OCEA Asks Members For Up To $180,000 To Defeat John Moorlach

I had no idea John Moorlach was such a bad, bad man. A mean man. A dangerous man.

At least, I might think after reading this OCEA letter to its membership, if I were the gullible type.

It's a hysterical letter. Not funny hysterical. More like Charlton-Heston-in-Soylent-Green hysterical -- the difference being that while Soylent Green really was made out of people, John Moorlach is not the Anti-Christ.

Here's a sampling:

John Moorlach poses the greatest threat to our personal financial security of any politician in Orange County history.

I guess OCEA isn't counting Bob Citron and the rest of the gang that led Orange County into bankruptcy in 1994.

It's hard to take such overwrought hyperbole seriously from a union whose leadsership considers obtaining an increase in mileage reimbursement to be a major victory for the working class. In solidarity, Nick!

Outlandish rhetoric aside, the main thrust of the letter is this:

WE WANT TO ASK YOUR PERMISSION TO USE $10  OF YOUR ALREADY COLLECTED DUES MONEY TO DEFEAT JOHN MOORLACH.

The letter continues:

If you agree with us that it's imperative that John Moorlach be defeated, do nothing. We'll use $10 of your dues money to help accomplish this goal.

If that's not okay with you, just mail or drop off a note at OCEA headquarters by Friday, May 19, with your name, your department or agency, and the phrase, "Don't use any of my dues to defeat John Moorlach."

And the OCEA will make sure all your co-workers give you the cold shoulder and call you a scab.

That $10 adds up. When you consider the OCEA can collect that $10 from 18,000 government workers, and given the somewhat burdensome opt-out method of keeping one's dues from being used against Moorlach -- the OCEA could raise as much as $180,000.

[Interesting how OCEA doesn't do what the rest of the world is doing and allow OCEA members to exercise their opt-out option electronically. They could simply have sent this letter via e-mail and allow members to opt-out with the click of a mouse. But that would give OCEA members a more effective voice in the political use of their dues money -- and the OCEA leadership has no interest in that]

And that's in addition to money that will come in from statewide government employee union sources.

This is a wake-up call, folks. Government employee unions are government organized as special interests -- and their primary interest is access to the public purse. In the 2nd Supervisor District, that interest is furthered by defeating a candidate who refuses to kow-tow to union demands, and electing one of their own to the Board of Supervisors.

Memo to the New Majority/OC: in the 2nd Supervisor District lies the opportunity to strike a blow for liberty and limited government that serves taxpayers rather than tax-consumers.  Audentis fortuna iuvat!

Comments

[OCEA Member]

I have no problem with this. And despite what you might believe the 'opt out' procedure is very simple.

I know the blogpen believes we just sit around and do nothing until we can collect our so called lavish pensions. I can assure you that isn't the case. You don't see OCEA members doing blog posts during the day. Even if we could, we wouldn't. We don't have the time like hot shot political consultants or OCSD spokespersons.

[We Need Moorlach]

Too bad we let Lou Correa walk into his seat on the board. The union might not feel so impowered now on the Moorlach race had Correa had some real I.E. money thrown against him.

[Bladerunner]

John's brought some of this on himself with his in-your-face approach to employees. Its a problem with the Republican wing of the Republican Party who like to mau mau unions. I read a post that drew a good parallel to what many "progressive"(they shy away from liberal these days you know) Dems do--they demonize corporations, as if the shareholders weren't real people too.

You find many jurisdictions in California where there are conservative Republican board or council members and city or school employee groups. And there is not always the acrimony as we have with OCEA & Moorlach or the blank check situation that you have in some board or cities. We need that at the County level.
And of course the employees are going to go nuts if they are not treated with respect.Theres got to be a happy medium somewhere. I thought Street's style of being fiscally prudent but not embarassing people would work well but we'll have to see if he can get beyond the knee jerk reactions some of the employees have.

Anyway, Jubal, this is not Armageddon... if Moorlach and the OCEA honchos will take it down a notch after John's election maybe we can start over. Time to stop demonizing the opposition and work together. John needs to realize most of these employees do a great job. OCEA needs to heed your warning that they could get Bob Citron II if they don't watch out.

[OCSD Member]

To the above OCEA member:

The reason OCSD members are able to post blogs during the day is because they are at home trying to sleep after a 12-hour midnight shift, but can't because morons like you keep calling in the middle of the day.

Oh yeah, that's right, you wouldn't understand the whole working 12 hours through the night thing because you get to spend your nights at home during your career sleeping in your comfy, warm bed and spending your holidays with your family making holiday pay waiting for your over-priced, under-earned pension while maligning the cops that make the sacrifices that you were too weak and unwilling to make.

And then you expect the same type of compensation? Give me a break!

You want support? Don't malign us!

[OCEA Member]

OCSD. Nice. I was referring to a member of the blogpen who happens to run his own blog while working for your (and his) boss.

Comprende? Now go back to sleep.

Hey Matt -- you are "hotshot" - cool huh.

I don't think an electronic opt-out is a better option. This should be an opt-in activity, preferrably the opt-in paperwork would be notarized. I can imagine how any OCEA members would want to have a board of supervisors who would bankrupt them out of a job.

[Allan Bartlett]

This is the same OCEA that GOP supervisors Jim Silva, Bill Campbell and Tom Wilson enabled. How any good conservative could vote for Silva for State Assembly is beyond me. The unions are desperate because they know a Norby, Moorlach, and Bates majority are going to hopefully rollback all the ridiculous pension increases and sweetheart deals that Silva et al caved in to.

Powder Blue Report

[Art Pedroza]

Instead of wasting their time with Carona and Silva, OC Republicans need to rally around Moorlach and Norby...

[OC_Spock]

So the union is ASKING for PERMISSION to use union dues for political purposes???

If they want permission for $10, why don't they ask for permission on their entire dues?

Hmmmm... Paycheck Protection

Yeah baby!!!!

[OCEA Member]

Spock. I'm all for paycheck protection. As soon as shareholder protection is on the same ballot.

Prop 75 had one huge flaw. People recognized it for what it was. An warranted intrusion by one group into the affairs of another.

[Jim]

Even if Moorlach is elected to the BOS (and he likely will be, despite the OCEA and other unions' best efforts), the recent pension spike will not be "rolled back." Not a chance of that. What's going to happen is the dirty little secret that the OCEA and the other unions (mine included, the OCAA) won't discuss - back to Tier I and Tier II: Much less benefits for Tier II employees. When the BOS approved a pension spike that was fully retroactive for older employees, at no cost to them, this became inevitable. And that's all Moorlach is saying.