Excess Recess: Another Reason To Fire LA Politicians

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Los Angeles infamously has the highest-paid city council in the United States.  Its fifteen members rake in $224,000 in salary, as of 2021, plus gobs of perks and lucrative jobs for their family members while vastly under-serving constituents even in the most basic things like keeping us safe, putting out fires and fixing sidewalks and potholes.  City-wide officeholders like the City Controller, City Attorney and Mayor are paid 10%, 20% and 30% more, respectively.

In the 135 days between December 10, 2021 and last Friday, do you care to guess how many of its thrice-weekly meetings it canceled?

(L.A. City Council president Nury Martinez - Photo Credit E. Mesiyah McGinnis/LA Sentinel)

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(Daniel Guss, MBA, was runner-up for the 2021 Los Angeles Press Club journalism award in the Activist Journalism category.  In 2020, he was runner-up for Best Online Political Commentary.  He has contributed to Mayor Sam, CityWatchLA, 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.)

Eric Garcetti's Final Free Lunch: Crow with Karma

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - There are various types of political comeuppance in Los Angeles.  But it is Mayor Eric Garcetti, a world-class conniver, who will soon feast on his final free lunch of crow with karma as it is slow-cooked and slow-walked from the kitchen to his smirking pie hole.

In days or weeks, on the grand Washington, D.C., political stage, Garcetti may sheepishly withdraw his nomination to be the next U.S. Ambassador to India, lest President Joe Biden will do it for him.

Look for it to be done on a Friday around 6pm in true cowardly fashion.  It will be savory and scrumptious for everyone except Garcetti, as L.A. has waited and waded for such a day.

To read the whole column, please join me over at Substack and be sure to sign up for a free subscription.  

Thanks as always to Mayor Sam, Scott Johnson and the late great Michael Higby.

"Say It Ain't So, Rick Caruso"

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - On Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported that billionaire Rick Caruso changed his party affiliation from none to Democrat in anticipation of his joining the race to become the next Mayor of Los Angeles. 

(Rick Caruso - LA Times)

That squanders an exclusive advantage: positioning himself as the second coming of Richard Riordan, a Republican and self-made problem-solver who governed without owing anything to anyone.

Suddenly and cynically listing himself as a Democrat makes Caruso more like the other candidates, who are either known and homogenous or just unknown.

Back in his day as Mayor from 1993-2001, Riordan was a successful alcalde de Los Angeles because he ran and governed as a problem-solving capitalist. That didn't stop him from winning, governing successfully and winning a second term. In contrast to LA’s career politicians, Riordan was also the first mayor to leave office due to term limits.

Do you know who made local term limits a thing?

Richard Riordan.

Why is Caruso not following that same path to the Mayor’s job?

To continue reading, please visit my Substack (and subscribe...its free!) 

LA Must Protect Itself From Itself

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - It's 2022 and Los Angeles has a narrow, approaching window to start fixing its copious political challenges and corruption.

Having watched a few decades of local elections, here is what LA needs to do to save itself from itself.

1. Stop electing candidates based on their last name, skin tone and if they sound like an echo chamber of each other and the media.

2. Take everything the Los Angeles Times says or endorses with a grain of salt…and tequila. Stop relying on its endorsements since it almost entirely serves as a protective public relations unit for liberal and left politicians and their ideas to the total lack of balance of other sides, opinions and candidates. It is worth noting that the Times has endorsed, or even repeatedly endorsed, virtually every candidate currently or recently facing recall.

3. Start electing people from outside of the local political ecosystem. Encourage and elect those who have built something significant in the private sector. People who know what it’s like to make payroll in the face of illogical, oppressive and un-scientific government mandates. Think engineers, teachers (not school board members), healthcare professionals, private sector attorneys and the like. Elect reluctant politicians, not career ones.

Let’s repeat that: elect reluctant politicians, not career ones.

***

All the commotion so far about who is running for Mayor of LA and other offices is just that: chatter. It means nothing until February 7, 2022, when the candidate filing window opens to file a Declaration Of Intention to Become a Candidate. That narrow window closes less than a week later, on February 12. That’ll be the entirety of our options. People who fail to file will not make it onto the primary ballot.

Then there’s the race to gather 500 valid signatures by March 9, a rigged process designed to favor monied candidates. Those who submit at least a thousand votes for verification do not have to pay the $300 fee.

To continue reading this column, please join me on my Substack and sign-up to become a free subscriber.  Also, follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport. Thanks as always to our friend Scott Johnson for this platform.

Nury Martinez' Rumored Plan Is Riddled With Conflict, Corruption and Nepotism

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Last week, this column explained how LA City Council president Nury Martinez, City Attorney Mike Feuer, City Controller Ron Galperin and all but three other Councilmembers railroaded their peer Mark Ridley-Thomas into a suspension from his elected office that was accompanied by the suspension of his salary and health insurance even before he entered a plea to his recent 20-count federal corruption indictment.

In that piece, I provided examples of other high-ranking City officials who courted controversy with some even admitting to their misdeeds but were neither suspended nor had their salary and health insurance withheld.  

Add former Councilmember Richard Alarcon to that list.

A Councilmember in the 90s, Alarcon returned to the city's legislative body in 2007 to finish the term of Alex Padilla (who earlier succeeded him) and was re-elected to serve his final term in 2009 and stayed in that role until he termed-out in 2013.

As is now well-known, in 2010, Alarcon and his wife, Flora Montes De Oca Alarcon, were indicted on a slew of felony counts related to his not residing in his District as is required by law.  Her charges were for related fraud and perjury. The Alarcons were convicted on some of those charges, though the verdicts were eventually thrown out. The LA City Clerk's office confirmed for this column today that Alarcon was neither suspended from office during that multi-year escapade nor were his salary and benefits withheld.

In case you're keeping score:

Alarcon was neither suspended nor lost any income or health insurance despite 18 felony counts related to his work in the LA City Council office he held at the time.   

Ridley-Thomas, recently indicted on 20-federal felony counts related to his prior job, was suspended and his salary and health insurance are now withheld.

Hmmmph!

That leads us to this question: What's up with Martinez, Feuer, Galperin and the entire City Council (save for Mike Bonin, Curren Price and Marqueece Harris-Dawson) and their rush to judgment on Ridley-Thomas?

The answer is plenty and it reeks of corruption, conflict and nepotism.

Multiple sources within City Hall tell this column that Martinez is planning to appoint Ridley-Thomas's predecessor, Herb Wesson, as a "District Caretaker" while the Ridley-Thomas legal problems work their way through the system, which could take years or until a special election is held.

Herb Wesson

Photo Credit: Unknown

While Mr. Wesson may seem like a logical choice for the appointment, there are glaring conflicts of interest and too-close-for-comfort corruption ties.

1. Herb Wesson is now a lobbyist hawking his legislative chops to local governments as an advisor on, among other things, marijuana policy. Last December, he incorporated and registered Herb Wesson and Associates with the California Secretary of State, which may disqualify him from serving as CD10 Caretaker even if he hands-off control of his newly formed business.
2. While there is a battle over which Council District will oversee USC in the coming years, Herb Wesson's brother, Steve Wesson, is reportedly still employed at the school as USC Village Ombudsman presenting another potential conflict of interest.

But there appears to be more than just that going on here.  

Herb Wesson has spent much of 2021 licking his post-campaign-loss wounds by pleading for policy business from local governments and playing the poor card despite having raked-in millions of dollars in his prior government jobs, claiming "I'm just a small businessman trying to feed my family," though his children range in age from 39 years on-up. 

Deron Williams, Herb Wesson's former chief of staff, was in very close proximity to the activity in the federal indictment of former Councilmember Jose Huizar, who Wesson referred to as "my best friend."  While neither Wesson nor Williams stand indicted in that matter, their proximity to the corruption is a curious thing for Martinez to ignore, especially since she breathlessly ran to suspend Ridley-Thomas before he could even enter a plea.

So what's going on here?

Look to Martinez' Deputy Chief of Staff Alexis Marin-Wesson for clues.

Nury Martinez and Alexis Marin-Wesson

Photo Credit: LA Times

Her husband, Justin Wesson, is Herb Wesson's youngest son.  He served as City Council's "Floor Director" during his dad's time as its president. It was a job his father created for him though he mostly functioned as his father's chauffeur and valet. That is a curious choice for a driver given the son's 2012 DUI bust. According to Transparent California, Justin's 2019 salary and compensation, the last reported year available, totaled $141,350.48.   (Note: Justin also voted in scores of elections while registered at his parents' home address despite having a pregnant wife registered to vote in South Pasadena.  This was likely done to establish a fake "residency" to run to replace his dad.  The LA Times stopped pimping that idea after I first wrote about it.)

Funny how the Times' David Zahniser, Dakota Smith and Emily Alpert-Reyes never told you about that.

Hey, but a dad has got to do what a dad has got to do to get their lay-about kids salaries they could never dream of earning in the private sector, right Mr. Wesson and Mr. Ridley-Thomas?

They are birds of a feather.

If you recall, Justin and Alexis were forced to reimburse the LAPD thousands of dollars for misusing the agency for private security at their 2018 wedding. (This was a story that Wesson's office allegedly fed to Zahniser immediately after I inquired about it in order to get a "softer" report. Zahniser allegedly misled his readers by not disclosing that.)

Now, with rumors that Papa Wesson's consulting business is flailing, he and his son are reportedly eyeing their old government salaries that would land them roughly $400,000 combined each year that Ridley-Thomas remains suspended or until a special election is held.  

That's Martinez' likely motivation: enriching her third-in-command, and pseudo younger sister, Alexis by re-employing Justin vis-a-vis appointing his dad Herb Wesson, who implies that his adult children rely on him for income even in their middle ages.

That and the fact that Martinez continuously struggles as Council president, unable (or unwilling) to explain how she is fixing the city's considerable ills while continually censoring the public from complaining and keeping them out of meetings despite vax mandates.  She would readily welcome Papa Wesson's counsel.  It's a win-win for the politicians, but not one that is in the public's best interest assuming Wesson is even eligible for the appointment.  

There is also Ms. Marin-Wesson's mother-in-law, Fabian Wesson, who remains mired in controversy, having falsified her academic qualifications to land a $250,000 job replacing a Ph.D. at the South Coast Air Quality Management District, or AQMD.  Her predecessor, who is also a professor at UCLA, was succeeded by Mrs. Wesson because, as an AQMD spokesperson told me, she "thought she graduated" with a bachelor's degree, except she did not.

In any other job outside of nepotistic LA politics, you get fired for lying about your qualifications.  But not in the dumping ground of political patronage, the AQMD.

By the way, LA City Councilmember Joe Buscaino, a member of the AQMD Governing Board, has dodged this column's questions about Fabian's false quals, so his claims of being a crime-fighter "eager to slap the cuffs" on guys like Englander and Huizar ring completely hollow.  More on that in an upcoming column.

So Nury Martinez' largesse toward Herb Wesson, who endorsed her to succeed him as Council president, is loaded with the same toxic sludge that led to Englander's conviction, Huizar's and others' indictments and whatever comes next.

What a surprise.

So why did Martinez, Feuer and Galperin allegedly conspire to oust Ridley-Thomas before he could even enter a plea?

Simple. Martinez wanted Ridley-Thomas out.  Feuer, who is likely to get creamed in his campaign for Mayor by leading candidate Karen Bass, reportedly okayed the railroading of Ridley-Thomas to curry favor with the Councilmembers whose endorsements he will need to even be competitive.

The same goes for Galperin in his hotly contested campaign to become an LA County Supervisor as key endorsements needed in that race quickly dry up. 

So at LA City Hall, the corruption, conflicts and nepotism are business as usual, at least until the next shoes, plural, drop.

Nury Martinez, her Chief of Staff Ackley Padilla and Alexis Marin-Wesson did not respond to a request to field unscreened questions.  Mark Ridley-Thomas is believed to be shopping for attorneys to fight the suspension.

Get the popcorn.

(Daniel Guss, MBA, was runner-up for the 2020 Los Angeles Press Club journalism award for Best Online Political Commentary and has contributed to CityWatch, KFI AM-640, iHeartMedia, 790-KABC, Cumulus Media, 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, and other publishers. Tell your friends to follow him on The Twitters @TheGussReport)

Zorro Marxist Gives City Dollars to Nuch and Some Tarzana Druggies

Carmen the Clown: How did he rate
some dough from AlarcCON?

On a unanimous vote, your Los Angeles City Council took $100,000 for mitigation of the Lopez Canyon Landfill in the North Valley, money set aside to help folks in the North Valley communities, and gave it to a drug treatment center in CD3 and to Carmen Trutanich to stop folks from smoking. Dig deep folks, there are connected non-profits involved in all of this.







ITEM NO. (12)

12-0697 CD 7 MOTION (ALARCON - BUSCAINO) relative to funding from the Lopez Canyon Landfill Community Amenities Trust Fund to implement allocations to serve Lake View Terrace and Pacoima residents.

Recommendations for Council action, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MAYOR:

1. TRANSFER $100,000 from the Lopez Canyon Landfill Community Amenities Trust Fund No. 531/14, Account No. L32 to the Sanitation Fund No. 100/82, Account No. 3040 (Contractual Services) in order to implement the following allocations to the following agencies to serve Lake View Terrace and Pacoima residents for the stated purposes:

a. Tarzana Treatment Centers, $90,000 for project support
b. Los Angeles City Attorney Tobacco Enforcement Program, $10,000 for project support

2. DIRECT the Bureau of Sanitation to prepare the necessary document(s) with, and/or payment(s) to the above organizations, in the above listed amounts, from the above source, and for the above purposes, subject to the approval of the City Attorney as to form, if needed, and AUTHORIZE the Councilmember of the Seventh District to execute any such document on behalf of the City.

3. AUTHORIZE the Bureau of Sanitation to make any technical corrections or clarification as necessary to the above instructions in order to effectuate the intent of this Motion.

Morning Briefs on the Los Angeles Political Machine for Tuesday

 An exclusive disposal contract with Athens was the start of the end of the "CD 14 East Era" in Montebello.

We are two months into 2012 and the Machine of Mayor Antonio Villar and longtime "labor sister" LA County Labor Federation Leader Maria Elena Durazo, are once again attacking your right to choose. This time it is business and apartment land lords right to choose the trash pick-up company of choice. If the fellow traveling duo of Durazo and Villar get their way, ten exclusive garbage zones would be designated city wide. Those zones would be awarded to companies with union staff, green trucks ....... and willing to pay the "franchise fees". But if I were Durazo , Villar, the Sierra Club and Madeline Janis, the Montebello experience may be the political barometer on the backlash brewing against this blatant attack on free market choices in the City of Los Angeles.

** CD 15 City Councilman Joe Buscaino mans up for his "yes vote" to raise DWP water rates.

On Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012, the Los Angeles City Council voted to amend the water rate ordinance to allow increased collection for water quality improvement. The rate increase amounts to $1.14 for the average resident of Council District 15.  This was a very difficult decision for me, but this action was urgently needed in order to meet a deadline to comply with US EPA & State Department of Public Health safe drinking water standards.  Had the council not acted, the City would have been faced with costly fines, which would have also resulted in higher DWP rates.  "We can't afford to compromise on our water safety. For less than the price of a cup of coffee a month, we get peace of mind knowing that our water is clean, safe and secure for our families," said Buscaino. "While it may make sense to support this increase, I'm not so sure I will be able to support future rate increases and I will definitely want to see the new Ratepayer Advocate's analysis and recommendations." (We will wait and see).

** LA Weekly's Simone Wilson continues her quest to merge creativity and photoshop as she goes "poodle for CD 1".

** A spokesperson for the Korean American Coalition stated that 500-1,000 showed up for the Hands Across Koreatown Prayer for a Unied Koreatown. Yet not one mention in the Old Gray Hag on Spring Street or the Daily Moldy Green Sheet.

Your thoughts ..............
Scott Johnson in CD 14 .

Morning Briefs on the Los Angeles Political Machine for Tuesday

"Today, Tuesday, January 31, 2012, an "Average Joe" becomes "City Councilman Joe Buscaino of Council District 15".

Great sunrise to all on this special Tuesday for San Pedro favorite son Joe Buscaino who will take the oath of office this afternoon. As we noted on election night, the former LAPD Senior Lead Officer has many new friends within his new place of work at 200 N. Spring Street. But lucking ahead to a time around 2025, lets hope that between this special day and when he would term out after 3+ terms, that his record of public service would had been predicated on growing and staying true to the community (** your pledge not to seek other office) who anointed him as their new leader on January 17.

** Besides celebrating Buscaino's Swearing In today, we can start the part early at City Hall by turning Public Comment into DROP DEAD CRA DAY!! (overwhelming emotions). Hollywood Gadfly John Walsh and Van De Kamp Coalition Activist Miki Jackson will lead the festivities from the City Council Chambers which includes special CRA Kool-Aid for party consumption. BTW, special notice to new Energy & Environment Chairperson Jose Huizar, you can now kindly remove Hazard Park from the CRA Redevelopment Zone.

** Quick! Who are the three candidates for local office who will announce raising $1 Million+ for their respective campaigns? Two are mayoral and the third a current City Attorney who campaign for District Attorney has gone beyond the start point in the recent weeks.

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

Scott Johnson in CD 14      

Morning Briefs on the Los Angeles Political Machine for Thursday

Newly elected CD 15 City Councilman Joe Buscaino and potential CD 13 City Council Candidate and current Deputy Mayor Matt Szabo.

** Mid-Day Update: Szabo talks up CD 13 potential run with LA Times David Zahniser.

Hola and great Thursday morning from Cuidad de Los Angeles, where we chance upon those searching for "greener councilmatic pastures" when a certain "Failure Mayor" leaves hundreds of their fellow staffers  unemployed in 2013. One of the more high profile job seekers in 2013 would be former blogger turned Deputy Mayor Matt Szabo. Somehow, someway Szabo has survived two terms within Team Villar while others such as former Chief of Staff Jeff Carr peel away the tire tread from being thrown under the bus (by Matt). But facing a loss of pay and long term linkage to a "Failure Mayor", it seems that Szabo went "rouge" and is serious about becoming "City Councilman Matt Szabo of CD 13 in 2013". Maybe thats why he was so readily amenable to have his photo taken with the "Average Joe Buscaino" at his victory celebration on Tuesday evening. One can envision some "Pay Pal love for the Average Szabo for CD 13" in the near future.

Assemblyman Mike Gatto at CD 15 City Councilman Joe Buscaino's Victory Party.

Lucky for this blogger that Assemblyman Mike Gatto did not go the "Cease and Desist Route" on taking his photo Tuesday evening in San Pedro. But for some lobbyists in Sacramento, they may cease from riding with Gatto via limo, to any future San Francisco Giant games because the Silver Lake native pulled a "So Cal" and  lefted the game early in the limo, leaving the lobbyists to find their way back to Sacramento.

We under stand that CD 2/7 City Councilman Richard "Zorro Marxist" Alarcon and wife spent some time in a courtroom Wednesday as the trail over his supposed false residency crawls onwards. But as AlarCON seeks to rejoin the State Assembly, this blogger was told sometime back that Michael "MEAT" Trujillo would be managing his campaign.

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

Scott Johnson in CD 14   

Mid-Day Briefs on a shaken Los Angeles Political Machine for Wednesday

There's "MEAT"! aka "Chief Parker"/ Michael Trujillo.

Great late morning to all after last night's CD 15 "Grass Roots Revival" and who do we find playing a prominent part in the Team Buscaino's festivities? None other than our old Mayor Sam  blogger and the "Driving Ms. Daisy of Los Angeles Politics" Michael "MEAT" Trujillo. We hope that Team Buscaino's fling with the consulting handy work of MEAT was only informal but by judging from the crowd buzz, Trujillo was a major player in Team Buscaino's victorious campaign. This morning, newly elected CD 15 City Councilman Joe Buscaino will announce his selection of Chief of Staff at City Hall. Look for someone from the previous council administration to be named to the position. After the jump, we have posted more photos from the Buscaino Victory Party. Never know who will turn up on film.

** Major buzz this morning over the indictments of former HACLA Official Victor Taracena and his brothers in the scheme to rig bidding on contracts back in 2007. How high will this scandal lead and the repercussions are cause for rampant speculation. But in the last few weeks, we here at Mayor Sam have come acoss information that inner connects the HACLA Scandal with those of other city departments. For now because of the sensitivity, we are not disclosing due to the potential for compromising on going investigations.

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

Scott Johnson in CD 14

** More photos after the jump.

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