Bedtime Snack from your Uncle Sam

Happenings around the LA political world to chew on before you go to bed...just about every one of these stories constitutes billable work for Political Consultant/Private Citizen John Shallman.

Greg NOT Greig

City Attorney candidate Mike Feuer wants you to remember that opponent Greg Smith is not Greig Smith, former Councilman. So he has sent out a mailer. No matter. The only two names you'll need to know come the general election is Smith and Trutanich.

Clinging to her Mayoral campaign, Wendy Greuel, in a Bob Dole move, sends a piece to mailboxes accusing fellow candidates Eric Garcetti and Jan Perry of lying about her record. Next thing she'll be telling us she paid for the microphone.

Jan Perry puts out a mailer with Wendy Greuel's Republican voter registration. Wendy shoots back with a photo of the pixie at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. It was probably shot right after this great moment for LA Democrats:

A big day in endorsements for Wendy Greuel. First, she got the nod from Orange County Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, best known for her "colorful" Christmas cards and alleged affairs with military officers turned lobbyists. Later in the day, Wendy was backed by the far more boring  Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles; the endorsement now raising significant concerns with tenant and affordable housing advocates.

Hey, Loretta!

Meet Dante Atkins. DailyKos blogger and Democratic Party activist who may be Wendy Greuel's worst nightmare. Atkins is a prolific Tweeter with fairly frequent posts at Twitter hitting hard on Greuel's misdeeds and missteps. Of note, Atkins catches that Wendy's new "Truth Squad" web pages is still claiming the millions of dollars Greuel says her office save the City, yet debunked by the LA Times, and the slimeball move by the Greuel campaign to release the past arrest record of a reporter who made public records requests of the Controller's office.

Familiar with the Hollywood Community Plan? Wendy Greuel was against it before she was for it, most likely the result of a come-to-Jesus sit down with Boss D'Arcy. Former City Planner and hero to low-density activists, Dick Platkin, writes at Ron Kaye why the Plan, based on completely inaccurate data about the expected growth of Los Angeles, is a really bad idea. If adopted citywide, it could lead to massive densification and perhaps high rises in bucolic places like Sunland-Tujunga, Studio City, Valley Village and elsewhere. But Wendy now LOVES it!

We alluded to Wendy's "Truth Squad" (snicker)...LOTS more on that in the coming days.

And finally, if you want a laugh in this election season (and we all need one about now), check out the Twitter page of @eric_garcetti. Nope, not that Eric Garcetti, but a fictionalized version of the District 13 Councilman turned Mayoral candidate who Tweets that "The #ecofriendly future #vegan in me wants 2 say "No" to #tacos de carnitas but the #Latino side of me keeps saying "Si! Si!"" and that "#teamgarcetti has harvested enough rainwater to irrigate every lawn in Studio City today!" This Eric Garcetti not only wants to be your next Mayor but "Your next best friend. Your next everything."

Sweet dreams!

Retired City Councilman Greig Smith endorses Jan Perry for Mayor

Ex.CD 12 City Councilman Greig Smith "contemplating" action within the horseshoe during council proceedings.

Retire/termed out CD 12 City Councilman Greig Smith awaken from retirement slumber today to endorse CD 9 City Councilwoman Jan Perry's 2013 Mayoral Bid. Smith, a fiscal conservative during his time within the horseshoe, will open doors for Perry within the San Fernando Valley, especially among business interests.

In his endorsement of Perry, Smith cited the lone woman remaining within the horseshoe, as someone who will  practice fiscal sanity and continue to show backbone in reforming the DWP.

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

Scott Johnson in CD 14

First Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet of 2011

After today, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a private citizen again. He's not really sure what he plans to do, if he will do more films, throw himself into more business ventures, etc. but he does plan to be a green crusader. In the meantime, Jerry Brown returns to the State Capitol for a third term as Governor, planning to do battle with both Democrats and Republicans on the state budget.

Not sure if this is the same as an Ass Clown award but Ron Kaye has named Councilman Dennis Zine as his "man of the year" noting the former motorcycle cop turned union head turned Clowncilman is a "Symbol of City Hall's deceit and dishonor." Kaye is pretty down on his hometown CM for a number of reasons calling Zine "Indefatigable, the two-faced man of a thousand fiancees never passed up a civic event where he couldn't force himself onto the stage or saw an elite party he didn't like." I don't know about Zine but that sounds a lot like this guy and this guy.

Read more »

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Friday

Blog away dum dums.

The LA City Council is going to ask for a tax that even a NIMBY could love but it doesn't mean it should be passed. The Clowncil has voted to place a measure on the November ballot that would tax billboards and supergraphics. Though the city is pleading poverty Mark Reddick, President of the Del Rey Neighborhood Council, makes a good point - “We don’t have a revenue problem in the city; we have a spending problem.” Reddick is absolutely right and at some point most of the rest of you will get it.

Clowncilman Greig Smith voted against LA's goofy boycott of Arizona but was wishy washy when asked why.  Not so with County Supervisors Mike Antonovich and Don Knabe who oppose a similar LA County boycott of Arizona.  Antonovich did not mince words calling the boycott "Stupid."  Perhaps Antonovich and Knabe are concerned about the economic impact of a boycott of LA and it's tourist attractions; San Diego lost several million dollars in hotel bookings from Arizona residents when that city only passed a condemnation of Arizona and not quite a boycott. With Arizonans gearing up for a counter-boycott of Los Angeles and other cities those considering sticking their nose into Arizona's business (especially when California already has an identical law on the books to Arizona's) might think twice.

Bloated mush-mouth Clowncilman Paul Koretz compared Arizona's anti-illegal immigration laws to Nazi Germany and caught a lot of heat for it.  But here's something about Nazi Germany Koretz may want to remember as he is cheerleading banning the carrying of unconcealed weapons in public.  It was in Nazi Germany that Hitler required all citizens to register their guns and banned Jews from owning weapons, just before they were loaded on boxcars and hauled to the ovens.  Koretz should think twice and consider that the second amendment is there for a reason.

The former Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro is being turned into a "Great Park" a enormous public space that will create a park twice the size of New York's Central Park.  Now efforts are underway to turn part of the park into a massive urban farm.  Maybe that's a good idea for the Grand Avenue Park in Downtown LA, given how many hungry people we have in LA.  It would be funny to see Eli Broad in overalls don't you think?

This may be bad news for the Republican and Democratic parties: Californians are fleeing both parties in record numbers  20% of voters in the Golden State have registered as decline to state.

If your home is in a hillside area its time to soon to clear the brush around your property.  The LAFD News and Information Blog has great information including how to hire a professional to clear the brush and how the inspection process works.

Why Janice Boycotts

The Great Councilwoman Janice Hahn!

Why did Janice Hahn lead the effort to have the City boycott business with Arizona? Pure and simple she's in a race for Lt Governor with the controversial but still popular San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. If Newsom, who is also leading a boycott effort in his city, or Hahn are to earn the Democratic nomination they'll need to reach out for Latino votes. With neither having a natural Latino base both must do whatever it takes to get every last vote.

The whole thing is ironic because whichever of the two gets their party's nod will face a Latino in the general election, Republican Lt. Governor Abel Maldonado who has shown an ability to attract votes from Democrats and independents.

Now on the other hand there is Hahn's partner in crime on the matter, Councilmember Paul Koretz. Right now there is a whole lot of buyers' remorse in the 5th Council District where Koretz barely won election over Neighborhood Council favorite David Vahedi. Koretz, in making bizarre remarks comparing Arizona to Nazi Germany has earned the scorn of critics from various Jewish groups to radio talk show host Tim Conway, Jr. who stated on his KFI radio show Saturday that Koretz really sounds like someone who should be institutionalized.

In the meantime while this nutty circus plays out under the big top on Spring Street the Clowncil won't have the time to address more important issues like the City's budget mess. Though they are putting some window dressing on that

Related stories:

Blogger Paul Hatfield praises Councilmember Greig Smith for being the only vote against Hahn's measure.

LA's elected officials are urging the Los Angeles Lakers to somehow boycott the Phoenix Suns in the NBA playoffs. The Lakers' response: "We don't do politics."

In response to the LA boycott and other attacks upon it, Arizona has formed a "truth-telling" task force to fight back.

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Tuesday

Moved to Tuesday.  Sometime this morning we'll know who Mayor Villaraigosa has chosen as the Chief of the LAPD.  The Christian Science Monitor has a good read on the challenges facing the next man to helm LA's finest.

If you live in CD5, 11 or 12 and wonder why your Clowncilman isn't spending time on the pressing problem of your community, here is one reason. Members Paul Koretz (we don't have a nickname for him yet), Bill Rosen-DUH and Sleeping Greig Smith are working feverishly to outlaw declawing cats in Los Angeles.  This is despite the fact that veternarians say the law is unnecessary and unworkable and that an overworked Department of Animal Services is begging to not be given one more unfunded mandate they don't have the police powers to enforce anyway.  Your Council at work.

The 818Blog takes the news that CD2 candidate Paul Krekorian has been endorsed by former rivals Tamar Galatzan and Mary Benson as a sign that the Valley Assemblyman is "picking up steam" in the race.  On the other hand, the blog notes, Chris Essel has the endorsement of most of the City Council and the LA Times.

Remember Laura Chick? She's been working as California's Inspector General with a mandate from Arnold to root out fraud, waste and abuse just like she did here in LA.  Tuesday Inspector Chick will hold a press conference to drop the dime on shady non-profit about to receive some Obama stimulus dollars.  According to Chick's office a report prepared by a department of the State of California has found the agency to be "problematic and high risk." Hmmm...does that organization's name start with an A (and no, not the Auto Club)?

Morning Briefs and Outtakes on Water Wasting Councilman and other Topics

"Councilman Waterwaster with Mayor Waterwaster. BTW, what has Villaraigosa's interest??"

An act of civil disobedience or flat out lawbreaking??

Los Angeles City Councilman Greig Smith or else known as "Mitch Englander's boss", is taking on the DWP's draconian water restrictions as Rick Orlov reports in today's Daily News.

Add City Councilman Greig Smith to the list of scofflaws violating Los Angeles' water conservation restrictions.

In a direct challenge to the Department of Water and Power, Smith announced Wednesday he is violating the twice-weekly watering limitations -- and believes he is saving more water by doing so.

"And my grass is greener than it's ever been, and I bet I'm using less water," Smith said.
Smith said he waters his lawn for eight minutes, three times a week.

He proposed that DWP revise its conservation rules, which allow watering for 15-minute periods before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays only.

My first thought upon reading this was "what is former "Senator Jim Alger's" spin on this blatant act of lawbreaking by Councilman Smith?? But upon finding the website for his e-mail chat, errrrrr, radio talk show "Common Sense with Jim Alger", all I found was this. Maybe the "Do It Center" dropped its advertising??

But the bigger issue here is not whether DWP "blue shirts" will descend upon Smith's residence, but can we believe anything that originates as policy from DWP's General Manager H. David Nahai and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa??

After all, both Nahai and Villaraigosa have less than stellar records of preserving water at their respective residences, but then it was the gophers or faulty timers who were to blame, right Mr. Mayor??

Then there are those like myself who support practices that cut back on water waste, but wonder if the focus on the local drought, takes attention away from the man-made drought in the northern reaches of the state?? Can you say Delta Smelt Fish??

OTHER NEWS:

** LA Weekly's Christine Pelisek reports that the Los Angeles County District Attorney Office is mulling over whether to charge former City of LA Building and Safety General Manager Andrew Adelman with sexual assualt.

** The subject is Medical Marijuana and a interview with City Councilman Ed "Density" Reyes who gives his toke , errrr, take, on the issue of medical weed dispensaries, you may want to pass this one around.

** What is going on within the Los Angeles Unified School District Police force?? The "Weekly of Record" Max Taves has the latest in this brewing scandal.

** Can it be?? A proposed new football stadium in the City of Industry area, cleared a major hurdle when the City of Walnut dropped its lawsuit. Just hope that it is anyone but the Raiders that may call Industry their new football home.

** Did your kid learn this new song at school?? Hmmm, Hmmm, Hmmm.

** Why is it that the "Old Gray Westside Hag On Spring Street" and animal rights activists care so much about Elephants at the Zoo??

Your thoughts.........

Neighborhood Council Funding: Mayor Wins; Parks, Smith, Rosendahl Lose

From Jay Handal of the WLANC:

This just in!
City Council Vote was unanimous...
$45,000, no sweeps, clerk does hybrid elections.
Congratulations to all neighborhood council members and their communities

EXCLUSIVE: Mayor Villaraigosa Responds to Parks and Smith

For the first time in our nearly five year history Mayor Villaraigosa's office has "officially" contacted the Sister City to respond to a post on our site, that being Council Member's Greig Smith's and Bernard Parks' controversial stands on the City Budget.

Here Mayoral spokesman Matt Szabo very clearly dissects and refutes the Smith/Parks positions and offers the Mayor's rebuttal. Read and judge for yourself:

As you know, it has not been the regular practice of the mayor’s
office to respond to individual posts on your site. But I have to
take issue with the recent posting of Councilman Greig Smith and
Councilman Bernard Parks' respective statements on their decision to
balance the Fiscal Year 2009-10 city budget by gutting police and fire
services. I take no issue with your decision to post the statements.
But the statements themselves are riddled with errors and
inconsistencies, and I’d like an opportunity to correct the record.

Let’s start with Mr. Smith. He writes
(http://mayorsam.blogspot.com/2009/05/free-gift-for-michael-trujillo.html):

*****
“On Wednesday May 13, I voted with the majority of the City’s Budget
and Finance Committee to fix Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s proposed
budget which is balanced on $326 million of uncertain assumptions that
would have bankrupted the City by the end of this year.”

*****

It’s totally inaccurate to suggest that the mayor’s budget contains
$326 million in uncertain assumptions – unless Council volition is
inherently an uncertain assumption.

While it is true that the mayor intends to balance $231 million of the
$530 million budget deficit through “shared sacrifice” realized by
ongoing labor negotiations, those savings are far from uncertain. If
the mayor and the other executive employee relations committee members
(Garcetti, Greuel, Parks and Zine) are unable to reach consensus with
labor on adequate concessions, then the remainder of the savings will
be realized through mandatory furloughs and/or layoffs. But in the
mayor’s view, furloughs and layoffs should be the last resort – not
the first option – since these alternatives trigger service reduction
and job loss at a time when Angelenos can least afford it.

Setting aside the $231 million in “shared sacrifice,” the remaining
$90+ million in so-called “uncertain assumptions” comes in the form of
$10 million in slush fund money (AB 1290) which the committee refused
to give up, and $80 million in parking structure/meter revenue, which
is the minimum first-year revenue which would be realized if the
Council approves the mayor’s proposal to lease the city’s parking
structure and meter facilities to private operators.

Smith continues:

*****
“… the Mayor has engaged in scare tactics and fear mongering instead
of working to find solutions for the City’s financial problems.

Even worse, Police Chief William Bratton threatened to take away
Police Officers from the districts of Councilmembers who do not cave
to his agenda and the Mayor’s budget-breaking demands.”

*****

The trite “scare tactic” and “fear mongering” rhetoric doesn’t require
serious response, but the Bratton charge does.

Reacting to the Budget Committee’s vote to cut 520 cops this fiscal
year, Chief Bratton said that he would have to pull 25-30 officers
from each of the City’s 21 community police stations should the full
Council adopt the proposal.

Chief Bratton was not issuing a threat, he was simply using math. The
City currently has 21 community police stations. If you reduce the
police force by 520 officers, then, on average, you will have to
reduce sworn staffing at each station by 25 officers [520/21 = 25].

Staff reduction at the community police stations within Councilman
Rosendahl’s district would be a required consequence of the full
Council’s adoption of the Budget Committee’s recommended cut – pure
and simple. To dismiss the reality of officer reduction as a
retributive threat ignores the basic properties of third grade
arithmetic.

More Smith:

*****
“Mayor Villaraigosa’s plan to remove current rank-and-file Police
Officers from the streets with mandatory furlough days to pay for his
new Officers fails to make sense. Furthermore, the Mayor fails to
provide a viable revenue source for these new hires. His budget relies
on hundreds of millions of dollars in union concessions that he has
failed to obtain in 15 months of ongoing negotiations.”

*****

This is perhaps my favorite ‘graph because it is 100% inaccurate.

(1) The mayor has no plan to remove officers from the streets with
mandatory furloughs. Furloughing sworn personnel is an absolute last
resort, just as layoffs are a last resort for civilian personnel.

(2) The mayor HAS provided a viable revenue source for the new hires.
It’s commonly referred to as the trash fee - which the good Councilman
and every single one of his colleagues voted to raise from $12 to $38
per month while promising to expand the police force by 1,000
officers.

(3) The Councilman is not a member of the Executive Employee Relations
Committee and has no direct knowledge of the mayor’s efforts to
achieve “shared responsibility/sacrifice” savings from labor. The
truth is most major bargaining units are at the table and are working
in good faith to contribute to the budget balancing solution. Stay
tuned.

Councilman and Budget Committee Chairman Bernard Parks offered a much
more tempered and serious assessment
(http://mayorsam.blogspot.com/2009/05/sleepy-has-spoken-here-comes-dopey.html).
But the Chairman propagates two pieces of misinformation that must be
corrected.

*****
“As of today, if the City does not enact a hiring freeze, over 7,000
civilian employees will be laid off.”

*****

With all respect to the Chairman, this charge is simply not true. The
mayor has proposed several cost-saving and revenue-enhancing options
which would reduce the number of required layoffs. However, no
scenario – not even the “do absolutely nothing” scenario – would
require 7,000 layoffs. Again, using math, 7,000 layoffs equates to
approximately $630 million [using the Full Time Equivalent figure of
$90,000 per employee (including health care and benefits)]. The
current budget deficit is $530 million, so the absolute maximum number
of layoffs we would need to execute absent any other solutions would
be ~ 5,900.

Last issue with Parks’ statement:

*****
“A few years ago, members of the public were told that an increase in
trash fees would be used only to hire new officers. This, however, is
not the case and was never the case. The trash fee was increased to
help cover the cost of collecting trash from single family homes. The
City has fulfilled its commitment to fund a significant number of new
police, but it is important to clarify that the entire trash fee was
never committed or intended to be used solely for the hiring of police
officers.”

*****

Again, with all due respect to the Chairman, this seems to be
revisionist history. At the same time the City moved to enhance the
trash fees, it made the commitment to expand the police force by 1,000
officers. We have not yet fulfilled that commitment, and any hiring
freeze effectively reneges on that commitment.

A Free Gift for Michael Trujillo

I'm sensing that the Mayor is being more fiscally responsible than Council Member Greig Smith. But I could be wrong. Read on from the sleeping man:

===

On Wednesday May 13, I voted with the majority of the City’s Budget and Finance Committee to fix Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s proposed budget which is balanced on $326 million of uncertain assumptions that would have bankrupted the City by the end of this year.

The Chief Legislative Analyst and the City Administrative Officer, who serves as the City’s chief financial officer, both concur with the Committee majority that Mayor Villarigosa’s proposed budget is unsustainable.

Since that time the Mayor has engaged in scare tactics and fear mongering instead of working to find solutions for the City’s financial problems.

Even worse, Police Chief William Bratton threatened to take away Police Officers from the districts of Councilmembers who do not cave to his agenda and the Mayor’s budget-breaking demands.

My colleagues, Councilmen Bernard Parks and Bill Rosendahl, are honorable public servants who do not deserve political retaliation for their difficult decision to preserve City services while keeping the City solvent.

As a 16-year LAPD Reserve Police Officer, I reject the implication that I oppose our Police and Firefighters. I have put my life on the line to protect the people who live and work in Los Angeles and public safety has always been and will always be my top priority.

Mayor Villaraigosa’s plan to remove current rank-and-file Police Officers from the streets with mandatory furlough days to pay for his new Officers fails to make sense.

Furthermore, the Mayor fails to provide a viable revenue source for these new hires. His budget relies on hundreds of millions of dollars in union concessions that he has failed to obtain in 15 months of ongoing negotiations.

The City is projected to reach a $1 billion budget deficit in 2010. Mayor Villaraigosa funds his proposals with one-time revenue that will not fix our ongoing budgetary problems.

A deficit of this magnitude will force the closing of parks and libraries and decimate critical services such as street paving, sidewalk repair and traffic improvements.

The drastic downturn of our economy has created the worst budget scenario in City history. The City, like all families all across America, has had to make sacrifices, cut spending, and make do with less.

In addition to the 26 mandatory furlough days my staff and I will take under the Committee’s revised budget, I am cutting my office salaries and General City Purpose funds by 10%. This is on top of the 10% cut to office salaries I gave back in the current year’s budget.

I fully support the hiring of additional Police Officers and the expansion of the force. I will not, however, endorse a fiscally irresponsible plan. The hiring freeze is a temporary delay to LAPD’s expansion until the City can afford it. I urge the Mayor and Police Chief to tone down their rhetoric and work with the Council to achieve real solutions based on sound fiscal policy.

Greig Smith
Councilman, Twelfth District

Greig Smith and his Promises

Neighborhood Council Funding Still In Limbo

Smith & Parks give the finger to the Neighborhood Councils!

Today's epic meeting of the Budget & Finance Committee has just ended with no resolution over the proposed 78% cut in funding to the Neighborhood Councils. There were over 2 hours of public comment from just about every NC official in Los Angeles. Passionate & logical statements were made by LA's finest volunteer program participants opposed to this illogical slashing of funds. I am not a member of a NC but I would guess that the City gets a 110% return on every dollar they invest into this charter mandated program. As many speakers stated, for $50k per year to each NC, let's see the City come up with anything comparable to the efficiency and productivity of the all-volunteer Neighborhood Council system.

The City Council should be raising the NC budgets, not cutting them. Particularly in bad fiscal times, you need to encourage and accommodate your volunteers, not castrate them. The NCs are a magnet for volunteers and community involvement. They are not paid, they don't ask for pension benefits or overtime, and they are the first responders to community issues.

Greig Smith & Bernard Parks, the advocates for the 78% budget cuts, spent the afternoon belittling the Neighborhood Councils with Smith saying he'd rather keep a staff member than pay for NC T-shirts. Really Greig? Is that where you think the money goes? I am sure the NCs would beg to differ.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Monday

When it comes to shared sacrifice for LA's Neighborhood Councils in the current budget climate, the Daily Breeze agrees that the 10% reduction proposed by the Mayor is fair.  So does Eric Garcetti. Yet Sleeping Greig Smith and Bitter Bernie Parks want to slash the panels' annual stipend to an amount equal to the the price of a two bedroom home in Van Nuys  - in 1958.  Smith is apparently so resentful of the Councils in his District that he's willing to play economic hardball.  However before that happens City Hall will be under siege from SLAP-happy Bastille stormers fresh off their historic victory on Measure B.  It's unlikely Sleepy and the Bitterman will be able to find more than a handful of CMs who will want to face pitchforks up their patoots.

Council President EricGarcetti is asking his constituents what should be done with all the new Obama era spendalus money targeted for his District.  Atwater Village Newbie has a good answer: "Do your job."  Rather than creating photo opp worthy new projects focus on fixing what's already broken.  Good advice.

The always on top and politically active Beckford School moms and dads in the San Fernando Valley are stepping up again.  They're joining with some neighboring schools to stage a protest rally against the LAUSD's nonsense.  Pretty impressive in that they've lined up both controversial school board member Tamar Galatzan as well as comedian Sandra Tsing-Loh.  Via the Beckford Parents Blog.

LAUSD couldn't entice big name educators from the East Coast to come and run the new multi-million dollar "arts" high school downtown so they've turned to Van Nuys instead. The Downtown News reports that Suzanne Blake of Vista Middle School will helm the new campus, which has been the target of criticism from within several camps in LA.

Speaking of the Downtown News apparently our friend and blogger Don Garza from Central City East has a problem with the paper.  Don feels that the News is spamming him with weekly news updates and can't seem to get off the list.  We think that both the News and Don Garza are excellent sources of information about our City's center however perhaps our other friend Jon Regardie, executive editor of the paper, can get Don off the list or at least take him out for a cup of coffee and patch things up.  We hope so.

We noted recently proposals in the State Legislature to sell the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, most likely to USC. Apparently County Supervisor and Coliseum Commission board member Zev Yaroslavsky is aghast at the idea.  The Coliseum Commission - a confusing joint powers arrangement of the City, County and State - has really done a poor job over the years managing the facility, probably botched any chance for pro-football in LA proper and has allowed the facility to forgo much needed improvements.  There is no doubt USC would do an excellent job of running the stadium.  Zev needs to think less about his season tickets and stop acting like a Bruin.

Smith Spins Attack on NCs; Should Go Back to Sleep

"Those damn blogs! If it wasn't for those damn blogs I could sleep more in Clowncil meetings and bamboozle a whole lot more folks much easier!"

- Clowncilman Greig Smith

= SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT =
May 8, 2009

In Response to Recent Mischaracterizations About Neighborhood Council Funds

Dear Neighborhood Council Members and Friends:

Over the past few days, many emails and calls have come to my office full of emotion and, sometimes, misinformation regarding various proposals affecting Neighborhood Council funding.

Ironically, just last week (Friday, May 1) I communicated directly with every Neighborhood Council President in my District outlining my concerns for their unspent funds. I also offered some ways to protect these funds, and strongly voiced my support for the good work each Neighborhood Council in my District has been doing.

Despite some of the mischaracterizations that appeared in blogs and emails in recent days, I strongly support Neighborhood Councils and have overwhelmingly positive, close constructive working relationships with the Neighborhood Councils in my District. Members of our staff are in constant communication with all of our Neighborhood Councils, and they regularly attend the meetings of all of the Neighborhood Councils to ensure continuous communication between us.

I have seen a real effort made by the board members of these councils to be prudent with their funds and find useful projects that improve the quality of life in our community. These range from partnering with us and other Neighborhood Councils and community groups on community events, to beautification projects and clean-up events, to a collaborative District-wide emergency preparedness event.

We have worked very closely with Neighborhood Councils in our District on a great number of community improvement projects. One Neighborhood Council contributed funds to help us make a land acquisition to increase the size of Stoney Point Park and save a horse-keeping property from development.

Neighborhood Councils have used their funds to purchase signs that display the speed cars are driving to improve street safety. They have contributed money and sweat equity to countless neighborhood clean-ups, graffiti removal, and weed abatement projects that we have done together. We have worked together to find solutions and funding to clean up the half-completed projects and overgrown medians left behind when a local Business Improvement District dissolved.

One Neighborhood Council used its funds to stock a shipping container with emergency supplies, first aid materials, and food and place it in park property. They developed plans to make these emergency supplies available to the community in case of a large-scale disaster, and their project has been lauded across the City as a highly innovative and valuable use of Neighborhood Council funding.

They have also brought forward a number of great ideas that we have turned into legislation.

The Neighborhood Councils provide an essential advisory function and have used their funds to complete a great number of projects and activities that improve the quality of life in our community. These are valuable services and projects that the City doesn’t provide. They can and should continue to do these good works, but under the current conditions, they will have to make do with less money, at least temporarily.

As we grapple with a potentially devastating City budget, the financial choices the City Council has to make in approving the proposed budget are not easy. We must look both at the near and long-term impacts of decisions we make. We can't look at that quick fix to balance the budget today without considering the complicated and long-term impacts.

During the Budget Hearings of Tuesday, May 5, I entered the discussion only with respect to the proposal to eliminate the $1.5 million rollover of unspent Neighborhood Council funds, not the proposal to deeply cut their annual budgets.

I am not sure if councils can be funded at the full $45,000 per year as proposed in the Mayor’s budget. But I will work hard to find the best-case scenario to support the good efforts of our volunteer community members who serve on the advisory boards in my District.

The Daily News and the blogs would have you believe that eliminating jobs is preferable to reducing the funds that Neighborhood Councils have available for neighborhood projects. They are vilifying the very same people that provide the services that no one wants to see reduced. The great majority of City employees are regular, hard-working people who are supporting families and contributing to the economy.

None of these are easy decisions. We must strike a balance between preserving essential City services, preserving jobs, and preserving funds such as the Neighborhood Council funds. My position is to put more emphasis on preserving necessary City services – these are services that we can’t do without. They include hauling trash, maintaining streets and sidewalks and sewers, keeping parks and libraries open and preserving Police and Fire services.

I will continue to work to preserve as much of the Neighborhood Council funds as we can under the current crisis conditions. I will also work closely with each of the Neighborhood Councils in my District to find ways to support their projects and maintain positive, constructive relationships.

Council Member Grieg Smith

Related:
Greig Smith Hates Neighborhood Councils

Antonio Villaraigosa, Jack Weiss, Wendy Greuel and Laundered Campaign Contributions

Here's a reason to join with Dennis Zine and other Council Members who are voting for anyone but Jack Weiss for City Attorney. Don't forget this Emmy Award winning KNBC report that alleges how Weiss was received laundered campaign funds. In addition to Weiss, KNBC says other candidates who took laundered funds include Mayor Villaraigosa, City Controlller candidate Wendy Greuel, Janice Hahn and Greig Smith.

Part One



Part Two

Candidate Adeena Bleich Stumps in CD5

You might remember that when Council Member "Sleeping" Greig Smith first ran for his 12th District seat he made a video with all kinds of promises we can, sadly, laugh at now.

Here we have another wannabe Council Member, Adeena Bleich who is seeking the 5th Council District seat who has been captured on video making all kinds of promises.

Conventional wisdom is Bleich won't win but if she does remember this when she becomes yet another piece of the shady horseshoe.

Smith is Full of It!

Every now and then we have to trot out the this old Greig Smith campaign video to show what an utter disappointment the Councilman has been.

Smith, who normally spends a good chunk of Council meetings asleep,  has been pushing his plan to force Neighborhood Council board members - unpaid, unperked, volunteers who serve their city and have only advisory powers only to be subject to exposing their personal finances as well as that of their families and partners.

Tuesday the Clowncil approved this farce; however major kudos must be given to Janice Hahn, Richard Alarcon, Tom LaBonge and Dennis Zine who voted with the people.  Janice Hahn was dead on when she said there was far more shadiness around the Clowncil Horseshoe than in all the Neighborhood Councils combined.

Yet Greig was all about Neighborhood Councils in this video.  Feel free to count up all the other promises he broke.

Please go back to sleep Greig.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Monday

The City Council wants to give the Grammy Awards $125,000 to cover event costs borne by the City.  Yes we hear the usual spin that these events bring so much to Los Angeles (they do) and that the cost is merely an investment (see here where I take that argument apart).  The recording industry is apparently pleading poverty yet pop princess Britney Spears has acquired a $27,000 ring to wear to the show.  If the City Council doesn't have the fortitude to say now in this time of budget crisis, we once again raise our call to the Grammy organization to step up and say "we will decline the subsidy, we know the City that has nurtured, supported and enrichened us for over 50 years is hurting."  Don't hold your breath folks!

Marc Cooper becomes the latest "journo" to go bitter man on his former employer.  Like a less disciplined Kevin Roderick, Cooper's rambling screed spewing all over the LA Weekly is filled with personal invective which obscures what few good points Cooper might have.  Cooper wastes an enormous part of his digital ink on the absurd claim that Zuma Dogg's piece on the controversial Grand Avenue development in Downtown LA was actually written by weekly editor Jill Stewart.  One wonders if Zuma Dogg was challenging George Bush on a regular basis instead of the unaware elites' favorite kleptocrat Mayor if Cooper would view Zuma differently.

The nanny state continues unmolested as Los Angeles City Council Member "Sleeping" Greig Smith wants to ban smoking in outdoor areas of restaurants.  This old, dead, Republican mayor never smoked, hates smoking and doesn't like to be around it.  That being said I don't need the government to decide where people can and can't smoke; the market does that just fine.  In fact, Tom LaBonge confirms it when he tells the Los Angeles Tmes “The patrons are really demanding it.”  That's right Tom.  The smart establishments get it and many of them banned smoking way before the City told them to.

Los Angeles has undertaken a $2 million campaign to encourage tourism.  Tom Hanks, Kobe Bryant and Lauren Conrad are among the celebrities appearing in the "That's So LA" campaign now underway.  Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told reporters "During this tough period, one of the sectors taking the biggest hit is tourism. Families are cutting back on travel. In some cities, that might not matter too much."

The Daily News reports the recession has hit hard a number of upscale businesses on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks.  However a shoe repair shop and a fitness center that underwent a makeover report either no impact or increased sales.

Central City East blogger Don Garza says that a number of residents of the Skid Row hotel he lives in are complaining that the hotel management routinely enters their units in violation of their rights.  Garza is among several of the residents who have posted legal notices on their doors directing the management to keep out.

Obama, Garcetti and Goldberg

Apparently all the problems in Los Angeles have been solved since Mayor Villaraigosa went to Texas for a fundraiser with Henry Cisneros and Council President Eric Garcetti is campaigning for Barack Obama in Nevada.  You have to give Councilmembers Greig Smith and Dennis Zine, both Republicans, credit for not putting Council business aside to attend the Republican National Convention in September.

Hearing some chatter, is it possible the Council President's name is being floated as a choice for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in a potential Obama administration?  Garcetti was but one of a few local L.A. electeds to join the Obama train early when the Mayor banked his political capital on Hillary Clinton.

That being said, Garcetti isn't taking any chances and is running for re-election, having raised so far nearly half a million dollars for a race that he will probably have no opposition in.

However, were Garcetti to pack up his partner and head to Washington, D.C. it would open the door to a parade of candidates seeking to replace him.  And who could be part of that pack? None other than termed out former Assembly Member "Hurricane" Jackie Goldberg, Garcetti's predecessor.  Thanks to the recent affirmation of the City's shady term limits law by a panel of judges, Hurricane has another four years coming to her if she wants it.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Monday

Despite the efforts by Sleeping Greig Smith to the contrary, the City's Neighborhood Councils will get the opportunity to create "Council Files" without having to submit to onerous financial disclosures by the members of the all-volunteer panels.  At the same time however, Neighborhood Council leaders are calling on their colleagues to be "self-policing" when it comes to ethics and conflicts of interest.

After two and a half years of public comment community activism, Zuma Dogg believes that he and the City Council may have developed "Stockholm Syndrome" where most Council Members are no longer antagonistic to ZD and take time to spin him while awaiting his take on their work and "tuning in to see what I say the way movie goers tune into Siskle and Ebert to hear their take on movies."  At the same time, Zuma details his life of sleeping in his car, going without food and sleep, and yet being unable to quit his crusading ways.  Come on folks, if you have ever got some enjoyment and/or education out of Zuma's work, send him some PayPal love.

A commenter on a discussion board posts a photo of Council President Eric Garcetti officiating the wedding of two lesbians. Beyond Garcetti and the happy couple, the photo captures several interesting subtexts if you look at it throughly.  Still I wonder why some gays and lesbians, after working so hard to secure the important right to marriage, would want to have a member of the Los Angeles City Council or even the Mayor to officiate.  Odd.

Elizabeth Snead of the Los Angeles Times takes a look at the fashion choices of Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin calling her smart, no-nonsense couture is a breath of  fresh air "next to First Lady Laura Bush and Cindy McCain in their Oscar de la Renta suits, Chanel watches and Stuart Weitzman heels."

Lindsay Lohan and her girlfriend Samantha Ronson have joined deep thinkers Matt Damon and Pam Anderson in calling Palin a "Narrow Minded, Media Obsessed Homophobe."  Despite the obvious hypocrisy of any of that foursome calling someone narrow minded or media obsessed, the critical analysis offered up includes Anderson saying that Palin could "Suck it" (not sure if that was some kind of offer) and Ronson fearing that if elected Palin would take away her green card.