WINNER LOSER
OR
Here's what "progressives" who are part of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa support team list as his achievements in just three short years and why they're gathering downtown Sunday to contribute $250 to $1,000 each ("$100 non-profit hardship")
ANTONIOthegame.docThey've come up with a list of 32 achievements to show he's done a great job. Some people might question whether "mutual gain bargaining" is an achievement or what's mutual about 6 percent raises for DWP workers during a national economic crisis is a mutual gain. Or whether he bulldozed the South Central Farm or "developed" it. Or even whether he had anything to do with any of these things.
Success, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. So here's how to play Antonio, The Game: Just put your comments on specific achievements or failures, false claims or honest truths, in the comments sections and I will keep you posted. It's a win-win game, everybody gets to speak up. I'll keep the tally. The decision of the judge is final.
EXPANDING OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL
-This Mayor has tripled the number of youth summer jobs, from 3,000 in 2005, to over 10,000.
-He and his office have mediated the key sessions to secure new contracts for hotel workers, janitors, security officers, private waste haul drivers, and secured labor peace at the MTA and within the city through the introduction of mutual gains bargaining.
-Supported low wage workers, through the new Day Labor ordinance, support for the "Car Washeros," increased fares and appointed a strong commission to support Taxi drivers.
-Developed local hire requirements on most city construction contracts, resulting in over 1000 new paid African-American apprentices since July 1, 2006, and thousands of new local careers in the construction trades.
-Passed and defended a Living Wage Ordinance covering hotel workers in the 13 airport hotels.
-Quadrupled city job training programs. With this and other labor and workforce programs, are more than halfway toward moving 100,000 Angelenos into living wage jobs by 2010.
-Supported over 100,000 Angelenos
participating in community service through 16 Days of Service, and major
funding and support for two "Big Sundays."
ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
-Tripled the amount of clean, renewable energy sold by the DWP
-Adopted the Clean Air Action Plan to reduce air pollution at Port by 45%; working with Labor and the Environmental community to replace trucks while addressing driver standards.
-Restored water to the Lower Owens River
-Expanded curb-side recycling to multi-family housing, schools, and restaurants.
-Adopted Green Building Standards, that will reduce carbon emissions more than any other green building standard in the country.
-Developed a new 9 acre farm in Watts for 150 of the displaced South L.A. Farm families
-Working with the Apollo Alliance
on a Green Retrofit and Workforce campaign.
HOUSING
-For the first time, fully funded the $100 Million Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and have done so in each of the last three years.
-Investing $200 million in permanent supportive housing for the homeless.
-Supported & signed ordinance that secured higher relocation fees for displaced renters.
-About to release L.A.'s
Housing Plan, with a mixed income component.
PUBLIC SAFETY
-The Mayor's Office raised private donations this summer to keep eight parks inside the city's GRYD (Gang Reduction and Youth Development) Zones open until midnight, with full programming and an on-site paid youth squad. Results: 7 gang homicides last year in these zones, this summer 1.
-Targeted prevention and intervention dollars to communities most in need while targeting deployment based on computer statistics. Appointed the first police commission that has shown true independence. L.A. is currently experiencing per capita crime at 1956 levels, and total homicide levels at 1970 levels even with the addition of over one and one-half million new residents since 1970. Crime in the rest of the county rose, while crime in L.A. still drops.
-Appointed Chief Douglas Barry
to change the culture at the LAFD and added six new fire stations and
a new training facility in the San Fernando Valley.
EDUCATION
-Led the election of a new reform majority on the School Board.
-With the support of the new reform majority, partnership with UTLA, and his prior deputy mayor, Ramon Cortines, in charge of instruction, an era of new partnerships has opened up with almost every major university. Experiments like Green Dot, with unionized teachers, now in charge at Locke High School in Watts, are finally allowed into partnership.
-With the new majority's support, the Mayor led separate parent and teacher school-based local elections to now include ten of the poorest performing schools (including Santee High and Roosevelt H.S.'s, and Markham and Gompers Middle Schools in Watts) into the Mayor's Partnership for Education Excellence. The partnership schools are now open.
-Raised over $50 million in private donations to support better schools for L.A.'s kids.
-Developed "The Schoolhouse,"
a comprehensive framework for improving L.A's schools
-Expanded after-school programs
to over 45 new sites.
-Opened 20 new recreation facilities,
many new joint use facilities between LAUSD and the City, and a new
Technology Youth Center in Boyle Heights.
TRANSPORTATION
-Completed the Orange Line, nearing completion on the Gold Line Extension, broke ground on the Expo Line, and cleared the legal hurdles for the Subway to the Sea.
-Secured placement for the November half-cent sales tax that, if passed, will provide $40 billion in public transit support, to further develop rail and require at least 22% of the funds to support an expanded bus system.
-Secured $150 million to complete signal synchronization of all city traffic lights.
Ron Kaye is the former editor of the Los Angeles Daily News where he spent 23 years helping to make the newspaper the voice of the San Fernando Valley and fighting for a city government that serves the people and not special interests.
Twice in recent years, Los Angeles Magazine listed Kaye among the city’s most influential people, specifically in the area of politics. Kaye has been variously described in the media as the “accidental anarchist,” “the Patrick Henry of the San Fernando Valley” and a “passionate populist.” He is now committed to
carrying on his crusade for a greater Los Angeles as an ordinary citizen. Previously, Ron worked at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner,
Associated Press, Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Australian as well as papers
in Fairbanks, Alaska and Yakima, Wash. He also wrote for Newsweek magazine, The Guardian in London and the National Enquirer.
Senate Bill No. 60
Driver’s License to Illegal Aliens
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has until September 30, 2008 to either sign into law or veto the bill. Voice your opinion on this legislation by calling Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Sacramento Office (916) 445-2841.
SB 60
AUTHOR: Cedillo
COAUTHORS: Senate Members
Calderon
Kuehl
Oropeza
Romero
COAUTHORS: Assembly Members
Arambula
Coto
De Leon
Dymally
Hernandez
Mendoza
Parra
Saldana
Soto
Torrico
___________________________________
August 31, 2008
Senate Floor Votes
AYES 21. NOES 14. (PASS)
AYES 21.
Alquist
Calderon
Cedillo
Corbett
Correa
Ducheny
Kehoe
Kuehl
Lowenthal
Migden
Negrete
McLeod
Padilla
Perata
Ridley-Thomas
Romero Scott
Simitian
Steinberg
Torlakson
Wiggins
Yee
NOES 14.
Aanestad
Ashburn
Battin
Cogdill
Cox
Denham
Dutton
Harman
Hollingsworth
Machado
Maldonado
Margett
McClintock
Runner
ABSENT, ABSTAINING, OR NOT VOTING
Ackerman
Florez
Oropeza
Vincent
Wyland
______________________________
August 29, 2008
Assembly Floor Votes
AYES 41. NOES 31. (PASS)
AYES 41.
Arambula
Beall
Berg
Brownley
Caballero
Charles
Calderon
Coto
Davis
De La Torre
De Leon
DeSaulnier
Dymally
Eng
Evans
Feuer
Fuentes
Furutani
Hancock
Hayashi
Hernandez
Huffman
Jones
Karnette
Krekorian
Laird
Leno
Levine
Lieber
Ma
Mendoza
Mullin
Nunez
Parra
Price
Ruskin
Salas
Saldana
Swanson
Torrico
Wolk
Bass
NOES 31.
Adams
Aghazarian
Anderson
Benoit
Berryhill
Blakeslee
Cook
DeVore
Duvall
Emmerson
Fuller
Gaines
Garrick
Horton
Houston
Huff
Jeffries
Keene
La Malfa
Lieu
Maze
Nakanishi
Niello
Plescia
Silva
Smyth
Spitzer
Strickland
Tran
Villines
Walters
ABSENT, ABSTAINING, OR NOT VOTING
Carter
Galgiani
Garcia
Nava
Portantino
Sharon
Runner
Solorio
Soto
Who made that list? Most of it involves spending money, other people's money, and most of it tax dollars. A lot could be called an "accomplishment" if you had money to spend on something.
Many of the listed "achievements" are really "works in progres", like those schools he's got to improve. It's too early to say how that's coming along and there's a lot on this list that is somebody's subjective judgment as truly being an "achievement" for Antonio. Some of this would be another's criticism for a foul-up.
A real list of negatives of various categories would be much longer for Antonio. If he worked 100 percent of the time would we be MORE screwed up or are we better off that he's not had so much attention paid to plunge us deeper into disaster?
And when you make "youth jobs", that means tax dollars redistributed to make the government the employer. You know there used to be jobs for youth in the private sector before. Now most of any kind of entry, temp or non-skilled job is held by poor adults, often illegal aliens, but since there's no stats kept, we can't say how much.
The mayor is on the wrong side of the illegal alien issue, putting that group in a favored class, not even a neutral class, to the detriment of the citizens and legal residents. Special Order 40 is dated and counter-productive, but maybe he's trying to cut things that police need to handle. Jamiel's Law is shunned by him and the council- they couldn't care less about making a change, but out of the other side of their mouths they condemn crime and speak of getting tough- led by Antonio.
You really have to be a Kool-Aid drinker to think all that is on the list is (1.) a positive outcome for this city that is (2.) attributable to the Absentee Mayor. They are thus the things he squeezed in while churning up the money on fundraising jaunts? All from a part-timer (with a full-time salary).
Putting out a list like that just challenges others to point out all of negatives for the mayor's time in office, and there are many ways to present them.
Antonio
Villaraigosa touting his list of "achievements" is like Captain Hazelwood touting how clean he kept the decks of the Exxon Valdez.
I am not voting for Antonio Villargarosa.
I do not know who I am voting for, I shall know when I see my ballot. It may be like last time when I did not vote for either candidate and marked my ballot "There are no hanging chads - this is a completed ballot - two NO votes"
The mayor has done some of what he has planned. Has he done all? No, but he has done some. Simply wrestling a group of schools away from the LAUSD was a minor miracle so you've got to hand it to him there, but we do have to wait and see how it goes with the schools.
Now with the UCLA report out today predicting two more years of job losses, rising prices, and tanking real estate, I'd love to see if the mayor has any plans to either inspire more green businesses to come to L.A. or create jobs not just for youth, but for the "old" people too. He did announce one green business yesterday coming to downtown.
As for fundraisers---oh dear---that's politics! Add ten tablespoons of silliness, 1 cup of schmoozing, 3 cups of ego, and then stir with a fundraiser.
That's politics---not only for the honoree but also for the attendees!
Re: Antonio's "game"
I think if one gets out and spends time in the city, one can see that new housing concentration and construction has been on very, very pricey loft developments all over town. Most of the ads on these have starting prices from the low
$300(K) - to $400 (k). So who are they kidding about affordable housing?
The city parks, where most low income youth hang out are still dumps - they haven't been updated, painted etc for 3o years. They charge youth groups that live on small donations 3 times the market rate to use a small classroom and use the properties for their programs as profit making ventures. So who are they kidding about youth concerns?
I suspect his only real conecrn in education at LAUSD is to undermine free public education and replace it with costly corporate education.
hE IS ALSO HOOKED UP IN THE 27 MILLION $ MESS IN THE cITY hOUSING AUTHORITY READ BLOG COOKING THE BOOKS
The only thing worse than running all over town taking credit for stuff that happened without his involvement are the things he is taking credit for and is just making stuff up.
$150 million for the ATSAC traffic system that has been around for decades? I don't think so. The ATSAC system is funded by routine project payments imposed on developers of big traffic generators. The trust fund for that has been fully funded for a couple of years and now the City just needs to get off its ass and build it. The ATSAC payment was discontinued as a project mitigation measure years ago because the City has all the money it needs to build ATSAC.
Perhaps Laura Chick should do a study of how promptly the City is spending the money gathered over the years to build out ATSAC. I bet the result will be a report that looks like the Quimby Fee report for the Department of Recreation and Parks. Money gathered: money languishing and not spent. THAT is the proper measure of progress in this administration.