El Cajon City Councilman Kalasho posts photos of an amazing variety of people he calls supporters on his campaign site…
Third in an occasional series…
Ben Kalasho was thinking about running for Mayor of El Cajon. That was before the hundreds of emails started coming in, begging him to represent the Fletcher Hills and Grossmont areas of the city. Or at least that’s what he says on a video on his city councilman campaign website.
What makes this claim odd was Kalasho’s earlier threat to sue the City of El Cajon after they rejected redistricting maps he’d submitted, all of which split his newly-drawn district in two. The people he didn’t want to represent somehow thought he was the best choice to represent them.
Now candidate Kalasho is singing a different tune (via an op-ed in East County Magazine):
Per his Candidate Statement he submitted he states, “I know that most Fletcher Hills and Grossmont area residents shop in Santee or La Mesa. Why? Because it’s safer, cleaner & still feels like you’re in America.”
This thinking is characteristic of the divergent reality inhabited by Ben Kalasho. In the councilman’s world, he’s a business-oriented type of guy who loves public service, who fiercely defends his integrity from attacks by the Fake News media.
For the rest of us, things look a little different.
At this year’s San Diego Society for Professional Journalists awards banquet, the Gloria Penner Award for Political Affairs Reporting went to Paul Kruze and Miriam Raftery of East County Magazine for coverage of “Kalasho Threats.”
The entry detailed threats and retaliatory actions made by Councilman Kalasho, a mayoral candidate, after our news publication reported on his legal and ethical controversies including judicial findings of sexual harassment, fraud, defamation and cyberharassment against beauty pageant contestants and a businessman.
The retaliatory actions included threats of a libel suit (despite not disputing any facts in our reports), harassment and defamation on social media. After the award entry was submitted, the harassment escalated; Kruze recently filed a complaint with El Cajon Police accusing Kalasho of threatening him with a trained attack dog and inciting death threats against Kruze on Kalasho’s Facebook page.
Wanna see more? Of course, you do! Let’s take a trip down the ole Google rabbit hole and get a sampling of what else the El Cajon City Councilman has been up to… …This just the hardcore stuff. I’m skipping his trollish social media habits and fake Twitter followers…Trust me, he thinks he’s a badass:
Just blocked over 3,000 “reporters and so called journalists” from my twitter. Only accepting real people. No snooping snakes. Honest reporters welcome
— Ben Kalasho (@BenKalasho) July 13, 2018
Criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike, El Cajon councilman tries to join largely defunct Federalist Party – The Union-Tribune, August 16, 2018
El Cajon Councilman Bessmon “Ben” Kalasho received criticism from Republican and Democratic speakers alike at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, then attempted to join the Federalist Party later in the week.
Kalasho has been registered as a Democrat since 2012. Registrar of Voters Michael Vu said that a new registration form received by election officials on Wednesday showed that Kalasho attempted to re-register as a Federalist. Because that party is not qualified in California, Kalasho will now be listed on voter rolls with no party preference, Vu said.
The Federalists, closely associated with founding fathers Alexander Hamilton and John Adams, believed in a central bank, liberal interpretation of the Constitution, maintenance of a tariff system and neutrality in foreign affairs. The party largely disbanded in the early 1800s.
He’s pro-worker until it comes time to pay the piper, East County Magazine, August 9, 2018:
August 9, 2018 (El Cajon)–An exclusive investigation by East County Magazine has uncovered a criminal case in which El Cajon Councilman Bessmon “Ben” Kalasho pled guilty to two counts of workers’ compensation fraud in October 2015 (court case #MD094871).
Kalasho was on probation for his crimes, both misdemeanors, when he ran for and won his seat on the City Council in 2016. He remains on probation until October 1, 2018…
…Kalasho has previously received the endorsements of the San Diego County Democratic Party and East County Democratic Club which ordinarily which adheres to traditional pro-labor standards on worker issues.
[Note: he is not listed as an endorsed candidate by either group for the November 2108 election.]
Somehow I doubt Lori Saldana counts herself as a supporter. But that’s what his website says.
Facing numerous courtroom setbacks, embattled El Cajon councilman sues his former lawyer – The Union-Tribune, August 8, 2018
“The deeper I got into representing the Kalashos, the more I realized they’d have great difficulties defending themselves against certain allegations,” he [Attorney Stephen Liosi] said by email.
The underlying lawsuit accused Kalasho, his wife and their for-profit chamber of commerce of fraud and defamation. Among other things, they were accused doctoring photos of naked women to harass a one-time winner of the Miss Middle East USA Beauty Pageant.
According to that case, the El Cajon councilman also created a series of fake social-media profiles to post unflattering comments about the plaintiffs. The 2017 lawsuit also accuses Kalasho of offering to name another woman the winner of his Miss Middle East USA beauty pageant if she agreed to sleep with him.
El Cajon residents speak out against embattled councilman – The Union-Tribune, July 10, 2018
“You openly incited your Facebook followers to come harass me, stalk me and to kill me with a .357 caliber bullet,” Kruze said. “Simply put, Ben, you are a coward. You truly are the biggest coward I have met in my life.”
Paul Kruze, a reporter for East County Magazine who said he has been attacked on social media by Kalasho because of his reporting on the first-term councilman, spoke directly to Kalasho, who sat in front of him at the dais.
“You openly incited your Facebook followers to come harass me, stalk me and to kill me with a .357 caliber bullet,” Kruze said. “Simply put, Ben, you are a coward. You truly are the biggest coward I have met in my life.”
He and several other speakers called on Kalasho to resign, which drew applause from an audience of more than 100 people. Some people at the meeting held up signs asking for Kalasho’s resignation; others showed a photo of Kalasho in an orange jumpsuit, insinuating that he belonged in a jail cell.
El Cajon councilman ordered to pay $30,000 in attorney fees as fraud case takes unusual turns, The Union-Tribune, May 16, 2018
Everybody loves Ben? Another supporter photo from his campaign site.
In a ruling late last month, Judge Timothy B. Taylor ordered Kalasho to pay $30,000 in attorney fees to Lina Charry, a San Diego lawyer who accused Kalasho of creating a fake social-media profile to defame her.
According to the lawsuit filed last year, Kalasho and his wife spread a rumor online that Charry had been seen performing a sex act in public.They also allegedly conducted a fraudulent online poll that named Charry as the worst attorney in San Diego.
The allegations came after Charry prevailed in an earlier unrelated lawsuit.
COUNCILMAN KALASHO FACES NEW ACCUSATIONS OF FRAUD OVER ALLEGEDLY FALSE REAL ESTATE DOCUMENT FILINGS – East County Magazine, March 9, 2018
March 9, 2018 (El Cajon) — As though the water couldn’t get any hotter for embattled El Cajon Councilman Ben Kalasho, he is now facing accusations that he is illegally shielding his personal assets, prior to an anticipated August trial on allegations that he sexually harassed two beauty pageant participants in 2016, among other claims.
The plaintiffs’ attorney, Jimmie Davis Parker, asserts that Kalasho made false real estate filings in order to hide assets that could potentially be sought to satisfy a legal judgment, should Kalasho lose the case. (View documents.)
Filing false real estate documents is a felony crime in California, though it is not yet determined whether the allegation is true.
Lawsuit against El Cajon councilman alleges beauty pageant fraud – The Union-Tribune, August 7, 2017
“You stay here tonight with me and you win tomorrow,” the lawsuit contends that he told the contestant.
The amended complaint accuses Kalasho of commenting lasciviously on Kargar’s physical appearance during the 2016 Miss Middle East rehearsals. It also contends that he denied her a fair opportunity at the title after she refused to accept his invitation to join him in his hotel room.
“You stay here tonight with me and you win tomorrow,” the lawsuit contends that he told the contestant.
Kalasho also is accused of creating at least four fake profiles on social media sites, then using the accounts to criticize business rivals.
According to the complaint, Kalasho and his wife attacked 3 Brothers after an owner refused to allow a Kalasho campaign sign to be placed inside the business. Two days later, the Middle Eastern Chamber of Commerce, a business group founded by Kalasho and run by his wife, posted a poll seeking solicitations on the best local Mexican eatery, the lawsuit claims.
El Cajon official who ran private chamber voted on issues affecting paying member – The Union-Tribune, September 11, 2017
Yup, that’s ‘supporter’ Todd Gloria, as listed on the Kalasho campaign site.
In late January, El Cajon Councilman Bessmon “Ben” Kalasho sent a $2,500 invoice to the city trash hauler, Waste Management Inc., for its 2017 membership in his business group, the San Diego East County Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce.
The company quickly sent a check.
Unlike other chambers of commerce, Kalasho’s East County group was not run as a nonprofit organization. Its taxes were filed as part of Kalasho’s personal income taxes using a Schedule C attachment for sole proprietorships, the councilman told The San Diego Union-Tribune.
At a February meeting of the City Council, Kalasho joined his colleagues in authorizing the clerk to place liens on property owners who failed to pay their trash bills, the minutes show. He cast a similar ballot in June.
And…Cut.
Here’s the really bad news. Because of the way redistricting in El Cajon works, if Kalasho loses in the November general election, he’ll still be on the City Council until 2020, because that’s how long his original term was.
In the meantime, some of the Councilman’s ‘fans’ have set up the Ben Kalasho Free Speech/Clown Appreciation Project on Facebook.
From their intro:
This page has a dual mission:
First, we love free speech, and we want to assist El Cajon Councilman Ben Kalasho in the achievement of his oft-stated goal to become famous. We do this by posting factual information about him. Simple, right?
Second, and totally unrelated to the above mission, we also love clowns (who doesn’t, right?). So the second mission is obviously to demonstrate our appreciation for all things clown.
Earlier “Deplorable” articles: National City Councilman Jerry Cano, Carl DeMaio & Jerry Sanders Selling ‘Son of B’
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Doug,
I wanted to include Lori Saldaña’s official comment on the picture of her and Ben Kalasho-
:
“He approached me at a Bernie Sanders rally in March 2016 at the sd convention center. I was there promoting my Mayoral campaign. . I never made a public statement of support or endorsement and in fact have criticized him for his behavior beginning 2 years ago.”
Glad you printed Lori Saldana’s statements.
Gasp! Donald Trump has a mimic!
more like a pale imitation.
Great job exposing questionable “endorsements” and more. Meanwhile, the plot thickens. A bench warrant for the arrest of Jessica Kalasho, the Councilman’s wife, has been issued by a judge:
http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/bench-warrant-issued-arrest-jessica-kalasho
He is a phony and a disgrace to the citizens of El Cajon. He is a wannabe. The Chaldean Americans should be ashamed of supporting this clown. He is a pretender who uses his pretend connections to get people to fall for his scam. Smoke & mirrors.
The Chaldean American Community in Michigan does not support him and in fact, would like for him to discontinue using the name “Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce,” as there is already one in our state which supports the Chaldean Community Foundation as well.
Everyone here is jealous of Ben and needs to realize that he’s done more good in office than anyone has ever done for the City of El Cajon. He’s even presented evidence of the current City officials lying to you and reporters who have terrorized him for it. If I were you guys, I’d let the man do his job, and what he was elected to do!
No Bessmon, you have done nothing for the people of El Cajon. All you have done is embarrass yourself, the city and those around you. Your lies and deceit have caught up with you. You have sacrificed your dignity and you will soon lose the civil cases filed against you causing you to lose everything you have worked for. You will also lose your position on the council, a position of which you have proven you do not deserve. You are a fraud.
We are not jealous of Ben Kalasho. Ben Kalasho is an embarrassment to the City of El Cajon and its residents. He needs to resign and rethink his life. Focus on any legitimate businesses he may have and stop the lying.
His campaign page is a joke. His “supporters” are just pictures. I saw no statements that these people ever supported him. Possible photoshop? His town hall meetings? He had one. I was there. Just one. His Clean Up El Cajon days – he might have had ONE day. But I have participated in several clean up days in El Cajon run by another group. He has NEVER been to one of them. But City Councilman Steve Goble has been to several. He talks about the things that HE brought in to El Cajon. But I don’t think he can take sole credit for it. He may have voted on the motions, but did he really bring in the idea?
He talks like he is the super hero of El Cajon. Grow up little boy. I have lived in El Cajon longer than he has been alive. He is a wannabe politician. He have caused nothing but problems in El Cajon. And he is a fraud. He needs to resign. I am sorry I ever voted for him. He is one of the biggest disappointments we have ever had. He should resign now before he embarrasses himself more.