Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Monday

Public Employee Unions Need to go
on a Diet Just Like Mayor Sam has

One of the smartest bloggers in town when it comes to public finance, Paul Hatfield, dices up the Wisconsin labor reform law and details how similar changes should come to California.  It's apparent that politicians like Governor Brown and former State Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (no relation) understand that public employee unions have been given a sweeter than sweet deal for decades and with most governments near bankruptcy it's time to pay the piper.

Governor Brown also gets it when it comes to the Community Redevelopment Agency. It's time to shut these inefficient, wasteful and fraudulent distributors of corporate welfare down but Mayor Villaraigosa doesn't think so.  He cites examples of YMCAs and shopping centers the CRA built, yet shopping centers and YMCAs have been built for decades without YMCA - and the attendant multi-million dollar payouts to politically connected non-profits around these projects that don't see one cent go into building anything on the ground.



The LAWeekly details the ground game to get out the vote in the race for City Council District 14.  Challenger Rudy Martinez has massive troops in the field while apparently the Jose Huizar camp must be too embarrassed to show off theirs.  In the meantime, Martinez picks up more momentum as Huizar has one embarrassing moment after another.

AEG wants to take over and tear down a portion of the Los Angeles Convention Center and build a football arena, expecting all kind of concessions from the City.  That being said, LA Deputy Mayor and Wannabe Mayor Austin Beutner doesn't even think it's necessary to check AEG's finances on the deal, to ensure it's a viable enterprise that doesn't leave the City holding the bag as other municipalities across America have found themselves.