Commentary: CD2 Election Alert and Reality Check from David Hernandez
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By David Hernandez
Much has been said about the amount of money Candidate Chris Essel has spent on her campaign for LA City Council. There has also been much talk about the amount of "Independent Expenditures" made supporting her campaign.
At a recent candidates forum Candidate Krekorian made it a point to inform the audience of the money being spent to "keep him off the council".
In the interest of full disclosure, I would like to make it known the amount money spent, to get Candidate Krekorian on the City Council.
As of December 2nd, City Ethics documents show Candidate Krekorian has spent $571,518.76 dollars on his campaign. Others have spent $164,284.03 on Independent Expenditures. That totals $735,802.79 Seven Hundred thirty five thousand, eight hundred and two dollars and three cents.
(This is not the final figure).
Hardly a grassroots candidate! Time for a reality check folks.
As if that wasn't enough, Paul has also spent $92,533.00 on his November 2010 State Assembly Race this year!
That makes the amount of money Paul Krekorian has spent in 2009 on promoting his political image to be Eight Hundred & twenty eight thousand, three hundred, thirty three dollars.
$828,335.00 to get him elected!
To put this in perspective, let me compare the amount spent so far by Krekorian and his supporters to the total amount spent by LA City Council members to get elected in March of 2009.
Ed Reyes $221,113.64
Dennis Zine $271,745.30
Richard Alarcon $27,588.00
Jan Perry $355,136.00
Bill Rosendahl $186,124.00
Janice Hahn $277,632.00
Eric Garcetti $654,098.00
Paul Koretz $836,383.00
Only Koretz spent more, but folks the final figures are not in yet for Krekorian.
I am a strong believer in voting for a candidate because of what I see in that candidate as an individual. I am not going to vote for someone just because I am voting against the other guy or some group who has contributed to their campaign.
As you set aside the political rhetoric and campaign tricks of smoke and mirrors; take a moment to look at the candidates as individuals.
>Which candidate, by their action alone, would you entrust with the duty and responsibility of governing the community in which you and your family reside.
For me, that candidate is Christine Essel.
David Hernandez
*not paid for by any candidate or candidates committee, just my own observations.
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
Posted by Mayor Sam @ 12/07/2009 02:48:00 PM
25 Comments:
What the hell did Jan Perry spend $355K running unopposed???
The only point David makes is that Krekorian spent a lot of money. Chris spent even more. Why does he support Chris? He doesn't make that point.
What is this guy smoking. Is he for real???
The bottom line for Krekorian
He has more experience than Chris Essel
He has a staff ready to start on day one; he nor they will not need on the job training
He has already been working for this community and has a track record of achievements from supporting the entertainment industry to solving local problems like getting child molestors out of the community
Because of these things 90% of the community leaders FROM CD2 support Paul Krekorian
Chris Essel can not match any of these points
Anything else is just noise and nonsense.
In the same amount of time, Essel has spent $902,201.94 with "others" spending $790,764.91 in independent expenditures. Krekorian has the support of actual CD2 community members - lots of them. He has been engaged and functional in CD2. Essel has sent the tone of this election straight into the tank.
As far as "I am not going to vote for someone just because I am voting against the other guy or some group who has contributed to their campaign" goes - you would have to be politically and rationally brain dead not to take those IE expenditures and the people/groups behind them into account.
I surely expected a better basis for your argument than this, Mr. Hernandez.
WHAT??????
The first sentence talks about how much Essel has spent. Then the entire article talks ONLY about how much others have spent.
It never says how much Essel has spent.
This is just silliness. Why did you even bother us with such drivel?
David,
With all due respect your post is misleading. Here are the numbers straight off the ethics site.
ESEEL:
CONTRIBUTIONS $627,404.12
MATCHING FUNDS $184,259.99
INDEP EXPEND. $790,764.91
KREKORIAN:
CONTRIBUTIONS $346,851.30
MATCHING FUNDS $222,766.02
INDEP EXPEND. $175,134.23
TOTAL ESSEL - $1,602,429.00
TOTAL KREKORIAN - $744,751.55
I believe Essel watch evaluates these numbers as well, which shows some of the Indep Expend Money in Krekorian's column is actually Essel money spent against Krekorian.
http://esselwatch.wordpress.com/2009/12/06/a-tale-of-two-ies/
Also, Village to Village has covered this, but I think there numbers may be a day or so old.
http://phinvv.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/youve-got-to-be-kidding-me/
David Hernandez is a MORON. The IE figure for Krekorian is WRONG. He can't even read a report right. That $175,000 number includes IE's opposed to Paul Krekorian. Just click on the link idiot.
in reality Krekorian only has about $50-60,000 in IE's in his FAVOR.
So David Hernandez is either a MORON or he is LYING like his candidate Christine Essel.
This is an OUTRAGE!!
How does Comrade Jan Perry spend $49 per vote when she was UNOPPOSED??!!!
OMG!! She could have bought every one of her voters FIFTY McDonalds cheeseburgers instead.
She needs to be investigated.
She probably needs to be indicted, too.
Funny Money part 2
Cost per vote
Reyes $29.04
Zine $15.60
Alarcon $3.19
Perry $49.59 !!!
Rosendahl $9.05
Hahn $25.48
Garcetti $76.00 !!!
Koretz $ 45.07
Chris has plenty of expierence and Id rather have her in there then another career politician. If we listen to your logic Michael we would only elect incumbants with a staff. We dont need to give Paul a place to hide from his mistakes in sacramrnto, Send him back to do the job he already has.
At the final candidates forum when asked if Paul accepts any responsibaltiy for the budget crisis in California he responded that it was a GLOBAL Crisis and things were really bad.
Isn't Texas part of the Globe? They have an 11 Billion Dollar Surplus as do many of the other States.
Yes, Paul has much experience, but lacks the ability or willingness to accept any responsibality for his actions, in actions or votes.
He, like his compadres in Sacramento take credit at the drop of the hat and under no circumstances take any responsiblaity for their failures.
We have plenty of that on the ground already around the horse shoe and do not need anymore, no matter how polished it is presented.
3:01, that was the point! Eveyone has been critical of Essel for the amount of money being spent to get her elected. The point as it showed, that argument also applies to Krekorian.
You need to find your own reason to vote for the candidate of your choice, but don't fall for the smoke and mirrors being promoted by someone who claims he is not a big money candidate while calling the other, the big money candidate.
Hey, why did you take down the nice pictures of Shallman's house?
What does it matter how much spent in order to get elected.
The question is whether it was spent EFFECTIVELY.
With all due respect, David, as someone who has lost more than one election of his own, how much money did you spend on your elections, and how effectively do you assert it was done?
So his mind is going to be on the State Senate race from Day One. He reportedly said that at one of the STA "Meet and Greet" farces in October, too. So we have to pay for a special election so this chump can collect a few hundred thousand for a year while he changes jobs again and solves all of CD2's problems by getting recognition for the Armenian Genocide. Wonderful.
A vote for Krekorian is a vote by an idiot. Just a way to piss away some more of the money we don't have. This blog, Higby, Joe B. et al have lost anything resembling credibility as far as I'm concerned.
As usual, Hernandez, you only tell half-truths (plus some one-quarter truths).
Most of the councilmembers who ran in March 2009 ran unopposed.
The few that didn't still only faced ONE election cycle, and were voted into office in March, outright.
Koretz, like Krekorian, had to run in two elections -- including a runoff.
You compare apples with Appaloosas, and because they're spelled similarly, expect no one to notice.
When you do so, the rest of your argument becomes suspect, and not worth reading (I stopped at the $$ figures, realizing you were holding up straw men).
Your whole rationale would have failed the smell test on a middle school debate team.
Not that anyone would care at this point, but the Koretz figure is interesting. He won by the thinnest of margins. I don't think CD5 is being well served considering the cost. I hope he is one term and out.
I don't get this Hernandez guy. Everyone thinks he's such a night man. However I've known him to pull some nasty sh*t behind the scenes in a number of elections that he has no reason to be involved with, except his ego, I suppose. He's Huesca's campaign manager and skillfully knocked Huesca out of the CD7 race. Runs for Mayor and fails miserably twice. He's Sheftel's campaign manager - twice - with stunning results and nasty behind the scenes BS. Now all the blah blah supporting Essel.
wha-tha-fa?
4:15 "So his mind is going to be on the State Senate race from Day One. He reportedly said that at one of the STA "Meet and Greet" farces in October, too. "
Reportedly by whom? Why would ANY candidate say such a thing, that is a ridiculous claim that's being made and "reportedly" is hardly a credible source.
Last I heard Phil was blaming Krekorian for global warming.
"Climate Destroying Fellow Traveler"
David get a life. You are a looser. You look it, you act it, you smell it. Do you really think your support of Essel is worth a jack shit?
David is a good man. He and his wife Debbie have always been quite gracious to me. David and I usually agree on most things; this time he is dead wrong.
But I still love him. :)
3:44 PM Christine Essel has been a lobbist for Paramount for years.
She's a politician. Duh!
Don't forget the CRA and the CCA
as well. Those are both political
dum dum.
I like David a lot as a person, but I disagree with him so intently on every single issue EVER, that I couldn't vote for him for anything.
He's just not sharp enough to be an elected and he only votes for what the chamber tells him to. That makes him a really bad elected, which is probably why he isn't one.
BOTTOM LINE CD2 YOU BLEW IT !! YOU NEED TO LEARN TO SUPPORT REAL CARING CANDIDATES NOT THESE OVERQUALIFIED WANTABEES. THE POLITICAL PROCESS SUFFERS FOR THIS. UNTIL YOU AND ALL THE OTHER COMMUNITIES STOP SUPPORTING OVER FUNDED CANDIDATES THAT CARRY IN HOUSE POLITICAL SUPPORT YOU CAN EXPECT TO SEE YOUR COMMUNITY SOLD DOWN THE RIVER.
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