Dodgers Brand Slammed

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport on Twitter - The Azul is singing the blues these days as it discovers capitalism isn't always a home run.

Dodger Stadium - Photo: California by Choice

Until a few weeks ago, few institutions in Southern California had a stronger brand than the Los Angeles Dodgers, except perhaps the late legend himself, Vin Scully.

But make no mistake, this emotional embrace of the boys in blue is pure one-sided capitalism.  If the Dodgers could get you to buy oxygen, they would.

San Francisco pitcher Juan Marichal (27) swings a bat at Dodgers catcher John Roseboro as Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax, right, tries to break it up on Aug. 22, 1965. (Robert H. Houston / Associated Press)

Yet its brand recently took it on the cabeza like John Roseboro took it from Juan Marichal in '65.

I explain in my latest free column on DanielGuss.Substack.com.   

Karen Bass's City Hall Is Already Rigged

@TheGussReport - A column that I wrote last year, "Honest Services Fraud - How City Hall Rigged Its Herb Wesson Vote," detailed how sleazy LA City Hall can get when it wants a certain outcome, but doesn't want the public to participate or know what goes on behind the scenes.  I will have more on what this column is doing about that incident in the coming weeks.

But for now, a change of mayors from Eric Garcetti to Karen Bass hasn't changed City Hall's culture of corruption and backroom communications, which continue to deprive the public of a fair, honest and transparent government.

To see the rest of today's new column, head on over to DanielGuss.Substack.com and sign-up for the free newsletter and share it with your friends.

EXCLUSIVE: Bass Commish Using Hidden Email Accounts, Blocking Access to Public Records

@TheGussReport on Twitter - Larry Gross, a holdover appointee of disgraced former LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, has been using covert, private email accounts to conceal city business and to also confirm to city officials scathing criticism of the new mayor, Karen Bass, as well as of animal pound critics and volunteers whose importance she applauded at her recent State of the City address.

Larry Gross - Photo: PBS SoCal

It's just the latest example of rules being ignored at every level of LA City Hall.

Gross, who has served on the Los Angeles Animal Services, LAAS, board of commissioners for nearly a decade, acknowledged exclusively to this column that he does use unknown email addresses to conduct city business.

"I am quite aware that any email address I use to communicate with city officials regarding my position as a Commissioner is subject to the Public Record Act.  I fully support that and have no problem with that.  I have nothing to hide."

Nothing to hide, it appears, other than identifying which private email accounts he uses for city business.

Gross's refusal to identify those email accounts maliciously makes it impossible for the city to comply with additional public records requests by this column.

And that's not all.

Paging my public records legal eagles.

To read this entire column, head on over to DanielGuss.Substack.com, and don't forget to sign up for my free newsletter and share it with friends.

LA's Paranoid, Paralyzed Governments, Part 1

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport on Twitter - With apologies to rockers Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe as I riff on their hit song title, but what's so scary 'bout truth, transparency and integrity in Los Angeles governments?

To some of us here on Mayor Sam, on DanielGuss.Substack.com and in similar outlets around Southern California, civic engagement means more than volunteering to clean up a park, handing out groceries at the food bank or comforting dogs at the animal pound.

It also means exploring politicians' and governments' truthfulness, transparency and integrity by examining public records, asking questions and calling out those who dodge direct accountability.

Shoot us a note if you ever hear a politician encouraging that type of civic engagement.

In the meanwhile, we've got examples of how asking LA politicians fair-but-probing questions has resulted in a costly and time-consuming cloud of paranoia and paralysis hovering over their offices after a slew of our recent stories.

To read the rest of today's column, jump on over to DanielGuss.Substack.com sign-up for my free newsletter and share it with friends.

Politicians, Media Suddenly Silent On Sanctuary City LA

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport on Twitter - We are 18 months from election day 2024 with a deafening silence from local politicians and media who spent years grandstanding about how California and the county and city of Los Angeles are sanctuary enclaves.

(Photo: Protestors at a 2017 rally where organizers called for a stop to deportations and to establish Los Angeles as a sanctuary city.  Photo: Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto via Getty Images via Vox.com)

Like their blue comrades in places like San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, New York, Boston, DC and Chicago, they finally got to be the cool kids in school, free to defy federal laws while grubbing for federal dollars to satisfy their political hard-ons for higher office and irrationally overpaid and unlikely employment for their families.

You're laughing or nodding because you know in your soul that this is true.

Oh, but the bills eventually come due.  Like Title 42, which ends at midnight tomorrow and even Joe Biden predicting "chaos."

To read the rest of today's column, jump on over to DanielGuss.Substack.com, sign-up for my free newsletter and share with friends.

Did These LA Officials Violate Federal Court and City Hall Rules?

@TheGussReport on Twitter - A few levels down the City Hall policy food chain, below City Council, the Mayor, Controller and City Attorney, still further down from the lobbyists, unions, departments and media, is the bottom rung of official Los Angeles political power.

Or whatever is left of it at that level.

It's where you will find LA's ninety-nine Neighborhood Councils, or NCs, overseen by the largely ineffective and appropriately acronymic DONE, or Department Of Neighborhood Empowerment, a bureaucracy that is largely in-place to keep the hoi polloi engaged but under control.

At least in theory.

For a few NCs, it seems that some re-education, as they fondly call it in Xinjiang, will be on the horizon.  Just don't hold your breath waiting for accountability.

To read my entire column on what went down at DONE, click on over to DanielGuss.Substack.com, and sign up for my free newsletter and share it with friends.

Keepin' 'em accountable.

Bass Pick Backs Out

@TheGussReport on Twitter - On Tuesday, a prominent Los Angeles attorney who had been nominated by Mayor Karen Bass to serve on the uber-mundane Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System (LACERS), was unanimously confirmed by City Council.

A few minutes later, city personnel sheepishly advised that the nominee withdrew his name from consideration, requiring their undoing the appointment and raising a few questions.

Not at City Council, but here.  Like...

• Why wasn't this accomplished attorney appointed to a logical post, like civil rights boards or the LA Police Commission?
• Why was this man nominated by Bass, confirmed by City Council, with no apparent qualifications to oversee LACERS' tens of billions of dollars?
• Why did City Council vote on his nomination despite his failure to provide financial disclosures, as is required by law?
• And what, if anything, does it have to do with this 1974 one-hit wonder? 

To read this entire column for free, jump on over to DanielGuss.Substack.com, and sign-up for my free newsletter.  

Hogwash and Hypocrisy

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport on Twitter - Words not matching actions are once again all the rage at LA City Hall.

When former L.A. Mayor Richad Riordan passed away in April, those with whom I spoke, without exception, said he was our last great mayor.

He didn't perpetually make a jackass of himself on a national stage like two of his successors, Eric Garcetti and Antonio Villaraigosa, did.  He didn't sloganeer like they did, and current mayor, Karen "Lock Arms" Bass, does.  And he didn't lose his first bid for re-election as James Hahn did in 2005, becoming the first alcalde to accomplish that feat since KKK member John Clinton Porter did in 1933.

Riordan was a moderate Republican, job creator and philanthropist who got LA through some of its deepest crises.  From time to time, he caused minor stirs by shooting from the hip, but at least he was authentic.

But, oh to have authenticity in LA City Hall these days, where post-pandemic words and actions once again gloriously misalign.

To read this entire column, head on over to DanielGuss.Substack.com, and sign-up for my free newsletter.  

Karma: Identity Crisis at LAPD

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport on Twitter - The Los Angeles Police Department finds itself in a genuinely catastrophic and dangerous situation, of which it is the sole architect with no good options.

It pains me to type this, but that's karma for you.

While wishing safety for them all, the flippant response comes from years of the LAPD's unapologetic efforts to intimidate and retaliate for columns I wrote about it, LA politicians and a City Hall that fails and cheats the rest of us.

Ironically, this crisis is a grander version of what the LAPD did to me, twice.

To read my entire column, jump on over to DanielGuss.Substack.com and sign-up for my free newsletter while you're there.  Also, follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

In Thick Of Bribery Scheme, Mark Ridley-Thomas Gave This Richly Ironic Advice

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport on Twitter - An amusing part of watching wonky and tedious government meetings is when agitating gadflies such as Zuma Dogg, Wayne Spindler and the late John Walsh make, and sometimes sing, obnoxious public comments that get under the skin of tightly wrapped politicians.

For example, there's the nugget from 2018 that we're going to revisit today, when then-LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was convicted last week on seven federal corruption counts, interrupted Spindler's button-pushing for, what he described as, a "point of personal privilege."

If only Ridley-Thomas had followed his own advice.

If only all politicians did.

To read the whole column, head on over to DanielGuss.Substack.com and sign-up for my free newsletter.  Also follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

(White) Power Grab: Krekorian Disenfranchises District With Only 8% White Population

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport on Twitter - Paternalistic racism is back in fashion at LA City Hall.  Did it ever really go away?

This week, while voters in Council District 6 hold a primary to decide who will replace disgraced former City Council president Nury Martinez, things are being handled quite differently in Council District 10, whose leadership for the past two years, the next two years and perhaps for the eight years after that, will have the heavy-handed influence of current City Council president Paul Krekorian, who is White.

And the man he is trying to single-handedly replace, the now-federal felon Mark Ridley-Thomas, is Black.

Paul Krekorian (Photo; Los Angeles Times)

But why should that be, especially since the 10th District is 92% non-White?

Because it's LA City Hall, where it is business as usual, and the business is paternalism, racism and disenfranchisement.

To read this entire column, jump on over to DanielGuss.substack.com.

Last Week At LAPD Is Why Young People Increasingly Say ACAB

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport on Twitter - Stylish merch and insular, politicized law enforcement is how the Los Angeles Police Department loses the youth branding war, its officers and the future.

There's little doubt that the LAPD's passive-aggressive non-response to a media inquiry I made last week is due to its embarrassment, and perhaps feeling cornered, by my two latest columns.  They detailed how it and the LAFD covered up disturbing recordings of 2021 domestic violence and murder/suicide threats by LAFD Deputy Chief Kristina "Kady" Kepner against her then-live-in-love-interest and, in a separate alleged incident, against current squeeze, LAPD Detective Scarlett Martinez, all three of whom are women.

That's why today's column at my free Substack also explores why current anti-LAPD sentiment is as easy as 1312, or in the parlance of today's youth culture, ACAB, which means All Cops Are Bastards or All  Cops Are Bad.

And then there's the ill-conceived Twitter poll that the LAPD ran and subsequently deleted, but not before a critic captured and questioned.

Go check it out and sign-up for a free subscription, where I'll soon have updates and tinker with new features.  And don't forget to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

LAPD Scrambles To Cover-up Its Cover-up

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport on Twitter - The Los Angeles Police Department, LA's thin blue line, lost track of the big, bold lies it told on behalf of the Los Angeles Fire Department in covering-up a domestic violence attack that a senior member of the firefighting agency, Kristina "Kady" Kepner, committed on her domestic partner, who is also a female, along with threats by Kepner to kill both of them. The incidents were recorded and the LAFD and LAPD have copies.

With City Hall abuzz from yesterday's column, the LAPD is now doing damage control as it suddenly decided to re-open its investigation into that case, as well as another one looking into an apparent scrap between Kepner and LAPD Detective Scarlett Martinez.

Good morning, y'all.

To read the rest of this column, jump on over to DanielGuss.substack.com and sign-up for my free publication.  And don't forget to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

LAFD Command Staffer Made Homicidal, Suicidal Threats During '21 Domestic Violence Attack

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport on Twitter - During a presentation on March 8th celebrating International Women's Day, LA City Hall's most powerful women posed for photos and made inspiring comments about women in leadership.

Simultaneously, three of them, Mayor Karen Bass, Councilmember Monica Rodriguez and LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley, dodged this column's questions about disturbing videos in the LAFD's and LAPD's possession showing a female member of the Los Angeles Fire Department's command staff making repeated homicidal and suicidal threats during and after her violent attack on her then-live-in domestic partner, who is also female.

To read more, jump on over to DanielGuss.substack.com and sign up for my free publication.  Also, follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

LAFD Cheating Is Tip Of The Iceberg

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Last week, The Guss Report got its second-highest readership traffic since moving to the Substack platform, when I exclusively exposed a recent test cheating scandal at the Los Angeles Fire Department.  But the readership traffic title still belongs to the LAFD sexual harassment story I exclusively kicked off last October that resulted in the abrupt retirement of Chief Deputy Armando Hogan, who was likely going to be Mayor Karen Bass's next Fire Chief.

By staying silent on these and other issues, Bass, LA City Council president Paul Krekorian and Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who chairs the council's Public Safety Committee, our elected officials tip their hand that they prefer that the scandals - and this journalist - just go away so nobody would be the wiser.

But would you believe that there's an even deeper, darker scandal brewing over at the LAFD?  

Stay tuned.

To read today's entire column, jump on over to DanielGuss.substack.com, and sign up for my free publication.  Also, follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

Another LAFD Scandal and City Hall Still Lacks Proactive Transparency

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Back in October, The Guss Report broke the story about a sexual harassment investigation at the LAFD in which its likely next chief, Armando Hogan, was accused by at least one high-profile civilian colleague of misconduct.

City Hall politicians and their media flacks stonewalled my questions, to the detriment of their ever-eroding credibility.

In January, both The Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Magazine credited my accuracy and timeliness.

Now, it appears that since January 29th, the same City Hall power players have stayed mum on another scandal at the troubled agency - a cheating scandal on a Captain I electronic test.  

And that's not all that insiders are telling me.

To read the rest of my column, jump on over to danielguss.substack.com and sign up for the free newsletter while you're there.  And don't forget to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

Burglary Exposes Possible Underground Casino

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - A Reseda storefront that appeared to be a weight loss clinic may have actually been an underground illegal casino operation, according to the LAPD, whose investigation is ongoing.

The address looks like the kind of place that you drive past a thousand times without noticing.

But a closer look at this one and you might notice that it had red flags all over it.

To continue reading this column, jump on over to my Substack and sign-up for my free newsletter.  And don't forget to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

One LA Politician's Request

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Last week, I had productive dialogues with several Los Angeles politicians.  My rule for engaging is simple: conversation or respond directly to emailed questions.  I don't accept prepared statements from their media personnel because they are a dodge that answers questions that aren't posed rather than those that are.

One of those dialogues took place as I made my way to the scene of yet another random sidewalk death, this one in still-un-represented Van Nuys, thanks to the resignation of Nury Martinez, LA's irrefutably racist former City Council president.

Except the politician didn't address any of the questions I emailed.

Instead, while offering validation for my recent columns, the politician expressed a wish that I would also, "recognize in your writing some of our work and efforts in the district."

Easier said than done.

To find out why, head on over to my Substack and sign-up for the free newsletter.  And don't forget to follow me on the Twitters @TheGussReport.

Scandal-Scarred City Hall Remains Opaque, Paranoid and Bureaucratic

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - LA City Hall has carved for itself an ignominious place in the recent annals of local political history.

Some of its politicians went, or are headed, to federal prison with their bag men or, if you prefer, their bag people of indeterminate identity.  Four other power players destroyed their lives when busted as racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic.  Agencies, like LADWP, LAPD and LAFD, to name a few, are embroiled in one scandal after another.

Things have been so bad that you would think that those remaining in, or rising to, power would opt for the simplest, cheapest way to build public trust.

Transparency.

But no...

To read the rest of today's column, head on over to danielguss.substack.com, where you can also sign-up for the free newsletter.  And don't forget to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

Shalom, y'all!

Hugo Soto-Martinez Deserves An Apology

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - At 2am on Monday morning, Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) veep Jerretta Sandoz was on Fox News Channel perpetuating a debunked story about socialist LA City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez.

Sandoz, a former LAPD detective, should have known better.

There's no way she didn't.

I'm neither a socialist nor proponent of defunding the LAPD, but her actions ostensibly speaking for the LAPD rank and file, is the type of law enforcement-related dishonesty that may be at the root of the ongoing ACAB (All Cops Are Bad), anti-police sentiment at a time when the LAPD is hemorrhaging officers.

LA City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez. Photo: Gary Coronado - Los Angeles Times

To read the story, jump on over to my Substack and sign up for my free newsletter.  And don't forget to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

A Random Street Death Becomes Vivid And Real

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - However many people lose their lives on the streets of Los Angeles on any given day, it is easy to see them as statistics, perhaps as a coping mechanism.

Numbers are cold and one-dimensional, at least until you meet the family and friends mourning their passing.  Then their death can quickly go from random and gray to vivid and real.

This is the story of one of those people, and his name was David Isaac Soto-Toral.

To read about what happened to this handsome young man with the broad smile and clear, engaging eyes, jump on over to danielguss.substack.com, and sign up there for my free newsletter.   Also follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

Shade & Fraud - Why Eric Garcetti Should Consider Other Career Options

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti won't be going to India as U.S. Ambassador any time soon.

President Joe Biden's recent re-re-nomination of him just a few weeks ago hasn't been withdrawn, but his White House - which keeps saying how important it is to have an ambassador in India - has yet to re-re-submit Garcetti's paperwork even though the second half of his term is well underway.

As of this morning, the U.S. Senate's Executive Calendar has a bunch of nominations, but none with the name Garcetti  on it.  

There are a few reasons why.

To find out, jump on over to my Substack.  While you're there, sign up for my free newsletter and follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

Another Day, Another Death. But Only Platitudes From Nithya Raman

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Chaos and death keep showing-up in Sherman Oaks, almost as frequently as the sunrise, while LA City Councilmember Nithya Raman keeps dodging this column's direct questions about a recent spike in deaths of homeless people and violent attacks by some of them upon the rest of her local constituency.

Now, yet another homeless person has died...

...while another yielding a knife was arrested after making death threats and climbing the roof of a local gas station, causing a major response from the LAPD and LAFD.

Because it's just about housing...right?

Raman's media flack has complained that instead of answering our direct questions, The Guss Report and Mayor Sam should quietly accept their prepared, gratuitous statement that speciously sidesteps accountability like so many Brooklyn trolley dodgers back in the day.

That approach may work in mainstream media circles, but not here, because we won't waste your time regurgitating press releases in lieu of direct questions and answers.

For the full story, jump on over to my Substack, sign up for the free newsletter and don't forget to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

EXCLUSIVE: Top Bass Candidate For LAFD Chief Retires Amid Sexual Harassment Investigation

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Deputy Armando Hogan has abruptly retired from the agency during an ongoing investigation into sexual harassment allegations that keep plaguing the LAFD.

2021 Firefighter of the Year, Armando Hogan Source: Los Angeles Firemen’s Relief Association

Hogan, who newly elected mayor Karen Bass had considered for the LAFD Chief's job, was both a donor and fundraiser for her.

Well-placed City Hall sources say that footage from several of City Hall's thousands of security cameras, may have led to incriminating evidence of the allegations against Hogan by a high profile and married LAFD civilian.

For the full story, jump on over to my Substack and sign up for my free newsletter.  Also follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

Jose Huizar - I'll be talking about his federal plea deal today at 2pm on 790-KABC

@TheGussReport - Well, it's time for disgraced former LA City Councilmember Jose Huizar to face the music in federal court, and boy did the hard-working feds have an orchestra prepared, as he formally entered his guilty plea this morning.

Former LA City Councilmember Jose Huizar

Photo by Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

Today at 2pm on 790-KABC, I'll dig into the details of his racketeering and tax evasion dirty deeds and what it is likely going to cost Huizar when he is eventually sentenced.  

As the late, great KABC star Michael Jackson used to say, "do join us!"

Nithya Raman Shrugged Before Dead Bodies Piled Up

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman spent the first few years of her time in City Hall ignoring warnings about violent attacks on her constituents by homeless addicts, especially in a one-block area of Sherman Oaks.   I wrote about that just the other day, also warning Raman of the dangers that some of the homeless also posed to themselves.

As usual, the lawmaker whose predecessor, David Ryu, was ousted after just one term in office, just shrugged.

Within a week, not one, not two, but three homeless people from this one block in the San Fernando Valley died on the streets of what used to be a nicer-than-average neighborhood.

To read about this preventable series of tragic deaths, jump over to my Substack, and sign-up while you're there for my free newsletter, and follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

Does 99% Of LA Have Any Rights Remaining? (Asking For 4 Million Friends)

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Hello, happy new year and welcome back.

I found myself unexpectedly redirecting traffic in the middle of Ventura Boulevard last week after slamming my brakes to avoid driving over a deeply disturbed young man whose life had become so unraveled that he was rolling on the pavement and speaking incoherently in the middle of the bustling intersection.

Beyond risking his own safety, being so low to the ground, he also risked the safety of everyone else in the area, such as another driver who did not see him when quickly changing lanes to avoid the jam he had caused...once again.

I write "once again" because the man's situation became clearer when the first LAPD patrol car and LAFD ambulance rolled up.

To continue reading this story, jump on over to my Substack and sign up for the free newsletter.  And don't forget to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

Introducing ................, "Total Recall Outtakes from CD-14"

As we end the first week of 2023, the Mayor Sam Blog commences "Total Recall Outtakes from CD-14", dedicated to providing objective, factually-based missives on the Grass Roots endeavor to remove embattled CD-14 City Councilman Kevin Alexander (of or de) Leon from Office.

The Official Billboard of Shame in CD-14 Political Folklore.

** Blogger's Notes: SPECIAL EVENING UPDATE!! This weekend's signature gathering has been postpone. More information will be forthcoming---S.J. With no apologies to the hate mongers within the local Political Machine (and their stenographer enablers in the Fishwrap Legacy Media), we commence our new bloggin feature ......, "Total Recall Outtakes from CD-14". As the disgrace, embattled CD-14 City Councilman Kevin Alexander (of or de) Leon seeks out those who morals can be bought with free turkeys, toys or funding from his controlled Discretionary Funds (as superbly reported upon by longtime friend Tony Butka and Karl Schumacher via the Recall Kevin Deleon Facebook Page), Recall Organizers will be out in CD-14 tomorrow seeking signatures from those who will hopefully condemn Backroom Racism ........, via the Power of Signature. As the signature gathering commences (tomorrow's locations posted below), rest assure that a "extreme fringe element (DSA, BLM and those in the hypocritical Establishment)", will hold nothing back in seeking to obstruct this exercise in Grass Roots empowerment ........ and moral accountability. In the days ahead, the Mayor Sam Blog will endeavor to keyboard relevant content regarding the political conduct (past and present) of still Councilman (of or de) Leon, and provide timely missives on current events. The Mayor Sam Blog would also like to extend an invitation to those who would like to offer their own commentary (Pro or Con), in the spirit of fostering a civil dialog, you can contact me at outwardmsj66@yahoo.com. ** We should note that previous CD-14 City Council Candidate Raquel Zamora had stated to the Boyle Heights Beat that she would be establishing a "Recall Hub" in Boyle Heights at her Family Business, we invite her to provide us updated details----Scott Johnson, BASED in CD-14.    

 

Texting K.A. (of or de) Leon!! The gathering of signatures continues this weekend.

Will the needed amount of CD-14 Voters take a stand against Racism by signing the Recall Petition to remove the Disgrace Politico born as Kevin Alexander Leon from Office??

A Brief Final 2022 Bloggin Message ..........

As a busy 2022 nears its appointed date with history, a certain MIA Blogger has a message regarding pending 2023 bloggin coverage of the moral political reckoning descending on Council District 14 and its disgraced Officeholder ........., Kevin Alexander (of or de) Leon. 

Message to Kevin Alexander (of or de) Leon: He's Back!!

** Blogger's Notes: Hola and pending New Year's Greetings from inside the Councilmatic Ground Zero for Non-Accountable Racism in Ciudad de Los Angeles. On a personal note, its been way too long since this Blogger's last missive but dealing with life priorities (in securing a better tomorrow), took paramount priority. That stated, I am forever grateful to Daniel Guss for maintaining postings. Daniel has brought a broader recognition to this website and most important, given witness to his singular insight on the dysfunctional state of affairs at 200 N. Spring Street. 

Looking ahead to 2023, longtime cyber observers of Mayor Sam will take solace in knowing that this blogger will place paramount, the coming Moral Political Reckoning in CD-14. Embattled, obstinate City Councilman Kevin Alexander (of or de) Leon has joined the likes of Richard Alatorre, Antonio Villar and the "Princeton Graduate (aka. Indicted Politico Jose Huizar)", in CD-14's Hall of Shame which he has no feel for.

Normally in an ideal, moral-rooted political entity, the BFF of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, would have been forced to resign long ago, but this is the CD-14 that re-elected Jose Huizar multiple times , which likely had to do with the ......, gifting of moral-corrupting patronage. 

Indeed, in recent weeks since the release of the infamous audio tape, still Officeholder KA Leon, has resorted to what his infamous predecessors have done when seeking to counter negative reports of nefarious conduct, by dispensing with self-serving discretion, turkeys, meals for seniors, Christmas Toys, and with timely help from overly-aggressive BLM/DSA Activists (at Lincoln Park) ........, its working to his benefit.

In the aftermath of the Lincoln Park Incident, what should had been a formality in garnering the needed signatures to Recall Officeholder Leon, is now a 50/50 proposition, not helped by those from outside of the Council District, who's vanity is only impeding a CD-14 Electorate which must decide for itself whether (and how), to cleanse the latest racist stain on its political soul-----Scott Johnson BASED in CD-14

Bass and Garcetti are Identical Cousins on LA's Housing and Homeless Efforts

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - It's like 1963 all over again!

With LA Mayor Eric Garcetti finally out of City Hall for the first time since 2001, and his newly minted successor Karen Bass in control, and a homelessness emergency declared with a lot of fanfare, it seems that the big surprise is that Bass's homeless plan is essentially the same as Garcetti's.

So they're cousins! 

Identical cousins, all the way!

They laugh alike, they talk alike.

At times they even walk alike.

What a crazy pair!

You can read my take on this, or head on over to DanielGuss.Substack.com to sign up for the free newsletter while you're there.   And don't forget to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

Why City Hall Paid This Journalist's $10,528 Legal Tab

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - It is getting to be an LA tradition.

The LAPD and LA City Attorney Mike Feuer cut this journalist's team yet another five-figure settlement after exposing dubious, corrupt or inept City Hall behavior that it prefers wouldn't surface.

In this instance, the LAPD refused to turn over a few public records from its Computer Assisted Dispatch (CAD) to see what the hubbub is regarding an alleged "domestic incident" at the residence of one Eric Garcetti, the Mayor of Los Angeles, aka "Little Ricky," as the late, great City Hall gadfly John Walsh used to call him.

Oh, you better believe that there's a lot more to this story, because why would the LAPD want to pay this columnist's legal tab if absolutely nothing went down at La Casa de Garcetti?

It isn't the last you'll hear about this situation.

And apparently, it won't be the last check the big wigs cut.  It certainly isn't the first.

For more detail, jump on over to my Substack.

Sign-up for the free newsletter while you're there and follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

Stay safe!

Stay warm!

And Now Back To Eric Garcetti

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Now that the mid-terms have passed, LA's hometown weenie, Mayor Eric Garcetti, may soon get a vote on his long-stalled nomination to be the next Ambassador to India.

It was a long, circuitous and embarrassing road for Mayor Yoga Pants, but I break it down in this quick read on my Substack.

While you're there, please sign up for my free newsletter and follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

On Election Day, Nobody Knows Anything

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - At 6:43 pm on Election Day in 2016, Frank Luntz was one of the highest-profile political pollsters in America and tweeted his emphatic call that Hillary Clinton would soon be the next President of the United States. 

How today's election turns out in Los Angeles or anywhere else is at-best anyone's guess.

But to see who I think will wind up as the next Los Angeles Mayor, City Controller et al, jump on over to my Substack, where I also predict the outcomes for control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

And don't forget to vote!  

LA's Chance to Punch Back: Kenneth Mejia for LA City Controller

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - This is your chance, Los Angeles.   

If you're fed up with what you see, experience and expect from LA City Hall, now is your chance to punch-back good and hard, or forever stop complaining about it.

In my new Substack column, I outline the roots of corruption that demand LA's next City Controller be as independent from City Hall as possible.  The only candidate who fits that bill is CPA Kenneth Mejia.

It is a rare instance where this column concurs with the LA Times Editorial Board.

On top of that good news, Mejia is also the only candidate with actual auditing experience and published plans for using data to improve the City.  In fact, he even volunteers at the deeply troubled LA Animal Services.

While you're at my Substack, please sign up for the free newsletter and don't forget to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

Odd Couple: Why Fed-Up LA Needs Mayor Rick Caruso and Controller Kenneth Mejia

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Los Angeles City Council is more responsible than any other government for the hideous conditions on the ground which have intensely bled into surrounding communities.  

If it has accomplished anything good of late, or even in recent years, shoot me a note; I am not aware of a single praiseworthy and thorough endeavor. Not-a-one.

At any rate, lying, neurotic Mayor Eric Garcetti, aka Mayor Yoga Pants, will soon be gone after more than 21 disastrous years in LA City Hall.

For this and many other reasons, fixing LA starts by flanking it with grown-ups from somewhere other than the government to serve as a check and balance system to its immense failures, corruption, waste and its once again exposed deeply rooted racism.

My suggestion?

For starters, cast votes next week for Mayor Rick Caruso and Controller Kenneth Mejia, both of whom come from somewhere other than government.  While they may at first seem like polar opposites, in fact, they are the best available starter kit that a fed-up LA needs most.

To read the rest of this story, jump on over to my free Substack and don't forget to subscribe.  You may also follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

City Hall's Past Abuses, Censorship, Lack Of Leadership Are Centerstage During Current Crisis

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Anyone who has ever been censored by an abusive politician at LA City Hall, or anywhere else really, is loving its City Council meetings these days.

Suddenly, the same politicians who dropped the ball in the immediate moments after the Nury Martinez - Gil Cedillo - Kevin de Leon racism scandal that erupted two weeks ago have suddenly been rendered impotent by boisterous groups, including The People's City Council.

Of course, there's more to the story than just that.

Including this bizarre tweet from the LA Times' David Zahniser.

To get the rest of the story, swing on by my Substack and sign up for the free newsletter.  Please be sure to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

Notes From Cancerous And Chaotic LA City Hall

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - You asked, so I explored.

Where is Nury Martinez's city-issued car?

According to the General Services Department, one day after resigning in disgrace earlier this month, LA City Council President Nury Martinez handed over the keys to her city-issued car, a 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In, Modern Steel color, purchased for her for $41,551.30, including tax.

The taxpayers also covered her insurance, maintenance and gas up until then.

To find out what else this column discovered, head on over to my Substack and sign up for the free newsletter.  And don't forget to follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.

City Hall Censoring Sexual Harassment Reporting on High-Ranking LAFD Karen Bass Fundraiser

By Daniel Guss

@TheGussReport - Well that didn't last long.

Despite syrupy promises of transparency and integrity by newly-minted interim City Council President Paul Krekorian in the wake of an ongoing City Hall racism scandal and stalemate with the two remaining Councilmembers who refuse to resign, ongoing efforts to relentlessly censor and retaliate against this column are in full bloom.

It's amazing what good inside sources and three recent appearances on "The John and Ken Show" on KFI AM 640 will do to stoke City Hall paranoia as it loses its grip on its secrecy habits just a few weeks ahead of a general election.

The rest of my free column is over on Substack.  While you're there, sign-up for my free newsletter and follow me on The Twitters @TheGussReport.