Breaking: Judge upholds ethics laws to prevent Essel from overturning LAs clean money reforms.
United States Federal District Court Judge Dean Pregerson has tossed out the lawsuit filed by Brian Darcy's "Working Californians", on behalf of CD2 Candidate Christine Essel. The lawsuit sought to overturn a 24 year old ethics law that works to curtail undue financial influence in City elections. "Working Californians" had tried to frame the lawsuit as a free speech issue, but the Judge saw otherwise.
The lawsuit had been called "frivolous" by the Krekorian campaign. A spokesman for the Krekorian campaign expressed his delight at the ruling, and said that this was a "real blow" to the Essel campaign, and her army of lobbyist supporters.
In his ruling, Judge Dean Pregerson said:
“[Working Californians] has not provided any evidence that enforcement of the challenged contribution restrictions will effectively thwart its ability to make independent expenditures related to the upcoming city council runoff election. Working Californians is free to solicit contributions from as many donors as it likes, and assuming that no individual contribution exceeds the city’s $500 threshold, it can spend as much as it likes.”
CD2 candidate Paul Krekorian, who challenged the lawsuit said:
"By filing this lawsuit, the Downtown power brokers proved that they aren't satisfied just trying to steal this election for Essel, they want to hide their tracks too. I was very proud to defend the ethics laws that the voters of Los Angeles enacted and have relied upon for nearly a quarter century. Today we won a tremendous victory for transparency when the Federal Court agreed with my arguments and completely rejected the frivolous lawsuit brought by Chris Essel's special interest supporters to overturn the City's ethics laws."
You can read the entire court ruling HERE.
The lawsuit had been called "frivolous" by the Krekorian campaign. A spokesman for the Krekorian campaign expressed his delight at the ruling, and said that this was a "real blow" to the Essel campaign, and her army of lobbyist supporters.
In his ruling, Judge Dean Pregerson said:
“[Working Californians] has not provided any evidence that enforcement of the challenged contribution restrictions will effectively thwart its ability to make independent expenditures related to the upcoming city council runoff election. Working Californians is free to solicit contributions from as many donors as it likes, and assuming that no individual contribution exceeds the city’s $500 threshold, it can spend as much as it likes.”
CD2 candidate Paul Krekorian, who challenged the lawsuit said:
"By filing this lawsuit, the Downtown power brokers proved that they aren't satisfied just trying to steal this election for Essel, they want to hide their tracks too. I was very proud to defend the ethics laws that the voters of Los Angeles enacted and have relied upon for nearly a quarter century. Today we won a tremendous victory for transparency when the Federal Court agreed with my arguments and completely rejected the frivolous lawsuit brought by Chris Essel's special interest supporters to overturn the City's ethics laws."
You can read the entire court ruling HERE.
Labels: brian d'arcy, Chris Essel, IBEW, working californians
Posted by Unknown @ 11/24/2009 04:39:00 PM
37 Comments:
Finally justice prevailed. I hope it will also prevail on Dec 8th, so that the bums go back into their hole and disappear, at least for awhile.
People 1 Essel 0
Friendly advise to Red Spot and Higby:
It is sad to see what has become of you. You have been taken in by the lies of biggest gangster in LA politics, Eric Hacopian.
Let me give you some background about his record.
1994- Him and Adam Schiff where involved in a scheme to steal an State Senate contest in Burbank.
2003- Under AV orders he worked to destroy the non profit group, Mothers of East LA.
2004- Worked as Rich Caruso thug in his big Glendale project.
2005- Worked to destroy Nick Pacheco's campaign from the inside.
2006- Caught up in the Richard Murello scandal.
2009- Worked his black opps magic in defeating Gil Cedillo's campaign by running Emanuel Pleitas campaign.
Is this the man you want to be working with?
http://ethics.lacity.org/disclosure/campaign/totals/public_election.cfm?election_id=41
Over $600,000 in IE's on behalf of Essel, and the A-holes want to lift the contribution limit?
Woo Hoo!
Awesome, a Judge doing the right thing. That's a first.
Chris never had any thing to do with this law suit.
This is nothing more than another Hacopian smoke screen.
Jennerjahn will be here any moment to try and spin his bitch out of another deep hole.
I don't know Hacopian but I've seen the work of Shallman the Slimeman, so cry me a river about how bad Hacopian is, really.
Chris totally bombed on Newsmakers Sunday morning - halting, unsure of herself and the issues, not ready for primetime. She's not as good a liar and bluffer as the Nooch, who did it for a living his whole life.
She fell further behind in the polls and with all the money they're sinking into her they're desperate. Will do anything, it will get even dirtier. They want her to rescue Measure B, Verdugo Hills Golf Course development and to approve turning CD2 into one big urban jungle, SB1818. Also by making felons out of pot sellers, the prison guard union advising the new PPL leadership will create jobs for its prison guard union - a main reason our state is already bankrupt and has to release prisoners. Where will all the new prisoners go when there's no room? They'll hope to find a way to pass new bonds to build more prisons to hire more guards.
4:49
Shut up. What does that have to do with this post.
4:49
Jennerjahn drunk
Never any need to "destroy" a Pacheco campaign from the inside.
That was always on auto pilot.
Great news.
D'Arcy bites the dust.
I'm confused. I thought IEBW brought this suit.
Has Essel put out a press release attacking the Judge yet?
Don't know how this matters. They have spent a ton of money for Essel already? what difference would this have made?
This will hurt Essel in several ways First, she now has the perception of being an IBEW puppet. If she was really an independent candidate, she should have told the IBEW to drop the lawsuit until after the election. This makes her look weak and desperate.
Secondly this whole event really casts her as the downtown insider, a perception she will not be able to shake in less than two weeks time.
Paul sails to victory on Dec 8th!
Lets see Paul had spent $350,000 on his council race by 10/24 and $88,000 on his 2010 Assembly Race this year! Do the math, hardly a grassroots clean money candidate. If he were really about campaign finance reform, then he would stop accepting contributions in his AD race. But that would cut off the steady stream of money he gets to pay his consulants.
You folks attacking Essel for her fundraising efforts, have to suspend reality to support Paul.
We can strongly disagree on who would be a better council member, but attempting to use Paul as your poster child is beyond even you.
Between making it clear that IBEW and other unions are trying to buy her outright, Lettergate ends up just highlighting how hard she's trying to distance herself from Tony V because he's the kiss of death to any candidate. That in turn is the kiss of death to his political future if he still had any. He's been reduced to going to the opening of ice rinks like Pershing Square this weekend just to find any positive PR op.
Really dumb move from E$$el's people on a lot of levels.
Like Measure B, the CD2 race will not be won by big money but by engaged and informed voters.
Where's the victory party?
so do I assume that the honorable Dean Pregerson has had just about enough of the 'downtown' crowd?
if I ever spoke a word of truth, its that he made Eric's city attorney look like a fool when we were in front of him last week.
You tend to get a good feeling when the Court spares you indignity.
I'm sure Krekorian will understand what I'm saying. And if he gets elected, he'll be bound to comply with all Pregerson orders, including the one that says Mike Hunt was damaged by the City, and a jury was empanelled to award him an amount, which came down at $264,000. The City then denied the attorney fees and Hon. Dean Pregerson awarded $207,000 after lengthy analysis of the case.
You will find in City records that the City has now paid that $471,000 to the federal court as a bond pending the appeals.
The appeals Court nicely told us to drop the appeals and ACCEPT PREGERSON'S RULING AND PAY THE MONEY
we finally caved in and said ok, we'll drop our appeal and accept.
The City came back and said "we'll offer only 25% of the award!"
an incredible INSULT , that's why we still maintain our protests at Council.
I expect everyone on the Krekorian camp to support the Pregerson decisions in our favor.
And if Paul wins, I'll be reminding him every day about Pregerson, and the order against the CITY of Los Angeles .
'Glad to know D'Arcy lost. Thank you Mr. Judge. Phew!
For what it's worth, here is a list of elected officials that back Krekorian. I guess either one (Chris or Paul) will be more of the same.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Koretz
Los Angeles City Councilmember Richard Alarcon
Congressman Brad Sherman
Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez
Congressmember Adam Schiff
Speaker Karen Bass
Assemblymember Mike Feuer
Assemblymember John Perez
Assemblymember Kevin de Leon
Assemblymember Hector De La Torre
Assemblymember Mike Eng
Assemblymember Jose Solorio
Assemblymember Fiona Ma
Assemblymember Warren Furutani
State Senator Mark Leno
State Senator Carol Liu
LAUSD Board Member Tamar Galatzan
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca
It would have been pretty surprising if the ruling were favorable.
Hacopian must be stopped.
This issue was a set up by Hacopian to entrap the Essel campaign.
And all of you idiots are falling for his dirty tricks.
Again Morons: Essel had nothing to do with this case.
ya, hacopian engineered a federal lawsuit and hired the mayor's lawyer to make the case so he could make essel look bad. hacopian is the master of LA. He can do whatever he wants whenever he wants.
you people are all just his puppets.
idiot
I agree that Essel probably didn't have anything to do with this.
It would have been a feather in her cap had she pursuaded D'Arcy to not sue.
Essel could have stopped it. Instead she stood by rubbing her greedy hands together in anticipation of even more IBEW money.
4:49 PM YES!!!!! Good Job!!
Joe B is such a crybaby about anything having to do with Krekorian.
I worry about his mental health if Krekorian is defeated by Chris Essel on Dec 8th.
Phil said, "Joe B is such a crybaby about anything having to do with Krekorian.
I worry about his mental health if Krekorian is defeated by Chris Essel on Dec 8th."
Phil, that is your response to the court ruling? Attacking me yet again?
C'mon, you can spin for Essel better than that.
5:35 PM, please check in the dictionary the definition of "perception". Essel has been bought by D`Arcy, as her matron Greuel. That`s a fact. $500.000 of ratepayers money is not chicken feed.
Reading anything Phil writes is like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
7:45PM, what are you smoking? "Essel had nothing to do with this case". I agree, only her pimps. She could have said no, but she was enjoying it.........
1) Essel had everything to do with this. She and her team have done nothing but create shenanigans since this race started. Her field effort sucks, she knows it and as is typical in her world when you want something and people are telling you "no" throw money at it.
Sorry E$$hole, its not gonna work this time. This isn't LA in the 1930's and we're not buying.
On another note, it's hilarious that so many people keep cooking up these conspiracy theories about the powers and reign of Hacopian.
Keep up the crazy talk, you're just helping Chris dig a deeper gave.
p.s Suck it D'arcy!
Its interesting to read the Essel team's spin on Hacopian that at the same time he's an evil genius who can do anything but he's also a bumbling dunderhead who won't win.
Anywaz.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home