Political Snow Jobs for a Chilly Saturday

If this was 2011, one could almost hear Mayor Antonio Villar proclaiming himself "the snowplow king".

Great chillin Saturday morning to all where we take advantage of this rare day of historic snowfall levels to highlight the "dubious political snow jobs" that merit exposure. But morphing into "weather geek mode" momentary, we should point out that the picture above was taken between January 9-11, 1949 which was officially the last measurable snowfall in Downtown Los Angeles. If this were to happen today, one wonders how Mayor Antonio Villar would take political advantage of this rare occurrence  

Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council Executive Board Members Jose Aguilar and Margo Amador speak out against HACLA Commissioner Maria Del Angel.

One of the biggest political snow jobs is the on-going corruption within the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA). The names, Victor Taracena, Gustavo Valdivia, Donald Smith, Maria Del Angel, and current HACLA CEO Rudy Montiel, have all been well documented in various media outlets. Some have even speculated recently that an "current public official" may be under investigation with links to one or more of the above-mentioned names. Regardless, some are now calling upon HACLA Commissioner Maria Del Angel and the rest of the HACLA commissioner to resign.

More political snow jobs via LACCD, Mayor Villar, Sierra Club, VICA and LA Chamber of Commerce after the blogging leap.
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Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Ponies Up $24,000+ for CD 2 Candidate Chris Essel

"I knew they love me at the Chamber of Commerce"

Will numbers such as these from Downtown business interest equate to victory on December 8 for Council District two candidate Chris Essel?

LA Jobs PAC Sponsored by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Los Angeles, CA 90017 (Independent Expenditure) Support Christine Essel City Council Member - District 02Chris Essel for City Council 2009 - General (1321633)[Election: 12/08/09] 11/13/09 11/12/09 Literature FLYER-1 $12,159.30

LA Jobs PAC Sponsored by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Los Angeles, CA 90017 (Independent Expenditure) Support Christine Essel City Council Member - District 02Chris Essel for City Council 2009 - General (1321633)[Election: 12/08/09] 11/14/09 11/14/09
Literature MAIL-1 $12,159.30

There are more.........................

Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters PAF Los Angeles, CA 90071 (Independent Expenditure) Support Christine Essel City Council Member - District 02Chris Essel for City Council 2009 - General (1321633) [Election: 12/08/09] 11/13/09 11/13/09
Mailer MAIL-9 $6,446.48

Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters PAF Los Angeles, CA 90071 (Independent Expenditure) Support Christine Essel City Council Member - District 02Chris Essel for City Council 2009 - General (1321633) [Election: 12/08/09] 11/13/09 11/13/09 Consulting for mailer MAIL-10 $5,000.00

These number don't lie, as of today Chris Essel has been the recipient of $232,206.08 in Independent Expenditures from the likes of "Boss D"Arcy's" IBEW, the Police Protective League, Southwest Carpenters and now the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

........ and for Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, we call for the tote!! Total, $000,000.00, nada, nil, zero.

Then, to the chagrin of those who have grown weary of the 24/7 coverage of CD 2/14 here at Mayor Sam, we found this.

Endorsements for Chris Essel among City Council members.

L.A. City Councilwoman Janice Hahn
L.A. City Councilwoman Jan Perry
L.A. City Councilman HerbWesson
L.A. City Councilman Greig Smith
L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl
L.A. City Councilman Tom LaBonge
** L.A. City Councilman Jose Huizar (we always knew that Huizzy was pro-development, except for those myopic Elephant Hills groupies).

Maybe Huizar will unleash an certain cybertroll to prowl the dimensions of cyberspace, in the search of voters for Essel.

But more likely, the linkage to the CD 14 Councilman should inspire the grass-roots masses who supported the likes of "No Home Depot" and the "Friends of the Southwest Museum", to rally against the onslaught of Special Interest money and send a "resounding volley of backlash" in the direction of City Hall.

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

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Friday

The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce also known as the Downtown Interest Protection Racket has endorsed Chris Essel for City Council. Yes we know many of you are thinking "What a surprise." Considering Essel's previous positions supporting SB1818 and the Downtown view that Neighborhood Councils are pesky roadblocks to developer happiness, the Chambers nod to the "Queen of SB1818" is clearly consistent with Downtown's animosity towards the rest of the City.

It seems funny but Governor Schwarzenegger has appointed one of Mayor Villaraigosa's more controversial associates to the California Horse Racing  Board. Keith Brackpool - whose Cadiz Inc. wants to build a multi-million dollar water project for several Southern California water agencies opposed by environmentalists - will earn $100 per meeting ruling on the ponies.  Brackpool you may remember was reportedly part of the Mayor's recent retreat to Iceland to ponder what possible future Villaraigosa could have.

Good news for Billy the Elephant and those enlightened folks who believe that storing pachyderms in restrictive zoos is an idea whose time has come and gone.  A judge has ordered that lawsuit filed by opponents of the boondoggle multi-million dollar elephant pen may go forward.  Lets hope that both of the candidates for CD2 come out in favor of halting the project.

The mommies who write at the always excellent Beckford Parents Blog have an observation about the results of the CD2 election Tuesday: They're stuck with Tamar Galatzan as their School Board Member for another two years. Hopeful she'll get a clue they still speculate that Galatzan - who everyone knew would run for Wendy Greuel's open spot before she even got elected to the school  board - may try again for Council in 2011.  That means she'd have to give her school board seat and clear the way for a candidate more acceptable to the residents of her district.

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Christmas Eve

If you haven't been following Daniel Heimpel's excellent series at the LA Weekly's Blog about the secrecy drenched Mayor Villaraigosa's $24 million anti-gang program, be sure to read it here and here. According to Heimpel a "secret" panel doles out the tax money to various "anti-gang" programs; a group of people anti-gang czar Jeff Carr apparently can not identify. Apparently the program is so secret that City Council members don't even know what's going on. A US Department of Justice official tells Heimpel she's never seen anything like this.

This morning LAUSD Board of Education candidate Louis Pugliese will attempt to convince a judge that his opponent, San Fernando Mayor Nury Martinez has placed a misleading designation on the ballot. Martinez, whose day job is heading up the non-profit Pacoima Beautiful claims that qualifies her as an "educator" though Martinez does not work as a schoolteacher. Martinez' role with the organization appears to be primarily administrative. The City Clerk refused to address Pugliese's challenge hence the move to Superior Court.

I got my latest copy of The Businesss Perspective, the usual claptrap from the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce which is far more interested in protecting and promoting the Downtown power structure than what is best for Los Angeles as a whole or even just what's good for the economy business as a whole in Los Angeles. The meandering rubbish was something about "leadership" in 2009 yet has the Chamber or the business community produced leadership to take over this City from the anti-business kleptocracy that is in power now? Nope, they embrace it hoping for a few goodies for themselves and the chance to hobnob with the likes of the George Soros of Los Angeles, Eli Broad. Come back folks when you have some ideas.

Lou Grant was the gruff, old school news director on Mary Tyler Moore but in real life Ed Asner is a committed, life-long left wing liberal. So it's no surprise that Ed's behind efforts that amount to essentially a government appropriation of private industry, that is forcing cable providers to supply psychics, charlatans and goofballs with television airtime and equipment. The surprising thing is that conservatives like Leslie Dutton and a man who I have the utmost fondess for, David Hernandez, are pushing this agenda which flies in the face of capitalism.

All of us here at the Sister City want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and wonderful holiday season. No vacations here so stay tuned to your favorite blog!

Waldman Racks Up More Support

The Stuart Waldman for Assembly campaign reports, after interviewing all three major candidates in the 40th AD race, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce has endorsed the candidacy of the former Chief of Staff of Assembly Member Lloyd Levine and former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg.

Business to Fight Back

After taking it lying down from unions, NIMBYs and liberal politicians for some time, local business may fight back.

Tuesday, with politicians such as Bitter Bernie, Sleeping Smith and Leather Denny tagging along, a coalition of business organizations will announce the formation of the Los Angeles County Business Federation. They already have a cutesy name for it, "Biz Fed."

The idea is to coalesce many local and regional Chambers of Commerce, business organizations and other groups under one umbrella along the same model as the LA County Federation of Labor. Indeed, the plan has caused Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the County Fed to get her panties in a bunch. Durazo fears the organization could be a "another tool to defeat reasonable proposals made on behalf of workers in Los Angeles."

The organization could be an effective resource for business to fight back against job and business killing proposals here in Los Angeles. For too long, business has rolled over and played dead as unions and other special interests took control of City Hall.

The fear I have is that the organization - though having some 40,000 businesses under its umbrella - is too close to a number of the "usual suspects" such as the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce who have often times put their desire for a cozy interest with the Downtown power payers ahead of their members as a whole citywide. Indeed, politically connected attorney and outgoing LA Chamber Chairman David Fleming will be Chairman of the new group.

However "BizFed" for now is worth a shot. Only time will tell if the organization will be a true advocate for business or a lapdog for the hoi paloi.

LA Chamber Wimps Out on Measure S

Proving itself yet again to be less of a business advocacy organziation and more of a "we like playing with the big boys and getting free drinks/eats club," the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce has broken ranks with other business minded organizations who are opposing Mayor Villaraigosa's fradulent phone tax measure on the February 5th ballot.

The Chamber - which wants so bad to hobnod with the Mayor, other elected officials and the developers and unions who feed them - probably knew it also could no longer remain to be seen as a legitimate protector of it's members' interests if it were to go all the way with the Mayor on this patently deceptive measure. Therefore, they have declared themselves:

NEUTRAL on Measure S
Measure S is the city of Los Angeles’ proposed 9 percent communications user tax which will apply to landline and cell phones as well as Voice over Internet Protocol communications. The city currently has a 10 percent communications user tax on telephone services, which generates $270 million per year and has been challenged in court because it was enacted administratively rather than through a vote of the people.

City Hall declared a “state of fiscal emergency” to lower the voter approval threshold
from two-thirds to 55 percent. The tax rate was reduced from 10 percent to 9
percent but the new tax would apply to a broader range of communications than
the current tax.

City Hall is correct to be concerned about the potential loss of $270 million. And taxpayers are correct to be concerned about the lack of public discussion about the current state of fiscal affairs and options moving forward.

The Chamber would also be correct if they were concerned about the tremendous waste of public funds and that - as noted by Daily News Editor Ron Kaye - "Every year, LA's general fund revenues grow at an average rate of 5.7%. The problem is that since 2000 Los Angeles' employee costs have risen 7.5% a year, a 53% increase."

Therefore there is no need to be concerned about taxpayers keeping an extra $270 million in their pocket, that is unless you're an elected official who needs to keep feeding the beast.

Hahn redux: former mayor flirting with another run?

Pancakes & Politics, July 20, originally uploaded by L.A. Chamber.

Is Jim Hahn laying the groundwork to star in the sequel voters denied him just two years ago? Word on the street is, at least one recent policy speech definitely crossed the line.

Friday marked the latest installment of Pancakes & Politics, a monthly Chamber-hosted powwow of business and government bigwigs.

Under the banner, Ready for Takeoff? The Case for the Modernization of LAX, the gathering of top-tier members heard from, among others, Deputy Mayor Jamie de la Vega and LAWA Board President Alan Rothenberg.

Though his name didn't appear on the published list of speakers, an eye-witness source tells the Sister City that Jim Hahn also addressed the group on the subject of airport modernization, delivering what could have easily been misconstrued as a stump speech.

In the land of short memories and continual reinvention, anything is possible. Let’s watch for continued signs of an effort on the part of the former mayor to raise his profile in the coming months.

Perhaps he’s simply hedging his bets, or perhaps our “Average Jim” is already convinced that by 2009, circus-weary Angelenos might just welcome, if nothing else, a return to normalcy.