Did Galloway really think nobody would notice?

So the campaign finance reports are in, and now the analysis begins.

The Orange County Register’s Jennifer Muir reported earlier today on Total Buzz that 4th District Supervisor candidate Lorri Galloway had reported a payment of $850 to the same property management company that she was renting her home in “The Colony” from, Taormina Property Holdings, LLC. According to Muir, “Galloway said the payment was not for rent for her personal living quarters — it was for her campaign headquarters, which was on the same property. She cuts a separate check from her personal bank account for rent. She declined to say what her monthly personal rent costs were.”

You know, if Galloway wasn’t housing her campaign office in the same place she claimed to live I probably wouldn’t have a problem with her answer. Unfortunately, her dismissive response and all the controversy that has arisen to date about her “residence” in the district causes me to think she should be a bit more forthcoming.  This is the problem with her campaign overall, rather than address things up front, she seems to dodge and parse things down to the point of giving absurd answers to simple questions.

It is reasonable for people to question what percentage of the overall rent was for the personal space she resided in and the office space used for her campaign. Not having that answer leaves the matter up for speculation. Lets say the space occupied by her campaign office made up 15% of the total rented space; then 15% of the rent would be appropriate. But since we do not know either the amount of space used by her campaign, or the total amount of rent, we are left to guess.

Lorri Galloway

But the problem with looking at these reports is you find other things that don’t make a lot of sense. Like the $700 payment Galloway made from her campaign, to the non-profit she runs for the “purchase of office furniture.” Sweet deal to be both the buyer and seller of the furniture. Lorri, did you really need to drag Eli Home into your campaign for County Supervisor? With your $100K loan to your campaign, wouldn’t it have been wiser to just go to Office Depot and get what you needed? Now you’ve got us wondering if you ripped off your non-profit by giving yourself a deal you couldn’t pass up.

So Lorri, please answer the following questions for the sake of transparency.

  1. How much of the place you rented to set up residence in the 4th District was for your campaign office, and how much space was used for your residence?
  2. How much was the total rent for the two portions combined?
  3. What furniture did your campaign buy from Eli Home?
  4. How did you arrive at the value of the items sold to your campaign?
  5. Did the Board of Eli Home approve that sale, or did you make the decisions alone?

I await your response.

13 Comments

  1. Sounds like Chris entered into this piece with an agenda.
    And the questions? I would be surprised and disappointed if Ms Galloway justified them with answers. Hey Chris, why not simply ask her if she is ripping people off? I am sure if her character was one that would deceive us by answering 5 questions, she could as easily do it with one. But then again, that kind of simplicity, would not offer you as much space to bolster your one sided case, ending with leading questions based on assumptions you asserted as truth.

  2. Jesse,

    You’re right, I do have an agenda, albeit not the one you think. My agenda is to ask the tough questions of Ms. Galloway. I think it is a rookie level screw up to be so tone deaf as to not think that her actions would look suspicious.

    Not answering these types of questions allows them to fester into real doubt about any candidate. Lorri is not exempt from that. To say that the payment to Taromina was for office rent without additional context and expect that to be the end of discussion on the matter, is simply not a reasonable expectation.

    To think that purchasing office furniture for her campaign from the non-profit she runs would not raise a few eyebrows, is equally absurd.

    Answering the questions, which are reasonable, clears the air. Ignoring them is to take the John Kerry approach to swift-boat management.

    If anything, I am doing her a favor by asking so that she can clear this stuff up.

  3. Chris,
    As someone who was just cruising by, checking out what people have to say (1st time to this site) your ‘questions’ and curiosities did not come off to me as unprejudiced questions. They hit me as someone who has made up their mind about possible improprieties. The attitude and air that came across was one of an attack rather than a request for clarification. You say your agenda is to ask the tough questions. I see what you wrote, and how you wrote it as someone who has made up their mind, and has constructed their queries in such a manner so any answer she may give, presupposes her accepting the questions as being valid unbiased third party questions. No, they are not. They were conceived on the premise, that she has already done something ‘wrong’ and, in your eyes, needs to explain herself. As far as not answering questions being the catalyst for doubt, I can understand that position. However if one were to extrapolate that same line of reasoning and logic, then what are we to think, when Obama fails to provide a genuine, official, signed sealed and verifiable Birth Certificate? Ms Galloway is innocent of any wrong doing. How do I know? Because the law says so, and to treat her in a manner otherwise, is simply wrong, rude, and arrogant.

    • The First Rule of Lorri Club is that nobody shall ever question Saint Lorri, for she is ever noble and pure. Even when her actions may surpasseth human ethical understanding, believe, o ye of little faith, for Lorri Knows Best.

      Heck, why don’t we just skip the election and hold a dual supervisorial installation/canonization ceremony for Lorri that day instead?

  4. Jesse,

    “then what are we to think, when Obama fails to provide a genuine, official, signed sealed and verifiable Birth Certificate?”

    It’s nice to know Lorri has the “Birther” crowd behind her campaign for Supervisor.

    “Ms Galloway is innocent of any wrong doing. How do I know? Because the law says so.”

    Until all the facts are out ther and questions answered, we really cannot know what the “law” has to say on wrongdoing. Further, the questions related to Eli Home and the furniture are ethical, not legal.

  5. I am sorry that you have gone down the sarcastic road. I did not mean to offend anyone. I merely pointed out, that it seems assertions have been generated, and she is being asked to address those unfounded assertions.

    I am not a ‘crowd’. I am one person. I speak only for myself.

    Also, Innocence is a precondition, not based on actions or inaction. It is a state of being, until proven otherwise.

    To infer otherwise, a person would have to have some sort of bases for generating such assumptions. Perhaps experience, or having had witnessed such actions by others.

    I contend that it is not naive, but rather an affirmation and recognition of that state of innocence to not mistrust someone based on their own life experience, or gained knowledge through the actions of third parties.
    In short, pigeon holing.

    By the way, I have never heard of her until I read your piece, so there are no preconceptions of her on my part, no club memberships.

    In looking over this site, I can see that I may be among friends that may not share my thoughts on this subject.

    Perhaps it was not a good idea to wander into this dissertation as a solo advocate of anti-prejudiced thinking.

    As noted by Kevin’s comments, emotions have begun to overtake thought. Again, I am sorry sarcasm has reared its ugly head.

    • As an Anaheim voter, I think these questions are legitimate. Ms. Galloway has lived in the Hills for years. Now that she is in the flatlands, the question of her move leads to a credibility issue. Thus far, Ms. Galloway has shown she is a bully, telling unions to withdraw their endorsements from other candidates – or else! I hope she is a nicer (like Rose Espinoza), more honest person then the examples she has made thus far. Actions speak louder than words.

  6. Jesse,
    If you are new here, then perhaps you do not understand all of the issues with Galloway. Chris’ inquuiry is not over an isolated incident. Lorri has been making up her own rules for many years now, it is a pattern, and an unattractive one at that.

    And I wonder what it is you saw on his profile that you object to? I see nothing there that indicates his prejudice against one candidate over another. I simply see a profile for a man who knows who he is and has no reason to hide it. How does that make him not worthy of debate?

    Kinda sad I think….

  7. What happened to the post about this issue tat had Dan getting midievil on Publius and Luke Skyaker? Did you actually delete it? I was eating popcorn to that one.

  8. Greg — It’s still there, just moved to the second page of the blog. And I wasn’t getting Medieval oln anyone. But gad you were entertained by the whole thing

  9. Just drop the whole controversial residency issue with Lorri. She has been working in Anaheim for over twenty years and knows her constituents very well. Also, she is abiding by the rules by living in the 4th district.

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