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Sunday, February 13, 2005

Sunday News Wrap-Up: Big Day for Hertzberg

Huggy cleaned up this weekend with big stories in the papers including an endorsement by the Daily News, while the Times took slaps at both Tony Villar and Poopy. Here are the big articles:

The Daily News Editorial: Hertzberg for mayor

Mayor James K. Hahn didn't promise voters the moon when he ran for office four years ago. What Los Angeles wants of a mayor, he said then and says now as he seeks reelection, is a nuts-and-bolts manager who can make the city work, not a leader with "vision" or even a leader who is particularly visible. The scion of a political family with 20 years as city attorney and city controller, Hahn sold himself as right for the job he had defined.
L.A. needs new vision, passion and leadership in City HallWith its police department understaffed, its streets jammed, its economy sluggish and its leadership under county and federal investigation, the city of Los Angeles is in a state of crisis.

But on March 8, voters can begin to turn things around.

The first step, of course, is to vote Mayor James Hahn out of office.

At his best, he has slurry-covered some streets and synchronized some traffic lights, as well as made some other small, incremental improvements to the city.

At his worst, he has overseen the corruption of city contracting practices, squandered millions of dollars of public money to promote himself, given away the treasury to city employees, and raised fees and rates without improving services.

Either way, Los Angeles cannot afford four more years of Hahn. The problems are too big.

The people of Los Angeles need a mayor with the vision, the imagination, the energy and the integrity to radically overhaul City Hall and solve the city's problems.
...
As a city in crisis, L.A. needs more than just an upgrade in the Mayor's Office. It needs a whole new direction. It needs a new vision for the future. It needs a new attitude in City Hall, and a mayor who can bring it about.

And that will only happen if the voters -- Democrats, Republicans and independents -- seize the day and turn out to the polls in large numbers. The special interests that have corrupted City Hall will spend millions to preserve their privileges. But their money will be wasted if all who want a better Los Angeles show up and vote to end the politics of cynicism and failure that Hahn represents.

To restore our once-great city, the voters of Los Angeles couldn't do better than to vote for Bob Hertzberg for mayor on March 8.


The LA Times Editorial: Choose the Moon


As voters, many with mail-in ballots already in hand, weigh whether to give Hahn another four years, here are two questions to ponder:

Has he met these modest goals?

Can't the nation's second-largest city have the moon as well? Hahn's top two achievements came in his first two years in office: He hired outspoken police reformer William J. Bratton to head the Los Angeles Police Department, and he led the campaign that kept Los Angeles from breaking apart into three cities.
...
Measuring the Mayor

By Hahn's definition of the job, his record as mayor is mixed — two striking accomplishments, one key failure, a lot else that falls in between. But his is not the full measure of a mayor.

A candidate doesn't get to define what a mayor should be. The people do that. And surely this most vibrant of cities yearns for a leader to match.

Leadership is not just about charm and warmth. Los Angeles' two previous mayors weren't glad-handing back-slappers any more than Hahn is. Tom Bradley hid his emotions behind a poker face. Richard Riordan was hardly a riveting speaker. Neither was a perfect mayor. But Bradley was an extraordinary coalition builder who worked hard seven days a week, in his office and in countless civic functions and ceremonies. He oversaw the rise of downtown office towers and hosted the Olympic Games. Riordan broadened the city's notion of a mayor, urging school reform, championing a new City Charter and recruiting his billionaire buddies to get Disney Hall built. What the two shared was not just energy but the ability to energize others.

What Los Angeles needs is a mayor who not only hires a reformer police chief but rallies all neighborhoods to support his campaign against crime, a mayor who not only beats back secession but wins over and unites the disgruntled residents. It's a tall order. Los Angeles should reach that high.

The Times' mayoral endorsement will run next Sunday.

Steve Lopez in the LA Times: Playing It Safe in a Blood Sport

Antonio Villaraigosa wanted to get one thing clear right off the bat when we met for dinner.

Yeah, he admitted, we drank some wine together one night a few years ago, and he doesn't doubt that it took me a week to recover.

"But you drank a bottle before I even got there," he alleged.

I'm not saying I did or I didn't. But sooner or later everyone overindulges in one way or another, as I'm sure Villaraigosa would agree. I'm reformed, though, and he claims to be too. I might have had my doubts if he suggested we meet at Hooters, but he wanted to go to La Serenata in Boyle Heights.
...
"Let's go to Kate Mantilini," he said.

Hey, I go where they ask me to go. When Mayor Jim Hahn chickened out on a man-to-man encounter and told me to meet him at a Croatian fish feed along with 200 of his San Pedro neighbors, I didn't complain.

But Kate Mantilini?

I kept my mouth shut. But if I were running for mayor of Los Angeles, there's one thing I would never do. I would never take a columnist to dinner in Beverly Hills.
...
"You know who this guy is?" I asked them.

"He looks familiar," said one, eyeing Villaraigosa as if he were Antonio Banderas.

Antonio Villaraigosa, I said. He's running for mayor of L.A.

They nodded politely, but hadn't heard of him.

Now the waitress returned, and I asked the L.A. resident if she'd heard of Villaraigosa. No, she apologized.

"Do you know who the current mayor is?" I asked.

She smiled confidently.

"Arnold Schwarzenegger," she said.

Hahn can't catch a break, can he?


And last but not least, another Patrick O'Connor cartoon in the Daily News for us to enjoy:
Valentine














.

29 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said:

"Cute" but doesn't "love" mean zero in tennis?

February 13, 2005 10:04 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

FROM MEAT:

Hey Sack Night -- I have a question or two for you, what percent of the vote will each mayoral candidate get? Your little quips whiuch mean nothing accept put a kool-aid smile on your face are getting old. How about some hard and firm numbers from you, so on election night i can laugh at how much of a dum-dum you are.


I'll post mine first so you'll feel a little better about putting yourself out there.

Antonio= 32%
Hahn= 23%
Hertzberg=22%
Parks= 15%
Alarcon=5%
Moore=2%
Others=1%

blog away dum-dums

February 13, 2005 11:34 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Don't fall for that one, S-Nights. Only a moron, political neophyte, compulsive gambler, or campaign consultant who's trying to justify using up millions in donations to get (down) to 20 points, would put numbers out at this stage. There are still way too many dynamics in play and no comparable 3rd party polling to base any real predictions on. Even if Tony V.'s people want to believe the now 2-week-old L.A. times numbers have some meaning to the primary outcome, then they also have to admit they show him 20 percent lower than their posted predictions earlier that week (25 percent).

February 13, 2005 12:03 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

MEAT

Speaking of hard and fast numbers, didn't Sac call you out a couple times to deliver backup for your last couple batches of fraudulent figures -- 81 percent, 5 bar owners, < 2000 recall signatures. Is the pot calling the copper kettle black, here?

February 13, 2005 12:06 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

How the heck is it that the Wacko from Saco gets these things up first on the Mayor Sam blog, anyway. Is this one of Mayor Sam's or Chief Parker's alter egos playing both sides (anti-Hahn, anti-AV), just to boost Huggy up more?

February 13, 2005 12:07 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

"hard and fast numbers" What is this, meat, I'll whip mine out if you'll show me yours?

February 13, 2005 12:30 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

"doesn't 'love' mean zero in tennis?"

Yeah but maybe that was the point he/she was trying to make? ADV's tenure in CD14 has been an exercise in "love" (tennis style)

February 13, 2005 12:35 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

My favorite quote in the Lopez piece was Villaraigosa saying "this time, Hahn has a record."

That could explain why Tony V. hasn't done anything of consequence in two years on city council - doesn't want to have a "record" someone can hold against him in future races. PRETTY smart, Antonio. Now THAT's (long-range) vision!

February 13, 2005 12:38 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Careful, don't bring up the word "record" again, we'll get the angry vigilante bloggers back screaming about police records and shit - ALL IN CAPS!!!

February 13, 2005 12:50 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Any wonder why Tony Villar keeps bringing up going back to "church" in every interview. The reporters seem to be implying it might be to fend off his "bad boy" personal image (Lopez more than implied). But, someone really cynical might think its because he's slipping with Latinos (heavy catholic population), and needs to get in tight with two other L.A. groups where religion is a big factor -- Blacks and Jews.

February 13, 2005 12:55 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Ditto the "hard numbers" response -- ADVs folks are so sure of making the runoff, they're looking for anything they can use to defuse critics when the next round begins - even something as simple as missing a prediction this early. But MEAT's predictions are there - that'll be fun considering his track record with numbers in recent weeks. Hard for anyone but the faithful to believe Antonio would start from farther back than four years ago at this time, and end up geting bigger numbers in this primary then he did in 2001 (30%). Meat's must've got RELIGION, too. That's some faith!

February 13, 2005 1:02 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Kool-Aid smile - oh God, now Mayor Sam will end up putting up another blog title "separated at bith" with that big talking Kool-Air pitcher from the commercials and a sillouete of SN side-by-side. Let's hope the campaign doesn't have that slow a news day.

February 13, 2005 1:09 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Villaraigosa couldn't meet Lopez in his OWN district! Frigging Beverly Hills. Give me a break.

February 13, 2005 1:11 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

MEAT is the one drinbking the koolaid.

February 13, 2005 1:12 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

ADV tried to meet Lopez at a place in CD14, but they both got directions from staff and they kept getting lost.

February 13, 2005 1:14 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Whose advising this guy on his campaign, Donald Segreti. He's facing a recall for abandoing his district and he meets the LA times guy in Beverly Hills? Not only not CD14, not EVEN L.A.! (THEN he votes against the half-cent sales tax because "it might make people take their business outside the city") BS-squared!

February 13, 2005 1:16 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

MEAT? Why doesn't Villaraigosa doesn't support the sales tax?

February 13, 2005 1:30 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

its getting worse and worser for the mayor and ADV.

February 13, 2005 1:51 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Big day for Hugsberg (aka i used to consult for Fleishman-Hillard). Valley folks need to wake up...Bob is playing the us vs. them card meaning Valley vs. Downtown interests when in fact he represents everything bad about downtown.

I'm not fooled by him and neither should other people. I'm glad the governor is cautiously approaching Hertzberg's school break up plan as was reported in the papers recently. Hertzberg doesn't run the LAUSD, but maybe he can change it since he represents all those wonderful downtown interests that backed Riordan years ago.

Be careful what you wish for folks. Just a helpful reminder if you care at all especially about the valley as i do. There are other candidates out there who also have our area in their interests as well.

February 13, 2005 2:02 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

That Steve Lopez article didn't do any justice for Villaraigosa...but i doubt the intent is to do any justice for any of the candidates including the article he had a little while back with the overeccentric Bob Hertzberg. I don't look for any substance in Lopez's articles other than sheer amusement at how these guys act with a reporter who's looking for that story about the "real candidate." My vote counts on what these guys say about the future of this city and what they have done.

With that last line i bet everybody will take there shots. Be sure to spread it around to all the candidates. How about screwing the one-sided candidate debate on this site and turning it into a free for all on each of the five candidates running for mayor.

February 13, 2005 2:07 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

That should e pretty easy, since Villaraigosa has "no record" to bash in city service.

February 13, 2005 2:14 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

DN endorsing Hertzberg is no big surprise, and the LAT editorial about Hahn's trouble is a preamble to NOT endorsing him in the coming weeks.

At the same time, LAT editorial writers always look to their own reporters' coverage of candidates as a big piece of the backup for making an endorsement (keeps the paper from looking two-faced and their news coverage from looking bad), which isn't good news for Antonio. It's unlikely the Times would endorse someone that keeps coming across as lost and clueless on the issues in their own paper.

Odd as this might sound, the Times may actually give the nod to Parks, since Hahn's troubles of late seem to vindicate him, and his service on city council hasn't come across near as amorphous as the fleet-footed Villaraigosa. Or, they may make NO endorsement in the primary saying, it's just too close to call among the non-Hahns.

February 13, 2005 2:23 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Times could endorse Hertberg, too but they don't like to look like they're following the little paper in town.

February 13, 2005 2:35 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

No matter how you slice it, its not good for the Mayor. When was the last time both major newspapers did not endorse an incumbent for re-election?

February 13, 2005 2:40 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

When was the last time a candidate for mayor was facing a recall in his home district?

February 13, 2005 2:57 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Paul Gonzales, the former boxer. He got 917 votes -- closer to 4 percent, I think.

February 13, 2005 4:30 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

The buzz in my church today was how Antonio was once seen as a leader we could count on, now they think "El hombre ha hecho un clown."

February 13, 2005 5:49 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Yeah? I hear the buzz in ADV's church today was, "who's that guy with Mrs. Villaragosa? I've never seen him here before, but there's a newspaper photographer following him around."

February 13, 2005 7:37 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Antonio is like those men who only go to church when there's a funeral or wedding.

February 14, 2005 11:32 AM  

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