Philip Blumel: The World Series of Corruption? Hi, I’m Philip Blumel. Welcome to No Uncertain Terms, the official podcast of the Term Limits Movement. This is episode number 250, published on November 4th, 2024.
Stacey Selleck: Your sanctuary from partisan politics.
Philip Blumel: Over the last week, we watched a competition between the East Coast and the West Coast, between New York City and Southern California. But I’m not talking about baseball. I’m talking about the World Series of Corruption. Hit it, Ken.
Philip Blumel: Sorry. Two weeks ago we told the story of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, an opponent of New York City’s mayoral term limits, who had been indicted on five counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery charges. Prosecutors allege Adams had a 10 year history of corruption, starting when he was elected official in Brooklyn and continuing after he was elected mayor. Specifically, prosecutors say Adams accepted airline flights worth $100,000 free stays in opulent hotel suites, expensive meals, etcetera. As well as campaign contributions from straw donors, some of which helped him qualify for more than $10 million in matching campaign funds. The gifts came from Turkish officials, and US attorneys allege, “This was a multi-year scheme to buy favor from a single New York City official on the rise.”
Philip Blumel: Ah, but last week we found out he has a rival. In Orange County, just south of Los Angeles, County Supervisor Andrew Do agreed to plead guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery. Prosecutors described a scheme involving a charity and the misuse of COVID-19 relief funds. Specifically, Supervisor Andrew Do accepted about $500,000 in bribes, as he helped ensure that county money went to an organization that purported to be assisting aged and disabled people. Federal authorities said that, instead, the group used much of the funds to buy real estate. Do resigned his position on the Orange County Board of Supervisors effective immediately, something that Mayor Adams in New York has yet to do.
Philip Blumel: Do agreed to forfeit any interest in the money and two homes related to this scheme. The Do case arose from an investigation of the Viet America Society of which Andrew Do’s daughter Rhiannon was listed as an officer. And Do’s wife, an Orange County judge, has not been charged but is being questioned about possible complicity. “The scheme essentially functioned like Robin Hood in reverse” said US Attorney Martin Estrada. “Mr. Do and his conspirators stole money from the poor to give to themselves. And this money was intended to provide meals to the people who needed them the most in our community.”
Philip Blumel: Who would have suspected that this public servant could stoop so low? Well there were signs. Let me tell you something. When I run into one of these political corruption stories, I immediately Google to see if I don’t already know what engagement the crooked official has had with the term limits issue. And almost invariably what I find is similar to the cases of Mayor Eric Adams and now Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do. Get this, Supervisor Do had a good thing going in Orange County and didn’t want it to end. Now the problem is that Orange County voters approved eight-year county supervisor term limits in 1994 and Do’s time was running out.
Philip Blumel: So in 2021, Do with two other supervisors concocted a scheme to extend their terms to some 20 years. In a three to two vote, the council voted to put on the ballot a measure with a simple title, “A lifetime ban after three terms.” You see, the eight year term limits were simply consecutive term limits. You could always sit out and then run again as a challenger later. So this measure would close this “loophole” Yes, loophole, that is another quote. This was to appear on the special recall election of Governor Gavin Newsom that year. For the locals listening, I should mention that Andrew Do’s accomplices in this corrupt scheme were Lisa Bartlett and Doug Chaffee, both fellow supervisors. Supervisors Katrina Foley and Don Wagner dissented. Thank you Katrina. Thank you Don.
Philip Blumel: The best description that I’ve seen about this fiasco was from John Fleischman. He’s an Orange County based activist who publishes the Flash Report website. Anyway, he said, “This measure looks to take advantage of the voter support of term limits by making it sound like it’s this great lifetime ban when the reality is it’s a sneaky maneuver by sneaky politicians to get out from under the current term limits. It does the opposite of what it purports to do. It literally guts term limits while making the voter think that it’s strengthening them” How? Well, think about it. Do was termed out after eight years. He was in his final term. And under this proposal, which of course would start a new clock, he would get 12 more. That’s 20. So, what does supervisor Andrew Do need 20 years for?
Philip Blumel: Well, that brings us back to his charges and the guilty plea. Now we know why this seat was so important to him. Well, just like his fake charity scheme, his fake term limit scheme failed also. The state legislature blocked counties like Orange County from adding additional measures on the ballot with the recall. And so, Andrew Do’s scheme fizzled. Well, Supervisor Andrew Do’s term in office ended last week. His term in prison looms. So which corruption case is more egregious? New York Mayor Eric Adams or Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do? Just as in the World Series in baseball last week, I think the trophy goes to Southern California. But of course, with corruption, no one really wins. Neither the victims nor the public, nor ultimately even the guilty.
Philip Blumel: Next, now for some good news. As you know, US Term Limits asks candidates for our state legislatures to sign a pledge that if elected they will co-sponsor, vote for, and defend the Term Limits Convention Bill in their state. This legislation makes an official application for an amendment proposing convention under Article 5 of the US Constitution, limited to congressional term limits.
Philip Blumel: If two-thirds of the states make such a call, or unless Congress preempts the states by proposing an amendment itself, such a convention must be called. Eight states have officially applied so far. Well, the good news is, well, I learned this from Holly Robichaud’s YouTube show, Breaking News on Term Limits. So let’s hear her tell it.
Holly Robichaud: Hi, I’m Holly Robichaud and this is Breaking News on Term Limits. We’ve got some great news coming from our pledge team. Candidates for state legislative seats are seeing the enthusiasm and appeal for term limits. So they’re signing our US Term Limits pledge. An additional 82, that’s right, if you guessed 82, you’d be correct. 82 state 2024 legislative candidates have signed our pledge in the past two weeks. We are breaking records. We also have record number of congressional candidates signing our pledge. Do you know who is signed? Well, you can figure it out by going to termlimits.com/2024 voter guide and see if your candidates have signed. Please check it out and please share it with your friends.
Philip Blumel: Thanks, Holly.
Philip Blumel: Term limits are favored by large majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents. So why are congressional term limits so hard to implement? Chris Cuomo is an award winning journalist working for News Nation out of New York, where his brother Andrew and father Mario were governors. Cuomo answers this question on a recent episode of his podcast, The Chris Cuomo Project, that was dedicated to term limits and embraced the term limits convention.
Chris Cuomo: I don’t think the powerful wanna do anything to hurt themselves. But the idea that, well the people decide that’s the best way to limit someone’s term as a public servant, that kind of discounts all of the rigging of the game that has happened since this document was created and how hard it is to get an incumbent out of office.
Philip Blumel: Next, an update on Bossier City, Louisiana. In episode 248 I told you about a group of citizens in Bossier City who turned in the requisite number of signatures to the Bossier Parish Registrar of Voters to put a City Council Tournament’s measure on the ballot this year. Well, the City Council refused to put the question on the ballot. So naturally the Bossier Tournament’s coalition went to court and they won a simple clear-cut case. A district judge ordered that the City Council must put term limits on the ballot. It’s the law. Well the city council met subsequently and said, “No, we refuse to put it on the ballot because, well, we intend to appeal the decision” Never mind the cost to taxpayers, never mind the fact that all the petitions were checked and rechecked and qualified as the Bossier Charter requires and that a Louisiana court ordered the politicians to comply with the law.
Philip Blumel: Well, the city is appealing the decision, and so now the measure’s are all tied up in litigation, and the voters will not see this question next week when they go to vote. Ugh, this is galling enough. But get this, while the citizens initiative is tied up in the courts, the Bossier city council voted last week to put its own version of the term limits measure on the March 2025 ballot. Now this one would create three term or 12 year term limits and restart the clock for the current politicians so that they could hold office for an additional 12 years. The citizens version applied to the current office holders. Am I going too far to ask, as I did regarding Andrew Do in Orange County, why these politicians are so desperate to retain these positions? In any case, corrupt politicians won another round in Bossier City last week. But I’m still confident the citizens will prevail. When citizens get engaged on this issue, they nearly always do. We will continue to follow this story.
Stacey Selleck: Liked the show, you can help by subscribing and leaving a five-star review on both Apple and Spotify. It’s free.
Philip Blumel: Thanks for joining us for another episode of No Uncertain Terms. The term limits Convention bills are moving through the state legislatures. This could be a breakthrough year for the term limits movement. To check on the status of the term limits Convention resolution in your state, go to termlimits.com/takeaction. There, you will see if it has been introduced and where it stands in the committee process on its way to the floor vote. If there’s action to take, you’ll see a Take Action button by your state. Click it. This will give you the opportunity to send a message to the most relevant legislators, urging them to support the legislation. They have to know you’re watching. That’s termlimits.com/takeaction.
Philip Blumel: If your state has already passed the Term Limits Convention Resolution, or the bill’s not been introduced in your state, you can still help. Please consider making a contribution to US Term Limits. It is our aim to hit the reset button on the US Congress, and you can help. Go to termlimits.com/donate. Termlimits.com/donate. Thanks. We’ll be back next week.
Stacey Selleck: Find us on most social media at US Term Limits. Like us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and now, LinkedIn.