Low-Quality Promise

LA Weekly runs a story in it's newest edition entitled "Low-Quality Promise -- Mayor stretches his word on commission appointment." Here's a key section:

For starters, Baylis has been registered as a lobbyist at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority since at least November 2000, according to MTA officials. Villaraigosa’s first pronouncement on his first day in office was that he would remove lobbyists from city commissions. Although it is not the same as lobbying City Hall, lobbying the MTA hits almost as close to home with Villaraigosa, who appointed a majority of its board and basically controls the place. MTA officials have not responded to two written requests for information about projects Baylis has lobbied.

Ch2M Hill’s lobbying power and its giving spirit in the campaign-finance arena also send a strong message to would-be government reformers. The firm and its lobbyists have contributed more than $70,000 to local officials in the last five years, according to Ethics Commission records. Baylis and his wife have contributed $9,500 to various city officials since 2000, including Villaraigosa. On inauguration day, L.A.’s Best, an after-school program with its corporate office in the mayor’s office, held a charity fund-raiser. Ch2M Hill was among 40 “benefactors,” donating $25,000 to the cause, according to Sharon Yarbrough, the program’s deputy administrator.

Ummm, just guessing here, but looks like this is going to get worse before it gets better... I know I'm piling on here, but here is another funny paragraph...

Julie Butcher, head of SEIU Local 347, serves with Baylis on the commission. She says Baylis is a “mensch.” His company should be open to scrutiny, she says, but points out that he resigned from his commission post after the election, only to be reappointed by Villaraigosa. “It’s a feeble commission,” she says. “Nobody wants it to exist.”

Lot of headaches for such a "rinky-dink" commission