COMMUNITY MEMBERS URGE KALASHO TO RESIGN OVER SEXUAL HARASSMENT FINDINGS AND ALLEGED THREATS

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By Briana Ghaffery

View video of Council meeting: https://elcajonca.swagit.com/play/07112018-1233

 

July 11, 2018 (El Cajon) – Eleven speakers called on Councilman Ben Kalasho to resign during public comments at Tuesday’s El Cajon City Council meeting, where the audience included protesters who held signs reading “hands off our daughters” and “sex predator Kalasho belongs in jail” complete with a photoshopped picture of Kalasho as an inmate.

Kalasho has also announced his intention to run for Mayor, challenging incumbent Bill Wells.

The actions followed a judicial order admitting evidence as true and factual in a civil case against Kalasho, including evidence that he sexually harassed beauty pageant contestants, photoshopped one contestant’s face onto other women’s nude bodies, and solicited sex from a pageant contestant in exchange for winning the crown.  The judge also deemed it true that Kalasho took out many false identities online to harass and defame a taco shop owner with phony negative reviews after the businessman refused to post Kalasho’s campaign signs.

First to speak was Paul Kruze, a reporter for East County Magazine who filed a police report against Kalasho alleging attempted assault with an attack dog. Kruze has authored numerous articles regarding Kalasho’s ethical and legal challenges.

Kruze claims he was threatened by Kalasho in an Office Depot parking lot. According to the police report, Kalasho threatened Kruze with his German Shepherd named Zoltan. Video posted on Facebook by Kruze show him training Zoltan to be, in his own words, an attacA close up of a personDescription generated with high confidencek dog. Kalasho has claimed that he and his wife felt menaced by Kruze, who was photographing Kalasho’s campaign vehicle used to transport the dog.

 “You are the biggest coward,” Kruze said, as he stood at the podium, while Kalasho smirked and even laughed at times as he sat behind his high city council chair, looking down at the spectators. Kruze described posts by Kalasho which incited death threats against him, later taken down by Facebook for violating the site’s rules.

Kruze was just the first of many voices at the meeting, which lasted approximately one-hour.

East County Magazine editor Miriam Raftery provided factual information on the judicial findings regarding Kalasho and set the record straight on “harassment, defamation and threats” against her award-winning media outlet as well as an award-winning reporter at the San Diego Union-Tribune.  She indicated that Kalasho has continued to repeat defamatory statements with “malicious” intent on social media even after being sent documents proving the statements were false.

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Out of 14 speakers, 11 were there to encourage Kalasho to resign.

“God is gonna take care of you and I’ll be there to laugh,” said Sunshine Horton, an immigrant originally from Tijuana who just purchased her second house in the community and considers herself blessed to be a resident of El Cajon.

“Your actions inside on this council, Ben, and inside and outside of these council chambers are unfit for leadership,” said Phil Ortiz, a local citizen and speaker at the council.

“You have objectified women, and intended to take advantage of them in your pageant without remorse,” Ortiz said, “attempted to ruin local business with fake social media accounts, you have insulted and burned bridges with local leaders and elected officials sparking disunity, when East County has been known for decades for unity.” A group of people sitting at a tableDescription generated with very high confidence

Some of the women in attendance were victims of sexual harassment and/or assault. They expressed deep concern at having an elected official engaging in these behavioral tactics.

 

“I’ve never been so outraged on an elected official or community leader,” said Jill Barto from the El Cajon Valley School Board. Barto was in the audience holding a sign that said “Do El Cajon a Favor – Resign!”

 “He’s not apologizing, he’s not remorseful at all,” Barto saiA group of people holding a signDescription generated with very high confidenced. “It is very emotional for me to understand that one of the leaders in our community has been accused of [sexual misconduct] and found of that”.

 While Barto held a sign in the audience, she chose not to make a public statement at the meeting.

Many other audience members followed suit as they preferred to express their opinions with signs and refrain from making a public statement.

One audience member, who asked to remain anonymous, voiced fear of speaking publicly at the meeting due to perceived threats and retaliation from Kalasho.

Most in the crowd of over 50 attendees cheered when speakers called for Kalasho to resign. One audience member shouted out, “Lock him up!”

After the meeting, Kalasho posted on Twitter, “That was my favorite city council meeting to date.”

He also posted a video acknowledging the resignation requesA screenshot of a cell phoneDescription generated with very high confidencets but claiming nearly all came from residents outside of El Cajon. The video encouraged viewers to come to his next Miss Middle East beauty pageant, with a tagline, “Quote of the day: `Keep making me famous.”

 


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Comments

????

What's your problem?

Granfather

You are the sngle most predictablr poster in the West.

Please turn the record over. Or at least force youself to wait for someone else to post before you do.

Thanks.

What record are you talking about?

Kalasho's tawdry records and the judge's order can be viewed at these links:

http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/201... 

http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/201...

http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/201...

 

Our reporter's statement to police is here:  http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/201... 

Per our public record request, police say Kalasho never filed an official report against our reporter. Another lie apparently.  He never filed for any restraining order. He has no evidence that we have been able to see or that police have been able to confirm.  

The police report itself is not a public record unless the D.A. agrees to file charges. So at this point we HAVE released every record available and gone beyond and released even our reporter's statement that is legally not subject to disclosure on a public records request.

And please stop being disrespectful to other posters here.

Judge Taylor's order finding so many outrageous and illegal actions to be facts are clearly enough for any rational-minded person to drop support for Councilman Kalasho and any of his enterprises like a hot potato.  The man has shown himself to be utterly without ethics or moral scrupals, not even having the decency to show any remorse or offer any explanation for his conduct -- simply smirking derivisvely during the hearing. Watch the video and read the documetns. And there are more that I've read -- very long lists in the court records of all the many IP addresses he took out under fake names, and accordnig to the court these were solely for the purpose of defaming and harassing other people who stood up against him.  Why would you attack our commenter rather than showing any concern over Kalasho's own PROVEN actions?

 

 

Such arrogance!

Feel the BURN! Mr. Kalasho, someday you'll pay a steep price for your aberrant actions. Vote for you as mayor? Seriously? You've got to be kidding! The general public has had it with people like yourself bullying others around. Really, as if our current president of the United States hasn't done enough damage everywhere he goes, and each time he speaks. Resign - go away - and stop being such a clown.