Editor’s Note: For months City Controller Laura Chick and City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo have been engaged in a legal and political war over whether the City Charter gives her office the right to conduct performance audits of programs run by other elected officials, specifically how he’s managed the city worker compensation programs. With Janice Hahn playing a critical role, the City Council last week refused to pay for Chick’s lawyer to defend her position in court against a lawsuit Delgadillo filed to block her audit.
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
City Controller Laura N. Chick
Last week the Los Angeles City Council voted to refuse hiring outside legal counsel to defend me against a suit brought by City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. The suit, City of Los Angeles vs. City Controller Laura Chick, is attempting to block me from conducting a performance audit of Delgadillo’s multi-million dollar workers compensation program.
During the debate, Councilmember Janice Hahn, a member of the 1999 elected City Charter Commission spoke out against allowing the City Controller to conduct performance audits of programs housed in elected official’s offices.
Councilmember Hahn’s views were a major influence on the discussion since she was part of the Commission which wrote the Charter. The City Attorney has been circulating Councilmember Hahn’s statement to back his position.
However, just eight months ago. Councilmember Hahn spoke at a public hearing of the City Council’s Ad-Hoc on Gang Violence and Youth Development and supported having the City Controller conduct performance audits of programs no matter where they are housed. .
I have included the transcripts and audio clips of Councilmember Hahn’s statements.”
Councilmember Janice Hahn
City Council Meeting
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
I was on the charter Commission, I think I know what we wanted it to be and I think what you’re seeing here is exactly what we wanted to avoid. One political, um, office, you know, having an opportunity to um, you know, investigate another political office for, um, you know,
whatever reason but we’ve seen it in the past how that has happened and I think we on the City Charter, and I think Erwin Chemerinsky might disagree with me but, I think we wanted the City Controller to do performance audits of departments to find out, uh, ya know, how we could do a better job. We never intended one political office to investigate another political office.
Councilmember Janice Hahn
City Council’s Ad-Hoc on Gang Violence and Youth Development
March 14, 2008
I think what everybody here is wanting, particularly me, is this accountability, this transparency, this accountability that everyone in the City knows for a fact as we move forward, which programs are working. How tax dollars are being used and we can see this in an open process.
And I want to tell you, I’m probably the only one sitting around here who wrote this City Charter. I was elected to the Charter Commission and I will tell you in the intent in this section 261, the intent of the elected Charter Commission which represented the people, no offense to the appointed Charter Commission. It was our intent that programs and offices would be, you know, audited by the City Controller. And I will tell you, the public, we sold this City Charter to the public saying that while we gave the Mayor more accountability, we also gave the City Controller, really we wanted the City Controller to regularly audit,
financial and performances of offices.
There never was in my opinion, an intent that if a program was somehow housed in a City official’s office that it would not be under this intent. I would challenge you to, you know survey other Charter Commissioners, because I believe we have the same–and even if you look at our campaign material when we tried to get this City Charter passed by the people, this was one of the key things that the Controller would be able to audit programs inside the City of Los Angeles.
I’m not a Hahn fan (too much liberal taxation) nor of her and Cardenas being in charge of gang monies. But in fairness to her, she may have changed her mind because since the earlier statement, Chick HAS used her audits in a biased way without giving credit where due and only blaming because she did not understand the facts. She then holds a press conference and takes credit for something where it’s not due. Ask Greig Smith what he thinks about Chick’s objectivity and the completeness and fairness of her audits. She’s used the term “performance” in too broad a way.
Also, I’ve heard that she hires outside firms to do them just like the City Attorney — who’s auditing her? Clarity is needed and she’s refusing to cooperate with the Council to find it, just said her way or the highway or she’d sue.
I’m fed up with the wasted money, and since she’s supposed to be the most fiscally concerned official, she shouldn’t be wasting our money on lawsuits if there’s any other way. (She started the process by suing the City Attorney’s staff, who have to defend themselves and now she against them — chicken and egg with Chick and Delgadillo leaves them both looking bad.)
If Hahn has changed her mind then she ought to honestly say so.
But that’s not what she’s doing here, if the transcript above is accurate.
Her claim in December that the Charter Commission specifically “wanted to avoid” the controller auditing other officeholders directly contradicts what she said in March: (i) that the Charter Commission “wanted the controller to regularly audit financial performance of offices”, and (ii) “There was never an opinion, an intent that if a program was somehow housed in a City official’s office that it would not be under this intent.”
I don’t know whether the councilwoman is, um, stupid, or, um, you know, forgetful or, um, you know, both.
But Chick is the clear winner in this exchange…
There is no question Chick used her audits of Fleishman Hillard’s DWP contracts for political purposes to slime Jim Hahn before the last election. The LAWeekly wrote extensively about her “private meetings” with the mayoral candidates. Rocky, who also jumped on the lynch Fleishman bandwagon back then, has now ironically sited Chick’s behavior in his court papers. I can’t wait for those depositions.
Y’know, you are a darn good reporter for an editor!!!! Yes, you are. Too bad this column isn’t published in one of the local newspapers like a Sowell or one of those other columnists. A lot of people would get really interested in what is going on in their world. Thank you.
Thanks Mr. Ron Kaye
Its breath taking to see there are few reporters left who report the FACTS. After reading this post, it appears that Councilmember Hahn’s statements made on March 14, 2008 are closer to the TRUTH regarding the intent of City Charter.
I hope all of your readers began to pay more attention to ALL your articles. The truth must be told.
Janice Hahn has lied and cheated the tax payers over and over again. She has been accused of too many illegal activities, so of them must be true. We can make a change of March 3rd.Lets get her out of ofice. Vote for the other candidate. I think he is an educator. It’s time we give regular people a chance to represent us.
Janice Hahn Parking Bruin Style
In handicapped zone
http://boifromtroy.com/?p=4387