Whistleblower hotline: (213) 785-6098
mayorsam@mayorsam.org

Monday, February 28, 2011

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Monday

In what could be a striking example of why what Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin is doing to corral the gross power of public employee unions is a good thing, the re-election campaign for Councilman Bernard Parks is going tougher than it should. Parks, a popular and fiscally tough Councilman who came up the ranks in the LAPD, is going up an otherwise mediocre and ethically challenged candidate in Forsceen Rowles-Hogan who is the beneficiary of significant DWP and city employee union largess.  Parks has been a voice of sanity when it comes to the DWP, protecting ratepayers as well as fighting against more than generous bankrupting type pension schemes.  Rowles-Hogan, as noted by the LA Weekly, has a city career "fraught with controversy" including being forced to resign from the DWP retirement board after she was caught soliciting funds from money managers who wished to do business with the board.



Longtime Catholic Archbishop Roger Mahoney officially retired Sunday.  Activist groups protesting his role in the Church glossing over a significant history of clergy sexual abuse are hoping the transition will lead to more transparency on the role of Mahoney and others in the matter.

Mayor Villaraigosa thinks he's entitled to have a six foot high wall built around his official residence at Getty House, the City owned Mayor's manse.  This follows his original request of eight feet and nearly three feet taller than City zoning laws.

School board candidate Louis Pugliese accused his opponent, incumbent Tamar Galatzan, of "push-polling" a false story that Pugliese once defaulted on student loans.  "Not so," says the Galatzan campaign.

Councilman Jose Huizar has been a strong advocate for moneyed Downtown LA interests.  Thus, the LA Downtown News has endorsed him. 

Previewing his campaign for Mayor, Council President Eric Garcetti tells Encino types LA has "lost confidence."


Activists fighting a Los Angeles Community College District planned development for the former site of the legendary Lawry's California Center are buoyed by a reported coming Los Angeles Times expose that allegedly shows much shadiness on the part of the District and it's board, many of whom are up for election next week.

Labels: , , , , , , ,

15 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said:

The Sierra Club probably endorsed Parks.

February 28, 2011 1:27 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

The LA Times investigation of the incompetent management of the Los Angeles Community College bond construction program is devastating. How is it for nine years, Board of Trustee members Mona Field, Georgia Mercer, Sylvia Scott-Hayes, Kelly Candaele, and Nancy Pearlman did not know that bond funds, limited by the California Constitution to expenditure for capital improvement projects, were being used to pay for wildly expensive videos about themselves and Facilities Director Larry Eisenberg? None of these videos are appropriate bond expenditures.

And how is it that these Board members thought nothing when thousands of dollars were spent to fly them around the country to speak at conferences and pick up awards for "sustainability" that they were paying their PR flack to line up for them to receive? What part of that activity is construction of a capital educational facility?

Mona Field actually had the gall to claim that because the LACCD enacted the first bond measure after the passage of Prop 39, that they were "pioneers" who made mistakes.... and don't worry, they will be better in the future. What kind of slow learner takes more than 9 years and a scandal to "learn" what the Constitution very plainly says: You cannot spend ANY bond money on operational costs. Flying to conferences, sponsoring conferences, distributing water bottles with the construction program's logo, producing expensive videos to promote the program (and implicitly the Board of Trustees), are all easily recognizable as non-capital expenses but the Trustees continued to spend the money from the bond program because no one "brought it to their attention."

Excuse me Ms. Field. It's your damn job to know it. I will be voting for someone else on March 8 because if Ms. Field doesn't understand the most basic limitation on bond funds, she cannot be trusted with my money.

February 28, 2011 6:02 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I think you meant "Mahony."

February 28, 2011 6:09 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Not the Lawry's Center, it's the Van de Kamps Bakery.

February 28, 2011 7:39 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Read the whole Weekly article. David Freeman -- the guy who Hogan-Rolls voted against as interim DWP GM -- is the one who claims she was forced to resign. Looks like another Villaraigosa smear machine tactic.

February 28, 2011 8:04 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Freeman is a liar. She didn't resign. Her term expired.And the article says she returned contributions sent as soon as she noticed they were received (and never asked for).Then SHE notified the DWP and Mayor. Sounds like responsibility to me.

February 28, 2011 8:09 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Bernard Parks happens to be the most corrupt and inept member of the council.

The collection of a half billion dollars falls under his supervision and for some reason he does nuthin'.

He collects two checks from the city, and his son is the highest paid council staffer.

He takes a lot and delivers nothing.

We need to sweep out all incumbents. They're all collectively responsible for the state of the city.

The public needs to send a message or the crap will just continue.

February 28, 2011 8:29 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

OMG Michael I typically always agree with your stance but not with Bitter Bernie. First of all he hates NC's and in fact put forth a motion to cut NC spending by 80%. He is not fiscally responsible and many credible people on other blogs have stated so cause no one can find one example of that. Next he gave Magic Johnson $35 million LAX concession contract cause Magic donated to his supervisor and failed campaign. Next,MTA Hid Report on Councilman Bernard Parks' Illegal Contributions. Parks also refuses to give the campaign money back to the RAVE promoter who media reporting corrupt. Then Parks instead of sticking up for the people was a whimp and coward out when the DWP vote for council to take over jurisdiction was on the floor. Even though Parks was in the building he refused to vote on it and walked into chambers AFTER the vote failed. No,Parks is just as corrupt as the rest and even though the other candidate is no better

February 28, 2011 10:19 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

COUGH(pre-sour-grapes-Mayor-Sam's says)COUGH Councilman Jose Huizar has been a strong advocate for moneyed Downtown LA interests. Thus, the LA Downtown News has endorsed him.


If it was THAT easy, children, then the L.A. TIMES would have also endorsed him. They are SO much more about Downtown than about CD14, than even LADN.

LADN has been consistent - at least - more so than other media, between their news reporting and endorsements.

Regardie makes fun of Huizar nearly every week, but he made the journeys all over CD14 and heard the candidates, and made it clear - repeatedly - in his stories, what the majority of us in CD14 know and what will make the vote next Tuesday go for Huizar. . .

Rudy Rich is CLUELESS!

(If you put HIM in charge of turning out the lights over the weekend at a SFV LAUSD school, for example, it would be 2013 before he could find the switch, and then he'd have to hire a pickup truckload of illegals from Home depot to come and show him how to turn them off).

EVERY WEEK...

February 28, 2011 11:26 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Why has the Martinez campaign NEVER complied with Ethics rules and posted the so-called CD14 "discrimination lists" as required for materials used in campaigning?

Why has the Martinez campaign removed one of the three "frenemies" lists from its own Website (the heavily edited "El Serreno" (sic) list?

Weaknesses just keep popping up, embarrassing questions - if ever answered - but the race is SO OVER no one even cares to investigate anymore.

February 28, 2011 11:31 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Some one just pointed me to one of the expensive self-promoting videos paid for with our taxes out of capital bond funds of Los Angeles Community College District. How arrogant can you get?

http://www.laccdbuildsgreen.org/mediacenter/videogallery/videos/eisenberg-awards-final.php

February 28, 2011 12:32 PM  

Blogger Michael Higby said:

So is Mike Trujillo still working for Huizar, under the radar?

I have heard these rumors but find them hard to believer. ;)

February 28, 2011 12:45 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

12:45

Turd-jillo did a bad job for Huizar when he was "officially" on payroll. Why have him work under the radar.

Maybe he's working for free - volunteering, as penance?

That would take a HAIL of a lot of "Hail Mary's" to undo. Huizar's actually owed a major refund from him.

Can you cancel any of the checks, Jose?

February 28, 2011 1:53 PM  

Blogger Michael Higby said:

People keep asking that. I don't know. Is Trujillo working for Huizar? Maybe he is volunteering.

February 28, 2011 6:19 PM  

Anonymous Atlanta Roofing said:

The 26% figure comes from 2010? Of course it'd be higher now, since union members have been stirred to action. It'd probably even be higher than in 2008 if an election were held now. If unions and the Democratic Party in the state can keep those workers angry and organized, that anger could probably cause an even bluer election in 2012 than 2008. If it subsides, you're still looking at an election closer in turnout to 2008 than 2010. Do Republicans think 2010 was the norm and that voters shifted to the right?

March 01, 2011 7:55 PM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home

Advertisement

Advertisement