Open Thread for Wednesday: Chick vs. Degladillo
The latest LA pols to go mano-a-mano are City Attorney Rocky "It was my wife's fault" Delgadillo and City Controller Laura "I'm Moving to Studio City if Wendy Wins" Chick. Whose your pick?
The Daily News' Rick Orlov writes:
Escalating their fight over executive privilege, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo went to court Monday in an effort to prevent City Controller Laura Chick from auditing the workers' compensation program in his office. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.
As Chick's auditors arrived Monday morning to interview the city attorney's staff, Delgadillo filed a civil complaint, challenging Chick's opinion that she has the legal right to conduct performance audits on the offices of elected officials.
"We are happy to have these lawyers' work reviewed by an independent reviewer, but not by a politician - and a politician who is gearing up for her next campaign," said Nick Velasquez, spokesman for Delgadillo.
If you're tired of this nonsense, you can join the bandwagon to support Ron Kaye for Controller.
The Daily News' Rick Orlov writes:
Escalating their fight over executive privilege, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo went to court Monday in an effort to prevent City Controller Laura Chick from auditing the workers' compensation program in his office. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.
As Chick's auditors arrived Monday morning to interview the city attorney's staff, Delgadillo filed a civil complaint, challenging Chick's opinion that she has the legal right to conduct performance audits on the offices of elected officials.
"We are happy to have these lawyers' work reviewed by an independent reviewer, but not by a politician - and a politician who is gearing up for her next campaign," said Nick Velasquez, spokesman for Delgadillo.
If you're tired of this nonsense, you can join the bandwagon to support Ron Kaye for Controller.
Labels: laura chick, rocky delgadillo, Ron Kaye
Posted by Michael Higby @ 8/13/2008 03:00:00 AM
10 Comments:
JUICY CITY HALL WAR: DELGADILLO VS. CHICK
BY JILL STEWART
August 12, 2008 2:30 PM
Most Angelenos still don't realize that the "$4.2 million" DWP/Fleishman-Hillard scandal that led to Mayor Jimmy Hahn's defeat by Antonio Villaraigosa ended in a whimper in court last summer, raising serious questions about Hahns' key accusers -- City Controller Laura Chick and City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo.
It's delicious to now see Delgadillo and Chick slamming, sliming and hammering one another.
Chick, who has major political aspirations, wants to use her City Controller office to audit her political enemies in other elected City Hall offices. This uberpower could make her more powerful than her close ally Villaraigosa -- or any future mayor. Delgadillo, another political climber just like Chick, sued in court on Monday to stop her.
This could be wonderful fun.
Don't forget, these two elected officials have played extreme hardball against their political enemies before. The shining example is what Chick and Delgadillo did, together, to help end the political career of Jimmy Hahn.
It was Chick and Delgadillo who publicly went after the Hahn Administration in 2004, claiming they had allowed the Fleishman-Hillard public relations firm to overbill the Department of Water and Power by a staggering $4.2 million.
That $4.2 million was a huge, huge dollar figure. Hahn, who had been using Fleishman-Hillard PR folks to promote his policies, was suddenly at the center of a political firestorm.
Hahn didn't help himself by appointing an airport commissioner, Leland Wong, who turned out to be corrupt and was convicted of bribery and embezzlement last month.
But Jimmy Hahn wasn't done in by Leland Wong. The "$4.2 million" claim made by Chick and Delgadillo was key to Hahn's downfall.
It was far too much money to ignore or explain away. Overbillings by outside contractors often reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars at City Hall. It's not unheard of. It's unfortunate, yet rarely results in scandal. But the Chick-Delgadillo claim of $4.2 million was huge, attracting federal attention and international media coverage.
Honchos from Fleishman-Hillard reacted by doing a self-audit, and publicly admitted to overbilling the DWP by $652,457. Nobody -- especially the media --believed such a pathetically low figure. Because Hahn was using Fleishman-Hillard to promote his policies, $4.2 million looked like a blatant payout to his PR friends.
Then, last summer, a federal judge independent of all the warring cliques at City Hall forced the accusing parties to cough up their paperwork to prove who had overbilled the DWP -- and how much. The trial resulted in the conviction of former Fleishman-Hillard executive Doug Dowie, who continues to maintain his innocence after receiving a far lighter sentence than prosecutors sought.
The federal trial showed that the overbillings were not in the millions. Not even. As the Daily News reported in 2007, the DWP was overbilled $529,000.
That's a lot of money. But $529,000 would not have been enough to create the firestorm that unseated Mayor Jimmy Hahn. Only a scandal involving millions could do that.
The Los Angeles Times allowed itself to be manipulated by both Chick and Delgadillo in touting the $4.2 million figure. Later, the paper simply stopped mentioning the $4.2 million in its coverage, never ran stories explaining that the scandal was really over $529,000, and never got to the bottom of why the $4.2 million figure emerged from Chick's office just as her friend Villaraigosa ramped up his mayoral bid against Hahn.
Now, two key City Hall architects of the false "$4.2 million" claim that helped bring down a Los Angeles mayor are attacking each other -- over ethics.
Yeah, like Ron Kaye wouldn't ever find himself in any disputes with other city elected officials over policy or principle!
Get real.
KARMA KARMA KARMA
These jerks better not pass this bullshit today.
.....A better day-labor market
Councilman Parks' ordinance would improve conditions for neighborhoods and those who seek work outside home-improvement stores.
By Abel Valenzuela Jr.
August 13, 2008
»
The Los Angeles City Council is scheduled to vote today on an ordinance that would help mitigate community concerns over men searching for work at large home improvement stores. This ordinance, which The Times opposed in an Aug. 10 editorial, deserves support as an example of creative and thoughtful local public policy. It is a way to make certain that home improvement stores are a part of the solution by engaging the private sector in a community partnership.
I hate to admit this, but Rocky's right in his fight with "The Lioness." (Imagine the hubris to refer to yourself that way!) Politicians can't audit politicans. If his case moves forward, discovery and testimony would show that Chick clearly used her office to fuck her political enemies. In fact the complaint points to how she went after Hahn after falling in love with Antonio. Of course The Lioness became a pussycat after Rocky filed his complaint. Imagine her being asked under oath if she ever talked to Ace Smith about the Fleishman Hillard audit during the campaign.
The ordinance only requires Home Depot to provide the rest areas if the day laborors become a nuisance to the neighborhood and customers. If they don't want to pay for them, they can discourage the workers from hanging out there. The stores claim they don't encourage them, but they don't hang out at Lowes or other big competitors, wonder why? Those who oppose this get it wrong and have just heard something about it second hand, assuming the city's encouraging the workers to hang out. Workers there say the store does it to serve the needs of contractor customers, so it benefits their business and the city and taxpayers shouldn't pay for these bathrooms and areas, nor should neighbors be bothered by them.
Laura needs to open some Bridges....
I doubt Ron Kaye would even have 1/1000000 of the hate that everyone has for Rocky.
They might disagree with him on an issue but they would respect him because he's intelligent, thoughtful and a nice guy.
Rocky's reputation precedes him. The idea that politicians can’t examine the work of other politicians really isn’t the way to look at this.
It is the operation of the city attorney’s office, not the city attorney (Rocky), being examined within the municipal government structure by the person delegated to do the task (Laura). The idea that she’s doing this for her own personal gain is purely a subjective one at this time. The fact that this area of municipal operation is not the only one being audited works in favor of dispelling that charge.
The focus is already announced, Workers Compensation, and for Rocky to put up a fight and continue to try to stop the inquiry makes us wonder whether there is something to hide. Rocky’s past problems don’t leave us with a reason to give him the benefit of a doubt, and if his department is costing the city money, it needs to be checked and changes, if needed, can be made.
The fact that Laura Chick may have made enemies is not justification for Delgadillo to throw up the roadblock and possibly cost the city more money in (a.) continued management in a sub-standard manner, (b.) creating a legal challenge for the city to foot the bill and still likely have to come up with the requested information.
Nobody is going to fire him because its too much work and he soon will be out by term limits anyway. For him to create more expense for the city on his way out doesn’t say much for his “commitment to public service.” I would be in favor of truly transparency in government and find out, we hope, that all is well and be done with it.
Whenever someone will go to court for “the principle of it” just means lots of money getting spent for nothing productive.
Rocky looks like a spoiler on this and Laura can call herself whatever motivates her, but the function is a legitimate one.
in l.a. still
I have a suggestion, 1:00 pm, let's have Laura send in her auditors to Rocky's office, while he sends a dozen of his best attorney's into her office to "audit" her operation. Would that be OK with you?
Chick can't run for CD 2-It's already promised to Cindy Montanez by the Mayor and Chick will not go against him. that leaves only CD 5 and that's a good choice. Her COS Miriam Jafe was COS to Weiss at one time and she knows the turf. Why battle the Mayor -- it's a loosing battle when she can walk in to Weiss's seat. there is no one of any consequence running for the seat so she would be a shoe-in.
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