Friends, this was a story appeared of the front page of todays Daily Bulletin. I thought I would share it with you. You should all be aware when you vote in June of the tactics of our current Distict Attorney. POSTED: 03/12/14, 9:17 PM PDT | SAN BERNARDINO >> Associates of an indicted developer are backing a challenger to incumbent District Attorney Michael A. Ramos in the upcoming June primary election. On March 6, the day before the deadline to file paperwork at the county Elections Office announcing a run for public office, Claremont dentist Paul Olivera and Upland Realty Equities Inc. contributed $2,000 and $4,000, respectively, to the campaign of Grover Merritt, a veteran county prosecutor, according to campaign finance reports filed with the county Elections Office. Upland Realty Equities is owned by Mark Davidson, a longtime local restaurateur who co-owns Upland’s Second Street Saloon with Jeff Burum, a prominent local developer accused of conspiring with public officials to secure a $102 million legal settlement for his real estate investor group, Colonies Partners LP. The contributions from Davidson and Olivera, who Burum acknowledged was a personal friend, helped Merritt pay the more than $31,000 necessary for a candidate statement, said David Ellis, Ramos’ longtime political consultant. “One would deduce that the Colonies candidate is Grover Merritt,” Ellis said Wednesday. Merritt said there is nothing wrong with an individual exercising their First Amendment right to contribute to a political campaign of their choosing. “I think it’s interesting (Ellis) is not focusing on the issues in the race - the rising crime reported and Ramos’ overall anemic record.” Merritt said. “I think if you’re going to smear someone by guilt of association, the tactics of Joe McCarthy would only be good if you would establish some guilt first.” Burum, of Rancho Cucamonga, and three former county officials were indicted in May 2011 in a sweeping public corruption case in which the four defendants are accused of conspiring to settle the Colonies long-running legal battle with San Bernardino County for $102 millions. The settlement ended a nearly five-year legal battle over whether the county or Burum was responsible for the cost of a 67-acre flood control basin on Colonies’ property in Upland. Burum, a wealthy Rancho Cucamonga developer, was a co-managing partner of Colonies Partners at the time of the heated litigation. Prosecutors contend $400,000 in campaign contributions made after the settlement were in fact bribes. Also charged in the case are former labor union president and Assistant Assessor Jim Erwin, former county Supervisor Paul Biane, and Mark Kirk, former chief of staff for Supervisor Gary Ovitt. All four defendants deny any wrongdoing. Former Supervisor Bill Postmus has pleaded guilty to charges and is cooperating with prosecutors. Campaign finance records released to date show Merritt has raised $23,557.74, but that doesn’t include money raised at a February fundraiser, which will be disclosed on the next round of campaign finance statements reflecting the reporting period of Jan. 1 through March 17, Ellis said. In a news release earlier this week, Ellis included a photo of Olivera walking a courtroom corridor with Burum and Erwin following an August 2011 court hearing. Olivera, whom Burum confirmed on Wednesday as his good friend, could not be reached for comment. Davidson said he was “shocked and disgusted” at the fact Ramos and Ellis were singling out friends and business associates of Burum’s for political gain. “This is a blatant attempt to discourage me and other citizens of our county from making legal contributions to support the candidate of their choice,” Davidson said. He said Ellis’ news release validates his opinion that he is supporting the right candidate for district attorney. “Rest assured I will be writing another check this week in support of Grover Merritt to the maximum allowed by law,” Davidson said. Ellis retorted, saying, “It’s felony stupid for Jeff Burum’s business partner to be contributing in the district attorney’s race, period.” Davidson and Burum described the tactics of Ellis and Ramos as retaliatory - targeting supporters of Ramos’ political opponent. They made reference to a public statement Ramos made in February 2010 in which he said he “would watch where every dime (of campaign spending) came from” if he suspected it was tied to the criminal defendants trying to supplant him. “This demonstrates that Michael Ramos and his political team is using the D.A.’s Office to intimidate political opponents as he threatened to do in his last election and he’s doing in this one,” Burum said Wednesday. “I just hope that the people of San Bernardino see Mr. Ramos for who he is before the next election.” Ramos declined to comment on Wednesday, deferring comment to Ellis. Ellis said he didn’t understand how Burum and Davidson could interpret Ramos’ statement as voter intimidation. “That sounds like a prudent district attorney to me,” Ellis said.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 03:26:33 +0000
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