City Council run rumors?

We here at the Sister City get plenty of mail with gossip and rumors of various sorts. Some we print, most we toss but some are just fun speculation.

With the even-numbered council seats up for election in March, the race for City Council is beginning to be the source of some gossip, even the seats that aren't up yet.

One of the more interesting rumors that has been picking up steam of late is of a particular Valley Neighborhood Council President who many believe is lining himself up for a move from the Neighborhood Council, to the Los Angeles City Council.

Now the CD 12 cut and paste crew who have probably already hit their emergency panic button and are racing to computer screens and blackberrys throughout the city are going to have to sit this one out, because we aren't discussing your favorite Neighborhood Council President. No we are talking about Tarzana Neighborhood Council President Len Schaffer and the soon to be vacated Council District 3 seat of Dennis Zine. Well, "soon" is a relative term.

Mr Schaffer, a former LA City Prosecutor and interim Chair of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Congress as well as President of the Tarzana Neighborhood Council was just announced as an appointee for the 912 Neighborhood Council Review Commission. The appointment caused Mr Shaffer to withdraw from the race for permanent chair of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Congress. Schaffer was Dennis Zine's appointment on the 912 Commission.

We received the following email...

-----------------
What neighborhood council chair is being groomed by a current City Council member as his putative replacement?

Consider that Dennis Zine City Council Member of (CD3) insisted that the Reseda NC include the Tarzana NC in its plans to have a festival and street fair last year (The Butterfly Festival).

The fair was a money loser and suffered because Tarzana didn't actively participate yet they insisted on having a cut of the booth revenue generated.

In early February of this year that same Tarzana NC Chair and Congress Chair, Leonard J Shaffer, announced that he might not have enough time for the LANC Congress as its Chair because he was being asked to do "other things". That other thing was being appointed by Councilman Dennis Zine to the 912 Commission, which we now know was a fait accompli way back then.

Now Councilman Dennis Zine who is termed out is big on law and order and anyone that he perceives supports that or is part of the justice community can generally count on his support. The Tarzana chair is a former deputy at the D.A.'s office and whether he is a Democrat or Republican is generally not an issue for Zine.
-----------------

Now this old dead City Councilman has no idea if Len Shaffer is truly considering running for the seat of Dennis Zine or not. I don't know the guy but for the record Shaffer has contacted the Sister City and denied the rumor. We are going to see more of this in the future and eventually a Neighborhood Council member will break through the glass ceiling and reach "higher" office. What an interesting day that will be.

Until then, like Greuel in AD 40 this is all just idle speculation but fun conversation.

Your thoughts?