Registrar of Voters
Lesson in hubris at Capo Unified
May 29, 2007
Indictments of former superintendent, assistant,
should encourage community
vigilance
Editorial, The Orange County
Register
The indictment last week of two former top officials at Capistrano Unified capped a long and bitter battle at that south county school district over efforts to reform leadership that had grown arrogant and out of touch with the public. An indictment is a far cry from a conviction, but the county grand jury’s decision is indeed vindication for the hearty band of parents who attempted to recall the school board and offers encouragement for grass-roots activists who want to keep their government accountable. Read More...
The indictment last week of two former top officials at Capistrano Unified capped a long and bitter battle at that south county school district over efforts to reform leadership that had grown arrogant and out of touch with the public. An indictment is a far cry from a conviction, but the county grand jury’s decision is indeed vindication for the hearty band of parents who attempted to recall the school board and offers encouragement for grass-roots activists who want to keep their government accountable. Read More...
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Citizen Outrage Provokes School District Shake-up
Oct 21, 2006
Read More...
Voter Registrar Braces for Onslaught of Complaints
Sep 25, 2006
Report makes excuses for registrar
Sep 18, 2006
Irregularities in handling Capo recall petitions are
still not satisfactorily explained
Editorial, The Orange County
Register The Orange County
Board of Supervisors has seemed reluctant to
tackle a potentially serious problem in one of the
most important offices in the county: the
Registrar of Voters. If the registrar is not
operating efficiently or fairly, the public could
start to question the validity of the entire
election process. It would be troubling to head
down that road.
Current registrar Neal Kelley has come under fire after the Register reported on mistakes and even a possible illegality in how he handled a recent failed attempt to put a recall election on the ballot. The matter concerned signatures handed in by supporters of a recall of the Capistrano Unified School Board and has been unusually contentious largely because of the sense that the registrar didn't handle the election professionally.
Read More...
Current registrar Neal Kelley has come under fire after the Register reported on mistakes and even a possible illegality in how he handled a recent failed attempt to put a recall election on the ballot. The matter concerned signatures handed in by supporters of a recall of the Capistrano Unified School Board and has been unusually contentious largely because of the sense that the registrar didn't handle the election professionally.
Read More...
Superintendent Fleming’s Real Legacy
Aug 14, 2006
CUSD Recall Committee Demands Fleming Be Removed
Immediately
Rancho
Santa Margarita, CA. CUSD Superintendent
James Fleming has “resigned” in disgrace. “This
moves us one step closer to restoring honesty,
integrity and accountability into our public
school system,” said Thomas Russell,
spokesperson for the CUSD Recall Committee.
A. Immediate Disciplinary Action Must Be Taken.
Very serious allegations involving criminal activity have been leveled against Fleming (and possibly the Trustees). An overwhelming amount
of evidence supporting these allegations has been made public. Given these facts, we believe Fleming cannot be allowed to serve another day as the Superintendent of the Capistrano Unified School District. Read More...
A. Immediate Disciplinary Action Must Be Taken.
Very serious allegations involving criminal activity have been leveled against Fleming (and possibly the Trustees). An overwhelming amount
of evidence supporting these allegations has been made public. Given these facts, we believe Fleming cannot be allowed to serve another day as the Superintendent of the Capistrano Unified School District. Read More...
OC Register's Greenhut hopes Neal Kelley will resign due to illegal acts and favoritism
Jul 30, 2006
Greenhut is senior editorial writier and columnist for The Orange County Register.
Superintendent Fleming “Resigns” In Disgrace
Jul 19, 2006
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA. CUSD Superintendent James Fleming has “resigned” in disgrace. “This moves us one step closer to restoring honesty, integrity and accountability into our public school system,” said Thomas Russell, spokesperson for the CUSD Recall Committee.
In announcing his resignation, Fleming posted three self-serving, self-aggrandizing and misleading statements on the CUSD official website. In summary, those statements provided: Read More...
Outside investigations in order for CUSD, registrar
Jul 12, 2006
CUSD Trustees and Superintendent engage in improper coercion, intimidation and fear
Jul 10, 2006
• Superintendent Fleming Has Created a Mafia-like
Organization and Infrastructure
• Specific Examples of Coercion, Intimidation and Fear
• We call upon the District Attorney to conduct a full and complete investigation
Superintendent James
A. Fleming and the seven CUSD Trustees have
institutionalized a district-wide atmosphere
where parents, teachers and administrators are
afraid to speak out for fear of retaliation.
They improperly use their official
office/capacity to intentionally create an
environment within the district that makes it
virtually impossible for any one to express
disagreement with the district without being
subjected to retribution or the threat thereof.
The CUSD leadership routinely punishes (or
threatens to punish) parents and their children,
teachers and administrators who dare to speak
out against them or their agenda. Conversely,
the CUSD leadership rewards those who are loyal
and willing to carry out their “dirty
work.” Read
More...
• Specific Examples of Coercion, Intimidation and Fear
• We call upon the District Attorney to conduct a full and complete investigation
Trouble at the O.C. Registrar?
Apr 07, 2006
I'm glad that the proponents of a recall of the Capistrano Unified School District board have filed a lawsuit against the Orange County Registrar of Voters. Parents claim that the registrar unfairly rejected their petitions, and the registrar argues that he was only following state law. The only way to resolve this is in court. I am sympathetic to the recallers and read their report alleging improprieties in the registrar's office. I can't know which side is right, given that I have not analyzed the signatures. But I do know that this needs to be looked at by an impartial party, and that if the CUSD recallers' allegations are correct, that there could be major problems in the registrar's office. Read More...
A court should vote
Mar 12, 2006
Capistrano petition flap needs an impartial review
Editorial, The Orange County
Register Both sides in the 2000
Bush v. Gore battle over hanging chads believe
election results were finagled for partisan
reasons, rather than evaluated fairly. Whatever
one’s view of that case, we all should agree that
standards should be fair and evenly applied.
Anything less is harmful to democracy.
Orange County is now immersed in an election-related battle with some similarities to that national case. On Nov. 8, 2005, a committee organized to recall all seven members of the Capistrano Unified School District board submitted 177,000 signatures to the county registrar. The group needed 142,947 signatures, or 20,421 signatures per board member. Read More...
Orange County is now immersed in an election-related battle with some similarities to that national case. On Nov. 8, 2005, a committee organized to recall all seven members of the Capistrano Unified School District board submitted 177,000 signatures to the county registrar. The group needed 142,947 signatures, or 20,421 signatures per board member. Read More...
No wonder CUSD officials were so testy
Mar 02, 2006
A few weeks back, I was on Airtalk with Larry Mantle on KPCC, for the biweekly segment on Orange County with OC Weekly's Gustavo Arellano and the L.A. Times' Jean Pasco. The Capistrano Unified School District's flak was given a few minutes to vent at us for a previous segment that was critical of that district, its spending priorities and so forth. Gustavo called the district corrupt, and the flak was absolutely irate. He wanted an apology. Read More...
O.C. Registrar’s Rejection of CUSD Recall Petitions Questioned
Mar 01, 2006
Inspection Demonstrates Thousands of Signatures
Improperly Rejected
Last December, many people were shocked when the Orange County
Registrar’s Office
announced they had decided not to certify the
petitions to recall all seven Trustees of the
Capistrano Unified School District. What went
wrong?
The CUSD Recall Committee sent teams of inspectors to the Registrar’s Office to find out. They reviewed the petition signatures rejected by the Registrar. The inspection has been completed and the results are quite alarming.
The Orange County Registrar improperly rejected thousands of petition signatures, thereby disenfranchising thousands of registered voters.
Last December, many people were shocked when the Orange County
The CUSD Recall Committee sent teams of inspectors to the Registrar’s Office to find out. They reviewed the petition signatures rejected by the Registrar. The inspection has been completed and the results are quite alarming.
The Orange County Registrar improperly rejected thousands of petition signatures, thereby disenfranchising thousands of registered voters.
Orange County Registrar
Neal Kelly
More than 175,000 Petition Signatures to Recall Entire CUSD Board of Trustees Submitted to OC Registrar of Voters
Nov 08, 2005
This is a momentous event – there has never been a recall in the history of CUSD. Read More...
Text of Comments Made By Capo for Better Representation at the Offices of the Orange County Registrar Of Voters
Nov 07, 2005
Petitions To Recall Entire Capistrano Unified School Board Will Be Submitted To Orange County Registrar Of Voters
Nov 04, 2005
Media Event: This coming Monday
afternoon, representatives of Capo for Better
Representation, the grass roots group of parents and
concerned taxpayers that have led the widespread
effort throughout South Orange County to recall all
seven trustees of the Capistrano Unified School
District will submit the signed recall petitions to
the Orange County Registrar of Voters. All of the
boxes of signed petitions will be displayed for the
media prior to submission to the Registrar. Public
Statements will be delivered by
Thomas Russell (Spokesperson, Capo for
Better Representation) and
Kevin Murphy (Chairman, Capo for
Better Representation). All television, radio and
print media are encouraged to attend.
Date: Monday, November 7
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Orange County Registrar of Voters, 1300 South Grand Avenue, Building C, Santa Ana, CA 92705 (at the corner of Grand Avenue and McFadden)
Read More...
Date: Monday, November 7
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Orange County Registrar of Voters, 1300 South Grand Avenue, Building C, Santa Ana, CA 92705 (at the corner of Grand Avenue and McFadden)
Read More...