Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Tuesday

But Antonio's seats are better than mine!

Man, being an elected official sure has it perks. We all know about Mayor V's free tickets. The latest politician to score free Lakers and USC tickets as well as wine, whiskey, tequila, cigars and cologne is District Attorney Steve Cooley. Of course a spokes-flack says that Cooley has the "highest integrity" and these were gifts from friends. It's nice to have friends in high places.

Speaking of perks for pols Walter Moore makes a good point. Though City Controller Wendy Greuel has released the salaries of City workers her report does not list the perks they receive such as free cars, per diems, insurance, etc. Moore recounts that during an interview with KABC's Peter Tilden, Councilman Dennis Zine hemmed and hawed when asked what perks he gets.

Attorney General Jerry Brown is investigating the pay scandal in the City of Bell but a new report recounts outrageous pay for officials in the City of Oakland when Brown was Mayor there. The situation was so bad that an auditor was brought in following Brown's departure that found a tangled web of high salaries as well as unknown bonuses, paid leaves and vacation buybacks far in excess of salary agreements. The situation was so bad an unnamed Democratic leader said that Brown was “the worst administrator ever to come down the pike.”

Despite serious ethical allegations against her, Maxine Waters, like Richard Alarcon, seems to have not lost support amongst her supporters. Daiquiri Jackson, a member of a South Central church, told reporters that Waters was being targeted because she is a minority woman. However this is nonsense because most of the House members - Republican and Democrat - who have been brought up on ethics charges the last few years have been white males.

The Los Angeles and First blog has given Mayor Villaraigosa a report card and he averages a C minus. With an F in budgeting and a D+ in the economy it's hard to go up from there.

Mulholland Terrace brings to our attention a ridiculous exercise sponsored by the Mayor and the CRA: a "contest" for the best ideas on how to build a "clean corridor" in LA. The purse? $11,000.

Activists and parents from the North Valley are not giving up until an independent review into the death of teenager Zac Champommier. You may remember that Zac was shot down in cold blood by LA Sheriff's Deputies in a shopping center parking lot for no apparent reason. For two weeks now protesters have held rallies in Studio City near the site of Zac's murder.