You read that correct.
One of the major issues with the Jessica Patterson Chairwomanship of the CAGOP is that I have determined that many county parties in California are completely collapsed or so moribund they are ineffective. For those of you not aware, Stephen Frank is running for Chairman of the California Republican Party against Jessica Patterson. If it was not clear, I am his campaign manager and thusly am being paid by Mr. Frank. I have been hostile to Mrs. Patterson for several years and those around her so taking a paid position with Mr. Frank was a natural.
What is not natural is 11 County Central Committees with no elected members. An additional 16 have less than 10 elected members, including Merced and Yuba County that had one each. Recently, in one of the biggest absurdities I have ever seen, the Shasta GOP, with three elected members and three Republican Officeholders that get a member as well (total 6) voted 4-2 to elect a pro-choice, pro-gay marriage chair in one of the most conservative counties in California via a 4-2 vote. (All three electeds voted aye) Then they filled the other 18 vacant slots on the Shasta GOP with staffers and donors.
This is how a race for Chairwoman of the CAGOP is made – especially when it has been an express goal of the consultants and control agents to see county parties discarded because they are obsticles to control. Either create fake parties or let them die. 27 out of the 58 countes – nearly 50% have less than half their elected seats filled. I do feel sorry for the two elected members of the Shasta GOP that came out on the receiving end of that 4-2 vote and subsequent 18 member appointment drill. Will the Shasta GOP actually do anything?
Shasta is just the entree for the San Bernardino GOP. Once a purple county, SB is now pretty blue. A long time activist Robert Rego had made it clear months ago he was interested in returning as San Bernardino GOP Chairman. The outgoing Chair, Jan Leja is a liberal Republican former officeholder abandoning California for another state. According to several sources out that way, Leja never told Rego (or anyone else) that she and people who may or may not be a part of the New Majority had recruited another pro-choice, liberal Republican named Phil Cothran to run.
Cothran is a State Farm agent, and a check of his social media shows that he is a 64 year old white guy. (Ironic, given that the people that supported him specifically tell old white guys they are not welcome to run for office) Cothran had the support of the usual suspects, squishes and officeholders who reflexively support the moderate over the Conservative activist.
Robert Rego has been a long time CRA member.
Mr. Rego, according to my inside sources had his votes lined up. Typical of how the country-clubbers, moderates and consultants operate – deals were made under cover of darkness and a surprise attack was launched – even though Jan Leja and others knew Cothran was running for chair months ago. They never gave Rego the courtesy of telling him not to run, etc. They simply went to his supporters and either bullied them or bought them off (at least that is how it looks to me). Enter Bill Postmus: Source data linked here.
Bill Postmus, whose meteoric rise to the apex of San Bernardino County power and politics was unrivaled by that of any other individual in county history, only to be exceeded by the methamphetamine-fueled rapidity of his dramatic plunge into ignominy, has been released from prison, after serving less than nine months of the three year sentence handed down to him in November 2018.
On November 15, 2018 Judge Michael A. Smith had sentenced Postmus in accordance with the judicial discretion set forth in a guilty plea Postmus had entered more than seven years previously, in March 2011, to 14 felony counts and a single drug possession misdemeanor. In the finalization of his conviction, Smith had confirmed four of those 14 felony convictions.
Six of those original felony convictions related to Postmus’s action during the fewer than 26 months he served in the capacity of county assessor. The other eight involved criminal activity perpetrated while he was a member of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, specifically in the final two years when he was on that panel as its chairman.
It appears that Phil Cothran and others enlisted the assistance of Bill Postmus to undermine Robert Rego. I am not sure why a man with only a few years of sobriety, just over two years out of prison after a spectacular fall from grace would be attempting to re-enter public life so soon. I frequently advise alcoholics that I work with (BTW- congrats on your sobriety Bill, I have over 18 years myself) to stay out of public life for several years until they have resolved issues and picked up the pieces.
That chapter of the scandal occurred while Postmus was not merely the chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors but also while he was the chairman of the San Bernardino County Republican Central Committee.
Postmus’s position at the head of county government in his capacity as chairman of the board of supervisors and his image as a rockribbed pro-law enforcement Christian and family values-oriented conservative Republican put him into a position in which he was vulnerable to blackmail, given his closeted homosexuality and what was at first his casual recreational and then later around-the-clock compulsive use of methamphetamine. A number of entities with business before the county board of supervisors exploited their knowledge of his proclivities to extort him into supporting them or their companies, unions, projects or proposals with his votes as supervisor.
Besides being a reputed liberal and not understanding Republican Values, Phil Cothran has demonstrated a fatal lack of judgement enlisting this guy to be his hatchet man. I also question the rehabilitation of Bill Postmus as he was strong-arming central committee members. Postmus was literally telling people that no one in the local business community would donate to the San Bernardino GOP if Robert Rego was elected chairman. The implication was that Postmus would see to it. There is not a lot of recovery, 12-steps or Christianity in that behavior at all – it seems to resemble his days in public office as if he learned nothing from ending up in prison.
Worse, others who had received some of the ($57K was a specific number I was told, the actual may be different) money that Phil Cothran spread around in the last few years to candidatates were told in so many words they were expected to reciprocate. Where did Phil Cothran who is reputed to be a man of average to above average means get that kind of money to donate and did he donate that money specifically to feather his own nest? So, does Cothran actually care about building the SBGOP or himself? What is in this whole deal for Bill Postmus as well?
Bonus – they also appointed 9 members (all establishment people) to the SBGOP BEFORE By-Laws were adopted. This is a violation of state election law, but such shenanigans are quite common. This was done of course to run up the score against Mr. Rego. This is Phil Cothran’s SBGOP and we will be keeping close track of everything he does as it is clear there is more to this than just taking over a county party and fealty to her majesty the Chairwoman.
This is how it works in the establishment. The Shasta and San Bernardino GOP stories should serve as examples of what the consultants in Sacramento are doing to protect their multi-million dollar CAGOP Contracts. This sort of abhorrent behavior is also what gave birth to President Trump (who most of these people opposed long before the DC riots as well).
Your intrepid blogger is also aware of many more stories of what the establishment is doing in order to rig the Chairman’s election coming up in a little over a month. We are going to tell them all, because win or lose it is part of my job to make sure people know what is being done to them and just what happens under cover of darkness.
The conclusion of this is that it is obvious that Steve Frank is competitive (aka he is a threat) as they seem to be taking several risks with what they are doing.
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I think Jessica is desperate for the 5-6 extra votes a chairman of a county party has influence in.