OC Politics Blog | Tag Archives: PLA

Unions lose as the Poseidon desalination plant in H.B. is not approved

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Editor Posted in Huntington Beach, Labor, Poseidon, Project Labor Agreements, Water 2 Comments

Poseidon Huntington Beach Desalination Plant

After eight hours of discussion and public comment, the California Coastal Commission decided Wednesday to put off a vote on an application to build a desalination plant in Huntington Beach, according to KPCC.

The commissioners voted unanimously to hold off a final decision on the controversial proposal. Shortly after, the company seeking to build the plant, Poseidon Water, withdrew its application.

The unintended consequence of this action, which we support, is that the unions got the shaft too! This project had a PLA on it – a Project Labor Agreement. Had the construction gone forward non-union contractors would have been shut out of bidding on this project. Continue reading→

RSCCD Trustees vote to stop violating the Brown Act while negotiating a PLA

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Editor Posted in 2014 Elections, Democratic Party, Development, Jose Solorio, Labor, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The Rancho Santiago Community College District’s (RSCCD) Board of Trustees met tonight and the biggest issue on their plate was allegations that they have violated the Brown Act by negotiating PLA terms in closed session.

A PLA is a Project Labor Agreement. These agreements typically ban non-union contractors from bidding on public works – in this case we are talking about the $198M bond measure Q, that was passed last year to fund construction projects at Santa Ana College. (This after millions of our dollars were wasted on the previous RSCCD Measure E – when that money was mostly spent on the campus in the Orange Hills. A PLA delayed Measure E projects and drove them over-budget).

Trustee Phil Yarbrough, who is a Republican, accused the Democrat-dominated RSCCD Board of violating the Brown Act by negoiating PLAs in closed session. Continue reading→

Is Solorio trying to sneak a $29M taxpayer giveaway to special interests?

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Editor Posted in Education, Jose Solorio, Project Labor Agreements, Santa Ana Leave a comment

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Help Stop Jose Solorio From Illegally Hiding His $29 Million Taxpayer Give-Away To Special Interests

By: Dave Everett, Government Affairs Director, Associated Builders and Contractors, SoCal

Help stop RSCCD Trustee Jose Solorio from illegally hiding his $29 million taxpayer give-away to special interests! It is being voted on TOMORROW, TUESDAY 11/12/2013 at 4pm.

It seems the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) Board of Trustees has been violating California’s open meeting laws (also known as “The Brown Act”) by negotiating a discriminatory union agreement on their nearly $200 million dollar Measure Q bond passed by voters in November 2012. No mention of this wasteful special interest deal was of course ever made when selling this to the citizens – and now the public is being purposefully kept out of the debate. Continue reading→

Jose Solorio gives Janet Nguyen an early Christmas present

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Editor Posted in 2014 Elections, Anaheim, Education, Janet Nguyen, Jose Solorio, Labor, Orange County, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Janet Nguyen versus Jose Solorio

From the New Santa Ana Blog

The Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Trustees voted 5-2 tonight to authorize their Chancellor to negotiate a Project Labor Agreement with the Los Angeles/Orange County Building Trades Council.

Impressively their Student Trustee, Ryan Ahari, voted against this debacle. I am told he is a fan of Ron Paul. He might be the smartest Trustee! His vote doesn’t count unfortunately. Republican Phil Yarbrough and independent Arianna Barrios were the only no votes. Continue reading→

Will Spitzer’s personality gloss over his terrible record as a Supervisor?

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Editor Posted in 2012 Elections, Anaheim Hills, Brea, Cowan Heights, El Modena, Irvine, Lemon Heights, Olinda, Orange, Orange County, Orange Hills, Orange Park Acres, Republican Party, Todd Spitzer, Tustin, Villa Park, Yorba Linda 2 Comments

They say that personalities win in today’s political environment and if that is true then Todd Spitzer probably has a leg up on the competition, in his race for Orange County’s 3rd Supervisorial District, which is currently represented by squishy Bill Campbell. But I hope that the voters will take the time to really look at what the candidates stand for. In the case of Spitzer, the news is not good for those of us who value freedom and fiscal conservatism.

Cal WatchDog Columnist Steven Greenhut nailed Spitzer, when Chuck DeVore suddenly announced he was dropping out of the race for the 3rd District, to move to Texas. Here are a few choice excerpts from Greenhut’s post: Continue reading→