LA Times Endorsement - Hertzberg vs. Villaraigosa
In what can only be categorized as a huge blow to the Hahn team, the LA Times is endorsing Hertzberg and Villaraigosa in the Sunday edition of the LA Times (Not online, but in Sunday early print edition). Here are some parts of it-
A mano-a-mano confrontation between estranged, onetime roommates insn't something we'd normally want to witness, but the people of Los Angeles would be well served by a runoff election between Bob Hertzberg and Antonio VillaraigosaI'll let you decide from here - blog away!
It's not just that either would make a more dynamic leader than Hahn, Hertzberg and Villaraigosa offer LA a clear choice in both style and substance. A face-off between these two would prod LA to really think about what it wants of its mayor - and of itself.
The Idea Machine: In this first phase of the election, Hertzberg has been the most dynamic presence. A high-velocity wonk, he loves BIG ideas, and will flesh out every one of them for you if you give him the time. ... Hertzberg all but explodes with plans
The Coalition Builder: Villaraigosa, the runner-up in the 2001 mayoral race and now a city councilman, is more familiar to voters. He got his start as a teachers union organizer, but it would be a mistake to view him solely as the liberal, pro-union candidate. If Hertzberg is analytical, quick to rattle off the names of five big-city mayors he admires or to hand out hick copies of the borough plan he drafted to head of secession, Villaraigosa is intuitive - quick at reading situations and people. He is the anti-wonk who operates from the gut.
Posted by Anonymous @ 2/19/2005 10:11:00 AM
83 Comments:
Interesting that they put Hertzberg in there. That comes as a total surprise.
Well, between the two, I'd take AV any day.
Let's hope that some how Alarcon makes the run-off.
Hertzberg has been a rocket-ship as of late. How can you say this is a suprise. They even had to apoligize for their previous hatchet job regarding schools.
"We chided him in an earlier editorial for pandering to secessionist fervor by promising a school breakup, yet he is right that schools should be more under the mayor'e eye"
This is a blow to Antonio. How did he not get this outright considering they pander to him on a daily basis.
Hahn's team all but promised they would go negative on Hertzberg as soon as he showed some movement. How much movement do they want? He does the best ad we've seen in LA in years, he pulls ahead of Hahn in all the polls and he gets the LA Times endorsement. When is Hahn going to hit him?
Hahn's surely not going to get any votes with that boilerplate ad he's got up now.
"Let's hope that some how Alarcon makes the run-off."
Yup, that's how I see it, too, Mort. It's Alarcon vs. Parks in the runoff.
LOS ANGELES TIMES OPED PAGE 2/20/05 BULLDOG EDITION
Hertzberg vs. Villaraigosa
A mano-a-mano confrontation between estranged, onetime roommates isn't something we'd normally want to witness, but the people of Los Angeles would be well served by a runoff election between Bob Hertzberg and Antonio Villaraigosa. Odds are that no candidate will win the majority needed to declare outright victory in Los Angeles' March 8 mayoral election. The two former state Assembly speakers, who once shared a Sacramento apartment, are credible candidates who offer compelling visions for the city's future. The de bate between them should go on until the May 17 runoff.
It's not just that either would make a more dynamic leader than incumbent Mayor James K. Hahn. Hertzberg and Villaraigosa offer Los Angeles a clear choice in both style and substance. A face-off between the two would prod Los Angeles to really think about what it wants of its mayor-and of itself.
We made our case against reelecting Hahn last Sunday. Angelenos would be ill served by his reaching the second round of balloting, although the power of incumbency makes that a strong possibility. Hahn's two key achievements-hiring police reformer William J. Bratton and defeating San Fernando Valley and Hollywood secession-stand out because they were exceptions. His other, flawed appointments and lax oversight (that is the kindest explanation) fueled City Hall's reputation as a place where contracts are based on favors, not fairness. Hahn's distinct lack of ambition to use his mayoralty as a bully pulpit to advance the city's interests has served to shrink the office. He is a technocrat who seems content to go home when the potholes have been counted.
L.A. deserves better. Hertzberg and Villaraigosa are energetic candidates who have shown an ability to energize others. Both are Democrats, as is Hahn, in this nonpartisan election. Both have led the state Assembly, a valuable experience in light of how heavily cities must rely on state funding. And both order a shot of wheat grass with their Jamba Juice. Their similarities end there.
The Idea Machine
In this first phase of the election, Hertzberg has been the most dynamic presence. A high-velocity wonk, he loves BIG ideas, and will flesh out every one of them for you if you give him the time.
If Hahn stays relentlessly on message (a nickel for every pledge to make Los Angeles the safest big city in America would have paid for twice the police officers he promised), Hertzberg all but explodes with plans. He wants to split up the Los Angeles Unified School District, hire 3,000 new police officers without raising taxes and bore a tunnel through the San Gabriel Mountains. ("With today's technology, it's pretty simple.")
His ideas can sound far-fetched. We chided him in an earlier editorial for pandering to secessionist fervor by promising a school breakup, yet he is right that schools should be more under the mayor's eye. Within each pie-in-the-sky scheme lies a doable one, like building schools that double as community centers. Or standing up to union salary demands and using the savings to add new police officers. And did we mention replacing concrete sidewalks with rubberized ones made from recycled tires?
Hertzberg believes that great cities are only as strong as their middle class. And he believes in nurturing and protecting that middle class by promoting private-sector job growth and business creation; we would want to hear concrete details of how he plans to attract more investment to the city. He is skeptical of attempts to legislate wages or affordable housing.
He is a centrist who is clearly courting his more conservative Valley neighbors aw well as the business community, but he has also caught the attention of Westside liberals. Think of him as the enlightened businessman's candidate.
The Coalition Builder
Villaraigosa, the runner-up in the 2001 mayoral race and now a city councilman, is more familiar to voters. He got his start as a teachers union organizer, but it would be a mistake to view him solely as the liberal, pro-union candidate. In the Assembly, he impressed many (and disappointed a few of his followers) with his skill at bringing two sides together. He is known best as a coalition builder, as when he stepped in when Hahn didn't to help halt the 2003 transit strike. It was for such skills The Times endorsed Villaraigosa against Hahn in the last mayoral runoff.
If Hertzberg is analytical, quick to rattle off the names of five big-city mayors he admires or to hand out thick copies of the borough plan he drafted to head off secession, Villaraigosa is intuitive-quick at reading situations and people. He is the anti-wonk who operates from the gut.
The ideal candidate would be one that combined the best traits of each. And in fact, Villaraigosa and Hertzberg made an ideal team in Sacramento, balancing each other's strengths and weaknesses, until they had a falling-out during the transition between their speakerships.
Los Angeles can't have both as mayor. The next best thing is to have the chance to decide between the two.
Villaraigosa wants to face Hertzberg because he wants the party and labor united behind him. But he doesn't want to finish second to Hertzberg in the primary. And it looks like Tony should be getting a little nervous about that...
Yes, Mayor, PLEASE, please go negative on Hertzy, fast. We screwed up BIG time, again, and are about to lose Tony the mayor's spot, again. You're probably already out of this Jim, can you throw us a bone? Hey, we'll name a park after you on the Eastside after the swearing in.
Signed Ace and Parke
"between style and substance..."
Not that there's any question which is which, but which will get the most done for the city - style, or substance?
Ask the people of the "forgotten 14th" district. They've been "styled" into limbo for nearly 2 years.
"...a place where contracts are based on favors, not fairness..."
Okay, the Times people have NOT been reading Mayor Sam's after all -- this is the definition of CD14, now, except it's not "contracts" - it's service, attention, cooperation, and city funds.
In a city that is 80 percent Democrat and even more heavily slanted one way on the City Council, being someone seen as being able to bring Republicans and Democrats together as a "coaltion builder" really isn't that big a plus. L.A. is not suffering from partisan gridlock.
Take it back to the state - in '06, Tony.
I think Mayor Poopy should be pooping in his pants right about now. In his commerical he looks like he had to much coffee, walking way to fast.
Dont look now you have Huggy & Av getting ready to run right past you. I think the Mayor will end up a sorry third.
Villaraigosa will be our next Mayor.
This is a big loss for VILLARAIGOSA. The LAT couldn't give their favorite their sole endorsement. And I hear the recall is coming out strong next week.
Once you get past the headline and the old-time sentiment for Av - this is really an endorsement of Hertzberg, and a slam of Hahn rolled into one. Hertzberg gets the lion's share of the praise for campaign work so far, AV's is more "you remember him from last time, right?"
Times says: The ideal candidate would be one that combined the best traits of each.
It will be far easier for Hertzberg to exhibit more "style" after the primary than for Villaraigosa to prove he has some "substance," especially after two dismal years as a do-nothing councilmember. Even the media is catching onto that fact, recall or no recall. How many races in L.A. can he run as the guy was was speaker for several months, before people say "yeah, yeah, tell me something new." Hertzberg was THERE, too. AV has no trump card anymore.
Poster said "Villaraigosa will be our next Mayor."
Only if you're posting from Beverly Hills or Santa Monica, Dahling!
"Recall or no recall" Expect something big from the Recall people this week.
But the Downtown News usually picks the winner
This is all bad news for Villaraigosa. Hahn was a one term mayor after the Valley Vote and the Parks affair. And that Antonio is not romping away with it is proof that L.A. doesn't want him. Hertzberg is the next mayor.
LOS ANGELES TIMES OPED PAGE 2/20/05 BULLDOG EDITION
What Makes a Strong Mayor
When Time magazine wrote a long piece on American mayors in 997, it got Richard Riordan's name wrong, calling him "Robert." That gaffe became shorthand for the weakness of Los Angeles mayors. After all, no national magazine would mess up the name of Richard Daley, the father or the son-not to mention Rudy Giuliani.
L.A.'s lack of mayoral muscle is usually laid to a nonpartisan system that splits power with the "15 mini-mayors" of the City Council and hands off education to an independent school district. Chicago's mayor rules in a top-down system that gives so much patronage and visibility to the mayor that only the fabulously incompetent are term-limited by anything but death.
New York's mayor has to deal with elected borough officials, a huge City Council and term limits, but as in Chicago he now holds sway over the school system. San Francisco's mayor doesn't have unusual power, but benefits from the fact that city and county lines are the same.
What do all these facts add up to?
Mostly a bunch of excuses.
As in most cities, the mayoralty of Los Angeles is what the mayor makes of it. Tom Bradley swept into office in 1973 with promises to clean up the appearance of corruption and pay-to-play in city commissions left by predecessor San Yorty, and largely he succeeded. He swept out the old appointees and opened city government to women, minorities, and liberals.
Inclusive rather than old-boy exclusive, he made strong coalitions with the environment-minded Westsiders and downtown developers alike, putting his stamp on the city in his first administration. He grandly brought the Olympics to the city.
Riordan pushed through a new City Charter that granted the mayor powers far beyond what Bradley had, both in controlling city commissions and in dealing with the City Council. The new charter also finally gave the mayor direct power over the chief of police.
Riordan himself barely enjoyed those greater powers, which took effect in his last year. Even so, Riordan picked a fight with the dysfunctional school district-over which he had no direct control-with some success. He led the difficult drive to get Disney Hall built, putting philanthropist-developer Eli Broad at its helm. He willingly appointed people smarter than himself.
The mayor of Los Angeles has roughly the same budgetary and legislative powers as big-city mayors, though over less political turf. The schools are the biggest hole in the mayoral portfolio. We support any realistic effort to fill that hole, so mayors can be accountable for the issue that most voters put near the top of their list of concerns.
Bradley in the end got too cozy with developers.
Riordan had an authoritarian manner and a loose work ethic, among other things.
But both had an expansive belief about what a mayor should be.
The next mayor should learn from them, and act as though he has broad shoulders and big ideas, not a fence around him.
Chief,
Good work - you scooped LA Observed, LA Voice and Boi From Troy with this. Always on the ball that Chief Parker.
Speaking of scooping, Jimmy K. Hahn may have plenty to scoop soon.
And who the hell cares about the Downtown News? Bunch of wankers.
They can go play on the freeway!
Hertzberg should follow the Yorty plan.
Sam Yorty ran for Mayor of Los Angeles in 1961 against incumbent Democrat Norris Poulson. Yorty prevailed, however, running as a populist. He railed against "a little ruling clique" of "downtown interests" and promised to revise the city charter, which had become unwieldy with the city's growth from a quiet West Coast town to the third largest metropolis in the country. He was a strong advocate of expanding the freeway network. Perhaps his most popular promise, however, was to end residents' sorting of wet and dry garbage; dry garbage was typically burned in backyard incinerators, contributing to the city's notorious smog.
There is probably screaming in Tony world today that can only compare to the screaiming on the third floor come Tuesday
This is all they had to praise tony with.
Villaraigosa, the runner-up in the 2001 mayoral race and now a city councilman, is more familiar to voters. He got his start as a teachers union organizer, but it would be a mistake to view him solely as the liberal, pro-union candidate. In the Assembly, he impressed many (and disappointed a few of his followers) with his skill at bringing two sides together. He is known best as a coalition builder, as when he stepped in when Hahn didn't to help halt the 2003 transit strike. It was for such skills The Times endorsed Villaraigosa against Hahn in the last mayoral runoff.
If Hertzberg is analytical, quick to rattle off the names of five big-city mayors he admires or to hand out thick copies of the borough plan he drafted to head off secession, Villaraigosa is intuitive-quick at reading situations and people. He is the anti-wonk who operates from the gut.
WEAK!!!
FROM MEAT:
Hey "Night Sac" you think you know whats going on, but you have no idea whatsoever.
Hahn losing this race before it even starts is HUGE, Antonio going against Bob is probably the best thing that can happen to Antonio's campaign.
The whole Sacramento politician crap, gone. The Vignali stuff, gone. The crazy internal family life, no longer an issue. Why? Because dum-dum they both have them as weaknesses -- Antonio comes out in first place in the primary, then picks up Parks endorsement, Labor and the Dem party -- to give Antonio that boost he needs right into the mayor's office.
Sac full of crap is wrong, wrong, wrong and if it's a replay of AV vs Hahn -- it becomes a referendum on HAHN nobody else, hey Joe Voter are you in favor of corruption or not? Thats the only question voters will have on their minds in May - guarantee. If you don't like corruption, vote against Hahn.
Game over dum-dums.
Sack full of crap can say whatever she wants.
blog away.
MEAT seems very upset by the Times half-endorsement. Not surprising.
Word is the split endorsement was actually 81% Hertzberg, 19% AV - like the coverage in the editorial.
Watch your blood pressure, Meat. You can't do any good for Antonio spreading more false numbers and spinning lies for Ace after March 8 if you're in the IC ward at King Drew.
"(AV) picks up Parks endorsement, Labor and the Dem party..."
Isn't that pretty much what happened last time (not Parks, but other also-rans), when he lost big to Mr. Bland? Can't be better this time.
you are right , I am one who will follow PArks if Hahn doesn't win the primary . Wherever PArks goes I will follow. WHy?
Cause in person PArks is a great guy.
But when AV said at Studio City , what I read in the la weekly he was for INclusionary ZOning that may hurt him in a runoff with Huggy Bear. BUt I remember the last time AV won it rained. SO let's see if it doesn't rain this time. AS far as the LA Times they are cowards. They have been endorsing Villaraigosa since he announced he would be running for mayor. I don't think it will be a bitter runoff between huggy bear and AV , so their attempt at trying to create that sort of atmosphere won't happen and good luck selling papers without the soap opera.
FROM MEAT:
Maybe you are right, i should check my blood pressure. I just laugh my ass off though when crazy zany loonies wrong facts based on lies.
I am not even worried about Antonio becoming mayor, i just won't let any unchecked lies go forward.
blog away.
Be careful what you wish for Meat.
You also lose the style vs. substance contest. See 2001. And Hertzberg ain't no Hahn
Chief - you are right I forgot about Martini Republic. But then I could have missed this story between a rant about John Negroponte and the favorite cocktails of Mickey Kaus, Michael Kinsley and Susan Estrich.
Hertzberg and Villar are going to have tough sledding against each other because the bases for each that would have deferred to Hahn if he made the runoff (whichever of BH or AV lost, that would slide over to Poop) would have been lukewarm at best.
Now with everyone's two favorites in the race, the bases are both going to be energized. Labor is going to fight like hell to keep Hertzberg out and business is going to fight like hell against Tony. A Hertzberg-Hahn race is ho-hum to business as a Villar-Hahn race would be to labor.
Nonetheless, momentum is cleary with Hertzy as Tony has been slipping lately. Yea, some of the folks that went over to Hahn will come home to Tony but he's cleary not energized.
Meat: why would Bernie endorse Antonio? Isn't Bernie's platform, especially his take on business in the City, way way way closer to Bob's than Antonios? Besides, when it comes to the white guy vs. the latino... for CD8/9/10 voters, you have to think it's the white guy, or stay home...
MEATEATER RETURNS:
Very interesting endorsement(s) from the Times. As is often the case, they are trying to be all things to all people and it can't hurt that a new editorial page editor who probably doesn't know LA too well wants to hedge his bets.
Then again, last time they waffled between two candidates.
The endorsement reveals, more than anything else, not just how far Hahn has fallen, but how naive the Times remains.
A couple cases in point:
In the "we-love-Hertzberg" part, they applaud his proposals lurking under each crazy big idea that can't be implemented, such as "building schools that double as community centers". OK. I personally haven't heard a candidate for mayor or for council, frankly, in the last few years who hasn't said this. And in fairness, some have done this--Hahn expanded all the LA's BEST programs that acutally make schools community centers. Jackie Goldberg has led the fight to have joint-use facilities built into schools, and I know projects in Janice Hahn, Tony Cardenas, and Eric Garcetti's districts that actually have achieved that. Near where I live, in Mt. Washington, there is a perfect example of this that involved about five elected officials, from Villaraigosa to Pacheco to Garcetti to Tokofsky. These are good, as is whatever Hertzberg is proposing to do. But the LA Time shows it has no clue and spends no time actually in our schools if it thinks this is new or not happening.
Concrete sidewalks replaced with rubber sidewalks is another example they site. First of all, this is done in the city already on an experimental basis. There are a number of serious issues, not least of all which is cost, which isn't necessarily a lot cheaper than concrete in some cases (see http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208%257E12588%257E2698304,00.html a quote from that article: "he initial cost of installing Rubbersidewalks pavers is one-third higher than concrete"). So, does Hertzberg actually get credit for this idea? Did the LA Times look into rubberized sidewalks at ALL (this is a recurring theme, from Hahn's claim of $100 million for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to Villaraigosa's claim of 80 new neighborhood watches--BTW, I am not a partisan in this race but live close enough to people who actually know the numbers and who founded some new neighborhood watches without any help from AV--to other things that the LA Times merely reprints as fact).
On the Villaraigosa side, besides the neighborhood watches, the Times sites his role in settling the transit strike. Ask Yaroslavsky or Ludlow's staff if this is their understanding. As well-placed sources have described it to me, AV positioned himself as the guy who was going to deliver the solution from the beginning and pushed his friend Ludlow out of the way at the podium and barely participated at the table in the negotiations. No doubt AV was good to have there, but the LA Times bought that one hook, line and sinker.
As the endorsement said, "we would like to hear more concrete ideas..." Amen. And it sounds like the editorial continues a tradition of endorsing without hearing concrete ideas. At least Parks and Alarcon get specific (even if 1 out of 2 Alarcon ideas are impossible or illegal).
Wuss out by LA Times.
As for the dynamic now, I think this is worse for AV than for BH, not just because AV was the favorite, but because BH is a much bigger threat than JH. In head to head match-ups by third party polls in the last couple of weeks, Hertzberg beats Villaraigosa in a runoff by about 60-40 margin. Unless Hahn endorsed Villaraigosa, there would be little hope. South LA will barely vote in the runoff, even if BP endorses AV. And the westside, valley, and harbor go hertzberg handily.
All of this, of course, ignores that the LA Times endorsement doesn't matter much--they never endorsed Hahn (except in a joint one last time) and he has always won. In fact, the LA Times has a pretty appalling record. If Hahn got re-elected and they DOUBLE endorse, that would be pretty embarassing. The most important thing is the tv ads. And Hahn has the most money and a good quarter coming (though AV has a strong one too and Hertzberg has had an amazing last week as folks begin to see him as a flavor-of the-week). Hahn's ads are most effective, with Villaraigosa's close behind. Hertzberg's honeymoon is over soon and he needs a strong second ad as AV and JH will be tempted to go negative (family issues, lawsuits, etc.). Villaraigosa better get a good law-and-order ad up soon.
More to come. New predictions? I still have everyone's old ones from a month and a half ago...
Finally some mayoral campaign signs on the main business stretch in Highland Park (North Figueroa), in CD 14. All Bernard Parks for Mayor."
LA Times endorsement: 286 words on Hertzberg "Idea Machine"; 151 words on Villaraigosa "coalition builder."
Hertzberg mentioned first; Villaraigosa second. (Don't suggest this is an "alpha" thing, either). Newspapers don't work that way.
Journalism 101 -- most important facts go first, leave the rest for later in case people don't have time to read all the way down, or something has to be cut for space.
Substance... Style...
Not a 50/50 endorsement... more like a 70/30 in Hertzberg's favor.
Hertzberg actually should do well with African Americans. Especially if he gets any combination of a Parks endrorsement or non-endorsement of Antonio.
Remember that Hertzie was Mervyn Dymally's driver and has ties to the Black community. Besides, the little old Black ladies that turn out and vote will go for a guy who got his start helping to elect the first Black Lt. Governor and whose father was one of those Jews that stuck his neck out for civil rights when it wasn't fashionable. Certainly opposed to a former gangbanger from the eastside, little old Black ladies who vote don't go for that.
Yea expect some nasty shit from ADV about Hertzy. But since they were planning to run against Hahn they need time to regroup.
Actually sidewalks out of tires is not a bad idea. There is a massive shortage of concrete right now and its killing the building industry. We have plenty of old tires just sitting around and it could start a whole new industry.
Didn't Pacheco pioneer the idea of sidewalks from tires?
FROM: MEATBALLS
This turn of events leads me to suppose that the Mayor may drop out of the race (for some personal reason) in order to avoid the embarrassment. He can take his lead from Ira Reiner who dropped out when it was obvious that Garcetti was going to clean his clock.
It also saps even more energy from Antonio. Where have all his friends gone? This race is now Hertzberg's to lose.
What an interesting turn of events!
That MEAT is a laugh. He's making sure no lies are told about Villaraigosa, he says. Hahahaha. All the lies about Villaraigosa come from his own camp! How else would he get any support?
Pacheco didn't begin the use of recycled tired for sidewalks. Did it happen under his clock? Yes. Did his staff help the process? Yes. But was it an idea that he genuinely supported because he felt that the community needed it or wanted it without any political pressure being involved? No.
Several CD14 residents got together and proposed the idea of a jogging path to be created around Evergreen Cemetery. Originally, Pacheco didn't give the people support for it because he felt that it wasn't something the community wanted or needed. Then the group took the idea and ran with it without Pacheco's support. It wasn't until they got positive media coverage that his office began to show interest in it.
Then he went all out with it once he knew that he was going to face stiff competition in his re-election efforts (when Villaraigosa's name was being tossed around but nowhere was it near official at that point).
I'm glad that he and his staff pushed it along, as his office worked with the various city departments and the residents to get it done (well, almost - he didn't provide the funding for the 40+ lights needed. Villaraigosa finished the job that he should've completed).
Re Hertzberg and the tires--the issue isn't really whether it's Hertzberg's idea, or whether it's Pacheco's idea, or whatever. If we elected people based on whether they had original ideas, then the Brookings Institution would be the Mother of Presidents.
The key is whether someone a) can recognize a good idea when he sees it; and b) can actually get it done. And on that score, Hertzberg is just light years ahead of every other candidate.
The Mayor has to know how to pull which strings in the depths of the bureaucracy, and empower his staff to do the same. When the Deputy Assistant General Manager at the Public Works Board tells Hertzberg that of course he's love to do the rubber sidewalks thing, but of course he can't because of regulations, etc. etc. etc., Hertzberg will slap him back and explain to him just how he can do it and what will happen to him if he doesn't.
Hahn knows how the bureaucracy works, too, of course--but the bureaucracy is his ally against change. Villaraigosa might have good intentions, but he simply doesn't know how to execute. That's why Hertzberg did all of the heavy lifting as Rules Chair when Villaraigosa was Speaker.
And that's also why Hertzberg is the best candidate.
Armando:
The Evergreen Jogging Path was not part of a re-election effort.
Here is what happened. Pacheco gave the committee a $ 5,000.00 grant contingent on other local electeds (Cedillo, Romero, Solis, Molina, Villaraigosa, Polanco, etc.) HELPING with the $15,000.OO proposal from Northeast Trees to study and design the jogging path. NOT ONE of those other elected officials helped and after a couple of months Lloyd Monserratt met with the committee and told them that Pacheco would fund the entire project since NO OTHER local elected wanted to help them.
Credit goes as follows:
IDEA: Community
FUNDING: Pacheco
Pacheco showed the leadership to make this happen. He had a strong reputation for making these type of projects happen in his district.
Nice Villaraigosa spin, Armando. I suppose Villaraigosa finished Pacheco's work on Moon Canyon, too? Let's be honest, Villaraigosa has done nothing for CD14 otherwise he would be touting more accomplishments than the big lies - 80 neighborhood watches and 6000 people doing days of service.
Thanks poster for letting us know the truth about Villaraigosa coming up with NO money for the sidewalk. Have you noticed that the only people caught telling lies are Villaraigosa supporters?
Hertzberg is a democrat in sheeps clothing.
This is the guy that opposed LAUSD breakup before he was for it.
Fought for secession, then didn't when he saw the polling, thought of a random idea with the boroughs so he can claim valley credit.
Sues his father, doesn't even have the guts to know why.
Goes from paying his children 9,000 bucks a month to 2,500 -- which is the amount you give if you make $85,000 a year not $300,000 with his deflated salary. I only bring this up because its been reported by the LA Times.
Rumors are he was sleeping with current wife cynthia telles years before he divorced his 2nd wife. Remember mr flip-flopper has been married 3 times.
He introduced most legislators to carlos vignali while his son was in prison for Crack.
This guy not only doesn't know how to be loyal, he can't even make up his mind on policy issues, doesn't have a single moral fiber in his body and can't even go a day without cursing someone out.
bob has been stabbing people in the back since he was a little boy, and this little boy is going to tell the world.
from the little boy in south la.
MEATEATER RESPONDS:
Of course, it is not about whether your idea is new, it is about whether or not anyone else is already doing it or how you are going to pay for it. Hertzberg is beginning to sound like the rest of City Hall if he is saying you can have more police, more-expensive rubber sidewalks, and everything else without specifying how this gets paid for. And as far as follow-through, maybe, but Hertzberg is pretty untested in this realm. Read the Daily Breeze today and see the quote from Sen. Romero about his inability to even shepherd bills through in Sacto when he was speaker. Ask anyone who worked with him on his boroughs idea, too, whether he has the ability to "get things done." When he is mayor (if he is), his biggest problem will be focusing. Mark my words.
The LAT endorsement is another loss for Villaraigosa.? It means that the LAT isn't as impressed with Golden Boy as they once were. Hey, maybe it was bronze after all, not gold? Bronze? That's for third place, isn't it?
Villaraigosa failed in EVERY reason to oust Pacheco. "I will do better," said Villaraigosa. Can anybody honestly say that CD14 is better off under Villaraigosa? Hell, no!
FROM MEAT:
Is better ending the MTA strike that cost the city 1 million dollars a cay -- yes. And you claim the whole Ludlow and Zev staff did more -- NOT EVEN TRUE, the unions never trusted Zev, which is why Ludlow and Antonio did what they did. But to claim Antonio pushed Ludlow out is untrue, Ludlow will never say a single word about this because its untrue, as for Zev, he was never able to bargain anything because he took the management line and didn't want to deal with the unions. If you recall his line on this was anti-union and this isn't a position that can bring the two sides together to solve the problem.
As for Antonio doing nothing -- look he's preserved Ascot Hills, He's cleaned up the neighborood whether you like it or not, he's proposed LARX --- and built the el sereno constituent center.
but these things don't count, because the people on this blog are certifiable.
blog away dum-dums.
bitter, bitter, bitter
Why is anyone wasting our time talking about Pacheco? He is a "has been". Two-time loser.
Yes I can say CD14 is a better place. Can we say Ascot Hills? Valley Blvd Grade Separation? Constituent Center?, etc.
I think the last poster was one of those angry Pacheco staffers that lost their job when Av knocked their boss out. The Mayor's staff is next Nathalie, Naomi, Janice & Yolanda. It's on.
It shouldn't surprise anyone that Huggy and ADV got the endorsement. LAT has been spinning for ADV for months. The fact that their stories are so bias says it all. I'm going to sit back like many and have the last laugh. 2001 in the final 2 weeks all the shit came out about ADV. Once again it will come out and then some. The fact that he has to include his stupid assembly bullshit on his commericals says he hasn't done shit as a councilman and everyone in CD14 knows it. ADV and Huggy will go for eachothers throats now. Hahn is going to stay out of their mess and be in the run-off no question. People in the city need to remember that Huggy wanted to split up LA. Angelenos are still sore about that. ADV supported a drug dealer and took money from the family. People don't forget and will remember that. Oh, and who's the pregnant woman living in Monterey Park that one of mayoral candidates is hiding out? HMMMMM it will get very interesting. RECALL PEOPLE NOW'S THE TIME...COME OUT NOW...ADV has dumped long enough on his own people.
I am talking about Pacheco because I miss the good old days in the 14th - when you actually got some service from your councilmember. Villaraigosa cleaned up the place, did he? No, he got volunteers out for photo opportunities for his own publicity. My taxes should be going to clean up the district! Whoever is organizing the recall hurry up with it!!!!!!!!!!
Bitter. Bitter. Bitter, eh. This week we're going to see former Villaraigosa supporters speak out in support of the Recall. Get ready Antonio!
TO MEAT:
It was Pacheco that preserved Ascot Hills by proposing a park there and re-zoning it open space, not Villaraigosa.
Villaraigosa is building on that by getting a grant for programming there, but Pacheco saved it from development.
Pacheco left $2 million dollars in MICLA funds for land acquisition and construction of the El Sereno Constituent Center. His only mistake was not finding a place to spend the money.
You don't need to lie about these things to build up Villaraigosa.
Bored in ELA
(with MEAT's lies)
Armando,
You should really check your facts before you speak. Pacheco provided 100% fundind for the Jogging Path including money for around 87 lights around the path. This rumor that Antonio provided any support or money is a sham. If you disagree ask Norma Marrero or Stan Horwitz for the info on funding. The money ws there before Pacheco left office and the ball was dropped and the lights were not installed six months. Please get your story staright before you say things that are not true. Maybe you might get somebody monitoring who actually worked on the project.
Since this back-and-forth never seems to get settled about who started what and when in CD14, I would be glad to forward to Mayor Sam, Chief Parker or some other blog-related 3rd party, the large 80+ page Transition Memo CM Pacheco sent out before Villaraigosa took office in mid-03, so someone not pumping AV can look at these things and say what's what, without tons of spin.
It spells things out very specifically about when things started, how much was funded, where the funding came from` and when the project should be completed - in most cases - if the staff stayed on course with it. The most interesting part is when it's compared to AV's campaign claims 12 and 18 months later. Nearly every 6-month project took 12-18 months to move foward (or is still incomplete). Projects expected to be done by the end of the first year are mostly stalled or never will be finished.
That document used to be on the CD14 Website - but ADV took it down shortly after taking office. Onbioulsy his staff didn't want to be held accountable for things their boss couldn't (then) take credit for...
So I wonder whether Villaraigosa's childhood buddy, Senator Cedillo, is rethinking his endorsement of Hahn:
1. Hahn's not even going to make the runoff.
2. Hahn's reputation is doing worse than his poll numbers.
3. Hahn's deputy chief of staff/Cedillo's erstwhile girlfriend, Natalie Reyes, is in London this weekend with the rich Lebanese national she met over Christmas break. This after going to Acapulco with a boy she met in DC during Hispanic Heritage Month.
Cedillo dates Reyes and endorses Hahn -- talk about pay to play. His one consolation is that he'll be done with both by March 9.
Problem is, then he'll endorse Villaraigosa.
Some people never learn...
The only way Villaraigosa supporters can get any credit for their man doing anything it seems is by telling lies. Give it a break, Armando, we don't believe you.
See how these Villaraigosa punks change the topic when they are being soundly beaten. Give it a rest on Cedillo and his love life - he's a single guy. If anybody knows anything about being unfaithful, ask Tony. Unfaithful to his wife, unfaithful to his district, and unfaithful to the working man (sucking up to billionaires Eli Broad and Ron Burkle). Tony Villa: Doesn't know a vow he won't break!
You are all dum dum's if you think that a newspaper endorsement has anything to do with who wins.
This race will be between Hahn and Villaraigosa. Get used to it. Get ready for it. Hertzberg will just confuse the whole city.
Anyone who reads this blog is either a political gadfly, city hall staffer, lobbyist or campaign staffer. We are the only people in town who have the inside scoop and care.
The average voter with their disinterest in politics will stick with what they know. Hahn has never lost an election.
Good for Natalie with her ability to get all of those guys to take her on vacations. Smart girl. Nobody cares about Cedillo or anyone else's endorsement either.
Thank you for that wonderful insight, Wolfgang Puck. Now if you can give us a recipe or two..?
Interesting that at ADV's clean up yesterday insiders say that he brought in a lot of county people to help. His own community isn't going to help him after he lied and used them to get elected. I what to know what happened to Antonio's public safety issue he started his campaign on? It fizzled. Now all he can do is ask Hahn questions cause he doesn't have a damn thing to say. No vision, no ideas, no strategy, no intelligence, strenghts and so forth. All he has done is accuse accuse accuse. Its getting old
The post on public safety raises an interesting point. I hear homicides are down in LA but up in CD 14. Does anybody have the facts on this?
Look at it this way, posters, if your don't like all this CD14 stuff popping up in the Mayor Sam blog, just make sure Antonio doesn't make the runoff. Within a few weeks you can go back to posting mostly rumors about who's sleeping with which CM's chief of staff on out-of-town junkets.
Boyle Heights has 8 homicides and we're not even over with Feb. yet. ADV hasn't mentioned ONE WORD about them. He's too busy campaigning. The hell with people in his own community living in fear. Officers have said he does not go out to homicides like he's been lying saying he has. The community is over flowing with vendors. Officers also say that ADV has been adamant stating they are not to touch the vendors. Hear ADV tells the Capt. what to do. I sure hope Bratton hears that one. What happened to his promise about public safety being his #1 priority. Down the toliet with all this his other promises
Boyle Heights has 8 homicides and we're not even over with Feb. yet. ADV hasn't mentioned ONE WORD about them. He's too busy campaigning. The hell with people in his own community living in fear. Officers have said he does not go out to homicides like he's been lying saying he has. The community is over flowing with vendors. Officers also say that ADV has been adamant stating they are not to touch the vendors. Hear ADV tells the Capt. what to do. I sure hope Bratton hears that one. What happened to his promise about public safety being his #1 priority. Down the toliet with all this his other promises
Maybe one of Villaraigosa's opponents needs to recycle that mailer he used in '03 that purported to show homicides up in the district under the last CM's watch. Since AV has been in office for two years, those homicides shouldn't be happening in such high numbers in the district, right. He was going to change things in CD14 beginning in '03, right. He's now going to change things citywide beginning in '05, right? Right as rain.
I'm suprised Nathalie even dates Cedilo since she looks at "mexicans" as second class citizens. She is so full of herself, it is disgusting. I'mnot sure the mayor knows how poorly served he is by this woman. She better start packing her bags and figure out who she is going to manipulate next.
Tony Villar and public safety are an oxy moron. His credentials of being the anti-public safety candidate are numerous. He sued the City of Los Angeles (LAPD) while president of ACLU, he bused in using DOT approved buses (City resources) to fight a gang injunction in Boyle Heights (Estarada Courts area - Ask Mimi Soto from CDD), he does not go after illegal vendors, he supports gang members and is involved with every lefty organization under the sun. I see no way the Police union or average cops can support him. In the run-off, he will be the anti-public safety candidate.
Why is it that when a candidate does not get an endorsement they say it is not a big deal or does not mean much? If it didnt mean much then they would not have spent the time to go to the interview, etc, etc. When Huggy Bear was endorsed by both the LA Times and Daily News it was big. Big because it gave viability and name recognition to him and showed LA is reaady for political change.
FROM MEAT:
Yeah, so anti-public safety. Voted for the tougest version of Meagans Law, approved the buses from another city staffer in a different dept (his office did not write up the request for the DOT buses, it was a former pacheco supporter who works for the city who requested it)
He's been supported by LA Ley and currently the probation officers. Put his butt on the line to pass Measure A (largest single contributor to the measure) Recently passed the Smith-Villaraigosa measure that will add 269 more police officers to the city. Put out a plan for 1,600 more cops that even Police Chief Bratton approved of (see daily breeze). If you are going to go this route, bring it on, but just know this, you will lose lil dum-dum.
blog away
I 100% agree with the previous blogger's comments about Natalie Rayes. She is so bad at her job-she hurts the mayor by opening her bigmouth, especially after she has had a few.
MEAT MEAT MEAT you poor thing. We all know the only reason ADV put money behind Measure A is because it was to put his ugly mug on TV and he cldn't spend that money any other way doing it. Secondly, his moron staff didn't even know how many homicides Boyle Heights had. HELLO isn't that their job? He only jumped on Smith's bandwagon when he got passed in council. ADV's cop plan can't do shit right now but we have to wait til 2006. We all know ADV is against gang injunctions. Didn't Mayor Sam just post about the illegal immigration issue where ADV spoke of the 18th Street gang? Remember everyone ADV was a gangbanger wannabie in high school. He got in a ton of trouble with cops. Lastly, after his community pleaded to vote yes on the sales tax initiative he completely ignored their voice and for selfish reasons voted NO. So MEAT tell your boss he's an asshole
Is it true Nick Pacheco has declared he will not run for CD 14 even if AV wins? I think CD 14 needs new blood, not a failed retread.
Keep your eye on Huizar and other new blood.
huizar is a good choice.
Meat,
Funny thing is that Mimi Soto ordered the bus from DOT and Antonio approved. After, the community expressed outrage, especially Father John Moretta that anyone would bus in gang members and anti-public safety people to oppose the gang injunction did they start to look at who ordered the bus. After some digging they found out Antonio approved the bus (He knew what the reasons were)and they were mad. Cd14 has been trying to keep this quiet. Antonio tried to get Mimi (Hahn supporter) fired through Robert Sainz but it didnt work. Hahn stepped in and told Robert Sainz to move her back from the Valley to Boyle Heights and leave her alone. So Meat, the story is if Antonio did not know why is he approving buses he does not know what they are for? Is he asleep at the switch? If he knew, then he supports gang members.
He is the ani-public safety candidate. Homicides are up in CD14 and all he can do is to point the funger at Hahn.
If Nick Pacheco has said he will not run for CD14, his supporters will put his name on the ballot as a write in candidate. This is just propoganda from Villaraigosa supporters who fear that a return of Pacheco will show up their golden boy for the empty suit he is. But there is a pattern here. First it is ABH from Villaraigosa (and we all knew what was meant) and now it's going to be ABP. Why not Alvin Parra, Tony? I mean, anybody else is going to make you look bad!
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