When you just got voters to give you $3.5 billion to spend on construction projects, you’re going to find you have got a lot of new friends.
Kelly G. Candaele, president of the L.A. Community College District’s Board of Trustees, enjoyed the company of a lot of new friends Tuesday morning in the luxury of the City Club on Bunker Hill — friends in the contracting and consulting world who coughed up as much as $5,000 each for his re-election campaign in March.
MIchelle Gastelum, president of Summit Consulting and Engineering, hosted the event and is doing the same for Trustee Nancy Pearlman next Monday.
But the “pay-to-play” games don’t end there.
Trustee Angela Reddock is taking it a giant step farther by inviting her “friends” to an event
laccd-reddock.htm Thursday night at the posh Hancock Park area home of campaign consultant and fund-raiser Brian Rix and lobbyist Bob Burke. 
While her colleagues limited contributions to $1,000, $2,500 and $5,000, Reddock is clearly more egalitarian and will allow people who give only $250 to drop by the evening.
Rix is the perfect host, having helped raise the money that put LACCD’s Measure J — as in Jobs for you know who — over the top with nearly 70 percent of the vote last week.
He’s also very big at City Halll where he’s been paid $1,334,323.13 by a long list of candidates over the last decade: Wendy Greuel, Herb Wesson, Laura Chick, Bill Rosendahl, Tom LaBonge, Dennis Zine, Joel Wachs, Janice Hahn, Martin Ludlow, Julie Korenstein, Rod Wright and Rudy Svorinich.
What makes Reddock’s event even more interesting is that the invitation lists seven trustees and eight presidents of L.A. Community colleges, suggesting she counts them among “Friends of Angela Reddock,” the title of her campaign fund.
And “Special Guests” for the event include several politicians and the head of the faculty union as well as LACCD Chancellor Mark Drummond and LACCD Facilities Director Larry Eisenberg.
Every single person who has a role in deciding who gets the $3.5 billion plus the hundreds of millions still unspent from the two previous bond issues are offered as supporters of Reddock, who is out there raising money from the people who will get these lucrative contracts.
Is there no shame left? Are there no laws against this sort of thing? Is no one in public office accountable for their actions? If the work is shoddy or there are unjustified cost over-runs who of these people is in a position to do anything about it?
Hey, they are all friends after all and friends don’t blow the whistle on friends.
Where oh where is that old fellow that went around with his lamp looking for an honest person? You know, the one who hollered “Eureka” when he found one! We need him now more than ever. “Isn’t everyone on the take?” is the
way it is, it sure looks like it. Maybe that is the only reason they run for office?
Is there another way to run a city? Yes, it is called cash and carry and live within the budget.
But where are the honest people capable of doing service one term at a time and then leaving to let someone else take a turn? They are the ones I want to vote for. Oh, no, those guys who “buy” their way into the game are probably dangerous. Is this what is referred to as “the gang”? And once elected you have to play their game? Sad.
Anyone notice that all of the political fundraisers for the 3 incumbent lumps on the Community College Board up for re-election all are within 14 days after the election. They just got all these construction contractors, architects, and engineers to bankroll the campaign to pass Measure J and a couple of weeks later fund their re-election campaigns to mow over those less beholden to construction interests.
I think we should make it easier for everyone. Instead of LACCD paying its construction contractors out of Measure A bond funds and then
the constractors turning around and funnelling thousands of dollars to the incumbent trustees, let’s out the middleman. The trustees should just cut Measure A checks right to their re-election campaigns. Much simpler and no need to pretend that the construction contractors actually think this crew are best candidates for education of our kids.
“The trustees should just cut Measure A checks right to their re-election campaigns. Much simpler and no need to pretend that the construction contractors actually think this crew are best candidates for education of our kids.”
That sure would be more honest, wouldn’t it?
But what else do they get by being elected to the college board? Prestige? I do not know them at all. But I will vote NO.
The Battle of the Flag.
http://llerrah.com/battleoftheflag.htm