Why Eric Garcetti and Mike Feuer Should Cancel Themselves

 By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - LA's Buffoon Bros of Miscarriage and Corruption, Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Attorney Mike Feuer, should spend the coming holiday season reshuffling their future plans.

Eric Garcetti and Mike Feuer

Photo Credit: LA Times

In Garcetti's case, he should pick up the house phone and ring President Joe Biden to withdraw his nomination to become the next U.S. Ambassador to India.  Feuer should withdraw from the Mayor's race and see whether any of the other candidates would welcome his endorsement.  If those candidates are smart, they'll politely decline and change their phone number.

Garcetti and Feuer are more likely than not on the verge of being booted from those pursuits and instead creating mortifying footnotes for their forever Wikipedia pages.  

Better for them to quit rather than being publicly shown the door.

Beyond Garcetti's comprehensive failure as al calde of the second largest American city, everyone from his right-hand man Rick Jacobs to his disgraced former chief of staff Ana Guerrero (and those who covered up for them at the LAPD and City Attorney's office) have been exposed for the bullies and harassers many have long-known them to be, as shown by a series of mortifying exposés and depositions.  It is not possible that these issues have escaped the notice of the FBI and Biden advisors. 

The point is that Garcetti is responsible for all that literally took place right in front of him, and more. The buck is supposed to stop with a chief executive, but Garcetti hasn't taken ownership for any of it, including his welcoming Guerrero back into his office after a lengthy suspension for indiscriminately abusing everyone from little-known locals to historic and accomplished women of color like Dolores Huerta.

As for things that took place right in front of Garcetti.....

Rick Jacobs, Eric Garcetti and others

Photo Credit: LA Times

In fact, logic suggests that someone in the White House, perhaps chief of staff Ron Klain, may soon dial up Garcetti and "politely suggest" that Garcetti do exactly as I recommend.

That way, Garcetti can take his rightful place alongside his inglorious predecessors, like "The 11% Percent Mayor" Antonio Villaraigosa and traffic court judge James Hahn.  He can join some corporate boards, teach a college class and be shown on the 11pm sports report cheering on the Dodgers and Lakers.

I left the Rams out of that thought, because, despite Garcetti's untruthful claims that he "brought the NFL back to LA," they in fact play in the world's greatest stadium in a city he never represented; Inglewood, California.  Sure, Inglewood is in "LA," but that's LA County, where Garcetti has never been an elected official. 

Garcetti failed to get that stadium built in downtown LA as Farmer's Field, though he squandered much time posturing about it, as I pointed out in the Huffington Post a few years back.

And that's the rosier of the two futures outlined in this column.

Our crystal ball says things are much bleaker for Mike Feuer.

It is delusional that someone who is being investigated by the State Bar of California and whose office was raided by the FBI and whose legal hire, Paul Paradis, agreed this week to plead guilty to a $2.2 million kickback scheme while running that scam under the auspices of Feuer's office, thinks he will be elected to succeed Garcetti as Mayor!

Maybe delusional isn't the right word.  Nuts.  Feuer would have to be nuts to believe that.

Mike Feuer

Photo Credit: KTLA

But it's so much worse than that for The Frazzled 'stache of LA City Hall.   

Despite his assertions to the contrary, the U.S. Department of Justice says that Feuer's office knew that Paradis astonishingly represented both the plaintiff and defendant in the scandalous LADWP / PricewaterhouseCoopers lawsuit.

That alone should result in a suspension of Feuer's law license, if not out and out disbarment, even if he didn't personally profit from the bribery, which could include campaign donations to his nascent mayoral campaign.

And yes, I do speculate that Feuer has already spoken with white collar criminal defense law firms to potentially represent him.  One would have to be a nuts (there's that word again) to be raided by the FBI and not immediately pick up the phone to find one.

But to think he still has even a remote chance of becoming mayor?  

Come on.

Then again, maybe Feuer's counting on LA making the same dumb choices for mayor as it has for the past 20 years with Hahn, Villaraigosa and Garcetti.

Hmmmph.  Perhaps he's on to something.

Nevermind, then. We'll simply say this.  If Feuer runs, he will finish with fewer votes than any other major candidate and perhaps even fewer than the spectacular 9,115 votes hauled-in (without spending a dime) by Venice street performer David "Zuma Dogg" Saltsburg in 2009, when he finished in 4th place in a field of ten.   

That's the over/under for Feuer should he stay in the race. Nine thousand one hundred and fifteen votes.  We will see whether Feuer gets fewer than Zuma Dogg.

Of course, there's more to this story than just that.   

What about the names that keep Mike Feuer up at night and whether and when they might resurface?  That's precisely why Feuer's deputy at City Council meetings, one Strefan Fauble, has established a pattern and practice of illegally censoring this column from participating in the meetings of late and his peers continually failing to cure and correct such abuses, as outlined in upcoming complaints, plural, to the State Bar of California.

(Daniel Guss, MBA, was runner-up for the 2020 Los Angeles Press Club journalism award for Best Online Political Commentary and was a runner-up in 2021 too. He has contributed to CityWatch, KFI AM-640, iHeartMedia, 790-KABC, Cumulus Media, KCRW, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Magazine, Movieline Magazine, Emmy Magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Pasadena Star News, Los Angeles Downtown News, and The Los Angeles Times in its Sports, Opinion and Entertainment Sections and Sunday Magazine among other publishers. Tell your friends to follow him on The Twitters @TheGussReport, and DM him there to join his distribution list for early story notifications, tips and more.)

NEW YORK MAGAZINE: "The Mayor Knew: Eric Garcetti's Top Aide Was a Serial Harasser, According To Multiple Accusers. The Mayor, They Say, Ignored it."

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Don't count on LA Mayor Eric Garcetti making his way to Bombay.

The city's beleaguered chief executive, who was nominated by President Joe Biden to be the next U.S. Ambassador to India, allegedly knew about, but ignored, serial sexual harassment by his right hand man Rick Jacobs.

That's at least according to a slew of people as described in New York Magazine.

The article says that Garcetti and Ana Guerrero, his disempowered former Chief of Staff, repeatedly ignored horrendous behavior by Jacobs, who is the subject of a sexual harassment lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles by the Mayor's former LAPD bodyguard.

"'He crushes me against his body, pulling me in with all his strength,' she says now, telling her story for the first time. 'I'm like a rag doll.  He's pulling me into him and kisses me on the lips for some long, uncomfortable period of time. He kisses me on the lips.  I'm trying to pull back, but he has my arms pinned down against the sides of my body so I have no leverage to push back.'"

That's from Naomi Seligman, Garcetti's Director of Communications on April 14, 2016, describing an encounter with Jacobs in front of a slew of witnesses in an excerpt from the article.

"'I'm surrounded by my entire team, and they've seen this act of dominance over me,' she recalls."

Yesterday, this column was first to predict that LA City Attorney Mike Feuer's mayoral campaign is DOA due to a federal corruption plea deal by Paul Paradis, a legal hire of his who admitted to a $2.2 million kickback scheme.  We now predict that Garcetti's nomination to become Ambassador will soon be down for the count, as well.

So when, exactly, does Guerrero get fired and the LA City Council take a vote of No Confidence, in Garcetti?  

At any rate, we look forward to Biden pulling Garcetti's nomination before too long.  If not, look to Senator Ted Cruz to deliver the knockout blow.

The story by Alissa Walker can be found here: 

(Daniel Guss, MBA, was runner-up for the 2020 Los Angeles Press Club journalism award for Best Online Political Commentary and was a runner-up in 2021 too. He has contributed to CityWatch, KFI AM-640, iHeartMedia, 790-KABC, Cumulus Media, KCRW, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Magazine, Movieline Magazine, Emmy Magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Pasadena Star News, Los Angeles Downtown News, and The Los Angeles Times in its Sports, Opinion and Entertainment Sections and Sunday Magazine among other publishers. Tell your friends to follow him on The Twitters @TheGussReport, and DM him there to join his distribution list for early story notifications, tips and more.)

Just Say "No," LA

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Somewhere over the Halloween weekend, the ghost of Nancy Reagan reached out suggesting things to which Los Angeles should once and for all say no, including:

Just say "no" to whatever Mayor Eric Garcetti has left to say

He has held elected office in City Hall since July 1, 2001, when he was just 30.  He is now 50 and LA is in worse condition in virtually every way.  Only Eric Garcetti is the common factor.  Only he remains. 

(Garcetti's appendage, Ana Guerrero, was also along for the ride until recently when she was suspended and stripped of her Chief of Staff title with Garcetti after she was found serially cyber-abusing and harassing people, including iconic local Black and Brown leaders.  While most people would be fired, Garcetti didn't strip her of her $248,000 salary.  What might Guerrero have on Garcetti to be treated so differently?  Does it have anything to do with public records requests made of the LAPD by this column that City Attorney Mike Feuer fought tooth and nail in court to protect from public scrutiny?)

Enough of him.  Basta and arrivederci.

Eric Garcetti

Photo Credit: ABC

Just say "no" to "slavery"

On February 3, 2013, in Super Bowl XLVII, Colin Kaepernick came within five yards and about a minute of pulling off the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history and was rewarded with a $126 million contract extension.  Over the next several seasons, he was at the center of a storm about first sitting and then later kneeling during pre-game playing of the national anthem.

On January 1, 2017, Kaepernick played his last NFL game after a playoff loss and wound up breaking his contract with millions of dollars left on the table.

If nothing else, the man is principled.

Colin Kaepernick

Photo Credit: Netflix

In 2019, after almost three years out of the league, the NFL set up a private talent showcase for Kaepernick and invited all 32 of its teams, but the former quarterback skipped it due to the NFL demand that he sign a liability waiver.  Instead, he put on his own ill-considered talent showcase that did not result in his return.

Now, the abundantly clear theme in his new Netflix series "Colin in Black & White" is that the NFL is the modern-day equivalent of slavery.

One scene narrated by the former star shows young black men in a football training camp environment, then, the same men walk into a re-enactment of an 18th-century slave sale. There is no reason whatsoever to doubt that this analogy is Kaepernick's and co-producer Ava DuVernay's sincerely held belief.  

But if the NFL has all along been the modern-day equivalent of slavery, why spend so much time and energy trying to get back into such an immovable system, especially with skills diminishing each year?  When will the former star start visiting every major college football campus to discourage participation in an extremely dangerous sport with poor remuneration and owners who disregard people of color and instead encourage the players to go into medicine, law, accounting, engineering or tech?   

It will also be interesting to see how many of those college ballplayers agree that the NFL is slavery.

Assuming that Kaepernick reaches out to them.

Just say "no" to ill-advised accessory dwelling units

According to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) are "known by many names: granny flats, in-law units, backyard cottages, secondary units and more. No matter what you call them, ADUs are an innovative, affordable, effective option for adding much-needed housing in California." 

But leave it to the LA City Council to approve them, thus increasing neighborhood density, yet sometimes not resulting in additional affordable housing units on the market.

Take this ADU currently being built on top of the three-car garage of an old garden apartment rental complex which has seen better days.

It is going to become a gigantic two-bedroom, two-bath unit. But instead of creating more affordable housing, it isn't going to hit the market any time soon.  Word has it that the landlord, who presently does not live on the property, will move into it himself.  

So leave it to the predictably inept Nury Martinez-led Council and its Planning and Land Use Management Committee (PLUM) to increase density, increase property value (and jacking neighboring rents) rather than accomplishing the stated goal of bringing more affordable housing to the market.

Way to go.

Just say "no" to the unluckiest guy in LA

At one bustling LA intersection, this poor sap ran out of gas the other day and walked up and down the sidewalk until enough Angelenos coughed up a nice stack of cash, enabling him to buy enough gas to get home to the wife and kids.

The Unluckiest Guy In LA

Fortunately for him, he just happened to have an empty red gas can so motorists pulling up to the red light could throw him a few bucks since nobody deserves a break more than he does since he remarkably keeps running out of gas.....at the same intersection.....for years and years.

And he isn't homeless, either.

Perhaps the woman running into the same awful bad luck streak one major intersection to the east will find generous donors, too.

Just say "no" to child and animal exploitation

Nury Martinez has also jabbered a lot about stopping child sexploitation, but she has done nothing to prevent children and animals from being exploited for panhandling, especially in dangerous, highly trafficked areas with car exhaust filling their lungs.

Nury Martinez

The Council president has been non-responsive when asked about making a law to criminally ban panhandling with children or animals.

In March 2019, I wrote about Martinez and Councilmember Monica Rodriguez ignoring a woman who regularly appears on the Metro Red Line with different children who may or may not belong to her, exploiting them for cash. This unchecked child endangerment has led to verbal confrontations between exploiters and passengers given that LAPD officers, uniformed or not, are never present to address exploitation, dance and music performances or in-your-face sales of snacks and other goods on the subway.

Then there's the issue of families exploiting their children instead of one parent staying indoors with the tiny children, including a baby in this instance, while the other panhandles, works or finds different ways to provide for them. 

Clearly, LA has its share of people in need. But exploiting children and animals in the middle of heavily trafficked streets in all sorts of weather, needs a law explicitly and criminally banning it. 

It only requires political will.  Unfortunately, in LA, political will now begins and ends with Nury Martinez.

To quote the mixed metaphors that Councilmember Gil Cedillo offered last week upon being told of yet another City Hall micro-corruption, "we await it with bated breath" followed by "but don't hold your breath."  Words of wisdom from the man who spent a good share of his time with Morrie "Plea Bargain" Goldman. 

Maybe we should just say no to re-electing the same tired, disengaged LA politicians.

Now there's an idea to which we can all just say yes.

(Daniel Guss, MBA, was runner-up for the 2020 Los Angeles Press Club journalism award for Best Online Political Commentary (and came in Show in 2021 in another category) and has contributed to CityWatch, KFI AM-640, iHeartMedia, 790-KABC, Cumulus Media, KCRW, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Magazine, Movieline Magazine, Emmy Magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Pasadena Star News, Los Angeles Downtown News, and The Los Angeles Times in its Sports, Opinion and Entertainment Sections and Sunday Magazine among other publishers. Tell your friends to follow him on The Twitters @TheGussReport.)

A F-ing TGIF Morning Briefs on the Los Angeles Political Machine

Its a little before eight in the morning on a Friday and what does the Chief of Staff (Ana Guerrero) for the Mayor of the nation's Second Largest City post on Facebook? ........ 

¡Viva Garcetti Cabrones! ¿Que chingado is the big deal?

Hmmm, maybe that the Mayor Garcetti Administration wasted a whole week news cycle in reacting to a failure in F-ing choreographing an "Explicit Political Persona Makeover"? 

Its Friday and someone is in seriously need of a power puff.

From its genesis in a pre-Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup Parade morning briefing on the Third Floor at City Hall, a choreographed, political exercise in persona change, has morphed into a week long vulgarity of loss messaging and what is Square Peg Mayor Eric Garcetti Chief of Staff Ana Guerrero's retort? ¿Que chingado is the big deal?

While the Brain Trust of the Mayor Garcetti Administration can take credit for stimulating a lively debate on the usage of vulgarity in redefining a Square Peg Political Persona (with the likes of Daily News Columnist/KABC Talk Radio Host Doug McIntyre and Downtown News Editor Jon Regardie musing contrary positions on the Rhodes Scholar's choreographed F-bomb), the fact that the "Chief of Puff" needs to go "Chingado" in an attempt to regain message control over a misguided exercise in political persona makeover, is a sure sign that someone needs to puff away this wasted political week.

** As opening arguments get underway in the Voter Fraud Trial of former Mr. and Mrs. CD 2/7 City Clowncil Central Committee Member Richard "The Zorro Marxist" AlarCON, Prosecutors are mulling over the thought of calling upon former CD 2 City Clowncil Central Committee Member Wendy "The Boss D'Arcy Rizzo Call Greuel" to testify about discussions between her and AlarCON, in changing the boundary lines, demarking CD 2 and 7, so that the AlarCON's CD 2 Sun Valley home would be place in CD 7. 

** Close AlarCON friend CD 1 City Clowncil Central Committee Member Gil "Broken Deal" Cedillo, is facing a growing backlash over supposedly reneging on supporting segregated bike only lanes along Figueroa in Highland Park. Local Political Activists from the river bank in Lincoln Heights, to the hilltops of Mt. Washington are sharing stories on numerous broken promises/deals with Cedillo and staff. 

** We ponder how City Attorney (and co-author in the Assembly, of the deadly AB-109 Prison Realignment Debacle), will respond to a Federal Judge striking down the law which made it illegal to live in your car within the City of Los Angeles. From Sylmar to the streets of Venice, the homeless, including thousands of supposed "Low Level, Non-Violent, Non-Revocable Parolees, will be able to pick the curbside of choice in their vehicle, and call it home.

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

Scott Johnson in CD 14     





Morning Briefs on the Los Angeles Political Machine for Monday

Get ready for a return of the Politics of Weather as rain arrives mid-week.

From along the Santa Ana River above Redlands.

Good bloggin morning to everyone as we return from a quick weekend getaway from "Disempowerment LA-occupied LA-32", to the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains.

As you can tell from the photo above, there are still places in our surrounding mountains that have flowing water. But come Wednesday, Mother Nature will bring something called R-A-I-N back to Southern California for an extended stay. If the upper-level Jet Stream is redirected over Central California, or further south, with a west to east flow, then we may experience an "Atmospheric River Event", which would go far in alleviating our severe drought but not without health and safety ramifications..

In Southern California, it always seems that major rain events are predicated with major brush fires that leave hills and mountain slopes striped bare and primed for debris flows. Thus, when Mother Nature reminds everyone of her supreme authority over us, as she will, come especially Friday, then brace yourself for a return of "Politics of Weather", with your local politico donning yellow rain gear, with plastic wrap cameras, recording it all. ** BTW, climate models are hinting at strong El Nino for next winter, can't imagine any politico wanted to exploit that news for a photo op. 

 LA County Board of Supervisor (and possible CD 14 Candidate) Gloria Molina drop kicks Op-Ed supporting 710 Freeway Tunnel. 

** Memo to the likes of the "No on 710 Coalition" and "Concerns Neighbors of El Sereno", your LA County Board of Supervisor (and possible CD 14 City Council Candidate), Gloria Molina, along with Assemblyman Ed Chau, co-keyboard an Op-ed in the San Gabriel Tribune that details their joint support of a 710 Freeway Tunnel to close the six mile gap to connect the 710 to the I-210 Freeway in Pasadena. Local activists might want to consider the following .............

These residents were promised decades ago that this fix was a stop-gap measure. Opponents need to quit trying to stop the gap from being closed.
These same naysayers also erroneously claim that a tunnel will worsen air quality. They conveniently ignore how air quality is already horrendous in Southeast L.A. — especially for its children, where 12 out of every 100 children develop asthma.
There is a direct connection between asthma in Southeast L.A. and the pollution caused by cars and trucks forced to stand idle along an incomplete 710 Freeway. It’s all the more true since commuters must use the streets as de facto “streetways.”
The pollution that 710 tunnel opponents don’t want is already in the air, being breathed by Southeast L.A. families — who don’t have the extra time and resources to devote to NIMBYism.
These comments should put an end to the "Molina Boo Boo for CD 14" rumors.

** Memo to Mayor Eric Garcetti's Chief of Staff (and possible CD 14 Candidate) Ana Guerrero, please inform your East Area Director Patricia Alarcon that "Disempowerment LA-occupied LA-32 Stakeholders are awaiting a response to this email sent to Ms. Alarcon on February 14, cut and pasted below.

Mayor Garcetti's East Area Director Patricia Alarcon.

Good morning Ms. Alarcon,

Hope this email finds you well on this Valentine's Day.

In lieu of the recent punitive actions taken by Empower LA against the LA 32 Neighborhood Council and your email confirming the Mayor's Office receiving the documentation, I respectfully ask if Mayor Eric Garcetti will be taking a formal position on the current standing of the LA 32 NC Elective Body.

Further, if the Office of Mayor Garcetti is to take a formal position, then the office should consider the following before drafting a formal reply.

First, with Empower LA taking punitive actions against LA 32 which includes controlling the drafting of its agenda. What assurances can stakeholders have that their respective issues will be given objective due diligence by an elective body free of pre-conceived political bias? At the time of Empower LA's Memo, the LA-32 NC were working on important time sensitive issues, involving the USC Health Science Campus Master Plan and Zoning concerns involving a Charter School, among others (** including funding request for parade with past IRS issues). Will the Office of Mayor Garcetti ensure that the community comments heard by the LA 32 NC on these issues, get an objective resolution? 

Second, will the Office of Mayor Garcetti's staff grant access and accord all LA-32 NC Board Members the right to speak freely regarding the "personal dynamics" (including Empower LA's collusion with board members in targeting certain individuals) that were the foundation for Empower LA's punitive actions?

Third, will the Office of Mayor Garcetti's staff investigate internal Empower LA work place issues that have cause employees of the department to file a work place grievance over the role of the "Council for Council Mentors" to act as "NC First Responders" in intervening as Crisis Mentors for NCs, at no cost to the taxpayers?

Fourth, will the Office of Mayor Garcetti work with Empower LA and the City Attorney Office to address the issues of "Procedural Bullys" ( the husband and wife duo of the El Sereno Historical Society come to mind), who's are wasting taxpayers money by filing frivolous complaints, denigrating upstanding community members who don't agree with their "El Sereno-centric vision" and creating the hostile meeting environment noted in the Empower LA Memo? 

Fifth, will the Office of Mayor Garcetti take a stand against the repugnant, incendiary racial comments made sadly by board members and those in the community against some serving on this elected body? Would the Office of Mayor Garcetti consider using the resources of the Human Relations Department to set up a series of workshops within NCs to combat racial bigotry?

In closing Ms. Alarcon, its my sincere hope that the Office of Mayor Garcetti will help the LA 32 NC move forward in bring all resources to the table in achieving objective remedies that grows a strong, independent community-centric elective body, while holding those responsible for the "repugnant, personal conduct" that was unfortunately, the basis for the punitive actions taken by Empower LA.

With respects,

Scott Johnson 

LA 32 NC Recording Secretary

A potential CD-14 City Council Candidate should not smoke away an opportunity to listen to very real voters.

** Please note that the comments above are solely my own and not reflective of any formal LA 32 NC approved position.

** Also note that I will make this comments public in the spirit of openness and transparency. 

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

Scott Johnson in CD 14     



2014 Predictions

After a two-year hiatus, I'm back with your annual predictions post. You should be warned, I have a horrible track record here, so take each prognostication with a grain of salt. Here we go...

Mayor Eric Garcetti's Chief of Staff, Ana Guerrero, will continue to earn electability chops in Jose Huizar's Council District, much to the chagrin of the incumbent and his supporters. Following her appearance in the Boyle Heights Christmas Parade - which included distributions from an 18 wheeler filled with toys and goodies - Guerrero will stage a special production of Ana Lloyd Weber's "Evita" where she will give a stunning performance of "Don't Cry for Me CD Catorce," at the bandstand at Olvera Street, followed up by Target gift cards raining from the sky.

Much to the chagrin of Blogger Scott Johnson and the community around the Arroyo Seco, the former site of the Southwest Musuem will be rededicated as "Villaraigosa University," with a special degree program in broadcast journalism taught by the ex-Mayor.

Following a special election in the summer of 2014, LA Fire Commissioner and former teacher Jimmie Woods-Gray will pull out a surprise win in the race to replace the late Marguerite LaMotte. Woods-Gray's victory, will deal a severe blow to LA's charter school movement.

Blogger/Writer Joseph Mailander will sign a deal for the movie version of his non-fiction book "Days Change at Night: LA's Decade of Decline." Esai Morales will be signed to play Mayor Villaraigosa and the film will feature a cameo by Randy Quaid as blogger Scott "Red Spot" Johnson.

The storied Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council, which spent it's salad days with wins such as blocking a controversial Home Depot store, but in recent years has found itself the subject of questions on finances and it's policies on the homeless issue, will find it's incumbent members facing an electoral challenge in the spring from a coalition assembled by controversial local newspaper publisher David "Doc" DeMulle. The uprising will fail when all realize that Joseph Mailander was right when he said that the community is "18 people arguing with 17 people over 14 microphones and 60,000 that don't care." (Turns out the finals of Dancing With the Stars featuring Chaz Bono and Kim Kardashian is on TV the same night as the elections.)

Former City Controller and failed Mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel will jump into the race to succeed termed out LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. Once again Greuel will use "Political Consultant/Private Citizen" John Shallman to helm her campaign and once again will lose, this time to former State Senator Sheila James Kuehl, "The Child Start Formerly Referred to as Zelda."

California Republican candidates for the State Assembly will pick up some unexpected wins in various races around the state, it won't be enough to assume control of the lower chamber, but it will take away the Democrats current veto-proof majority, leading to several deals between Republican legislators and Governor Jerry Brown, who will be by the way, re-elected handily.

Former radio talk show host and Mayoral candidate and current President of the Board of Public Works, Kevin James, will announce he is leaving the Republican party and register as "Decline to State." James will then announce his candidacy for the Council District 4 seat being vacated by Tom LaBonge.

County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas will announce that he has brokered a deal for an existing NFL football team to move to the LA Coliseum with the 2017-18 season, but the deal will fall apart at the last minute. An expansion team for Los Angeles will eventually be located in a yet to be built stadium outside the city limits.

And finally, on the steps of the State Capitol, just after Thanksgiving, Governor Jerry Brown will announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President in 2016.

A Christmas Campaign Coming Out Event for Ana Guerrero in CD 14?

A little (3000 gifts) Christmas Toy Giveaway becomes a likely Campaign Coming Out Event for Mayor Eric Garcetti's Chief of Staff Ana Guerrero in CD 14's Boyle Heights.  

Honorary Grand Marshall Ana Guerrero waves to the large crowd at Saturday's Teamster's Toy Giveaway in Boyle Heights.

** Blogger's Note: Before this blogger's gets engross in the political speculation of the morning, let me properly highlight first a Christmas Miracle of Character that continues to grow and give from the heart of former Ramona Gardens Resident Gabriel Acosta, who's desire to give something back to his neighborhood, has picked up support from the likes of the Teamsters and this year gave 3,000 community children some special love. This year incarnation of Gabriel's Miracle also had some special support from now Mayor Eric Garcetti, who was part of last year's event in Ramona Gardens as a Mayoral Candidate. Due to logistical concerns and seeking to grow its reach of giving, the event was move to First Street's Mariachi Plaza. The support from Mayor Garcetti was clearly evident via an appearance as the Honorary Grand Marshall by his Chief of Staff (and rumored CD 14 City Council Candidate) Ana Guerrero. The prominent role given to Guerrero went far to increase her name recognition (and political speculation) among the mostly CD 14 audience and did not go unnoticed by the couple of CD 14 City Councilman Jose Huizar staffers who were mingling among the masses. Clearly, Guerrero's appearance was choreographed to showcase Guerrero for a possible CD 14 Campaign and she did not disappoint---Scott Johnson in CD 14.

Ana Guerrero addressing the thousand plus audience.

Ana Guerrero with Hollenbeck Police Captain Martin Baeza.

One of hundreds of cars and bikes at Saturday's event.



Morning Brief on a "likely" Ana Guerrero CD 14 Campaign in 2015 for Monday

Has Mayor Eric Garcetti Chief of Staff Ana Guerrero domicile herself in CD 14 for possible challenge against current beleaguer City Councilman Jose Huizar in 2015 (most likely)?

Mayor Garcetti Chief of Staff Ana Guerrero.

A political battle is coming to CD 14 in 2015.

Longtime "Daily Valley Moldy Green Sheet" (aka Daily News) City Hall Beat Writer Rick Orlov "tipoffs" many in CD 14 and city-wide to the obvious, that current CD 14 City Councilman Jose Huizar will face a strong challenge for a Third Term in 2015.

Between the "political chisme" regarding his legal issues with former staffer Francine Godoy or his alleged connection to State Senator Ron Calderon's Bribery Scandal, it has been a given that the "Dear Charro, Princeton Graduate" would face a re-election challenge from someone associated with "Team Garcetti". After all, endorsing the wrong candidates in multiple elections (CD 1, CD 9, CD 13, City Attorney, City Controller, LAUSD District Six and Mayor) last May, is bound to get you labeled as "weak politico walking".

Since the May Runoff Elections, speculation has been rampant about possible challengers to a politically weaken Huizar. Names broached included LA County Board of Supervisor Gloria Molina, State Senator Kevin De Leon and Assembly Speaker John Perez among others.

But for various (and potentially scandalous) reasons, none of the three above will be the primary candidate to take out the former Mayor Antonio Villar (and Wendy "The Villar Greuel") ally. That designation may be bestow by Mayor Garcetti to his own Chief of Staff Ana Guerrero who has supposedly domicile herself in CD 14.

Early feedback on a possible Guerrero challenge bids not well for Huizar. Guerrero represents the best qualities in a candidate that would present major matchup problems for the embattled incumbent.. First, and most important, Guerrero is a young, successful Latina who would garner young, female and progressive support in a council district tire of the "Tonto Villar-type political (and personal) behavior". But most important, Huizar recent women issues would preclude him from going negative on a candidate such as Guerrero, taking away a past successful Parke Skelton/ Michael Trujillo campaign tactic.

But before anyone anoints Guerrero as the designated challenger to Huizar, they may want to search out Victor Griego who was the "Chosen One" in 1999, only to lose under the weight of his "political carpet baggage". 

...... and no doubt, a growing group of home grown challengers will remind CD 14 voters of that in the upcoming 2015 Campaign.

** KPCC's Alice "The City Maven" Walton states this about a possible Guerrero Campaign in part of her missive this late morning .........

 

Though it is rare to see a city council member voted out of office, there may be an opening for Guerrero. Huizar is facing a sexual harassment lawsuit from his former deputy chief of staff. Though he denied harassing her, the married Huizar did say he and Francine Godoy had an affair. And Huizar endorsed Wendy Greuel over Garcetti in the 2013 race. (That said, Huizar still enjoys major support from Council President Herb Wesson.)

 

..... wonder why?  (think Building & Safety and Redistricting Scandal).

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

Scott Johnson in CD 14