Nov 242023
 

So, Bill Brough got fined $100,000, not $90,000, by the California Fair Political Practices Commission for violating campaign finance laws.

The tape of the meeting is here. It starts at 12:24 appx. The comments about Brough’s behavior are staggering.

The comments included, “Most Egregious Conduct, Abuses of Public Trust I have ever seen”, and others along the line of it looks like he defaulted because we (the FPPC) have had a terrible record of collecting debts. “Intentional Obstruction”, “Falsifying Records” are other terms you hear used…

At about the 21 Minute Mark, the chairman of the commission talks about how Bill Brough defaulted on the repayment plan. He then talks about Brough hearing about the FPPC collecting less than 3% of items that go in to collections. The chair continues that he thinks Brough decided to stop making his monthly installments. At the 23 Minute mark, the chairman lowers the boom on Bill Brough.

These items are significant for the LA Times article that follows:

Please respect the LA Times Paywall and access the article here.

In the case of the FPPC’s campaign finance investigation, Brough initially agreed to a payment plan for a $47,000 penalty. But after making a payment of $7,500 in April, according to the filing, he stopped making payments. Brough said he stopped making payments in order to enter into a settlement with the FPPC and make the investigation stop.

“It went on and on for four years,” he said. “I just wanted to go on with my life.”

The commission responded by more than doubling the penalty amount, levying the maximum fine for the charges. In a public meeting last week recommending Brough’s fine, FPPC Chairman Richard Miadich increased the fine from a recommended $90,000 to $100,000 and made the unusual motion to direct staff “to make this a priority matter for collections purposes and to pursue any and all means at your disposal to ensure we recover the full measure of this default.”

Note Bill Brough’s dishonesty in his comments to the LA Times. If you watch the comments of the chairman of the FPPC, they believed as did the investigators that Brough stopped making payments because he thought he’d evade collections. Brough has learned nothing from his fall, and apparently he has enablers that got him a job as a lobbyist/consultant in Orange County as well.

…The FPPC, which oversees candidates and campaign finances, found multiple discrepancies in the reports from Brough’s 2018 and 2020 campaign committees.

Brough used a total of $17,303 in campaign funds for personal expenses and failed multiple record-keeping requirements, even as his campaign treasurer warned him about violations, according to the FPPC’s report.

“I need all of your receipts ASAP — you’ve gone mad with the [credit] card use and I have one silly receipt for every ten expenses,” treasurer JenEve Slater wrote to Brough in 2018, the FPPC investigation found.

The unusually large FPPC fine is the latest allegation of misconduct against Brough, who was accused of sexual harassment by four women in 2019, prompting Orange County Republicans to call for him to not run for reelection. Brough said in a phone interview with The Times on Tuesday that he is no longer in electoral politics, though he works as a political consultant and lobbyist.

When I spoke to the reporter at the LA Times, I was explicit that I felt this was only partial justice because I believe that Bill Brough raped at least one woman, beyond the sexual harassment mentioned in the article. Given that the victim is still awaiting justice and the case shows open/suspended at the County of Sac there is no way to FOIA the records around it.

Back to the LA Times:

Another international trip brought Brough to the Netherlands for an Internet Marketing Assn. conference. After attending a two-hour conference, which ended with tastings at a local bar, Brough spent several days touring the area, according to the documents.

“Investigation revealed that Brough was visiting the region with his wife, for her birthday — and he asked the IMA if he could stop by … while he was in the area,” the FPPC document said.

In another instance, the FPPC reported that Brough used campaign funds to purchase a $1,300 custom cigar humidor, a custom bourbon barrel bar cabinet, a portable ice maker and a compact refrigerator, which he listed as office expenses but then took home when he left the Assembly.

The FPPC investigation began in 2019, after conservative political consultant Aaron Park filed a complaint, alleging that the politician had used campaign funds to pay for a trip to Boston with his family to attend a Red Sox game, as well as other extravagant spending.

He’s a victim of a witch hunt, I tell you. Cha-Ching another $5K fine.

Park told The Times on Tuesday that he had helped Brough get elected but soon changed his mind about the assemblyman once he heard allegations about campaign finance impropriety as well as sexual assaults.

Yep – there’s that $5000-fine-inducing Bourbon Barrell. (Photo was taken at Brough’s forced-retirement party at his capitol office)

Brough was stripped of his committee assignments in the Legislature in 2020, after a state investigation found that he had made unwanted advances on several women, including an Orange County supervisor.

Park, a political watchdog, began digging into Brough’s financial history and, after 20 hours of research, filed a complaint with the FPPC.

“I’m seeing stuff on his social media like the Red Sox game that he went to, and it corresponds to campaign expenditures and stuff like that out of his controlled accounts,” Park said. “I’m going, there’s no way in hell that’s a campaign expense.”

Park said he has filed many complaints to the FPPC over the years, but this “by far was the largest penalty I’ve ever seen.”

Someday, Trish we will get you justice. For now, we have to be thankful that some justice has finally been served.

I would be remiss if I did not finish this blog by saying Thank You to the LA Times for this article and to the reporter for her professionalism and legitimately good thoughtful questions. I have attacked the LA Times on this blog many times, but they deserve credit when they get one right. This is one of those times.

Dec 162019
 

The original mascot of the Right on Daily Blog

It was December of 2009, the Red County Blog had taken $25,000 from the Meg Whitman for Governor Campaign. Then, 4 days later they expelled me from the Red County Blog. A week later, the Right on Daily Blog was born. This was done so I would have independence from anyone else’s system. That was 12-16-2009

Mrs. Park gets the credit for the name Right on Daily Blog – it was her idea.

I had actually started blogging in 2003 I used the Blogger/Blogspot Platform and had a blog called the Roseville Conservative. A variety of things happened and in 2006 I was invited onto the Red County System.

(Note, Red County went defunct as its’ founder ended up with some major legal trouble)

Those of you that read this blog read it because of the subject matter and my unique writing style. I like to think it was my memes.

Some people tried to throw me off the Placer GOP Cent Com for this one. (This was in response to the Bee Article in 7-11-2011 that quoted Gaines and LaMalfa attacking my brother, then the treasurer of the Placer GOP)

I’ve been kicked off more than one blog platform because the owners can’t handle the fire. But no one can ban the Right on Daily Blog.

Here are some of my Greatest Hits as a Blogger (all but Item #1 were on the Right on Daily Blog):

  1. Helped Tom McClintock defeat Doug Ose in what was then the 2nd most expensive Congressional Race in History. 2008
  2. Almost Single-Handedly took down a Judge Candidate in Amador County 2012 (Jeff Seaton vs now Judge Hermanson)
  3. Broke the news of deranged legislative staffer Steve Davey’s Termination 2 years before the Assembly Rules Committee’s #METOO Report Came out. 2017
  4. Blew up Assemblyman Tim Donnelly exposing him as one of the biggest frauds in California Republican Politics. 2014 – Present
  5. Played a Major Role in unseating a corrupt incumbent Sheriff in Riverside County (Stan Sniff) 2018
  6. Played a Major Role in the John Cox for Governor Primary, then ended up helping the CAGOP Chair Campaign of Travis Allen who I opposed on behalf of Cox. 2018-2019. How I pulled that off I will never know… but hey, I have both their numbers in my cell phone!
  7. Should Bill Brough lose in March of 2020, he’d be the second major take-down of an incumbent by the Right on Daily Blog. We broke story after story about William “Bill” Brough and got statewide media mentions of Right on Daily and coverage in our efforts to unseat a corrupt incumbent. Brough has been abandoned by the OCGOP and the CAGOP due in no small part to his exposure on Right on Daily.
  8. Blasted Karen England so bad that she cut and ran to Nevada after spending years trying to destroy your intrepid blogger. 2011-2015
  9. Wrote detailed posts about an array of fraudulent ballot measures. Stop SB48, SB277, SB777, and others, Sometimes the Right on Daily Blog was the only source of the truth about these fraudulent efforts. 2010-current
  10. Participated in running a dozen democrats out of local office over the last decade. See below for a sample of some mail we helped write in addition to the blogs!

We helped unseat a democrat supervisor in Placer County in 2018!

This dates back to a 2010 US Senate Race Republican Primary. I will never forget Orly Taitz

Then of course your intrepid blogger gets fan mail. Lots of it. Sometimes, we get paper mail like this:

Sent to my insurance agency HQ, a hand written note.

Well, unless God calls my number, I will be here for another decade! I can’t wait for all the fun…

P.S. The very first story on Right On Daily? We blasted former Rocklin Mayor Peter Hill for leaving the GOP. His reason? The Placer GOP opposed a park tax measure he was pushing and opposed a $500 Million Sierra College Bond Measure. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Oct 312019
 

I’ve now been told by 5 different capitol insiders that Marie Waldron is muzzling CAGOP Chair Jessica Patterson. I have alluded to it in previous posts – so now I am going to spell it out.

What the hell does Trump have to do with this? A core belief among pretty much everyone in “Leadership” and their consultants believe that Donald Trump was a #YUGE factor in the shellacking in 2018. It is a level of denial and projection that may well be clinical.

I spoke repeatedly to one insider after another (some of whom are not Republicans anymore and have moved on to lobbying jobs, etc) that said it was all about Trump. So while trying to soft-peddle the President in 2018, they alienated even more voters than were already allegedly alienated. (Remember the oft-used canard of the suburban woman voter that abandoned the GOP in 2018?) Nowhere in their paradigm is a discussion of the nearly $3 Billion poured in by rage-filled old white guys (Soros, Bloomberg, Steyer) and the fixation on Ballot Harvesting was also short lived.

In a previous post I called on Marie Waldron to resign over her intransigence related to Bill Brough. I’ll back off my call a bit as it relates to Jessica Patterson as I am now convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that Marie Waldron is protecting the monster Bill Brough and is keeping Jessica Patterson Muzzled.

First off, it is clear that Jessica Patterson is upset over the behavior of Bill Brough and wants to go public with her disdain for it.

Secondly, it has been put to me by people in various parts of the state that once I started writing about Sean Doherty, that Jessica Patterson became very interested in who Doherty might have been talking to about political work in California so she could make sure Sean did not get hired. The parallels between the abuse that Doherty was allowed to commit over time and the abuse that has recently been exposed regarding Bill Brough are undeniable.

Third, I have confirmed more than once that the tiny Assembly GOP Caucus is divided 10-9 in favor of Marie being Permanent Minority Leader. Bill Brough is vote #10. Never, EVER underestimate the self-interest of a “leader”.

Fourth, and this is key. The Assembly and Senate members, all 30 of them, are still angry with the “little people” rising up against Chad Mayes.

Remember the county parties taking resolutions that led to votes of more committees and then a vote at the CAGOP’s Board of 13-7 calling on Mayes to step down as leader?  When you are dealing with egos that defy normal explanation and you cross in to that realm, it can get sticky. Generally, activists step on the toes of the officeholders, it is what we are supposed to do. The officeholders resent us for doing it as well. 

Jessica Patterson is in a place where she is going to have to make a choice quickly as the scandal-riddled Bill Brough and Duncan Hunter are going to need to be escorted out of their respective areas. The longer these radioactive candidates last as a political factor in their district – they will damage those around them. It is time for Patterson to break the leadership veil and call out the serial abuser/harasser Bill Brough.

You see, the “Orange Man’s” Ascension had a lot to do with Republican Leaders like these. His very existence exposes their moral bankruptcy. With few exceptions in the Republican Caucuses it is on display as our registration numbers plummet.

Duncan Hunter could Take Assemblyman Randy Voepel out with him. Brough’s AD-73 has pieces (or proximity to) three congressional districts, one is Michelle Park Steel, another is CA45 and the last is the feckless Bryan Maryott in CA49. All get affected by Bill Brough. It has been made clear to your intrepid blogger that our party chair is not in favor of keeping Bill Brough office any longer. Just Marie Waldron and Pat Bates stand in the way. The subject of Pat Bates’ intransigence is going to be looked at in a bit… and we again call on Marie Waldron to resign over the moral failure of protecting a monster like Bill Brough.

Jan 092019
 
Vindicated Former Sheriff Robert Doyle embraces Sheriff Chad Bianco post-swearing in
In the midst of his best day, Sheriff Bianco takes a moment to acknowledge God with his wife

The first two days of Sheriff Bianco, what a contrast. Wow.

Jan 092019
 

Blogger’s Note – I waited until after Chad Bianco was sworn in to post this piece. This piece has been at least 6 months coming…

Those of you that have been reading this blog regularly for at least the last 16 months will note that I have been writing about former Sheriff Bob Doyle off and on in parts of posts. A lot of times it had been for background. It is time to set the record straight.

Time to tell the truth about Bob Doyle

Imagine having been smeared by a powerful local officeholder and the local media for 12 years with little or no recourse. This is what has happened to Bob Doyle.

We’ve re-told the story about Sniff’s termination by Doyle when he was an Assistant Sheriff. Sniff was fired for insubordination for refusing to carry out two lawful orders, one related to tazers and another related to patrols.

Sniff himself acknowledged when he got fired that he was surprised it took Doyle as long as it did to fire him. 

No one knew, including Doyle himself that he’d get a chance to serve at the State level a mere 10 months later. (in 2007) No one knew that Sniff would be appointed Sheriff. Only in the last year+ has the truth about Sniff’s manipulation and diabolical behavior come out.

Let’s be real – I know that Doyle is not a choir boy. You don’t get elected to major public office without an ego or a mean streak. What I do know is that Stan Sniff smeared Bob Doyle mercilessly and retaliated against anyone he knew was friends with or a supporter of Doyle.

Bob Doyle was also one of my sources for corroborating info in my blog. His perspective helped me fill in some key gaps as I was piecing together a psychological profile and an accurate history of Sniff pre-Sheriff. I was initially skeptical as I knew Doyle had an axe to grind, however, when he told me that he approached me because he was outraged over what Sniff and Crew did to my wife… this was a clear indicator that regardless of his motive I could trust his information.

As I got to know Bob Doyle, I also became convinced that many within the department had formed their opinion of him based on incomplete information. As such, Doyle’s endorsement was never actively sought by Bianco’s team. 

Stan Sniff terminated almost all of Doyle’s top people, though a few managed to escape to other areas. This provides absurd context to the blatant bias of the Desert-Sun attacking Bianco for planning a similar action. Sniff made it clear that a pre-requisite for employment in his senior management team was a visceral disdain for Bob Doyle. A lot of old-timers I have spoken to agree that this is a fact.

Sniff changed the narrative on his termination and a lie had been believed for years that made him look like a victim. As best I can tell, retaliatory PERS and Terminations were not common under Doyle’s Tenure (though there appear to have been some). As documented, they occurred en masse under Sniff. The local media was deign to remind people of how Sniff was victimized by Doyle before getting appointed Sheriff.

Only Bob Doyle would know the story about Sniff deliberately withholding information from John Taviglione regarding the failure of his son to complete training for a special team he wanted. Taviglione ended up being the third vote to appoint Sniff. To this day Taviglione is either willfully ignorant of how he was played by Sniff or he was complicit (implying some sort of backroom deal). It is the opinion of this blogger that the exposure of the dirty dealings leading up to the appointment vote some 11 years later  was a factor in Taviglione ultimately endorsing the corrupt Sheriff after castigating him publicly for years. As you recall, Sniff’s manipulation of the information caused a meltdown by Taviglione toward Doyle as Sniff’s insubordination involved his refusing to do his job of communicating with the Board of Supes for the areas affected by his duties as Assistant Sheriff.

Doyle was accused of getting away with a DUI. This is false. Doyle was accused of affairs while serving as Sheriff, something he vehemently denies. Doyle was accused of covering up misdemeanors committed by his cronies, again something he denies, and I’ve seen no evidence to substantiate any of the above accusations (suggesting Doyle has been smeared for years). As a contrast, I’ve been able to prove many similar allegations against the corrupt sheriff. 

Bob Doyle has been vindicated by the 16.58% humiliation of Stan Sniff. #1 the first time Sniff faced real and organized opposition, he folded like a cheap lawnchair, suggesting his regime was a paper tiger. #2 Sniff had been allowed to pin a lot of his failures on Doyle. The voters, when informed of the facts held Sniff accountable for failing. #3 for the first time in a decade or more, Doyle was able to gain a measure of defense and response to a lot of the institutional lies perpetrated about him by Sniff

I am going to close the book on Bob Doyle now. He is retired and living in Texas with his family. The last time I communicated with him, I told him to stay close to God and his Family. I also admonished him to go do some fun stuff in his retirement (like gardening), and to close the book on the Riverside Sheriff’s Drama. 

Again, Bob Doyle is not perfect or blameless. He is however someone I believe to be a good man who was forced to live with smears for years that he could not defend himself from. Enjoy the rest of your life Sheriff Doyle and thank you for helping me with the information you gave me, it is appreciated.