The In(dictment) Crowd

By Daniel Guss

https://danielguss.substack.com/

@TheGussReport - Ah, the great joys in life that we never forget.

The first time you ride a bike on your own.

How about your first kiss?

For some LA political observers, perhaps it was when the FBI slapped the cuffs on Mitch Englander, not just because the disgraced former City Councilmember wound up in federal prison, but also because he relished punching down and censoring people with legitimate concerns and pleas for help.

But I'll tell you something good: Who -- who, my friends -- may be next to join The In(dictment) Crowd?

I explain over at my free Substack.  While you're there, sign-up and check out my most recent columns.  And don't forget to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

Gotta go!  TTYL!

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)

To read more, jump on over to https://danielguss.substack.com/ and sign up for the free newsletter.

Follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

(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.)

Dan's Big Book Of Small Grievances, Volume 1

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - When I signed up to become City Editor for Mayor Sam, I promised a no-punches-pulled approach in easy, digestible bites with a healthy dose of snark where applicable 

To wit, there are a lot of Post-Its on the desk worth exploring, just not in a thousand words, at least not yet.  

As they say at the bakery, let's roll.....

Freebird Gets No Ink In LA Times

Disgraced LA City Councilmember Mitch Englander was released from federal prison in September, according to the LA Daily News, way ahead of his anticipated release in May 2022. He served no more than four months of a 14-month sentence. As I reported, the scheming ex-lawmaker made an array of curious corporate filings adding and deleting family as Board members before surrendering.  

Eric Garcetti and Mitch Englander

Photo Credit: OC Register

But you know what? He had great legal counsel. 

He faced decades in prison but only spent a summer in it, albeit a summer in Arizona.

The former LAPD volunteer can't vote, may have had to turn in his firearms and his crimes cost him a fortune in legal fees and fines.  But free is free, whether or not Englander wears a monitoring device at a halfway house in Long Beach or home in Santa Monica. That's how the system works. Take note Jose Huizar, Mark Ridley-Thomas and fellow indictees. 

But the grievance here is that the story does not come up in searches on the LA Times' website as of Thursday.

Restaurant Ripoff Results in Cancelation

At least in Los Angeles, it has become commonplace to find additional fees added to your local restaurant tab, presumably to offset higher minimum wages. While some restaurants fairly mention this on their menu, others bury it at the bottom of the tab.

And then there's what one of our favorite local eateries did.

In addition to raising prices, which is fair, due to inflation, they added vague fees to the tax line, so you can't tell how much is tax and how much is the "fee" without pulling up your calculator app. Moreover, there is no mention of it on the website for takeout.

But the grievance here is that on top of the increased prices and buried fees, they also try to guilt customers into a default 15% tip.....for takeout, part of which we otherwise would typically add in the COVID era.

They lost the tip, the fees, the order and the customer for good.

Why Nury's Vax Mandate Is A Load Of Hooey

The problem with vaccine mandates is that it could wind up costing big cities with defiant cops and firefighters more than it realizes.  

Consider how much time it takes and how much money it costs to locate, recruit and train a firefighter or cop just to get ready to serve the public. Then, multiply it by the hundreds or thousands of LA's first responders that LA City Council president Nury Martinez says "may" be fired if they dare to defy her order to get injected with a COVID vaccine by her further-extended deadline of mid-December. Note: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis actively recruits those quitting or retiring from the NYPD and NYFD with a $5,000 signing bonus. Don't be surprised if some of our best leave for the no-state-income-tax Sunshine State.

Florida's cost of living is a fraction of LA's, as well.

Nury Martinez

Photo Credit: Unknown

So here's the question.  

If Nury insists on a vax mandate for all City workers, not just LAFD and LAPD, to provide a safe workplace and safe interactions with the public, why does she still refuse to let the vaccinated public into City Council's meetings?

Is it because she is still too insecure being a leader who cannot articulate how she will fix LA's worst-in-the-nation homelessness and other things that rotted away during the Eric Garcetti era?  Is it because she is too thin-skinned to face critics, so she needs to lean on a hypocritical COVID policy that applies to some, but not all?

The grievance here is that keeping out of meetings even the vaccinated public strengthens City employees' defiant stance. Vaccines cannot be the solution for cops, firefighters and librarians but not be enough for critics who want back in to the meetings to let her and her City Council colleagues have it and good.

You won't find this hypocrisy reported in the LA Times, either.   

(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.)

 

Was Mark Ridley-Thomas On Your Corruption Bingo Card?

 By Daniel Guss 

@TheGussReport - Shame, shame, shame if you are a follower of Southern California politics and didn't have Los Angeles City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas, MRT, on your corruption bingo card.  Yesterday, he and a former USC dean were indicted for what amounts to the following.

One of MRT's sons, Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, SRT, who had no legitimate reason for being elected to public office other than sporting a locally famous political surname, allegedly got all "hands across America" with women when he was in the California State Assembly and had to skedaddle so investigations into his haranguing proclivities could be dismissed as politically unnecessary. 

Mark Ridley-Thomas, Sebastian Ridley-Thomas

Photo Credit: ABC7

The media swallowed hook, line and stinker SRT's claim that his abrupt resignation was due to "medical reasons."

Like many coddled, lay-about children of politicians, SRT's daddy came to his rescue to get him a job that MRT apparently felt his son wasn't qualified to legitimately earn on his own and went over the top by allegedly buying him a professorship at the University of Southern California, USC.

Daddy Ridley-Thomas also allegedly bought Offspring Ridley-Thomas a USC graduate school admission and a full scholarship.

Think about that for a moment.  Mark Ridley-Thomas allegedly bought his kid a scholarship.  What bowl of Apple Jacks were those kids fed growing up where nobody seems to have raised the notion of accomplishment over entitlement?

You know, the type of bull that Mark Ridley-Thomas and all politicians spew day and night.

According to the indictment, all MRT had to do in exchange (i.e. a quid pro quo) was funnel your tax dollars and mine back to USC in a twisted amalgam of non-profits, nepotism and looking the other way. But it was apparently so aggressively ill-conceived that even USC couldn't ignore it and appears to have ratted out the wrong-doers to the feds itself.

What is it about USC that makes it a magnet for wealthy, powerful parents who think their kids aren't smart enough to get in on their own but can still be purchased from a cashier, as though the degree is a Prada bag that you carry around town?  Here's looking at you, Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli.

On that note, USC continues to refuse to say whether Gianna "Gigi" Caruso, daughter of bazillionaire and a Chairman of the USC Board of Trustees Rick Caruso, earned her way into the school.  The last time this column asked, the school dodged the question and described Ms. Caruso in a way that was nothing short of shameful.

Rick Caruso, Gigi Caruso, Tina Caruso

Photo Credit: Unknown

By the way, are we still allowed to say "chairman?"  USC still does.

To be fair, we shall assume that the bikini entrepreneur (and gal pal of the Loughlin/Giannulli children) earned her way into USC through exceptional grades, test scores and community service.  It's just that the school and papa bear have refused to say that she did, let alone provide the specifics.

Mr. Caruso might very well make an excellent successor to uber-failure Eric Garcetti, perhaps in the tradition of Richard Riordan, the only stellar alcalde L.A. has had in the past several decades and maybe the best ever.  If he decides to run, the Los Angeles Times should ask about Gigi's admission into USC.

But don't bank on it.

-----

A year ago, the Los Angeles Times endorsed Mark Ridley-Thomas to return to LA City Council despite knowing full-well about the alleged crimes for which he and a former USC dean were indicted yesterday, writing:

"He has made questionable ethical decisions, most notably when he funneled $100,000 from campaign fund to USC, which then hired his son as a professor."

Hey thanks for that endorsement, LA Times.  Imagine what a clear-eyed endorsement of a capable, accomplished community activist and attorney named Grace Yoo, who doesn't have the stink of scandal emanating from her pores, could have done for L.A.

But misapplied power and cronyism are hard habits to break.

The Times also repeatedly endorsed Mitch Englander,  who currently brushes his teeth in a federal prison in Arizona.  It also gave us the thumbs-up for Jose Huizar, who might someday set up camp in Englander's prison. And the Times has repeatedly endorsed others like Mayor Eric Garcetti, former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former L.A. City Council president Herb Wesson.

But there's nothing that the Times loves to do more than floating the notion of coddled, lay-about political offspring (like Sebastian Ridley-Thomas and Justin Wesson) running to succeed their parents rather than encouraging fresh names with better ideas.

Huzzahs!  Everyone gets a trophy, everyone gets to walk in their parents' footsteps just because they're special!

Everyone except the kids who earned those spots in school.

Everyone except the candidates for office who would have worked diligently and with integrity to improve L.A.

Note to the L.A. Times: You can't manufacture the Kennedys. Even the Kennedys were not what the media wanted us to believe that they were. And neither are these locals.

If Los Angeles is going to be a glutton for felons, failures and flunky children of kleptocrat politicians, it is the Times' job to keep us from falling off that cliff rather than giving us a shove.

Thanks again, El Segundo Times.

-----

And finally, this column has chosen the top five politicians or political hangers-on who it thinks might be indicted next. We'll keep that on the note pad over here by the morning lime water.  But here's a hint: Methinks some will be for bankruptcy fraud, wire fraud, tax evasion, forgery and/or voter registration fraud.  Okay, or bribery, but we assume you already knew that.

Tell your friends to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

(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 as well as its Sunday Magazine, among other publishers.)

Presently using mi amigo Scott's sign-in until tech matters are resolved.

Ex CD-12 City Councilman Mitch Englander Indicted on Seven Counts of Obstruction-related Charges

Former CD-12 City Councilman Mitch Englander will be free on $50,000 Bail tonight as the US Attorney Office makes public a Seven Count Indictment for obstructing a FBI Investigation of City Hall Corruption, with speculation rampant of more Arrests in the days ahead. 

Former CD-12 City Councilman Mitch Englander will not be wearing his LAPD Reservist Uniform anytime soon.

** Blogger's Notes: As the local US Attorney Office made public its first Indictments resulting from the FBI Investigation of Los Angeles City Hall Corruption, we were reminded of the "2014 Prophetic Musings (with humor)" of former LAPD Chief and CD-8 City Councilman Bernard Parks ......., but surprise what "Horseshoe Criminal" was first to be exposed.

Following last week's Elections, a well-connected source told the Mayor Sam Sister City News Group that Federal Law Enforcement Officials were holding off on taking legal action resulting from its well-reported investigations of nefarious dealings originating at 200 N. Spring Street, to avoid any appearance of interference in the now completed balloting and on this Monday-after ........, they made their surprising first move.

The surprise was that Ex CD-12 City Councilman Mitch Englander, became the of first former Councilman Parks, now "Criminally-charged Colleagues", to be Indicted by the US Attorney Office for what appears to be his thought-challenged attempts to obstruct the FBI's Investigation into his alleged "Pay to Play Misconduct". 

As reported by now Los Angeles Magazine Contributor Jon Regardie, the unsuccessful LA County Board of Supervisor Candidate, known as "Fifelander (think Mayberry's Barney Fife)", lived up to his bloggin moniker as evident from the following excerpt. 

the indictment alleges that, at least three times, Englander tried to persuade Businessperson A either to provide false statements to the FBI, or omit relevant information. That includes an encounter on Feb. 12, 2018, when, according to the indictment, Englander and Businessperson A met in the councilman’s car, and Englander instructed him to lie to the FBI. Englander allegedly did this while turning up the volume on the car stereo to obstruct possible listening devices, and driving around the block in a circle. 

More shocking (or not), is that former Englander Chief of Staff and now CD-12 City Councilman John Lee, was one of the then staffers who joined their Boss on a Las Vegas Junket and stated today ......., that he did "everything in his power to pay for and reimburst expenses related to this trip", as reported by the Red State Website.

That noted, we can report via CityWatch LA's Investigated Reporter Daniel Guss, that Englander's Wife and Daughter were in the Courtroom this afternoon as he agreed to turn over his multiple (seven) firearms, passport and pledge to remain in California, in returned for being released on  $50,000 Bail, with a return Court Appearance on Thursday----Scott Johnson.

Wiping away the facade of an ethical, Family Man Mitch Englander.

Save Funding for City Parks!

It could happen here!

The following is from Kristin Sabo, parks activist and caretaker for Amir's Garden at Griffith Park. No one in Los Angeles has more insight into how the City's Department of Recreation and Parks operates. Below, she details how the City is "double dipping," taking funds from the parks' budget in an effort to "charge" the department for "services" from the City. These chargebacks do nothing more than help the City hide it's budget deficit due to wasteful spending and take dollars - as mandated by the City Charter - from recreation for children, families and all residents of LA. 

Read more - and then take action...

"Crippling "Chargebacks" covering other departments' budgets by taking funds from Rec and Parks) are killing our S-T parks and Hansen Dam. The Mayor's budget for 2013-14 is even worse, if that is possible.

Please read this document for an explanation of the "chargebacks" and the Recreation and Parks services we've lost so far. It's disgusting.

The $56 million in Chargebacks to Rec and Parks in FY 2013-14 being perpetrated on this City's children and parks users by the Mayor, CAO and the City Council is completely unconscionable.

The budget hearing for Rec and Parks is Wednesday May 1st. Please submit your comments to the Budget and Finance Committee ASAP.

Budget & Finance Committee Hearing
Wednesday, May 1, 1pm
John Ferraro Council Chamber - Room 340
200 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

If you can't attend that day, please contact the members of the Budget & Finance Committee and let know that you demand an end to Chargebacks and adequate funding for our parks.

Email Councilmember Paul Krekorian, or call him at (213) 473-7002
Email Councilmember Mitch Englander, or call him at (213) 473-7012
Email Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, or call him at (213) 473-7011
Email Councilmember Paul Koretz, or call him at (213) 473-7005
Email Councilmember Tom LaBonge, or call him at (213) 485-3337"

Morning Briefs on the Los Angeles Political Machine for fFriday

The Price is wrong for CD 9!

State Senator Curren Price speaking at City Council in support of controversial redistricting plan.

Here comes another Sacramento retread in search of a pay raise.

The trail to 200 Springs Street is getting full of "burrocrats" laden with the carpetbags of termed-out state politicos in search of their next public paycheck.

The likes of Assemblyman Gil "One Bill" Cedillo, Mike Davis, Felipe "Mini Padilla" Fuentes, Bob "2 Jobs" Blumenfeld and now State Senator Curren "Wrong" Price, are seeking to bring their fail Sacramento ways to the Horseshoe.

For politically-astute CD 9 voters, it must be a laugh and galling at the same time, to have Price seek their support to replace current Councilwoman Jan Perry.

In the video above, Price is heckled by CD 9 constituents, as he showcases his enabling abilities in supporting Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and City Council President Herb "Mini Amin" Wesson's back room-crafted Redistricting Plan. Considering that the Redistricting 2012 fiasco has now gone to litigation, it is conceivable that CD 9 may revert back to its old boundaries, despite Price's support of stripping the economic assets that now reside mostly in CD 14.

But when that day comes, most CD 9 constituents will have hopefully voted that the "Price was not Right" for City Council.

** Memo to Public Safety Committee Chairperson Mitch Englander, where are the safety cameras in Harvard Park? A grieving community awaits your leadership and action .....

** Hermon secessionist leader Joe Riser defends his actions in seeking another term on the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council. This progressive/neighborhood battle masks the fact that financial issues are being white -wash by DONE.

Memo to the Building & Safety Department, Academia Semillas del Pueblo's "Tata" Marco Aguilar and CD 14 City Councilman Jose Huizar, care to join the El Sereno Community in playing "Lets Find The Parking Lot" at the Old El Sereno Library? Parking-starved local merchants would appreciate your help.

BTW, I thought it was illegal to have street venders, conducting business next to a school location?

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

Scott Johnson in CD 14

Morning Briefs on the Los Angeles Political Machine for Wednesday

Polishing up the thought process of CD 12 City Councilman Mitch Englander.

Ludicrous ...........

Bravo to CD 12 City Councilman Mitch Englander for stating the obvious in regards to CD 2/7 Indicted City Councilman Richard AlarCON's proposal to turn city library cards into ID's for illegals. Sadly, Councilman Englander is so far the lone voice of reason on this issue and in the end, the likes of Councilman AlarCON with support of Mayor Antonio Villar, will succeed in giving those here illegal, the means to defraud our voting system, whoops, emerge from the illegal underground.

** Minus 45 pounds from the effects of cancer treatment, CD 11 City Councilman Bill Rosendahl made his return to the City Council Horseshoe with help of a walker. Speculation in recent weeks has center on the severity of Rosendahl's cancer illness and his fitness to seek a third term on the City Council. Rosendahl stated this to the Daily News Rick Orlov regarding his future political intentions.

"I'll decide by the first week of October if I am strong enough to serve a full term," Rosendahl said. "The last thing I want is for the voters of my district to elect someone who cannot serve." 

** Hundreds supporters of Charter Schools (and more potential campaign contributors for Monica) made their way to the Beaudry Ave. Headquarters of LAUSD yesterday. They were brought together in opposition to School Board Member Steve Zimmer's proposal to place a moratorium on new charters within the district. Zimmer is a "Johnny come lately", in capping the number of new charters and seeking better oversight of their operations, considering his support for the Charter Renewal of the Academia Semillas del Pueblo Charter School.    

** CD 14 City Councilman Jose Huizar celebrates B-day with his "One Percent Staffers" and Wife Richelle.

We bring you this rare and supposed up to date photo of CD 14 City Councilman Jose Huizar, wife Richelle  and the "One Percent Staffers", celebrating his most recent birthday last week. We have a free copy of the most recent weekly email blast, if you can name all the staffers in this photo (** we provide this long, growing cheat sheet of ex. staffers to assist). BTW, if your salary is allegedly being subsidize with CLARTS Fund transfers (see below), you show up at your bosses B-day party always.

CLARTS Fund transfer to Councilman Huizar's "salary account".

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

Scott Johnson in CD 14

Mayor Sam Exclusive: Council President Wesson discusses 2012 Redistricting with African-American Clergy, Part 4

Mayor Sam's Multi-Part Series on City Council President Herb "Mini Amin" Wesson discussing Redistricting 2012 with members of the African-American Clergy

In Part 4, City Council President Herb Wesson passes the blame/ passes the buck to another City Council member ( CD 12's Mitch Englander according to sources), when confronted by an African-American Clergy member about not allowing clergy to speak on Redistricting 2012.

   Did City Council President Herb Wesson order colleague CD 12 City Councilman Mitch Englander to forward the Motion, not allowing members of the African- American Clergy to comment on the effects of Redistricting 2012?

Member of the African-American Clergy confronts City Council President Herb Wesson. 

Make no doubt that City Council President Herb Wesson will never be mistaken as a Harry Truman Democrat.

Unlike the last good Democratic President of the United States who was famous for his "The Buck Stops Here" placard on the Oval Office desk, Council President "Mini Amin" Wesson will waste no time in passing the buck/ blame when it affects his political standing, as the video above will attest to.


When confronted by an esteem member of the African-American Clergy on why their comments were not allowed during the Redistricting 2012 vote at City Hall, "Mini Amin" Wesson could only reply "it wasn't me".


"Mini Amin" Wesson goes on to state that another council person had called for the Motion to end discussion as a message to the "two other council persons" that debate was over and the " new backroom created, city council boundaries" (blogger comment) would be approved without further public input.


So who was that council person that Council President "Mini Amin" Wesson order, whoops, took the imitative to motion for an end to public input regarding Redistricting 2012? According to sources, it was West Valley RINO CD 12 City Councilman Mitch Englander..


In closing, the irony here as members of the African-American Clergy were denied their right to speak on the "soon to be litigious" Redistricting 2012 proceedings, "Mini Amin Wesson" was allowing both sides, ample time to comment on this week's controversial vote to ban front-door Marijuana Dispensaries in the City Of Los Angeles.


Your thoughts ..............
Scott johnson in CD 14  

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Tuesday

He's back!

With July 1st, comes a new session for the Los Angeles City Council but the leadership of Eric Garcetti, Jan Perry and Dennis Zine remains intact, even though all three plan eventual runs for higher office; Mayor for Garcetti and Perry and City Controller for Zine.  That being said, Councilman Richard Alarcon was the sole vote for Herb Wesson as President Pro Tem of the Council.  Alarcon has an issue with Perry already being a declared for candidate for Mayor and continuing to serve in the leadership.

As the new session begins, some of our readers may find solace in the fact that Alarcon and Reyes only have two years left on the Council, you have four more years of Tom LaBonge, Tony Cardenas and  Bernard Parks though.

Read more »

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Monday

Wendy Greuel, a potential candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles in 2013, may have thought she might get some street cred as a reformer, while embarrassing the Mayor as well as other comers to the office who are currently on the City Council, by disclosing the existence of an LA Department of Transportation program that allows elected to fix parking tickets.  However, the Mayor one upped the City Controller by cancelling the program and releasing documentation that Greuel had not only known about the program while serving on the City Council but she had also taken advantage of it.

Blogger Paul Hatfield reports that next week the Los Angeles City Council may axe funding for the City's system of advisory Neighborhood Councils.


Read more »

Mayor Sam Candidate Endorsements: Anyone But Englander for CD12

This is the next in a series of posts where JoeB and I will give our endorsements for candidates for LA City Council and School Board. Where there is agreement we will give the official MayorSam endorsement to the candidate. Next up is CD12. For each post we will give both Joe's endorsement and mine along with our comments. The choices in CD12 are:

MEMBER OF THE CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT NO. 12 *

• DINESH "DANNY" LAKHANPAL, Businessperson
• KELLY M. LORD, JR., Small Business Owner
• BRAD SMITH, Neighborhood Council Boardmember
• NAVRAJ "SINGH" SINGH, Businessman/Restaurant Owner
• ARMINEH CHELEBIAN Boardmember, Neighborhood Council
• MITCHELL ENGLANDER, Policeman/Councilmember Deputy
• None
• Other:
  

JoeB: Anyone but Mitch Englander. Englander is the big money, business as usual, anointed one. He's the last person CD12 needs as their representative.

Michael Higby: CD12 has had a strange oligarchic like tendency to promote the reigning chief deputy to Council when the current member retired. No more, Mitchell Englander, is nothing but a job climber whose every action from joining community organizations to becoming a reserve police officer was calculated for this run. Brad Smith on the other hand is a true blue community organizer, more in line with the mood in that community. Smith apparently scared Englander so much the Englander campaign tried to get Smith fired from his job. That says volumes. Vote for Smith!

Verdict: One for anyone but Englander, One for Smith

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Tuesday

Folks in CD14 are out of work and there is little business opportunity in the District.  That must be why Councilman Jose Huizar is talking the City into spending a million to study a goofy streetcar idea for Downtown.  Follow the money folks, follow the money.

The LA Times recaps their endorsements. The set as a whole will not please either the downtown status quo folks nor the Clean Sweepers, and in a few districts, neither.  They are CD2: Krekorian, CD4: O'Grady, CD6: Goodman, CD8: Parks, CD10: Wesson,  CD12: Englander, CD14: Martinez.  Count that up folks the Times is actually calling for half of the incumbents up for re-election to be tossed out.  And in the case of CD4 the other Fishwrap in town, the Daily News, endorsed the other challenger to Tom LaBonge, Stephen Box.

Read more »

Mitchell Englander: Atrocious

Word on the street is that Mitchell Englander has $400K in his campaign slush fund. He may need it in the year of no incumbents, especially when prominent folks in his District think the following of him:

"I am not in the pockets of lobbyists and I am not running for City Council.


Mr. Englander is both. So in that regard yes, I am less experienced in screwing over a constituency. Less experienced at lobbying for the very things my constituents oppose. Less experienced at playing politics with the public trust - In that regard I cede that Mitch has more experience than I, and I wear that like a badge of honor.


... many people, including myself, believe Mitch is an atrocious candidate for CD 12."

-Jim Alger
Mayor Sam, February 12, 2009

In the most solidly Republican district in the City, the only one where Walter Moore bested Antonio Villaraigosa, a true conservative with chops and dough can rise above the bought and paid for RINO Mitch. So the lesson is attention all CD12 comers - raise some money and you can easily take on Mitchell.

And no Phil, not Walter Moore.

Good Lord!!!! Kelly Lord Declares in CD-12, Goes Up Against Lobbyist Good Old Boy Mitch Englander and Puts City Hall on Notice.

After months of rumor-milling and pressure from local community groups, independent small businessman and neighborhood activist Kelly Lord has officially filed to run in CD-12 against City Hall-anointed, special interest darling Mitch Englander.

Kelly Lord has deep roots in the community and promises to be the citizen-councilman this district and others need so desperately.

Englander (pictured left and yes, nephew-protege of that other lobbyist Englander) has spent the last twelve months wining and dining his way through City Hall’s phone directory and has amassed a list of endorsements that reads like a postmortem of the crises currently plaguing LA.

Don’t be distracted by an otherwise redundant field of candidates. Lord and Englander are the main attractions here and given Englander’s track record, mud-slinging is sure to start soon. Hopefully CD-12 voters will take a cue from CD-2 and not allow themselves to be bought by glossy mailers and phony endorsements from the usual suspects.

Sources say KRLA 870’s Kevin James will talk about Lord’s filing in depth tonight on his show at midnight.