EXCLUSIVE: Bass Commish Using Hidden Email Accounts, Blocking Access to Public Records

@TheGussReport on Twitter - Larry Gross, a holdover appointee of disgraced former LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, has been using covert, private email accounts to conceal city business and to also confirm to city officials scathing criticism of the new mayor, Karen Bass, as well as of animal pound critics and volunteers whose importance she applauded at her recent State of the City address.

Larry Gross - Photo: PBS SoCal

It's just the latest example of rules being ignored at every level of LA City Hall.

Gross, who has served on the Los Angeles Animal Services, LAAS, board of commissioners for nearly a decade, acknowledged exclusively to this column that he does use unknown email addresses to conduct city business.

"I am quite aware that any email address I use to communicate with city officials regarding my position as a Commissioner is subject to the Public Record Act.  I fully support that and have no problem with that.  I have nothing to hide."

Nothing to hide, it appears, other than identifying which private email accounts he uses for city business.

Gross's refusal to identify those email accounts maliciously makes it impossible for the city to comply with additional public records requests by this column.

And that's not all.

Paging my public records legal eagles.

To read this entire column, head on over to DanielGuss.Substack.com, and don't forget to sign up for my free newsletter and share it with friends.

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.

To read the rest of today's column, jump on over to DanielGuss.Substack.com sign-up for my free newsletter and share it with friends.