people back in 1994 that supported us for City Council in Newport
Beach. He had the right read on seemingly everything and privately
supported our underdog campaign. So we of course supported his
run for OC Tax Collector!
The good news is that we haven't found any Dogfighting allegations
against him yet. Fast forward to modern days....and Chriss has taken
the reigns of the Orange County Tax Collector's office. As everyone
knows...he was the fair haired choice of his predecessor John
Moorlach who is of course a newly elected 2nd District Orange
County Supervisor.
In Chriss's defense, since the day he declared his candidacy...he
has had those pesky political enemies stirring and digging up the
dirt faster than a D-9 Cat Earthmover. He has been further accused
of misrepresenting a few things and in fact some legal charges have
come his way, which has made it less quiet at the Tax Collector's
office than one might expect after taking over for a modern day
Don Quixote - Moorlach! Chriss's role as Sancho Panza however has
hit a glitch or two on the way to the forum.
A few months back, there seemed to be a general lack of convention
and propriety at the OC Board of Supervisor's office. Newbie
Moorlach and a few of the other newly elected Supervisor's decided
that "their digs on the 5th floor" were less than appealing. They
decided in their temerity to upgrade a few things. They thought
....only an "out of work Marine" could live like this! The carpet
was old, the furniture old, the desks old, the technology old. Hey,
when someone gets elected by a sizable margin....surely the people
....would want these sterling icons of government to have "the
latest and greatest" equipment to serve the people! Several 52 inch
LCD Televisions, perhaps a $7,000 to $10,000 computer desk.....for
the entry. Perhaps, $30 a yard carpet ...perhaps, a professional
Interior Decorator to bring a little light and love to the place.
Now in the middle of this "misread by the newbies"....there was
one Supervisor that "had a bad feeling about this"...and did not
put his self proclaimed conservative economic principles at risk.
Supervisor Bill Campbell...thought: The appearance of impropriety
...is just as bad...as actually using the people's money for one's
own comfort. Oh, but we digress. Chriss Street is this great guy
and certainly with all his petty problems wants to be part of the
crowd and just get along with everyone. Moorlach sold him on the
idea that buying several 52 inch LCD Televisions could save the
entire group money. Wrong! It seems, the County has some arcane
rules that restrict purchases to those "insider approved guys".
So, the same TV you can purchase on the open market for
$4,000 bucks will cost you $7,000 when the County Purchasing
people leap up to bid. Well, as you can imagine the price for
a few Interior Design Improvements was starting to ramp up.
A few months ago when this came up...we suggested that even though
Supervisors have their budgets to play with....that Infrastructure
Improvements to County Buildings and the like....be approved by a
particular Agenda Item....so that the public might make a few well
chosen comments prior to implementation. They obviously have not
taken our suggestion to heart. This being said...the self approved
expenses for the Orange County Treasurer's office is now expected
to exceed $1,000,000 bucks - give or take. Those other Supervisors
with upgrades haven't yet given full disclosure of their total
expenses yet either.
Hey, it's easy to get wrapped up in the feeding frenzy of spending
government money. Hey, new drapes ...maybe take a wall out here,
add a few skylights, maybe even a sunken bath tub for those tough
days going up and down those old elevators. Yes, we have empathy
fully for these "electeds" who have no qualms about spending freely
from the government trough! The Mayor of LA had little or no
problem utilizing paid police security when meeting with his
paramour with impunity too! But there is no excuse for "over doing
it"..is there?
Back to our friend Chriss. Sadly, while he was under fire for
other issues...we would not have urged him to raise the specter
of public scrutiny by exposing himself to excessive Interior
Decorating purchases. As Supervisor Moorlach goes after the
excesses of Pension payments and other issues with which we
agree ......we find it sad ...that he and the other self styled
spend-thrifts at the top of the food chain....do not use much
common sense or caring when spending on personal comfort items
with funds from those that they serve. Maybe they just don't
fully grasp or understand the "serve and protect" concept of
public service! So, when you see our friend Chriss on the front
page of the OC Register today please remember: He was led astray
...by others that should have known better! People that had been
doing this "Public Service" for a long time! So, to Chriss, his
staff and lovely wife: In the future, we suggest:
"Be careful of who you hang with.....!"
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