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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Is Tamar Galatzan Using LAUSD Taxpayer Money to Campaign for City Council?

Did School Board Member and City Council candidate Tamar Galatzan use taxpayer funds to send out a slick campaign piece touting her efforts as a member of the LAUSD board?

This blog has received a mailer sent to select homes in CD2, that appears to have been paid for and sent by the LAUSD at taxpayer expense. While it does not mention Galatzan's candidacy for Council specifically it claims credit for Galatzan for a number of "achievements" at the school district. Often elected officials may send out mailers that appear to be "official correspondence" but actually has been paid for out of campaign funds. These materials have a clear disclaimer printed on them such as "Not printed at government or taxpayer expense. As far as we can see Galatzan's mailer does not have such a disclaimer.

While the piece avoids mention of Galatzan for Council, if not does violate the letter of the law it certainly violates the spirit of and honest ethics. The point of this mailer is to promote Tamar Galatzan, in the thick of an election cycle, and at a time where she has struggled to raise campaign cash.

If Tamar did indeed send this piece out at taxpayer expense she should be called on by the other candidates to not only withdraw from the race but to resign her school board position as well. Let's hope District Attorney Steve Cooley runs this one through the smell checker.

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92 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Word is Cooley and Nuch will endorse Tamar soon.

August 23, 2009 2:32 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Who is Tamar?

August 23, 2009 2:57 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Just appalling.

Other elected officials, community members, and the media should join in a chorus of outrage until she is shamed into dropping out of the race and resigning from the board.

Her office needs to immediately disclose the cost of the mailing, where the mailing was sent, the source of funding, and an explanation as to how this could be legal both in terms of LAUSD regulations and City of L.A. election/ethics rules.

August 23, 2009 3:18 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Higby you'd have more credibility if you actually verified stories like this rather than repeat the bullshit lies of Zuma Dogg.

There was no flier. This was sent two years ago.

By the way in case you're wondering I am not endorsing Tamar though I know some who are for now.

August 23, 2009 3:32 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

3:32 is wrong - many CD2 voters recieved this mailer in the last few days. The word "corrupt" gets thrown around alot on this blog (often rightly) but this is considerably worse than most of the stuff that goes on in L.A. elections

August 23, 2009 3:51 AM  

Anonymous Susan Benfatto said:

My friend and candidate, Pete Sanchez has helped me over the years, the way friends do, so when I went to Staples to run a few copies of some newspaper articles of The Studio City Sun where he was mentioned in for his work in Valley Village, it wasn't a big deal to me. I dropped them off and was walking to my car when he ran out and asked me where the receipts were, I told him not to worry about it, to consider it a donation to the campaign. He told me he needed the receipts to declare and either he had to pay me back or I had to write him a note to go with the receipts so he could count it as a campaign contribution. I think the total was about $3.20, but that's just how Peter is - annoyingly ethical. It doesn't matter to me whether Tamar sent out those fliers last week or last year - I would bet the farm that she didn't pay for them out of her grocery money. Paul Krekorian sent an extra large, glossy 3 fold up to some of the residents in the S-T area touting his formative years in the Valley. He has spent around $10,000 on campaign literature. I know how expensive those glossy mailers can be and I just don't want any of my elected officials to pay for those kind of things out of my grocery money.

August 23, 2009 6:18 AM  

Blogger Joseph Mailander said:

I don't agree that this is a big ethics violation, merely a small stretch.

But what is fascinating is what kind of actions pass for "accomplishments" in the LAUSD. Getting Valley schools some up-to-date computers? That's a baseline task, not any special accomplishment.

August 23, 2009 7:23 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

3:32AM "There was no flier.
It certainly looks like a flier, unless you are trying to distinguish a flier from a mailer?

This was sent two years ago."
If you read the text of the flier/mailer, it could not have been sent two years ago as it refers to recent so-called "achievements."

Cooley and Nuch are unlikely to endorse Tamar given her relationship with Jack Weiss,

August 23, 2009 7:32 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I believe that LAUSD sent out a mailer a few years ago that was nothing short of a campaign puff piece for (I think) a bond. I don't remember the details (does someone here?) but it was clear that most seemed to think they had violated ethics laws. Local newspapers wrote about the controversy.

August 23, 2009 9:06 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Michael, Michael, Michael, did I miss the story about whether Assembly member Paul Krekorian is using his Assembly seat to campaign? At the last National night out in North Hollywood he had an assembly booth with staff members, while he walked around the park campaigning for council.

He has been speaking at various events as Assemlby member Krekorian, like Valley Vote and the Apartment Owners Association.

Will he be attending the Valley Vote party next week as the Assembly member or the CD2 Candidate.

Yes, I know he has every right to do his Assembly job at these events, after all we are paying him to be there.

If you are going to throw stones at Tamar for this issue be sure to include the candidate you are supporting.

August 23, 2009 9:09 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Mailander, how is this just a stretch? In the middle of a budget deficit when teachers are being fired, kids dont have text books, tamar is using OUR money to send out a slick mail piece to residents (and it just happens to be in the middle of an election where she can barely raise any money?)...

tamar skirted the law so she can bump up her name id. what a fraud. she should apologize for this and reimburse the district with her campaign funds

August 23, 2009 9:16 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I expect more unethical campaigning by Tamar as she has people pay for mailers supporting her as City Attorney as LAUSD did for school board member.

Just goes to show how she is already going around the system in unethical ways.

And if people complained when Bratton endorsed a candidate, why wouldn't people be just as outraged if Nuch endorses candidates. I don't think Nuch would do that unless he's changed and is just as bad as everyone else.

August 23, 2009 9:39 AM  

Blogger Phil Jennerjahn said:

Somewhat questionable behavior here by Tamar Galatzan.

She has only been on LAUSD Board for two years, so this can't be too "old".

It doesn't specifically ask people to vote for her...but it does seem like self-promotion.

In a close race like this CD 2 race, you have to be careful about things like this.

One misstep and it could cost you the race.

I wouldn't be too hung up on the "taxpayer money" thing.

Chris Essel has already taken 49K of our taxpayer money as matching funds.

And almost nobody in CD 2 actually gave her any money or support.

That's a real shame.

Zuma Dogg was the only one to reject matching funds. Maybe he should bring that up at the forums.

August 23, 2009 9:39 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

If Tamar accepts an endorsement from "Nuch and Cooley" who are always in a pair, isn't that cozy, she will be in trouble over it.

Cooley's office and its policies of intimidation and retaliation against deputy district attorneys is featured in the LAWeekly's Heimpel story about the murder of Lily Burke, whose killer would still have been in jail if not for Cooley's lax application of the Three Strikes law. Attorneys who want to apply the law based on the criminal's whole history, like if he has two previous felonies with extenuating circumstances, instead of just based on the last crime being a misdemeanor (like with her killer Samuels) allege retribution.

No questioning of Cooley allowed. Curiously Heimpel writes that Democrat Gil Garcetti was tougher in sentencing serious repeat offenders like this. Cooley also plea bargained Jamiel Shaw's killer Espinoza out early.

Worse for the Cooley and Nuch is a feature in Witness L A, where Celeste Fremon links documents showing serious wrong-doing by Cooley and his Chief Deputy Curt Livesay, who's now Trutanich's Chief Deputy at Cooley's urging. They withheld evidence of purjered testimony in order to get a woman to plead guilty to first degree instead of manslaugher in 1983 and have kept covering it up since so no one would find out about their framing her in the first place.

Just skimming the material she's got there is enough to put them both away and lots more with them. This goes even beyond their harassment of Democratic opponents who didn't support Nuch. If Tamar is smart she won't want to be tainted by them.

August 23, 2009 9:43 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Phil you had no problem with Nuch taking a half million bucks matching funds while Weiss didn't, so you're such a hypocrite favoring Republicans. Or "the under dogg" who is there just to make trouble for "The Big Three."

August 23, 2009 9:46 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Essel's people are blast e-mailing Tamar's mailer every where. I got it from one of her staffers yesterday.

August 23, 2009 9:50 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Is her position title actually Trustee? Are not LAUSD electeds called "board member" and LACCD "trustee?"

Did they not even get that right?

August 23, 2009 9:56 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Did Tamar think she could get away with this?

August 23, 2009 9:57 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

9:50

Got the same e-mail from Essel's people. They have blasted out to all city hall staff.

August 23, 2009 10:02 AM  

Anonymous John Doe said:

Tamar Galatzan mentioned her support of the Senior Center at the Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Park but was sharply critical of Wendy for the horrible condition of the Valley Plaza project, voting to place Measure B on the ballot and her disdainful treatment of Neighborhood Councils.

August 23, 2009 10:06 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Oh please!

This is the same rubbish Zuma Dogg is peddling on his blog. Its completely unrelated sent out months ago.

August 23, 2009 10:13 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

10:06

CC that, Tamar is hitting Wendy hard all over the district on all kinds of issues. Even Essel is telling people in forums that Wendy's office has failed in being responsive to problems in her district.

August 23, 2009 10:15 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Essel is in no position to attack Tamar on any ethics issues.

She has had AEG staff and consultants working on her staff for months. She have never reported any of them in her two reports.

August 23, 2009 10:16 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I haven't seen anything about this flier posted on Zuma's blog. Why are trying to create that deception? Why are you trying to minimize this and sweep it under the rug? I don't think this is going away.

August 23, 2009 10:17 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I am sure this crap started by the Essel people. No one actually received this.

August 23, 2009 10:37 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

9:39AM And if people complained when Bratton endorsed a candidate, why wouldn't people be just as outraged if Nuch endorses candidates.
Neither Cooley, Trutanich or Baca will endorse Tamar. However, the point you made about Bratton's endorsement of Jack Weiss is not comparable.

Cooley, Trutanich and Baca are ELECTED officials, Bratton is an APPOINTED official. That is why there was an outrage - appointed officials are subject to different rules. That also explains why Kelly Candaele (appointed pensions commissioner) had to resign because he got involved with fundraising.

For Tamar's endorsements, look for the money trail, and the liberal democrat trail, neither of which give a damn about unethical mailers.

August 23, 2009 10:44 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

In the piece Tamar says something about it being less than 3 years since she was elected to the board. She was elected in 2007.

Once you are candidate a whole new set of ethics rules apply. Sitting elected officials, such as Tamar, are prohibited from using taxpayer money to send out mailers that mention them. I can't see the indicia clearly enough to tell if it's a school district indicia or not.

If there is a question about it, someone should ensure that the City Ethics Commission has a copy.

Where is the questionaire card supposed to be sent back to?

The puzzling part is why she refers to herself as a "trustee" when that is not the way Board of Ed. members refer to themselves. That's the title of members of Community College Board. So that raises the dirty trick question.

August 23, 2009 10:53 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Trustee is a term that polls better with people than Board Member. Trustee, as in trust. The problem with Tamar Galatzan is that she was brought up, politically, by Antonio Villaraigosa and the Jack Weiss political operative crew. So it's all about shady ethics and trying to deceive people with little stuff. Like when her fliers come out supporting her as a city attorney.

August 23, 2009 11:01 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

So is the City Attorney's office going to send out a flyer promoting Tamar's work? That buzz is out there but I could not imagine they would do that.

August 23, 2009 11:04 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Essel and Krekorian should hit Tamar on this. If they don't they have no credibility.

August 23, 2009 11:04 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Noone cares.

August 23, 2009 11:09 AM  

Anonymous Jenna Bradford said:

Zuma Dogg should be prepared at the next debate some of the minor candidates to attack him personally because they are getting nervous over his rising poll numbers.

Already they are doing it here via their surrogates.

August 23, 2009 11:22 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Why don't you simply ask the Trutanich Team how they will be getting involved in Tamar's campaign. I'm sorry, I mean ask them how they will be getting involved in supporting her with fliers as a neighborhood prosecutor in the city attorney's office. Looks like Tamar likes to push the ethics envelope. Do you think they have these ethics laws in place for people to go around them? Not a good precedent for a city council candidate.

August 23, 2009 11:26 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Why don't you simply ask the Trutanich Team how they will be getting involved in Tamar's campaign? I'm sorry, I mean ask them how they will be getting involved in supporting her with fliers as a neighborhood prosecutor in the city attorney's office. Looks like Tamar likes to push the ethics envelope. Do you think they have these ethics laws in place for people to purposefully go around them? Not a good precedent for a city council candidate.

August 23, 2009 11:27 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

10:44 saying that Cooley and Baca endorsing candidates while Bratton couldn't is specious and was only made by Trutanich sour grapes supporters. Because of course Bratton went with the guy he knew and who knew what he and the LAPD needed to get the job done.

Cooley and Baca as elected officials in L A COUNTY have no business so actively meddling in L A City.

Cooley especially did far, far mroe than endorse - he recruited Trutanich to be his alter-ego and do his bidding in the City Attorney office. This is very insidious and downright dangerous.

Cooley's hand-picked Trutanich's staff, who all do what Cooley tells them and try to keep Nuch's foot out of his mouth. At least Berger and Usher are political pay-backs for the campaign and are jokes in the office. Cooley's now getting Trutanich to do his dirty work, get his tentacles into the city attorney's office. This is just cynical and wrong, and given how he's being exposed for how he runs his own office through intimidation, retribution and even framing victims then covering it up to protect his "record" he's the last thing we want to clone.

Unlike Cooley and Baca who need the money of the prison guard's union and Weber's LAPPL (whose political consultant was recently the prison guard union head and brings his bullying ways) to get elected, Bratton is NOT controlled by the unions or anyone. He's sought after around the world and as we are seeing, if he's attacked on all sides by jealous little egos and rightwingers and power hungry types who just create a hostile work environment, he can and will go where he can do things his way and call them as they see them. He's been the ONE truly independent mind and he was right to choose Weiss over Trutanich and to say so.

BUT because he's appointed not elected couldn't go beyond endorsement. Unlike Cooley who pulled Nooch out of an obscure firm in Long Beach precisely because he was a nobody who'd be Cooley's puppet, and then himself attacked Weiss in personal, gratuitous and wildly inappropriate ways. Because he thinks he can do ANYTHING he wants with no accountability to anyone. Baca made ignorant remarks with a purely political motive.

This sense of invincibility which has gotten Cooley and Livesay caught in criminal prosecutorial misconduct as documented in writing as well as numerous first hand testimony and will finally bring them down.

August 23, 2009 11:32 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

This is either a dirty trick that significantly demeans Tamar's experience, or an ill-advised independent expenditure piece. It is not the up to the level of literature that Tamar has ever sent out. It's actually pathetic.

What does the "CPS" mean on the prepaid mail stamp?

August 23, 2009 11:42 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS

She is literally taking money from kids by doing this! How much did this cost? In a time of fiscal emergencies, Tamar Galatzan is spending district funds on self-promotion! What a phony!

I cannot believe she is doing this.

And for you idiots saying she sent this out years or months ago, I got this piece YESTERDAY and it clearly says "over the past 3 YEARS" i've been on the board!

August 23, 2009 12:48 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

@ August 23, 2009 11:22 AM

What poll numbers are you looking at?

I am interested in seeing where every one else is.

August 23, 2009 12:52 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Nuch and Cooley are not endorsing Tamar. Maybe Nuch will fire Tamar because how can she serve the City Attormey's office while campaigning?

And especially since they may have to prosecute Tamar for her unethical campaign violations.

They're also not going to endorse the same candidate that Jack Weiss is behind.

August 23, 2009 1:15 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

OK. I did get the red puzzle piece earlier in the week, but I also have the same piece with a blue computer hookup on the front instead. It says the mailer is from the "Board District 3 Field Office". Rest is similar, taking the 'survey' or whatever and asking you to mail it in.

Maybe she doesn't think she can win and so wants feedback on her LAUSD job.

Here's the interesting part: She literally rang my doorbell about an hour ago and handed me another flyer - this one a CD2 race flyer. She's out canvassing door-to-door today in North Hollywood.

This piece highlights her work as a criminal prosecutor in Van Nuys and does not mention City Attorney or LAUSD.

August 23, 2009 1:31 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I just met someone who is walking the district for Tamar Galatzan. Talk about carpetbagging, he came down from Sacramento just to help with her campaign. Why are people from Sacremento walking CD2 for Galatzan? Couldn't she find anyone in the district itself? Just what the hell is going on with her campaign. She's looking worse than Essel at this point. But this is the person who hopped in with Villaraigosa and is "Yes" on Jack Weiss. She's being revealed for the crew she rolls with.

August 23, 2009 1:34 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

1:15: How did David Berger continue to serve Cooley in the DA's office while campaigning for city attorney as Walter Moore's running mate and then right upto the May election on behalf of Trutanich, Cooley's puppet, just going around attacking their political opponent Jack Weiss?

If Trutanich and Cooley fire her (and note how WRONG it is that these two are always mentioned together as running the CITY Attorney's office, as they are, down to every detail), it will be another case of retribution and vendettas that are being profiled in papers and blogs all over.

August 23, 2009 1:36 PM  

Anonymous Own Up!!! said:

11:26 A.M.
!Keenly Analytical Indeed!

"Not a good precedent for a city
council candidate"

Ethic laws in place.....at the
claws of unethical vulture -
'GOONS'....ARE FLUSHED DOWN THE
TIOLET!

August 23, 2009 2:01 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Shouldn't this post be entitled,

Is Mike Higby Using Paul Krekorian Money to Run this Blog?


Higby has no creds anymore. This blog is so biased toward Krekorian, it's ridiculous.

People, many different posters in fact, have pointed out how Krekorian goes against everything Higby stands for. Krekorian's a Sacramento Liberal-Line D-bag, whose entire campaign staff is bought and sold by Mayor Villaraigosa.

Higby leaves up a post for two days on how Krekorian gets the Sierra Club endorsement???

I throw this up to everyone: Does Krekorian look more like an airbrushed corpse in that picture or like a paler version of Big Bird?

Does Higby have any credibility anymore?

August 23, 2009 2:54 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I've never seen a candidate exposed and unraveled so quickly.

August 23, 2009 3:19 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I for one, am tired of hearing people talk about Zuma Dogg in the context of this election. I hope the people who mention him in my very informal survey don't actually vote. There needs to be some other qualifier other than signature petitions to qualify as a candidate.

August 23, 2009 3:40 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Call for immediate Ethics Commission, City Attorney and County District Attorney investigations into Galatzan's actions.

Indictments and referral to a Grand Jury will result.

Conviction of Galatzan for abuse of office and improper campaign tactics must happen from this.

August 23, 2009 3:46 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Galatzan says she's not the Mayor's candidate so why is it one of his staffers is running his campaign with assistance from Villar's former condom buyer Mikey "Meatball" Trujillo?

However the Mayor isn't sure Galatzan's double zero number will come up on the wheel so he's putting a chip on black for Krekorian and one on even for Essel.

August 23, 2009 4:18 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

This piece highlights her work as a criminal prosecutor in Van Nuys and does not mention City Attorney (I think you meant City Council) or LAUSD.

Ask Galatzan who paid for those pieces. Does she have a problem admitting who supports her financially? Who paid for the criminal prosecutor pieces? If it is about criminal prosecution maybe The City Attorney's Office paid for it.

August 23, 2009 4:24 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

The flyer I got had the same text, but it had a pic of an ethernet cable instead of the puzzle.

I'm going to send the survey back with a few of choice words.

Legal or not...big deal or not... this is just plain wrong...and at a time when schools are taking massive hits. Shame on Tamar.

August 23, 2009 4:25 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

1:36, Take that up with Cooley. But don't expect us to look the other way and forget about something just because someone else didn't do anything about it in another situation. That's the exact mentality that allowed this entire city to fall out of alignment and get off track. If it is wrong for Tamar to be doing the things she is doing then should she get away with it because someone else got away with it in the past.

August 23, 2009 4:31 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

If the mayor put Trujillo on the Tamar's campaign then that proves he wants Tamar to lose.

August 23, 2009 4:34 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

A city official and an elected official using her position and taxpayer dollars to promote herself 4 weeks before an election and right when absentee voters are getting ballots is not only stupid, it is illegal and the definition of political corruption.

She will have to prove that the mailer went out to every single resident of her School Board district--rather than just the portion that overlaps CD2. If she, in any way, targeted the mailer she will probably go to jail.

This is pretty simple, black and white and easy for investigators to prove.

Politicians make decisions like this--sometimes out of ignorance and sometimes out of desperation. But almost always out of some sense of entitlement and arrogance.

LAUSD Parents will not respond well to this. There's no question she's out of the race. Probably will need to resign--creating another special election.

Question is how much time does she have before she's fired, Nuch?

August 23, 2009 4:59 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Alright, give her a break. It's like beating a dead horse at this point. I think we have her number at this point. We get it.

August 23, 2009 5:00 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Is she using Shallman? That is the work of Shallman if I ever saw it!

August 23, 2009 5:00 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

9:50 AM -

Essel has staff? Who are they?

August 23, 2009 5:10 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Shallman is with Essel. Pretty much guaranteeing that no chance either Cooley or Nuch will lift a finger for her.

August 23, 2009 5:16 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I hit the candidate trifecta yesterday. I received mailers from Paul Krekorian, Chris Essel and Tamar Galatzan. They offered an interesting contrast of styles and strategies.

Tamar wins the award for graphics and interactiveness. Her mailer did not look like a political ad -that’s good. It invited you to open it up. What’s more, she included a survey at the end. I like media that encourages feedback.

Paul Krekorian’s was smart in that it focused on testimonials from local community leaders instead of the special interests that are behind him. However, one testimonial credits him with moving the 170 Freeway soundwall forward; I believe that Mike Feuer led the charge.

Chris Essel’s had all of the appeal of a Corporate Annual Report. It was an “all about me” piece. When she was not singing her own praises, she promoted her benefactor Wendy Greuel. Her endorsements were buried in the back and were comprised mainly of people and organizations external to CD2. Finally, how many pictures of herself does she need, especially the close-ups? Her mailer wins the Ego Award.

August 23, 2009 5:19 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

5:19 are you an idiot?

We've been talking about Galatzan's illegal, taxpayer funded mailer and you're giving her credit for her "mailer" being good because she's not looking like a candidate.

You're right, she's starting to look like a future inmate.

August 23, 2009 5:22 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

4:31/ 59 and so on; If Cooley and Nuch mess with her for more of their dirty tricks political retribution, especially when they grossly abused their office to let Berger do dirty work for them as a deputy DA, she can use it to her advantage because most of the Deputy DA's are fed up with Cooley's retaliations, vendettas and persecutions.

Even the Weekly which hates Antonio has got a feature about it and so do other blogs and a Superior Court Judge or two have laid out a trail of criminal misconduct.

The Attorney General's office is very interested in Cooley's egregious arrogance and abuse of power, cases of criminal misconduct related to cases in their office, pay to play deals, and how he's put all his people in charge of the City Attorney's office and is pulling the strings of his puppets there. VERY interested.

But go ahead and keep on about your Nuch's and Cooley's spiteful nature you're egging them on to. Don't you realize how desperate and hateful you sound piling onto Tamar this way because you're afraid of her winning?

WHO is your candidate anyway, if Shallman is handling Essel and you also hate Krekorian? Who do you think will roll over for Cooley, Nuch, Zine and the PPL? Besides Zuma who keeps telling everyone how eager he is to play on their team, even if they think he's not "classy enough to associate with in public." Zuma says he wants to join Zine in doing whatever Trutanich tells them. Zine-Zuma.

You've got no one but Zuma Dogg, have you?

August 23, 2009 5:28 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

All I have to say is, didn't you all know for a fact back when Tamar ran for School Board that it was nothing but a seat warmer for CD 2? How many times did people on this blog and others write that? Hundreds. And now you're all acting shocked that it's happening.

You stupid people voted for her over Louis Pugliese and now you're complaining.

And it's VICA that put her there. It wasn't the Mayor's endorsement that she got back then and can't get now. It was VICA money, when her husband was the President.

You voted for someone who PLANNED ON enrolling her kid in kindergarten in a public school rather than someone who HAD TAUGHT in public schools.

Money talks. Sucks for Tamar now.

CD 2 will get what they deserve for a council person.

The worst thing they can do is get Essel in there. The #1, absolute worst possible person who could be there. Worse for the community that is.

Didn't you all know that Wendy wasn't good for the community? And she paraded out Tamar then like she paraded out Christine now. That alone should give you reason not to vote for either one of them.

Naturally they're all going to say that Wendy was bad and not responsive to the community. It's true. She fooled you all, that Wendy.

Wendy is a businesswomen. Christine is a businesswomen. Tamar is trying like hell to be politician who is married to a businessman.

Generally, the business community is on the opposite side of the homeowner community. One is there to protect the interests of the community and one exists to make money off of the community while they live elsewhere.

August 23, 2009 5:30 PM  

Blogger Joseph Mailander said:

Tamar's LAUSD district does not overlap this district by very much, and LAUSD parents are unreliable voters anyway. Krekorian has great contacts through much of the District from AD43 and he has ethnic simpatico along Foothill.

I think Essel's people need to help Tamar in Sunland Tujunga at this point because Essel has no chance of appealing in significant numbers to the northeast part of the District and Tamar might. If Tamar doesn't pull 20% altogether, Krekorian could pull a Huizar and win the special outright.

The dynamics would shift vastly for a runoff if Tamar were to finish second. But from where I sit, it looks like 40%+ Krekorian, <30% Essel, 20% Tamar, and a long tail.

August 23, 2009 5:51 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

After everything I am reading
if everyone is so disgusted by Paul, Essel, and Tamar, why aren't any of you looking seriously at the grassroots candidates?
If you spent some time discussing them, and give them your time and maybe even dollars they could really change things.

August 23, 2009 6:12 PM  

Blogger Zuma Dogg said:

After some Tamar supporters were whining to ZD that he was going to keep her from making it into the run-off, I was going to offer her a job as legislative deputy for her support in my campaign, but after this, I don't think I can be associated with her and I withdraw my offer.

August 23, 2009 6:30 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Who is handling Tamar's campaign and don't say Trujillo because that isn't the right answer. Candidates don't hire him to be their campaign manager. He just contributes to various campaigns that he is paid for. But who is her actual manager?

And to the person who asked, CPS is just bulk mail. That's all it means. Go look it up at the USPS.

I thought this looked like an independent expenditure, but it looks like it's from Tamar's School Board office holder account. So I'm a little shocked.

I'm just going to vote for Zuma Dogg. I just think he is the only person who is going to fight for us in CD 2 and I love that the other blog called him a warrior for the district. He is.

I'm willing to knock on doors for Zuma. Zuma, where do I sign up? Can I email you or what? Do you have mailers? If not, I'll just go and show the glossy mailers of the others while pointing out who paid for them.

August 23, 2009 6:31 PM  

Blogger Zuma Dogg said:

Do you know how hard it is to produce the right energy to have random strangers stop you on the street to thank you for your efforts? I guess I should have put down magician for my ballot description, cause it ain't easy to make the skeptical general public aware of something to the point where they are thanking you out of gratefulness. You should try it some time. But only during election season.

August 23, 2009 6:37 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Zahniser will love this story. Another one of Antonio's creations gets in trouble for political corruption. Kelly Candaele probably appreciates someone taking some of the heat off of him and the pension scandal.

August 23, 2009 6:37 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Zuma is a nut and no one is taking him seriously, except himself. Spin away, Zuma and keep on posting anonymously.

August 23, 2009 6:39 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Look for this tomorrow.

Tamar: This mailer makes no mention of the council race, so it's not illegal.

What we should reply with...
CD 2 voters: We're not f'n idiots.

...and BTW 5:19 is Paul Hatfield reposting his own blog. This guy is smart on fiscal issues, but is completely clueless when it comes to politics. Oh and he is absolutely biased but won't say who he's endorsing because he wants to be "fair."

August 23, 2009 6:59 PM  

Blogger Zuma Dogg said:

August 23, 2009 6:31 PM

Thanks! Of course you can contact me, the info is on my site http://electZuma.com but I think you were standing up for ZD more than wondering if you can contact me, because I think you already knew how to do that, so thank you!

August 23, 2009 7:32 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

jose hizar cd14 came out of lausd is a crook politician and a bed buddy of the mayor he did not inpact lausd or city hall
what make any one think tamar cd2 will do any better

August 23, 2009 7:36 PM  

Anonymous Own Up!!! said:

8/23/09 1:31 P.M.
You have a valid point....of
!INQUISITIVE OBSERVATION!

"This piece highlights her work as a criminal prosecutor in Van Nuys and does not mention City
Attorney or L.A.U.S.D."

This methodically-selective 'cherry
picking' antic; is shady & all too
common. This is an obvious.....
'RED FLAG' OF A FOUL CANDIDATE!!!

THIS BRINGS BACK FOUL & SOUR ...
MEMORIES OF CALIF. ASSEMBLYMEN
JOHN A. PEREZ; HIS MISGUIDING &
UNDERHANDED CAMPAIGN OF 2008!

ON THE CAMPAIGN FLYERS DISTRIBUTED
HE, SELECTIVELY CHOSE TO LEAVE OUT
HIS POSITION; AS A L.A. C.R.A.-
COMMISSIONER & THE CORUPT MAYOR
TONY VILLAR, AS HIS COUSIN!!!
YES! IT WOULD NOT! BE FAVORABLE TO
HIS RUN FOR ASSEMBLYMEN IN SAC-MNTO
(" NO WAY JOSE") THE NO-GOOD DOER &
C.R.A. SLIME BALL-COWARD! DARED NOT
RISK IT!! COUNCILMEN HUIZAR HELPED
ALONG WITH HIS SHADY CAMPAIGN WIN!!

IT'S no better! than a Softball -
Little League (pee-wee) Coach....
excluding from his/her resume;
their 'SCUM-OF-THE EARTH-PARASITE-
PRISON RECORD...AS A PREDATOR-
PETAFILE-CHILD MOLESTER!!!!

STINKY-BULLSIT-ANTICS & CANDIDATES
APPLYING THIS!! MUST HAVE THEIR
SHIT TRACK RECORD EXPOSED TO THE
PUBLIC, NOW & NOT WHEN IT'S TOO...
DESTRUCTIVELY TOO LATE!!

HEED THE CALL!!(WARNING!)

August 23, 2009 7:40 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

6:59 Which law are you reading when you say that because the Galatzan piece doesn't mention the City Council race, it's OK. You're just making that up aren't you?

4:59 Ditto regarding your belief that the mailing would be OK if it was mailed to every single resident in her school board district. This is pure fantasy.

6:31 ZD will fight for you? Have him name 3 specific things that he will try and do for CD 2. And keep in mind that there is a difference betweeen fighting for the district and fighting and winning.

9:39 Nobody will show many contributions from CD 2. No one ever has. This is not a district that produces contributions. It's too heavily middle-class, middle-income residential.

August 23, 2009 7:57 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I think we're losing sight of the big picture here. Tamar has shown her true colors with this mailer. It's exactly the kind of dirty trick that her ethical and political mentor used, and it's what will cost her a place in the run-off.
A grass roots candidate will have a better chance against front-runner Krekorian in the general if he or she gets past the primary, because we're all sick of these phonies and Tamar has now truly earned her place amongst them.
If ZD can hold it together a little longer, he could be that grass roots candidate, but I have my doubts. Mary Benson will likely emerge as the most electable of the grass roots candidates, and I would vote for her in a heartbeat.

August 23, 2009 8:12 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

5:30PM. Isn`t it too early to be smoking..........Wendy a businesswoman?
She was the lobbyist for Dreamworks.Remember the averted environmental disaster in Playa Vista?
It was all her doing! How fast do we forget.How deceiptful in seeking higher office.It will catch up ,however,sooner or later.

August 23, 2009 8:34 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Tamar's advisor is none other than former Tony Villar Deputy Mayor and now lobbyist political consultant--Kevin Acebo.

...it's all coming together isn't it?

Late night tonight for Tamar, Kevin, Hubby and yet to be named criminal defense attorney about what to say (or more likely NOT to say) to the press inquiries tomorrow am.

August 23, 2009 8:59 PM  

Blogger Michael Higby said:

Only 22,542 clickety-clicks until 2 million.

August 23, 2009 9:08 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Jack Weiss - get off this site and stop making stuff up about Cooley and Nuch. Face it, they won,you lost. DEAL WITH IT!

Go help your friend Tamar Galatzan and keep sharing all your unethical campaign tactics with her.

August 23, 2009 9:43 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

8:12 Candidates don't become grassroots candidate DURING a campaign, they go into the campaign that way. They have an army lined up and a battle plan to win. ZD has none of that. In fact, I doubt that any of other 7 have it.

August 23, 2009 10:00 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

This is a whole lot to do about nothing.

It is noting but the Essel people lashing out to Tamar for kicking their butts in the campaign.

August 23, 2009 10:18 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

The people who keep threatening Tamar with news conferences, jail and the wrath of "Nuch and Cooley" have totally lost their marbles and have no idea what's really going on.

August 23, 2009 10:57 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Which one of these candidates will address the tier one allotment for CD 2 residents that own more than one acre?
Presently, a five acre lot owner must use the same as a one acre lot owner. The incremental/exponential increase itself, from 7500 sq feet to 45000 sq feet, is already unfair. Add to that, anyone over one acre must use the same amount of water as the one acre owner lest their bill is doubled or tripled.
In addition, horses consume up to 600 gallons of water a month (almost 1 HCF). What happened to providing for horse owners?
Smith's motion to allow an additional day of watering for fire zones means nothing because billing is based on the amount of water used. When it comes to fire prevention (the intent of the motion), my fire insurance costs less than my water bill.
We can dissect who is in whose pocket. I understand that some candidates say they'll fight the evil developer. Which one will bat for other issues that negatively impact people in this district? We are being punished for having larger lots.
Since I was not at these meet & greets or debates, maybe this was addressed. If so, could someone point me towards the candidate that addressed this?

August 23, 2009 11:00 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Oh, please enlighten us 10:57...or shall I say Mr. Galatzan. What is going on is very simple. Your wife used taxpayer money--probably enough to pay the annual salary of a few teachers she fired--to send out a mailer right before an election.

I got the mailer yesterday. I live in CD2 and I live in her school board district. Several people I know who live in the West Valley portion of her district did NOT receive the mailer. There are laws prohibiting elected officials in California from sending out more than 200 mailers that contain promotional literature like this.

Doesn't take a rocket scientist or FBI agent/DA investigator to figure out that as a school board member she has never sent a mailer before this in the 2 years on the board.

Now, miraculously, she decides to "survey" her constituents (at least the ones who live in CD 2) a few weeks before election day. What about the West Valley constituents, Tamar? Don't need their "opinions". Oh, yeah, they can't vote.

The Galatzan team can spin and minimize all they want. This is big news when a boardmember of the largest school district in America facing a billion dollar deficit uses $100k in taxpayer dough to mail a puff piece to voters right before her election.

Small city mayors and councilmembers around LA County have gone to jail for using their City credit cards to charge personal items for amounts that add up to much less than this. You don't think the Feds won't want to nail an LA City public official?

August 23, 2009 11:22 PM  

Blogger Zuma Dogg said:

11:00pm, I was the only candidate in the S-T debate to raise this issue as a specific need to be addressed for the area myself, without being asked.

August 23, 2009 11:30 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Wonder if they cleared this with the Mayor ahead of time? Seems like a Bush league mistake. Bet Trujillo found out about it on Mayor Sam.

August 23, 2009 11:32 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Zuma, in the interest of transparency, please reveal the name of the benefactor that set you up in an apartment in CD2. Also, please reveal why you were removed from that apartment. Please don't ask Matt Dowd to answer this for you.

August 24, 2009 12:11 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Mr. Dogg, thank you for answering my question.
I realize I must kiss my lawn good bye. However, the rest of the landscape is decades old and adds to my home's value (as does the lawn). I cannot afford to lose it, nor can I afford to pay for its hydration (even if it's at the basic minimal life support). I know this sounds crazy, but I also see these trees, hedges and flowers as living beings. It saddens me to see them die.
I have over an acre and I have to use the same amount as the one acre person. And that one acre lot isn't even allowed what they need if you see what the 11 thousand sq foot lot gets.

Look at the chart.
http://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/homepage.jsp

I have no idea how this impacts apartment owners and horse boarding facilities.
It seems the City rewards smaller lots with more people in each structure. You get more water if there are more than six people in the structure. Is that what they mean by densification?
At this point, we might have to board the horses outside the city. That might be fine since our trail access has become more difficult (and dangerous) to navigate. My friend has to ride his horse on the road now. Twice he has slipped and fallen on the road. Traffic came to a screeching halt. Horns honked at him, telling him to hurry up and get up. He was pinned under his horse, cracked a rib and sprained his ankle. This seems to be getting worse and worse. Now, this water bill tier allowance will be the end of larger lots and horse zoning.
The city needs to put a moratorium on any development until after the drought passes (if it passes).
Thanks again for acknowledging this problem.

August 24, 2009 12:23 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

ZD:

Ok so you raised the issue. Actually, you repeated an issue that others have raised. What will you do about it if elected?

August 24, 2009 7:49 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Tamars mailer paid for by lausd cost the district a teacher in the class room!

August 24, 2009 9:37 AM  

Blogger Zuma Dogg said:

7:49AM, I will ask YOU what I should do about it (as in solicit feedback from the people affected in the community) then I will work to create a motion calling for the implementation of those measures. Not that it will automatically happen, but I know Alarcon is sensitive to this issue, so wouldn't it be funny to see motions created by AlarCON/Dogg. Funny how things work. Anyway, besides that, because I know you will want to move on to the next thing criticize me for (and again, as the only person to mention it in the forum when asked about "local issues" all you do is point out that I only repeated something (YES, that IS what I have been trying to do over the past three years.) So if you don't like what I said here, I would say to you, "Then what do YOU think? What specifically would you like to see?" That doesn't mean I will want to do it that way, for sure; and it doesn't mean I will be able to get everything through because it's not so easy for ANY councilmember to get "uphill-battle" stuff done. But I told you my initial instinctive answer and at least I actually was not only aware of it, but actually thought it was the first thing worth mentioning at an S-T forum. What else do you want? Call me 213-785-7272 or email ZumaDogg@Gmail.com. Thanks!

August 24, 2009 2:00 PM  

Anonymous Paul Hatfield said:

Regarding 5:19.

I did not post anything in Mayor Sam's about the mailer from my blog.

Someone ripped it directly from my blog without attributing it to me.

Whether you agree with me or not, please give me credit. At least use quotes.

Oh well.

Paul Hatfield

August 26, 2009 9:50 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Well it doesnt look like shes getting anywhere. It doesnt surprise me. During the whole Birminghman High School charter mess, she claimed in front of the board that she had met with both anti and pro charter sides on VARIOUS occasions. This didnt happen. Anti charter reps met with her once for a 25 minute period in 6 months. At which point she said she would support multiple schools on the campus.
She opnely lied to the board and did little to arbitrate during the entire CIVIL WAR at BHS. shes a bought our politician with not interest in the community but her own career. Im glad this attempt to "Step Up" failed. LA will be better for it.

September 24, 2009 7:57 AM  

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