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5/7/17 – The citizens of Banning ought to be on high alert. On Tuesday May 9, the Banning City council will fill two vacant seats on the Planning Commission.

Despite there being a total of 9 applicants, it appears that the appointees have already been selected behind the scenes. We predict them to be Joe Shaw and Jan Spann. This is the way business is done in a corrupt city : qualifications do not matter, but political connections do.

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PUPPET CANDIDATE JAN SPANN – ANY ROTTEN  DEVELOPER’S DREAM

A Facebook exchange between Spann and former councilmember Bob Botts tells the story. After resigning from the City Council in 2013 under dubious circumstances, Botts has done what most professional politicians do : he has since capitalized on his former position as Banning’s Mayor, by becoming a lobbyist for Developer Diversified Pacific. With Botts’ help, the Company was able to secure approval for a controversial 3,400 home development in Banning, named Rancho San Gorgonio.

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Both personally and as a School Board Trustee, Jan Spann was Banning’s premier cheerleader for the project. The principle of Diversified Pacific is Jeff Burum. He is currently on trial in San Bernardino for multiple counts of bribery to local politicians.

The Facebook post confirms that, as the trial continues, his henchman Bob Botts uses his connections to facilitate the installation of Spann onto the Planning Commision. Although the Facebook post has since been deleted,  a screenshot was captured prior to deletion :

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AS UNQUALIFIED AS IT GETS

To understand what is going on, all one needs to do is look at Jan Spann’s application (to view click here). The poorly written, yet pretentious document proclaims that it is the Planning Commission’s purpose is to be “educational” about the benefits of new developments. Kind of like a cheerleading squad, we suppose? Just how stupid does Spann think is the public anyway? Apparently, pretty darn stupid : “The public needs to be totally educated”, she proclaims.

With such arrogant – and ignorant – comments,  Spann must have confused the Planning Commission with the School Board. Last time we looked, a Planning Commission has no educational role whatsoever. It is a body which evaluates developments in light of the City’s ordinances and General Plan, and has an obligation to adhere closely to both.

Spann’s comments show that she is looking at the Planning Commission as a cheerleading institution for developers, which obviously completely disqualifies her for the position. No wonder she is Diversified Pacific’s dream candidate.

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SAME THREE STOOGES KEEP SELLING OUT BANNING

It is to be expected that the same three councilmembers that have sold out Banning in the past, will also do so on May 9.

When it comes to appointments in Banning, political connections always outweigh qualification. That is the way it has always been here. And it is the reason why Banning remains the dysfunctional mess that it is famous for.

When Diversified Pacific sought approval for the 3,400 home Rancho San Gorgonio project, Councilmembers Franklin, Welch and Moyer rushed the monster project to approval in a single session, and it did not matter that it took till 1:30  in the morning, as long as a 3:2 approval was the final outcome.

You see, when it comes to Franklin, Welch and Moyer, you can get anything from these three bought-and-paid-for sellouts, as long as you funnel them some campaign donations. And this time it is no different. Likely the decision has already been made behind closed doors.

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CONCLUSION

The chances of Jan Spann being appointed to the Planning Commission are excellent. And so are the chances of Banning’s citizenry being given yet another shaft by the good-ole boys.

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