Inside Riverside

Jeff Stone's 51st State Plan Just a Fundraising Ploy

Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone's proposal to create the 51st state of "South California" minus southern California's largest and populous county, Los Angeles, fell flat at the Riverside County Board of Supervisor meeting on Tuesday.

Stone could not garner any support from his colleagues for his hare-brained scheme.

Supervisor John Tavaglione, a wannabe Congressman and profile for lack of courage, criticized the plan and left the meeting without casting a vote for or against the plan.

John Benoit, failed former state legislator and $100k plus public pension recipient, cited over 200 failed attempts to split California into two or more states.

Board Chairman and closeted liberal Bob Buster read from the Federalist Papers and practically likened Jeff Stone to confederate secessionists who wanted to leave the United States in order to keep the abhorant practice of slavery legal.

And in the end Jeff Stone was fine with this, as his colleagues gave a weak blessing to him privately pursuing a roundtable of counties and cities to discuss ways to reform California and protect cities and counties from Sacramento taking away their revenue. The Board prohibited Stone from using county staff, including his own personal staff, to coordinate the effort.

Stone gleefully pronounced that he would be able to privately raise the money as people were already contacting him stating their support for his inane 51st State Plan. Which brings us to a major motive for Jeff Stone's new state proposal. His campaign coffers are empty. He needs money to run for re-election next year.

At the end of 2010, Stone only had $24,574 in his County Supervisor campaign committee, while carrying a debt of $30,607 in his failed State Senate campaign committee. Stone is broke and in very deep trouble if he faces a well-known and/or well-financed challenger next year.

With Riverside County's economy stil in the toilet, the developers that have bankrolled the County Supervisors campaigns are no longer stepping up to the plate. They don't have projects being built and they don't have plans that need to be approved. Ergo, they aren't cutting the fat checks these days.

Riverside County's labor unions, specifically the Riverside Sheriff's Association (RSA) and the Service Employees Union International (SEIU) 721 have had enough of Stone. He pretended to be their ally when he needed money, but stabbed them in the back when he falsely attempted to re-invent himself as a conservate in his failed State Senate bid last year.

Stone's traditional donor base has also had it with him, having watched him divert over $300,000 in money they contributed for his election campaigns into his sister's bank account.

So what's a career politician like Jeff Stone to do when he's out of campaign cash and unable to raise what he needs for his re-election bid? He creates an issue to generate media attention to introduce him to people who do not know him and are unfamiliar with his baggage so he can raise money from these uninformed saps.

His colleagues on the Board of Supervisors know what Stone is up to as well. Hence why they gutted his new state proposal but endorsed his concept to put together a conference of California's cities and counties to strategize how best to deal with the state. They understand a politician in need of campaign cash and would never get in the way of one of their brethren struggling to collect it.

So dear readers, does Jeff Stone's roundtable of cities and counties have merit anyways? Absolutely not. It's a duplication of efforts, which according to Stone is a waste of time and money, since such groups already exist.

California's cities belong to a group called the League of Cities. It's Counties belong to an organization called the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), which Stone's colleague John Tavaglione currently chairs. Even with all of the public money that is contributed to them to fund full time staff and lobbying operations, neither the League of Cities nor CSAC is effective in dealing with Sacramento.

Jeff Stone's roundtable won't be effective either, but as we've just shown it's not about policy or principle. It's about the dollars Stone needs to raise for his re-election, plain and simple.

The Motives Behind Jeff Stone's New State Publicity Stunt

No one has ever accused Riverside County Supervisor of being a man of high intelligence or effective leadership. Instead many who know Jeff Stone joke that his frequent hare-brained schemes may have been formed after experimenting with substances in his the pharmacy he owns.

But make no mistake dear readers, whether you think Stone's crazy or just under the influence of some substance, when it comes to seeking publicity Jeff Stone's is a master.  We need look no further than his current publicity stunt to create a new state.

Stone's plan may be appealing on its surface but it ludicrous to propose the State of South California while excluding the majority of Southern California's population in Riverside County.  That's because Jeff Stone isn't serious about creating a new state.  He's interested in creating publicity to divert attention from the growing list of problems that are likely to end his political career in the next year.

What are those problems you ask?  

1. Money Laundering 

In February, San Jacinto billionaire Larry Minor was convicted of illegally laundering over $40,000 to Jeff Stone's failed 2010 State Senate campaign.  While Stone was not implicated in the scheme, it's hard to believe that Minor would have taken such legal risks without either direct or indirect pressure applied by Stone for Minor to give him more money than state law allowed.

2. Hiding Political Contributions

Last month California's Fair Political Practices Commission leveled a $16,000 fine against Jeff Stone's 2010 Senate campaign for failing to report $84,052 in contributions.  Stone's accountant, Joseph Kuebler agreed to pay the fine saying the fault for the violation was his. But didn't Jeff Stone have a legal responsibility to understand California's campaign finance laws when he sought a seat in the State Senate?  Shouldn't he have reviewed disclosure requirements before he signed his campaign reports under the penalty of perjury that they were true and accurate?

3.  Pay To Play Politics

Jeff Stone introduced and passed Riverside County Ordinance 884 that undermines the First Amendment by limiting protests outside of the Church of Scientology by its dissenters.  While Stone likes to quote Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers, when there's money on the table Stone appears to be willing to ignore the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  Scientologists are reported to have given the Stone's failed 2010 Senate campaign at least $50,000 in contributions. 

4. The Six Figure "Volunteer" Sister 

Lori Stone, the Supervisor's younger sister is an albatross around his political neck.  Sadly, Stone placed this her around his own neck.  He has no one else to blame but himself.  After getting elected to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors in 2004, Stone brought little sister Lori on to his county staff. Nepotism laws prevented him from putting her on the county payroll, but that did not prevent Stone from giving his sister use of county cars, county phones, and county computers.  

Stone defended this saying Lori was a volunteer and a bargain for to the taxpayers.  However, he failed to mention that he was paying his sister a six figure salary out of his campaign account.  Over the course of three years Jeff Stone paid his sister over $330,000 to work in his county office.  Many question the legality of Stone having a campaign staffer working in a government office.  To avoid an investigation by District Attorney Paul Zellerbach whom Stone opposed in 2010, he ended little sister's employment.

There are many more reasons for this stunt, including Stone's goal to reinvent himself as a small government conservative to fend of a challenge from former State Senator Dennis Hollingsworth or to challenge Republican Ken Calvert for Congress next year.

As you can see dear readers, there are many motives behind the madness of Jeff Stone who we see once again is willing to say and do anything to get headlines and raise campaign cash.

Sheriff Backs Down Bob Buster, As Jeff Stone Turns Against Sniff

At Tuesday's meeting of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, Sheriff Stan Sniff forcibly defeated Supervisor Bob Buster's reckless public safety budget cuts.

Sheriff Sniff made a strong case about the harm Buster's plan to effectively gut the Sheriff's Department would have on public safety, as we previously reported.  Sniff deftly man-handled Bob Buster, County CEO Bill Luna "The Tick," and Luna's incompetent Chief Financial Officer, Ed Corser  

Luna quickly jumped to his minion's defense and chided the Sheriff.  Most observers agree with Sheriff's Sniff's comments that Corser was not telling the truth about the budget numbers.  Heck, Luna and Corser probably wouldn't show up at work with their shoes tied if they didn't have the other to help.

While Sheriff Sniff may have won this first skirmish, public safety funding is still on the chopping block. Bob Buster and John Benoit are definitely united in their desires to cut the Sheriff's Department, and quite surprisingly County Supervisor Jeff Stone appears to be swinging their way.

According to sources close to the offices on the 5th Floor of the County's Administrative Center, these three Supervisors - Buster, Benoit, and Stone - intend to cut the Sheriff's budget as a form of retribution against the union for the department's deputies, the Riverside Sheriff's Association.

It appears dear readers that three politicians are willing to risk increased crime simply to carry out their short sighted plans for revenge against the Sheriff's deputies.

Those who follow county politics understand the animosity Buster and Benoit have towards the RSA. They have each attempted to strong-arm the union into supporting their political campaigns.  Their tactics backfired and the Association has worked against them in their elections.

Jeff Stone's behavior is a bit puzzling though, dear readers.  In 2004 Stone was supported and funded by the Riverside Sheriff's Association when he knocked County Supervisor Jim Venable out of office.  The RSA also supported Stone's re-election in 2008 and his suicidal run for the State Senate last year.

So why is Jeff Stone now calling out his political ally?  We're looking into it, and according to a source we've talked to who was on Stone's Senate campaign he's upset about his loss. Stone appears to have expected the Sheriff's Association to set up an Independent Expenditure for him during that election.  That did not happen and Stone seems to want pay back for this.

This does have a sense of truth to it since immediately after losing the senate race to San Deigo's Joel Anderson, Stone led the way for the Board of Supervisors to put a competing initiative on the ballot to counter RSA's Measure L last November.  

That was a clear an act of hostility on Stone's part towards the county's deputies.  It's likely even a sorer subject now that Stone's Measure M received more votes than Measure L, which seems to dictate that M takes precedence over L.

We'll dig further into the reasons behind Jeff Stone's about face with Sheriff Sniff and his deputies.  If Stone had indeed solicited an Independent Expenditure on his behalf, that would be illegal under state law and Stone could find himself in some extremely warm if not hot water.

District Attorney Paul Zellerbach as a candidate for the office last year stated his desire to investigate Stone for allowing his sister to use taxpayer resources as a volunteer staff member in Stone's office. That may explain Stone's other about face in recent months. Stone who had been a staunch supporter of ousted DA Rod Pacheco is now solidly in DA Zellerbach's camp and has been helping to retire Zellerbach's campaign debt.

This may simply be a matter of politics, since Stone's re-election is next June and he has no desire to have the new DA weigh in against him should former State Senator Dennis Hollingsworth challenge him. Or it could be a matter of Stone trying to create a conflict of interest with Paul Zellerbach so Stone can't be investigated for any of his actions that could rise to the level of criminal offense.

As always dear readers, we'll let you know what we find out and then you can make up your minds about what's really going on in this septic tank known as Riverside County.

 

Bob Buster's Budget Plan Likely To Increase Crime

Riverside County Supervisor Bob Buster has long been the lone liberal on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. He's supported spending taxpayer money to give clean hypodermic needles to drug addicts, he was the only County Supervisor to favor President Obama's national health care legislation, and he's consistently worked to undermine the safety of the people he's been elected to represent.

Given that history it shouldn't come to a surprise to any of us dear readers that Supervisor Bob Buster is proposing cuts to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and the District Attorney's Office that will have a devastating impact on public safety throughout Riverside County.  A trial balloon of how this scheme will be received was floated out by County CEO Bill Luna "The Tick" in today's local media outlets.

Desert Sun: County Mulls Cuts In Deputies Ranks

Press Enterprise: Freeze Deputies Hiring

Bob Buster, the Chairman of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, has a budget plan to reduce funding for sheriff's patrols in Riverside County which are already at a dangerously low level.  Former Sheriff Larry Smith had wisely increased patrol strength during the 1990's so that there were 1.2 deputies on duty for every 1,000 residents in county policed territory.  Buster went along with the plan even though he was not an adamant supporter of such a strong police presence.

Once the Great Recession hit, Buster was able to stop hiding behind the facade of supporting law enforcement and was able to bring the cuts he salivated to make forward with the help of Riverside County's under-qualified and uniquely inept CEO Bill Luna.  The Board of Supervisors cut funding to the Sheriff's Department and reduced the deputy to resident ratio from 1.2 to 1 deputy per 1,000 residents.

Most law enforcement experts agree that 1 cop per 1,000 residents is the minimum staffing required to maintain law and order in a community and keep crime at bay.  Such expert opinion has never been able to stifle Bob Buster's Harvard hippie mentality where "every cop's a criminal."  

Disguising his cuts as a "hiring freeze" Buster's budget plan will effectively cut the number of deputies on the streets of Riverside County.  On top of that, Buster's budget will prevent Sheriff Stan Sniff from being able to put deputies into the Banning Jail which has been expanded to relieve the overcrowding of inmates.

So what will the consequences of Bob Buster's budget proposal be?  While it's impossible to predict the future, dear readers, its not hard to see how this will play out if Buster gets his way.  

If the Riverside County Board of Supervisors reduces the Sheriff's patrol strength AND fails to properly staff the Banning Jail then crime will likely go up.  Criminals in the unincorporated communities will be able to do as they please since deputies will only be responding to 9-1-1 calls and won't be able to do any pro-active policing that has helped drive crime to historic lows.  

Things will only get worse as the criminals on the street are joined by inmates given early release from the County's Jails because they were released to relieve over-crowding.  And if Governor Jerry Brown releases another 30,000 felons from the state prison that will only make things spectacularly worse.

The Board of Supervisors has a major choice to make tomorrow as they deliberate Riverside County's 2010-2011 Budget.  Do they follow Supervisor Bob Buster's ludicrous scheme and make these dangerous and unnecessary cuts?  Or do they stand on their principles and vote on the platforms they all ran for office on - to always make public safety their top priority?

County Supervisor John Benoit has already signaled his willingness to go with Buster and make the cuts. Supervisors Marion Ashley, Jeff Stone, and John Tavaglione are all on the fence at the time of this posting.

Our prediction dear readers is that Bob Buster will prevail on a 3 -2 vote.  Marion Ashley and John Tavaglione who are rumored to be retiring after their current terms will give speeches about how they hate to do it, but its the only option they have.

Supervisor Jeff Stone will drone on and on and on, then vote against the plan simply because he wants one more term on the Board.  His election will be next June and he desperately wants to prove that the thumping he took in the 2008 race for the State Senate was nothing but a fluke.

Which leaves John Benoit who we believe will show his chameleon self on this issue.  He'll make strong arguments for the cuts to the Sheriff's Department and the DA's office, providing the cover for Tavaglione and Ashley to vote with Buster.  But then at the end Benoit will say that as a 30 year CHP veteran he just can't conscience these cuts and vote against Buster's plan even though he supports it.

We'll keep you posted on how this one turns out dear readers, but no matter how you slice Riverside County's budget it's going to be an interesting year. 

Lackluster Challengers Take On County Elected Officials

The Riverside County Registrar of Voters released a list of candidates in the various races throughout Riverside County for the June Election.  Only one word comes to mind dear readers:  Yawn.

2nd District County Supervisor John Tavaglione is being challenged by Herb Higgins, a former Norco City Councilmember.  Higgins has not raised any money and does not have a campaign organization from what anyone can tell.  Tavaglione on other hand has locked up the key endorsements of his district and has over $400,000 in the bank.  That's hardly a contest.  Tavaglione's next four years are quite secure.

5th District Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley, despite being the target of a half-hearted recall last year, is running unopposed.

Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff is being challenged by his former Chief Deputy Frank Robles.  Robles is relying on the financial assistance of Los Angles County businessman Leo McIntrye.  Sniff, like Tavaglione, has picked up all of the major endorsements and has his deputies and their gigantic Political Action Committee in his corner.  Robles' failure to mount a takeover of the Riverside Sheriffs' Association last year pretty much doomed his campaign.

Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco is being challenged by Judge Paul Zellerbach. While this is being billed in the main stream media as the clash of the titans, in reality that's far from the truth. Pacheco too has all of the major endorsements for his race and has close to $500,000 on hand to Zellerbach's $0.00.  

Zellerbach came out swinging at Pacheco in his announcement claiming that under Pacheco, the District Attorney's office has been losing more than half of the cases it prosecutes.  Zellerbach's statistics were debunked last week by the Press Enterprise in an article that showed Pacheco's DA's office gets convictions of about 95% of the defendants it prosecutes.  It's going to be next to impossible to argue with those results, especially after the very newspaper that hates Pacheco has already outed Zellerbach for his exaggerations.

The only race really worth watching this spring is probably the one that will go down in the desert.

4th District County Supervisor John Benoit, who was appointed to the Board of Supervisors by Governor Schwarzenegger after the resignation and death of Roy Wilson, faces retired Palm Springs Police Chief Gary Jeandron.  Benoit is an experienced and hard edged campaigner with close to $300,000 in the bank and all of the endorsements one needs to get elected in eastern Riverside County, except one very important one.

The Riverside Sheriffs' Association is backing Jeandron.  This endorsement so outraged Benoit that he retaliated against them by cutting the pay of the Probation Officers the RSA represents and imposed furloughs on them.  The RSA didn't take it lying down and is now running radio advertisements in the desert informing the public of Benoit's role in cutting law enforcement since joining the Board of Supervisors.

Benoit is also being hobbled by his affiliation with developers Steve Holgate and Robert Osborne who have been indicted in the San Jacinto corruption case.  Benoit was forced to give $10,000 to charity that came from their tainted contributions.  And a few weeks ago a Sacramento political consultant had his office raided by Riverside County District Attorneys investigators.  The consultant was doing work for Holgate on behalf of Benoit in the 2008 Republican Primary Election.

While it is unknown how much money RSA will give Jeandron in his battle against Benoit, Jeandron is already running his own radio advertisements.  This is probably a good indication that he's had a major infusion of cash since announcing his candidacy.

Despite all of this, the odds are still in Benoit's favor.  He's been in office for over a decade, has a professional team with him, and never misses an opportunity to be in the media.  

We'll keep tabs on things for you as always, but leave you with one final thought:  In a county with over 2 million people, isn't there a better list of challengers out there?

Can Gary Jeandron Unseat John Benoit?

Gary Jeandron is challenging appointed County Supervisor John Benoit in the upcoming June Election.

Jeandron is the President of the Palm Springs Unified School District and the retired police chief of Palm Springs.  Jeandron spent three decades as a cop with the Palm Springs Police Department.

John Benoit was appointed by to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors by Governor Schwarzenegger after Benoit voted for the pork-filled $11 billion water bond the Governor was pushing.  Benoit filled the spot left vacant by the sudden resignation and death of County Supervisor Roy Wilson.  

Wilson's resignation letter, which appears to be a forgery, asked the Governor to appoint Benoit to the job.

As you know, dear readers, this entire process has not set well with a lot of people, including us.  Many voters were clamoring for someone like former State Senator Jim Battin to challenge Benoit and take the seat from him.  Battin appears to have no interest in the race, but Gary Jeandron is a different story.

The question dear readers is:  Can Gary Jeandron unseat John Benoit?

The answer to that question is:  Maybe.

Now before you go off and say that anyone "might" be able to win any campaign, let us clarify what we're saying, dear readers.

In any campaign, the natural advantage goes to the incumbent.  Although he is appointed, John Benoit is the incumbent.  He's been shamefully raising money for months and he's been a very visible politician for almost ten years now. 

On top of that, sitting members of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors are seldom beat in an election.  Yes, Jeff Stone did unseat County Supervisor Jim Venable in 2004, but prior to that the last time a sitting County Supervisor was defeated in Riverside County was 1972!

All that aside, Gary Jeandron has a very good shot at unseating John Benoit in June.  

This race could be a nail biter and should be considered a toss up because Gary Jeandron is the most formidable opponent John Benoit has ever faced in an election.

In 2002, Benoit handily defeated lobbyist Patrick O'Reilly's right hand man, Lou Monville in the Republican Primary.  Monville who had a resume that looked decent on paper had no real life experience that mattered much to the voters.  Benoit on the other hand had 30 years with the California Highway Patrol.  

This was the first election after the Al Qeada attacks of September 11, 2001.  George W. Bush was beating the drums of war.  Safety was first on the minds of voters.  So who should they vote for to keep them safe?  The questionably disabled CHP Commander beats the PR Executive in that match up no matter what.  This was a safe Republican seat, so the General Election was of no consequence.

Forward to 2008 and Assembyman John Benoit faced a more formidable challenger in former Assemblyman Russ Bogh for the California State Senate.  They were running to fill Jim Battin's seat, as Senator Battin fell victim of California's term limits.  Battin was backing Bogh.

Both Benoit and Bogh could be considered conservative Republicans, although Bogh was more socially conservative, as Benoit frequently provided the necessary votes for the State to approve the legislation that funded Medi-Cal.  

Medi-Cal is used to provide family planning services and health care to the poor despite their immigration status. While it is illegal to cut off this funding, conservative Republicans typically vote against these bills as they do provide taxpayer funding for abortions of for health care for undocumented immigrants, which conservative Republicans allegedly oppose. Benoit's votes outed him as a moderate on these issues important to the GOP's Republican base.

What should have been a much closer race, turned into a blow out, as Benoit capitalized on mistakes made by Bogh.  Bogh's campaign foolishly started handing out attack flyers months before the Primary Election highlighting Benoit's moderate voting record.  Benoit was able to introduce legislation to paint himself as a social conservative to provide him political cover on these issues. Not the best use of taxpayer money by Benoit, but it did turn out to be politically profitable for him.

As the campaign moved on, John Benoit attacked Russ Bogh and his family business for questionable dealings that Bogh failed to adequately respond to. On top of that, the main issue of the time was illegal immigration, which gave Benoit the same advantage that he had in 2002 against Lou Monville.

The question became who should voters trust to kick illegal immigrants out of California, the bald highway patrolman or the youthful businessman?  Businessman Bogh never had a chance in that climate. Again, the Senate seat was safely Republican. Even with the Democratic tidal wave of 2008, Benoit was going to the State Senate.

Now John Benoit is going up against Gary Jeandron. There are many similarities between Benoit and Jeandron.  Both are long time residents of the Coachella Valley.  Both have served on school boards. Both are cops, but that's also where they differ.  

While both Gary Jeandron and John Benoit spent 30 years in law enforcement, Benoit's service however pales compared to Jeandron's.  In fact when you place their service records side by side, Gary Jeandron makes John Benoit seem like little more than a meter maid.

Gary Jeandron was shot in the line of duty, kept working, and does not take his retirement pay tax free for the injuries he sustained. John Benoit on the other hand gets a portion of his retirement tax free because he got skin cancer on his ear. Questions abound about Benoit's disability, and running against Jeandron won't help him make those questions go away.  In fact Gary Jeandron makes John Benoit look like an out-and-out fraud.

But the issue on the minds of the voters today does not appear to be safety.  If something happens in the next five months it may but, but as of today it's the economy, stupid. That means the playing field is level for both Jeandron and Benoit, which is why this race is a Toss Up. 

However, given the anti-incumbent wave that is sweeping America these days, don't be too surprised if John Benoit is out of a job next January.  

John Benoit's $11 Billion Deal

Ronald Reagan, the patron saint of the modern day Republican Party once said "Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a close resemblance to the first."

No where is Reagan's point better exemplified than with Riverside County's own John Benoit.  

State Senator John Benoit becomes Riverside County Supervisor John Benoit this morning.  It's only costing us $11 billion.

In exchange for his vote for an $11 billion water bond, Republican Governor Arnold Schwazenegger appointed John Benoit to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of late County Supervisor Roy Wilson.   

We first reported that Benoit's appointment was in the bag based on information leaked from the Govenror's  Chief of Staff Susan Kennedy and his Appointments Secretary, John Cruz.  But then the appointment was delayed so the Governor could bank on Benoit's vote for his water bond.  

The Governor's office even instituted a whisper campaign that the appointment may be going to former Republican Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia to keep Benoit from backing out of the deal.

As we reported on October 26, 2009 part of the appointment deal was that "Benoit will be asked to vote for a water bill that is not good for Riverside County.  It's also possible that he'll be asked to break with his the out-of-touch Republican Party and back a Democratic bill."

Now we know that was clearly the case.  

On November 4, 2009 John Benoit played ball with Governor Schwarzenegger and voted for SBX7 2 that will place a bond for $11.14 billion on the November 2010 ballot.  Immediately after the vote, the Governor repaid Benoit for the vote and appointed him to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.

The water bond is filled with wasteful government spending, or as its commonly called, pork, and does relatively nothing to ensure a reliable supply of safe and clean water for Riverside County.

 According to the 

San Francisco Chronicle the bond contained:

-- $100 million for the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program for watershed restoration, bike trails and public access and recreation projects. -- $75 million for the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, for public access, education and interpretive projects, physical projects and "improving community sustainability." -- $250 million for dam removal on the Klamath River, a project to help restore salmon runs; and another $20 million for Siskiyou County to soften the impact on the economy from the loss of dams. -- $20 million for the Baldwin Hills Conservancy to be used to buy land to expand the small conservancy in the Los Angeles hills, which is near the home of Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Baldwin Vista. -- $20 million for the Bolsa Chica Wetlands in Huntington Beach (Orange County) for interpretive projects for visitors."

So apparent and obvious was Benoit's vote trading that Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton used it as an example of how political payoffs work.

"Then there's another type of pork called a payoff. Politicians usually don't even have to talk about it. There's just an unspoken understanding. For example: Sen. John Benoit (R-Palm Desert) wanted to be appointed by the governor to a vacant seat on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. And he was, after providing key votes for the water package."

To then save face and repair his wobbly conservative credentials, Benoit decided to delay his swearing in until today.  This was allegedly done to align a runoff special election for Benoit's vacated senate seat with the June 2010 primary election, thus saving Riverside County about $250,000.

But even this so-called cost saving measure has turned out to be a part of Benoit's dirty deal for Wilson's seat.

John Benoit delayed his swearing in until today to give the advantage in the special election to Republican Assemblyman Bill Emmerson. By moving the date, any member of the Assembly contemplating a re-election run would have to decide whether to run for the open Senate seat or for the Assembly again. Running for both at the same time would be problematic.

It appears dear readers, that part of Benoit's deal with Republican Senate Minority Leader Dennis Hollingsworth was the help Emmerson get into the Senate.  Emmerson would provide Hollingsworth with a moderate Republican that would be able to vote for budgets because he's open to tax increases and not opposed to public financing of a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy.

Bill Emmerson is the termed out Assemblyman from Redlands who last month left his wife and rented a house in Hemet so he can run for Benoit's seat.  The delay in the special election was meant to discourage Republican Assemblymen Brian Nestande and Jeff Miller from running for Benoit's seat.  

Nestande, Benoit's protege who took his old seat in the State Assembly, quickly got the message and immediately signaled that he was happy in the Assembly.  

Jeff Miller on the other hand didn't fall in line and even wrote a scathing editorial which appeared in Sunday's Press-Enterprise attacking the pork filled $11 water bond that John Benoit, Bill Emmerson, and Dennis Hollingsworth all supported to advance their own self-centered political agendas.

So there you have it dear readers.  Now you know the how John Benoit got a seat on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.  It wasn't pretty and it brings a new level of sleazy politics to Riverside County.  But that's what you get when you have a politician like Benoit who's wrapped up with the likes of indicted developer Steve Holgate on the Board of Supervisors.

There is a bright side to all of this. If anyone is worried about John Benoit's seven years in Sacramento making him too partisan and ineffective, there's no cause for concern.   Benoit can be quite effective and non-partisan- as long as there's something in it for him.

The lines between the world's oldest profession and its second oldest profession have never been more blurred.

The Californian Blasts John Benoit

Well, dear readers, it looks like Inside Riverside isn't the only media outlet that has serious problems with John Benoit's bait-and-switch from the California State Senate to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.

In it's "Roses and Raspberries" editorial column today, The Californian let Senator Benoit have it with both barrells.

A raspberry to state Sen. John Benoit, R-Palm Desert, for leaving his seat in the Senate for one on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, left vacant by the death of Supervisor Roy Wilson.

It was just last year that Benoit won a bitter primary fight against his former colleague ---- and fellow Republican ---- Russ Bogh, for the office he currently holds. In that contest, and the subsequent general election, Benoit worked very hard to persuade voters of the 37th Senate District that he was better qualified to handle the challenges facing our state than his opponent. Voters agreed.

It now seems the job wasn't so important to him after all. The move is clearly in Benoit's best interests. By becoming a supervisor, he'll get a pay raise (from $116,208 to $143,000) and avoid those long trips to rainy Sacramento. Too bad voters didn't know they were electing a legislator who would forfeit the job as soon as a better offer came along.

To make matters worse, Benoit made plans for his first fundraiser ---- a $1,000-a-plate luncheon ---- even before he's sworn in. 

You can read the entire column in The Californian here.

Good for The Californian!  We thought we were the only ones that weren't afraid to say the truth in our news reporting.

But The Californian did leave out one very important fact about Senator/Supervisor-designee John Benoit's new job perks. Besides no longer constrained by term limits, once Benoit is on the Board of Supervisors, he will be back into the Cal-PERS retirement system.  This will not only bump his retirement pay, but by getting in as an "miscellaneous employee" (that's how the County classifies elected officials) Benoit will no long have a cap on his retirement either.

Instead of being limited to making only 90% of his highest year's salary as a retired CHP officer, Benoit will now be able to make more than 100% of the highest year's salary as a County Supervisor when all is said and done.  No wonder Benoit took the job!

Benoit will also be cashing in in the short term.  When you add his $143,000 annual salary to his $98,600 retirement, this so-called public servant will be grossing $241,600 a year.  It's amazing that this typical Republican hypocrite can even keep a straight face while he cashes in on the very system he attacks.  

Oh, and don't forget, a big part of Benoit's retirement is tax free because of the questionable disability he said happened to him on the job.

To stem this tide of criticism look for John Benoit's first official action on the Board to be taking a 10% pay cut so he will be on par with all other elected officials who did so earlier in the year.  

But maybe not.  John Benoit is a after all a self-serving political whore.  Maybe he won't take a pay cut. After all, he thinks he's better than everyone else.  He probably thinks he deserves it.  

John Benoit Appointed to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors

Republican State Senator John Benoit has been appointed to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, as we reported would happen over a month ago.

Benoit will fill the seat of the late County Supervisor Roy Wilson who served the County's 4th District honorably until his sudden resignation in August.  Wilson died mere days after his resignation.  

In his alleged resignation letter, Wilson requested that the Governor appoint Benoit to serve the remainder of his term in office.  The authenticity of that letter has been drawn into question and it appears to many that Roy Wilson's resignation letter may have been forged.  

We even wonder dear readers, if John Benoit was aware of that Wilson's resignation letter was a fraud.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has once again shown his disregard and utter contempt for the people of Riverside County by appointing a member of the do-nothing State Legislature to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.  If you thought the budget was bad before, just wait for John Benoit to put his years of experience on the State Budget to work on the County's Budget.

Fortunately Benoit will have to face election to the seat next June.  He will likely face former Republican State Senator Jim Battin.  That will likely be one of the costliest and nastiest races in the history of Riverside County.    

John Benoit's appointment does occur under a cloud of controversy.  Benoit who is a critic of the Public Employee Retirement System was recently outed by the Los Angeles Times for gaming the system for taking his nearly $100,000 a year pension while making over $100,000 as a State Senator.  Benoit refused to comment on his hypocrisy.

This week we also reported on a reader's tip that Benoit may have lied about in disability claims he made to the State in attempts to receive his retirement payments tax free.

None of this should come as any surprise.  This is the same John Benoit who before he  had even received the appointment, and before Wilson's funeral, scheduled a fundraiser for Wilson's job! How classeless.

After we broke the story, Benoit was shamed into moving the fundraiser back a week in an attempt to discredit the accuracy of our reporting.

But as our exclusive on his appointment proves, our sources are good and our information is spot on. That's why they hate us dear readers, and that's why you've got to keep reading Inside Riverside.

Why Has John Benoit's Appointment Been Delayed?

California State Senator John Benoit's appointment to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors has been delayed.

As you know dear readers, we previously reported that  "Sources in the Schwarzenegger Administration have confirmed that the appointment of John Benoit as the replacement of Roy Wilson to the Board of Supervisors is imminent."

That report is now one month old and John Benoit has not been been appointed to the Board of Supervisors.

Some of you are saying that we were duped into breaking this story.  Others allege that we wrote a story that the facts didn't support.  Sorry Charlie, but that's not the case. 

There are three major reasons why Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has not yet made the appointment.

1.  John Benoit's appointment was delayed because of Inside Riverside's reporting to his pending appointment.  Governor Schwarzenegger hates having his decisions leaked early.  Rumor has it that he became angry with Benoit for allowing word to get out that he was getting Roy Wilson's old job.  

Back in 2007 Schwarzenegger almost reneged on his appointment of Riverside County Sheriff Bob Doyle to the Parole Board after Doyle told the media he had the appointment.  Lobbying of the Governor by those who wanted the Royal Doyle out of Riverside County helped keep the appointment on track.  

The funny part about all this though is that we did not receive our information on the appointment from John Benoit.  Our information came directly out of the Governor's office.  Our sources got the intel from Susan Kennedy (Governor Schwarzenegger's Chief of Staff) and John Cruz (Governor Schwarzenegger's Appointment's Secretary).  

If the Governor wants to be angry with anyone for loose lips, he should be directing his indignation at members of his own staff.

2.  John Benoit needs to cast a vote for Schwarzenegger supported legislation in the Legislature's current Special Session.  Benoit was unable to come home for his fundraiser two weeks back because the Governor called the State's do-nothing Legislature back into session to deal with California's water crisis.  

John Benoit's vote will likely be required for some legislation.  There is the possibility that Benoit will be asked for a water bill that is not good for Riverside County.  It's also possible that he'll be asked to break with his the out-of-touch Republican Party and back a Democratic bill.  We will keep a close eye on this and let you know how it all unfolds of course.

3.  The controversy over the validity of Roy Wilson's signature on the resignation letter has delayed John Benoit's appointment.  While our story about the distinct possibility that Roy Wilson's resignation letter may have been forged has been ignored by the mainstream media like the Desert Sun and the Press-Enterprise, some people are taking it seriously.  

A source has told us that a criminal complaint has been filed in this matter.  Neither the Riverside County District Attorney's office nor the State Attorney General's office will confirm if there is an investigation or not.  

However, since we understand that a complaint has been filed, it is reasonable to assume that the Governor has received word of this and is waiting to see the outcome of any investigation that may be happening.

So there you have it dear readers, three very strong reasons why John Benoit's appointment to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors has been delayed.  Now that we're explaining the delay the Governor will probably make the appointment just to show he wasn't dallying.  

That's fine Governor.  We know you like John Benoit don't stand for anything but your own ego and career.