In keeping with the season we need to consider whether our city’s leaders deserve our forgiveness because they really don’t know what they are doing.
Are they ignorant and incompetent – in a word innocent? Or are they incompetent and conniving – in a word guilty.
Personally, I think both are true to one extent or another. They are blinded by their mantras of nobility, virtue and superiority and see the world through the bubble of City Hall consciousness where it all makes sense, where the goal has become the perpetuation of themselves and the system – not service to the public and bringing to life a great city.
As far as I can see the mayor and City Council have done about as poorly as is humanly possible in recent years unless you believe all their claims of success are as valid their boasts about sharp reduction in crime.
They are always talking about how they are cutting business taxes and
creating jobs but unemployment is at 14 percent and the reality is so
bad that 10 people show up for every new living wage job.
The mayor travels the world preaching his dream that LA is the
“greenest city in America” when it has the dirtiest air and power
plants.
They have so bungled the city’s finances that we have massive deficits
and face possible bankruptcy, falling credit ratings, thousands of city
job eliminations, steep service cuts, a $15 billion obligation to city
pension funds – all despite a long series of tax, rate and fee hikes.
And when it comes to City Hall’s politics and policies, we have digital
billboards and marijuana dispensaries popping up everywhere, subsidies
for massive developments, threats of granny flats in every housing
tract, and a public utility that has asserted its primacy as a private
corporation immune from public control or scrutiny.
Let us test my theory of the situation by examining more closely what
happened at Friday’s session of the City Council, the third last before
they go on vacation yet again for two weeks.
There were the usual presentations and proclamations for people who are
actually doing good works to make life better other people who need a
helping hand — uplifting except for the Council members frequent
introductions of race and gender identifications that demean us equally.
The highlight was the cop with 31 years under his belt who was having
coffee at a Starbuck’s in San Pedro that Janice Hahn dashes to every
morning for her wakeup call before getting spruced up so handsomely for
her public persona.
This particular morning she had no sooner arrived for her fill-up than
a thief (male suspect, unspecified race) grabbed the tips cup and ran
out. The cop, who she said could just have easily sat there and phoned
in a report of a theft, ran after and captured the villain. You would
have thought he shot and killed a terrorist (male, unspecified race)
and saved the lives of hundreds from all the praised he deservedly
received for doing his job well.
The lowlight came when gadfly Matt Dowd, a first-rate amateur lawyer
with a knack for successfully suing the city for civil rights
violations, reported that the judge in the latest case had “ripped the
city a new asshole” over its latest filings.
Dennis Zine, as presiding officer, took in stride with only a rebuke
but egged on by Greig Smith banished Dowd from the Council for three
months for making a comment of a “sexual nature” – vulgar for sure but
not sexual unless Zine was trying to tell us something he probably
should have kept private.
Sooner or later they got down to business on the DWP’s audacious plan
to pave Owens Lake, which it had destroyed a century ago, with a square
mile of solar panels as a “pilot project.”
A lot of people out in the desert are prepared to fight the “pilot
project” as an environmental disaster as well as a ruse since the
intent is clearly to pave 100 square miles with solar panels. The
go-along, get-along DWP Commission had no trouble exempting the project
from the EIR process and General Manager David Freeman promised to come
back to the Council next week with a more sophisticated fiction so the
Council would be more comfortable with approving his plan.
Freeman had a lot less trouble getting unanimous approval for the
five-year contract extension for his boss, IBEW Local 18 kingpin Brian
D’Arcy.
Council members lined up like lemmings to repeat for the Channel 35
cameras the well-rehearsed fiction that the deal to further enrich the
lavishly paid DWP workforce will actually save money for ratepayers.
They knew exactly what they were doing, their speeches were scripted
and not a single member had the courage or integrity to speak up for
the interests of their constituents, which could be grounds to throw
them all out of public office since D’Arcy spends millions to put them
into office and threatens to destroy them if the get out of line.
Then, we got to the most interested part of the meeting, the Council’s exploration of the ERIP fiasco they have wrought.
There is some history to this. The economy stalled three years ago,
declined two years ago and that collapsed more than a year ago – none
of which prompted our city leaders to take substantive action.
Reports and warnings were ignored and finally on June 26 they
unanimously approved a budget that masked a $400 million deficit with
phony cuts and savings and an Early Retirement Incentive Program
without any idea of how to pay for it. That became clear two months
later when the ERIP had to be totally revamped to even pretend it will
work.
Now, four months later, workers throughout the city are losing 5 to 10
percent of their pay through furloughs and unpaid overtime – except DWP
workers who are getting even more money – and special funds are being
raided, payments deferred, debt piling up and parking structures being
sold.
And it’s still not enough to close the budget gap.
On Friday, just five days before the ERIP application deadline, the
Council decided to find out what the impact will be of handsomely
paying off 2,400 workers to retire early.
They hauled the two people most responsible for implementing ERIP
before them, Personnel Department head Maggie Whelan and Assistant City
Administrative Officer Tom Coultas, to the Council for a dog-and-pony
show conducted by Zine, chair of the Personnel Committee.
It was supposed to show how smooth things were going but it didn’t work out that way.
In measured terms appropriate to public servants, they explained that
the ERIP already has 2,900 applicants so it’s oversubscribed, that most
of them are senior managers, that it will take months process them out
and it will leave huge gaps in every department.
“Swiss cheese” – that’s what the city departments will look like for years to come, said Whelan.
“This is just the beginning, next year is worse” – that’s what Coultas explained to them.
Watch the videos below if you want to understand for yourselves what a
catastrophe they have caused by their inability to deal with the city’s
fiscal crisis, and to decide which services are important and which are
not.
They have failed us. They had a responsibility to do better and they
didn’t. If they all are as bumbling and ignorant as Bill Rosendahl
appears to be in the video (which is what brought the mocking smile to
Jan Perry’s face), they aren’t qualified to lead this city.
If they really knew what they were doing and hoped it would work out somehow, they don’t deserve to this city.
If they are as silent as the mayor is about all this, they should get
out of the way and let people take over who care enough to go work at
solving the city’s problems and have the courage to speak their minds
honestly and openly.
This particular group of Councilmembers and the Mayor has been deadly for the city. An organization can function if only a few are stupid, and the smart ones make up for the deficit. We have a collective so dumb and lacking in leadership or any other virtues, that we knew, it would come to this.
Have only two solutions: Have to cut their pay in half, so the current riff-raf, and one more to join start finding other day jobs than this easy living at the public trough. Honest, civic-minded people who have already worked in other fields of life, would not mind the lower pay.
Second, we should all pledge, that we’ll ensure that not one of the incumbents ever gets elected to any public position.
Much of what you said makes sense, especially since I have sat in too many meetings with Council Members amazed how the candidate has turned into the politician. It’s like the minute they take that seat, they act like our opinions no longer really matter, or have validity, or could actually be the long-sought solution (or truth they really don’t want to face!). But, still we press on because we can’t lose sight of the human being caught up in a web of bureaucracy, unrelentless pressure from all the special interests, overwhelming new and old problems, issues and policies that they can never really study and process, and the yearning to have some sort of a life as well.
But, for me the problem doesn’t necessarily rest with the Council Member per se. A Council Member is only as good as the staff he hires. And, if they have sour apples on board, the community continues to reap a bitter harvest. And, that’s the level I deal with – the District office. And, that is a constant challenge no matter what promises were made to be responsive and accessible during a campaign.
The one thing that has always kept my sanity as I continue to ask myself “what are these people thinking?” is that in less than 4 short years, that council member will have to return to this District for those votes to be re-elected. And, these days, thanks to the internet and the ability to send viral emails, we can and do keep tabs District-wide. In my instances, CD5 and CD2, the spector of recall in CD5 lingers and Paul Krekorian is up for re-election in just 18 short months.
That’s one of the reasons I always tell people they have to get active in their communities so they can track how good/bad of a job their Council Member is doing. And, then spread the word.
No mercy. In a word or three, they are they guilty of incompetence, duplicity and conniving.
They know exactly what they’re doing and do it with no conscience or remorse; they don’t give a damn.
If they were serial killers or criminals with the same attitudes, we’d call them asocial animals and lock them up for life.
No mercy. In a word or three, they are they guilty of incompetence, duplicity and conniving.
They know exactly what they’re doing and do it with no conscience or remorse; they don’t give a damn.
If they were serial killers or criminals with the same attitudes, we’d call them asocial animals and lock them up for life.
For the first semester (July to December), City Hall gets an A in Denial, an A in the Enron accounting class, an A minus in union appeasement, an A in union fund raising, a B in Public Deception, a D in infrastructure operations, and an F in pensions.
Unfortunately, the first semester grades really don’t count for much because we will have to see how much money is in the bank in June.
I think they represent what elected them, the people. Not a very good reflection of LA’s population, but there it is. If people cared and took the time to vote, there would be a turn over of people like Tom LaBonge, Villaraigosa, and crew that stay in office forever and do very little for their .
Forgive them and forgive what keeps them in office, the voting eligible public.
I think they represent what elected them, the people. Not a very good reflection of LA’s population, but there it is. If people cared and took the time to vote, there would be a turn over of people like Tom LaBonge, Villaraigosa, and crew that stay in office forever and do very little for their .
Forgive them and forgive what keeps them in office, the public.
It’s true that, to a degree, these Councilmembers are the sum total of their staff. Alot of their employees are transfers from other offices and administrations. Some just hate people and it shows.
Add to that the odd morphing that seems to occur once they are sworn in. I often wonder if there’s some sort of secret initiation that occurs, or maybe it’s an invasion of the body snatchers. Better yet, maybe they just lie and say what folks wish to hear during a campaign. Imagine that. I wonder if one sue a candidate for false advertising and win? Isn’t that fraud?
Based on public perception what grade (A-D) do you give these eighteen, highly paid, elected officials on overall performance in 2009?
Mayor Villaraigosa (D-)
City Attorney Trutanich (A)
City Controller Greuel (D)
1. Ed Reyes (D-)
2. Vacant
3. Dennis Zine (D-)
4. Tom LaBonge (D)
5. Paul Koretz (N/A)
6. Tony Cardenas (D-)
7. Richard Alarcon (D-)
8. Bernard Parks (D)
9. Pro Tempore Jan Perry (D-)
10. Herb Wesson (D)
11. Bill Rosendahl (D)
12. Greig Smith (D)
13. President Eric Garcetti (D-)
14. Jose Huizar (D)
15. Janice Hahn (D)
You made only one mistake on your grading, please correct Eric Garcetti’s score. He deserves an “A”
Remember when Los Angeles Council President Eric Garcetti hid the PA Consulting report from the PUBLIC regarding the “extremely risky” Measure B that Angelenos defeated on March 3, 2009.
Los Angeles Times
Council gets “Secret” solar report
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/20/local/me-solar20
December 14, 2009 9:38 PM,
You are being too kind with your D-grades for these Failures, it must be the season.
Ron, your message sums up very precisely exactly
what we have lived through for the much too long past. They have neither excuses nor reasons, I think that the lust for power and greed for money are what moves the entire city council and the mayor.
We need to decide how much of this we can take.
Teddy Howell
These clowns deserve more then a D they deserve an F = FAILURE. Garcetti is at the top of the list having appointed the worst clowncil members to the committees that screwed up. 5 of them are running for Mayor. Wendy suspiciously released the LAPD audit AFTER Bratton left, do you remember he endorsed Wendy? Why isn’t Wendy auditing DWP?? If she even thinks of running that is the question we need to ask her why hasn’t she audited DWP? Its time to get the grass roots going against all of them and find a “true people’s candidate”
RON KAYE SHOULD RUN FOR OFFICE. EITHER RUN AGAINST MITCH ENGLANDER OR RUN FOR MAYOR
Your grading system is seriously flawed. You gave Trutanich an A. What??
Trutanich got an “A” for being honest and doing what he was elected for- root out corruption in City Hall. He has a lot more to do. We hope he’ll get there.
4:45 gets an A for Hoping. I don’t think he’s rooted out any corruption yet and I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but I don’t think he’s capable of doing much but swagger around and talk big. He is a one issue guy if I ever saw one. His issue is medical marijuana. He needs to get cracking and do some real work. I saw him speak and he just went on and on about medical marijuana.
Corruption is telling Wendy you’ll work with her and then refusing once you’re elected.
On July 1, 2009 Carmen Trutanich was sworn in as City Attorney. Since then he has not been shy in letting City Council/Special Interest Groups know that he is looking out for the best interest of Los Angeles constituents, which has not been the case here in Los Angeles for many decades.
The City Attorneys Office has set precedent by saving constituents million or billion of dollars in just a short time that apparently has upset some people.
See for yourselves: http://atty.lacity.org/NEWS/index.htm
Let the Mayor, City Council, and City Controller supporters name several, at least three,
decisions that the mayor or council, including Dennis Zine, has made which have saved constituents money. These lack of leadership POLITICOS have been in office for many years, raising fees and taxes as a quick fix, with no valuable goals in mind for their constituents.
Almost all the City Council Members need to go.
Jan Perry has no business being in any position of authority.
Same goes for Cardenas and Alarcon.
They actually should be in jail.
Some, like Rosendahl and Smith, are well-intentioned but keep voting with the others to screw things up.
Almost never any “No” votes at City Hall…which is why we are in an economic catastrophe right now.
They don’t understand simple math. They need to go.
Some of these council people deserve a Failing grade.
Many are never even in their communities except for a photo op.
Some of these council people deserve a Failing grade.
Many are never even in their communities except for a photo op.
Some of these council people deserve a Failing grade.
Many are never even in their communities except for a photo op.