At the Dana Point City Council meeting on Tuesday night Thomas Gordon extended an olive branch to Patrick “The Finger” Munoz and told him that if he showed up at last nights meeting at the Logan Park Community Center and apologized it would go a long way towards healing some of the wounds created by Munoz comments and Judy Ware’s actions. Munoz chose to ignore the offer and as of yet no apology has been given by Munoz to the people of Logan for referring to their community as “crummy little houses”.
If Mr. Munoz thinks that this issue is going to go away any time soon he is sadly mistaken. Not only is Munoz the city attorney for Dana Point, but he is the city attorney for Twentynine Palms and and assistant city attorney for Irvine. Sans an apology from Mr. Munoz, myself, Thomas Gordon and others have vowed to go to those cities as well as return to Dana Point and confront Mr. Munoz at the city council meetings.ÂÂ
Besides going to the cities where Mr. Munoz is employed we also plan to take our road show to the communities where Ware Disposal is contracted to do trash pick up. We plan on letting them know that they are employing a company that is destroying our community by blatantly violating our city’s laws and codes, not to mention the fact that they are possibly polluting our neighborhoods with toxins. If they won’t clean up their act we’ll hit’em where it hurts, the pocketbook.
I would like to encourage you all to email Munoz at pmunoz@rutan.com or call him at (714) 662-4628 and demand that he apologize to the people of Logan for his callous and despicable comments. Michael Hornak is the managing partner at Rutan and Tucker and perhaps he should be made aware of Munoz unprofessional and shameful behavior. I am sure that Mr. Hornak values the good name Rutan and Tucker has and would be highly disappointed to hear about the shame Munoz has brought to the firm. You can contact Hornak via email at MHornak@rutan.com or call him at (714) 641-3472.
Sean,
I don’t want to tell you how to organize, you guys do a good job at that, but allow me a suggestion.
While Munoz is the natural focus because of his comments, it is often difficult to change the bigotry in someone, any apology would not be sincere.
Munoz works for Rutan & Tucker, the largest governmental firm in Orange County. Publish list of cities and attorney’s representing Rutan and apply pressure to the LLC. Rutan should understand the shame this employee brings to the generally respected firm. I have contacted the attorney in my city to voice concern about his firm’s (Rutan) lack of response to these repulsive comments. I have asked him for a response from the firm, if he doesn’t offer one, it will be requested publicly.
Sean, keep up the good work with the Logan supporters!
It would be better to file a complaint on his behavior with the state bar concerning his professional conduct-He was representing Ware at the time of the incident in his capacity as an atty licensed to practice in California. The fact that he acts as “city attorney” for a number of California municipalities adds fuel to the fire. The idea that you are going to get an apology from him publicly is just whistling in the wind. The state bar is quite serious in the behavior of attorneys in california and the fact that this occurred while representing a client in a public forum while cause great discomfort for him with the state bar.
While a laudable effort, getting a public apology is not going to happen.
just..asking & SCR,
Thanks for the suggestions. Those are very good ideas which I think we will follow up with. I too know that a apology is likely out of the question, but I would like to shame Munoz and Rutan into offering one.
File a complaint with the state bar is an excellent idea and one which I have been discussing with others.
Thanks again.
Sean, Your blog’s are interesting to read. Your words are those that a stalker would use. Your continous threats against Munoz and the Ware’s seems almost that of hatred, like that of the Nazi’s.
It seems strange that you have such a hang up on these people.
I think you may want to look up stalking laws and hatred laws since you are appearing to break the rules
Sean,
Rutan and Tucker have been on our site all day. And Doug Irving of the OC Register is working on a story about Munoz.
Now if only Sal Tinajero, Claudia Alvarez and Miguel Pulido would apologize for taking money from Judy Ware during the Measure D campaign. Ware gave thousands to the Measure D campaign and you were OK with that. Simply astounding.
no point?,
Your name says it all.
I have a hang up on folks that ignore the laws and are destroying our community. Pardon me for taking offense.
Stalking? Is that what you call exposing the actions of folks like Ware and Munoz?
Using your line of thinking, Woodward and Bernstein must have been guilty of stalking Nixon.
(Before you go ape sh*t, no I am not comparing my blogging to Woodward and Bernstein’s Watergate expose’)
no point?
It’s stalking when you go after a private person for private purposes at private settings. When you go after a government official for obnoxious public acts or unprofessional public acts by a licensed practitioner of law (the language of government), it’s called democracy. Mr Munoz could have gone to a public meeting in his professional capacity and conducted himself professionally. He chose not to behave professionally. He could have simply made his client’s case. He’s not being pursued at the Lions Club or something. He was acting in his capacity as a member of the California Bar. He is a publicly appointed official. He has responsibilities to the people for his conduct. A report to the bar association and protest of his actions before other public bodies is well within the rights of ordinary people. It is not “stalking.”
Sean,
You’re doing good work with this, no question about it. Chasing this guy down is a worthy endeavor. Holding him accountable and securing his apology for his stupid and completely unnecessary remark is worthwhile. Doing this is one tactic – but it’s one tactic in a larger context. Getting his apology is a prize, but it’s not the big prize.
Don’t allow yourself to get distracted. Getting his apology, by itself, won’t change Ware’s behavior. Isn’t that the real prize? Borrowing a line from Arlo Guthrie, you still want to use those 27 8×10 color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one is. You say you already have them, so post a couple here. And you still need to wave them around at council and commission meetings – while chasing this guy down. Burn them to disk, call the MSM, and block their driveway.
Again, you really are doing good work with this. Continue to hold their feet to the fire and then turn the fire up a little You just might succeed.