LA's Paranoid, Paralyzed Governments, Part 1

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport on Twitter - With apologies to rockers Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe as I riff on their hit song title, but what's so scary 'bout truth, transparency and integrity in Los Angeles governments?

To some of us here on Mayor Sam, on DanielGuss.Substack.com and in similar outlets around Southern California, civic engagement means more than volunteering to clean up a park, handing out groceries at the food bank or comforting dogs at the animal pound.

It also means exploring politicians' and governments' truthfulness, transparency and integrity by examining public records, asking questions and calling out those who dodge direct accountability.

Shoot us a note if you ever hear a politician encouraging that type of civic engagement.

In the meanwhile, we've got examples of how asking LA politicians fair-but-probing questions has resulted in a costly and time-consuming cloud of paranoia and paralysis hovering over their offices after a slew of our recent stories.

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Bass Pick Backs Out

@TheGussReport on Twitter - On Tuesday, a prominent Los Angeles attorney who had been nominated by Mayor Karen Bass to serve on the uber-mundane Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System (LACERS), was unanimously confirmed by City Council.

A few minutes later, city personnel sheepishly advised that the nominee withdrew his name from consideration, requiring their undoing the appointment and raising a few questions.

Not at City Council, but here.  Like...

• Why wasn't this accomplished attorney appointed to a logical post, like civil rights boards or the LA Police Commission?
• Why was this man nominated by Bass, confirmed by City Council, with no apparent qualifications to oversee LACERS' tens of billions of dollars?
• Why did City Council vote on his nomination despite his failure to provide financial disclosures, as is required by law?
• And what, if anything, does it have to do with this 1974 one-hit wonder? 

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