Third James F. Penman for San Bernardino City Attorney November 8, 2011 Mailer

By Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law

A preface: Why We Try To Keep Partisan Politics Out of These Postings. These posts are provided as  a public service  to inform the voting public about who is running and what they are saying.  If I get it, this blog posts and comments about the campaign material.   With the dearth (and death) of good reporting coming from our local newspapers, this may be one of the few places to get neutral reporting about the candidates.

The third mailer from the Jim Penman for City Attorney 2011 campaign has arrived, quick on the heels of the first mailer.  This mailer is in color and is four pages long.  Here is page 1, page 2, page 3, and Page 4.

Page one, or the cover of the mailer, has a manila  folder labeled “The People of San Bernardino vs.Politician David McKenna” with the headline in red letters: “UNFIT for Public Office”

The case file theme continues as the reader opens up the mailer.  Again, in red, “The People vs. Politician David McKenna”

The flier continues:

Exhibit A: Financial Misconduct

• David McKenna was forced to resign as San Bernardino County Public Defender after he was caught illegally spending millions of dollars.
• McKenna admitted that he “intentionally violated” county rules by spending public monies without authorization because he knew the County “would turn down his requests.

A quote from the Press-Enterprise from January 1999 reads “Public defender to resign today” By David Wert – January 1999:

San Bernardino Public Defender David McKenna under pressure from the Board Supervisors after disclosing that [highlighted in yellow]  he had intentionally violated county spending policies for nearly a decade, [end yellow highlighting] on Thursday notified the county that today will be his last day on the job . . .

“He was violating county policy for years,” said Supervisor Fred Aguiar.  “… it’s imperative that the Board of Supervisors appoint a public defender we have confidence in.  Someone who complies with all the regulations of the county.”

The third City Attorney Jim Penman mailer continues with a quote attributed to the Inland Empire Taxpayers Association which reads “McKenna’s arrogant and unethical behavior as County Public Defender disqualifies him from holding a position of trust in city government.”

Starting on the bottom of page 2 and continuing to page 3 reads:

Exhibit B: Lack of Integrity

• David McKenna sent an unsolicited email to thousands of San Bernardino voters which falsely accused City Attorney Jim Penman of taking campaign funds from the scandalized Colonies Developers
• Those Developer monies were actually used to OPPOSE City Attorney Penman who is known for his hard-line stand against political corruption.

There is another quote from the Press-Enterprise titled “McKenna apologized for erroneous email” by Brian Rokos, dated August 2, 2011.

San Bernardino city attorney challenger David McKenna today phoned incumbent Jim Penman to apologize for an email McKenna sent to 6,000 people that inaccurately said Penman’s campaign for city attorney in 2007 received $8,605 in “Colonies scandal payoff money.”

[Yellow highlighting] The money … actually was an independent expenditure … opposing Penman’s election.

The flier continues on page 3 with the text “Exhibit C: Soft on Crime”

• Since 1983, McKenna has represented criminals as Public Defender and a Private Defense Attorney.
• McKenna says that, if elected, he will eliminate City Attorney investigators even though it means reducing enforcement measures against street gangs.

Next to the Exhibit C text is a picture of facsimile San Bernardino police badge and shoulder patch.  “‘The last thing San Bernardino needs is a pro-parolee, soft on crime City Attorney like Mr. McKenna.’ Mike Reynolds San Bernardino police Detective.

The third page of the  flier finishes with “The Verdict Is Clear! David McKenna is unfit to serve as our City Attorney.”

The fourth page of the flier says, in red letters “You Just CAN’T Trust Politician McKenna!”:

LIED about his residency                                   ——–>                  FACT: McKenna is a carpetbagger

On his Facebook Page, McKenna says                                             McKenna has not lived in San Bernardino for many years.  He moved from Sun City to San

he has “lived and worked here for decades.”                                 Bernardino on June 24, 2011 just to run for political office here.

LIED about his law experience                       ——–>                   FACT: McKenna defends criminals
McKenna told the Sun newspaper that he                                      The Riverside Law Firm where McKenna works lists him as “Chief Defense Counsel” on its

did most of his legal work on “civil                                                   Corporate website.

litigation and family law.”

LIED about his government record                ——–>              FACT: McKenna ousted for corruption

In his official ballot statement, McKenna                                   McKenna was forced out of his County job for “intentionally” violating county spending rules and

claims he was a “reform leader” and a                                          wasting millions of taxpayer dollars.

“taxpayer’s advocate”.

Certainly, this is a hard-hitting mailer.  It hits the carpetbagger issue, the resignation from the public defender’s office (mentioned in both endorsements of McKenna from the Press-Enterprise and the Sun.  The design is very clean and not too cluttered with facts.   The only other thing expected is tying David McKenna to Mayor Pat Morris, a figure that no one is linking themselves with at this time, except Tobin Brinker.  Perhaps that is for future mailers, perhaps with a quote from David McKenna from the Rotary City Attorney forum wherein he said that he knew nothing about the San Bernardino International Airport except that it was an airport.  That would work with the carpetbagger theme and tying David McKenna to Mayor Patrick Morris.

The information you obtain at this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is established by reading or commenting on this blog. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.

Copyright 2011 Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law.

Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law.

Address : 1255 W. Colton Ave., Suite 104

                     Redlands, CA 92374

Telephone: (909) 708-6055

Email: michael@michaelreiterlaw.com

Website: http://michaelreiterlaw.com

First Amelia Sanchez-Lopez For San Bernardino City Clerk Mailer

By Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law

The first Amelia Sanchez-Lopez for San Bernardino City Clerk mailer arrived yesterday in the mail with the Esther Jimenez for San Bernardino City Clerk mailer I had mentioned earlier this week.    Esther Jimenez’s mailer was posted to Esther Jimenez’s Facebook page, and linked-to earlier.   I am not sure why more candidates do not post their mailers online since they are already paying thousands to produce, print, and send them.  It is virtually effortless to add them online, especially on Facebook.

This is Amelia Sanchez-Lopez’s first mailer, not including her mentions on City Attorney Jim Penman’s mailer.  The mailer was paid for by “Jim Penman for City Attorney 2011″ and includes City Attorney Penman’s campaign email as well as Amelia Sanchez-Lopez’s email address.

Here is the front of Amelia Sanchez-Lopez’s mailer, and here is the back of Amelia Sanchez-Lopez’s mailer.

The front of the mailer is a letter from City Attorney James F. Penman.  The letter states:

From the Desk of
CITY ATTORNEY JIM PENMAN

Dear Fellow Citizen,
Recently, people have been asking, “Who is Amelia Sanchez Lopez?” In our City government, the City
Attorney and City Clerk have comparable roles serving as checks and balances against corruption. The
City Clerk is our chief elections official. Just as I was encouraged and endorsed to run for City
Attorney by the City Clerk in 1986, and just as I endorsed Rachel Clark four years ago, I now
endorse Amelia Sanchez Lopez for City Clerk. Why?
Because: In this election, where none of the candidates have ever worked in a city clerk’s office, Amelia
is the ONLY CANDIDATE who has extensive experience supervising personnel, managing
programs, serving as a CEO, and personally obtaining grants at County, State and Federal levels.
For years, she has implemented and supervised grant-funded programs and managed the budgets
for her agency, and for numerous government programs. NO other candidate has Amelia’s
management expertise.
All three of San Bernardino’s former Mayors, Judith Valles, Evlyn Wilcox and Tom Minor support
Amelia Sanchez Lopez for City Clerk. We know her reputation for integrity and know she will NOT
show favoritism to ANY candidate or office holder.
I first met Amelia Sanchez 35 years ago when she was a Youth Drug Prevention Coordinator with Casa
de San Bernardino, a non-profit substance abuse Agency. Amelia soon became the Executive Director of
Casa de San Bernardino.
For the past 23 years, Amelia has been a County Public Health Education Specialist. She coordinates the
County’s Alcohol and Drug Prevention program, supervises staff, manages projects and supports our
police in combating drug and alcohol related crime.
Amelia is a San Bernardino native; her family has been in our City for five-generations. After her
mother passed away when Amelia was 15, she graduated from St. Bernardine’s High School in San
Bernardino and then from Valley College and the University of California, Riverside (BA). Amelia is
also a graduate of our City’s Community Police Academy and the San Bernardino Citizens’
Academy.
Amelia has two sons and she fmished raising the younger one as a single parent after her husband passed
away in 2005. Amelia is a home-owner and has been a lifelong, active member of Our Lady of
Guadalupe Church where she serves as a Lector.
Amelia is the best-qualified candidate to serve as our next City Clerk. Please join ALL of your former
Mayors and me in electing Amelia Sanchez Lopez City Clerk.
/s/
Jim Penman
San Bernardino City Attorney

This letter answers the question people are asking about Amelia Sanchez-Lopez: who she is, why she is qualified for the office, will she be independent if she is elected, and why Jim Penman is supporting her to be City Clerk.  Voters can decide if it effectively answers these questions.

The reverse of the mailer has the headline: “Integrity and Accountability”

There is a picture of Council Member Wendy McCammack, Mayor Evlyn Wilcox, Amelia Sanchez Lopez, and Chamber of Commerce Director Judi Penman on the left middle under the headline.  There is a picture of Amelia Sanchez-Lopez on the right middle under the headline.  In the middle is a text oval that has a quote: “‘Amelia Sanchez Lopez is truly dedicated to the people of San Bernardino.  Please join us and vote to elect Amelia our new City Clerk.’  Judith Valles, Evlyn Wilcox & Tom Minor Our 3 Former Mayors”

In the lower third of the mailer, it says:

As our next City Clerk, Amelia will meet the highest standards of
ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY and FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY.
Her priorities are:
• Integrity – Ensure fair and accurate elections
• Efficiency – Sound financial management while saving taxpayer dollars
• Responsiveness – Provide the highest level of service to all residents
• Accessibility – Promote good government and greater citizen participation
VOTE for Hometown
leadership To Keep Our
City Elections HONEST!
Elect
AMELIA SANCHEZ LOPEZ
OUR CITY CLERK

The letter is not on actual City Attorney letterhead, it is a mock up.  The most interesting part of the letter is “Just as I was encouraged and endorsed to run for City Attorney by the City Clerk in 1986 . . .” That City Clerk was Shauna Clark, who later became City Administrator of San Bernardino.  The unusual situation of a City Clerk becoming an appointed official was addressed in the new Charter in November 2004:

Section 105. Non-Eligibility of Elected Officials. No person who held
any elected office in the City, between June 1, 1987, and the effective date of this
Charter, regardless of how long any such person held any such elected office, may
be employed as City Manager until eight years passes from the effective date of
this Charter, and no person who holds any elected office on or after the effective
date of this Charter may be employed as City Manager until eight years passes
after such person leaves said elected office.

Section 105  of the Charter of the City of San Bernardino is the Shauna Clark Rule.  Former City Clerk and former City Administrator Shauna Clark is now the City Manager of La Habra. The effective date of the Charter is March 6, 2006, which makes the eight year rule March 6, 2014.  That prohibits Shauna Clark, Tom Minor, Judith Valles, and a whole host of council people and one City Treasurer from becoming City Manager until March 6, 2014, if ever.

Endorsements and San Bernardino politics are a funny thing.  Tobin Brinker was endorsed by the public safety unions.  Here is a video they paid for in 2006.  Now, they support his challenger John Valdivia.   Mayor Valles, who is endorsing Amelia Sanchez-Lopez, is also supporting City Attorney Penman, even though by the end of her mayoral regime she had filed an unfounded ethics complaint against the City Attorney.  Shauna Clark went from being a Penman booster to a major Penman detractor.

The information you obtain at this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is established by reading or commenting on this blog. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.

Copyright 2011 Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law.

Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law.

Address : 1255 W. Colton Ave., Suite 104

Redlands, CA 92374

Telephone: (909) 708-6055

Email: michael@michaelreiterlaw.com

Website: http://michaelreiterlaw.com