MayorSam Exclusive: Pleitez Accuses Garcetti of Courting Anti-Immigrant Donors

Pleitez: Slamming Garcetti
Donors

In an exclusive to MayorSam, we've learned that candidate for Mayor, Emanuel Pleitez plans to present accusations against fellow mayoral candidate, Eric Garcetti, that the Councilman has taken campaign contributions from "anti-immigrant" donors in Arizona.

With both Pleitez and Garcetti, who both make note of their Latino heritage on the campaign trail, seeking to grab as much of the Hispanic vote as possible, such revelations against Garcetti could be damaging.

In presenting the allegations, based on data culled from campaign filings, Pleitez is pointing the hypocrite finger at Garcetti, who was taking the donations while at the same he supported a Council led boycott of the State of Arizona over it's controversial immigration reform bill, SB 1070.

Eric Garcetti is a great dancer!

Among the donors Garcetti is reported to have received contributions from:

Jack Selby - Selby is a Paradise Valley, Arizona financial consultant who has donated heavily to both the Presidential and Senatorial campaigns of Republican John McCain. In the last Senate election cycle, when a primary challenged McCain took a hard right turn and issued strong support for AB 1070, Selby maxed out on contributions to McCain, so much that McCain had to refund contributions made over legal limits. Selby donated $500 to Garcetti.

James Harrison - Harrison, a construction manager from Fountain Hills, Arizona also gave $500 to Garcetti. Harrison is an active contributor to the campaigns of John Shadegg, a now retired Congressman and Paul Gosar, currently a Congressman out of the Kingman area. Both Shadegg and Gosar have advanced controversial legislation for a border fence.

Michael Meldman - Meldman is the CEO of Discovery Land Company, a recreational development company. He gave Garcetti $500. He too maxed out on contributions to McCain. As well, Meldman gave a $1,000 contribution to Ben Quayle, the son of the former Vice President, who was elected in 2010 to Arizona's 3rd Congressional District, succeeding Shadegg. Quayle advocated a controversial birthright citizenship proposal and ran campaign ads claiming President Obama is "the worst President in history." Quayle was defeated in 2012 by Democrat Raul Grijalva.

Pleitez plans to make these allegations at a press conference this morning.

What will these folks think of Garcetti playing with SB1070 Supporters?

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Wednesday

He's Back! He's Animated! He's the Governator, and he's still useless! Official Trailer.

 
Assemblyman Tom Donnelly (R-Claremont) has introduced an anti-illegal immigration bill (AB26) that is patterned after Arizona's controversial SB1070 (currently in legal limbo). A small crowd of 100 gathered at a rally in Sacramento on Monday to cheer on Donnelly. Donnelly is also a founder of the California Minutemen and a member of the increasingly irrelevant California GOP. Even though AB26 will face a quick and certain death in the Democrat controlled Assembly, the bill will certainly help push the Republican party even further into the abyss.

UPDATE: R.I.P. AB26.


Here at Mayor Sam, we occasionally get an intelligent and thought out comment from a reader. Here is one such comment that caught our attention regarding Kevin James' sputtering meltdown on MSNBC  (Thank You, Anonymous);

"In the Mathews interview, it was Kevin who came out on the attack, and his target was Obama. His argument seems to have been that talking to any group that we see as our enemy, no matter how secret the negotiations, is "appeasement." The implication was obviously that Democrats as a group are soft, cowardly, unable to stand up to bullies, and in general, wimps. This line has been a part of Republican nastiness for decades, and is of course inconsistent with more than a century of modern history. Wilson and FDR stood up to Fascism, Truman and Kennedy and Johnson stood up to Communism, and on the other side, we had Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, and both Bushes cutting secret deals with China, North Korea, Islamic terrorists, and these deals eventually became public.

I don't really care about Kevin's ignorance of the Munich Pact, other than it suggests a certain lack of depth in his education. The fact that he got rolled by Mathews says something about his own toughness under pressure though, and his words suggest that he is prone to excess and right wing extremism. This isn't the Kevin we have seen recently, but it should make us wonder who the real Kevin is."

It's a real nail biter in the Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Race- at post time incumbent David Prosser is up by only 1600 580 356 votes over challenger Joanne Kloppenburg. Republican Prosser was expected to sail to an easy victory until Gov.Walker's nasty union busting law brought out a last minute effort to replace him with Kloppenburg. Gov. Walker's so called "Budget Reform Bill" will likely be reviewed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, hence the effort to oust Prosser. Recount for sure on this one.

UPDATE : Kloppenburg now ahead with 100% of precincts reporting!

Saturday Short & Sweet News Brief

Gloom and Despair at the Goober Convention

 The California GOP has gathered in Sacramento for a misery loves company themed convention. The party is almost broke, morale is at a historic low, Latinos don't like them, and there are no bright stars on the horizon. Whitman and Fiorina, of course, headed for the hills some time ago.

 Arizona, still suffering from the economic blowback caused by SB1070 has just nixed a new round of immigrant bashing bills proposed by the author of SB1070, Sen. Russell Pearce. The most vocal opponents of the bills? The Arizona business community. 60 CEOs from a broad swath of Arizona corporations signed a letter to the Senate that stated;

Arizona’s lawmakers and citizens are right to be concerned about illegal immigration. But we must acknowledge that when Arizona goes it alone on this issue, unintended consequences inevitably occur. Last year, boycotts were called against our state’s business community, adversely impacting our already-struggling economy and costing us jobs. Arizona-based businesses saw contracts cancelled or were turned away from bidding. “Sales outside of the state declined. Even a business which merely had ‘Arizona’ in its name felt the effects of the boycotts, compelling them to launch an educational campaign about their company’s roots in Brooklyn. It is an undeniable fact that each of our companies and our employees were impacted by the boycotts and the coincident negative image.
“Tourism, one of our state’s largest industries and employment centers, also suffered from negative perceptions after the passage of SB 1070. The fact Gov. Brewer directed $250,000 to repairing Arizona’s reputation strongly suggests these efforts – whether fair or unfair - are harmful to our image".

Hey, what happened to the "Boycotts won't hurt Arizona" crowd?

Sunday Re-Education Camp

 Did the Koch Brothers create the astroturf Tea Party?

-Film director James Cameron of "Titanic" and "Avatar" fame pledges $1 million to fight the Koch Bros/Valero Oil backed Prop 23.  Support for Prop 23 is in a freefall with a recent Field Poll showing 45% opposition to the ill conceived measure with only 34% support. Last week, the "Yes On 23" campaign went dark, with no television ads statewide as financial resources continue to dry up.

-Jerry Brown picks up yet another endorsement. This one from The Daily News;

"The next governor of California will inherit a state mired in debt, with a budget already billions of dollars in the red, public infrastructure literally crumbling, a poisonous business climate, schools the shame of the nation and a populace tired of the finger-pointing and lack of leadership from Sacramento. 

That's why Californians must use cold calculation and not gut feeling when they vote for the state's top leader in the Nov. 2 election. The foremost criteria must be which of the top two candidates can work within the dysfunction of Sacramento to set the state back on the path of solvency and growth - and do so quickly. Under that criteria, the only choice is Jerry Brown."-Daily News

-With just a bit over two weeks until election day, the pace of the name-calling gets fast and furious; Senator John McCain describes Barbara Boxer as "bitterly partisan and anti-defense". Meanwhile, Megan McCain calls Christine O'Donnell "A Nutjob".

-Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina shows off her empty suit on Fox News Sunday.

-Gov Jan Brewer of Arizona just can't get a break. Last week, she lost an effort to halt lawsuits filed by civil rights groups challenging the constitutionality of SB1070.

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Friday

What's the most important issue on the ballot this year for Californians? In my book, it's Proposition 23. Big Texas Oil companies, and America's biggest polluters, the Koch Brothers, have funneled millions into the state in an effort to hijack the implementation of California's historic AB32 environmental law. Prop 23 passage threatens job creation and investment in California's burgeoning green tech industry and allows the Koch Brothers and Texas Oil to continue to meet their yearly polluting quota. Heckel & Jeckel have managed to whip the corporate sheep into a foaming at the mouth rage, but the Prop itself is struggling and needs to be defeated on election day.


SB1070 News (yep-it's still on the radar)
Arizona tourism officials are predicting "the worst is yet to come" as conventions and other events continue to cancel or take new business to states not tagged with such negative branding.

"The numbers are ugly especially for a state renowned for its beauty according to a report from the Arizona Department of Tourism. Direct travel expenditures decreased by more than ten percent to $16.6 billion in 2009. There was also a 10.2 percent decline in overnight domestic business travel, reflecting the hard hit meetings and conventions segment. "



-The Mormons apologize for "the hurtful legacy" of Prop 8.
Nice try, no one's buying it.

-Over the next 5 days, 30,000 distressed LA homeowners are expected to attend a mortgage restructuring clinic at the LA Convention Center. The clinic is sponsored by the non-profit Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America(NACA). NACA says that a third of attendees can expect to have their mortgages reduced on the spot with another 80% receiving a reduction within 30 days. Some past participants are saying that NACA can't deliver the goods.

-Happy 86th birthday wishes to President Jimmy Carter. Now reportedly back at work after a gastric viral infection sent him to a Cleveland hospital earlier this week.



And finally, more birthday wishes to the fearless leader of Mayor Sam, a man who puts up with more crap from more people than anyone I have ever seen, a friend that I rarely agree with but deeply respect, Michael Higby, who turned 46 years young on Wednesday.

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Thursday

Will this solve Walter Moore's Hispanic Problem?



The City of LA is offering a $50,000 reward for information in this past weekend's slaying death of 34 year old bride-to-be Chere Osmanhodzic. Chere's body was found inside her burned out Valley Village home after firefighters extinguished a suspicious blaze that may have been set to destroy evidence of the murder. So much anguish in Valley Village over this one.

Michael LoGrande has been big news all week after being selected as the new Planning Director to replace the departing Gail Goldberg. Ron Kaye has an excerpt from a Planning Report story by Michael's former boss. Ouch!

In case you haven't heard, the US Constitution is safe (for now) after a federal judge halted implementation of many key elements of Arizona's controversial SB1070 law. Pandering AZ Republican Gov Jan Brewer, says she will appeal the ruling that basically shreds the "Show Me Your Papers "law.

The former Sunland-Tujunga resident and Verdugo Hills High School graduate, Governor Jan Brewer, wastes no time after the ruling and tries to turn lemons into lemonade by immediately begging for money.

She may well need that money for legal fees, as Phoenix station KPHO is running a story about ties between Gov. Brewer and a Private Prisons Company;

"In the meantime, a CBS 5 News investigation revealed that there is one business that could profit from the implementation of SB 1070 and similar immigration measures. The private prison industry houses illegal immigrant detainees for the federal government. Those companies could gain contracts with state and local agencies to house illegal immigrants arrested for state violations.Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA, holds the federal contract to house detainees in Arizona. The company bills $11 million per month. CBS 5 Investigates learned that two of Brewer’s top advisers have connections to CCA. Paul Senseman is the governor’s deputy chief of staff. He is also a former lobbyist for CCA. His wife is listed as a current lobbyist for the company. Chuck Coughlin is one of the governor’s policy advisers and her campaign chairman. Coughlin’s company, HighGround Public Affairs Consultants, currently lobbies for CCA."

Watch this excellent video to see the governor running away when asked about the shady connections.

As a side note, AZ cops are breathing a sigh of relief that the Judge ruled the way she did.

E-meg is learning about California the hard way. It looks like $100 Million might not buy her the Governorship of California after all!

And finally, I'd like to welcome an old friend, Lanny Clifford, who just read Mayor Sam for the first time yesterday. Lanny is an Ice Road trucker on a year long assignment in North Dakota. He's made us his homepage and threatens to pipe in with his opinions when he's not risking his neck delivering goods for the man.

Breaking: Judge Blocks "Show Me Your Papers" segment of SB1070 law.

A Federal Judge is blocking controversial portions of Arizona immigration law.

Sections blocked;

- Failing to carry registration papers a crime.
- Requiring law enforcement to check immigration status while enforcing other laws.
- Illegal for undocumented workers to solicit employment in public places.

Updates;
-Initial reactions.
-Governor Brewer's statement.
-Read the official ruling by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton.
-Commentary from The Tucson Citizen.
-The Wingnuts jump up & down.

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Thursday

You make fun - yet I'm the one attempting to do some good. Or do you really want a neighborhood where people piss on your stoop every night? Bohemia, Bohemia's a fallacy in your head. This is Calcutta, Bohemia is dead. (with apologies to Jonathan Larson and props to Ron Kaye)

Democrats across the land, including Joe B, were pleased when the Obama Administration filed suit against the State of Arizona over their controversial immigration reform law, SB1070. However that's not exactly the case for Blue Staters within the Grand Canyon territory as nearly the entire Arizona Democratic Congressional delegation and the current Attorney General and Democratic nominee for Governor Terry Goddard expressed reservations about the DOJ suit. The Arizona Dems are fearful of a backlash within the state, where immigration is a hot issue, if it appears that Obama is meddling. At the same time these Dems should be concerned that Latino voters may see them as vendidos and either stay home or support other candidates. No doubt a tough place for them to be in and Obama could have probably helped them more by first making some stand on the border before calling out the lawyers and offering up red meat to the liberal base (as might be said about the Republicans who promoted SB1070 as well).

The DWP drama continued at City Hall Wednesday when interim General Manager Austin Beutner failed to show up to a joint Council committee meeting reviewing Controller Wendy Greuel's recent audit of the utility. The no-show by Beutner or anyone else of significance from the DWP incensed Members Paul Koretz and Greig Smith who both found the snub to be unprecedented. In other DWP news Councilman Tom LaBonge has cancelled the DWP's annual Holiday Light Show in Griffith Park due to water main construction.

No surprise here. A Rand Corporation study finds that the cost of pot could drop significantly if a ballot measure legalizing the crop passes in November. Among the low prices the move could encourage "pot tourism" in California as well as have an impact on smuggling from Mexico. In the meantime a group of African American leaders are calling on California NAACP President Alice Huffman to resign her post due to her support of the legal grass proposition.

If you're passing by LA Trade Tech College Friday morning and think that Al Queda has hit don't worry. It's actually a simulated homeland security exercise coordinated by the LA Sheriff's Department. The exercise will involve a Blue Line train and about 35 actors in a fake terrorist attack staged to test local responders. We send our props to the Sheriff's office!

Feds Sue AZ, SB1070 Stopped

The Justice Department is scheduled to file suit in federal court over AZ's SB1070 "Show Me Your Papers" law later today. The suit has been expected for some time. Implementation of SB1070 will also likely be prevented as the case meanders it's way through the legal system. Look for this misguided and ineffective law to finally show up at the Supreme Court in a few years, where legal observers predict it will be promptly tossed.


Please return to your tea parties, minutemen gathering, or John Birch Society meetings, nothing more to see here.

UPDATE: AZ. Congressman Raul Grijalva releases statement.

UPDATE: The entire Dept of Justice complaint.

UPDATE: Former Sunland-Tujunga resident, AZ Governor Jan Brewer, issues her statement.

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Friday

Can I get some of those Paramount Pictures movie tickets?

Here's your daily update on Ticketgate.  First off Mayor Villaraigosa declared he's going to release boxes and boxes of records detailing why getting free pricey tickets to Beyonce concerts and the Grammy Awards were official city business.  In the meantime Walter Moore draws the lines between the free tickets and specific giveaways of your tax dollars to corporate interests.  Ron Kaye makes the point that District Attorney Steve Cooley, whose office is currently conducting an investigtion of the Mayor, might want to distance himself a bit as he's running for Attorney General.  So why not appoint Walter Moore as a special prosecutor? And it wouldn't be complete without checking in with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who according to the LA Weekly, fives a big neener neener to his former rival in nothing that his staff has kept full records and disclosed every free ticket he's ever got.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that many of the local cities that are boycotting the state of Arizona are finding their boycotts going nowhere one way or another.  Not only did the City of LA have to dial back their boycott to allow for money losing red light cameras to continue but other cities have found that the boycotts are more hurtful to individual businesses and employees - many of them of Latino - than Arizona as a hole.  Meanwhile, a County Supervisor in Milwuakee, Wisconsin claims that she might support Arizona's SB 1070 were it a border state like Texas is.

Pot shops chased out of LA due to legislation that just recently went into effect have tried to stay alive by moving into West Hollywood.  No dice as the City Council there passed an emergency law putting the brakes on more dispensaries.

Completely broke the eastern Los Angeles County City of Maywood has voted to shut itself down, outsourcing its functions to the neighboring City of Bell and police duties to the LA County Sheriff.  The Eastern Group Publications wonders if the long corrupt little duchy should even remain an actual city.

Los Angeles Political Hotsheet for Wednesday

Screw you, Kagel Canyon!


The much ballyhooed protest event held yesterday on the steps of City Hall to demand that the heads of the LA City Council members be placed on a stick for boycotting Arizona, drew a grand total of 30 silly angry people.

Coincidentally, the organizers of the failed protest event, the Republican Party of LA County is under siege by the Rand "It's my lunch counter, dammit" Paul Tea Bag Party, and now a judge is being asked to separate the children and restore order.

SB1070 part 2 is soon to arrive! Now the author of Arizona's controversial "Show Me Your Papers" law has another bright idea and wants to overturn the 14th amendment of the Constitution and kick out kids born on American soil . You stay classy Arizona!

Richard Alarcon had a breakdown in City Council yesterday during the discussion over appointing Irma Munoz to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.
While other council members used their time to praise the important work of the SMMC , Alarcon used his time to cry about the SMMC opposing his proposed truck driving school on the designated open space of the former Lopez Canyon Landfill. Kagel Canyon residents are the community most impacted by the landfill and the bizarre & obsessive efforts by Alarcon to open the school no matter how many organizations tell him how bad this project is (the ENTIRE LA County Board of Supervisors for starters). He also demanded a report from Ms. Munoz on why no one from the SMMC contacted him before issuing their letter in opposition to Alarcon's ridiculous Pet Project. Maybe because the SMMC has better things to do than subject themselves to the rants and ravings from the Tyrant of CD 7? Note to Alarcon: Jobs or Taxes is not a valid reason for a zone variance, especially on Open Space.

And finally, I gave a tour of the homeless camps in the Tujunga Wash for the LA Times yesterday. Here is the story and photos.

Arizona Thumps Chest, LA Tries Not to Laugh

Macho Man Pierce

Ambitious AZ commissioner, Gary Pierce, tried to raise his profile today and threatened to turn off the lights in Los Angeles in retaliation for this City's official boycott of AZ's pandering (and highly likely to be crushed in court) SB1070 law.

Enjoy your 15 minutes, Mr. Pierce.

Here is the response from Austin Beutner, General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power;

General Manager's Statement Regarding
LADWP Power Generation Assets in Arizona


"I want to make clear that we support the City position regarding the recent law enacted in Arizona and the resolution adopted by the Los Angeles City Council.

On any given day, we receive 20 – 25% of our power from two power plants located in Arizona: Navajo, a coal-fired plant, and Palo Verde, a nuclear plant.

We are part owner of both power plants, which are generating assets of the Department. As such, nothing in the City’s resolution is inconsistent with our continuing to receive power from those LADWP-owned assets.

I might add that, as the City’s Job Czar, I certainly would welcome any conventions or meetings that were going to be held in Arizona to come to Los Angeles. We have fantastic facilities and incomparable weather and we’d welcome them to the City of Angels."

- Austin Beutner, General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Tuesday

The City Council Monday night approved a nearly $7 billion budget for fiscal year 2010-2011 after months of trying to close hundreds of millions of dollars in deficits.  Key to the budget is the layoff of over 700 City staff unless unions agree to concessions.  What say you that the unions will agree or the Clowncil will back down?

Big doins' and the blowback coming on the controversial Arizona Immigration Law, SB 1070, and the boycotts against it.  First off pro-illegal immigration activists were incensed by remarks made by LA Lakers Coach Phil Jackson that indicated the winningest coach in NBA history either supported SB 1070 or at least didn't oppose it.  That created a firestorm of controversy calling for boycotts and protests of the Lakers yet activists could gather only about a score of folks to picket the Staples Center Monday evening.

Next up hotels in San Diego were reporting handfuls of Arizona residents were cancelling trips and room reservations in America's Finest City as a counter-boycott against the border city was brewing in the cactus state.  While it doesn't yet represent a groundswell more rooms have been cancelled than there were protesters at Staples and it has the local tourism folks worried.

A Tulare County (CA) trucker is encouraging other truckers to boycott Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego Counties over the boycotts.  A group of Arizonans has created the BUYcott Arizona website to encourage supporters to boycott cities that are boycotting Arizona and to spend money in the Grand Canyon state.  Conservative radio talk show host Tony Katz is leading a group of SB1070 supporters to travel to Arizona and spend money in support.

From the how come no one thought of this before department, existing California law was compared to the new Arizona law that has everyone up in arms.  Section 834b of the California Penal Code contains remarkably similar language to SB1070.

Back in LA-LA land the City Council - fast to act on the  boycott of Arizona - is languishing on legislation to cut City ties and business with firms that do business with the Islamic Republic of Iran.  A really terrible place where folks actually are asked for their papers all the time, racial profiling and segregation is the law, women are legally treated like property and well we don't even want to say how they treat da gheys. I wonder where Paul Koretz stands on all this because remember it's Iran, not Arizona, that has missiles pointed at Israel.

And finally moving on to our favorite goofy recall and the gift who keeps on giving, Phil Jennerjahn.  Recall leaders, including David Hernandez a really good guy we can't figure out why he has teamed up with Phil, is seeking the financial support of Arizonans pissed at LA who might want to exact a pound of flesh from Mayor Villaraigosa.  Fair enough I am sure a lot of help can be ginned up but this is a strategic error even if it generates a short term gain. LA's non-partisan politics has created the environment for left-wing yuppie liberals in Silverlake to be simpatico with Republicans from Sunland-Tujunga or Latinos from CD14 over issues like over-development, billboards, phony ballot measures, etc. and be united in their disdain for the Mayor and Clowncil.  The moment you attach the recall to anything that sounds like Minutemen or even Tea Partiers two of those three legs of that table fall out, it becomes  Republican movement and the numbers aren't there in LA for that.  That doesn't stop Phil Jennerjahn though who doesn't care what anyone else says, he's going to win!

"Machete" a Summer Blockbuster?

Acclaimed film director Robert Rodriguez has a message for Arizona in this trailer for "Machete", in theaters later this year. Arizona's controversial SB1070 that was recently signed into law by base pandering Republican Governor Jan Brewer, has sparked a rash of boycotts aimed at Arizona, including one enacted today by the City of Los Angeles.



More on the City of Los Angeles ban on doing business with Arizona HERE.

Los Suns vs San Antonio Spurs on 05/05/10

On the rarest of occasions, the stars line up and we get to write about politics and basketball in the same post.

The Phoenix Suns have taken a bold and extraordinary step for a NBA team and will change their name (at least on their jerseys) to the "LOS SUNS" for Game 2 of the NBA finals against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. This is in response to the "soon to not be implemented" immigration law SB1070 that was recently signed by pandering AZ Republican Gov. Jan Brewer.

From the WP:

'Los Suns' jerseys will return for Game 2

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

The Phoenix Suns plan to wear "Los Suns" on their jerseys in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals Wednesday, owner Robert Sarver said, "to honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona, and our nation."

The decision to wear the jerseys on the Cinco de Mayo holiday stems from a law passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Gov. Jan Brewer that has drawn widespread criticism from Latino organizations and civil rights groups that say it could lead to racial profiling of Hispanics. President Obama has called the law "misguided."

Sarver, who was born and raised in Tucson, said frustration with the federal government's failure to deal with the illegal immigration issue led to the passage of what he called "a flawed state law."

Sarver came up with the "Los Suns" jersey idea but left it up to the players for the final decision, Suns guard Steve Nash said, and all of them were for it.

San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich said his team was interested in taking part but couldn't get new "Los Spurs" road jerseys in time for the game. . . .