Long story short: the guy with the smiley public image seems to have a real dark side in private. He had mass resignations from his staff amid complaints about a hostile work environment.
And now it gets worse. Voice of San Diego:
Another shoe has dropped in the scandal engulfing County Supervisor Dave Roberts political career.Full complaint in all its gory detail here.
Here’s NBC 7 San Diego on the Democrat’s troubles: “A former employee for San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts is accusing him of misusing public funds, using county money to pursue a personal relationship and retaliating against employees who spoke up against these alleged practices.” Here’s the U-T’s version.
If true, the complaint is devastating.
I have to say it doesn't look good, but the alleged crimes aren't nearly at the level of the kind of things that Bill Horn has been accused of over the years.
ReplyDelete-MGJ
Bill Horn isn't being accused or wrongdoing here; Dave Roberts is
DeleteIt still begs the question. This Roberts stuff is a lot of tit for tat minor stuff, Bill Horn has meetings with Developers before a vote. You have to look at the scale of the crimes...
DeleteThis is a rare local example of Imposter Syndrome.
DeleteIn 2012, Pam Slater, missing her late friend, Maggie, decided to ditch the day-to-day of being a County Supe, remember when you look up RINO in the dictionary its Pam Slater Price's photo you will find, looked at her war chest of 'washing' Transient Occupancy Tax dollars, 'exchanging' them with political donations for 'Grants' made from the gigantic treasure chest of TOT from Unincorporated San Diego County (Most of Del Mar as we consider it and 50 times more in acreage and income generated) and after evaluating Steve Danon' s uninspired campaign and bank account, went looking for a Prisoner of Zenda imposter, almost a hostage to take her physical place on the County Board of Supervisors) but whom would exchange their future on the County Board for being a philosophical 'slave' to Pam and Herschel?
Guess we found out.
After several wise men and women turned her down, she approached Roberts: sort of like a very Scary Fairy Godmother, and said she could make him the Supe if he agreed to keep her entire staff and run everything by her before he took ANY action on almost anything.
For a year after the appointment/election, this plan/association worked, until John Weil, Pam's brilliant Chief of Staff broke under the weight/recogntion that Roberts didn't/doesn't have any political skills, yes, he can cut-a-ribbon with the best of them, but he absolutely does not have the 'killer' instinct necessary to 'lead' in the County.
So, if you cannot please your Scary Fairy Godmother, nor your staff, nor the other Supe staffs, you MUST go.
The central fact that Pam has no intention of ever vacationing when she can pull County strings with vigor and relish (And a bad-to-the-bone bedside manner) is one of the great mysteries in North County politics currently.
So, Mother has cut her apron-strings (Tony's too, so David is not alone) and Supe Roberts appears to be caught in a hybrid Jerry Lewis/Leatherface movie. Gone Supe? With Roberts as Pam's hubby in the storyline?
Who's the MacGuffin?
Whomever Pam thinks, why should things change now?
I thought she was pushed out by Danon and the party and then went to Roberts as retaliation.
DeleteNo?
No, Stocks was running his own reelection, the Brian Bilbray campaign AND the Danon campaign.
DeleteNo way was Pam going to allow Stocks to triumph over her domain, so she sought a surrogate and that person is Roberts. The three Stocks campaigns went down in flames.
Everything from Nov. 2012 was peachy for Pam until she took on Catherine Blakespear and her old staff balked at Roberts lack of abilities. Not to mention her desperate choice of Cameron last Fall.
9:49 AM
DeleteAre you a frustrated novelist?
9:49, Recovering from Haiku.
Deletehttp://www.760kfmb.com/story/12213540/state-watchdog-agency-says-bill-horn-mailer-violated-state-law?clienttype=mobile&redirected=true
ReplyDeleteRead the Roberts complaint. I'd say it's way worse than this Bill Horn complaint.
DeleteFor one thing, the Roberts complaint alleges tons of direct involvement in wrongdoing by Roberts himself -- with very specific, credible detail. That Horn complaint is an outside group.
WC, I don't agree. Follow the money on the stuff Horn has been up to over the years. The secretary and the house, the meeting with the developers before the vote, the list is a long one.
DeleteI'm not saying Roberts is a saint, there's plenty of dirt here, but so far not near enough to oust him.
Impeach
ReplyDeleteIf true, it's jail time. But no, we have Bonnie Cover-Up for your friends Dumanis. It's like anywhere else - an insider's club.
ReplyDeleteYep - Roberts is a Friend of Bonnie:
Deletehttp://www.supervisordaveroberts.com/meet-dave/
https://twitter.com/daverobertssd/status/408100167296880641
Bonnie D never brought charges against the kid that killed the pizza chef in 2007, Bonnie is a stooge.
DeleteShe went real easy on Dan Dalager too!
Deletehttp://encinitasundercover.blogspot.com/2011/02/dan-dalager-pleads-guilty.html
And Maggie, too!
DeleteWell as much as I dislike(d) Dalager and Houlihan, they never killed anyone....
DeleteSo what was the pizza chef story? I missed that
Deletekid went 80 mph and plowed into a young manager of a today's pizza and killed him. If nothing else involuntary manslaughter, but no. DA got the bump and the kid never did time.
DeleteSo here's the news story:
Deletehttp://m.utsandiego.com/news/2007/jan/09/encinitas-chef-was-loving-life-when-tragedy/
Were the kid's parents wealthy or politically connected?
Nor did Bonnie prosecute the kid that drove off of Del Dios highway while drunk and on drugs,killing 3 passengers. She is the worst DA since Miller.
DeleteTime will tell what's really going on here.
ReplyDeleteI've spent a small amount of time with Dave and his family, and he comes off as a kind and humble person, trying to do the right thing for the community. I hope the story goes in a different direction, but the initial direction is bad.
Let's not forget that many of Dave's staff have little allegiance to him. He made a deal to keep PSP staff in exchange for her endorsement and campaign machine support. Time will tell whether that plays a role in the perceptions and accusations of staff.
The complaint came from a Roberts hire (Diane Porter) who was hired 11 months ago. Prior to working for Supervisor Roberts, she served for 20 years in the US Navy.
DeleteAnother complaint came from a Roberts hire (Glynnis Vaughn), who was hired in December 2014. She worked in Seattle for nine years prior to that.She was hired to replace Pam Slater-Price's Chief of Staff.
Maybe this is a new problem or maybe it came to light once Roberts hired "his" people. These weren't PSP loyalists turning on Roberts
8:11 here.
DeleteYou're right. And the silence from Roberts office is really bad. This story has been building for a month. That's a lot of time to figure out how to respond.
At the very least, one would expect Roberts' Chief of Staff to issue a full-throated denial and attack on Ms. Porter. It gets Roberts counter-punch into the press without risk of subsequent facts proving the officeholder to be a liar. ("I never said that. Maybe someone else in my office did, you'd have to ask them about that.") It's an old trick. The thing is, Roberts can't direct the CoS to go take that bullet--because there are sworn depositions on the horizon, and that question is sure to be asked. The CoS has to act alone and just do it out of a sense of loyalty. The current CoS is new, and doesn't appear very eager to sacrifice his personal reputation for the boss.
In any case, without anyone stepping up to defend Roberts he'll be forced to do it himself, which is politically dangerous, because his own words will be used against him as the story plays out. I don't think this is the kind of story that will just blow over if he hunkers down and gives the media no more fuel--too much salacious detail.
I hate to say it, but I think he may be forced to resign soon. The SD Dems will want plenty of time to put this episode in the rear view and give another candidate clean air to run next year. The longer this festers, the more it plays in the memory of voters next year. After Filner, it starts to become a pattern tied to the party, not just the failings of an individual office holder. Expect the party bosses and donors to put on the pressure for Roberts to resign and rip the band-aid off quickly.
Just one FP's opinion.
9:16 here. Somebody is going to ask Dave Roberts is he had a romantic relationship with Harold Meza. If he didn't, he should answer that question on camera. If he did, he should answer that question in Francine Busby's office with his attorney present.
DeleteRoberts was never a party hack though. He might not care what happens to the SD Dems
He might not have deep loyalty to the local party, but he's smart enough to realize that he can't win reelection without their machine, people, and money.
DeleteIf it becomes clear that he can't win at the polls next year, then he's got to ask himself if serving out the last 18 months of his term is worth pushing on through the storm and dragging his family along for the ride.
He has the loyalty of the Rancho Santa Fe Democratic Club and the deep pockets which belong to that club. They'll stand by him no matter what Busby says. Roberts is the king Dem in these parts of the County and he knows it-- so does Busby
DeleteBusby can't beat her way out of the proverbial paper bag. Why she is still around is a mystery.
Delete11:20, Oh come on, Mrs. Cravitz. As far as an inappropriate relationship between he and anyone else, that's his and Wally's business, not the Union Tribune's or staff's. But hey, what's a 21st century scandal without prying open someone's most private parts and making suggestions?
Delete10:03. Obviously Roberts is lawyered up and that's the reason for his silence. The first thing a lawyer tells you to do in a high profile case is to clam up , unless it's Gloria Alllred who will hold a press conference with you by her side as you deliver a few orchestrated answers. Probably Roberts' first time at the judicial circus in San Diego. If I were him and he was innocent, I'd call a trusted journalist at the UT and straighten things out in a heartbeat.
Delete3:34, you are right and wrong.
DeleteThat a pol is engaged in hanky panky should not be newsworthy. However, he's a married homosexual with kids. It shouldn't matter, but there is a slice of the electorate that gets all nutty over that facet. More importantly, this was a direct subordinate, and there is an allegation that public funds were used in the pursuit of the relationship.
If true, it adds up to trouble.
I'm much more troubled by the arrogance, entitlement and abuse of public funds than by the alleged relationship with a subordinate.
DeleteWho cares if this guy was consensually schtupping his chauffeur? Why does our "public servant" HAVE a chauffeur?
Ms Porter seemed a lot more concerned about Roberts private life than his baseball cards.
DeleteIs that her worries or the MEDIA worries???? 2 different things
DeleteWasn't Roberts a Republican before he started running for office?
DeleteYou have to realize that politics come into everything, and the Republican party is gunning for Roberts in the election next year. This is just the first salvo.
DeleteMy guess is no resignation and we continue on.
-MGJ
So...this is a Vast Right Wing Conspiracy?
Delete3:49, Silly. You don't have to be Right Wing to be a developer!
DeleteJust ask your Union representative.
DeleteIn this morning's U-T was the first I'd heard of Robert's alleged relationship with his chauffeur. First, why would he or any Supervisor have a chauffeur as they get a $1,000 monthly auto allowance. Second, the use of public resources for campaigns is often a murky area. An aid can be using their office to stuff envelopes as long as they aren't on the clock (volunteer) and the envelopes and inserts weren't paid for with public funds. But messing around with your staff is a definite no-no.
ReplyDeleteAll those that resigned were redundant employees any way, good riddence to them. The tax payers have been saved a lot of money.....
ReplyDeleteRoberts sponsors a SB Little League baseball team, will those boys be wearing his t-shirts at the next game??
ReplyDeleteAre they the Switch Hitters?
Delete1:43 must be the fat joke guy.
DeleteRoberts is slow burning toast.
ReplyDeleteDave has done a lot of good for the communities her serves. What I cannot understand is why everyone is so eager to crucify him until all of the facts are in? If he had an affair, who cares? Misuse of public funds-I'll wait and see. Gray area because lots of politicians would qualify under scrutiny( not saying it's right, just saying a lot of politicians misuse public funds). Right here in Encinitas too. So what's left? 2 disgruntled employees? Perhaps there is a lot more but I prefer to give the man a chance before throwing him to the wolves.
ReplyDelete5:43, you're too level-headed for this blog.
DeleteAfter reading Ms Porter's complaint,
Ms Porter's mental problems are apparent from her need to seek psychiatric help. Whether they are a result of working with Roberts remains to be seen. Hell hath no fury like a disgruntled employee, and Porter's jealousy over Meza shines through her complaint brightly between the lines, as though her office position required more respect or attention than anyone else's. One thing we don't have access to at this point in time is Roberts rebuttal. A lot of what Porter relates is hearsay and the only thing good or bad we have in print from Roberts about her is that she's "FABULOUS!" as he wrote on her Valentine bouquet card. (Talk about everything you say being used against you!). Not a special fan of Roberts here or even a Democrat. But when complaints regarding anyone contain so much innuendo as though that's probable cause, lil' ole flags go up.
We're human and not perfect. Now if Ms Porter had something tangible for Roberts alleged outbursts, like an email or a tape/video recording, that would be evidence. Every time I've seen Roberts at civic functions, he's always been an upbeat and positive person with good humor. A bit of a ham too, but that goes with the territory. But too many times I've seen people slapped down at the microphone at city hall for "campaigning" when what they're saying was no different from what they've always said.
If she's a gold-digger, Ms Porter should drop her lawsuit against the county (punishing all of us) and sell those super-collectable baseball cards she's made infamous. I want one for my collection! (BTW, no costs for the 10,000 cards are listed anywhere in her complaint or who wrote the check, or did I miss it? A count of 10,000 anything sounds like a huge expenditure, but it only costs as little as $150 to print that many baseball cards. The backside of the card is curiously absent from the attachment. If there was a dumb type-o on it, that would be a good reason to want "make them disappear" and not want them distributed.)
5:58 PM affectionately yours,
DeleteDavie R.
The backside of the card is curiously present here:
Deletehttps://twitter.com/WendyNBCSD/status/598894485792100353
Not particularly exonerating.
5:43 PM
Delete"If he had an affair, who cares?" If it's with one of his employees then we all should care.
As soon as someone speaks up they must be "jealous"...... rolling my eyes..... this is why officials get to the white house. We crucify the whistle blower. Let me have to work with someone who gets to collect a paycheck and do zero work, i would speak up. Just so happens her speaking up has to be public. But if you read, she did try back in March to get this resolved. Also emails that are floating has complaints from Vaughan back in January of the "driving". So jealous????? hmmmmm bet you wouldn't have a co-worker like that and not speak up. IF he had to change his title and take on new roles after all this........... then obviously they tried to smooth something over or hide something. If you weren't doing anything wrong "harold's job" wouldn't have changed, it would have continued.
Delete9:35, Not saying Porter "had to be jealous" of the chauffer. But can't rule that out. Especially when going for the throat by publicly prying into other people's personal lives as a means to destroy them and/or Roberts' political influence at large. Politics is a dog eat dog world and there are more elements than the BIA that would be tickled to death to have Roberts off the Board of Supervisors. Just sayin'
Delete9:35, Not saying Porter "had to be jealous" of the chauffer. But can't rule that out. Especially when going for the throat by publicly prying into other people's personal lives as a means to destroy them and/or Roberts' political influence at large. Politics is a dog eat dog world and there are more elements than the BIA that would be tickled to death to have Roberts off the Board of Supervisors. Just sayin'
Delete11:23 Agreed, lots of "interested" parties here.
DeleteNOT even, 6:36
ReplyDeleteRoberts responds (sort of):
ReplyDeletehttp://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2015/05/14/supervisor-roberts-disheartened-on-sex-scandal-claims/
"According to documents obtained by NBC 7 Investigates, at least eight staffers have left the supervisor's office since January."
ReplyDeleteAppears to be more than one disgruntled employee.
Honesty and integrity - seriously lacking in most political figures.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that… I bet 90% can not even define integrity. What they know is psychopathic behavior.
DeleteFirst and foremost there would have to be some merit if this ended up in closed session. There would have had to been some merit for a vote to even happen. HR and the CAO wouldn’t have promised a new/different county position if there was nothing going on. Seems everyone knew it, couldn’t prove it and tried to correct it at multiple failed levels.
ReplyDeleteNow consider the board felt strongly enough about Roberts lying about “what the vote was for”. They could have simply left it alone and carried on business as normal. They haven’t publicly gotten involved. I am sure seeing his smugly claiming victory, all the while knowing that wasn’t the truth pissed a lot (4 to be exact) of people off. I would say this has more to it than we know.
I haven’t seen Ms. Porter claim an affair; relationship is a broad term that can mean lots of different things. The “sex scandal” was only mentioned by news articles to sell papers. They twist headlines for readers.
Now look at the staff that was pushed out (Dec-Feb), word is the new guys replacing them didn’t like to see them forced out. Most had too much to lose to even think about speaking up. They quietly tucked their tails and prayed for a decent gig to try and finish out a retirement.
I wouldn’t want my spouse, daughter, son or friend subjected to favoritism in the office, which can be a stressful environment. And this is why people don’t speak up, when they do we blame them. Imagine being the one who wants to speak up, scared to do so, forced to stay….. NO THANK YOU!
And so far Porter isn’t the only one who has stated this……..once again word on the street is that just about everyone on the staff felt it………. Just no guts or power to say it. Many outside of the board floor knew as well, it was a running joke about Dave and his Harold.
Jobs are hard to come by these days and people have families to feed. They saw what happened to a people with over 20 years there………..booted out. I am not sure I would have spoken up either, just ride it out…… you at least would know that in a few years something new would roll in.
Now for the emails, all county emails are auto-deleted after 60 days………. Hard to recover evidence the county destroys. IF you don’t save everything up front then you have to try and do a public records request, that = stalling and let more things delete or simply not get printed “oops our bad”. If you check how many emails Porter had printed when NBC requested them………. I asked………….. Over 8 VOLUMES double sided in 4-5 weeks time frame. That’s a lot of work period. Has anyone seen any “work” this Harold produced????? Yeah he seems like an opportunist who had no real skill set, enjoyed playing chauffer and would do what it took to keep the job.
Part 2........
DeleteAnd we all know that people use texts and phone calls to personal devices (Hillary) …….hmmmmm smart, but kinda shady! I am sure there is/was far more to this. Had one known to save it one would have more evidence!
Now the misuse of funds……really a chauffer???? Someone getting paid 47K to drive you around while you collect 1K a month to fund your personal vehicle????? THAT IS THE DEFINITION OF MISUSE! Yeah I have issues with that! Too many families here in San Diego survive on 1K a month….. this guy gets that to pay for a car????? Oh and we tax payers would have footed the bill for gas and vehicle maintenance.
Baseball cards………..hmmmmm so the staff told you don’t buy these, I am sure county counsel (being the smart lawyers they are) would have said don’t buy these…… and you still do. I don’t care if he spent $150 or 10K………. that is my taxes. Imagine the expenses he recklessly spent. I imagine they have plenty of petty cash for parking and things. Plus little perks of free this and free that…..keep it under the reportable amount and you are good.
For the money, both staff requested severance packages…… seems they tried the easy way. But if you push/ignore people will either let you walk over them or they will fight back. Had they not spoken up now, when would have been the time??? Once people start to get away with things they gradually get worse.
Maybe the fresh eyes was what the county needed, maybe they walked into a place they just refused to work in. Seems lots of examples connected to this claim. Will be interesting to see the next claim come forward! Vaughan already had one of sorts that mysteriously the county hasn’t provided the public.
Ramble much?
DeleteGet back to us when you have a coherent thought.
DeleteThis is the meandering inner monologue of an odd mind.
I prefer my "odd" mind to a "follower" mind any day!
DeleteBrilliant minds are always the odd ones.
Oh brother. I hope you didn't knock over your Nobel Prize reaching to type that.
DeleteAll brilliant minds may be odd, but not all odd minds are brilliant. Far from it.
I don't mean to concern you, 8:04, but your writing demonstrates tell-tale signatures of the Dunning-Kreuger Effect.
Deleteoh, aren't you cute??? so since I like to think things through, question things I must be unskilled.
DeleteWow, your taking this story a little too personal! You must be in someone's pocket also!
Reasons I personally have never worked in politics, your vision becomes far too cloudy to see there are always 2 sides to everything.
The problem in politics is not "recognizing that there are 2 sides to everything" - it's deciding on which 2 sides are important!!!
Delete- The Sculpin
Sculpin, the trouble is that, of the two sides, the path that Roberts has chosen is just a bit different than most...
Delete11:45 & 1:02, The problem with both of your assessments is that so far this is a one sided saga.
DeleteI can agree to that, what I don't want to see is "I took no part in anything"..................... if you have no part in anything going on in your office then why are you in office??? I hate the DENY DENY DENY.... we shall see
Delete3:14, Well, he's not going to deny making the baseball cards, unless someone else made them for him. For whatever reason however, he ended up thinking they weren't a good idea. Personally, I think its pretty cool. (Its weird why someone earlier here would WAY mis-quote to me what the backside of the card actually said when I asked). And he's not going to deny he made jokes with his staff "winking" and whatnot. And he's not going to deny that he and Harold thought their co-worker was FABULOUS! Although I doubt they feel that way today. No. I'll venture to say that's the last Valentine present she gets from either of them.
Delete4:39 I would dare say she wouldn't want any gifts........ and just because they gave something doesn't mean it was wanted. If your "gift" makes someone uncomfortable it is inappropriate.
DeleteHe has started to deny the cards..... says it was the 2 women who bought them.... we will see.
10:12, You're my kind of woman. 1. You don't fall for those never ending guilt trip greeting card scams corporations have seared into our conscience. 2. I won't have to buy you any gifts if we ever work together knowing about your private fear of presents. 3. I don't know your source for the rumor "He says the women bought the cards", but your "we will see" is at least a step in the right direction being optimistic. There may be hope for you yet. 4. I think no one now knows better than Dave and Harold just how inappropriate being nice to a certain co-worker can be. Or do you think they gave her flowers to piss her off? Now that would be cruel and unusual. How dare they. WHO do they think they are? Equals?
DeleteWhat a movie that would make though of a woman receiving flowers at work with a smile on her face, while the voice in her head echoes: "That gift will cost you a quarter-mill one day and be my ticket out of this hellish job!"
11:38; I think the issue of the flowers was that the note was signed "Love Dave and Harold" and that she was the ONLY person to receive in the office in front of everyone else. At least that is how I took it. If you purchase sign from just yourself (or add your actual spouse) and then don't send to just one person in front of their co-workers.
DeleteThe blaming the women was in news last night as an update.
I like (not) who WC - totally deletes all reference to Harwood.
ReplyDeleteObvious- that we all know who WC is and we know WC is afraid of the powers at the helm.
So much for free speech. That is the way of the world. Money talks and silences.
The reporting on this story has been poor. Saying, "his driver," is not enough. Is this a paid private employee, unpaid friend, or is this person on the county payroll?
ReplyDeleteRead the complaint. He was (is?) a county employee, hired by and reporting to Dave Roberts out of the discretionary budget each Supervisor gets for office staff.
DeleteHarwood is a complete tool and a destroyer of our town. If you see him at a council meeting, you know there's big development money at stake. He's the shadowing spectre behind the Stocks/Bonds/Gaspar axis....
DeleteI voted for Dave, and I like his voting record, representation, and work in the community.
ReplyDeleteYup, there's a BUT.
But I keep thinking back to a presentation he made before Encinitas City Council last year. I can't even remember the topic--might have been some kind of county grant program. What was memorable was his slideshow, which contained more than a dozen full-frame pictures, every single one of which featured Roberts' grinning mug glad handing some constituent or grant recipient. After the first few, I picked up on the theme, and thought to myself: self, that's awkwardly narcissistic. A reasonable person Watching the meeting on mute would have thought the topic of the presentation was Dave Roberts: Great Guy.
I'm not saying this little story is evidence of guilt or innocence in this current episode. Just another bit of context that stuck me as odd at the time.
Roberts is a media whore, who would no doubt like to move up the political ladder. If there's a camera, Roberts will find it. Should we toss him after this snafu? Wait until all the facts come in. The local Republican wonks have been after him from day one, but there are a lot of sources on a lot of these new allegations. I'm going to wait until more information comes to light, right now there's a lot of tit for tat without verification.
DeleteBill Horn has done much worse, on record, and we've been stuck with that corpulent bozo for 20+ years. It's all relative...
Did we mention the $2.2 mil Roberts just flicked in Cardiff's way is to force the Rail Trail downtown along Hwy 101, taking the East side parking and two north/south lane of traffic?
Delete2:54. Do provide W.C. with those maps, please. I find that hard to believe.
ReplyDelete"My team and I take great pride in providing outstanding service to all constituents of the Third District. In light of recent media coverage related to former personnel, I wish to assure the public that those matters have not impacted my accessibility or responsiveness, nor my determination to provide the best possible representation to the Third District. I have taken the actions necessary to strengthen my team, including hiring Mel Millstein as my Chief of Staff.
ReplyDelete"Specifically, I am disheartened to see the allegations contained in one former employee's complaint that was filed with the County on Wednesday. The claim contains many inaccuracies. I have wanted to respect the privacy of these former employees. However, should this matter advance further, I am confident the inaccuracies will be proven for what they are. As the allegations currently present a threat of litigation to the county, I cannot discuss them further at this time.
"I appreciate your confidence in me and not automatically jumping to conclusions before the facts are known. As I have said throughout my tenure, please contact my office if ever I may be of service to you.
"Sincerely,
Dave"
As far as I'm concerned, Dave is a good guy, a good public servant, and a good family man.
DeleteI don't listen to gossip and innuendo parlayed by meat puppets and conflicted media.
5:16 is quoted from Roberts' newsletter.
DeleteYethhhhhh!!
DeleteAnother case of guilty until proven innocent. What exactly has Dave done really that any of you can prove? And since it appears it's going to litigation, we may actually get to find out if there is any merit to the accusations of the two people he hired, not Pam. I intend to wait and see what happens before I decide he is a piece of shit. And, personally I have never met a politician who wasn't a narcissist. He or she may have started out with good intentions, but power corrupts so many people. Take, for example, a couple of current city council members that think money grows on trees. And, maybe it does, in their imaginary minds.
ReplyDeleteIs he taking refuge in Hillcrest?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/County-Supervisor-Dave-Roberts-Misused-Public-Funds-Claim-303673131.html?utm_source=Voice+of+San+Diego+Master+List&utm_campaign=27a37c9757-Morning_Report_format_updated_3_24_14_new_replicat&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c2357fd0a3-27a37c9757-81844849&goal=0_c2357fd0a3-27a37c9757-81844849
ReplyDeleteNobodys going to type all that out - make it linkable or forget it.
DeleteAre you familiar with copy and paste?
DeleteIt's one of the most fundamental aspects of using a computer.
11:02, The first and only comment so far on that report is "Big deal!". I agree. Feel sorry for Ms. Portors' complicated life. Glad she's seeking mental help.
ReplyDeleteWow, so she must be the problem Huh??? Wow!!!!!
DeleteAnd making fun of mental illness too, you do know that attending counseling doesn't mean you have mental illness???
Misuse of your position is misuse, regardless of amount. Unless stopped it continues and gets worse. NOT A BIG DEAL?????..... by the way can I borrow $1000.........i mean since it's not a big deal.
Plus we haven't seen ALL the evidence I am sure.
5:44. Nope. There's nothing funny about mental illness, but some of us have had to work with or have married loose cannons. Sounds like you havent, but life is long. If a politician does not promote himself, he's not a politician for long. At best chump change to produce baseball cards is at the core of this sensational complaint. But notice how "10,000" is tossed out there instead of the cost of the cards - and we still don't know who paid for them Or who's idea they were. 2nd item of her concern looks like her disdain for handsome harold: the Lyle Waggoner of the office and fun source of innuendo. hey, she's pulling out all the stops to cost him his job too, and the worst he did was sign a freaking card for her. Which brings us to her concern for dave's husband and spicy suggestion of infidelity. Hey, maybe she could win and not only get Dave fired; harold terminated; wally divorced, but get a $250,000 consolation prize from us taxpayers to go with the 10,000 baseball cards she jacked.
DeleteAnd if it is proven that there were inappropriate things going on?? Just keep your mouth shut so nobody gets in trouble?
DeleteNo I haven't had to marry a lose cannon.
I am sure all of these questions will be answered. I for one would like to see that before the attacking of the whistle blower.
11:17 Then I'll eat my words, appologize to blogdom and send Porter flowers myself. (sans card of course). But she's the one launching the salvo. I'm just speculating because Dave's the silent lamb in this slaughter.
Delete2:34 takes the PR spin and demonize-the-messenger approach.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/government/county-supe-would-get-lifelong-pension-even-if-he-quit-now/?utm_source=Voice+of+San+Diego+Master+List&utm_campaign=9ca0af34ac-Morning_Report_format_updated_3_24_14_new_replicat&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c2357fd0a3-9ca0af34ac-81844849&goal=0_c2357fd0a3-9ca0af34ac-81844849
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine your boss hiring his "friend" and then that "friend" was allowed to be insubordinate to their superiors and co-workers? On top of it the "friend" has his name next to the boss when sending flowers to a superior co-worker?
ReplyDeleteOne woman has twenty years in the military one other was the San Diego representative to the Governor. From what I understand Vaughn brought in people to educate the office on what was legal and appropriate but Dave and his "friend" didn't want to play by the rules. Of course they'll attack the woman, look at the Filner scandal and any rape case... best defense is an offense, but I don't think this will hold up. One woman served 20 years in the military and the other was totally over qualified to work with these idiots... The woman are speaking up about work and legal issues and now Dave's attack dog will start in about the woman's personal life... note the lack of attacks on the work these woman did, it will be personal, or they'll say everything was their idea... typical deflection tactics.
Word on the street is that Vaughn was offered the package to sweep under the carpet, the board didn't play along. Roberts and county HR are the ones who have messed up and the county will owe these workers for stupidity and mishandling of the case in the first place.
You and your word on the street crap. There's only one woman complaining here. The second one in question probably didn't want to get into Porter's quagmire of a weak case. If signing a Valentine card for a co-worker is insubordination, Porter must think she's still in the military.
ReplyDeleteI think you are missing the point. What if you got a Valentine card and it was signed, "Love, Mother and Joe (her gardener). And she was still with your father and Joe was hardly doing any gardening anymore. Then when you brought it up to your mother, she said to, "Leave Joe alone".
ReplyDeleteI think they were saying it was inappropriate. I believe there might be a separate claim that Harold was insubordinate to other staff members.
The Valentine card is only significant in regard to the larger issue of what Harold's job and relationship to Dave Roberts was.
There is always a chain of command in any office and anytime the "boss" favors a "lower" employee over his management staff, it's not only a red flag, but also shows poor leadership and causes low moral among all the staff members.
4:15,
ReplyDeleteUm, maybe where you're from they have a section at Hallmark stores labeled "Valentines For Sons", so its kind of hard for me to walk through your example.
I fully understand pecking order in the workplace and that's a healthy thing, but I didn't read anywhere that Meza had either ever given Porter orders, or had not done anything she had requested of him. I think your comparison of Meza to a gardener has racist overtones. Maybe you've hit the nail on the head and that's the actual root of Porter's complaint.
There's been no mention that Meza was also Roberts' stand in when he couldn't make some meetings, not just his driver and he would speak on Roberts' behalf. Of course there's a chain of command in the office. That doesn't mean you have to be an asshole when someone you see as hired help gives you a gift with a complimentary note, no matter who else's name is on the card. This goes far and beyond "looking a gift horse in the mouth". I hate to see anyone in anguish, but I do think Ms. Porter might be her own problem and maybe she should back off and take some nice pills - if thats what it takes to be a team player at her next job. But she's burned her bridge to another county job and likely the reason HR refused to transfer her.
I’m sorry your mom never gave you a Valentine card, CVS carries them for all family members.
ReplyDeleteI believe HR wanted Porter to go back to Roberts office but her husband was being deployed and didn't want her to go through any more abuse while he was away. Perhaps just a concerned husband. I think under the Whistle-blowers law, HR was remise in telling her to go back. That's why she resigned.
If you read through the legal complaints to the county from both Porter and Vaughn you’ll see that this is about much more than a Valentine Card.
Porter:
https://kpbs.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/news/documents/2015/05/14/Porter-claim-redacted.pdf
Vaughn:
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/2nd-Claim-Brings-New-Allegations-Against-County-Supervisor-Dave-Roberts-304673051.html
So now two former employees are suing and we may not be finished yet…
The attack dog has been hired by either Roberts or the Dem party, so now it will probably get ugly. First Filner and now Roberts… sad.
That's ok, 9:56. I've never felt short changed not getting a Valentine card from my mother or father. If Hallmark thinks its a good idea to celebrate romance among family members who are not spouses, who am I to stand in their way? Maybe Hallmark should also post a warning on the back of all card saying: "It is suggested that insubordinate body men, gardeners and certain races should never give cards to their superiors.". At least here in San Diego.
ReplyDeleteThese two women don't care about ruining Roberts or Meza's personal and professional lives. But hey, what are divorces all about anyway? They're going to give a gay guy a taste of what half of the straight men in California have to endure and drag his man Friday down in the process. It makes me wonder how many times Porter and Vaughan have been married so far?
Calling Roberts' attorney an "attack dog" is pretty funny, since the bitches are the only ones with blood in their mouths so far.
Thanks for the Vaughan complaint, but this case isn't going to get ugly. It already is. It won't match the level of Filner or Cosby, but that's lil' ole San Diego for ya. What a couple of gold-diggers targeting the county. The only reason they aren't asking millions is because Gloria Allred would be knocking at their doors for national attention (not to mention a hell of a lot more money than is being requested). At least Porter granted a little interview. Still, there is no mention of the price of the baseball cards or proof for who bought them. A cheap expense does not a good case make, so they throw around the large quantity of "10,000 cards" instead. Magicians, attorneys, marital arts teachers, grifters and some sensational journalists call that "redirecting".
Was it illegal for Roberts to hire a "body man". No. It was all above the table.
Was it a mistake for Meza to sign a Valentine card for a superior supremacist? Yes.
Was Roberts a jerk to his employees behind the scenes? Show us. 8 employees resigning does tend to slant that way though, huh? Or were some of those retirees and we're not getting the full picture once again? Time will tell.
Personally, I think we all should file a class action suit against Hallmark for creating 6 billion dollars worth of guilt annually for 50 years. Not to mention emotional damage they've caused for people not wanting to receive them.
I think the cards cost around $997.00, not a ton of money as those things go. I think it was a question of using county funds or personnel for campaigning, which he's accused of doing. There is a big grey area and broken down may not add to much, but over all I think he may be in trouble on that front.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand no other supervisor has a full time driver and full time county car, then takes a $1,000 per month personal car allowance. There are times when supervisors will have a driver for special occasions, they certainly aren't spoon-feeding the driver at a social event. hahaha or maybe they are!
Roberts' spokesman Gary Gartner, a crisis communication expert. He's not the attorney, he's the attack dog, bark
It will get uglier...
3:56, Oh come on. The spoon fed incident was a joke that the women didn't like. And the Valentine card was a humorous compliment equally unappreciated. Show me a gay guy that doesn't like innuendo and I'll show you a latent heterosexual. Show me a woman who doesn't like gay humor in the office and I'll show you two of them who will make mountains of molehills and ask the county for $700,000 compensation. But where did you get that specific cost of $997 for the approximate cost for the cards? That's over three times what it should have cost, but that's government spending for you if its true.
DeleteThe question isn't if Dave is the only Supe who has a driver or not. The question is: is that illegal? Evidently not.
8:21, "The guy Roberts hired was an IDIOT!!! He sounded and looked HORRIBLE."
Maybe you don't like suits from the Men's Warehouse or think Mexican accents don't work well in the Supervisor's office. Everyone's welcome to have an opinion.
And yes, once again, it was a suggestive joke. Inappropriate? Probably. And probably not the worst example of inappropriate humor in official emails, but pretty light-weight. Traveling with a buddy onec, we got a room. The clerk looked at us (two men) and said "One bed or two?" I said "TWO beds please!" then I turned to my friend and said: "We can push them together later." They laughed. I just hope now that the motel guy didn't have to quit his job from the shocking remark.
One the bright side, Dave saved taxpayers $200 + per night sharing a room with his driver - but no one will want to add all that up!
I think a lot of people are basing the "big claims" on what the media picks up on and not the actual claim or evidence.
ReplyDeleteThe guy Roberts hired was an IDIOT!!! He sounded and looked HORRIBLE.
The biggest thing that stands out is once Vaughan left, Roberts then took to harassing Porter to get her to lie on thing she knew.
Plus there was much more damaging text mentioned at the press conference, Roberts stated he would share a bed with Harold. Then the IDIOT mentioned above tried to say "it was all a joke"................ so I guess any boss can send sexual based texts as long as they are a joke???
I don't think Porter knew the laws in regard to what was legal and un-legal activities in a supervisors workplace (campaigning, making people join outside clubs on their own dime, etc.). It seems Vaughan hired a group to come in and educate the staff, that's when things started to turn sour. The lap dogs still did Robert's dirty stuff, but the educated staff wouldn't play ball anymore. He tried to go around Vaughan's back. We'll see if the other staff members speak out in regard to this also.
ReplyDeleteI agree, about the guy Roberts hired, but he's a friend (Lion's Club buddy).. Roberts seems to get along fine with the "friends" he hires, has a problem with the educated professional staff members.
10:49, Time will tell. I just have a problem with mob mentality when one-sided cases like this one are sensationalized and this one takes the cake for that. He ain't Filner. The harassment issue looks like hearsay; the baseball cards a token excessive expenditure that is the visual hook for this story. (Someone obviously thought it was a good idea to produce them, then for whatever reason Dave had 2nd thoughts and may have wanted to recycle them. It wasn't like he instructed the woman to make the receipt for their production disappear); The Valentine / class warfare issue is ridiculous and shows nothing but contempt a worker had for her "inferior". The spoon fed meal is also ridiculous and probably lasted for a few seconds but it might as well have been a three course meal. The suggested sexual relationship is irrelevant, but thrown into the mix for spicing up a bland case. Reads like the cover of the National Enquiror. Now if there really was harassment, let's see proof. There are some people who just don't work well with others for whatever prejudice, no matter how edjumacated they are. I mean, how much different would complaints from two white supremacists be if they could no longer stand to work with a gay guy and a Mexican?
ReplyDelete