips along the way, and at one point, his opponent alleged that Hilton had run out of money. Yet he persisted, and Trump gave him another boost a week before the primary election day. Some of my friends were pledging to vote for Sheriff Bianco, but changed their minds following Trump’s reminder endorsements. So far, that boost has paid off.

Now, let’s talk about the losers:

Left-wing cosplaying billionaire Tom Steyer went down in flames yet again. He was much closer to getting the gubernatorial nomination this year compared to his silly bid for President in 2020. Not only did Steyer lose the race, he wasted $200 million for the privilege of losing again. He flooded mailboxes with campaign literature. As a high-propensity Republican voter, even I received six campaign mailers from the Steyer campaign, including a big gloss-up slamming Becerra for mismanagement, scandal, and incompetence.

None of it worked. I visited his final rally in Downtown Los Angeles, and it was a pretty middling crowd. Becerra had a rally a few hours later, with three times the attendees, endorsements, and lots of energy. Money can’t buy a politician love (just ask Hillary and Kamala!), and Steyer had to relearn that lesson.

Former Congresswoman, US Senate candidate, and now gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter burned up again during her campaign, too. Democratic operatives have never liked her, yet she didn’t get the message in 2024 when she played victim and cried about a rigged primary. In 2026, her polling bottomed out worse. It’s stunning to see how even registered Democrats had enough self-respect that they didn’t want to give the Orange County harridan Karen a chance at further political power. The nasty videos of her cursing out staff, her heated and unpleasant interview with a CBS reporter, all of which showcased her arrogance and diffidence towards others, revealed how out of touch and out of place Porter was in pursuing elected office again. She believed all the progressive headlines when she got elected to Congress, but never realized that the political aura of winning a seat in once-conservative Orange County, California, would wear off.

The Progressive-Berniecrat wing of the Democratic Party lost big time. Our Revolution, THE Bernie Sanders-aligned PAC, endorsed Tom Steyer, undermining their messaging and hurting their credibility. For years, Bernie and his bros have been railing against the billionaire class. Then they line up behind a billionaire? Steyer’s biggest promoters struggled to justify their clashing endorsement, and voters didn’t buy it. Will this latest capitulation signal the end of Bernie Sanders’ influence in national politics?

Other losers include the Republican Party establishment. California’s Republican state legislators all lined up behind Sheriff Bianco early in the race, and now they have egg on their faces. A majority of California county central committees also endorsed Bianco, yet their say didn’t amount to much. Republican leaders need to consider what role they play in California politics now that Trump is calling the shots so squarely.

On a similar note, Republican conservative grassroots, specifically the California Republican Assembly (CRA), also lost big with this primary election. As early as February 2026, Sheriff Bianco had lined up conservative support. The CRA convention endorsed Bianco overwhelmingly for Governor v. Hilton. That didn’t matter at all. The Trump endorsement wiped out any influence of this organization, and Republican voters who just vote, voted for Hilton.

This outcome should prompt reflection among conservatives and other Republican groups in California. If they differ from Trump, do they have any strategy or resources to sway voters? If they don’t have the time or energy to make their case, then why gather and organize in the first place?

The ballots are still being counted, but these results will pretty much pan out by July and into the November general election. Does Hilton have a chance against Becerra in November? It will take a miracle. If progressive voters sit out the election, and Republican turnout exceeds prior off-year general elections, Hilton has a chance. But Becerra has arranged key endorsements from major companies, and he has gathered enough support from disparate factions of the Democratic Party that he has the momentum and the message that a two-to-one Democratic state wants to hear.

One should also add that California, yet again, is the biggest loser of them all. If the election turns out as expected, we can expect four to eight more years of performative progressive government, complete with malfeasance, scandal, and incompetence.

Will California voters ever learn?

Politics Isn't Fair (Bianco Should Have Won)

 

You can have the right resume, an excellent pedigree, a great record of accomplishment, and you still don’t get elected. Politics isn’t fair. Oftentimes, it isn’t moral. The outcomes come and go depending on the place, time, candidate, or the other opponent making one more mistake than the winner.

Sometimes, though, a candidate doesn’t make any mistakes. Public sentiment drifts in a different direction.

I still remember the student council election for my senior year. A young lady, beautiful in spirit and form, let’s call her Patty, had served on the student council for our class for three years in a row. She did the hard work when no one was looking. She fundraised for the class programs. She attended the high school sports events. She was a good student, too.

When the race for senior class president rolled out, she was the lead contender. Then stepped in a relative nobody named Jenny. She was a nice girl, someone I had known from elementary school. She was quiet and unassuming, and she had never done anything major on campus. Never participated in extracurricular activities. Never worked for any school cause. Come student council election day, Jenny won the Senior Class President. Patty quietly rushed to the student library (where I was studying at the time), and she just sobbed: “It’s not fair!” and crashed into her friend’s arms.

All her work meant nothing to the rest of the student body. Her pain still sticks out in my memory, and it underscores clearly how politics isn’t fair.

At the end of it all, campaigning is an amoral quest to get the most votes. Sadly, sometimes the contenders lie, cheat, and steal to win. Even setting aside outright fraud, elections can turn up winners who don’t deserve the win on many levels.

That’s a lesson I wasn’t happy to relearn following last week’s California primary.

From the moment he announced, I supported Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco for governor.

He was already an effective elected executive. He had served thirty-three years in law enforcement, having defeated a corrupt incumbent to lead one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the country.

He made national news when he revolted against California Governor Gavin Newsom’s lockdown orders and mask mandates in 2020. Most elected officials were biding their time, wondering when the worst of the lockdown madness would blow over.

Bianco didn’t wait. He told the Riverside County Board of Supervisors plainly that he would not enforce those mandates. No one was going to jail for refusing to wear a mask or choosing to keep his business open.

In early January 2021, I attended a “Stop the Steal” rally in Murietta, and I enjoyed visiting the department stores and eating at the local restaurants—and without having to wear a mask or show proof of vaccination. I live in Los Angeles County, and the most I could get away with was not wearing a mask outside. Businesses and government buildings insisted on the mask, even when I voted in the recall to get rid of Newsom in August 2021 (which crashed and burned, by a worse margin than expected).

Sheriff Bianco set the standard for resistance to medical tyranny. He set the standard that other sheriffs would follow, even the Democratic Sheriff of Los Angeles County Alex Villanueva, who announced in July, 2021 his refusal to enforce the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ reinstatement of the indoor mask mandate.

For years, I have been fighting illegal immigration at the local and state levels in California. Many of the city council and county supervisor meetings I attended had to do with immigration: partner with ICE, work with the federal government, reject California’s sanctuary state policies.

The health freedom fight replaced my activism against illegal immigration. Rallies and protests erupted across Los Angeles and Orange Counties. More Californians found out that they can—they must—reject COVID-19 tyranny.

And Bianco represented that courage, a red-blooded American sheriff in a blue state standing strong for the United States Constitution.

And not just for health freedom.

Bianco bucked the gun-control trends of the Golden State, setting up a one-stop shop for concealed carry weapons permitting. While most sheriffs rarely issued CCWs to law-abiding citizens, Riverside County boasted 60,000 permits. That’s a tsunami of Second Amendment support compared to other more conservative counties like Orange, Placer, or San Bernardino counties!

That’s leadership, and you cannot manufacture that.

Bianco worked with federal law enforcement to deport as many illegals as possible from county jails. He didn’t send deputies to accompany ICE raids (that is illegal under SB 54), but Bianco did everything he could within the law to ensure a safer county.

I have many friends in Riverside County, and they love their sheriff. They came out in droves to support him in two elections for the top law enforcement job. Democrats, Independents, and Republicans supported him, too.

Sheriff Bianco didn’t sit on the sidelines when it came to parents' rights in education. He endorsed conservative candidates, including outspoken mama bear Sonja Shaw—who is in the running for the State Superintendent of Schools this fall.

Bianco is pro-life, pro-family, unafraid to share his Christian faith in public. He also openly endorsed President Trump in 2024, declaring half-jokingly: “It’s time to elect a felon for the White House.”

February 2025, Bianco announced his bid for governor. I thought he was a shoo-in for the general election.

Then Steve Hilton launched for governor two months later.

Hilton had never been elected to office. He served as a campaign strategist for the UK Conservative Party under David Cameron for two years. He dragged the center-right party to the left on abortion, LGBT issues, climate change, and guns.

He was a Fox News anchor who advocated for lockdowns during the first months of the COVID-19 outbreak. He talked about asset reparations for black Americans. On “The Young Turks,” he openly admitted that he was to the left of socialist US Senator Bernie Sanders on economic issues.

This guy was no conservative, and he had admitted that he was not a Republican at one time, too!

Conservative activists in California were not impressed. We gathered at the California Republican Assembly convention in February 2026, and during the endorsement process, Bianco was far ahead of the other Republican challengers. In the end, Bianco received the endorsement with 71% of the vote compared to 29% for Hilton.

It was a shut-out!

Then came Easter 2026—and President Trump issued his endorsement for Steve Hilton.

Despite an incredible resume and record of accomplishment, Bianco lost traction. Hilton surged ahead and backed Bianco into fourth place. His supporters believed that the polls were wrong and that Trump’s endorsement wouldn’t matter come election day. We were wrong, and Hilton won.

The sheriff had leadership experience, skill, and an enviable record. Yet the news commentator had the anti-establishment (?) Trump endorsement, and voters went along.

It’s not fair. I don’t think it’s right, and I think it jeopardizes an otherwise winnable governor’s race for November. Will some Democrats and Independent voters look past Hilton’s Trump endorsement and his tenure on Fox News to elect him governor? I doubt it.

"Project Homekey" Supervisor Janice Hahn Endorses Sellout Sharon for Torrance Mayor

               

Sharon Kalani has betrayed a number of voters across the city of Torrance.

She wanted to focus on local issues, and she campaigned on listening to the will and interest of the voters.

Sellout Sharon began showing her true colors when she pushed the PRIDE Resolution in 2024, despite the fact that the vast majority residents showed up to city council to reject the proposal.

She went along with raising the sales tax, Measure SST, when she could have shown real leadership and found ways to streamline services and cut costs.

Then she tried to shut down the Armed Forces Day parade. Sure, she says that she wanted to move it t Skypark to save money, but such a measure would have forced the parade to wind down and disappear.

She is arrogant and out-of-touch, not taking into consideration what is best for the city.

And now she's embracing more big-spending and out-of-touch principles, welcoming the endorsement of LA County Supervisor Hahn.

This is the same supervisor who tried to force the Homekey Project, a homelessness construction that would have stood in one of the busiest sections of Torrance, close to schools, homes, apartments, and other businesses: unsafe, unsanitary, and unsound!

The proposal was so unpopular that frequent protests popped up on the corner of Madrona and Torrance Blvd. to call attention to this project and stop its advancement.

Janice Hahn does not care about the city of Torrance, and neither does Sharon Kalani.

She is unfit to serve as our next Mayor.

WINNING: Torrance City Council Votes Down Kalani's "Pride" Resolution for 2025

 

Well, well, well!

Good work to all Torrance residents for speaking out against that disgusting resolution last year.

Your voice made the difference, and it scared some of the city councilmembers straight (pun intended?).

At the May 20th, 2025, city council meeting, Councilwoman Sharon Kalani, wanting to fit in with the liberal in-crowd in the city, once again asked for a motion of concurrence to bring forward a "Pride" resolution for the city of Torrance to recognize June as "Pride month."

Councilwoman Kalani is not thinking about the best interests of the community.

She is pushing a narrow, DEI-based agenda to please key sponsors or donors in the city, I imagine. She announced that she was thinking about running for mayor a few months ago. She says that she wants the city to get "back to business."

Since when is celebrating sexual perversion, exploitation, and dysfunction part of the business of Torrance? Since when is taking up city council business for a perverse resolution "getting back to business"?

Here's her attempt to push this agenda yet again at the May 20th, 2025 Torrance City Council meeting (from 1:47:40 to 1:49:40)

Councilman Kaji also felt the heat and saw the light. He should be ashamed of himself for supporting the resolution last year. I am aware that many people in the Japanese-American community criticized him for supporting the resolution. Finally, he got the message.

It was a pleasant surprise to see Councilman Sheikh abstain on the matter entirely. Last year, I contacted his peers at the Islamic Institute of Torrance, and I urged them to write to the city council and urge him to reject this resolution. That effort scared him off from going along with this destructive nonsense. Even Kalani-booster Jean Adelsman noticed this effort! (And she has started attacking Councilman Sheikh, too. Trouble in Torrance Democratic Paradise?)

For the record, I think it's particularly disturbing that Kalani talked about "rooting out all prejudice" in her bid for this resolution. Does she intend to exterminate all mankind? Whether some liberals want to accept it or not, prejudice is a sad fact of life in the human condition. Human beings bear grudges, lose their temper, have fits of rage, get angry without cause. We need to focus on curbing and preventing invidious discrimination, i.e. bad behavior, not bad thoughts. You don't invidious discrimination with resolutions, and some behaviors and ideologies should be discriminated against. Kalani says that she wants Torrance to be "inclusive for everyone." Does that include terrorists, sex offenders, and other miscreants, too?

Her desperation to get elected mayor has led to her pandering to more minute, limited interests in the city. She should consider the fate of Leilani Kimmel-Dagostino in Torrance elections 2014 and 2016, when she lobbied every interest group in the city, only to lose both times in her bid for city council. We dodged a bullet then, and let's hope the city dodges another "DEI" bullet in 2026 in the mayor's race, too.

Sad Day in Torrance: Creepy Pat Endorses Sellout Sharon for Mayor

It's official.

Sell-out Sharon Kalani has completed her course, sold whatever integrity she claimed to have, and has given into the spendthrift, business-as-usual political class which has defined Torrance politics for far too long.

What exactly is her beef with Mayor George Chen? Easy: Jean Adelsman doesn't like him. It's that simple. I thought elected officials were supposed to represent the needs of all residents, not just kowtow to the bitterness of a select few ...

I understand why this is happening. Sell-out Sharon wants to be liked. She doesn't want people to say mean things about her, and she wants to fit in without causing a great deal of conflict.

But leadership is about making choices, and choices are going to have outcomes or take directions which some people simply will not like.

Sell-out Sharon doesn't lead. She follows, she does what she is told, and she gets a pat on the head for her efforts.

She gets lots of kudos and nice remarks from "Take Back Torrance." She cares what a couple of angry liberals think, even though other liberal-leaning voters in the city were furious with Dishonest Jean for pushing a failed recall effort against Councilman Mattucci.

Bitterness is the norm for the political "Establishment" in the city, and this bitterness looks for politicians who are easy to control.

Enter Sharon Kalani. I never thought I would see such a total reversal in moral standing.

And to make matters worse, the city's worst mayor, Pat Furey, has lined up behind her.

Creepy, corrupt, abusive, incompetent former mayor Pat Furey endorses Sharon Kalani.

He also calls her a friend. Who would want to be a friend of his?

These facts alone should turn everyone away from voting for this woman.

Many residents complained to me about "Creepy Pat." He was rude, abusive, dishonest with the Torrance public during his tenure. He brought a lot of conflict to the city. He colluded with a PAC to get elected, and he sold out our Ambulance service to McCormick. He couldn't maintain order in the city council chambers when left-wing activists repeatedly took over the meetings to support black thug Christopher Cowboy Mitchell. He threw residents out of the city council chambers just for speaking their minds, but he would allow hateful black supremacist bigots to shut down the city council meetings. This is leadership that Torrance can trust?

But Pat Furey served two terms, some will counter. Only because two Republicans split the vote in those elections. Creepy Pat never had a majority of the city behind him. It sure looks like Sharon won't have a majority of the city behind her, either, if these are the best endorsements she can muster.

Trouble in (Liberal) Torrance Paradise: Adelsman Turning on Asam Sheikh?

Is Take Back Torrance plotting to oust Councilman Sheikh?

Jean Adelsman is big mad because Torrance City Councilman Asam Sheikh put kids first and voted against the "pride" resolution earlier this year.

It sounds like she and other unrepentant liberals in town have their knives out for Asam in 2026!

She writes in her latest "Take Back Torrance" post:

Four offices will be on the ballot [in 2026]: Chen and Kaji have filed for re-election in 2026 and have identified candidates to run for District 5’s open seat (Mattucci will term out) and for District 3’s Asam Sheikh’s seat. That will be a repeat of 2024 when Chen and Kaji attempted to oust Lewis and also gain the open seat.

Lewis had been appointed and so had less than two years under her belt when she ran, but she was rewarded with re-election.

Sheikh may have a tougher time against a Chen-Kaji-backed opponent. He disappointed many – gay and straight – by his aligning with Chen on opposing Pride Month.

He disappointed many -- gay and straighht -- by his aligning with Chen on opposing Pride Month.

First of all, Councilwoman Kalani and the other three members who voted for the pride resolution should have aligned with Torrance voters, especially those in the audience, and rejected it.

Second, Councilman Sheikh clearly feared the outrage of his Muslim peers, many of whom attended the city council meeting to oppose the resolution. I am so grateful for their attendance.

Third, Sheikh sounds like his own man, even if he voted with Mayor Chen. He is not merely aligning himself with the mayor, although we know that Adelsman has as much of a targeted rancor against the mayor as anyone who opposes "Pride Month." The fixation on Mayor Chen is also disturbing, and her need to tie every "bad" vote to the mayor is unfair. Does she really think that Sheikh is a puppet of Chen?

Of course, the larger obsession that Torrance liberals have with pushing sexual perversion is disturbing. Why is there this obsession with normalizing a destructive behavior and false identities? And aren't there more pressing issues for the city to face, like ensuring that the budget and withstand the next economic downturn, or improving public safety?

Since when did "woke" ever benefit a city? Toyota, which was headquartered in Torrance, just backed out of all the Pride-Woke-DEI nonsense this week, and pledged to stay out of Pride parades. One would think that local governments would start getting the message, too.

I do think it's interesting that liberal outrage is lingering against Councilman Sheikh for doing the right thing (even if he had to be pressured to do it) in voting against the pride resolution. It will be interesting what happens in 2026, when Sheikh asks the voters for another term. Will he?