Baldwin Park Grand Showdown Rematch: The Boxing Club versus The City of Baldwin Park

In a matter of seven weeks, the boxers went from asking for more money for their club to demanding the resignation of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tem, a councilor, and the director of parks and recreation.

In this time period, we’ve become known as local heroes and an inspiration.  The boxers began a fight against the corruption administered by the management team and the councillors and mayor that support them.  The majority (the Three), which enable the City’s corruption, are the mayor, the mayor pro tem, and the matron councillor.  The main two administrators of corruption are the director of parks and recreation and the city manager.

To give the new reader some context, our boxing program, in its heyday, was so popular that Fernando Vargas, Oscar de la Hoya, and Shane Mosley fought in our tournaments.  Over a period of about 12 years, the "decision makers" cut our program so badly.  We’re now operating on 50% of our original time and half the coaching staff.  Their excuse is always the same - "We have no money."  That's not the right rhetoric.

The question to ask them is where the money went.  I don't need to get into all of the examples right now and right here, but if you read the previous posts in this blog you can see where the money went.  Here’s one example.  The director has two city cars.  We have torn and worn gym bags, a skeleton boxing staff, and filthy and unsanitary boxing gloves. 

My role in all of this happened after I failed the bar.  I was a wash up - at least in my head.  I had to return home to my inner city hometown.  I took up boxing to free and discipline my mind and renew myself.  Most people move up after they graduate from a top tier law school.  But unlike them, and more like Joseph in Genesis, I was instead thrown into a dungeon. 

I was 30 and I moved back in with my mother.  Previous to this, since I was eighteen, I lived abroad and all over the world.  But as what most likely happened with Joseph, I made the best of a bad situation.  While studying for the bar and learning to box, I fell in love with the boxing program.  The coaches and the youth found a place in my heart.  Boxing gets the worst of the kids in the city.  The at risk teen, who can easily slip into drugs and or gangs and the angry and the poor. 

I, thus, cared enough and wanted the program to do better.  I wanted to raise money for the City.  The coaches and I started on a fundraising campaign, but as I began exploring, nothing seemed "right" in my city.  Take for instance, the fact that my boxing coach makes $8 an hour and has been there for 14 years.  Yet, the Director of Parks and Recs hires the councillor's daughter, (illegally by the way).  How does a high school student make 25% more than my coach who has been there for fourteen years?  (I don't need to get into all the ways I saw corruption.  You can read about it in my previous blog posts.)

As I began fundraising, something appeared to be wrong in the management of the boxing program.  Although the director of parks and recreation denies the claim that he tried to get rid of the boxing program, this was not the case.  His management slipped and told us that he wanted to get rid of one of the best programs in Baldwin Park.  Furthermore, he started stuffing the boxing gym with fitness gym equipment.

I don't know where he got this idea because there's only one boxing gym in Baldwin Park but at least 10 fitness gyms in the surrounding area (if not more).  Let's see: one boxing gym that has 62 kids (and most likely a lot more) and only two coaches or a fitness gym, which can be found anywhere.  So; these type of decisions made me question what was happening in Baldwin Park.

After passing the bar, I realized even though it was time for me to start working for a firm, I had to help out this boxing program.  Eventually, I became the free legal clinic in Baldwin Park.  When the average salary per person in this city is under $12,000 a year, they really needed help and didn't know what to do.  The people in this City, the boxers, and their families didn’t know their legal rights.

The first matter to sort out was figuring out why the City Hall couldn’t give us $1,500 a month to help our program.  It's peanut money.  So, the boxers went to City Hall.  The kids, teenagers, and coaches petitioned the Councillors and Mayor for help.  You can read all about it here: The Boxing Grand Showdown.  (The blog post went viral, please help share this post and that one.)  Although the Mayor, on record promised to meet with me and to help our program, after six weeks, we saw no change. 

So, we concluded they weren't going to do anything for us.  Coincidentally, two gym bags fell down and broke recently.  There's no more electric tape to wrap it.  But, the e-management team still get to fill up their vehicles on City Money, and it's not even in Baldwin Park!  Places include: Palm Desert, Victorville, Chino, and other out of the way cities.

The boxer’s presentation at City Hall awakened two forces in the City: retaliation and accountability.  First, the retaliation.  The administration has behaved in unprofessional and thuggish ways since the uprising.  For example, the Chief of Police (through her agent) tried to chill my speech.  The City Attacked Me!  The director of parks and recreation retaliated against the boxers and sent his management to surveillance the coaches.  His reason, in doing so was to find a reason to fire the coaches.  Boxers on Their Night Out. 

But with the retaliation, also came the power in truth and courage.  The good that has come is that the staff of parks and recreation were inspired by the teenagers and boxers and also spoke out against the director.  Read: The head boxing coach - hour of the hero.  (That post went viral as well).  Then the City Yard, a division of Public Works, said that they were going to join in on the fight.  The police association also supported the boxers and printed out our posters (the ones you've been seeing on my blog).  Even after designing these posters, the City told me it didn't have a printing budget, but the Police Association stepped up and printed them for us.  Finally – powers outside of this City have been following this story closely.  The boxers are gaining help every day. 

After discovering that we were being ignored, we took the City on for a rematch.  If we didn’t, they would think everything was fine at the boxing gym and the public would think there was no more problems.  But there’s still too many problems.

The boxing kids, all teenagers this time, walked down to City Hall.  Outside of City Hall, leaders from the City Yard came and met me.  They said, "Oh, you're the boxing lawyer.  You're Paul Cook."

At this point, I said, "Yup. But please say, 'Hi,' to the boxers."  So, they went over to the boxers and shook their hands.  I could see the high schoolers felt important.

Then the leader of the staff rebellion came.  I greeted him and also told him to also introduce himself to the boxers.  With the staff leaders and the City Yard leaders on board, the police staging a friendly community outreach event the day before, and the boxers speaking out, it was and still is obvious that the members of public are in open rebellion against the City’s Administration and decision makers.

After greeting these leaders, I opened the doors of the Council chambers and told the kids to seat in the front row.  Our numbers, us being dressed in gym clothing, and our courageous spirit announced our presence to the assembly and to the management team and to the politicians.  We sat in the front.  We wanted to watch them.  We wanted them to know: the boxers were here.

The Three (these are those who oppose the boxers: the mayor, the matron councillor, and the mayor pro tem) pulled a dirty trick this time.  The last Council meeting was a circus.  In the last one, the staff cried out against the abuses heaped on them for at least a decade.  The members of the public cried out against The Three.  Apparently, it was a bit of a circus.  These are our politicians.

Thus, the mayor brought in a small child of eight to ten, to stand next to him and announce the processions of the meeting this time.  I thought: what a dirty bastard, hiding behind a shield of a small child so that the people wouldn't be heated and speak out against him.  A good politician should have the courage to listen to the people and admit when he is wrong.

When public comments opened, an elderly gentleman spoke out first.  He complained about the First Amendment violations that the City committed. 

I couldn't help it.  I go to church.  I never say anything when I listen to sermons.  But when he said, "We have First Amendment Rights," I cried from the audience, "Amen."  We do. 

This older man had nailed it.  He said, "This City sends the police and send code enforcement whenever people speak out against the Councillors and - or Mayor."  Also, he mentioned how it wasn't right that the matron's daughter gets paid more than the boxing coach who has been there for over 14 years. 

I thought, Yes, the town's people now know. 

He also said that the mayor doesn't let people from other cities speak during public comments.  I was thinking - Seriously?  Is this real?  Not only is that a violation of the First Amendment, but it could even fail rational review under the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

Another lady went up there and also complained that there were Constitutional violations.  I think she was referring to the fact that the Police Association picketed the Matron.  When the picketing officers’ promotions were coming up, she overreached in her role as a councillor and acted as the Chief of Police and halted their promotions.  All because they picketed her.

I watched the kids' eyes light up as they saw they were understanding the problems of the City.  They were engaged.  And I prayed to God - Oh, I hope one of you, when we're gone, will know what to do when this happens in your generation.

Julian, the head boxing coach walked in at this time.  He sat next to me.  The coach and trainee were now together.

Then I heard something disgusting.  Some background first, though.  There's a battle within City Council over whether to keep the local police force or to go with the Sheriffs.  The Three want  the sheriffs. 

So – it appears The Three asked this mother up to speaking at the public announcement time.  It appears they wanted her to talk about how her son may have been potentially molested by one or more officers of the City’s police department. 

I would have been fine if this lady chose to do this from her own free will.  But like the mayor using the child to shield himself from hearing the truth, The Three were using a mother to air her family’s personal and shameful story to further their own political agenda.  Why I find it so awful is that after The Three get what they want, do you think they'll be in touch with this woman or follow up with her or do they even care about her? 

From the staff uprising party, a parent spoke out against the director of Parks and Recreation, and how run down the programs have become.  I could see that the director could now see that the barrage would begin against him.

Myra, a black female, went first.  Last time she spoke against how the department lied to her.  To get her out of the department, the director’s manager lied to her about a promotion available at another department.  She transferred.  There was no promotional position.  She was so upset and betrayed, she had to quit.

Although she had a bachelors in recreation, she was passed up for promotion after promotion.  She worked for parks and recreation for 11 years.  The people that received promotions didn't even have degrees. 

Therefore, at this council meeting, she announced to the director and the assembly that she had filed a discrimination claim against Housing and Urban Development, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and a claim against the City for a breach of contract.

She then said, "Director Carrillo is abusive and under delusions of grandeur.  I have no respect for him after how he's treated his staff."  She stormed out of the Council Chambers after finishing.  Speaking about it all brought back the bad memories.

The mayor thanked her.  But in her own words (and not mine), his dismissive tone felt to her that he just wanted her to shut up and leave.

Alfredo, the leader of the staff uprising spoke out too.  He talked about how he was being retaliated against for speaking out against the staff abuses in City Hall at the previous meeting.  He found out that the director openly announced to his managers to find reasons to fire Alfredo.  They scrutinized if he was wearing the right shirt, whether he was coming in on time, and his general performance.  This upset him because other managers go shopping on City time, such as Nikki Hendricks, who recently got promoted because she was shopping friends with April the wife of another manager.

Alfredo then spoke out against another staff.  In this case, the City Manager and the Director plotted against her.  Trumped up a charge that was three years old.  They then put her on administrative leave, without a hearing.  And now that staff is fearful of her job because she has children and can't lose it.

He also mentioned how the City Manager and the Director were plotting to cut their hours so they wouldn't be eligible for healthcare.  The outrageous thing about this is that the executive management team have a cafe budget (which apparently isn't for food but is additional tax free money for their healthcare) and a stipend for their healthcare too.  How much healthcare do they need versus how much do their staff need?  Alfredo had more to say but he was cut off by the Mayor.

Julian - the head boxing coach - went up.  He's worked there for fourteen years.  He's up put with their abuses.

He spoke on how he received a stellar performance review and that he was grateful for it.  He thanked them for the forty cent raise.  But he still makes far less than the matron's daughter.

I heard two gasps from the audience.

Julian then discussed how the director is scrutinizing those who spoke out against him.  But on City time, he picked up a notebook computer from Royal Coaches for the matron's daughter, but he's a director of parks and recreation, not a babysitter.  (Royal Coaches is a tow company that has a reputation for corruption in sponsoring The Three.  NBC's Joel Grover is currently investigating them for crime.)

He stated, "The boxing program is actually self-sustaining because it makes revenue.  So why the cuts?"  The director has followed unprofessional accounting standards and conflated the boxing program with other accounts; and thus, he takes from the profit of the boxing, places it into his failing programs, and then cuts the boxing program more.  Does this sound like sound decision making?

He then mentioned how the director undermined him by trying to pay the new coach $13 an hour.  This is a 62% increase of what the head coach is currently making.  The reason the director offered such a high pay to the new coach was that he would give him such a high pay (and potentially the head coach position) if this new coach could shut the boxers up.  Guess what?  We found out.  Is that the real way to fix the problem of bad decision making?

He then talked about how the City most likely paid for the supervisor's Rudolph Galindo's MBA at Cal State Fullerton.  (Julian didn't mention; however, that they are still potentially paying for his PhD).  That's $33-$45,000 a year.  (As of the time of this record, the City doesn’t want to release the public records, which I’m entitled to by law.)  Let's put that in perspective.  The total boxing budget is $23,000 annually.  One person gets the benefit of the MBA.  The boxing program has at least 62 kids, and definitely more.  His MBA costs more than the annual budget of the boxing program.  One person benefits.  Sixty two kids loses out.

What he said next, I wasn't prepared for.  Julian said, "For all these reasons, I ask Director Carrillo to resign.  The person who should replace him should have ethics, a vision for the program, and a spine to stand up against self-interested directors."

I looked at the director.  He looked like he went "mimis" (knocked out in boxing lingo).  I think all of us were asking, Did Julian really just demand that?!  A silent shock pulsed through the room.  I felt the adrenaline pump in me too because it was such an intense atmosphere.  Then the claps and cheers resounded in the chambers.

I then went up to the podium, again wearing my boxing clothes: gym shorts, and a grey tang top.  I brought out my hand wraps, and in front of the politicians and assembly, Julian wrapped me.  It showed the assembly the relationship between coach and trainee.  We walked to the side of the podium.  Together, we remained standing.  Together, we were there to show our stand against the corruption of the City.

At that point, the matron councillor showed body language that said she was going to tune us out.  Her face went behind her computer, and her eyes looked like she was either playing solitaire or surfing the internet.  She wasn't interested in what the boxers had to say.  Can you imagine all the work we put into this, and our elected official is looking like she's playing solitaire on the computer?

The first boxer, Eric went up.  Eric just recently graduated high school.  He’ll be attending a four year college, and he’s interested in becoming a politician.

He was nervous because it was his first time speaking at the Council.  Nonetheless he had something to say.

He talked about how he noticed that the director of parks and recs was sending his management team to "hostilely scrutinize" the coaches.  That this wasn't right.  That this was a good program.  And that this behavior wasn't helping anybody.

At that point, I grabbed the microphone.  I said, "Marlen Garcia, please be respectful and pay attention to what the boxers are saying."

She said in a flat tone: "I am listening," but went behind the computer again.

The kids looked at me, like wow-he-just-did-that.  You could imagine a row of teenagers just sitting there and watching the councillors and mayor.

I asked some other kids to speak, but this time they weren't so prepared to speak.

Zach, our newest fighter, talked about how this is the best boxing gym he's ever been to.

After Zach, Rene, one of Julian's fighters, came up.  He said, "Marlen, pay attention to us.  You staring behind that computer is really disrespectful."

I was wowed by that.

The last of the fighters spoke.  My time had come.  Unlike last time, I wasn't as smooth because there was so much adrenaline pumping in me.  It was such an intense environment, and remember: Julian just asked for the Director's resignation.  That left the room with that silent shock.

I said, "Hi, Paul ‘The Boxing Lawyer’ Cook here.  You all know me.

"Director Carrillo said he's fixing the boxing program.  So, I'm not here to talk so much about the boxing program.

"Someone in the room quoted Scripture and said he didn't know it that well.  Well, I do know Scripture well.  Proverbs 19:5 says, 'Whoever pours out lies will not go free.'

"Mayor, last time I was here, I said I was disappointed in you because you didn't meet with me.  Now, I say I'm disappointed in you because you didn't meet with me again.  And last time, you promised me on record that you would.  You had a Spanish saying for me last time.  I have one for you, 'Palabras.  Palabras.  Solamente palabras.'  Words.  Words.  Only words."

I paused.

Then continued, "Well, it's clear to me, that you don't value your words.  You said you'd fix this boxing program.  But you didn't.  So, I say on record now, 'I don't want to meet with you anymore.'

"I'm glad people brought up the Constitution today.  My First Amendment rights were violated by the Chief of Police Lili Hadsell and Leticia Llara and City Manager Vijay Singhal."

The Police Chief Hadsell took off her glasses to express her disapproval.  I wanted to say, put your glasses back on so you can see me clearly. 

Instead, I replied: "Chief Hadsell, you have better things to do to get your agent to call me under your name.  Go check out the LA Times.  There's been shootings in our City.

"This City has a problem following the law in general.  I made a Public Records Request and there were two violations of law.  When I pointed it out, the Mayor responded and tried to fix it.  I was happy about this.  But after they tried to fix the problem, there were three more violations!

I mean you have a City Attorney right there.  You hired two law firms.  You still don't know what the First Amendment is.  Since this Administration has a problem with the First Amendment let me quote it to you.  '[The government] shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.'

"For all the pain and problems and corruption in this City, Mayor Lozano, while you have your freedom and dignity, I ask that you resign.

"Mayor pro tem Monica Garcia, or should I say your real name, Raquel Monica Garcia," (Raquel Garcia never uses her real name for some reason, "I have a file that has evidence of your self-dealing and your stealing from the public's money.  For this, while you have your freedom and dignity, I ask that you resign."  She responded with an arrogant smile.

Finally, I turned to the one who controlled them all and hated the boxers and our program.  I said to her, "You take kickbacks.  $10,000 from the Walmart project.  You violate law.  You hire family over good candidates.  You don't do what's right.  For this, while you have your freedom and dignity, I ask that you resign."

The matron shook her head again and again in anger.

I said, "I want to end with Proverbs 28:28, 'When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding; but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive.'"  

My speech was finished.  I went back to my seat with Julian.  I had so much adrenaline in me that I can't remember of people were cheering or not or clapping.  I think they did.

We sat back down with the kids.  Then the matron's groupies, made up of mainly family members and friends, started using the public comments time to talk about how she was a victim.  At this point, I told my boys it was time to go.

And like an organized military, we all stood up at the same time.  We marched out.  We entered with a presence.  We exited with a presence.

After the Council meeting, I got messages on my phone that The Three wanted to sue me.  They called me a bad person because I was being litigious and that's the reason the Mayor wouldn't meet.  The Councillor defended why her daughter she get paid so much.  I got another text that said they all feared for their lives because of me.  I couldn't understand why.  After all, it was "words, words, only words," that the boxers said. 

After we left the Council chambers, I said, "Hey Julian, we should treat the kids out."

He said, "Of course."

So we treated our boys to the Baldwin Park Pizza Company.  We purchased them some really yummy pizza.  All of us talked about what was happening, why they were important, and that we're going to change the future.  I guess, it's official.  The boxers have declared war against corruption and those administrating it.  The leader of the staff uprising stopped by the Pizza Company and congratulated the boxers.

This was a longer story.  I hope you enjoyed it.  If you did, you know what you need to do.  The Three have ran corruption under the guise of secrecy.  Even the local paper, the San Gabriel Tribune is not accurately reporting on what’s happening here.  The main focus of this article is that Ricardo Pacheco called Marlen Garcia an ass.  http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_23834618/baldwin-park-councilmember-targetted-by-womens-group-calling

Now, ask yourself, what’s more important to read: What the boxers are exposing or hearing about the Matron being called an Ass?  I hope you enjoyed this read.  It took me three hours to write, and another two hours to edit.  I'm doing all this because these administrators of corruption need to be called to resign by you and me.

If you did enjoy it, please share this story with your friends and family.  We need your help.  We need people to know what’s going on in this City – this corrupt City.  

The boxers have become the salt and light of this community.  In antiquity, salt was thought to be the element needed to purify evil.  We the boxers are committed to driving out the evil in this city.  One photon, only one, can pierce the darkness.  We're nobody.  Think about how a washed up coach, a bar flunkey, and the lowest of the low of teenagers are taking on the city.  But remember, the Holy Scriptures state: "God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."

Join the fight.  Share the story.  Help our cause.

The Boxers' Adversary

The boxers are currently battling the City of Baldwin Park and its corruption.  Most people seem intrigued and excited by our plight to win back the soul of the boxing program and the City.  Some people, however, "don't want to get into politics."

After you read about our showdown, boxing showdown - a story that has gone viral and has gone all over the world (from Ukraine to New Zealand to Pakistan to Romania), I want you to watch the video below.  I realized that the reader has no sense of who are adversary is.  When you read the showdown post, I mention a matriarch council member who has no sympathy for our boxing program.  In fact, at the ribbon cutting ceremony at the transit center, she told the boxers that "we're lucky to have boxing" because "boxing is just entertainment."  Yet, she doesn't cut the aquatics program because her kids went through it.  I just have to say - running a city isn't just about your kids.  It's also about the children of others. 

Boxing is not entertainment.  It transforms lives.  It gives hope to the youth - that they could be somebody.  Not everyone will become a professional fighter, but everyone leaves a better person - more disciplined and more controlled.

What I realize though is that people don't know the nature of our adversary.  Therefore, I have to show you.

I found this youtube video.  Let me give you some context.  The citizens showed up for a Town Hall meeting.  But at the last minute, the majority faction cancelled it.  The town's people stayed and wanted to talk about a local issue.  When the matron councillor, Marlen found out, she demanded that people leave.  The main line she says in the video is: "You have to listen to us."  Us really means her.

Actually, people didn't, and they should've called the police on her.  It would have been justified as she may have violated the Brown Act and violated the town's people's right to the First Amendment - the right to assemble.  I mean it would be a good dose of her own medicine.  After all, they did call the police on me and had me arrested (although just for a few minutes) because I told the HR manager Leticia Llara that I had First Amendment Rights.  See the blog post here: The City Attacked Me!

What the director of the youtube video is saying, for my international and out of state audience, is that this woman violated the Brown Act.  The Brown Act states that secret meetings amongst politicians can't happen, and that a voting majority cannot be present at a secret meeting.

Marlen allegedly violated the Brown Act when she entered the room because there were now three councillors present - a voting majority.  Therefore, Susan Rubio stepped out because she was self-aware of the violation of law.

The Mayor, Marlen, and Mayor Pro Tem violated the Brown Act again when the people left the Town Hall room.  What you don't see, is that after the town's people left, the Mayor, Mayor pro tem, and Councillor Marlen have their own private meeting.  That's three - a majority vote.  Furthermore - their constituency stayed, while the minority constituency was forced out.

Finally - she doesn't own that room or space.  She disrupted the people's right to assemble to discuss a town issue on their hearts and mind - whether to go with the Sheriff or Police.  She doesn't own this town.  It's not her checkbook.  And she doesn't get to decide to destroy our boxing program because she doesn't like it.

So - meet our opponent.  Remember her words: "You have to listen to us."  No, the boxers will not.  We stand for the truth, for what's right, and what's fair.

Join the fight.  Share this story.  If you can volunteer, no matter where in the world you are, we can use you.

Updated on 8/11/2013:

On 8/10/2012 Marlen Garcia emailed me.  She wrote, " . . .I'm not resigning . . ." 

The Head Boxing Coach - Hour of the Hero

By: Paul "The Boxing Lawyer" Cook

"Men must endure their going hence."  Shakespeare, King Lear.

This isn't my story.  It's the story about the head boxing coach of the boxing gym.

I met the head boxing coach, Julian "The Powerhouse" Casas in the winter of 2012.  I had just failed the bar, and I knew that I needed to get back off my feet.  The last time I was living in a mental hell was in my New Zealand winter.  Judo brought me out of that.  I thought the American Martial Art of boxing would bring me out of my own self-pity.

Julian didn't originally train me.  Actually, at first, my boxing was so terrible none of the coaches thought I'd come back.  I couldn't bob right because my muscles weren't used to it.  I looked funny and stupid.  And by the way I was 30.

But "men must endure their going hence."  And I kept at it.  I kept on the mental training of boxing, and eventually, when they saw I was serious, Julian took me seriously.  The bond between the coach and the trainee began.

When I first met Julian, he was tired of the boxing job.  He loved training the kids and the teenagers, but I didn't actually know how terrible his situation was.  I don't think he knew either because of how long he was steeped in it.  Although he was there for fourteen years, he didn't put his all into the boxing program in that winter of 2012-2013 because there was no more hope for it.  That December, Director Carrillo had just cut a day from our program.  It was now open Monday through Wednesday.  In the heyday of the boxing club, the gym was open Monday through Saturday.  Now, it was running on 50% of its original time.

I didn't know what to make of the head boxing coach, but I did notice one thing.  He cared about the kids.  Most of the kids in the boxing programs come from rough backgrounds.  As the Chinese say, "You never know what happens behind closed doors."  Well, I'll tell you the sad reality of what happens.  Fathers leave homes.  Fathers get drunk.  Fathers beat their children and their girlfriends or wives.  Uncles molest kids.  And as hard as this is to read, this happens all the time in Baldwin Park.

Then you get angry youth.  So many gangster fathers drop their kids off at the boxing program because they want their kids to be mean little fighters.  I always feel sorry for the kids that really don't have it in them, because they're too thin or weak or not confident, to be a fighter.  Other parents bring in their kids because they get into too many street fights, and the parents have lost control of them.

This is what Julian has to work with.  So - he does his best.  On his own money, he drives the kids to the mountains to go running.  On his own funds, he buys them boxing equipment, like gloves, headgear, and mouthpieces.  Why?  Because they can't afford it.  He did this in silence, without telling others, for fourteen years.

Even for me, Julian rode out with me to the West Side of Los Angeles after an exhausting day of work.  He didn't want to go because he was tired.  We ate pizza together in the West Side. We shared a beer.  He gave me a hug and wished me luck.  He even called me two days later to ask how everything was going.

So, when he met me, he had given up hope on the program because he believed in the propaganda the director was always saying: "There's no money." I also noticed he was terrified about ever challenging such decisions.  Immediately, I noticed there was instilled in the staff a culture of terror and fear.  Culture is like pornography in some sense.  Everyone recognizes what they see, but it can't really be explained in words.  And I certainly saw this culture of fear, but it would be much later why I would understand the reasons it existed.

Julian kept telling me in the spring of 2013 that it was time for him to leave.  Usually, I would support such a decision, but I knew it was not the right one.  I told him to stay.  That the kids needed him and after our fundraising efforts that things would be better.  He didn't believe me because Baldwin Park's Parks and Recreation was run regimented.  Either you were in favor or you weren't.  Boxing wasn't in favor.

But Julian and all of us did the amazing photo shoot in which our posters were based on.  That showed him that things could be different.

He noticed that the director did seem sincere in helping our boxing program.  Sponsors genuinely wanted to give us money.  In the frozen world of hopelessness at our boxing gym, spring was coming.

I was disappointed and frustrated so often at Julian.  Although he had a good heart, the years of the cultural fears had paralyzed the head boxing coach for standing up for himself, the program, and the kids.  I shouted at him once for not taking things seriously enough.  I had to apologize.  But I only wanted to see change, and I wanted to see it.

He coached me in boxing.  I coached him in terms of another fighting.

Over time, he took on the role of taking charge of the gym and doing what was right with it.

The fear still overran him when the boxers spoke out at City Hall.  But after he saw the children, the boxers, and myself speak out and talk about how destroyed our boxing program was, he had hope.  He was inspired.  And he realized that to stand up and tell the truth was something he wanted to do, regardless of the potential of retaliation.  And if you read the last blog post - the retaliation did come.  He came to the decision - I need to do the right thing.  I need to stand up.  I need to be an example.

On day nine of the Boxers' Blitz, although not directly organized by the boxers, the part time staff at parks and recreation followed the boxers and went to City Hall.  The staff went to City Hall because under the direction of the City Manager Vijay Singhal and the Director Carrillo, the City was going to cut all their hours, so they wouldn't qualify for Obama Care.  One of the staff intercepted the secret email and showed all the part time staff.

The director that day had gotten word of the staff uprising and called emergency meetings at 3pm to try to stop it.  He threatened.  He told lies about how the budgets would be cut again.  Although a few backed down, eight staff still went and spoke the truth.  They were the salt and light of the workers.  Julian was one of them.

The head boxing coach went without the support of the boxers.  All the staff were scared to speak.  But he had made his decision.  The truth had to be told.  Of the staff, he spoke first.

He said, "Councillors and Mayor, I'm here today to address the inequalities in parks and recreation.  I'm Julian Casas, and I live in Baldwin Park.  I have my roots in Baldwin Park.  I'm not into politics.  I try to avoid it when I can.  But the time has come for me to not avoid it because I found out about inequalities and injustices that need to be made right.  I've been working here for 14 years.  But I found out that a 17 year old, the daughter of Marlen Garcia Council Member, gets hired at parks and recreation.  Even after 14 years, I get paid $8 an hour.  She makes $10.36 an hour.  That's a slap in the face.

"It doesn't just stop there.  Even her high school friends get hired.  I work another 15 years here, and I still wouldn't make as much as an inexperienced lifeguard.  The truth is I gave up on seeing a pay increase a long time ago.  But I investigated the budget.

"You see the inequality.  Aquatics gets $200,000.  Boxing only gets $30,000.  But they always tell us we don't have any money.  But according to Marlen Garcia, Boxing is entertainment.  Whenever the swim team asks for money - they got it at our expense.  It's obvious that Garcia likes the program because her children benefit from it.

"Also, everyone in management is from the swim team.  There's no one from boxing.  In fact, the only way to move up in management is to either be related or be friends with those in aquatics management.  Take for instance the fact that Armando's wife got promoted over someone who had a degree and was more qualified.  Recently Armando's wife's shopping friend got promoted too over those who have been there longer.  Did you know that husband and wife can't work in the same department under the government code?

"You know how they say they have no money.  All Director Carrillo has to do is take a pay cut.  He makes $160,000-$180,000 a year.  He gets a cafe budget of $1,200 a month.  That's $14,400 a year.  No corporation does this for their management, except for Google who expects you to work 12-14 hours a day.  By the way, the concillors, mayors, and management team all bought themselves iPads.  But there's no money for the boxing staff or the boxing club."

At that point Julian was cut off by the mayor.  What he also wanted to say was, I'm not sure how this is possible.  Because there's 'allegedly' a formal HR process, even for the hiring of Marlen's daughter.  But it seems everything is bypassed because the HR Manager, Marlen, and Director Carrillo all have an informal, closed meeting, to sort everything out.  Nonetheless, he was heard.  The mayor met with him later, but didn't do anything to increase his pay.

When I heard the audio stream on Julian's speech, I nearly wept.  When you care about someone that does good and never talks about the abuses heaped on him, how can you not?

During the spring of 2013, I saw Julian sort out an 18 year old who was hitting on one of the girl boxers, who was underage.  I saw him sort out staff.  He fought bravely in meetings with the director at the boxing program, and he's even sorted out his own staff and other volunteer coaches who were causing problems.  Julian's changed and he's risen to the occasion.  I just find it sad that he gets paid $8 an hour.  Ask yourself, does a head boxing coach, who's been there for fourteen years for the love of the job and with these skills deserve such a pay when the director of the program makes $180,000 a year?

I was most proud of Julian when I sat with him last night.  He talked to someone about our fight for the boxing program.  He told her, "Before I met Paul, I was ready to leave.  But now, I'm here to stay.  We're working hard.  We're doing all this because it's the right thing to do."

When I heard those words, I felt moved.  That's right: we're here to do the right thing.  Remember: "Men must endure their going hence."

So this is a tribute to the head boxing coach, Julian Casas.

Join the fight.  Share the story.  Help our cause.

Updated on 8/13/2013

Julian Cases received a stellar performance review.  After 14 years of service, he's received a forty cent raise. 

The Boxers On Their Night Out

The boxers launched a blitz against the City of Baldwin Park for ten days. They ranged from open letters, to discussions with directors, and ended with another City Hall meeting.

Perhaps, my favorite day of the blitz was on day seven.  On day seven, the director of parks and recreation tried to place strict controls on the boxing club.  Instead of working with the boxing program, he was upset that our coaches had made the cuts in the boxing a public issue, and he also wasn't too happy with our City Hall presentations.

He sent his managers to constantly watch the boxing coaches and the players, hoping and hoping there would be a moment in which we would screw up.

The boxing coaches didn't miss a beat.  They were training the kids, as they would everyday.  Nobody was messing up because my coaches care and are dedicated.  But yet, instead of the director having a supportive attitude to the program, he attempted to tighten his grip on it so that he could use it against my coaches.  No cigar.  He found nothing, except . . .

There was one point in which a staff member messed up.  She brought in balloons filled with helium.  She tied them to the ring of the gym.  Then the managers spotted the balloons.  One of them thought it needed to be taken down.  He went to go in and check with the director.  The director, who gets paid $160,000-$180,000 had nothing else better to do than to order the destruction of the balloons.  They were popped.

He came into the gym and asked the staff member what the balloons were for.  She brought them in to celebrate Jose's boxing victory in Tijuana.  You can read all about it here.  Jose's Fight in Tijuana  From what I was told he didn't look too happy about making the order about getting rid of the balloons after he found what it was for.

I walked into the gym around 6pm.  I was dressed in suspenders and a dress shirt.  The director met me and looked puzzled as to why I was dressed.

I asked him, "Are you sticking around?"

"No, I have a meeting to go to," he said.

"Oh, so do I.  Is is the fundraising event?"  I pulled out a number of yellow tickets and fanned them out.

His face brightened with surprise.  "Yeah, that one," he muttered.

"Well, I'll see you there."

"I'm glad you're supporting the city."

I could tell he was wondering what I would do at the fundraising event.  Out in the foyer, I saw my high school teenage boxers.  They were all dressed up like they were ready to go to prom.  The boys looked sharp and smart and spiffy.  The girl boxer looked very pretty in her dress.  Her skin was more earthy in tone and made her look more Indian than Spanish.  We all looked so nice.

We walked to City Hall, where the fundraiser was.  The majority of the patrons there were elderly women, as they all came from the Baldwin Park Women's Club.

While people were plating up for food, I tried to teach my teenage boxers social skills.  We went up to every person present at the dinner, shook their hands, and introduced ourselves.  The youth and myself, all dressed so spiffy, must have greeted 50-60 seniors.  The best part was when one of  my boxers said, "Hi, I'm Christian.  It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."  He just came off as so well mannered.

What I noticed most was how neglected the elderly were.  I could tell when they held your hand longer than they should have.  But it was great to see that connection and human touch between older and younger.

Furthermore, since it was all women, they loved that we had a woman boxer in our entourage.  Nobody could believe she was a boxer.  She was certainly the star of the evening, and rightly so.

At one point, one of the woman patrons asked when they could see her box in a tournament.  I called the director over.  She asked him when tournaments would start.  He didn't have a good answer.

He turned around and asked me, "You called me all the way over for this?"

I said, "I didn't call you.  She did."

When the auction, I saw two candle holders.  When the candles were lit, it'd cast a flower pattern against the wall.  I bid and bid and outbid the other patrons.  After the auctioneer called, "Sold," I set the candle holders, which had lit candles in front of the woman boxer.  The flame pattern of flowers flickered out of the candle holders.  "They're for you and your mother."

She smiled and said, "Thank you."

Towards the end of the evening, the boxing program was given five minutes to speak.  I was told, however, by the director that I could not speak for the boxing program.  But when he saw the teenagers appear confused by the decision, he relented.

I said, "I knew we were invited to a historical society event.  But it seems more like the Baldwin Park Beauty Pageant to me."

After the chuckles, I reminded everyone about the future of Baldwin Park.  I introduced each boxer and explained their profile to each one.

The group applauded.  A lady, who sat next to the Councillor who hated our boxing program and the director asked, "What kind of law do you practice?"

I said, "Constitutional."  The two powers had a frown on their face.

After the dinner, all the boxers walked back to the community center.  There was this sense of pride all of them had.  They were recognized.  We were certainly the stars once again.

Join the fight.  Share the story.  Understand the City has retaliated against the teenagers, the coaches, and myself now.

Updated on 8/11/2013

Since the release of the post, we haven't seen management snoop around our boxing gym anymore. 

The Fights in Tijuana (and updates)

This is an exciting time in the history of our city.  At time of writing this, at 8:07pm on Wednesday, July 17, 2013, I feel anxious.  I feel like a general, sitting in his office, waiting to hear reports of what's happening.  The staff at parks and recreations are staging a demonstration at City Hall.  They are all speaking on the abuses they faced while working for the director.  Take for instance, that the Director has a cafe budget of $1,200 a month, $14,400 a year, but my coach who has worked there for 14 years got a 50 cent raise during that whole time.  Take for instance that the delinquent daughter of the Councillor Garcia started working at parks and recs and makes more than my coach who has been there for fourteen years.  People are fed up.  And although I did not organize the uprising, the boxers were consulted.  More to come . . .

This weekend, I decided to support our own homegrown Jose "Chon" Zepeda from our boxing gym.  Jose, now 24, has been boxing for 12 years now and started at our own boxing club.  He's a professional boxer.  I'm a lawyer.  He trained me at times.  How else would two people from such different backgrounds meet?  In fact, I guess I became his lawyer in dealing with his contracts.  I do it though because the profession is dirty, and Jose needs protection.

When Jose invited me to see him fight in Tijuana, I knew I had to go.  I never drove across the border before.  So, it was a new experience.  I never actually ever drove longer than two hours before, and I find that hard for myself to believe when I've been all over the world.

On my car ride from Los Angeles to Tijuana, I passed through Orange County and then drove through the seaside coast through San Diego.  I was thinking.  I was thinking about how proud I was of Luis and Julian, the two boxing coaches, for sending that letter to the director.  I mean, can you imagine how hard it was for them?  They're the lowest level staff, and they were making a complaint letter, one that touched on public concerns, open to the public.  You can read it here Open Letter to the Director.

When the director received the letter, he met with the two boxing coaches.  I won't divulge much from what I heard happen in the meeting because that would be unprofessional on my part.  But I will touch on two points: the Administration's ignorance regarding First Amendment Rights and the courage my coaches displayed.

When I heard their stories, it was obvious to me that the director was getting advice from someone else.  I've dealt with him before, and I know his types of responses.  The statements and questions he asked showed me he was consulting someone.  The irony of the matter was that although those two were my boxing coaches, I coached them on how to deal with their battle to come.  So, as they told me their report, I watched the living chess pieces combat each other.  Which chessmaster would come out victorious?  The city or me?

The director insinuated that sending letters was not in their best professional interests.  He forgot there's something called the First Amendment, even for employees.  And he works for the government.  So, given the circumstances and public matter, the Constitution protects my coaches.  So you could imagine the smile that lit up my face when he asked them not to send anymore letters.  And my junior coach responded.  "I'll send another one soon then."  He was certainly knocked back by their boldness.  And to me - it was the signature theme that ran through the club and ran through us: courage.

While thinking everything through, I found it difficult to drive in Mexico.  The driving rules were different.  I had just made it in time to see the fights.

The Zepeda family went into the Marquee.  Inside, I had a few beers.  The fights started off somewhat boring.  The place was only about half full.  The first fights that started with were women and teenagers.  Seeing women fight to me, as unfeminist as it sounds, wasn't fitting.  I didn't like seeing the anger flash in their face.  It was ugly to see a pretty face get bloodied.  It's not that women couldn't fight.  It's just that it didn't look right to see a face of beauty splattered with blood.  Blood in their teeth.  Blood in their hair.  Blood on the floor.

The teenagers fought but that too had a missing element.  They didn't know the game as well as more well trained fighters.

Yet, when the more professional fighters fought, it was all the more exciting.  The people were rolling in.  The marquee was getting louder.  More people were eating nachos, elotes (corn with butter in a cup), and drinking beer and tomato juice.  The men were screaming the names of each fighter.

Most fights all began the same.  It looked like two cobras testing each other out.  And as the fight progressed, one opponent would make a mistake.  The boxer would find that mistake and punch the guy's head.  It would knock back.  A crown of sweat would spray off of him.  And if he couldn't defend himself quickly enough, he'd be faced with a flurry of punches.  Blood would dribble from his forehead down like a cascade waterfall.  A eye would swell.  And he'd be knocked out soon enough.

When Jose came, the whole family stood up to support him.  I did too.  His competitor looked less fit than him, but he was more experienced.  When the bell rang, the two had it out with each other.  They tested each other out, cautiously looking for each others' weakness, like a mongoose against a cobra.  Jose's eyes narrowed into that of devil.  And suddenly, in a flash, the guy stepped too forward, and Jose punched him with the back right hand.  He went down.  We all stood up.  The crowd cheered.  I stood up too, saying "Yay!"

We sat back down.  And in round three, Jose, changed his stance from orthodox to South paw.  The switch disoriented the opponent.  And bam, wam.  That flurry of punches came, and you could hear fist smash into skull.  Crack.  Crack.  It went.  The referee stopped the match.  The doctor examined the opponent and threw in the towel for him.  Zepeda won.

At the hotel, I ordered him a champagne.  We celebrated.  Everyone was happy.

The next day I drove back.  I had to wait three hours at the border to get out of Tijuana.  I told myself, I'm never driving into Mexico again.

On my way up, little did I know that the world, from New Zealand to Russia, was emailing the city's management team and politicians about their little First Amendment retaliation stunt against me.   You can read about that here. The City Attacked Me!

Driving up, I was tired.  Waiting for so long really wore me out for some reason.  But I was still happy to go.  It was for the love of the sport.  It was for the love of my boxers.

When the director met with my boxing coaches, it was a real nice meeting.  He agreed everyone should just forget the past and move on with the future.  Apparently, he was getting a better understanding of the Free Exercise of Speech.

The City Attacked Me!

The e-management team of Baldwin Park attacked me yesterday and today.  All of you, who personally know me, you know that this is real.  I am asking, that you please email the following people and tell them: "Stop your bullying!"

llara@baldwinpark.com, vsinghal@baldwinpark.com, lhadsell@baldwinpark.com,

mlozano@baldwinpark.com, mgarcia2@baldwinpark.com, monica_garcia@baldwinpark.com, rpacheco@baldwinpark.com, srubio@baldwinpark.com

Part of the purpose of this post is to educate other concerned members of their community.  We don't need to tolerate such behavior.  We don't need to be afraid.  We do need to stand up for ourselves, though.

Start of letter.

Re: City Attack Against Paul Cook – First Amendment Retaliation

Dear Human Resources Manager, Leticia Lara; City Manager, Vijay Singhal; and Chief of Police Lili Hadsell:

This letter is to inform you of a serious concern.  The City of Baldwin Park retaliated against me twice illegally on July 9, 2013 and today on July 10, 2013.

The underlying facts are that I contacted an ex-employee of the City who had potential knowledge of allegations of corruption about Baldwin Park.  As a result, I was told by several informants (whose identity must remain anonymous for their protection) that she stated she was uncomfortable to the HR Manager.  The HR Manager told the City Manager, who contacted the Chief of Police – who had her acting lieutenant contact me.

I made a phone call.  I found the ex-employee’s number in the White Pages.  I asked questions.  For this, I was made to feel intimidated from the Baldwin Park Chief of Police.  As a free citizen of this country of the United States of America, do I not have the right to ask questions and to call people?

Because I felt so violated, I went today to City Hall.  I wished to file a complaint against the City Manager, the HR Manager, and the Chief of Police.  When the HR Manager arrived, I informed her in an assertive manner that she had retaliated against me and my First Amendment Rights.  She told me no grievance process existed for employee complaints, except for property damage that city employees have committed.  I explained to her that she needed to be educated.  She stated that she needed no education from me.  I said that she did because she obviously didn’t understand what First Amendment retaliation meant.  She said that my assertive manner was threatening, so she was called the police against me.  Once again, I felt bullied and intimidated.

I waited.  Two police officers arrived.  They witnessed as I told the HR Manager that I have the right to make a phone call and to ask questions.  That the Chief of Police shouldn’t call me for activity that is not illegal.  She explained that she was threatened by me.  I asked her, in front of all the witnesses what I did that was threatening.  She said it was my tone of voice and how I approached the counter.  That was all.  

I explained to her that she needed to learn better about the Constitution.  That we did not live in a third world country.  That this was the United States of America and that the First Amendment protects the Exercise of Free Speech.  That what she did was retaliatory in measure.  The irony being that her second call to the police was also retaliatory of my First Amendment Right to address the grievance of her first violation and the violation of the City Manager and Chief of Police.  I finally stated that if this happens again, I will make a report to the Attorney General’s Office.

Leticia then denied that she had done any wrong.

The police escorted me down.  Asked what my point was.  I explained it simply, “To let them know I have rights and to not trample on them again.”  The male officer took my driver’s license, and justified it by saying there was a suspect that looked like me at Parks and Recreation.  I find this hard to believe, since I’m Korean-American and I live in 90% dominated Hispanic community. In any event, he recorded my driver’s license information.   I asked the officer if I was under arrest.  When he said no, I asked him if I could leave.  He said I could.

I was told by informants later that the HR Manager actually pushed a “panic button” because I told her I had rights.  What this panic button does, I’m not sure.  But I was thankful that it was broken that day and a service order was requested to fix it.

I have several concerns with this situation.  The first one is I ask that the City no longer bully me or any of its citizens for asking questions or contacting people.  We live in a free country and the Constitution, under the First Amendment prohibits such behavior clearly.

The second one is that I have concerns regarding the fitness and competence of this HR Manager Leticia Lara.  She obviously didn’t know federal law.  She didn’t want to learn it.  Furthermore, core functions of human resources are to listen to grievances, deescalate conflicts, and to respect the rights of employees, and in my case, citizens.  Here, Leticia called the police for a disagreement.  Also, she no longer has a duty that runs to an ex-employee.  The employee no longer works for the City.  Furthermore, how could there be no grievance process for City employees?  Such actions and decisions reflect poorly on the judgment of a HR Manager, especially one that is compensated at least $100,000 per annum.

 In fact, the behavior of these three in e-management team is unfitting for how they have treated me in my homecoming to Baldwin Park.  Why does a Chief of Police and City Manager have to use their time sorting out legal and warranted activity?  All I wanted to know is why the City has no money for its treasured and beloved boxing program.

The third concern I have is that there are allegations and rumors that this type of behavior has happened over and over again to citizens of my city by these three in the e-management team, who do not live in Baldwin Park.  Such behavior definitely produces a chilling effect on asking questions about the City.

I demand an apology from all three of these members of the e-management team, and especially from Leticia Lara.  I also ask that I, nor any resident of my city, ever be retaliated, bullied, or intimidated again.

This is a notice of warning.  Next time, I will have to escalate matters to the Attorney General and take further action.

This letter has been posted on several forums and emailed to the LA Times and the San Gabriel Tribune, and the National Lawyers Guild.

Yours truly,

Paul Cook

Victim of First Amendment Retaliation, Former Valedictorian of Baldwin Park, Baldwin Park Boxer, Attorney at Law, Concerned Citizen of Baldwin Park

Join the fight.  Share the story.  Send the message to stop the bullying!

Updated on 8/11/2013

As of now, nobody has apologized to me.  I criticized Vijay Singhal, City Manager, and Chief Lili Hadsell, at City Hall for violating my First Amendment Rights.  In fact, the City Attorney denied my allegations.  Two other citizens expressed concern that City Administrators violate First Amendment Rights too.  If you're outraged by this story, please continue to email the people above.