Our email basket is overflowing with tips from readers about tonight’s Rally to Restore Civility to Tustin in front of the Tustin City Council chambers around 6:00Â p.m.Â
The best resource for those who need confirmation about the knuckle-dragging council members Jerry Amante and Doug Davert need only to go to former council candidate Sherri Loveland’s website here. There’s a collection of local news items, letters to the editor and copies of letters sent to various civic organizations by Mssrs. Davert and Amante that’s bound to make you think “do these guys treat their wives, daughters, sisters or mothers like this?”
But it gets better!
A reader trying to rally conversatives behind Amante and Davert is suggesting that TheLiberalOC is sponsoring tonight’s event. Nope! We just don’t have the time (we had to all be up pretty early today).
For shame!
Amante’s troubles have just begun; he loses his strongest council ally in Davert to term limits (tonight is Davert’s last meeting!…Party On and don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out Doug!) and we add Becky Gomez McKeon to provide two strong female and Democratic voices to the City Council. Sure, it’s a 3-2 majority but Amante isn’t going to be able to skate as easily has he has in the past.
Expect more scrutiny of Amante in the next two years.Â
In the last meeting, Amante’s outburst against a Tustin citizen who complained about a Davert hit piece on candidate David Waldram after public comments may have violated the Brown Act. Basically, council members need to sit and take when the public shows up to say whatever they want. And council members are not supposed to discuss items in a public meeting that are not on the agenda — as Amante did when he defended Davert’s hit piece as being accurate.
We came, we saw, we went. About 40 folks showed up for the Rally to Restore Civility in Tustin, including certain alumni Tony Kawashima and former mayor Tracey Worley-Hagen. After a little rah-rah outside, everyone went into a packed audience where we were treated to our newest Little Miss Tustin, Zoe Martinez sing the National Anthem. Then the fireworks began…
To his credit, before anything happened, Jerry Amante actually referred to Councilmember Gavello by her title, something he failed to do in previous weeks. That did not alleviate the bloodletting, however, as citizen after citizen got up to say a little or a lot about the subject of bullying and just plain rudeness by hizoner the mayor and hizoner’s cronie councilmember Davert. Out of the dozen or so speakers, only three spoke kindly of our dear old mayor. Of course, a little digging would probably have shown that Jerry and Doug had to pay them for it.
Former Mayor Worley-Hagen fired the first barrage calling the mayor a bully and disrespectful to fellow councilmembers and citizens alike. After each barrage, a round of applause followed by a barely contained Amante admonishment against demonstrations followed. He stopped short of ordering the arrest of the masses as that would surely have made the point of the people in attendance.
All in all, a great meeting well attended by citizens who care. It reminds me of why my family and I love this town.
Oh, and yurhoner, if you are reading this, I am the same guy that yelled “good riddance” from his porch toward you at the Tiller Days Parade.
Gotta go keep the peace….
Remember that Amante has 2 more long years left in Tustin and his new right -hand stooge in John Nielsen and Al Murray
oh, he’s reading it….Tustin’s PIO will make sure copies are printed out and delivered.
I don’t live in Tustin, but I used to eat at the Tustin Rutabegorz often and visit the nearby shops. I stopped going there when I learned about the boorish behavior of Amante. I don’t want one dime of my money going to support these “people.” Now the Rutabegorz in Orange gets my business.
Sorry to hear that one person could turn you sour on the town, Howard. Rest assured that the rest of Tustin doesn’t act in this manner.
Thanks, Keep. I know many fine people who live in Tustin.
But there are many fine people who live in Cuba, also, and our government chose to boycott that country because of its leadership. I am doing the same.
Maybe it’s a new slogan for Tustin: the Cuba of Orange County.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/council-276305-meeting-tustin.html