State Senator Abel Maldonado is promoting an upcoming fund raiser in Orange County for his race for State Controller. My goal is not to promote the event (promoting upcoming events is discouraged by the FR publisher) but rather to point out what a mockery Maldonado makes of himself and his supporters.
The event chairman for Maldonado’s fund raiser is Bill Ito, president of Ito Farms, Inc. I have nothing against Mr. Ito, mostly because I have never met him. For all I know he has contributed to Tony Stickland (the other GOP candidate vying for the nomination) too.
But being in the farming industry something tells me that Mr. Ito does not pay all employees a living wage. I would bet he pays most of his employees in the field minimum wage (if that much). Does he know that Abel’s legislation to increase the minimum wage is about to take the wind out of his bottom line? Does Mr. Ito know that Able thinks government is the solution to our woes? Does he know that Abel (who flies his own private plane) said recently in defense of his minimum wage hike legislation: "You can’t even buy a house on minimum wage."
What a shocker senator.
Mr. Ito once told the LA Times that he used to work, "…after school and during summers, driving the tractor from age 8 and, as he got older, helping in the office." I would caution Mr. Ito not to talk about this sort of thing anymore. Senator Maldonado probably doesn’t see the charm in a story like that, he is probably wondering if your father was paying workers comp on young 8 year-old Ito.