Santa Barbara Libertarian Party Wins Roosevelt School Bond Abuse Lawsuit

Santa Barbara LP Wins Lawsuit Date: Saturday, July 31, 1999 9:05 AM SANTA BARBARA LIBERTARIAN PARTY WINS ROOSEVELT SCHOOL BOND ABUSE LAWSUIT Superior Court Judge Thomas Adams this week signed an out of court settlement in the “improper use of taxpayer funds” lawsuit brought by the Libertarian Party of Santa Barbara County against the Santa Barbara City School Board. Attorneys for the Libertarian Party won $16,500.00 in attorneys’ fees. Lead litigant, Colin Hayward, chairman of the Santa Barbara County Libertarian Party, said: “We are happy with the resolution of this case. Although it does not set legal precedent because it is an out of court settlement, it does send a chilling message to all bond sales firms that the Libertarian Party is watching and will sue to make sure they do not conspire with bureaucrats to abuse the process. We will be sending copies to all California school boards.” The case arose over the Feb. 8, 1995 hiring, by the school board, of Dale Scott & Co. to provide more than merely financial services on a bond issue for the rebuilding of Roosevelt School. Principal Michael Caston selected Dale Scott & Co. at a higher price than other bond sales firms because Dale Scott & Co. promised to advise advocates of the school bond how to produce success at the polls. Dale Scott & Co. were to be paid at least $50,000.00 from the monies raised by the bond sales once the public approved the issue. They eventually got $100,000.00. Using tax money to campaign for more tax money is illegal under California law since it violates the principle of morally limited government. A tax election machine self perpetuated by funds from tax money is offensive in contemporary law because it assures unstoppable growth of unlimited government. Libertarians believe that using tax funds to fund campaigns for more tax funds is similar in its corrosive effects to police funding their departments by seizures they make or bribes they accept. “It is bad enough that our highest political bodies, the legislatures, are for sale, already debauched by tax-tax-spend-spend-elect-elect vote buying”, said Colin Hayward, “without every other tax-dependent department and jurisdiction being similarly corrupted.” The Libertarian Party says todayís political system is rife with corruption from abuse of taxpayer money. The LP considers asset forfeiture laws, government subsidized political conventions and campaigns, legislatures being able to award contracts to campaign donors, and even municipal legislatures demanding concessions from supplicant developers to be examples of systemic corruption fueled by collusion to abuse taxpayer money. The Santa Barbara Libertarian Party filed suit in Superior Court with the help of the law firm of Weilbacher and Chatenever. They have won similar cases in the past. Attorney Robert Chatenever can be contacted at: (805) 650-6640. Robert Bakhaus, secretary of the Santa Barbara County Libertarian Party, can be reached for comment at (805) 965-2741. A fax of the 4 page settlement is available by leaving your fax number at Robert Bakhaus’ answering service: 965-2741. # # # Source: http://users.cwnet.com/jackhick/SBLP_Wins_Lawsuit.htm