Opponent requests another Ashbaugh investigation

October 30, 2012

John Ashbaugh

San Luis Obispo City Councilman John Ashbaugh is facing another accusation of financial misconduct in his bid for reelection.

Ashbaugh, who received a $252 fine Friday for accepting a campaign contribution above the $200 limit, filed a campaign disclosure Thursday that reported a $1,200 contribution from Full of Life Flat Bread Pizza Company in Los Alamos. Matt Strzepek, candidate for city council and one of the four complainants against Ashbaugh on the previous campaign finance issue, requested Monday that City Attorney Christine Dietrick investigate the reported $1,200 contribution.

“I am concerned about what appears to be a pattern of disregard for election law by John Ashbaugh, who is aided by not one but two campaign treasurers,” Strzepek wrote. “Furthermore, I am very concerned about John Ashbaugh’s ability to oversee an almost $100 million city budget.”

But, Ashbaugh contends the latest reported wrongdoing was merely a filing mistake. Ashbaugh said he purchased a certificate for $1,200 in catering from KCBX radio station during its March fundraising auction. He then donated it to his campaign, he said.

Ashbaugh, who has admitted to sending several campaign related emails from his city account in addition to accepting the excessive donation from County Supervisor Adam Hill, voted three times to establish the current contribution limit of $200.

In addition to documenting the reported $1,200 contribution to Ashbaugh’s campaign, Strzepek also asked the city attorney to investigate a $250 donation on Mayor Jan Marx’s latest campaign filing. Marx, who is also running for reelection, likewise said that she reported the contribution incorrectly and that it did not exceed the $200 limit.


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There have been a lot of allegations that Kevin Rice is the man behind most of the pro-Kevin Rice/anti-Ashbaugh comments on this site.


So, how about someone, ANYONE who is a Kevin Rice supporter to use his or her real, verifiable name and come to this site and tell us you are truly supporting Rice and will vote for him?


Is there ANYONE (other than Kevin Rice) who will go on record with their real name pledging to vote for him? ANYONE?


You’ve got things reversed.


How about those making the claim “that Kevin Rice is the man behind most of the pro-Kevin Rice/anti-Ashbaugh comments on this site” provide some proof that it is indeed him?


The onus of proof rests with the person making the claim.


I don’t know if all of the accusations against Kevin Rice are true. But what I do know is that we can’t seem to find ANYONE who will come on this forum and publicly state that they think he is a worthwhile candidate for any public office. So far NOT ONE PERSON will not identify himself as a supporter of the Rice candidacy. NOT ONE. Not even Rice’s parents or siblings!


Remind me who you are, Wiseguy?


Here is my take on this Ashbaugh mess:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K60GOsT5bKQ&feature=youtu.be


The video is a bit stiff but you it sure makes a point (or three). I am surprised that they haven’t threatened a slander lawsuit.


I wonder if someone could do one like it featuring Ferrara, Wallace and his attorney about their shenanigans?


Ashbaugh and Marx performance is like watching the Keystone Cops.


These recurring excuses that $1,200 and $250 are not really taking contributions over the $200 limit look fishy. But whether or not Ashbaugh and Marx took larger contributions than they voted to permit other candidates to accept, when they look fishy preparing simple campaign finance reports it shows that they are not competent to manage San Luis Obispo. Generating division, wasting money on vanity projects, and wasting money on litigation to defend their “right” to abuse the homeless are just more expensive examples of Ashbaugh’s and Marx’s damaging management style.


We need Competence on the City Council, not excuses. We need to put People above policy. Matt Strzepek would be superior on City Council compared to either Ashbaugh or Marx. Not only does he demonstrate competence, but Strzepek needs the $1,000/month job and would work hard for us. Remember the other Council Members who’ve been writing opinion pieces in the media asking to raise the pay to $40,000 per year.


John Ashbaugh’s nutty professor act is really getting old. If he donated $1,200 to his own campaign, then why did he report that the $1,200 donation came from a pizza company? Something fishy is going on here. The guy has two campaign treasurers and no one caught the “filing mistake”? I’m not buying his flimsy excuse. This is the fifth, I repeat fifth, violation of election law by John Ashbaugh in about as many days. He has shown a willingness to violate the public’s trust time and time and time and time and time again. Clearly John Ashbaugh is unfit to serve a second term on the city council. Please voters, send him to the curb with his unhidden garbage cans. Maybe Ashbaugh drank his illegal wine from Adam Hill while eating his illegal pizza.


The City of San Luis Obispo thinks it is so superior to other cities in California. Ken Hampien and Bill Statler headed to City of Bell to help them clean up their financial problems well right here in paradise both these characters pumped up their retirement pay and benefits by giving generous pay packages to the emplyee groups so they could turnaround and boast their own pay (management were the only employees to get free health care for life) , helped to select a loser (Katie) to make them look better as they walked away. Council/Mayor and top management are all intwined. The corruption is a mess and jan Marx and her indecent behavior regarding with the Copelands and their special deals and against daliddo were enough to to allow this flip flop to represent our fine City. She should have been arrested for her shenaganes with her illegal behavior AND SHE IS AN ATTORNEY and should of known better, oh yea, she is an attorney it’s OK, right Christine! All the incumbents need to go and we need deceit hard working citizens.


Let’s get real, please. If ever there was such thing as a “minor accounting error”, this would be the perfect example. Campaign/election laws are notoriously complicated and errors like this are easy to make. To equate something like this with a failure of ethics is absurd and as unfair as claiming someone is morally corrupt because they drove one mile an hour over the speed limit.


What this tells us is that Ashbaugh’s opponents are desperate and are the exact type of loud mouth “look-at-me” politicians who turn council meetings into circuses of finger-pointing, yelling, nit-picking and legal threats aimed more at pushing some personal political philosophy rather than getting down to the practical work of making the city run properly.


Actually, Matt Strzepek spoke with class and offered practical solutions at city council meetings. In contrast, Jeff Aranguena, John Ashbaugh’s running mate, didn’t attend most meetings and didn’t speak at the one or two at which he arrived late.


What the heck is a “running mate”?


Ashbaugh hand-picked Aranguena to help him knock Carpenter out of the race. They are running as a team. The Democratic party machine is putting all their money behind Ashbaugh, Aranguena, and Marx. The race is rigged by the Democratic party machine. Vote for independents this year! Independents are accountable to the people, not the party machine.


Wow, we are all concerned with Ashbaugh’s discovered misconduct! How much money has or hasn’t he taken or what hasn’t been documented in his campaign log? Who would document bribes and/or excess contributions in log? He is a professor with apparently questionable ethics. The shady misconduct of City Administration and some highly questionable staff at the City has been revealed over and over again in the local news, so why would anyone be surprised that a councilman would partake in questionable conduct also. He wrote the law, than violates it! Employees commit felonies and misdemeanors on the job daily. The City had an employee a few years ago who solicited an undercover cop for prostitution at a local hotel, a mayor play both sides of the table in the Dalidio scandal, an employee steal from the City, an employee grow marijuana on a city facility, employees dump toxic waste at the back of the City yard, employees routinely falsify paperwork, another city employee go postal on facebook and violate other employees religious rights, an employee follow a handicap person home and beat them up, an employee charge for the services he gets paid to do by the City, an employee beat up a fellow bar patron, two employees get prosecuted for smuggling contraband into the US, a building official openly engage in anti-semantic comments and conduct and much more. The one common theme is that most of these employees have been rewarded for their abhorrent and criminal misconduct. These are just the things we know about. How often are building permit fees waived for special friends of the council to benefit the community? How often are zoning regulations re-interpreted to benefit a councilman’s cash buddy to benefit the community? How often are rules bent to assist special developers? When is enough corruption at City hall enough? Unfortunately, the City of Bell, City of Vernon and City of San Luis Obispo have much in common.


I agree with you on most points but I did not know that “anti-semantic” comments were wrong. I have been know to speak out against semantics (when it is used by lawyers, politicians and pundits to spin reality). You didn’t happen to mean “anti-semitic” did you?


Let’s really fine him this time. Maybe $253.


Ashbaugh should be fined $3,000, which is three times the amount that the contribution exceeded election law.


Christine she don’t like it,

(Says it’s not kosha)

Rockin’ the Ashbaugh,

Rockin’ the Ashbaugh.


Ah, come on racket. You stopped at only one verse..