Morning Briefs and Outtakes for Mayor Villaraigosa's return to the Third Floor.

"What did I miss while on vacation ??"

With a Twit, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced his return from the wilds of South Africa.

Villaraigosa and his girlfriend Lu Parker, was again missing in action when Los Angeles became "ground zero" for breaking international news, with the Michael Jackson Memorial and the political fallout over the cost to the city.

The debate over the cost will continue this week in the City Council and the lesson will provide column inches of fodder for the likes of the Daily News Rick Orlov who scribed this thought in today's "Tipoff Column".

OK, everyone take your seat. It's time for another lesson in L.A. Politics 101.

Rule No. 1: Any time you leave the city, know that the risk of a major event happening increases exponentially.

Just ask Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, whose 2007 trip to Mexico and Latin America was cut short by the May Day disturbances. Then in the aftermath of Michael Jackson's death, as the controversy over the city's costs for his memorial service mushroomed, Villaraigosa was vacationing in South Africa.

But at least he will have a present waiting for him when he returns to his Third Floor desk, as excerpted from a e-mail of someone who was backstage at the Memorial.

"During my time backstage I had a chance to have Stevie Wonder, Brooke Shields Usher, and Mariah Carey sign my Gold Program which will undoubtedly be a remarkable keepsake. As I was there, staff from the Mayor's Office asked if I could get them a copy for Mr. Villaraigosa, Fire Chief Berry, Chief Fry, and a couple of others. I also handed copies to Captain Chow, L.A.P.D public relations Officer and another copy for Police Chief Bratton. I thank them all for a wonderful job and handling this event. After all things closed, lunch was served and I walked outside to see the light of day and still thousands of people roamed the streets."

We will post this e-mail in full later, for it highlights the massive use of city resources for this event. BTW, were the Mayor's staff on city time when attending the Memorial ???

Other News:

** A voter out of every ten will likely venture to a voting booth tomorrow in the runoff for the 32nd Congressional District. Parke Skelton client Judy Chu, is the prohibitive favorite to win the seat vacated by Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

** Los Angeles Times resident "sock puppet" Michael Hiltzik again takes Prop 13 to task in his latest missive regarding the state's budget woes.

** Another Times scribe, Tim Rutten takes up the cause of Homeboy Industries.

The city of Los Angeles promised to make $500,000 available as payment for services. The money was to come in monthly increments, starting July 1.

That date came and went without a word from City Hall, let alone a check. Friday, I asked Jeff Carr, who runs L.A.'s gang-intervention efforts for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, what had happened to the promised funds? He explained that the city intended to pass along $500,000 in federal aid previously earmarked for Boyle Heights, but had discovered the account was $160,000 short. The mayor's office is trying to scrape the rest of that money together, and then must get federal Department of Justice and City Council approval to allocate it to Homeboy.

But they did get a $200,000 contract to make t-shirts, go figure.

** And lastly, a former veteran of CD 14 "cut and paste battles" Robert Urteaga is facing a recall in Montebello. More on this later.

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

Cedillo talks on Pleitez and conspiracies...............

Lets get it over with.

Gorda, please come to the front and sing one last song for the political aspirations of Gilbert "One Bill Gil" Cedillo.

If anyone out in the confines of California Congressional District 32, still thought that someday, they would be refering to Gil Cedillo as "Congressman One Bill Gil", then put down the "doobie" and inhale reality.

First, Cedillo send out this repugnant mailer attacking the character of Emanuel Pleitez, forgetting that the likes of Mario Beltran and David Galaviz, people of dubious character, were once employed by him.

Then in the recent days, he says this on a local radio show, as reported on the "Calitics Web Site" by David Dayen.

SOLIS MARICH: So, you don't think that using pictures of a person at a party where they were basically doing what many people of all different ages do, enjoying themselves...

CEDILLO: Dancing on tables and using gang signs that he published on his Facebook, we think, first of all, one, we do not romanticize gangs or gang violence. He and I grew up in the same neighborhood...

SOLIS MARICH: Senator, let me just correct something, before you go down that path, maybe your staff hasn't told you but he was actually...the quote unqute gang signs...he was actually at a Voto Latino event...

CEDILLO: I know where he was, I know where he was.

SOLIS MARICH: ...and he was standing next to a very very respected actress and Latina activist Rosario Dawson who was actually with him making the same signs. So, are you accusing Rosario Dawson of using gang signs?

CEDILLO: I'm saying that that's inappropriate, I find it inappropriate...

SOLIS MARICH: For both him and Rosario Dawson?

CEDILLO: Yes. I find it inappropriate, I find it offensive. I don't romanticize that one bit...

But it gets even better, Cedillo starts seeing images of Parke Skelton and Eric Hacopian, sitting in the back yard of Skelton"s enclave, on a private street above CD1/14, conspiring on his demise, as this exchange highlights.

SOLIS MARICH: There was some controversy over the past 2 weeks when your campaign decided to do a negative attack piece on newcomer Emanuel Pleitez. Many people who observe campaigns including myself took that as a sign that the young candidate was really eating into your base.

CEDILLO: Well, one we're not sure we'd call it negative unless he calls it negative, the fact that he posted these photos on his Facebook.

Two, we recognize what his roll is in this campaign, to suppress the vote and to try to take away votes and we think the electorate has the right to know all the information, information that he's made public, about the candidates. We put the record out there and let people decide if they want to elect someone who has 25 years of effective leadership or if they want to elect somebody who they may not have full confidence in.

Lets not dismiss Cedillo assertions outright, as anything is possible when Skelton and Hacopian are involve in a campaign with a third party. I for one, felt that way in the beginning of this campaign.

But candidates will do stupid things when not under proper guidence and especially when they lack core principles,.......like Gil Cedillo.

........and how is the voting community in CA-32 responding to Cedillo and his gutter tactics ??

This from former CD-14 City Council candidate, and former Wilson High School teacher Zeke Quezada, as posted on the San Gabriel Tribune blog.

I can only imagine that Cedillo is concerned with the fact that a prominent, intelligent and highly respected young professional is mobilizing the people in his community. Pleitez is an example of the talent that is hidden in our neighborhoods, in our inner city schools and in our culture. Don't knock him, support him. The problem with Cedillo is that he is out of touch and does not understand that a new generation of leaders are emerging. Tell me my kid is going to attend Stanford, tell me my kid is going to work at Goldman, Sachs and then tell me my son will work with an incoming President of the United States. As a father of two young boys, I can only hope for that. That is success, that is the definition of a proper role model for the community. Sit down old man, you are the definition of a politician and the community needs leaders.

HASTA LA VISTA CEDILLO!!

Your thoughts.........

**BTW, we hear that a mailer is making the rounds in CA-32, which call in to question Cedillo's actions during his SEIU 660 days. Please send a copy to redspotincd14@yahoo.com .

Notes and briefs on the brewing rebellion...........

Consider this your post on stories, scandals and events that will cause you to rise up, take part, and reclaim your government.

First from Survey USA, and the numbers are not good for Governor "Kennedy Republican" and lackeys in the Legislature.

Yes No Dunno
Prop 1A: 38 51 11
Prop 1B: 40 50 10
Prop 1C: 29 52 10
Prop 1D: 37 50 13
Prop 1E: 35 51 14
Prop 1F: 45 35 20

****KABC Radio Host Doug McIntyre's latest missive for the Daily News, makes you wonder if "Col. Kurtz" has replace Gov. "Kennedy Republican" in Sacramento. The Horror!!

****Revolutionary thinking at LAUSD ??

That is what Marlene Canter is trying to accomplish in her waning days on the School Board. Canter dares to make it easier to dismiss incompetent teachers. But the likes of School Board Monica Garcia, Yolanda Flores Aguilar and State Senator Gloria Romero provide cover for the status quo with calls for more studies, (at taxpayer's expense).

Meanwhile a judge orders teachers to can the Friday "bitch and moan session".

****Question for City of Los Angeles taxpayers. Would you trust Councilman Richard "Zorro Marxist" Alarcon and CRA to dispense $75,000 home loans to depress property owners in Pacomia ??

****"Blue Dog Domocrats" vs. "Progressive Domocrats".

That is the primary challenge brewing between Nancy Pelosi sparring partner Congresswomen Jane Harman and progressive Marcy Winograd for the South Bay Congressional seat.

****"A Journalistic Mortician" ?? Link here for the details. Must be one of the few growth industries in the current economy.

****Senator Dianne Feinstein is pushing the nomination of two Hispanic judges for Supreme Court. One includes CD 1 Lincoln High School graduate, California State Supreme Court Judge Carlos Moreno. That should stir excitement on the Lincoln High 90031 Blog.

****More on Cedillo, Chu, Pleitez and Hernandez for Congress. The theme of this story is best stated with this comment, "It's just a natural tendency of people to stick with their own," said Eric Hacopian, a campaign strategist for Democrat Emanuel Pleitez. Then this from Cedillo on Chu's labor support, A former assemblyman and leader of a Service Employees International Union local, Cedillo brushed off labor's support of Chu. "I've always enjoyed the support of the rank and file," he said in an interview last month over huevos rancheros at his El Monte headquarters.

Some may have comments about Cedillo's SEIU days......

**** Is "Paid to Play" alive and well at the "Four Year Community College on Fig" ??

****Rally the vote against "The Ones", and to elect Nuch plus other anti-establishment candidates.

Join city activists for a 9:00 AM rally on Friday, outside of City Hall. Link to Ron Kaye for details

Join John and Ken at their next Tax Revolt Rally Saturday, May 16 from 4-7pm at Tom’s Farms in Corona. From John and Ken, "Our last Tax Revolt Rally in Fullerton had 15,000 angry taxpayers, Let's make this one bigger!"

Thanks to Phil for this.

Please join the Westside Republicans as they host the Westwood Tea Party Rally on Sunday, May 17th from 3pm to 6pm at the Federal Building at 11000 Wilshire Blvd (near UCLA).Multiple speakers (including KRLA's Kevin James, will protest higher taxation in the form of Proposition 1A, on the ballot in the election on Tuesday May 19th.http://www.westsiderepublicans.com/

FREEDOM AND FREE ENTERPRISE!!

Political briefs on May 19 ballot issues..........

Political briefs and links on the ballot May 19.

**** Freshness at City Hall ?? The Daily News advocates that with their endorsements of Carmen Trutanich and David Vahedi.

****Sorting through the numbers when it comes to Jack Weiss is the focus of this "OLD GRAY HAG ON SPRING STREET" story.

On the subject of numbers, these make you go hmmm.

05/05/08 Steve Sugarman (Money Mgr., GPS) Santa Monica, CA 90402 Jack S. Weiss City Attorney 1296355 - JACK WEISS FOR LOS ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY A - Monetary Contribution Received (IND - Individual) [Period: 01/01/08-06/30/08] $1,000.00 [Election:

03/03/09] 04/29/09 Steven Sugarman (Money Mgr., GPS Partners) Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 Jack S. Weiss City Attorney 1316235 - JACK WEISS FOR LOS ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY 2009 GENERAL A - Monetary Contribution Received (IND - Individual) [Period: 04/05/09-05/02/09] $1,000.00

****Who cares about the races for Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees ?? You be amaze when you read this.

****Regressive opinions on taxes still in vogue within the editorial confines of the "OLD GRAY HAG ON SPRING STREET".

****Wonder what Ron Kaye thinks of these endorsements on "The Ones" in the "MOLDY GREEN SHEET" ??

****Is it time to start a "Total Recall" of Governor "Kennedy Republican" with poll numbers showing that "The Ones" are naught in the minds of California voters ??

****Will the number of voters who care to cast ballots in this vacant State Senate race in the 26th District reach 10% ??

****Wonder who postal workers would vote for in the Congressional Race to replace Hilda Solis after depositing the fliers of the various campaigns ??

****"Insider v. Outsider", is anyone better than the "Westside Political White Guy", Jack Weiss in CD 5 ??

FREEDOM AND FREE ENTERPRISE!!

Parke's mutterings continue......, this time about "Pleitez for Congress"

Hey Parke,

You must love the column inches of newsprint being devoted to your latest missives about the upcoming election on May 19.

This latest will invite some slapback.

"I think he's doing a good job of mobilizing a nontraditional base," said Chu campaign consultant Parke Skelton, who said he thinks the likely low turnout would hurt, not help, Pleitez.

"He'll be a factor, but not a huge factor," Skelton said, adding that he believes that Pleitez could draw as many voters from Chu as from Cedillo -- an assessment most others interviewed did not agree with.

That is what Parke had to say in a LA Times story on Pleitez's crusade to upset both State Senator Gil Cedillo and State Board of Equalization member Judy Chu and replace now Labor Secretary Hilda Solis in Congress.

But despite Parke's spin on Pleitez, there is a growing buzz and momentum that is catching the attention of veteran political observers.

Jaime A. Regalado, director of the Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State L.A., said he saw no chance for Pleitez to win. "But the more he can identify himself as a young, smart Latino and appeal to young voters," Regalado said, the more "he becomes a wild card in terms of how he will affect a close race."

And from a republican observer.......

Allan Hoffenblum, a former Republican campaign consultant whose nonpartisan California Target Book tracks legislative races, said the expected low turnout, probably 20% to 25%, on top of the anti-incumbent sentiment afoot in much of the state and nation today, could work well for Pleitez.

"The lower the turnout, the more powerful grass-roots, personal contact campaigning becomes," Hoffenblum said. He stopped short of saying Pleitez could win.

"He's surely making a name for himself," Hoffenblum said. "I'll give him that."

........and with $202,000 to work with, either Chu or Cedillo will suffer on May 19, or maybe both ??

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

Who is Gil Cedillo to question ones moral standing, when this guy use to work for him ??

As an "tsunami of a backlash" builds against State Senator Gil Cedillo's "plunge into the negative cesspool" attack on Emanuel Pleitez , consider this editorial stance taken by the progressives at Calitics...........,vote for ANY DEMOCRAT BUT GIL CEDILLO.

And as the final days of "One Bill Gil's" crusade to become the undocumented immigrant's best friend in Washington D.C. winds down, lets take a trip to the recent political past and meet Gil's "Political Party Animal Friend", one Mario Beltran.

Some will remember this from Jeffery Anderson's piece at City Beat.

With a tough election seven weeks away in Bell Gardens, State Senator Gil Cedillo ventured into the working-class city to help out a protégé who could be in deep trouble: Councilman Mario Beltran.

Cedillo stood side-by-side at a press conference with Beltran, a young, trouble-prone politico with a criminal record and called for an end to a widespread police policy of impounding the cars of unlicensed drivers for 30 days. It made good local political theater and armed Beltran to fight for a just cause. Within a matter of days, he persuaded his colleagues on the City Council to end the practice. In Bell Gardens, stuck in the rough-and-tumble belt of heavily immigrant cities that lie southeast of downtown Los Angeles, the high cost of towing penalties often meant the owner lost the car.

But more was on Cedillo's mind that September day than notching up one more city in his statewide crusade to renounce the draconian 30-day impound. The state senator also wanted to help his former field advisor and close friend of his son, Gil Jr., beat a possible rap. Months ago, investigators from various law enforcement agencies began examining whether Beltran helped cut a special deal that gave the tow truck operator, United Motor Club, a five-year monopoly worth millions of dollars in Bell Gardens. District Attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said Beltran and the tow truck operator are under investigation by the LAPD, the D.A.'s Office and the FBI. Warrants served in June at Beltran's home and office suggest that authorities are looking for possible criminal conflicts of interest related to Beltran's political consulting firm, Americas Consulting Group, and the towing firm.

........and later was guilty of this.

From the Los Angeles Times

A Bell Gardens Councilman accused of embezzling campaign funds pleaded guilty today to multiple counts, prosecutors announced.

Mario Beltran, 31, pleaded to four misdemeanor counts, including failing to file campaign disclosure forms and failing to deposit cash contributions, all violations of the Political Reform Act., Deputy Dist. Atty. Max Hunstman said in a press release.

The charges stem from the defendant’s failure to report to authorities how he was spending campaign funds entrusted to him and his failure to deposit and account for cash given to him, according to the press release.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli ordered Beltran back for sentencing on Feb. 12. The defendant must resign from office before sentencing. Beltran is expected to receive four years of probation during which time he may not hold elected or appointed office and may not seek elected office or lobby.

Then there was this "Wild Night out in Downtown".

The boozy circumstances of his wild night at the seedy Huntington Hotel might be enough to derail the careers of lesser politicians. But Beltran has friends in high places, such as state Senator Ron Calderon, for whom he works as a field deputy, and state Senator Gil Cedillo, who mentored him early in his career. Several witnesses including Cedillo were listed as character references for Beltran, so last Wednesday, as his trial began, he was as cool as a cucumber.

That was until 6-foot-tall, rail-thin Sherrilynn Ridgeway, an African-American woman with weathered skin and a criminal record of drug dealing and prostitution, took the stand and described Beltran, a 29-year-old, 5-foot-5-inch immigrant from El Salvador, staggering around the Huntington in the wee hours of June 28 hurling racial slurs and menacing threats and, in her words, “grabbing a handful of my ass.”

At that point, Beltran’s expression suggested he knew he was in for a long ordeal.

....and who was in the court room that day ??

The trial about Beltran’s foray into the night gave jurors a glimpse not just of the sordid life inside the Huntington Hotel but also of the next generation of Los Angeles County politicians. Seated in the front row each day of the trial, which is expected to end this week, was Beltran’s good friend and fellow legislative aide Gil Cedillo Jr., son of the state senator whose Eastside district includes the Huntington. Facing the judge was Beltran himself, a rising political star who works for Calderon, the state senator who represents Bell Gardens. And finally, presiding over the case was newly minted Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel Lowenthal, the son of state Senator Alan Lowenthal — whose district includes the Downey courthouse where Beltran was being tried.

Who else did Beltran work for ??

One former employer of Beltran's was more talkative. Former Assemblywoman Judy Chu, now vice chair of the State Board of Equalization, hired Beltran to work as a field deputy for her Assembly office in 2005. When Chu got wind of Beltran's political consulting activities she gave him a choice: cease outside campaign and political activities, or give up his position as field deputy. Beltran walked, Chu said, and was hired by Calderon, after helping Calderon in his 2006 campaign.

"Mario seemed like a young man with high ideals," Chu said recently, when asked about Beltran's widely reported legal troubles and the ongoing investigations that threaten his political future. "I am extremely shocked and disappointed that he went for the trappings of an elected official. He seems to have let himself be taken by every temptation there is."

If Chu sounds as if she is harsh on Beltran, it might be because she is troubled on other levels.

According to Chu, while Beltran was her field deputy, he also was working weekends for a downtown Los Angeles nightclub that has drawn scrutiny from police and local officials in recent months. Chu tells CityBeat that she urged Beltran to disclose his night job to the Fair Political Practices Commission. However, the commission has no record that he ever did. Nor does it have any record of Beltran's financial disclosures regarding his political consulting and campaign activities.

When Beltran was arrested earlier this year and charged with filing a false police report, he had been drinking at the same establishment where he once worked, the popular and trendy 740 Club. The nightclub and at least one of its representatives have been at the center of a number of troubling reports.

Your Thoughts....................