Frank Barbaro, the longtime Chair of the Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) was compelled to issue a press release ripping Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez, for her use of a Hitler analogy with regard to developer and property owner Irv Chase – even though Barbaro noted in his release that he had no sway over her as she is not a member of his party’s Central Committee, and even though Alvarez had already apologized. But why hasn’t Barbaro commented about the arrest of Kinde Durkee, the onetime Treasurer of the DPOC?
We found evidence that Melahat Rafiei, the former Executive Director of the DPOC, had promoted a meeting that Durkee spoke at, and Durkee oversaw the money at Barbaro’s Victory Fund, a PAC he uses to promote candidates he likes.
