Morning Briefs on the Los Angeles Political Machine for Tuesday

As the candidates for mayor prep for today's "much-discussed debate on Education", Wendy Greuel supporter LAUSD School Board President Monica Garcia links to the controversial Academia Semillas del Pueblo Charter School, may become a unwanted distraction.

 ....... but I also supported Charter Renewal for my campaign contributor Marcos Aguilar's controversial Academia Semillas del Pueblo Charter School, which continues to stonewall LAUSD's Office of Inspector General Audit requests.. 

But despite Garcia's "bullhorn devotion" (aided by timely contributions) to Marcos Aguilar's (and wife Minnie Ferguson) educational collective, the LA School Report Blog is reporting that LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy and Garcia may be on a collision course, again, regarding possible Charter Revocation of the El Sereno Indoctrination Collective. 

Superintendent John Deasy responded directly to the school: “If you can’t comply with this, then I can’t recommend that school’s renewal,” said Deasy. “It looks like we’re heading in that direction.” Deasy said he didn’t know of any other examples of a school flouting district regulations like Semillas has done.“It always troubles me when a school is not consistent with our expectations and transparencies,” said Deasy, referring to Semillas. Deasy also said that he’s asked LAUSD attorneys about “other steps,” including the possibility of revoking Semillas’ charter.“I have to see if this falls into that category,” said Deasy.Deasy and his team at LAUSD didn’t recommend the renewal of Semillas’ elementary school last year, but they were overruled when the School Board voted, 4 to 3, to give the school another five years.

But while "Gorda Boo Boo" may be oblivious to longtime "Waste, Fraud and Abuse" at Academia, look for newly-reelected School Board Member Steve Zimmer to be the swing vote in the other direction this time around Then watch for Marcos and Minnie's supporters to make some uncomfortable disclosures regarding the likes of Garcia, Councilman Jose Huizar and Mayor Antonio Villar.

** Via LA Weekly's Patrick Range McDonald, both Mayoral candidates have seen the light and found common ground on the contentious Parent Trigger Issue, after a trip to the 24th Street School

** The reigning Editor of the Downtown News and "Scribe of Wit" Jon Regardie channels a "Pravda Editor of Note" in his latest Regardie Report on the CD 1 Campaign between Gil Cedillo and Jose Gardea. We excerpt "Media Commissar Regardski" below as he channels a Soviet perspective to a recent Gil Cedillo comment.

“City Hall is like the old Soviet Union,” Cedillo remarked. “It’s about protecting itself and there’s not going to be change from the inside.”The line is as fantastic as it is farfetched. Is Cedillo, who first won a State Assembly seat in 1998, comparing Reyes to old bloc leaders like Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev? Does he think Reyes is settled in the First District equivalent of Red Square building up a nuclear arsenal to hand over to Gardea.Even more interesting is what the comparison means for Cedillo himself. If he’s the change agent, then he’s probably a CD1 Mikhail Gorbachev, who introduced the openness concept of “glasnost,” which made him adored by the West and hated in the fading USSR (though there is little evidence he could become “Gorby II”). Maybe he’s salty Boris Yeltsin. Or perhaps Cedillo fancies himself a Los Angeles Vladimir Putin. The mind boggles.After the debate I asked Gardea about the remark. “You’ve just been compared to Soviet Russia,” I said. “Do you agree?”He responded with a bemused smile.“Nyet.” 

"Nyet", may be the Russian translation for Gardea's chances of becoming CD 1 City Councilman "Mini Ed" Gardea on May 21.

** We join CD 9 City Councilwoman and former Mayoral Candidate Jan Perry in prayers and meditation that she endorse City Attorney Carmen Trutanich for a second term. In the spirit of joint reflection we provide the following inducement to help bring about this needed political union (or cutting of the endorsement bread).

Never leave the Office of City Attorney to a Politico Hack.

Your thoughts ...............

Scott Johnson in CD 14