There are lots of hiking trails throughout Orange County where it’s entirely possible to get lost. If you’re hiking alone, and your cell has no signal or your battery is dead and you want to be found, do this. In a quiet voice, say: “I support Lou Correa for Congress.” Dozens of Joe Dunn supporters will instantly find you to tell you you’re wrong and will want to have “an honest discussion about voting records” while insulting you for supporting Correa coupled with questioning your Democratic Party purity or Progressivism.
Over the weekend, Benny Diaz, the president of Orange County LULAC, posted his personal endorsement of Lou Correa in Congress in CD-46. The endorsement was all about Correa and didn’t reference any of his opponents. Here’s what he wrote:
My friends, I will love you to support my friend Lou Correa for US 46th Congressional District. He is really a hard working individual like you and I, a proud American, a truly community service person. He is going to fight to his bones to help pass an immigration reform that is just. He is going to work for the veterans and will help our county to procure federal funds for our social programs. If you are a proud Latino that believe in getting an immigration reform, he is our man, if you want to have a true community fighter for the veterans, homeless and so for lets vote for Lou Correa, do not be afraid or intimidate, we need Latino representation in Washington, someone like Loretta Sanchez.
Almost immediately, surrogates of the Joe Dunn for Congress campaign and Dunn supporters went after Benny for his support. It got ugly. It got personal. Benny deleted several offensive posts; others nabbed some screen grabs and here’s a few of them:
Diaz’s endorsement of Correa over the weekend was something Diaz did independently. There’s been a line of thought suggesting the Correa campaign is shaking the apple tree to extract endorsements with the primary a week away, but that’s simply not the case. It’s about Correa supporters letting their friends know who they are voting for via social media. And it’s also “I’ve had enough from you Dunn people, I’m backing Lou.” I only wish I grabbed more screen shots.
The day after Benny posted his endorsement, he posted this:
Last night i experienced a political bulling: i felt being intimidated by people i always considered close and good friends for supporting a political candidate. It is ok that they support their candidate I respect them. But do not call me a friend please if you do not respect my position. I spoke with Jose moreno, whom i admire, We are friends for many years. Even though we disagree in this issue, he was cordial and respecfull of my views.
Feel free if you do not like my positions or views to delete me, please do it. I will always respect your views but if you disagree with me send me a message or call me.
I’ve always said this race between Dunn and Correa is going to be a costly one. It’s an election pitting friends against friends and, sadly, many friendships are not going to survive it. There will be hard feelings moving forward and if it’s Correa and Dunn as the top two moving on to November, these bad feelings are going to spill over and affect other races.
In the case of comments made by Karen Ridley of California Teacher’s Association, her post calling on School Board members who support Correa to not seek her union’s endorsement is absolutely a threat. In response, Santa Ana activist Claudio Gallegos posted this on Facebook:
Here is a list of School Board Members who have endorsed only Lou Correa for Congress:
Santa Ana USD President John Palacio
Santa Ana USD Clerk Valerie Amezcua
…Santa Ana USD Member Jose Hernandez
Anaheim UHSD President Annemarie Randle-Trejo
Anaheim CSD Member Ryan Anthony Ruelas
Anaheim CSD Member Bob Gardner
Westminster SD Member Jamison Power
Huntington Beach UHSD Board Member and longtime progressive icon Bonnie Castrey
All have a strong record of supporting Public Education and are strong progressives. For some to suggest they should be removed from office because they don’t support their chosen candidate for office is irresponsible and wrong. #teamlou #loucorreaforcongress
Greg Diamond has a post about this weekend’s social media explosion over at the Orange Juice blog, in which he further denigrates business Democrats and moderates in the party; and there’s a cut and paste of various companies and organizations that have made contributions to the Correa campaign that’s supposed to sully Correa’s candidacy somehow because some of them are funding IEs against Dunn and IEs promoting Correa.
What Diamond left out of his post are the significant contributions from individuals — voters — who live in the district who are backing Correa for Congress. He also left out that Correa is way ahead of Dunn when it comes to contributions from voters in the district. Even Bao Nguyen has more contributions from voters in the district than Dunn has. Diamond also left out the significant number of lawyers who have given to the Dunn campaign who don’t live in the district.
And grab a seat, Diamond is right when he writes: “The pressure put on people to fall in line has been enormous.” But its pressure being applied by the Dunn campaign and its supporters. The Correa supporters have had enough.
Diaz wrote this to activist Jeff Letourneau: Jeff like Jim (Patone), Carina (Franck-Patone) and Jose (Moreno), you also know me that i speak my mind when come to issues and I always respect your views, I agree in constructive criticism, but never to accept negativism. I never go in your comments in your pages to try to promote that person that i support or attack your candidate Dunn. If you do not like my view please delete me, I will know my friends them. . So please I have the right to delete any commentary, because i created this facebook page. You all know that I always support your endeavors. enough said.
Benny Diaz didn’t deserve the treatment he got over the weekend. And he said it best in this comment to Dunn staffer Carina Franck-Patone after this exchange:
I am willing to bet they started trolling Benny after a night of drinking and weed smoking at the Pantone abode. Such is common practice for the Cult.
#cultofdunn
Dunn campaign is in full panic mode. Dunn is 4th choice per 2016 survey by labor. Oooopppsss.
Word out of PPOSBC is Planned Parenthood Federation of America declined to get involved and they are the ones who endorse for Congress. Carina strong armed the local affiliate to endorse anyway. She threatened people’s jobs over this.
Does she have that kind of influence with this organization?
Much hand wringing about nothing! Records are records and they don’t change. Threats to white office holders to run a Latino candidate against them next round if they don’t support Lou are well documented for all to see very shortly. As for me, as a strong supporter of the LGBTQ Center based in the 46th CD I’ll take the candidate with a 8 year 100% LGBTQ voting record over the candidate who took donations from Ahmanson who gave a quarter of a million dollars to Yes On 8 !!!! JUST FOLLOW THE MONEY and nobody has to get personal!
Sure they are Jeff. What are you all going to do, get old emails of you all threatening to run a Latino against Tom Daly and claim it came from Lou supporters. The only ones who threaten white Dems is you, unless of course that white Democrat is Joe Dunn.
If you follow the money, you’ll note Lou has a lot of contributions from voters who live in the district. Joe does not. Records are records, as you say. How can one be a whistleblower in an organization one is the CEO of? If you’re a CEO, and you are aware of serious wrongdoing, you fire those responsible and set policy that works. So when Joe led the state bar, and problems were discovered on his watch, was it bad management or incompetence? I find it a stretch to believe you could be a whistleblower on an organization you’re managing.
Jeff — Additionally, Joe abstained on a vote for legislation to implement employment non-discrimination requirements which would affect policies for Latinos, Asians, Muslims, and LGBTQ workers. This is the same as a “no” vote and it was a bill supported by Lou in the state assembly. In supporting this bill, MALDEF stated, “we firmly believe that the citizens of California including protected classes would benefit greatly from the removal of discrepancies among protected classes in the statutes. Creating uniformity in the definition of protected classes will remove deficiencies in protection as well as any current confusion in the application and compliance of the relevant statutes.” You can’t really say Joe has a 100% pro-LGBTQ record
Ok. Taking you at your word I guess I’ll have to accept a candidate with a 99% LGBTQ vote with one abstention in 8 years over the one who took money from an extremist homophobe who bankrolled Yes on 8 to the tune of $250,000. Thanks for the clarification.
Jeff, there weren’t 100 bills to vote on about LGBTQ rights during Joe’s time in the senate. Joe was a for vote Gay Marriage in 2005 vetoed by the Governor. But please enlighten about every pro – LGBTQ vote Joe took during his eight years in the senate. Honestly, I’d love details. I don’t think there were that many bills.
Joe was not the CEO of the state bar — he was the executive director, which is subservient to the board of trustees. Joe’s whistleblowing was vindicated after an audit confirmed the bar’s bad practices.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-state-bar-audit-20160513-snap-story.html
That line of criticism is all dried up.
Title correction noted; Joe only blew the whistle after he had been fired. Joe should have be aware of the bar’s bad practices and fixed it. Instead, he mislead the Board of Trustees. Their investigation showed Joe should have been on top of things
Dan — again, Joe was in a subordinate role. The Board of Trustees were his bosses, with the ability to fire him (clearly). If his superiors were engaging in unscrupulous financial practices, I’m not sure what it was you think he could/should have done to fix it. Should he have gone straight to the authorities and blown the whistle, or should he have tried to fix it, as you suggest, by taking on his superiors who decided to terminate him?
Maybe he should have reported the Board to the authorities in hindsight — but your argument that he was derelict in his duty when he complained to his superiors and got fired for it is puzzling to me.
Oh Christ, Joe was incompetent. He was in charge. He failed
Joe was fired first. Are you saying the board engaged in bad behavior? That wasn’t the case. Read the court filings and the news stories. Joe was in charge. If there were problems, they were his to fix. He did not. He mislead his board; they spent $400k to investigate. What was there to blow the whistle on? His bad management?
According to the LA Times, your chronology is wrong. He filed a whistle-blower complaint, and then was fired. If you have information otherwise, put it up.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-state-bar-20141207-story.html
Also here: complaint was filed 7 days before the termination.
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/fired_bar_officials_suit_is_baseless_and_his_whistleblower_claims_are_bewil/
Anonymous complaint filed Nov 3. Lawsuit filed the day his termination was announced. He knew he was under investigation for some time.
So Joe pulled down $250k a year being a lackey? He ran the show.
Dan, STOP IT.
What kind of Democrat are you don’t you know all the wonderful things Joe Dunn did at the state bar?
He went to…………WAIT FOR IT……….MONGOLIA!
WTF ??
Is this what we can expect from Congressman Dunn, taking Henry Lipton/Paul Lucas on a fact finding tour to t Asia to find the best Thai Stick??
Dunn can not escape that he is a MILLIONARE white lobbyist, working for Cal Med, CA Bar.
Joe Dunn is Joke Done
Read the article Drew, it is not flattering to Joe. THe Audit confirmed the Bar’s bad practices UNDER HIS WATCH. Example: The non-profit he started to “help” low income people have legal access, he used money meant for the poor on a $4,800 hotel bill. How do you run up a $4,800 hotel bill, IN SACRAMENTO?!
While an important issue (to progressives) gay rights are but of the many things at stake in this election. Just as important are the many other issues facing the district. Based on my experience, gay rights stand in the middle or even closer to the bottom in priorities for the residents.
But to remain true to the issue, an individual, Benny Diaz posted his preference for Lou over Joe Dunn. Instantly he was attacked by Dunn staffers. These are not “surrogates” as much as they are paid employees of Dunn for congress(Luis, Carina and Pantone). That is an important distinction.
Lastly, no one has chosen to condemn Joe for his choice of counsel in his case against the bar with Mark Geragoes, for using your and Greg’s logic Joe must then support child molesters and murders, as Geragoes unsucessfully defended Micheal Jackson and Scott Peterson.
Just use your ONE vote to support your guy, let Benny do the same.
Per Greg, Benny is a political idiot Nice insult.
Florice Hoffman just posted this epic smackdown of Greg Diamond on OJ; I’m sharing….
Florice Hoffman
Posted June 1, 2016 at 12:44 PM
I have been a supporter of Joe Dunn since he first ran for office and support his run for Congress. Your posts as usually hurt the candidate that you allegedly support and show your great white superiority to judge free of race.
It is unbelievable that you single out Benny Diaz for some alleged conversation that he and I do not remember at all. To believe that the Latino supporters of Lou are supporting him purely based on their ethnicity, highlights your bigotry.
If you were not so condescending maybe you could have a conversation with people that respects their intelligence.
Greg is pretty predictable and calls me a bully; I guess there aren’t any mirrors in his house/law office.
“If you were not so condescending maybe you could have a conversation with people that respects their intelligence.”
Nailed it !!
Greg wants to tell Latino voters who is best for them
It is important for you to understand, some of us were placed on this earth to surf the internet, read obscure political publications, promote self importance allthewhile doing as little as possible to earn money, better onesself, or provide for adoptive children.
Having spent time in Academia, Manhattan Law Clerkship and generally avoiding any real employment, One finds himself at fifty something, at LEAST fifty something pounds overweight (despite being a vegetarian) knowing better than EVERYONE he comes in contact with.
So how long before Vern, Cynthia, The Car Salesman and Ryans Dad say enough of this Sh!t and bail on crazy Greg.
I predict not long. Hopefully his new family hangs around long enough to console him.
Diamond is running for Assembly in AD68. His hand is so far up Chuchua’s ass, Brian is a political beard for the Brea failure
Want Jim Patone to be your Facebook friend? Post that you back Lou Correa for Congress. Jim will respond to talk about voting records
The paid Dunn staffers are pretty aggressive on social media. But they won’t talk about Joe’s record on the State Bar. $5000 for a business dinner at Gerago’s Restaurant in Los Angeles! That’s a lot of groceries for families in Santa Ana or Anaheim.