Posted on 09/27/2009 1:37:41 PM PDT by South40
NATIONAL CITY — San Diego's bare-bones ACORN office was in full damage-control mode last week, fulfilling dozens of interview requests, reaching out to concerned volunteers and staging a media event to get the word out about how the group helps people.
The tiny office in National City has been spun topsy-turvy by the national scandal over an undercover video showing an ACORN employee giving border-crossing advice to a pair posing as a pimp and prostitute trying to set up a ring of underage call girls.
That prompted local Republican leaders to call for investigations into the office's voter-registration drive from a year ago, which resulted in thousands of problematic forms being thrown out.
“It's been overwhelming,” said David Lagstein, 36, who runs the office, now with just one other full-time employee.
Lagstein is hoping to redirect his energies into the organization's lifeblood: community organizing to help poor and moderate-income families on issues ranging from housing to health care and education.
But it's unclear if that will happen anytime soon. The California attorney general is investigating the office over the undercover video. State and county Republican Party leaders continue their drumbeat for a forensic audit into the voter-registration drive, despite San Diego County supervisors' decision last week to not pursue a county investigation.
“It's an organization that has devolved into a highly partisan, corrupt organization,” said Tony Krvaric, chairman of the San Diego County Republican Party. “They've put into question the integrity of the election in San Diego County.”
For his part, Lagstein considers the developments politically driven and representative of the struggles ACORN offices face across the country.
“The problems that happened in the past couple weeks show we haven't perfected our systems,” Lagstein said. “But our mission is more focused now on fewer issues.”
His office runs on a $207,000 budget this year, funded mostly by foundation grants (58 percent), member dues (25 percent) and federal grants (8 percent). Lagstein said the bigger impact comes from his 5,000 members and volunteers, who make calls, knock on doors and join marches and rallies.
ACORN opened its first office in San Diego in 2000, and its presence eventually grew to seven employees in offices in City Heights and Chula Vista.
It closed those offices and in February moved to National City with a smaller crew. Its current size is in part the result of the lack of a full-time office organizer who can raise funds and hire and train employees. Lagstein, who has worked for ACORN in other offices for 12 years, spends most of his time as the group's California political director.
His office has been focused on several campaigns at the state and local level. He is working with San Diego City Council members to restrict payday lending businesses that charge high fees and interest rates. On a broader stage, Lagstein's office is pushing for legislation that would require homeowners in foreclosure to have an opportunity to sit down with their lender and a mediator to work out an alternative. It's also rallying for more education funding in the state budget. Lagstein estimated that his office organizes two to four events a month, typically walking door-to-door in neighborhoods to publicize the efforts and find supporters, or planning marches or rallies.
The office also provided services to residents needing help with loan modifications, tax returns and food stamp forms. Rafael Lopez, 61, a handyman from Encanto, said ACORN officials in San Diego and Chicago helped reduce his monthly mortgage from $2,400 to $1,600 this year.
“We were ready to leave,” said Lopez, who had stopped paying his mortgage for 11 months after being injured on the job. “Thank God ACORN helped me.”
The type of walk-in services Lopez benefited from have been halted in San Diego and all other ACORN offices, as national leaders have called for an independent investigation into the embarrassing video sting that also snared offices in San Bernardino, Baltimore, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Washington, D.C.
Some observers say it will take time to repair the organization's reputation.
“A nonprofit's reputation is its most valuable asset,” said Pat Libby, director of the Institute for Nonprofit Education and Research at the University of San Diego. “And when that asset is harmed, it takes quite a bit of time for the public to regain confidence in that organization.”
That can affect a group's ability to raise money, carry out programs and have effective partnerships, Libby said.
“We're aware of what's been out there in the news,” said Daniel Zingale, senior vice president of the California Endowment, which provided a $50,000 grant to the San Diego ACORN office in 2003. “We hold our grantees to high standards in terms of our expectations for the use of the funds and their reporting requirements. ACORN has met our standards in the past, and going forward, we will continue to be vigilant.”
There’s a whale of a lot of “imperfection” in that system, if the people who are the public face of Acorn can be conned into giving the nod to a grossly illegal and immoral scheme. Wonder what goes on in the back offices?
groan ROFLOL
The GOP has been fighting the "racist" label for a long time. Why? I have no idea, as which party brought about the end of slavery? Which party spearheaded civil rights? Yet the "progressives" have made race one of the biggest dividing issues in their battle with the Republican Party.
And the Repubs, true to form, just put their proverbial tails between their legs and run for the hills when race is brought up.
As we see, even today - Glen Beck was immediately labeled as a racist when he broadcast the audio from the first tape on the radio, and the video on his TV program..
Thus, GW was content to win the elections. He didn't want to draw the race card and further hurt his image (at least that is how I interpret it).
And lest we forget, both political parties are eaten up with socialist corruption. Both parties have us on a train to full-blown Marxism. The difference is that the Republicans want to take the scenic route, Democrats want to take the Bullet Train...
I would expect we will see such an investigation about the same time we see one on the NEA and how the 0bama administration funneled yet more cash their way in return for volumes of propaganda. Blatantly illegal use of taxpayer money -
Shut them completely down and don’t let them morph into something else.
If the GOP retakes control of Congress, I think that such investigations would be a good move politically. Also hone in on Rangel, and on Pelosi’s use of a federal jet. I would also like to know the real story behind the Air Force One tour of the Statue of Liberty. There’s a lot more to it than we know. Also, investigate how the stimulus money is being used.
Good post. As to the Bullet Train, all of the most modern countries have them.
Liars, thieves, and “performing artists”.
ACORN + SEIU = Criminal Organisations = RICO
FReep mail me if you want on/off the list.
They can’t gain their footing because they are on a slippery slide downhill and out of sight!
Past performance is the best predictor of future behavior. The GOP has ALWAYS been too gutless to take firm, decisive action.
They'll let it slide "in the spirit of nonpartisonship.."
We need a conservative party.
Most private foundations probably give to ACORN to keep the liberal activists at bay. Now that ACORN is involved in promoting child prostitution it’s all the excuse they need to stop giving. ACORN likely won’t survive long.
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