Antonio Villaraigosa
isn’t alone when it comes to failed political leadership.
As far as I’m concerned, every single elected city and county and state
official has failed us, failed in their sworn duty to serve the people and work
for the common good. They are all failures, period. That’s all I’ve got to say
about them.
That’s why I’m voting against all the state propositions on the ballot. They’ve
gotten their hands on hundreds of billions of dollars, trillions probably, in
the first nine years of the 21st century and what in god’s name have they done
with the money.
Are the schools better? The roads? The quality of life? The economic
opportunities? The air, the water the sea, the land? Our health, our sense of
community, our confidence in our government, our hopes for the future?
You tell me cause I just don’t see things getting better.
They have twice in these years pushed the state to the brink of bankruptcy with
their hollow ideological confrontations and now the city is falling into line
with its inflated salaries, ineffective policies and its pay-to-play political
games that pervade City Hall with the stench of corruption that has gone from
the world of morality to the world of criminality.
They have failed us and they must pay the price.
If any of our elected officials have even a small commitment to public service
left, they would not take a single cent of pay until they fixed what they have
broken and started to solve problems and make government work for the people
instead of themselves and the special interests who keep them in office.
That’s why I’m voting to send the state budget problem back to the people who
are responsible for it. In their humiliating failure, they have audaciously put
before voters an unintelligible hodge-podge of self-contradictory measures that
do nothing to solve the real problem of state waste, inefficiency, misguided
priorities and just plain overspending.
I won’t even vote for cutting their pay 10 percent. If they have any
self-respect, they will give it all up when voters repudiate what is being put
before them on Tuesday.
Let them go back to work and do what they should have done years ago: Balance
the revenue they get with the expenditures they make. Let them put every dollar
spent on a priority list and when they run out of cash, cut what’s left.
That’s what they should have done a long time ago. But they didn’t because
nobody would like it. Not business, not labor, not left, not right, not you,
and certainly not me.
They haven’t done that because we would have voted them out of office if we saw
the consequences of decades of misrule. The bills must come due before we have
any chance to revive the fortunes of our state.
And our city, for that matter.
As the City Council on Monday takes up a budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year
with a $326 million hole after two weeks of hearings exposed the truth about
the mayor’s spending plan: It is a work of fiction unworthy of publication.
His failure was compounded by infuriating his allies in the unions by pulling
an early retirement package just as a deal was being reached and now coming
back with a payoff of up to $50,000 for those city workers who are on the
layoff list of thousands.
Clearly, he had this in mind when he referred to city workers as a class as
“deadwood.”
The number of layoffs, buyouts or early retirement will reach into the thousands
unless the full Council backs its Budget Committee in its decision to let 520
officers retire without being replaced — a direct slap in the face of the
mayor and his symbolic goal of 10,000 cops no matter what it costs.
Police Chief William Bratton, in his unrestrained arrogance that recalls the
darkest days in LAPD’s history, threw gasoline on the fire by issuing a
threatening statement from one of those faraway places where he spends so much
of his time.
Councilman Bill Rosendahl demanded an apology when Bratton warned him that his
decision to halt police hiring to save other jobs and public services would
cost his Westside district 25 to 30 patrol officers. Let that be a warning to
everyone on the council.
These are people without any excuse for their failure.
They are the nation’s highest paid municipal officials with armies of staff and
support at their disposal. Yet, they all too often know little about what they
voting on even as they vote unanimously to do it.
None of them has a record of standing up for the public interest on any
consistent basis.
They preen and posture at televised council meetings and at public events and
do most of their business behind closed doors so scrutiny is difficult. I can
assure you they have engaged in a serial meeting through staff and bureaucrats
throughout the weekend in violation of state law.
Their debate on the budget starting Monday will be more theater than substance
and they certainly won’t make any final decisions on the eve of an election.
Jack Weiss is not only one of them. He is the worst of them. His election as
City Attorney would be a catastrophe, killing any hope for reform short of a
mass rebellion.
That knowledge alone should be enough to ensure a landslide victory for Carmen
“Nuch” Trutanich. Fortunately, he’s also a better man than Jack
Weiss and better lawyer than Jack Weiss by far.
Paul Koretz is no Jack Weiss. But he has been part of the failure of state
government for six years, and will feel right at home in the culture of City
Hall. He’ll look after the same special interests as Weiss has in his eight
years of failed service to Council District 5.
David “Ty” Vahedi comes out of neighborhood community organizations
with a wealth of knowledge of what’s going on in our communities and the
commitment to give them a voice at City Hall.
Vahedi carries the hope for change. And so do Tina Park and Robert Nakahiro in
the runoff elections for the bond-rich LA Community College Board. Incumbents
Angela Reddock and Nancy Pearlman — like fellow board member and ideological
brother Kelly Candaele — represent more of the same.
Our world is in crisis and we must change. This election gives us the chance to
impose our will and force reform. That’s why I’m voting against the state
ballot measures and for the new faces in local political offices.
Yes, thank you Ron. I agree with you. They
have ruined it for themselves as well as the rest of it and need to know how we feel. TH
Ron, get a grip! Life’s too short to be blowing a gasket on how every elected official has let you down. Sorry to hear you’re so disappointed, but what is the use of being older and wiser if you continually betray your historical perspective? Patrick Henry wouldn’t have given up. You sound like you’re about to jump off the roof. Jesus, man, pull yourself together!
you voting against koretz and weiss is the kiss of death. might as well hand them the election now. you are so out of touch. just an angry old white guy from the west valley that really doesn’t matter.
Angry old white guys from the Valley and Westside are known to vote, you smug arrogant jerk!
Sorry that passion isn’t cool enough for you; it’s a problem for the best among us.
“Passion” over two community college board seats and one city council seat? THAT’S supposed to turn things around? “Out of touch” was not misused by 10:00 p.m., regardless of what you call him/her.
ron,
you sound worse that Scott (red spot in CD 14) over at Mayor Sam’s blog.
I don’t usually sign up to be able to post comments but with so many Anonymous posters I decided it was worth the effort so I would at least not be confused with any of the anonymous posters (either pro or con).
I, for one, am glad Mr. Kaye is passionate about the city and the electorial process. And yes, the community college board DOES make a difference. If you knew anything about what is NOT going to happen to the Van de Kamps college site you’d know that a more responsible board is needed.
And it’s not just one or two seats in local elections. Weiss expected to win the election; Villaraigosa expected Weiss to win, and probably thought he (V) would win by a much larger majority. Both were wrong. Proposition B was voted down. These are all strong messages that the electorate knows they have choices, and they’re making them based on what they want, not on what they’re told they should have.
If we as voters choose people who are NOT part of the establishment (as much as others) we are telling the establishment that we not only can choose for ourselves, we are choosing change. City Hall is still going to be standing after election day, but maybe people who might have been afraid that there is no changing the status quo might take heart and commit themselves to change as well.
It is unfortunate that most people do not get involved in any government process until it affects them directly: Their child’s school, their commute routes, some project that will increase/decrease the value of homes in the neighborhood–then they’ll be angry and involved and want to know why THEY should be inconvenienced/disturbed/taxed/deprived by the actions taken. They don’t see a bigger picture so their concern is short lived and not very productive (except to produce a lot of anger in them and those they oppose).
Mr. Kaye cares about the much bigger picture and bless him for that…if everyone has their eye only on their local ball, then no one knows who’s running the game, and what the score is.
It’s not just this article, this week, this month…Ron Kaye started this blog with the idea of letting people in LA know that someone DOES give a sh*t about the city and county and state and he’s going to speak his mind and wants others to do the same. But he also wants us to USE that mind and decide what we can do to contribute besides just spouting opinions in response to some things and ignoring the real issues behind them.
He’s trying to spur us to informed debate and action, not just words and more words…yes, he’s using words….but there is passion behind those words and experience and knowledge. I don’t know the man, never met him, don’t need to. I’ve met his mind, his concern, his insight and I’m a better informed person for that.
No, he doesn’t need me to defend him, but I think some of the anonymous out there need someone to remind them that they should try to write a column such as Ron Kaye has about something they care about…something they really care about…before they litter the comments portion with facile criticisms and semi-witty replies.
And Mr. Kaye, I don’t always agree with you (not that you would expect that anyway) but I do defend your right to say it…and appreciate your willingness to ‘take it to the streets’.
The only postings that made sense are #’s 1 and
7. The others are obviously working for their
own candidates. Good job, Mr. Kaye
Ron, I love your passion and am truly grateful that after a long successful career at the Daily News, that you chose to be here helping some of us understand what really drives these issues.
I will also be voting no on everything but 1-F, and I will be voting for Nuch.
Don’t let the bastards get you down.
Arras, if Ron Kaye cared so much about the “big” issues, then he’d offer “big” solutions instead of “big” bottles of whine. Saying “no” to everything and then crying about how everybody else needs to come up with the answers does nothing for the society he is so “passionate” about.
Thank you for caring about Los Angeles. Few of our elected officials do, except to the extent it lines their pensions, pockets and those of their friends who want to milk the taxpayers.
Our city attorney found time to jail well-known menace, Paris Hilton, but ignored the proliferating and annoying billboards, while his wife used a city vehicle. Our mayor’s budget is bloated, his city dysfunctional and he has done nothing to make it better. A photo op mayor.
Slippery Jack Weiss hopes to be elected by the default of indifferent voters and those seeing his name on freshly painted city signs near long finished construction projects (isn’t that illegal?). Weiss can get his name painted on signs, but can’t fix streets, stay out of developer’s beds or find one ally who will call him an honest man good for the taxpayers.
Please keep this up. If the LA Times reported in this way, it’d still have a future, and our city would be a model.
Ron is not saying “No” to everything. He is saying “Yes” to Trutanich and Vahedi.
Those “Weiss Ass Cybertrolls” are running amuck with their paid for rants.
I am watching the budget public comments and it is fascinating to watch city employees argue why their department is special and why should be spared the budget knife.
I guess that the fact that the budget is short by 400 million is just a footnote.
I wonder as I see all the city badges: are the taxpayers paying for the time that these public employees are using to make public comment?
KK Just finished sending the following:
I turned on the news this morning to find that the public unions are going to be at city hall this morning demonstrating against layoffs and other workplace changes like fewer hours. Why are you people demonstrating? There is not enogh money for the padded payroll that is currently in force. We cannot afford your “services”. It is as simple as that. Obvious to me is the timing. The day before election day, May 19. Was demonstrating your idea or your union boss’s? Are you being paid for your regular job while you are demonstrating? If you are, do you not think thatyou are being dishonest? I certainly would feel a little bit quilty. After all, you pay taxes as well as the rest of us, and some of us are amongthose laid off from our jobs. Surely you saw the lines this weekend on yourTV waiting to talk to the recruiters (some from other cities). We simply do not have any more money to be burdened as taxes. We are voting no on anytax increases. We are voting against anyone presently in office so that we can get fairer representation. Your bosses will not know how you voted.So cast your vote like it means something to you and your family. We do not need to bankrupt our city.As for our so-called representatives, you are on borrowed time because enough is enough. Cut that budget to pieces even if it is 2 inches thick. We DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH MONEY!!! GOT IT? THERE IS NO MORE MONEY FOR FUN AND GAMES. YOU HAVE BROKEN THE BANK. YOU OWE US.
KK, it’s easy:
SEIU verses Police Protective League.
That’s what today at Clowncil is about.
“The number of layoffs, buyouts or early retirement will reach into the thousands unless the full Council backs its Budget Committee in its decision to let 520 officers retire without being replaced — a direct slap in the face of the mayor and his symbolic goal of 10,000 cops no matter what it costs.”
If the council does that, isn’t that a direct k.o. to the glass jaws of the public who were duped into voting for the phony phone tax?; Measure B they tried to con us into, but we defeated; and tripling of the garbage tax.
All of the above were sold as cash for MORE COPS, or we’ll be murdered in our beds if we didn’t vote for them, or they didn’t raise OUR fees.
If they don’t give us MORE COPS, as they’ve been promising, taxing and feeing us to death for months and years, then we all damn well better get a refund for all those extra trash fees they’ve been gouging out of us.
! * ! * ! * ! * ! * !
Besides Doug McIntyre, who’s talking about it on his morning radio show [and probably Tom McClintock], we’ve got to start talking about the leviathan of a financial elephant in the room that’s casting a pall over the state and the city: THE PENSION FUNDS
All this other budgetary spending is chump change compared to what’s going to happen if the pensions funds don’t get fixed.
If nothing else, for starters they could do a variation on the theme of what Joy Picus did when she was the 3rd District councilwoman.
Kill all pensions for new hires; let them collect Social Security like the rest of us schmucks who worked for a living.
Sandy, did you just step out of a time capsule? Hint: There’s a global economic crisis. Things are tough all around the whole world (see? “global”). Or do you believe that Los Angeles operates inside of its own bubble? The sky has already fallen, baby. You should recognize that before you start complaining, yet again, about Measure B and trash fees.
Anonymous 2:25,
Take that attitude and don’t try to do something about what you think is wrong, and it’s a foregone conclusion that the sky will fall.
Today we learned that there will only be ‘replacement’ police hired. WTF?
Isn’t that bait & switch?
I want an attorney and my garbage fees back…WITH INTEREST.
May 18 1:23 AM, correction – you mean Jose A. at Mayor Sam.
Sandy, a couple things to help you in your desperation;
1) Read the book “Who Moved My Cheese?” and learn from it (Don’t worry, it’s a short book);
2) Look up the definition of “bait and switch.” Are you seriously trying to suggest that the Budget Com, the Council and the Mayor colluded? omg…;
3)If you still want to hire an attorney (at, what, $250 to $350 an hour) to get back your $120 in trash fees (is it even that much?), then be my guest. I’m sure there are plenty of decent attorneys out there willing to take your money.
The Community College Board seats do make a difference. Vote for Robert Nakahiro and Tina Park to change the cozy relationships.
The current President of the Community College Board Kerry Candaele has resigned from an appointed seat on the City Pension System. The Los Angeles Times caught him red-handed hosting a fund raiser to help the Mayor’s lapdog, Jack Weiss, run for City Attorney. It’s a cozy web of deceit over at LA Community College District.
Vote for change. Vote Pearlman and Rodderick out and replace them with Robert Nakahiro and Tina Park.
To Anonymous at May 18, 2009 9:16 AM: Actually your argument coincides with those offered by many of our local leaders–its the “Chicken Little argument.” You’re saying that Mr. Kaye isn’t offering a solution, however those supporting a “Yes” on 1A-1F are only offering their choice or the highway, or more to the point–you only have two choices vote “Yes” or face doom. That’s illogical. If the current choices are wrong then vote “No”.
James, the statement is pretty clear at 9:16a. The claim is made that Mr. Kaye offers no solutions, only complaints. Your logic, on the other hand, comes off rather tortured as it serves only to support your opinion, using 9:16 as a launch pad and never quite returning to Earth. Debating your own manufactured points in order to conclude that, somehow magically, 9:16 is illogical is, at best, entertaining. But, then again, Mr. Spock, you ain’t.
By Sandy Sand on May 18, 2009 1:49 PM
“Kill all pensions for new hires; let them collect Social Security like the rest of us schmucks who worked for a living.”
Not everyone can collect Social Security. If you pay into the system, you can collect. Teachers, college professors, and other State workers pay into STRS or PERS – not into Social Security.
If you retire and collect from STRS or PERS, even if you did pay into Social Security, your Social Security is offset by your pension.
People like teachers who must have credentials or at least a Master’s degree for college take a lower salary than they would get in the private sector with the idea of being able to retire in comfort with out worry. And now they want to go after the pensions.
Please don’t confuse the pensions of teachers and other middle echelon employees with those who make salaries of $200,000 or more a year.
GREAT SHOW RON KAYE…
Jack Weiss sleeps with the fishes; politically! He is dead man walking; politically..
Defeated in a landslide as Carmen T. did the trick on this sleezeball..
I voted with zeal and great pleasure..
I’m tired of Weiss declaration of war on Second Amendment rights for those law abiding who wants a gun for individual SELF PROTECTION!
Weiss sleeps with the fishes like Luca Brazzi…