Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
For those who ask about the impact of our work—this is why it matters. Our investigative journalism is local, and this video shows how accountability starts at the community level.
After attending a Los Gatos code enforcement hearing over political signs, we discovered the hearing officer was an attorney acting as a private judge. As we dug deeper, we learned he had engaged in ex parte communication and had inserted himself into litigation funded by the town.
What we found next raised even more serious concerns: while passing judgment on others, this attorney had not paid his own business licensing fees.
This was his reaction when we went and knocked on the door to ask about that:
Our investigation, the videos spread here and our complaint resulted in Attorney and Code Enforcement Hearing Officer Jeff Blum being fired from the town. He was required to pay outstanding fees and fines, and we have formally requested the related public records.
But this investigation doesn’t stop there.
We are now reviewing every code enforcement hearing in which Mr. Blum presided, examining who was impacted by decisions made by an attorney who later claimed he “didn’t understand the rules.”
Taxpayers and members of the public are the real victims of this kind of self-promotion and misconduct. In this live stream, we also respond to an op-ed written by Mr. Blum, breaking down the familiar victim-shifting tactics attorneys often use when confronted with accountability.
Investigative journalism matters most at the local level. Attorneys cheating taxpayers are not isolated incidents—they are symptoms of deeper systemic problems. That’s why we keep going, and why this work can be replicated in any city or town.
Transparency starts here before public corruption bubbles up.
For those who ask about the impact of our work—this is why it matters. Our investigative journalism is local, and this video shows how accountability starts at the community level.
After attending a Los Gatos code enforcement hearing over political signs, we discovered the hearing officer was an attorney acting as a private judge. As we dug deeper, we learned he had engaged in ex parte communication and had inserted himself into litigation funded by the town.
What we found next raised even more serious concerns: while passing judgment on others, this attorney had not paid his own business licensing fees.
This was his reaction when we went and knocked on the door to ask about that:
Our investigation, the videos spread here and our complaint resulted in Attorney and Code Enforcement Hearing Officer Jeff Blum being fired from the town. He was required to pay outstanding fees and fines, and we have formally requested the related public records.
But this investigation doesn’t stop there.
We are now reviewing every code enforcement hearing in which Mr. Blum presided, examining who was impacted by decisions made by an attorney who later claimed he “didn’t understand the rules.”
Taxpayers and members of the public are the real victims of this kind of self-promotion and misconduct. In this live stream, we also respond to an op-ed written by Mr. Blum, breaking down the familiar victim-shifting tactics attorneys often use when confronted with accountability.
Investigative journalism matters most at the local level. Attorneys cheating taxpayers are not isolated incidents—they are symptoms of deeper systemic problems. That’s why we keep going, and why this work can be replicated in any city or town.
Transparency starts here before public corruption bubbles up.
