As previously reported by The Buena Park News, an anonymous source has come forth with allegations regarding Council Member Fred Smith and Council Member Youngsun Park. The Buena Park News has been working to confirm the information it has received. We have already published the first article about this issue and this will be the second in the series.
Corruption at Buena Park City Hall
The more we have looked the more we are concerned. It appears there are several at City Hall who one must “go through” if they want anything approved. Council Member Fred Smith is well-known as one of these people.
Developers allege that if they want a development project approved, they must first go through Council Member Smith. While we have not yet been able to confirm this, it has been alleged that developers must do something for Council Member Smith in order to gain the approval they are seeking. We are attempting to confirm/determine what it is that must be done for Council Member Smith, but it has been alleged that cash is always a welcome thing.
Promises to Vote Together
We have now confirmed that Council Member Smith has made a deal with Council Member Park to vote together on issues. This assures at least 2 votes for everything they want to see passed. This is a direct violation of California’s Brown Act, which prohibits discussing votes ahead of time. This is for obvious reasons.
Council Member Smith has stated that he has seen the evidence against Council Member Park and he is using that as leverage to get her to vote the way he wants her to vote. In essence, Council Member Park has become a puppet for Council Member Smith.
Recall Interference
For her agreement to vote with Council Member Smith, Council Member Park receives interference in the recall from Council Member Smith. He has quashed an attempt to get volunteers and he has quashed a large donation that was going to be made to the recall. Council Member Smith is using this situation and the vulnerability of Council Member Park to his own personal gain.
As a result of our first article, we are now hearing some community members call for the recall of Council Member Smith. The recall cries are premature as Council Member Smith terms out in 2020, so any recall attempt would likely be too late to be effective. However, it is possible that residents will use the issue to shape the campaign for the open seat that will be available in District 3.
Currently, only Susan Sonne has officially announced her intention to run for the vacant seat. We are attempting to reach Ms. Sonne for comment and will publish her comments (if any) in the next article in this series.
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