Torrance City Council: Remove Pat Furey Jr. from the Traffic Commission

The Daily Breeze delivered a bomb-shell in the headlines yesterday (March 8, 2016):

Torrance Mayor Pat Furey’s successful 2014 mayoral campaign was fined $35,000 Monday by the state’s political ethics watchdog for “intentional coordination and concealment” of improper campaign contributions, something critics had long suspected.

The illegal contributions were connected to a supposedly independent political action committee funded by McCormick Ambulance and the Torrance Firefighters PAC that spent about $35,000 for a controversial Crenshaw Boulevard billboard and other campaign expenses.

So, pay for play has become the real deal in Torrance?

I gave the  mayor the benefit of the doubt at the time. Despite the cry of major voices in the community who told me not to trust the mayor, I pushed all of that noise aside.

When the FPPC falls on you, however, and has documented the frauds and errors which took place, there is no denying the unethical activities which Mayor Furey and his son engaged in.

Particularly his son:

Orchestrating the collusion between the PAC and Furey’s campaigns were the mayor’s son and campaign consultant, Patrick Furey Jr., and his business partner, Hasan Roberson, the FPPC investigation found.

and then

The mayor and his son are on the hook for half the $35,000 administrative penalty. Responsible for the other half are the PAC itself, Richard Roesch, who headed the PAC and also was president of McCormick Ambulance, and PAC treasurer Tina McKinnor.

and also

The lengthy investigation uncovered email evidence that found Furey Jr. and Roberson had illegally coordinated their campaign activities to finance the billboard using the so-called independent expenditures.

The evidence included Furey Jr’s use of an “alternate email account to remain anonymous when he coordinated with the PAC and Roberson.” The agency said Furey Jr. was “uncooperative” when questioned about the issue.

Furey needed to cooperate, and yet he refused to. Why would he? He was engaged in criminal activity.

Pat Furey Jr.

Check out this rundown on "Little Furey's" actions, too:

It’s not the first time that Furey Jr. — a member of the Traffic Commission in Torrance — has run afoul of the FPPC.

He was fined $1,750 in April 2014 for his role in creating a slate mailer called the P.T.A. Voter Guide that caused an uproar in the local education community because it made it appear as though the influential group had endorsed the current mayor and other political candidates who paid to appear in the mailer.

I remember that mailer. It caught my attention then precisely because of the PTA slogan, with dots indicating an abbreviation. Mayor Pat Furey was prominently featured on one of the pages along with two school board candidates.

  

Patrick Furey Jr. still serves on the City of Torrance Traffic Commission.

He also serves on the Torrance Unified School Board Personnel Commission.

I remember last year when Arthur Plourde was removed from the library commission because he was pursuing a personal agenda. He presented his case, and some residents in the city feared that these actions were an unjust encroachment on freedom of speech.

Yet Plourde was removed from the commission. He did nothing wrong. He had a set of questions which needed to be better addressed. Last time I heard about this matter, Arthur Plourde was considering legal action against the city.

Today, the city of Torrance has a commissioner who has been fined a number of times for unethical, illegal campaign practices. How is that he can remain in any position of  public trust? What Patrick Furey is far worse than anything that Arthur Plourde did!

At the end of the March 8th city council meeting, Councilwoman Ashcraft moved to bring an agenda item forward to have Patrick Furey Jr. removed from the Traffic Commission.

No one seconded that motion.

Here are my comments on the matter at the beginning of the city council meeting.

I commend Councilwoman Ashcraft for seeking to have Furey removed. We need more councilmembers to show courage in their convictions and demand higher standards from members of the community who wish to serve in more public roles.

It is only fitting at this point that Patrick Furey Jr. be removed from the Traffic Commission.

Contact the Torrance City Councilmembers and demand that they follow through on Councilwoman Ashcraft's motion of concurrence.

Mayor Pat Furey (the father of the son!):

pfurey@torranceca.gov

Heidi Ashcraft (Thank her for her bold action):

hashcraft@torranceca.gov

Geoff Rizzo:

grizzo@torranceca.gov

Kurt Weideman:

kweideman@torranceca.gov

Gene Barnett:

gbarnett@torranceca.gov

Mike Griffiths

mgriffiths@torranceca.gov

Tim Goodrich

tgoodrich@torranceca.gov

My Prepared Remarks for Pat Jr's Dismissal--April 12, 2016

Because Patrick Furey Jr. chose to resign from the Traffic Commission rather than face removal, the city council removed the item from discussion on the April 12, 2016 agenda.

This is the power that Torrance residents have.

They do not need to settle for corruption, fraud, or nepotism.

Good government is not a privilege, but a right, one which the framers of the Constitution fought for, which we are required to maintain with our vigilance, or attention, our actions.

The fight is not over. We need better leadership, better governance on the city council. The unethical and unlawful actions of Mayor Pat Furey need to be addressed next.

Here are the comments which I would have read if the city council needed to discuss and take action on Patrick Furey Jr.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good Evening, Torrance City Council:

Once again, the community at large must ask that you take responsibility for one of the members of the city commissions.

Patrick J. Furey has been fined and admonished three times for unfair political practices.

Let me read from the Daily Breeze editorial:

The Fair Political Practices Commission last month fined the mayor’s campaign, run by his son, a political consultant and volunteer commissioner, and others, $35,000 for hiding illegal contributions. FPPC investigators found that it was Furey Jr., however, who coordinated the contributions from McCormick Ambulance, a company that contracts with the city, and the Torrance firefighters union, to his father’s campaign.

Last year, around this time, Arthur Plourde was removed from a commission for pursuing a personal agenda.

With Patrick Furey Jr, we find professional and moral failings, both of which indicate that he needs to be removed.

The politics in this city is starting to stink, and it seems as though two sets of law are emerging.

We are not going to have two sets of law in this town.

One for those who are well-connected to elected officials, and one set of law for those who are not elected.

Enough is enough.

We have evidence of illegal collusion between the mayor’s campaign McCormick Ambulance and the firefighters’ union.

And one person in the middle of this political travesty is Pat Furey Jr.

He needs to go.

It is shameful and sad that members of the city have to keep putting pressure on this council to have him removed.

For the record, I do not care if one thousand people suddenly write positive thinks about Mayor Pat Furey or his son. And no, we are not political enemies because we expect city servants to behave above reproach.

A professional standing requires professional conduct, and Pat Furey Jr has repeatedly not measured up to that standard.

This city has too many special interests buying influence. The only influence which matters in local government is the local interest, operating within the clear guidelines of the state and federal constitutions, as well as our municipal code.

Regardless of whether Pat Jr. conduct on the traffic commission has been mediocre or exemplary, he needs to be removed.

Thank you.

In the Furey-McCormick-Commission Matter, Torrance Democratic Club President Exposes His Partisanship

At the April 12th, 2016 Torrance City Council meeting, Torrance Democratic Club President Jimmy Gow spoke out against the removal of Patrick Furey Jr. from the Torrance Traffic Commission.

By then, in larger part due to public outcry, Patrick Furey Jr had already resigned his post as Traffic Commissioner.

Jimmy Gow

Yet Jimmy Gow claimed that the outcry against Patrick Furey Jr. was partisan in nature, and therefore had nothing to do with principle.

No mention of the ethical cloud hanging over the city. No mention of the fact that Torrance residents of diverse political backgrounds censured the mayor and demanded the removal of Pat Jr.

He even indicated that a local Republican leader was instigating the removal of Pat Jr.

Here are the full remarks from Jimmy Gow:

I am here to implore you not to let partisan grudges like the one on 12D  [the agenda item to remove Pat Jr from the Traffic Commission] distract you from the business of the city.

Maintaining law and order, ethical members to every city commission: those responsibilities are crucial to every city council's role.

If you look at the details of this issue, it's really much ado about nothing.

A growing cohort of residents in the city of Torrance felt otherwise, and continue to feel otherwise.

It is shameful and sad that Jimmy Gow tried to diminish this matter.

Why would he--or anyone?--go to such lengths to cover for Pat Jr?

He is a Democrat, and a  Democratic operative.

Pat Jr  is also a Democrat, and a well-seasons operative, according to some reports. Pat Jr. touches a number of local races and has advanced progressive/Big Labor political maneuvering in the South Bay through his father, mayor Pat Furey.

And only an issue because political operatives are determined to tear down good people.

What is Jimmy Gow talking about? Whom is he talking about? Does it really matter?

Pat Jr. received three admonitions and was hit with fines for his illegal campaign activities. How much longer will the public permit unethical activities to continue until someone says "Stop!" or does something to prevent

These remarks were unclear and obscure.

The email campaign promoted by the local Republican club is an example.

Which club? The Torrance Lomita Republican Assembly? The Beach Cities Republicans? The Lincoln Club? Was there an effort from the Torrance Democrat Club? Other clubs to denounce the illegal and unethical actions of the mayor, the McCormick-TFOA PAC?

With all due respect to the gravity of the situation, "What difference does it make?" who is seeking right corrective actions to these behaviors?

The technicalities of a campaign manager running afoul of the FPPC and/or the people working for the IE [?] has no bearing on his performance as a city commissioner.

Yes, it does. Three times Pat Jr, was admonished! Three times! These bad actions reveal bad attitude about good governance. These unethical practices should preclude someone from serving at the public trust.

Why does something like this have to be discussed? Why does Jimmy Gow not seem to care about these issues? Are these the values of the Torrance Democratic Club?

Not only did the individuals in the city council audience speak for Pat Jr.s removal, the Torrance Daily Breeze exhorted the City Council for the Traffic Commissioner's ouster.

The Daily Breeze! Not a Republican club, not Republican operatives -- The Daily Breeze!

The articles reporting on the matter, and the editorial, all came from this paper. in the Daily Breeze. From what I know about Nick Green, he is no conservative, and no operative of the Republican Party, or of any party (?)

Supplemental materials provided by the Torrance City Councilmembers to the public also indicated that an "email campaign" was actually a series of campaigns from residents throughout the city appalled by the disgraceful, unethical behavior of the mayor and his son.

There was no indication in any of the writings provided that the diverse responses from residents in the city were intimately directed by any political group. If anything, Torrance residents are connecting on this matter, and they have worked together as citizens who simply want good and honest government.

The two issues are separate.

No they are not. No, Jimmy. Integrity matters.

Indeed, my understanding is ...

At this point, members of the audience criticized the council and the speaker because he was speaking on an agenda item.

Gow was prepared to sit down, but then the city attorney reminded the audience that since item 12D was withdrawn from the agenda, the item merited discussion during public comment, if a resident of the city so desired.

Gow continued, but he halted his speech a few times, seemed to struggle for words at that point.

Perhaps it was becoming clear to the audience that he was exposed for his hypocrisy. He was being the partisan and making the whole Furey-Furey Jr. affair about politics instead of principle.

He finally found his words:

I think I was saying that the two issues are separate.

The reason that this is even being discussed, talked about, as it was earlier, is because of the political maneuverings of GOP supporters of another commissioner who  was appropriately removed for misusing his position.

Again, completely different from the other situation.

It has more to do with the Republicans having lost the 2014 Election, looking for any way to undo those results.

They even had David Hadley chiming in on the McCormick contract, and my question is where was he when the Republican supporters in 2011 as was testified last week, took the #4 bidder as opposed to the #1 bidder.

There was no outrage then.

What is Jimmy Gow talking about?!

These remarks were brazenly partisan and offensive. Members of the audience began to boo.

His train of thought was particularly confusing.
What is wrong with an elected official sharing concerns about corruption or bad governance in the local cities?

Furthermore, what do prior infractions or illegal actions have to do with the present problem?

Final Reflection:

Here are three links of oral communications from the April 12th, 2016 meeting.

 These three distinct individuals criticized Mayor Pat Furey and his son Patrick Furey Jr., all in relation to the FPPC fines against the mayor and his son, particularly the son, the target of three admonitions/fines for illegal campaign practices.

Linda Gotshall Sayed: She declared that she was a vocal friend and supporter of the mayor.

Now she is one of his most vocal critics. Is she part of some vast right-wing Republican conspiracy?

Mik Moran: He is a resident and homeowner in Torrance.

Annie Ko: She reminded the audience that the city had an ambulance provide, Gerber, which went out of business.

Again, is she a Republican operative looking for any excuse to impugn the mayor?

The idea that a demand for good government is simple partisan maneuvering -- that is very offensive.

There are men and women in this city who had suspected Pat Furey of doing criminal or at least unethical activities.

Like some members of the community, I had given Furey the benefit of the doubt about the PAC and the McCormick incident.

Jimmy Gow certainly should reconsider remarks about residents in the city of Torrance who simply do not want their city to turn into another Vernon, Bell, or other corrupt city.

Once again, I find it shameful and offensive that such brazen partisanship was injected into the council meeting. No wonder so many people booed Gow in the audience.

Elected officials are supposed to respect the needs of all citizens. Any demands for good government should be respected, regardless of the political affiliation of the one, two, or many who demand proper action in response to unethical and illegal behavior.

If anyone was unjustly and unjustifiably partisan, it was Jimmy Gow, the President of the Torrance Democratic Club.

Pat Furey Jr. Resigns (Finally!)

Mayor Pat Furey and Traffic Commissioner Patrick Furey met the voters' fury.

Before the rest of the meeting's business began for the April 12, 2016 city council meeting, the mayor announced to the public--or someone announced it, because it was barely noticed--that Pat Furey Jr. had resigned from the Traffic Commission.

What took him so long?!

This foot-dragging from the mayor and the city council is inexcusable.

Arthur Plourde was removed from the Library Commission last year because of pursuit of a personal agenda.

He was roasted alive before the public. Granted, the reasons from the city council for his removal were not necessarily unethical, or even mean-spirited.

Still, Plourde's transgression were nothing compared to Furey Jr's numerous failures.

Following Pat Furey Jr's triple fault before the public following his mistake, and the Fair Political Practices Commission slapping a huge fine on the mayor's campaign and against Pat Jr., the commissioner resigned.

This is people power at its best, and it will only grow in the city of Torrance.

This action should not have taken so long.

The FPPC deserves some of the blame. 

Why did it take that commission two years to announce to the public that the mayor and his son had failed to comply with campaign laws? Residents in the city up and down knew that Mayor Furey was up to know good.

As for the son, a number of residents had informed me that he was dirty, unethical, not a honest and integrated man in all of his affairs.

Very troubling.

A number of residents spoke out during the first public comment period.

I was not aware until after that part of the meeting that Pat Jr had resigned.

One of the most partisan members of the audience attempted to smear the public's outrage at the corruption and nepotism. A large number of the audience booed his answers.

Other residents of the city demand a motion of censure against the mayor. One lady reminded the audience that an honest ambulance company, Gerber, went bust and closed its doors following the city council's split decision.

What a tragedy.

The four councilmembers who voted to terminate the contract with Gerber needs to reverse course. Mayor Furey's vote is particularly suspect, since he was fined for collusion with the PACs that helped him get elected.

Pat Furey Jr has resigned from the Traffic Commission. He now needs to be removed from the Torrance Unified School District Personnel Commission. Government watchdogs in the city would like to see the entire Torrance Unified Personnel Commission removed entirely.

Torrance's Tim "Not So" Goodrich

Torrance City Councilman Tim Goodrich has turned out to be a huge disappointment.

I had written at length about his anti-war rallies and activities.

I was surprised that the city of Torrance still chose to elect this man.

He ran away from his activist past. He had hoped to stagger away his views and attitudes about govenrment.

This guy was receiving donations from big time labor unions and liberal politicians.

Why did this guy get elected in the first place?

Most Torrance residents seem focused on their families and their jobs.

That is fine.

Now, however, for the sake of their jobs, their families, and the treasured South Bay way of life, they need to know who is sitting on their city councils, and start paying attention to the deleterious choices they are making.

Especially Tim "Not So" Goodrich.

He is a raging leftist, but for now tempering his liberal embers while prepping for a run for higher office,

He has been pushing a Big Green agenda for a number of months on the Torrance City Council.

He wanted a letter drafted to a state governing board to ensure the appointment of adequate presiding officer to succeed the one removed a month ago.

Yet when it comes to simple ethics among city staff, he has not demanded swifter action from his colleagues or the city staff.

The Daily Breeze reported on the March 22nd city council meeitng, in which Mike Griffiths sought concurrence to have Patrick Furey Jr. removed from the Traffic Commission:

The mayor abstained, while Councilman Tim Goodrich also declined to concur with the request.

Goodrich said he does not condone Furey Jr.’s illegal actions, but believed officials should have asked the younger Furey privately to step down. That courtesy was extended to a previous commissioner last year, who ignored the request and was then swiftly punted off a panel.

Arthur Plourde was the "punted" commissioner.


In a way, "punted" does not even make sense. This was not delayed measure. Plourde was removed from the Library Commissions. "Ousted" or "removed" would be more accurate.

At any rate ...

I received the following communiques  from a Torrance resident:

Remember you saying at a council meeting that you didn't believe the charges against the mayor. Well obviously they were true. Having said that, I've become a fan of your work exposing local corruption in various places. You do great work.

I was glad for the compliments, and yes I had given Mayor Furey the benefit of the doubt.

Some conservatives in the city had done the same thing, even though they opposes Furey for personal as well as political reasons.

On another note, it looks like Patrick Jr is being set up as the scapegoat for his Dad. Patrick idolized Sr and no doubt took direction from him. Patrick's problem is that he's more reckless than Sr. He didn't buffer himself as well as his Dad did. Jesse Jackson and His son might be a similar case. If it were me, I wouldn't want my son taking all of the heat for something that I orchestrated. How Sr behaves regarding the son may tell more about him than the political corruption.

Keep up the good work.

Ouch! I thought these points were well worth heeding.

Why would a father not do more for his son?

Teh truth is, regardless of any father-son or other familial relationship, Patrick Furey Jr. is an adult, and must be held accountable for his choices.

Three times he has been admonished and/or hit with fines. Three times!

Enough is enough!

The same writer then guided my attention to one of the city councilmembers who seems almost complicit in these unethical actions:

Am I hearing correctly that, Councilman Goodrich did not concur on sending a letter to Patrick Furey Jr asking him to resign, and as well as voted against a forced removal? After what he did to Plourde for nothing, this really shows what a Leftist political hack he is. This guy is the most dangerous person in Torrance. He's still young and there's no telling how far he could rise in Leftist California politics. His unethical position on this issue should be worked to the bone. Forget the Furey's, they're toast. Goodrich is the one to look out for.

Yes, indeed. 

Patrick Furey Jr. needs to step down.

I would like Mayor Pat to go as well.

This city does not need another liberal doing the bidding of the labor unions and other special interests.

Cities are for citizens, not for political action committees who thikn that they can game the system and play everyone for a fool.

Tim "Not So" Goodrich

Guess which council member is in league with labor unions?

Tim Goodrich.

This man is not-so good to me.

He gets worked up about climate alarmism, but the basic necessities of good and efficient government are not a priority? Really?

Let's state the developments plainly.

Tim Goodrich is a white version of Ted Lieu.

 At heart, he is a full-on lefist. He wants "equality for all" as determined by cultural-Marxistim

 outcomes.

He wants every city bowing down to Big Green.

Who knows what other out-of-step, out-of-touch views he holds.

He even confronted me at one point to shame me into silence: "I don't want you to look foolish."

I don't think so.

His reluctance to hold the Traffic Commissioner accountable and have him removed is very disturbing.

He needs to go.

It is wrong for  him to use Torrance as a spring board to further his illiberal, regressive agenda.

And it's time for more people to call him out on this!

LIE-lani Kimmel Dagostino? Aurelio Mattucci Speaks

Aurelio Mattuci of the Unified Small Business Alliance shared the following on Facebook about Leilani Kimmel-Dagostino:

I AM JUST SHARING LINKS TO REVEAL THE TRUTH.

Leilani Kimmel D'Agostino is a FRAUD. This is my opinion of her. Besides the fact that Torrance City Council candidate Leilani Kimmel D'Agostino likes to talk bad about me and many others to people in Torrance. She is also lying to the public.

I can attest to this too. She loved to tell me all the bad things about other candidates. She is a fractious gossip.

Since when is speaking the truth something we should fear?

George Orwell answered this question in his dystopian novel 1984:

"In terms of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

Personally I don't care who Leilani uses for her campaign. I do however question the fact she denied using Jr. as her consultant.

She's a liar?

That is why I decided to share this "PUBLIC INFORMATION" with anyone that may have missed it.

I'm tired of the "Don't step on Political Toes" thing.

Politics is all about stepping on toes, when they step over the line. Individual citizens need to raise their voices and stomp their feet if necessary to stop the self-serving corruption and malfeasance in our cities.

Seems like this is information the public needs to know. She may still win, and I may make more enemies at city hall, but something no one could ever say is that I don't have the B----S to speak up.

As you know Torrance City Council Candidate Leilani D'Agostino is using Patrick Furey Jr. as her consultant. Amid the controversy with the Furey family, Leilani has been getting a lot of pressure from supporters about her relationship with Jr. and many advised her to drop him.

Funny thing is that she is now stating that she is no longer using Jr. but interestingly enough the company name changed according to her most recent 460 filing, but both the address and phone number of this "New" consultant is still the same as Liberty Campaign Solutions.

Feel free to compare for yourself.

Leilani is covering up her consultant relationship
with Patrick Furey Jr?

WHAT?!

I had written to Leilani three times about Pat Jr. She never responded to my emails. I had to speak to 

http://www.torranceca.gov/20148.htm

New company http://rfccommunications.com/contact-us/ Presumably owned by Patrick Furey Jr.

Old Company http://www.yellowpages.com/…/liberty-campaign-solutions-llc… Also presumably owned by Patrick Furey Jr.

Do what you want with the info, after all it's public record.

Again, I don't care who she uses as her campaign manager, but if she has to lie about this, what else will she lie about in the future?

SHARE with your Torrance Voters if you think this is information they should know.

So, is Leilani a liar? Should we start calling her LIE-lani Kimmel-Dagostino?

Torrance Residents and Representative Address Torrance FPPC/McCormick Controversy

March 22nd, 2016.

Residents of the city of Torrance addressed the Torrance City Council about the ongoing revelations of FPPC violations and the massive fines which followed against Mayor Pat Furey, his consultant and son Patrick Furey, and the PAC run by McCormick Ambulance.

A number of concerned citizens attended

I am glad that a number of residents turned out to speak on the matter.

Most surprising of all, Assemblyman David Hadley (R-Torrance) attended.

And he was the first one to speak during public comment:

Here are some of his comments:

"My views is that the South Bay has been blessed with terrific local government."

Yes, and that praise rests on an aware, active, and engaged local community.

Frankly, I think local government is the best form of government."

I wish that more legislators in Sacramento thought the same way.

Assemblyman David Hadley (R-Torrance)

"The underlying premise of that is that we are engaging in the business of our cities and our school districts with integrity, with full disclosure, and in accordance with state and municipal law."

Yes. Local government and local accountability go hand in hand.

"As is now a matter of public record, we have a vendor to the city of Torrance, McCormick Ambulance, that it stated in stipulation, that it brok the Torrance city code in the course of the most recent election to have taken place in the city of Torrance. And since that election, McCormick has been awarded a contract by the city of Torrance to provide services ...

Then he focused on the issue at hand:

"As a matter of policy and principle, we cannot allow vendors to break the laws of the state, the FPPC,  and the city municipal code."

And finally

"I just want everyone to know here that the residents of the city of Torrance are watching,  and the residents of the South Bay are watching."

Yes, and we are expecting action, results, honesty, and integrity from our city council.

Mark Stephenson then addressed the council on the matter of Patrick Furey Jr., that he should be removed from the Traffic Commission. He chided the council for their silence, which "speaks volumes." He then added that the city residents should not have been reuired to attend and pressure the city council to remove Furey Jr.

I spoke next. Read my comments here.

Clint Paulson also shared his discomfort about addressing this concern. He added that he did not see himself or other members of the community as "political enemies" of the mayor or his son.

Some members of the audience thanked the assemblyman for attending and speaking on behalf of all our concerns.

At the end of the meeting, Councilman Geoff Rizzo sought concurrence on two items.

First, to release an RPF for emergency/ambulance services to replace McCormick when the contract was due for renewal--or rejection--in December.

Unanimous concurrence followed.

For the second item, Rizzo directed staff to bring an item -- to send a letter to Patrick Fury, for his resignation from the Traffic Commission.

Five people concurred:  Rizzo, Heidi Ashcraft, Mike Griffiths, Kurt Weideman, and Gene Barnett.

Councilmember Mike Griffiths then moved for an item to terminate Patrick Fury Jr. if he did not resign.

Three voted to concur: Griffiths, Ashcraft, Barnett

Three voted no, to give Furey Jr. a chance to resign voluntarily: Goodrich, Weideman, and Rizzo.

The mayor abstained. No concurrence emerged.

The people of Torrance have spoken, and the city council listened. Patrick Furey Jr. would be wise to resign and save himself further embarrassment.

Clint Paulson

I agree with the comments from Mark Stephenson and Clint Paulson: the residents of the city should not have had to take time out of their lives to press the council to do this.

The lesson to draw from this local civic victory: if concerned citizens speak out, you can fight and win against city hall!

Voter Fury at Mayor (and Son) Pat Furey

Mayor Pat Furey once slammed Torrance voters as suffering form "pension envy."

All while he and his son were colluding with the McCormick PAC for his mayoral election bid.

The Daily Breeze has reported on the increased pressure on Pat Jr. to resign from the Torrance Traffic Commission.

Torrance Mayor Pat Furey will learn the depth of his political isolation Tuesday when the City Council decides whether to ask his son to resign his volunteer position as a city commissioner.

Five of the seven-member panel agreed March 22 to discuss sending Patrick Furey Jr. a letter asking for his resignation because, as a political consultant who ran his father’s campaign in 2014, he violated state election law.

The mayor abstained, while Councilman Tim Goodrich also declined to concur with the request.

Goodrich said he does not condone Furey Jr.’s illegal actions, but believed officials should have asked the younger Furey privately to step down. That courtesy was extended to a previous commissioner last year, who ignored the request and was then swiftly punted off a panel.

Furey Jr. had said before the March 22 council meeting that he served on the city Traffic Commission at the pleasure of the panel, but no members had yet asked for his resignation.

Now a majority essentially has, but Furey declined substantive comment Friday.

The mayor — who also could face council censure for his role in the campaign violation — did not respond to a request for comment either.

Some city officials appear to be hoping the whole thing simply fades away.

That includes Marla Shwarts, a civil service commissioner who previously endorsed the mayor when he ran for office. She took exception to a Daily Breeze article last week that recounted that the mayor’s son could run afoul of an ethics code his father helped write.

 Other comments were particularly disturbing:

“I will never vote for anyone (the mayor) endorses again,” the email added. “He is crooked, deceitful and is acting like a little two-year-old who knows he did wrong, but won’t admit it or take the punishment. Shame on him.”

I think that we need to keep a close on all of the mayor's dealings and support.

But even the issue of who should send any letter to the younger Furey requesting his resignation is emerging as a political hot potato at City Hall, with officials seeking to duck any involvement in the controversy.

All of this cowardice is mind-numbing and offensive.

“The council may want to address who should compose the letter, who should be the transmitter of the letter and whether there should be a time line for a response,” City Manager LeRoy Jackson wrote in a brief staff report.

This is a joke. I will take the letter if they want me too!

There is no need for a letter. Remove the guy!

There is no need for all this back and forth. The McCormick contract needs to be rejected and replaced with something not tainted with corruption.

Voters are furious with Pat Furey and his son.

They should also be outraged with the big money influence peddling coming out the public safety operations in the city, too.

Enough is enough!

Dear Furey Family: I Am Not an Extremist

Patrick Furey Jr. resigned from the Torrance Traffic Commission earlier this month.

But the work of cleaning up local government and restoring public trust is far from over.

Pat Furey the Mayor needs to rebuked, recalled, and rejected.

For the time being, let us expose the entitlement mentality which has afflicted the Furey political famy.

Instead of owning his repeated misfeasance with political campaigning, he blamed those who exposed him and then demanded his ouster.

The Daily Breeze reports:

The son of Mayor Pat Furey, Patrick Furey, blasted city officials and “sad political attacks on the mayor and my family” in a resignation letter sent when he stepped down at the City Council’s request.

Boo Hoo. The reporting from the Daily Breeze merely mirrored and informed the South Bay public about the perverse corruption of the son and his father buying up local offices at the expense of We the People

The panel was scheduled to discuss firing him from his volunteer Traffic Commission post at a meeting set to convene at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Furey Jr. chickened out. He quit before the city council  fired him.

Officials received the resignation letter less than 20 minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin, although a city source said the younger Furey was still pleading his case to city officials at about 6:30 that evening.

The younger Furey, a political consultant who ran his father’s 2014 mayoral campaign, stepped down because of his central role in coordinating and hiding illegal contributions in concert with a supposedly independent political action committee backing Furey’s election.

In total, there were eight violations of the state’s Political Reform Act. The mayor’s campaign and the PAC were fined $35,000.

Patrick Furey took no responsibility for his actions in his resignation letter, however. Instead, he blamed “the most extreme element of our city” for making “vicious public attacks,” as well as the City Council, who he said had “attacked two volunteer commissioners in one year.”

So, We the People are "extreme elements." Wow! Just wow!

Who has issues?!

Another volunteer commissioner was removed last year for pushing a personal political agenda; it was the first time that had occurred in at least four decades.

The entire Furey family is engaged in personal political agendas.

No, Pat Jr.: the residents of the city of Torrance are not extremists for expecting the city council's elected officials to do their jobs.

We are not extremists for demanding good and honest government.

The truth is, more people have started waking up in the city of Torrance. The city has become imbalanced with bad policies and corrupt leadership.

The city council has turned into a spring board for progressive politicians--Tim Goodrich--demanding a liberal agenda which costs everyone else.

The Big Labor lobby is dictating what everyone else has to pay.

The Big Green agenda is bleeding the region into the red, telling us how we get to and from home and work, without any consideration for the proper limits placed on the state based on the state and federal constitution.

We are not extremists for calling you out on your corrupt behavior, Mayor Furey and Son!

LIE-Lani and Pat Jr. Still Working Together

So, different names still use the same address.

Leilani and Pat Jr. are in collusion.

Wow!

How shameful.

How utterly contemptible.

I tried to ask Leilani some basic questions about her continuing relationship with Pat Furey Jr.

She just ran away from me. Why was it so difficult to simply tell me the truth?!

How disgusting.

Here is another letter issued by a concerned citizen against the LEI-lani corruption::

Hello Patrick Furey Jr.:

I just wanted you to be aware that your RFC Communications website has been taken down since I posted a few links online.

You may want someone to take a look at that and restore it. http://rfccommunications.com/

Also, feel free to correct me if I mistakenly said that you were part of RFC Communications.  After all, both the PO box and phone number match the numbers of Liberty Campaign Solutions, which is your company. Also the registration of the name listed on WHO IS is marked "Private" which also seems strange.

I checked Liberty Campaign Solutions -- and there is no longer a website there. What's going on?

(LCS is the same firm which Pat Jr. was working in).

Again, feel free to correct me if I am wrong. All I want is an answer made public as to your involvement in RFC Communications, and why was it changed in the first place.

I also have a screen shot of that in case you thought it would go away by taking down the site. 

I am not part of the angry crowd as a few have said about me, I'm part of the crowd that wants something better for Torrance and is always seeking the truth.

Truth is a good thing. Evidence helps a great deal, too.

Why is there so little of it from certain city council candidates?

This Pat Furey Jr. guy -- he is trying to tie up all the candidates and elected officials in Torrance.

Another betrayal of the consultant class.

Like Father Like Son: Pat Jr. Mocks Me (and Demeans People With Special Needs)

Patrick Furey, the corrupt mayor of Torrance, CA, has called me a sicko and then claimed that I was troubled.

This is another petty Saul Alinksy tactic, which before that was a silencing tactic used by the Soviet Union to remove dissidents.

Just claim that they are crazy or simple-minded, or mentally retarded.

Mayor Furey is on board with this shameful name-calling.

Everyone should know the motto "Like Father, Like Son."

Pat Furey Jr. has the same problems.

Check out his rant against me and others below:

So, Pat Furey Jr. claims that I have special needs?

What is that supposed to mean?

Then he demeans men and women who have developmental disabilities?

What kind of man would say such things?

His mother Terry Furey works in the public school system. Did she teach her son to have such a disdain for young special ed students in our schools?

Disgraced son of disgraceful mayor, Pat Jr.:
"I don't like Arthur! He's a retard!"

Since when did speaking out against corruption, against bad leadership in any city amount to "having special needs."

Wow--that is just distasteful!

Shame on them!

Of course, why would Pat Jr. engage in such hateful rhetoric towards me and then also demean people with developmental issues and special needs?

Because I was part of a larger Torrance coalition which demanded his removal from the Torrance Traffic Commission following a third conviction for FPPC violations. Click her for more information.

And like all spoiled children who have gotten away with rampant wrongdoing, he's still hurt because he finally got caught!

My Comments to the Torrance City Council--March 22, 2016

Good Evening, Torrance City Council.

My name is Arthur Schaper long-time resident of Torrance CA, and life-long citizen.

There are a number of topics which I wish to discuss with the city council, but I will focus primarily on moving for the dismissal of Patrick Furey Jr. from the traffic commission.

This commissioner, the son of the current mayor, has been cited at least three times in print for campaign finance offenses.

Three times!

The first offense:

From the Daily Breeze:

The commission issued a warning letter to the Justice Political Action Committee over automated telephone calls placed to Simi Valley residents during a 2012 municipal election campaign.

The FPPC “found that he failed to include required language stating that the calls were not authorized by a candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate,” according to the letter.”

From the March 7th, 2016 Meeting

The second offense:

“Patrick Furey, as the councilman’s son is known, was fined for his role in creating a slate mailer called the P.T.A. Voter Guide that caused an uproar in the education community last fall because some believed it was deceptive.”

The third offense, which now requires Patrick to pay $17,500 fine:

“Orchestrating the collusion between the PAC and Furey’s campaigns were the mayor’s son and campaign consultant, Patrick Furey Jr., and his business partner, Hasan Roberson, the FPPC investigation found.”

I now address my ongoing concerns and frustrations with the majority of members of this council for not doing anything.

Granted, city commissioners serve at the pleasure of the council, and can be removed for the same reasons.

Last April, Arthur Plourde was removed from the Torrance Library Commission because he was pursuing a personal agenda, and was allegedly abusing his role as commissioner to interfere in other city matters.

Now, you clearly have a sitting commissioner who has violated campaign regulations, and yet he still remains on the commission?!

Mr. Goodrich speaks about the quality of the air and took time to address the removal of the executive director from the California South Coast Air quality  Management District. He  sought concurrence for a letter to the District in their search for a  replacement.

Councilwoman Ashcraft sought concurrence to have an agenda item to remove Patrick Furey Jr. removed from the Traffic Commission. Yet no one said anything.

Air quality matters, but so does integrity for our city governance, and the latte deserves greater attention.

It is shameful and disheartening that only one person sought action on this matter. All of you should have concurred with her request, and mine.

Thank you.

What Ambassadors of Negativity?

Torrance Mayor Pat Furey blamed his political problems on a little group of natty instigators whom he called the "Ambassadors of Negativity."

Why do these politicians not get it?

Citizens are entitled to petition their governments for a redress of grievances. If they don't want to hear the complaints, then they should not run for office.

The truth is, if the local governments, and the state agencies attached to them, would simply do their jobs and not wander into business which they have no reason to trifle with, then there would be no problems.

Little reason would remain.

Point of fact, activists in the city of Torrance and throughout the South Bay are not ambassadors of negativity, but are simply invested in making sure that our elected officials remember whom they work for.

Home News Political resignations

Torrance Mayor Pat Furey unloads on ‘enemies,’ council moves tofire his son from commission

On an extraordinary night of political theater in Torrance, the City Council set a public hearing to consider terminating the mayor’s son from his volunteer commission post, while his father railed against “political enemies” he accused of creating the scandal.

Mayor Pat Furey was the only panelist Tuesday night not to vote in favor of holding the hearing at the next council meeting April 12 that appears likely to end with the removal of Patrick Furey Jr., who managed his father’s mayoral campaign, from the Traffic Commission for ethics violations.

• VIDEO: Mayor Pat Furey speaks out against ‘political enemies’

Last month, the state Fair Political Practices Commission fined Furey’s successful 2014 mayoral campaign $35,000 for orchestrating and hiding illegal campaign contributions in concert with a supposedly independent political action committee backing his candidacy.

This is a big deal, and more politicians are getting hit with fines. The State Controller Betty Yee was hit with a fine, too, for not reporting her campaign contributions on time.

Pat Furey Jr. was a rogue political consultant, though, who brazenly broke the law and colluded with PACs to violate elections codes. He had been hit three times for these unethical, blatantly deceptive tactics.

That violated the state Political Reform Act as well as the municipal election code and has prompted an investigation by the Public Integrity Division of the District Attorney’s Office. McCormick Ambulance Service and the Torrance Firefighters PAC funded the PAC supporting the mayor.

McCormick later won the city’s lucrative ambulance contract backed by senior Fire Department officials on a split council vote. The mayor cast the deciding vote despite calls to recuse himself because of a conflict of interest.

McCormick Ambulance has lost its contract in Redondo Beach. I wonder when they will be kicked out of Torrance.

Furey brushed aside suggestions he take responsibility and instead blamed an unidentified group of “ambassadors of negativity” in the community.

Is this some kind of sick joke, or an alternative rock band?

“They always see the negative side of absolutely everything,” Furey said. “You can’t see the negative side for me because I’ve done a great job here. All they can do is point out this whole thing about this independent expenditure.

For the record, I had complimented him and the rest of the city council for relaxing the strict gun laws on the city books. I had blasted the Daily Breeze reporters in the past for their biased or slanted reporting.

“There was a determination by the Fair Political Practices Commission that was pushed through by some political enemies of mine,” Furey added. “And I know who they are. Some of them have been cited and some of them are being investigated as we speak here today. I’m just appalled that it goes to this.”

Uh ... no. The investigation took two years. If political enemies were behind this, they would have wrapped it up much faster. 

Furey spoke amid rising calls in the community for his son to be fired from his commission post and the mayor censured in the wake of the still unfolding political mess that is virtually unprecedented by Torrance’s standards.

The city received about two dozen emails ahead of Tuesday’s council meeting condemning the actions of the mayor and his son and just one — from a city commissioner who previously publicly endorsed Furey — expressing support.

The pressure on the city council was more than partisan politics, but a demand for public integrity.

Many of the emails suggested that both father and son should step down:

• “It looks bad, it smells bad and it’s disgraceful to allow this behavior to continue,” wrote Pam and Phil Burnette. “The council will pay for this at re-election time. The ambulance debacle is on your shoulders as well. Things are adding up and not in the council’s or the residents’ best interests.”

• “I felt that Mayor Furey was sleazy when elected, but even more so now,” wrote Gene Koester, a 44-year Torrance resident. “Adjudicate, stipulate, hypocrisy. An attorney will do and say anything to justify his unethical behavior. I do not trust or respect him any longer.”

• “Mayor Patrick Furey and his son have ruined their reputations and their credibility with their illegal and unethical actions,” wrote Vera and Bob Little. “They’ve also tarnished the reputation of the entire City Council by association, especially those members willing to speak up for honest government.

“The mayor’s son added insult to injury when he blamed ‘political enemies,’ ” they added. “How childish. The mayor and his son have corrupted Torrance city government, making it just like several other city councils in Southern California. Will the Torrance City Council show moral leadership and integrity in this sordid saga?”

Panelists have yet to respond or comment to calls to censure the mayor.

Meanwhile, a discussion on whether to issue a request for proposals to replace McCormick as some suggested fell flat, with only two council members supporting a motion to do so.

More people are supporting this measure.

McCormick officials, faced with the possible loss of the lucrative contract, made a lengthy presentation addressing the “appearance of impropriety” that resulted from the affair. Still, they also suggested the company was a victim of the campaign experts they hired, including a business partner of the younger Furey who later was fired.

The mayor warned that the issue had nothing to do with the level of service McCormick had so far provided — Fire Department officials and panelists also agreed the company had met or exceeded expectations so far — and was instead prompted by political motivations that could have negative implications for the city.

I do not care how well the company may doing. There are plenty of other ambulance companies in Los Angeles County.

Anyone of them could be properly vetted to provide good service for the city.

We need honesty and integrity at all levels of governance.

“We’re talking about a company that has come here and provided an outstanding level of service for the safety of our community,” Furey said. “We’re here to do a request for proposals and they might not even apply. And nobody else may apply because of the treatment they’ve received from the city of Torrance.”

Companies won't apply if they feel that the city council is tipping its hand!

Final Reflection

No, Mayor Furey, I am not an ambassador of negativity.

We just want our elected officials to obey the law, and stop acting as if they are above the law.