More Trouble With Cars
In August, we reported that Council Member Janice Hahn's official city car was parked in a handicapped parking spot during a city event. This, despite that Hahn did not have a permit to park in such a spot.Following our post, and the ensuing local and even national media coverage that followed, Hahn apologized for the mistake and said it would not happen again.
However, another misuse of a city vehicle has been brought to our attention and this time it involved use of the vehicle to attend a partisan political event, a clear violation of city rules. The good news is that the Council office was aware of the violation, has taken steps to correct the issue and has is making an effort to prevent further abuse.
An anonymous tipster sent us photos and claims that at least one staff member of Council Member Alex Padilla recently attended the San Fernando Valley Democratic Party's annual Labor Day Picnic, held at Van Nuys-Sherman Oaks Park, and did so driving a city vehicle. According to the flyer distributed, this event was a fundraiser for the local Democratic party.
We contacted Bill Mabie, Communications Director for Council Member Padilla, to get a confirmation or denial of the issue. Mr. Mabie was nice enough to respond to us and did confirm the incident had occurred and that the staffer(s) in question were reprimanded. Mabie further stated that all Council staff from District 7 will be attending a refresher course on city policies later this week.
Despite this, misuse of city vehicles is a persistent problem. City vehicles are provided to staff members to allow them to perform their job duties and serve the city. They're not meant as your personal ride and certainly should not be used to attend political events. While we got some notice for the Janice Hahn car story, we had previously reported misuse of vehicles from the other side of the family. Staffers of then Mayor James Hahn were allged to have used city vehicles to attend Democratic club meetings in order to stack their endorsement vote meetings in an attempt to deny Antonio Villaraigosa various Democratic club nods.
We hope that other Council offices will follow the lead of Council Member Padilla and instruct their staff members in the proper use of city vehicles.
Posted by Mayor Sam @ 9/12/2005 03:00:00 AM
27 Comments:
Ftankly, who gives a shit?
This type of "misuse" is Hal Netkin like... Janice had her car parked in a Handicapped space. Big difference.
I am sure this won't happen again. At least i would hope
You gotta be kidding Mayor Sam? With so much going on in LA like the fact that Al Qaeda is threatening Los Angeles you post this bullshit? The only time in the past you posted these negative articles is when Antonio's people told you to do so. Why is he after Padilla now?
If I had a city car, I would do it too!!
with gas prices the way they are, I'd make the city pay for my gas!!!
- Gas Pimp
God damn paparazzi, thank god for people like cindy to protect you Alex.
THis is getting boring. Put some threads with topics on positive events that happen, not gossip.
Didn't Antonio, as Assembly Speaker, take his state issued SUV to a Vignali auto body shop after a minor fender bender? And didn't Vignali bill the state for a major accident?
Laura Breakstone had the scoop on this but she kept quiet.
SI, SI, SI, AND SI!
VILLARAIGOSA DID THIS,
-VEHICLE TAKEN TO VIGNALI
-VEHICLE FIXED BY VIGNALI
-VEHICLE WORK BILLED TO THE STATE
-VEHICLE ENJOYED BY VILLARAIGOSA
-VEHICLE, VILLARAIGOS, VIGNALI
STILL FRIENDS.
BUT DID ANY OF THE ILLEGALLY PARKED CARS HAVE "DIRTY BOMBS" IN THEM???
10:15
No, just dirty political wannabes.
4:37 AM
#1 - It is a big deal if someone who is not disabled - Janice Hahn or Joe Blow - parks in a handicapped space. That denies the spot for the person who really needs it. That's the law. Its even worse if an elected official who is sworn to uphold the law violates it.
#2 - The taxpayers provide vehicles for city business. Its not a personal ride. Government wastes money doing things like this and tells us we have no money for police.
Also to 7:41 - Antonio doesn't tell me anything. He never has. Have never met the man nor even talked with him. I understand he doesn't even like this blog.
Finally to 9:41 - you want positive? Read about the good things we have been reporting that Jim Alger is doing down in the Gulf.
Send Sonny Corleone out to the parking lot to smash the camera.
You're right Mayor Sam Antonio and electeds keep saying there's no money for police and yet Antonio sent 1,000 city employees on our tax dollars to New Orleans. Can someone guess how much that is costing the city that is already $300 million in debt? Aren't the city workers suppose to stay for 3 weeks?
This spending is out of hand and city officials need to beld accountable. Mayor Villaraigosa is flip flopping on source of money for cops and where it has the cash to send 1k workers, weird concept.
Antonio has never run a business, never made payroll, never developed a budget. Hell, he can't even open a spread sheet, let alone analyze one. Wait and see, what have dumb politicians in expensive suits ever accomplished - deficits. Bush is doing it in Washington D.C. and not too long ago Antonio did it in Sacramento. Look for the same in L.A..
Come on. Cindy Montanez's staff were frothing at this one. Meanwhile, they use state phones, state computers, and a state camera to do campaign stuff.
cAN U PROVE CINDY MONTANEZ AND STAFF USED TAX PAYERS RESOURCES FOR PERSONAL CAMPAIGNING?
Before blaming poor Janice about the misuse of City vehicles, why don't you start by identifying the type of vehicles that certain Councilmember's prefer to drive and ask yourself why.
Why do some choose to have drivers or driving their own cars? Why do some drive fancier cars than others? Why do they have options?
Anyway, I'm sure you would all love to have City cars and you would all misuse them!
Partisan affairs are obviously a conflict.
However, if you leave your office at 9pm and need to pick up milk/juice for your family on your way home, are you really going to go home first to get your personal vehicle and then drive back to the store?
That doesn't make sense to me. I wouldn't or couldn't be that ethical. Especially with the way gas prices have sky rocketed recently.
Leave Janice alone. She's a new mom!
Saturday Night I went to the movies and saw a guy get out of his city car with his wife and kid. He went to the movie. You should set up a hotline to report vehicles being used for personal use.
mr. padilla has pissed A LOT of people in the SFV's 38th district, stretching from Granada Hills to Sunland. Consequently, I would imagine many of those activists were in attendance at this partisan event. I would imagine many more are going to come out of the woodworks against him, and lash out with things not as petty as this.
Close the landfill down!
7:38 p.m.:
Well atleast it wasn't a lover of sorts, extra-marital kind of deal, ya know?
Picking up milk is not an issue. Going to a fundraiser and certainly going to the movies with the kids is a far different thing.
And we would love to hear who is driving what. I know some CMs have been very fair in their picks of vehicles, but others go over the top. If you know, post it here.
Mayor Sam,
Both Tony Cardenas and Alex Padilla drive the exact same car--Mafia-esque Bling Bling Tahoe
What else would you expect, if they're soulmates & jointed at the hip, with the same thirst for phallic symbols. Would you expect the big bad ass city council president in a hybrid?
I do recall an L.A. Times article on Padilla yrs. ago where he's interviewed while driving his district in his brand new Grand Cherokee. Almost 2 yrs. later, several members' cars of choice were scrutinized in another article. I believe ex-mayor Hahn had the most modest car, with Padilla now at the forefront with a brand new Tahoe. What was wrong with the cherokee from before? His communications guy at the time, David Gershwin, said something along the lines of, "The Councilman has special needs...he's tall."
He was elected at 26, not 16, did he grow in height, or get fatter? Maybe his head just got bigger.
- Editor of Dub Magazine
Villaraigosa drives a DENALI
^ I'm not suprised. Liberal-Elitist Hypocrite
I'm told Nate Holden was rather flashy and drove a very expensive SUV, something in the Cadillac family, perhaps?
I think Councilmembers Reyes, Garcetti and Hahn, among all others, are the representatives who are very humble and drive practical vehicles.
Everyone else is all about the "flash."
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