Mayor Sam 2.0

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport –    “Surprise, surprise, surprise,” as Gomer Pyle used to say.

A group of local political corruption watchers gathered in the shadows of Dodger Stadium a few hours before Game 1 of a recent Trolley Dodger World Series run.  After an hour or three of grub and grousing, some of us decided that if, a year or so before the next local election, life in Los Angeles was no better, let alone worse, we would join forces and report on those problems and their purveyors with unflinching directness.

Without artificial deadlines.

Without artificial word counts.

And without pressure to side-step truthful but uncomfortable stories.

By all reasonable measures, quality of life in Los Angeles, both at the the county and city levels, has never been worse.   Leadership and trust in our elected politicians has never been lower.  That goes double for Sacramento and triple for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Nury Martinez-led Los Angeles City Council.

And then there’s the question of why much of the local media parrots what the LA Times, aka The Nanny-State P.R. Agency d’El Segundo, puts out there.

The hash we sling shall be served cold with heaping hot sides of humor and sarcasm, here where L.A. political blogging started, Mayor Sam.

As our late great founder Michael Higby might have quoted, "let me be perfectly clear," our governments love to torture corruption watchers by hiding documents, ignoring public meeting laws and so on in what can be described as death by a thousand cuts in response to sincerely held civic concerns.

Touché is our reply. 

If we find a Mayor, Councilmember, County Supervisor or their corrupt-o-crat cronies and protectorates fail to respond to things like mundane public records requests, we may sue and report on it, but we may also post such requests as well as the lame excuses they give for not producing those records and explain what's behind their shell game.

And just because we post something, that may not be the end of the story. 

Mayor Sam 2.0 is going to have a rolling dialogue with L.A. because that’s another thing our political set loves doing: dragging things out until the concerned parties give up and go away.

We say nay-nay. 

We have a lot of catching up to do and prisoners shall not be taken.  

Let the madness begin.

(Of course, we do need to get me a sign-in of my own, but in the meanwhile, mi amigo Scott's shall suffice.  You are invited to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.)  

Happy 10th Birthday to Us

It was a Thursday evening, October 21st, 2004 when I saw with my Dell Inspiron at the Starbucks at Coldwater and Victory in North Hollywood reading about the demise of The Fourth Floor, the original anony-blog covering City Hall intrigue. The blog runner had decided to shut down because there was intense pressure coming from a few City Council offices to "out" the blogger. I eventually came to know the identity of the Fourth Floor blogger, but not sure if they ever outed themselves, so I won't do it here.

Suffice to say I was pretty disturbed that the forces that be would attempt to shut down such an informative and delicious site that I figured the only thing I could do was try my own blog. Not being a City Hall insider and only possessing an avocational knowledge of local politics, it was a tad bit of hubris on my part to think it could work; but I was in good company - at least three four other blogs emerged from the ashes of the Fourth Floor; sadly none of them lasted more than a few weeks.

What happened next was beyond my biggest expectations. People started reading the blog. Insiders started sending stories. Other writers, journalists and bloggers provided information and technical support. Some joined up as writers. The blog took off. I was soon regularly appearing on talkradio programs, being interviewed by publications, frequently used as a source by the likes of the Daily News, the LA Times, LA Weekly, KCAL 9, KABC Radio, KFI Radio, KRLA Radio and so many others. We were chosen as the website of the month by Los Angeles Magazine. And, we even made the likes of CNN's Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer when we reported that then Councilwoman Janice Hahn had used her city vehicle to illegally park in a handicapped spot.

Then there was that day where we got the biggest to date and since spike in readership - when we revealed the name of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's alleged girlfriend. You know who the lady was; given that she has moved on and has a new life, perhaps we don't need to repeat her name.

Along the way, I met many people, made many friends, even found what I thought at the time was THE love of my life; all of which changed my life in so many profound ways. There jammings, alliances and re-alliances, fights, battles, law suit threats, a protracted battle with a State Assemblyman, battles with fellow staff members and so much more.

In recent times, I have not been able to be as involved with Mayor Sam as much as I was or would like to be. I've had probably as many unrealized dreams for the site as unexpected blessings coming true. I hope at some point life situations allow me to be more involved and truly bring the site to what I think it's full potential could be.

But we made it - ten years. Wow. Not many endeavors last that long.

Mayor Sam has many fathers/mothers and tenders, but were it not for Scott Johnson, we would not have survived. His dedication and tenacity, even when's pissing off the majority of readers, has kept this site alive and vital. I can not recount how much I owe Scott for his major contribution.

I had hoped to do more for the tenth anniversary, perhaps a big celebration, maybe, a special podcast or radio show, a tour of talk radio programs, interviews in other blogs and publications and a whole series of articles about the last ten years (but you can read such a thing if you buy Joseph Mailander's book!). I just did not have the time for that. As it is, I am writing this during a rushed lunch break. Perhaps in the near future, we can celebrate belatedly. But the biggest thing I think we can do to celebrate is to just keep working and getting the word out there. Given the state of Los Angeles these days, we need MayorSam now more than ever. So let's keep it going.

Finally, I want to thank a boatload of people. This is in no particular order and some of these folks I am not even friendly with these days. But they had a contribution of some sort of another. Hopefully, I have not forgotten anyone, but I am sure I probably have:

Scott Johnson
Joseph Mailander
Zuma Dogg
Frank Sheftel
David Hernandez
Debbie Lopez
Phil Jennerjahn
Annette Stark
Doug McIntrye
John Phillips
Brian Whitman
Kevin James
Erin Farrell
Jon Regardie
Jill Stewart
Ron Kaye
David Berger
Rita of Sunland AKA Wally Wharton
Patrick Range McDonald
John Thomas
Eric Hacopian
Jeremy Oberstein
Councilman Bernard Parks
Bernard Parks, Jr.
Jim Alger
Gregory Cole
Edward Padgett
Nina Royal
David Barron
Robert Acherman
Mike Trujillo
Brian Hay
Lydia Grant
Jennifer Forkish
Solomon Wolfson
Walter Moore
Joe Barrett
Kristin Sabo
Abby Diamond
Jack Witt
Betty Pleasant
Jack Humphreville

We Love Our Readers But You Are Seriously Backwards On Your Tech

Stats from Google Analytics.  How about if some of you download this or this browser?

Pageviews by Browsers

Internet Explorer 31,327 (48%) Firefox 14,500 (22%) Safari 13,432 (20%) Chrome 3,798 (5%) Mobile 577 (<1%) Opera 530 (<1%) (FlipboardProxy 438 (<1%) (FlipboardBrowserProxy 125 (<1%) SearchToolbar 96 (<1%) hiptop 72 (<1%)

Mayor Sam Wants to be Your Friend

Are you on Facebook? Join Mayor Sam and all our fans on Facebook by going to this page and "liking us." You know you want to!

JoeB and Mayor Sam on the Air

JoeB joins us tonight on Live LA Saturday Night with David Hernandez and Frank Sheftel at 8:00 p.m. PDT on LATalkRadio.com Channel One.

We'll be discussing the upcoming state and national elections with our own votes on each of the propositions on the California ballot.

Certainly no one will agree with anyone.  Join us live, call in number is 323.203.0815.

No Hotsheet Today

Go read http://griffithparkwayist.blogspot.com/

Or blog away here dum dums...

And now a word from our sponsor...

We're Back

It's time. We've been working toward a formal re-launch with a new look for the blog and some new tools, content, writers, etc. and that's coming but it looks like we have to jump back in now.

Posting may be erratic at first but give us time, we'll ramp up. I'm particularly excited about the re-launch and hope it will be soon. Stay tuned.

And feel free to offer suggestions, comments, questions, recipes, women's phone numbers, anything you think can help us come back to life.

Welcome back dum dums!

Los Angeles Politics Hotsheet for Tuesday

Fooled ya!

I wanted to drop in for a moment in case anyone happens to be here checking out our museum of a blog to point out a couple of important facts.

First off, excellent coverage of city issues is going on at Griffith Park Wayist.  Check them every day.

Next, I do intend to offer up a diatribe of why I decided to take a hiatus and most likely I will post that up soon at Griffith Park Wayist.  Though I hope first to contribute something of value.

I am really enjoying the break from blogging.

Finally, we will be back soon.

Adios

After a long five and a half years this blog is going on a hiatus and will not publish new stories nor take new reader comments for the time being.

The reasons for this are many and won't be gone into.  And quite frankly we think we need a break.

When we started Mayor Sam there were few if any blogs covering the inside baseball of local politics. Now there are at least a few that are all doing great work and are run by great people.  Therefore this is a good time for a rest.

There have been many people who have more than contributed to this effort and I could not adequately acknowledge and thank them all in a single post. Let me just say I am truly grateful.  However I must give as many props, kudos and thanks as humanly possible to JoeB, Solomon and Red Spot as the longest and most prolific contributors to this blog, as well as for their friendship.  I do hope they find some place while we are down to continue to share what they have to offer.

While my interest in and passion for LA politics has hit it's nadir I do hope to see many of you "on the road."  At some point I will be back blogging in some form once I figure out what I want to say next.

In the meantime I suggest you turn to Griffith Park Wayist, Village to Village and Ron Kaye LA for a daily dose of excellent reporting and blogging on municipal affairs.

Blog away dum dums (well somewhere else),
Michael Higby
Mayor Sam

Open Thread Weekend

Boyz will be boyz.

Enjoy this pic as we wait for Mayor Sam to get back from his, er - temporary .. um... 'vacation' at the Mayo Clinic for Tweetjunkies.

Vacation Hot Sheet

BREAKING: City Council quorum was lost today when Mike Hunt: African American Klansman and jackass-at-large refused to remove his white sheet during public comment. Unfortunate that Mr. Hunt appears to have gotten exactly what he wanted with his stupid behavior. He's apparently done this before.
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Mayor Sam is on vacation, leaving us burros alone to play with the toy while he's gone.

Yesterday the City Council approved allowing a section of Van Nuys to become part of Sherman Oaks with only Huizar and Cardenas opposing the motion. LAist blogger Steven Rosenberg, now finding himself a resident of Sherman Oaks, doesn't feel too positive about the controversial switch.

LA County Supervisor Antonovich wants the Los Angeles Opera to discontinue the Ring Festival L.A. planned for next year. Antonovich wants Wagner's pieces replaced, calling Richard Wagner a “Nazi composer.” That the Third Reich usurped a great deal of Wagner's Norse mythology and symbolism for their own propaganda is not in question. The question is whether the adoption of someone's work by an entity should permanently taint or label the work. Wagner himself was hardly a Nazi by definition, having died in 1883.

City planning commissioners are stumping for a renewal of their influential and manipulative positions today in council. How many of them are relatives of councilmembers, high profile developers, union leaders? These guys just passed major new electronic billboards for the Convention Center during the City's moratorium on new billboards, ticking off the new City Attorney. Do you think they should be reappointed?

Judging by the number of people berating the City Council for paying for the Michael Jackson event, the public is still pissed off at the Mayor for his perceived arrogance regarding who should pay for the City's huge public safety response. Who do you think should pay for it? The Los Angeles Business Journal is taking a poll.

Cindy Miscikowski returns to the City loony bin with her appointment to the Harbor Commission. Good? Bad? Deja vu?

Nominations are open for the "Bloggin 5150 Troll" award. Your pick?

Jennerjahn Joins Mayor Sam

 

Phil joins Zuma Dogg at taco truck; also known as a "Sanctuary City hot dog cart."

Former Mayoral candidate Phil Jennerjahn has joined Mayor Sam as a blogger. Phil has a unique perspective on local politics, though a tad more conservative than I am.  Phil also frequently attends Los Angeles City Council and other meetings at City Hall and will bring stories not reported elsewhere to Mayor Sam.  Phil is a US military veteran, hablas espanol and is a regular nice guy.  He's already posted his first story, sure to fire up the dum dums.  Welcome Phil!

The Great Debate "Closing Statements"

It's the final pitch, your last chance to hear why these candidates feel they should be the new Mayor!



My personal thanks to everyone responsible for making this event a reality. I also extend my thanks to the candidates for participating in this debate and sharing their vision for a better Los Angeles. I hope you have enjoyed viewing these clips as much as we have!

See ya at the polls tomorrow!

The Great Debate "NCs, Empowerment, and Home Depot"

Also known as ...
" The Day Phil Jennerjahn Lost the Sunland-Tujunga Vote".



In this segment, Ron Kaye brings up the issue of Neighborhood Councils and how they influence the way the City does business. Or not.

The Great Debate "Crime Rates & the Mayor"

Part 1



Jill Stewart inquires about the Mayor's claims to crime rate reduction.

The Great Debate "Affordable Housing"

Debbie Lopez & Jill Stewart question the candidates about the current Mayor's affordable housing plan.

The Great Debate "Antonio & the Media"

Jill Stewart, from the LA Weekly, asks the candidates about the soft ball treatment the Mayor continues to receive from the LA Times and other media outlets.

Clowncil and Friends - Obama is talking TO YOU.

Memorandum to the City Clowncil and their "friends":

READ AND OBEY.

This also covers one of your historically favorite places to violate the law - the California Public Records Act.

Got info? Give the old dead Republican Mayor a call at (213) 785-6098 or email to mayorsam@mayorsam.org Why? Because your President said to, that's why.

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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release

January 21, 2009
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Freedom of Information Act

A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency. As Justice Louis Brandeis wrote, "sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants." In our democracy, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which encourages accountability through transparency, is the most prominent expression of a profound national commitment to ensuring an open Government. At the heart of that commitment is the idea that accountability is in the interest of the Government and the citizenry alike.

The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails. The Government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears. Nondisclosure should never be based on an effort to protect the personal interests of Government officials at the expense of those they are supposed to serve. In responding to requests under the FOIA, executive branch agencies (agencies) should act promptly and in a spirit of cooperation, recognizing that such agencies are servants of the public.

All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA.

The presumption of disclosure also means that agencies should take affirmative steps to make information public. They should not wait for specific requests from the public. All agencies should use modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and done by their Government. Disclosure should be timely.

I direct the Attorney General to issue new guidelines governing the FOIA to the heads of executive departments and agencies, reaffirming the commitment to accountability and transparency, and to publish such guidelines in the Federal Register. In doing so, the Attorney General should review FOIA reports produced by the agencies under Executive Order 13392 of December 14, 2005. I also direct the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to update guidance to the agencies to increase and improve information dissemination to the public, including through the use of new technologies, and to publish such guidance in the Federal Register.

This memorandum does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

The Director of the Office of Management and Budget is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

New Look at Mayor Sam 2

Our secondary blog, Mayor Sam 2, now better known as MS2 (everything has to be an acronym these days) has been re-skinned with a hip new design thanks to Antonio Watch! The new design is consistent with and complements the branding here on the main blog.

Visit the "Backyard of Los Angeles Politics" for all kinds of miscellaneous trivia, background information, reference material, etc. on the issues and stories we cover on Mayor Sam. It's a great treasure trove of stuff.