Mario Beltran: The Eminence Grise of Huntington Park

A concerned resident  - and active citizen - in Huntington Park handed me numerous documents about one political figure lurking in the background in the Southeastern Los Angeles region: Mario Beltran.

The documents included newspapers copies and clippings, along with arrest reports, and connections to the current city councilmembers in Huntington Park.

Mario Beltran

LA Weekly wrote some staggering and disturbing accounts of this operative, a former Bell Gardens official who plead guilty of embezzling campaign funds "The picture of Beltran coming into focus, however, is of a young, aggressive LA County politico who straddles a thin line between politics and the street, with questionable regard for the law."

"Questionable regard for the law. . ." Sounds like the current Huntington Park, CA City Council, too. LA Weekly published that columnn in 2007, by the way, following up on previous reports, arrests, and convictions from years before that.

The Los Angeles Times reported in 2009:

A Bell Gardens Councilman accused of embezzling campaign funds pleaded guilty today to multiple counts, prosecutors announced.

Mario Beltran, 31, pleaded to four misdemeanor counts, including failing to file campaign disclosure forms and failing to deposit cash contributions, all violations of the Political Reform Act., Deputy Dist. Atty. Max Hunstman said in a press release.

The charges stem from the defendant’s failure to report to authorities how he was spending campaign funds entrusted to him and his failure to deposit and account for cash given to him, according to the press release.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli ordered Beltran back for sentencing on Feb. 12. The defendant must resign from office before sentencing. Beltran is expected to receive four years of probation during which time he may not hold elected or appointed office and may not seek elected office or lobby.

Seven counts of grand theft, one count of perjury and one count of failing to deposit cash will be dismissed at sentencing as part of a negotiated plea agreement. In a previous prosecution in 2007, the defendant was convicted by a Downey jury of a misdemeanor charge of filing a false police report.

In 2010, the Bell scandal erupted, taking down the entire city council and the city manager. Sources have informed this writer that Beltran is connected with that series of corruption, as well as the John Noguez fallout.

Beltran still works as a political consultant, and worked for some of the current Huntington Park City Council members.

What is it with this town? Does every person who runs for office feel compelled to break the law in order to get elected?

Mario Beltran has  not made any appearances at the Huntington Park CA City Council, and for that reason, he is more of an eminence grise [Grey Eminence], or more commonly "the power behind the throne."

The term originated with Cardinal Richelieu, who operated and directed the Kingdom of France during the reign of the relatively weak Louis XIII. No one directly connected the corrupting governance of the cardinal to the problems plaguing the French state at the time, but the Cardinal's influence was keenly felt throughout the kingdom.

The same could be said for Mario Beltran in Huntingotn Park. The Southeastern Los Angeles corridor needs new, honest, transparent, and accountable leadership, and must rid itself of these dirty politicians looking to get rich at the expense of everyone else.

Pep Rally Success In Huntington Park

The December First, 2015 Huntington Park, CA City Council meeting was a real success.

We the People Rising confronted one of the illegal aliens, Julian Zatarain, and he ran away from us rather than answering our questions. He should become a legal resident first before doing anything in the city.

Deanne D'Lean is seated here with her photo demanding law and order, rules and justice:

While some of our numbers were missing from the December First meeting, we exerted considerable pressure notwithstanding:

Jhonny Pineda, the illiberal Democratic operative who appointed the two illegals, looked as uncomfortable as ever. He was wringing his hands for the greater part of public comment, and could not wait for the evening to end:

Jhonny wants to run!

The city attorney, Arnold Alvarez-Glasman, mocked our comments as a "Pep rally" or something out of a "high school football game".

We gladly obliged:

We the People Pep Rally!

The Huntington Park City Council is hitting its limit. We blasted the city attorney at the end of the meeting, as well, infuriated by his disrespectful comments. He tried to wish us a good day, then ran off, with "We've got another runner!" following after him.

Jeb! - One Sad Commercial

I saw one Jeb Bush commercial on Fox News Sunday..

It was sad.

The whole thing was a facade to me, boring but bearable, and yet very uninspiring.

The third Bush to run for President in nearly thirty years, Jeb seems to ebb with the tides of history, rather than thrash them out.

He repeats a tired tirade of accomplishments from his tenure as governor.

He governed as a ruby red conservative, overcoming voter lethargy and corporate angst against reforms in many departments.

Today, Jeb is probably living from one consultant to the next.

They tell him what to say, how to debate, and which issues to fight for or run from.

He is not an inspiring candidate at all.

The Romney of 2016, Jeb is saying all the right words for the major Establishment donors, the interests who want a weak sock-puppet who will do what they want, rather than governor in an effective, conservative manner.

Yes, he is sitting on millions of donor dollars. He can spend money like crazy in Iowa and New Hampshire. Despite the media blitz, he sits in single digits. Donors are worried about the guy, the same way major money was wondering whether to keep backing or back away from Scott Walker.

Money doesn't talk the way a principled, policy-oriented walk can.

Jeb is a big wet maybe, and more voters are responding: "Maybe not."

His whole campaign has become one sad commercial, and no one is buying.

An American Tragedy in Huntington Park: Nick the Greek

Long-time citizen-patriot and Huntington Park resident Nick Ioannidis signed off on a loan which he could never pay.  He had credit card and other debts, and now, after four months of not paying his bills or repaying the oversized loan beyond his capacity to ever repay, his debtors are preparing to foreclose on his tailor shop, which has also served as an American shrine to love of country.

This is the saddest story yet which I have learned about in Huntington Park.

Yet the story gets more sordid the more that I learn about it.

Nick the Greek is losing his vision and he does not speak English that well. He certainly does not read or write English very well, either. So, how is it possible that anyone would have allowed Nick to sign off on a loan with illegal interest rates, with a monthly installment plan which he could never pay?

Nick's accountant fudged the numbers to make it look, his daughter Patty told me. Then a real estate agent stepped into to broker this wicked deal. No interpreter was provided for Nick, and there is no way that this naturalized citizen with a weak grasp of English could begin to understand the complex -- and illegal -- jargon of the loan he signed.

Nick's daughter called this bad loan, introduced under bad pretenses, a form of "elder abuse."

I could not agree more.

Not only that, but let's not forget that the city of Huntington Park had agreed to compensate Nick the Greek a considerable sum of money for their planning commission's poor, failed directions to bring his building up to code. Ioannidis  had threatened to sue the city for their terrible directions and misleading demands, but Nick relinquished the lawsuit when the city agreed to pay him back for his costs.

The city would later renege on the deal, and to this day no one is paying him back. Instead, the four rogues on the city council appointed two illegal aliens to city commission, along with their friends, relatives, and campaign staff. The city council approves unethical business deals without competitive bids, and wastes money on Big Green proposals which will further bankrupt the city.

So, Nick the Greek was conned out of more than $100,000 for the refurbishments he made on his building, which still failed to bring his tailor shop up to code.

Then his accountant takes advantage of him, and throughout a real estate agent has Nick sign off on a massive loan with high - illegal - interests, then imposes a high repayment schedule. Even though he makes only $17,000 a year, the terms of the bad loan required him to pay back $3,000, then $3,200 a month for a $350,000 loan.

With mounting debts, a looming foreclosure, or inescapable bankruptcy facing him. Nick's family undertook to sell the property at a high margin, pay off the outrageous debt, and provide funds for Nick and his wife to live on afterwards.

The sad part of this outcome, however, is that the tailor shop Nick the Greek in America is a living, vibrant testimony to Ionnidis' love for America. We the People Rising joined with Nick and locally elected officials to celebrate Immigrants Day on his property. None of the current Huntington Park City Council members bothered to attend.

They have plenty of reasons to attend: Huntington Park, a city for immigrants. The fanfare of glowing Americana, the deep history and legacy of pride and patriotism. Of course, the same four shameful city council members have reasons not to attend: aiding and abetting illegal immigration in Huntington Park. Ignoring code enforcement; practicing nepotism and influence peddling, taking city money for personal purposes; transforming a once vibrant, thriving city into a third-world hell-hole, etc.

Even though the city council has not visited Nick's place, state assemblyman Miguel Santiago honored him with an award:

Here is a closer look at the Certificate of Recognition:

Here is a picture of Nick's family in earlier years:

Within the main lobby of Nick's tailor shop, hundreds of head shots depicting elected officials, past and present, decorate all four walls.

On the floor, a tile mosaic celebrates the city of Huntington Park with the city seal.

This tailor shop should be a national, historical monument. Council member Valentin Amezquita -- the only honest official on the Huntington Park City Council -- wanted to expedite that process. However, with the huge debt looming over the property, and little time remaining, the only recourse so far for the Ioannidis family has been to sell the property to the highest bidder and ensure a comfortable retirement for Nick and his wife.

There must be a better way. The crooked city council, account, real estate agent, and all other inactive or deceptive parties should be brought to justice. Nick the Greek in America should remain the moving and inspiring monument to patriotism and civic pride which Nick intended it to be.

This American Tragedy can -- must -- have a happier ending.

Huntington Park City Council Gouges Homeowners

Corruption breeds waste and fraud.

Waste and fraud cost cities more money.

The Huntington Park City Council continues to approve charging a .21% property tax on residents, even though Prop 13 wiped out city assessments on property taxes, as well as freezing those levies in place.

Even though Huntington Park, CA imposed a property tax in 1976, Prop 13 erased those levies.

And yet, the Huntington Park City council continues to rake in the taxpayers' money.

With nearly $100 million in revenue, based on these projections, why does the city still fall into deficit spending year after year. The city's diminished police force cannot possibly keep up with all the crime and corruption in the region, either.

There are a grand total of four police officers in the entire city. Reports indicate that the city council is firing staff left and right and then pocketing the money for themselves.

All of this is wrong, immoral, and just plain awful.

Ratepayers are getting hosed every month. Rodolfo Cruz of the 90255 Association claims that homeowners could be holding onto $1000 a year. That's money for a family's retirement, or investment purposes. Latent entrepreneurs could save their money and open up businesses, then hire more employees, too.

Cruz informed me that another family bought a home in the city, yet this family has a number of medical needs to pay for, too. The higher taxes and fees make it harder for a family to survive, let alone thrive, in Huntington Park.

Finding relatively inexpensive real estate in California is a challenge, already. Huntington Park, South Gate, and other communities throughout Southeastern Los Angeles county have become welcome areas for prospective homeowners and real estate investors.

To own a home is a big part of the American Dream. Why would the Huntington Park City Council erode or frustrate this goal for upwardly mobile Hispanic families? For all the talk about racism and discrimination, it would appear that the four rogues currently seated at city hall are targeting the very people whom they claim to care about.

The gouging of homeowners has only gotten worse in the last six months.

The state of California already faces an unprecedented drought. Water usage is declining because of intentional conservation from city planners and individual residents. Yet in cities like Huntington Park, the water rates are rising. The city has plenty of money, which they refuse to flow toward the better interests of the citizens in their community.

The city council has engaged in kickbacks, nepotism, and outright disregard for the law, and they want more law-abiding citizens, taxpayers, homeowners to cover the costs.

This immoral council must be stopped.

Please attend the next Huntington Park, CA City Council meeting: December 15th, 2015.

Call the city council members, and tell them:

1. Rescind the appointments of the two illegals to the city commissions.

2. Resign their posts.

3. Remind all city leaders and all elected officials throughout Southern California: cities are for citizens.


Jhonny Pineda
4326 E. 60th Street
Huntington Park, CA 90255
Phone Number: (323) 356-8967
Email: jpineda@hpca.gov

Graciela Ortiz
6928 Mountain View Ave.
Huntington Park, CA 90255
Email: gortiz@hpca.gov
Phone Number: (323) 356-8852

Karina Macias:
2411 E. Gage Ave, Apt. 10
Huntington Park, CA 90255
Email: kmacias@hpca.gov
Phone Number: (323) 482-6640

Marilyn Sanabria:
3425 Live Oak Street
Huntington Park, CA 90255
Email: msanabria@hpca.gov
Phone: (323) 356-9498

Augustus Hawkins Pressured Nick the Greek to Become Democrat?

Augustus Hawkins represented Huntington Park for a number of years in Congress. Championed as a long time pioneer and fighter for civil rights, Hawkins was the first African-American politician elected west of the Mississippi.

Nick Ioannidis, aka Nick the Greek came to Huntington Park directly as soon as he immigrated to this country.

August Hawkins (D-Los Angeles)

Within five years, he became an American Citizen.

Nick has faced a number of challenges and hardships, and is under attack from not just rogues in the street, but thugs in the city council. He presented and promoted his love for God and country every year, and invited hundreds to celebrate with him.

When he wanted to celebrate not just his adopted country, but create a public holiday to celebrate all immigrants, Nick's Congressman at the time, Augustus Hawkins, intervened to make it happen.

Then Nick told me another sordid account of Democratic machine chicanery in Huntington Park.

Hawkins later pressured him to become a Democrat, or he would be forced to go back to Greece.

Unbelievable.

Patriotism should rise about partisanship.

Every Congressman should respect and commemorate legal residents in their communities because they share the same love and respect for this wonderful country.

Conservatives, liberty lovers, and all American patriots in general . . .

Readers need to understand how deep and corrupt the Democratic Party has become in the Los Angeles area.

How could anyone imagine a Congressman pressuring a citizen to switch parties in order to stay in the United States?!

I am still getting information on this matter. If this winds up being a fully credible account -- then more people need to demand action and redress in this city and for Nick the Greek!

CalNews Fail: Divisive Take on CA's US Senate Race

Could a website title be any more misleading or biased?

Calnews.com reported the following, in response to an article about US Senate candidate Rocky Chavez

@CAGOP leaders side with Democrats, abandon Rocky Chávez

First of all, Republicans gained a number of seats in the state legislature. They are working their way back from near irrelevance in the 2013-2014 legislative session, where Democrats held a supermajority of seats -- until one after another state senators were arrested, indicted, or convicted of serious felonies. . .

The idea that the California Republican Party leaders are automatically siding with Democrats just because of current inaction in the US Senate race is preposterous.

The Cali GOP is run by lobbyists…they aren’t about to piss off the Democrats in Sacramento.

Republican legislators have to walk a fine line in Sacramento. They held their ground against tax and spending increases in 2015. They need to increase their numbers to compete and legislative more effectively in years to come.

As for the ruling power of lobbyists in the state, that is changing as we speak. Grassroots organizations are getting stronger, getting louder, not taking a back seat any more to special interests.

Republican Assemblyman Rocky Chávez, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, accused the California GOP of deciding to “take a walk” on his top-of-the-ticket race, and challenged its leaders to “stand up and fight.”

Here is the original article from the Sacramento Bee.

The California Republican Party must defend the seats which they have already won in 2014, and must hold onto the Congressional and state senates up for reelection this year, too. That's a political fact. I would like to see the California Republican Party be more aggressive in targeting other winnable seats and registering new voters.

“There’s serious leaders in the California Republican Party who are telling donors ‘don’t give to the Senate race, we can’t win,’” Chávez, a retired Marine colonel from Oceanside, said in an interview Wednesday. “Well, that’s hurting us. It’s tough to raise money.”

Donors get to decided whom they want to back for any race. I would like to see more people donate more toward party building, not just individual candidates. Grassroots efforts are key, as well.

Rocky Chavez is facing a lot of heat for his vote on SB 4, which expanded Medi-Cal to illegal aliens 19  and under. 

Final Reflection

If statewide Republicans want to win again, they need to contact and connect with central committees. We need candidates who are team players, working to repair and build the brand in the state. Outreach -- not pandering -- to Hispanic communities is crucial, as well as holding the line on security, accountability, and transparency for all Californians.

However, the argument that California Republican Party leaders are siding with Democrats in not investing heavily in anyone US Senate candidate -- that is just ridiculous!

Ryan Hisao Mand's Brilliant Take on Immigration

Ryan Mand (on the right)

Ryan Mand of Torrance, CA, a former city council candidate and current college student, laid out a good argument for controlled migration into the United States: 

Also, I don't see anything immoral about closing the borders to immigration whatsoever. Doesn't mean I'm for it. But look at this analogy; when a concert hall sells out of tickets - that's it. You can't get in after. Why? Because then you start to have guest and safety issues; ridiculously long lines to the restroom, not enough medical staff to take care of the druggies, not enough bouncers per attendee, potential structural damage, etc. It just makes the experience lousier the more you let in after a certain point. With all of the traffic, water shortages, and crime - one can easily argue that more immigrants takes up space in California that just does not exist. Infrastructure can't hang with it.

I could not think of a better, simple yet articulate way to explain the immigration situation.

The traffic problems have exploded in California, in greater part because of rising illegal immigration, and the attending number of individuals seeking driver's licenses. We the People Rising had to meander through traffic for an hour just to get out of Downtown Los Angeles.

Supply and demand are facts of life, natural laws which the most regressive of governments cannot progress beyond. The stress on our state's public resources simply cannot accommodate unfettered immigration.

Mand's comments focus on the resources problem effectively. Security concerns also arise with more people crushing into one limited space.

Two comments I would add to Mand's take on immigration:

I am not against immigration. I oppose illegal immigration. I am not ready to stop immigration altogether. Second, there is a moral reality to this problem which cannot be ignored. Without the rule of law, there is no peace or security. Let's coninue with the concert hall analogy. Individual participants have paid top dollar to attend. Is it fair to allow people to crash the concert at the last minute? Is it fair to allow people to sneak into the concert for free?

Of course not!

The immigration problem is more complex than a concert hall -- granted. But the complexities of balancing resources and rule of law do contribute to a better understanding of why any nation, even the most free and open, must demand a secure border and limit legal immigration.

Democrats Retreating from Brown's Crazy Train

The California Democratic Party is cracking along more entrenched fissures going into 2016.

Big Labor is facing bigger opposition in the state, and Democratic lawmakers, with a more moderate hue than in years past, are pushing back against major spending and onerous regulations.

An outsider Democratic lawmaker, who unseated an incumbent in the Los Angeles Valley, has now backed away from the train.

From the Los Angeles Times:

The rock-solid Democratic support in Sacramento for the bullet train, which has endured despite legal and financial setbacks in recent years, has developed a political fissure.

Assemblywoman Patty Lopez (D-San Fernando) says she is withdrawing her support for the project, and she says five other Democrats in the Legislature are reviewing their positions.

The Times also mentioned that Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom also opposes Brown's bullet train. He needs to step away from Brown's shadow in his bid for Governor in 2018.

Lopez' decision reflects her constituents' vocal opposition to this vanity affair. The Orange County Register reports:

Hundreds of protesters from Lopez’s district turned out at a rail board meeting in Los Angeles this summer, many opposed to a proposal to tunnel through the Angeles National Forest.

Assm. Patty Lopez (D-Sylmar)

The Los Angeles Times also added:

This summer, hundreds of protesters from her district showed up at a rail authority board meeting in downtown Los Angeles. And only weeks earlier, protesters brought in their own sound system and took control of a rail authority open house in San Fernando that was supposed to highlight the project's benefits.

Latino communities are not just active, but pushing back at Big Government intrusions into their daily lives. If an outsider Democrat can stoke this kind of following, imagine what a well-intentioned Republican could do. Republicans up and down the state have opposed the Crazy Train from Day One. More voters are realizing that this popular bond is running off the tracks, and threatens to harm people's homes and businesses as well as hinder meaningful financial reforms.

Not only that, but more Democrats are waiting off to the sides, prepared to jump off the train, too.

Governor Brown's tight yet illiberal coalition is starting to fray, and California Republicans can take advantage of these divides to boost their influence in the state and for all California residents.

The Restoration of California: Southeastern LA County

I was not looking forward to reading this headline to Jarrett Stepman's article, a review of Victor Davis Hanson's book:

Review—The Decline and Fall of California: From Decadence to Destruction

At least the article provided insight into why California, once so golden and behold to no one, has become impoverished, wracked with inequality, and serving the few at the expense of the rest.

“Conservatives lost. Liberals won—by a combination of flooding the state with government-supplied stuff, and welcoming millions in while showing the exit to others. The only mystery is how Carthaginian will be the victor’s peace, e.g., how high will taxes go, how many will leave, how happy will the majority be at their departure?”

From the 1970's onward, liberal elites propped up labor unions and environmentalists, and let them wreak havoc. In the last four years, Governor Brown and his Democratic cohorts have worked hard to turn California into a sanctuary state for illegal aliens instead of legal residents. An office for "New Americans" has led to the untenable neglect of we "old Americans", i.e. the ones born or naturalized in this country.

The taxes really cannot go any higher, and there are fewer people paying for everyone else. What will happen when the small businesses go on strike, and stop providing goods and services for sale?

Is there any hope for California? Stepman's review suggests the following:

The situation seems dire and bleak for those who wish to restore the state. Though Hanson has a tiny sliver of hope that the new, mostly Mexican and Latin-American residents will someday rise to the level of middle and upper-middle class and throw out their coastal elite overlords.

There is some truth to this assessment.

South Gate, California, with its expanding property ownership base, may show signs of rejecting the Big Government elitism of the current California Democratic Party. In Maywood, local activists fought hard and removed a coterie of unwelcome incumbents, too. Jack Guerrero of Cudahy is a lone voice of reason among sanctuary-city liberals, but he is leading the charge to bring conservative Republican values to otherwise dark blue regions.

Republicans are also actively pressuring the Huntington Park City Council to rescind the appointments of two illegal aliens to city commissions. Local residents are still appalled at the blunt affront to the rule of law, and have joined with other voices to demand respect for our nation's law and culture. In Huntington Park, California, registered Democrats have told me that they vote Republican. I had the privilege of assisting a long-time Democrat to join the GOP. Other elected officials are fed up with the rampant corruption of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party political machine. Homeowners in Huntington Park are taxed higher than almost every city -- except Bell, a municipality notorious for one city council's brazen corruption and graft.

Los Angeles (and California) can be red Republican again

The California Republican Party can rise again, but most work with Latino communities throughout the state, those regions where long-standing Hispanic families have achieved a measurable degree of wealth and prosperity, who are now fighting for transparency, accountability. and security for their cities -- and their state. Hispanic residents are voting Republican -- although they will not tell their closest friends. Some politically connected individuals have affirmed that their allegiance to the Democratic Party is wavering.

Jarett Stepman adds in his review:

“Is there hope? Can there be honesty about our crises and courage to address them?” Hanson writes. “I sometimes fantasize that a new conservative movement of second- and third-generation upper middle-class, over-taxed Mexican-Americans will demand competitive schools for their children without the fantasies of Chicano studies and coastal global warming indoctrination.”

I have spoke with some of these over-taxed Mexican-Americans. They are in Huntington Park, fed up with a corrupt city council charging them .21% property tax on their homes, in violation of Prop 13. These residents live in Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, and Maywood, too. People of all colors want the broad liberty central to the American Dream. They also want a storied yet settled end to the political machine corruption which dominates the region's local politics.

Hanson hopes that this new middle class “will push for energy development, beefed-up law enforcement, and reasonable taxes and power rates, and so lock horns with the coastal elites, well apart from abortion, the death penalty, and the constant alternative lifestyle agenda. Some already are heading that way; more would if the borders were closed and the old forces of the melting pot were not impeded.”

It has been a privilege for me to connect with Hispanic residents in Southeastern Los Angeles County. I have met a number of former Democrats, now Republicans, who found that the illiberal progressive elitists had moved the party away from them. Residents in Huntington Park and throughout the region want cities for citizens. Republicans excel at the local level, and should start campaigning harder in this region. Hispanic Californians -- like anyone else -- want action and integrity from their leaders, and they hope to see the California Republican Party step in and invest resources in Southeast LA. Stepman's review was spot on, and Victor Davis Hanson's thin hopes are becoming thicker realities.