Cerritos Republican Club News
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January through July 4, 2013
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Let Freedom Ring Celebration July 4, 2013
This year was the 40th anniversary of the Let Freedom Ring Committee (LFR) which assists in putting on the Let Freedom Ring celebration. Former members of this Committee were invited to participate in the celebration. During the official ceremony the current and former members were introduced, and they participated in the national bell ringing ritual. Current LFR committee members included CRC members Soo Yoo, Janice Dawson, and John Dawson. CRC member Candy Yee is a former LFR member.
At the celebration, the Cerritos Republican Club operated a game booth. Among the members who volunteered in this booth were Becky Lingad, Lew and Terri Gentiluomo, Uri Leder, Noel Jaimes, Marge Fassbinder, Candy and Jim Yee, Louise Griffith, Joanne Witt, Matt Kauble, Ben Campos and his 2 daughters, and John and Janice Dawson.
Here are some pictures taken by Candy and Jim Yee at the Let Freedom Ring celebration:
CRC General Meeting June 11, 2013
At the June 11 General Meeting, the guest speaker was Brad Dacus of Pacific Justice Institute, who spoke about cases before the Supreme Court and bills before the California Legislature.
California’s Prop 8 (which declares only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized) was struck down by the Supreme Court. Pacific Justice Institute will immediately begin a signature campaign to revoke the ruling. This decision was not appealed by state attorney general.
Brad discussed the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA), a federal act which specified that “marriage” means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife. One may argue that DOMA was depriving the equal liberty of couples of the same sex. Proponents of DOMA argue that in the 14th amendment equality was meant to be for the slaves/people of color; not special "interest/social" groups.
In DOMA. there are several scenarios that the Supreme Court is addressing. One:-ALL types of couples can legally marry; if they make this decision they would be known as the DOMA court a legacy akin to Roe v Wade
OR Two: Feds can recognize the homosexual partners, but the STATES could still define marriage the way the will of the people within that state decide.
Affirmative Action: It is a 50 year old law, but it is not going to go on forever. It violates the equal protection clause of the constitution.
DNA Collection: violates the 4th amendment.
SB1172, which forbids Sex Orientation Therapy for minors who are considering a change in sexual orientation, became effective on January 1, 2013. PJI asking for a 30 day injunction.
Pending AB1266 (GID) Gender Identity Disorder: allows kids to use opposite restroom, locker room if they feel like the other gender that day. Now in the state senate for consideration.
SB323 Boy Scout Law: lose tax exemptions if troops do not allow gay leaders.
CRC General Meeting May 14, 2013
At the May 14 General Meeting, the guest speaker was Phil Hawkins, Director of the Central Basin Municipal Water District (CB), who talked about water issues involving the Central Basin and the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD).
In 1959 the Central and West Basin Associations proposed the formation of the WRD which would be responsible for providing clean groundwater for what are now the Central and West Coast Basin Municipal Water Districts (which cover southern Los Angeles county). Voters approved this new entity.
The WRD is supposed to maintain the water level in the basin within a certain level. If it goes below the minimum, then the walls of the basin will dry up and crumble. Also seawater may contaminate the groundwater. That level is measured once a year. Water is ordered once a year in September by all utilities. Then WRD calculates how much water must be purchased to fulfill the needs and maintain the water level. CB says that WRD has not been replenishing the water sufficiently. WRD claims it has. So a lawsuit ensued.
WRD charges a replenishment assessment (RA) for water pumped out by utilities. In FY2010, it was $181.85 per acre-ft. For FY2012 and FY2013 the RA is $244 and $268 per acre-ft. respectively. Currently the West Basin pays about $10 million a year and CB pays $40 million. In September 2010, the cities of Cerritos, Downey, and Signal Hill filed suit against WRD charging that WRD illegally raised the RA when it did not ask for responses from all interested parties. They are asking for a refund of the illegal increases. They also charged that WRD raised the RA unfairly to subsidize the costs of groundwater cleanup and replenishment in the West Coast Basin. The Court decided with the cities. The cities sought refunds covering 2007-2011 totaling about $19 million. WRD contended it should be limited to 2011. In April 2011, the Superior Court decided for the cities and ordered WRD to return the RA's. In July 2011, the CB filed on behalf of the other cities for similar refunds totaling more than $80 million.
In April 2012, Downey, Signal Hill, Pico Rivera, and Bellflower did not pay the water assessments to WRD, because they said that the new assessments were illegal. Instead they put them into an escrow account. WRD filed suit against those cities for not making the payments and threatened to cut off the water supplies for those cities. WRD lost again.
Water storage is another issue. CB maintains that excess rainwater can be stored in the basin for later use by the utilities. WRD maintains that the water belongs to WRD. So the court has been asked to decide how the water can be removed from storage.
Another less known fact is that the segment of the 105 freeway between the 605 and 710 freeways was built below the water table. Caltrans has spent over $60 million on underground repairs and over $40 million on drains and water pumps to keep the rising water table from undermining the freeway. Lots of clean groundwater is pumped to the ocean annually.
CRC General Meeting April 9, 2013
Our April General Meeting was held at BJ's Restaurant in Cerritos. On April 9 the General Meeting was held at the BJ's Restaurant in Cerritos. The guest speaker was Jack Guerrero who described his path to being elected a Councilman in Cudahy.
Jack is the son of hard working Mexican immigrants who instilled in him respect for education early in his life. By age 15, he enrolled at Cal State Los Angeles for university coursework to supplement his high school education at Bell High School. He told us that it was hectic taking a bus back and forth between his home and Cal State LA. Thinking back, he was amazed that his parents allowed him to make this journey often returning late at night. After high school, he attended Stanford University and then earned his MBA at Harvard University.
Mr. Guerrero worked in the private sector at KPMG, Ernst & Young, and American Express. In 2010 he returned to the Los Angeles area to be close to his family. His mother had passed away and he moved in with his father.
In 2012 Jack ran for 63rd Assembly District. Education was his primary issue. He believed that education funds need to be managed responsibly and that the focus of the education system needs to be on core academic disciplines and not on wasteful social experiments. He supports teacher evaluation that values results over seniority. Jack qualified for the November elections. His campaign budget was $1,500 vs $882,267 raised by his opponent. He lost to Anthony Rendon.
When Jack was asked about his being a Republican in the South Gate-Lynwood Patch, he answered, "I also make no secret about my Republican Party affiliation. 
Since becoming political conscious as a young boy, I have always been drawn to the party of Abraham Lincoln, Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. I continue to be inspired by the message of liberty, free markets, personal responsibility, limited government, and the idea that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can be successful in this country – the greatest and most generous the world has ever known."
Mr. Guerrero was appointed to Cudahy City Council in August 2012. Then he ran for election in March 2013. The only Republican in this non-partisan race, he ran in an alliance with a Democrat and an Independent. All three won, and on April 2 he was selected Mayor.
The two pictures of the event were taken by Noel Jaimes, Hospitality Chair.
CRC General Meeting March 12, 2013
At the beginning of the March 12 General Meeting, Carol Chen and George Ray thanked the Club for supporting them in their successful campaign to win the two seats on the Cerritos City Council. Members in attendance posed for a picture with both winners.
Then a panel of local businessmen consisting of Naresh Solanki, Allen Wood, George Ray, and Rick Royse responded to questions posed by Matt Kauble. Here is a sampling of the questions and responses:
Tell us about your business (or businesses) and what industry (or industries) you are involved in and interact with. Naresh is the owner of ten independent supermarkets with 600 employees. Allen is in the property management and leasing industry. George is the Chairman of the Board of LeFiell Manufacturing Company which employs 110 people. LeFiell fabricates precision tubular parts for the aerospace industry. Rick is the owner of Ironwood RV Storage and Artesia Fertilizer company.
Given that we are in tax season, how has the rise in taxes both from the passage of Proposition 30 and the tax increases from the Federal Fiscal Cliff impacted your businesses or the industries you are involved with? Allen said that businesses are moving out of California. George said that they have not affected his business but they greatly impact their employees. Rick, with only five employees, already provides healthcare for them. In his RV storage facility he has seen what used to be a waiting list of 80 go to vacancies of 25 due to people moving out of California. Naresh sees no effect on his company.
Employees via workman’s comp, payroll taxes, salaries and benefits tend to be the largest costs for most businesses, how are laws focused on employees impacting your businesses or the industries you are involved with? George said that benefits are already at 50% for LeFiell's employees and worker's compensation and medical benefits ($1.3 million per year) are big expenses. Rick already spends $5000 per month for each person. Naresh sees worker's compensation going from $689K to $900K, which is a very large problem for his company since the profit margin on groceries is already very low. He also sees Proposition 65 on food labeling as another burdensome law. Allen already sees that for every $100 in pay, there will be a cost of $50 for worker's compensation.
Let’s now shift this discussion to regulations, how are the state and federal regulations impacting your businesses or industries? Rick told about how the AQMD seems to come up with more and more regulations (many of which are ridiculous) which add tremendous costs to his fertilizer business. As an example, for his tree grinding machine, there is now a regulation on the maximun amount of dust generated. Now he has to buy equipment to measure and other equipment to abate the dust. Between the California Air Resources Board and Environmental Protection Agency, he has a hard time keeping up with regulations that affect his business.
What other concerns I have not asked about does your businesses and industries face and how do those concerns impact your businesses and the industries you are involved in? All panelist were concerned by the rising fuel costs. George is also concerned about finding and hiring workers with the skills needed for his company. The education system is failing in this regard. George also pointed out that the trend to use corn for biofuel has raised the cost of corn for human and farm animal consumption. This then leads to higher costs for all kinds of food and the transporting of all goods.
Where do you see your businesses and industries in the next ten years? Naresh is very concerned that he might not be able to continue in his business, because of the extremely high competition from large companies like Walmart and Target which are now selling groceries. Allen was frank in saying that his industry is not a good one to stay in. He also pointed out that at one time, small businesses were responsible for employing 20,000 new employees per month but now Californis is losing a lot of small businesses that are going out of business or out of state. George was the only optimist. He believes that his company will ride out the current downturn as it has in the past using its survival tactics. His is the only turbine engine shaft manufacturer left. Rick lamented that there's no more clean dirt left for his fertilizer business. He may be looking into moving to Arizona.
CRC General Meeting February 12, 2013
At the February General Meeting, the guest speaker was Charles Kim, one of the founding members of the Korean American Coalition. He spoke about how the Korean American population has gradually changed from Republican to Democratic.
In the 1980s many Koreans immigrated to the United States. They were the hard working parents who valued education and strong family traditions. In 1982 around 3000 Koreans registered as voters with Republicans outnumbering Democrats by 5-2. These parents put their children through universities where the children were exposed to the more liberal Democratic ideals by their liberal leaning professors. Many of these young people became Democrats. And now the Korean American Democrats outnumber their Republican counterparts (even in the Korean American Coalition) and that's the way it has been ever since.
The Korean American Coalition was formed in 1983 to encourage Koreans to become more civic and legislative aware and enter into the political arena. They want to make sure that Korean American interests are represented and to develop community leaders. This organization is now national with many chapters.
Charles was asked what can Republicans do to win back Korean Americans? He pointed out that Democrats will hug you and welcome you. Republicans tend to stand back and look at you, not exactly extending a warm welcome. We must be more friendly. Charles presented the challenge to Republicans to bring Asian Americans into the party. They are ready and willing but have to be welcomed. Give a genuine hug. Tell them what Republicans stand for, and, guess what, our ideals are similar to theirs.
Charles pointed out that the Asian American community has a lot of potential donor support. As an example, in just one Asian American fundraiser for Al Gore, John Huang was able to bring in $1.1 million.
CRC General Meeting January 8, 2013
At the January General Meeting, the guest speaker was Jeremy Yamaguchi, Councilmember of the Placentia City Council. He is one of the youngest elected official in California and the youngest in Orange County. Being an Eagle Scout and having served in many community activities, Jeremy was able to utilize his many contacts in garnering the most votes in the November 2008 Placentia Municipal election.
Jeremy talked about his campaign. Many times he had friends who introduced him to the people in their neighborhoods. Being an Eagle Scout and having served in many other community affairs and voluntary work made him a highly desirable candidate. He related one comment he heard from a person he met in his first campaign. "Son, I have shoes older than you." This drew a few chuckles from the audience. After he was elected, he told us that his father was a Placentia police officer and that, as the Mayor, he had the task of signing his father's paycheck. This drew more chuckles.
Jeremy also talked about his earlier attempts to win office. In his elementary school, he was running for President and wanted to stand out. When it was his turn to speak, he cracked an egg on his head and told the students to vote for the one who cracked an egg on his head. Unfortunately he didn't win. In middle school, pouring Coke on his head also didn't work. He did learn that, if at first you don't succeed, you're normal. Jeremy talked about how he was introduced to the Republican Youth Associates program and learned to appreciate Republican ideas. Anyway, as has been said, he won a Placentia City Council seat.
In his first year in office Jeremy played a crucial role in drafting and adopting Placentia’s first mission and vision statement. “The City Council is committed to keeping Placentia a pleasant place by providing a safe family atmosphere, superior public services and policies that promote the highest standards of community life.” In his third year, his fellow City Council members elected him Mayor. Just before he earned his Political Science degree at Cal State Fullerton.
Jeremy talked about Placentia's $2 billion ditch scandal in the late 1990s. It was a project to build a train track literally in a ditch so that automobile and truck traffic could cross over the track without having to stop. Hundreds of millions in federal aid never came through. The City spent millions, and, with its reserves depleted, the OnTrac project was stopped. What a debacle for a city with a budget of $30 million!
Jeremy believes in equality in opportunity and not equality of outcome. We all have equal opportunity but we may not all come to the same outcome. He believes that we must cultivate more young people like himself to become the leaders of tomorrow.