July 18, 2007
Cheh Cleared, Rees Still Weird
It sounded just like the political intrigue that makes for a good scandal. While running for office, a candidate for the D.C. Council accepted reduced rent for her campaign office from a local developer and allowed an unregistered political action committee to funnel money from developers to her campaign's coffers -- up to and beyond $100,000, in fact. The only problem? None of it seems to be true.
The Post is reporting today that D.C. Office of Campaign Finance has concluded that allegations made by former Ward 3 candidate Jonathan Rees against Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) don't hold water. Rees, who ran against Cheh last year and was out-voted 6,462 to 32, claimed earlier this year that Cheh was up to no good, having sidled up to developers for cheap office space and exploited an illegal PAC put together by Joe Sternlieb, a local developer, and Linda Singer, his wife and current D.C. Attorney General. Rees took his complaint to OCF, demanding that the District nullify Cheh's victory and that Sternlieb and Singer be "penalized to the max under the law." To his credit, Rees did get one charge to stick -- that Cheh's campaign, without her knowing, failed to identify who had paid for a handbill. The $500 fine for such an infraction was suspended, however.
Infamous during his quixotic Ward 3 run, Rees has periodically fixated on various political figures or challengers and thrown accusations of every type their way. Ever since being handed what could best be considered a crushing defeat in the Democratic primary, Rees has been lurking on the fringes of the blogosphere and on local messageboards, directing his fury at pretty much everyone. First he announced his intention to challenge Cheh in 2010, and then he started shopping around a recall petition to be filed against her in 2008 (alleging, among other things, that Cheh has been involved with organized crime). He's also called her a "disgusting person" and a "liar," while alleging that Sternlieb was once gay, lived in a "dumpy apartment" and only married Singer to get ahead. Rees has also taken to attacking D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, claiming that he has used city police officers to intimidate critics (in this case, Rees himself) and comparing him to Adolf Hitler. He's even heaped scorn upon the District, calling it a "man made hell" filled with "stupid voters." For Rees, everyone is a target.
In the Post article, Cheh argues that Rees should have to repay the city for the investigation he provoked. Well, Council member Cheh, brace yourself, for it might not be over. While Rees was quoted as saying that he would not appeal OCF's decision, this is what he told us: "When I told the Washington Post I was not going to appeal, I meant to the DC Board of Elections but I did not say that I would not appeal directly to the DC Court of Appeals which I will do." Heavens forbid that a dry cleaner would ever lose Rees' pants.
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The guy is a menace.
By the way, where is the follow up on the MPD Officer Magana case?
Martin: It's obvious that you are just a commie stalking-horse for Chavez, and that you've managed to corrupt our council (Cheh), local bastions of capitalism (PN Hoffman), and the DC AG. Pity the poor state of the district. When will you be called into account for your part in this reign of terror, which manifestly threatens our very existence, mom and apple pie, and our right to vote in Congress?
Ah, well. We can only hope that someone will soon appear to prod the "stupid voters" of Washington to take notice.
Rees is certifiable. It's too bad he can't be made to pay the costs he frivolously imposed on the city.
Rees is a laughingstock in the halls of DC and the federal government.
People who've encountered him personally are more likely to be frightened than simply amused. Ask his former neighbors, former spouses, etc. Or better still, check his court psychiatrist's reported remarks.
I love the abundant use of quotation marks to wryly indicate, perhaps, how absurd Rees' "testimony" seemed. He was SO far off the mark with that case. As usual. The whole "jensign@yahoo" bit? That was CLASSIC Rees. Completely wrong and completely paranoid. I could go on. Hardly seems necessary though, given the guys' history here, IRL and across the blogosphere.
To set the record straight, it was Shadow Senator Paul Strauss and his camp that put together the complaint against Cheh and others.
I agreed to file the complaint and other former ward 3 candidates agreed to support the allegations.
THE FACTS ARE:
On February 16, 2007, the DC Office of Campaign Finance initiated an investigation into the campaign activities of DC City Councilwoman Mary M. Cheh based upon allegations made by my person [after discussions and agreement to do so with the campaign staff of Paul Strauss] and supported by former ward 3 city council candidates Erik Gaull, Robert Gordon, Bill Rice and Cathy Wiss on a point by point basis which alleged:
1. That DC Attorney General Linda Jill Singer and her husband Joe Sternlieb along with about twenty five (25) other people formed a political action committee designed to endorse a ward 3 candidate, assist them in obtaining campaign contributions, votes and etcetera;
2. That DC City Councilwoman Mary M. Cheh was the beneficiary of the activities of this political action committee; and
3. That DC City Council Woman Mary M. Cheh accepted and failed to report in-kind contributions on her campaign office from PN Hoffman Company.
Today the DC Office of Campaign Finance issued a twenty four (24) page opinion on this matter.
Read their opinion > http://tinyurl.com/2gmsbb
In sum, the DC OCF accepting as true what was said and discovered through an investigation concluded in short:
1. That DC Attorney General Linda Jill Singer, her husband and others did form a group that gave the impression that it might be a political action committee but its overall behavior fell short to trigger the legal requirement(s) to file as a political action committee with the DC OCF;
2. That because DC Councilwoman Mary M. Cheh had issued separate checks to different business entities under the thumb of PN Hoffman Company, it gave the impression that she had gotten a sizable discount on her campaign headquarters which she began leasing in August 2006. (Cheh did not in the OCF report account for any rental payments to Hoffman for August or September 2006 which means she got free rent for two months); and
3. That the OCF did assess a $500.00 fine but suspended the fine as it surrounded DC Councilwoman Mary M. Cheh's failure to affix a disclaimer on some of her campaign literature as to who paid for its printing and distribution to voters.
While the other complainants do not agree with the OCF's finding of facts and conclusion of law(s), I feel that those differences are apples and oranges and not worth noting an appeal on.
I and the others agree that DC Attorney General Linda Jill Singer, her husband Joe Sternlieb and others did form a political action committee as stated by all the other ward 3 candidates who were interviewed by DC OCF, the words and promises they made to all the ward 3 candidates were those of a political action committee, but because they failed to do a few minor things, their actions fell short of constituting a political action committee on it face.
The findings of the DC OCF are grossly flawed in that they failed to take into account the activities of Singer, Sternlieb and Cheh from August – September 2007 and including the fact that Cheh never paid rent during this two month period of time although her lease agreement required such, that Sternlieb and his friends boasted that they already had a war chest of $20k or more collected that would go to the chosen one and other matters that normally are conducted by PACS not individuals
Everyone from DC Attorney General Singer, DC Councilwoman Cheh and down the line was very sloppy in all they did and have put the public at large on guard to all that they do in the future. This is not the first time Cheh has fucked up and failed to dot her (i)s and cross her (t)s and it will not be the last as previously pointed out by the Washington City Paper. http://tinyurl.com/2caerp
The reality is DC Councilwoman Mary Cheh is clearly the most despised member by voters.
Gary Imhoff, the publisher of DC Watch sized up Mary Cheh when he said, Councilmember Mary Cheh, is rapidly shaping up to be the nastiest and most disagreeable councilmember in DC history”. (2-7-2007), and Valencia Mohammed had no qualms in pointing out the hidden, racist mindset of DC Councilwoman Mary Cheh right to her face. See http://youtube.com/watch?v=n2Tt0j1fi10
Some people will argue that they believe that the above named respondent are guilty as sin, some say that the DC OCF has never found fault in anything a sitting council member has done citing the Jack Evans and Vincent Orange matters, other feels it is all so petty and most don’t give a shit and show it by not bothering to become active in the political process and others wonder why did we waste our time knowing that the DC OCF never comes down on a sitting council member but looks for ways to get them off the hook.
I would conclude that for over a decade, the US Dept. of Justice attempted to convict Al Capone on violating the Falstead Act but never could, but one day they got him on a smaller charge of income tax evasion. So will be the case with people like Sternlieb and Cheh as their sloppiness will in time catch up with them.
In sum, we got Councilwoman Mary Cheh on one count, exposed her true self to the voters at large, others have done the same but a valuable lesson is to be learned. If you want to bring down a dirty DC government official, do not seek it through any DC government body but build your case and take it to the Feds.
Jonathan R. Rees
Stephen I. Dreyfus
You're still a nut case.
Right, after Cheh sponsored parties to help retire Strauss's debt.
Rees, you have been proven to be a sociopathic liar. Enough already.
I hope the city does invoice you for the wasted time.
Jonathan Rees, please slither back under whatever rock from which you came.
You are a disgusting excuse for a citizen of DC.
Read the report. It does NOT say anything remotely like what Rees says the report says in Rees' points 1 and 2. Classic Rees. The only thing about the foregoing post that is not classic Rees is his actually signing his own name to one of his posts.
If you read the report, Rees actually gave the following testimony:
"According to Mr. Rees, he and Mary Cheh 'were very close to one another, up until the time this group chose her' (TR, p. 10)."
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!
I didn't know peeking through the curtains of one's residence constituted "being close".
Ick.
Call Mr. Rees what you would like, but I am one voter who appreciates the fact that he had the guts to stick his neck out.
Mr. Rees’ efforts were not in vain as Ms. Cheh did get zapped on 1 of the 3 charges.
Yet, Mr. Rees is the first voter who has gone after Cheh.
James Jones of the City Paper and others in the media have gone after her for her efforts to circumvent the laws for her own benefit, but I do not hear anyone calling them crazy and speaking ill of them.
People here like to talk a lot of shit but most of you are two bit cowards who would not stand up for your own brother but probably would betray them for profit.
If you lived in this city as long as I have, you will see that most of our council members are corrupt, corrupt those around us and no matter how much the media or private citizens speak up, nothing changes.
A question from beyond Ward 3: what is the relationship between Jonathan R. Rees and Stephen I. Dreyfus?
guest #12 = Jonathan Rees. Hard to believe he took this long to start posting as somebody else.
It's probably safest to start with Imagination:Figment, and work your way toward reality from there.
- an answer from beyond ward 3
Should anyone have any doubts, comments 5 and 12 came from the same IP address.
It's too bad that DCist stopped letting users make up their own names. I miss the comments from Idi Amin, Ms. Sherlane Jackson, etc., etc.
Those were the good old days!
When the US Attorney decides to charge you with a crime, he will hit you with 3-4 different charges for more or less the same offense knowing that one of the charges will stick even if you get probation or a slap on the wrist. You still have a record!!!!!
Like wise, we knew that when we accused Mary Cheh of the various things she did, that one of the charges would stick and it did, even if she was given a slap on the wrist as being a first time offender.
What Cheh was popped for was a $10,000 campaign mail-out where she failed to identify who paid for it. That is no small time thing.
No matter how you slice it and no matter if you want to call me a whacko, I busted Cheh’s political cherry for her and I am proud of it.
Jonathan Rees
Typical Rees. Too stupid, too vain, and too deluded to understand how ridiculous his posts here make him look.
As if he needed any help in that department ;-)
Oh, and by the way? Stephen Dreyfus doesn't exist.
There is A "stephen dreyfus" somewhere. But the one Rees alludes to is another of his transparent aliases.
Don't make us repost the list of IPs from Yahoo and DCPages again Rees. Because the media will probably pay attention to them THIS time.
You'll never get taken seriously, in any venue, ever again Rees. Not that you ever were, really.
Rees is entertaining. Totally off the wall and lacking in any credibility, but entertaining nonetheless. I particularly love his blog postings that cite various statistics he has made up. It's a well known fact that 83.5% of all statistics are made up on the spot.