It’s hard to believe that City Hall was in the doldrums so long it was hard to stay awake during their endless exercises in self-aggrandizement and self-service and now just look at what’s happening — it takes your breath away.
Let’s start with the City Council grilling David Freeman and calling him the liar he is, leaving him dissembling and mumbling even as he insisted the DWP is going broke despite a billion dollars sitting idle in the bank.
Hopefully, it was his last stand for deceit and ripoff of the public with his disastrous term as general manager ending next week. It’s as hard to believe he could make long for David Nahai as it is the Antonio Villaraigosa could make us long for boring Jimmy Hahn.
Speaking of the mayor, he responded immediately to the Council’s calling on him to sit down with them and DWP officials to work out the transfer of $73 million to the general fund so the city doesn’t run out of cash May 5 and have to shut down.
The mayor has other ideas: He ordered the City Administrative Officer to prepare to close all city departments two days a week starting Monday with the exception of police, fire and revenue-generating agencies.
Now there’s a plan for the history books, a profile in courage in the mayor’s mind.
“There are no easy decisions or simple ways to solve this budget crisis,”
Mayor Villaraigosa said. “But as the CEO of this great city, it is
my responsibility to make these difficult but necessary decisions to
steer the city out of this crisis and onto solid financial ground.”
The guy wants the public to pay 20 to 30 more for electricity to pay the inflated salaries of his pals in the IBEW who he keeps giving more raises to and spend lavishly on a crash program for green energy that will kill untold thousands of jobs and squeeze already strained budgets of residents.
What’s worse there isn’t even a plan to do what he says, his trust fund lockbox is a total fraud (even Freeman admitted that today) and he’s encircled by green-washers and green-feeders who stand to profit handsomely from his plan.
In just a few weeks of desperate and bungling miscalculation, the mayor has left himself with no friends other than those who are getting rich off of him, payback for sure for how well he has wined and dined off of them.
The public is angry at him. The Council is unanimous in their disgust with him with the exception of Richard Alarcon and Tony Cardenas who duck every vote involving the DWP that they can.
And after being slugged with a 40 percent pay ooss from losing two days of work every week, the Coalition of City Unions reached the point of no return putting out this statement:
LA City
Workers to Mayor: ‘This Is Not a Game’.
Residents who rely on city services and workers who provide those services are about to become collateral damage in a political fight around DWP funds.
This is playing brinksmanship and city residents will pay the price. This is not a game, it shouldn’t be treated as a game.
Los Angeles has a serious crisis, but we are doing something about it. We need to change how our city does business, to resolve budget problems and preserve services for the future.
City workers are putting together a real plan, not political games. We call on everyone to come together as one City, put residents first, and work our way cooperatively through the very real challenges we face.
“Closing
libraries
two days a week will hurt thousands of children we see every day, who
rely on our libraries as places to study, discover their creativity, and
find
safety,” added Madeleine Kerr, a librarian who works with children and
teens. “Closing recreation facilities affects child care, sports and
after-school programs for
Angeles
families. The mayor is reacting not leading.”
How does two days off result in 40% loss in pay?
Misread. Thought it was two days a month. It is even more stupid of the Mayor to shut down government two days a week. Just shut down all the offices. His 200 staff can run the city.
The 11% Mayor wants you to keep paying 100% of your taxes but receive only 60% of the services.
I cannot wait to sign that recall petition!!!!
It all started on Mount Washington when Antonio Villaraigosa ran for State Assembly. He promised everyone the world. And they believed him. And then, the night he won his first office, his wife could not find him anywhere because he ran off with the wife of campaign supporter.
This ladies and gentleman was the first hint of the total lack of character of the man that eventually became our Mayor.
Corina, his classy and sweet wife, wisely divorced him (err, is that final yet? I heard he was delaying it by claiming he could not find a lawyer).
Guess it’s time for the rest of us to divorce the little putz too.
Please pass the recall papers.
If DWP is going broke, shouldn’t the DWP workers be put on furlough (like EAA and Coalition city employees (any council member pose that to Freeman)?
And why isn’t the Mayor cutting back his goals for renewables?
Our playboy mayor is just playing everything and
everyone. He appoints/hires the clowns at DWP
he could ditch them all in an hour. He’s just so
concerned – about himself. Bets on where he’ll
land in a soft feathered nest when voters finally
get rid of him?
Pass the recall petition, Im a Democrat, I’ll sign it twice. He makes a great case for it
everyday by outdoing one cynical manipulation
with the one he comes up with the next day.
Let’s be glad Gruel did the right thing and made
a no non sense statement of what was what.
She knows when to leave the boy wonder
Mayor to stew in his own pot.
Our playboy mayor is just playing everything and
everyone. He appoints/hires the clowns at DWP
he could ditch them all in an hour. He’s just so
concerned – about himself. Bets on where he’ll
land in a soft feathered nest when voters finally
get rid of him?
Pass the recall petition, Im a Democrat, I’ll sign it twice. He makes a great case for it
everyday by outdoing one cynical manipulation
with the one he comes up with the next day.
Let’s be glad Gruel did the right thing and made
a no non sense statement of what was what.
She knows when to leave the boy wonder
Mayor to stew in his own pot.
RECAAAAAAAALL!!
“NO” read backwards is “ON”…code word for: The rate hikes will be placed “ON” the backs of Angelinos…
John Walsh has written on his blog that the reason Price Antonio is stalling on the divorce is so he can hide his assets from Corina. It would be in line with the way he has behaved as a husband and an elected official. Recall.
Shut City Dpts 2d/wk? Another brilliant idea by the “financial strategist”, Szabo. Let`s see how far that goes. like the other genious, Carson`s statement, DWP rates would go up by $2.50/month only.
I think Antonio is mentally incapable of running the City. Any clause in the Charter to remove him on this basis?
Media is already reporting the Mayor can’t tell union employees which makes up a lot of city workers to stay home for 2 days. Again the idiot Mayor didn’t do his homework. Remember a couple of months ago when city council didn’t act on lay offs he held a press conf. saying starting in 2 weeks employees will be laid off and that didn’t happen. This Mayor is the biggest bumbling bafoon in the nation. By him saying he’s the CEO should mean he can be FIRED just like the Enron and Worldcom guys. Can someone answer who does DWP report to? Is it a City dept? If so can’t the City Attorney or someone go after them criminally for the threat of holding $73 million hostage?
Can someone answer who does DWP report to? Is it a City dept? If so can’t the City Attorney or someone go after them criminally for the threat of holding $73 million hostage?
Because Riordan altered the charter, the DWP ultimately reports to the mayor now. And the DWP is a City Proprietary department, meaning it’s a public business.
And the holding of the %73 million is not criminal. Actually, a case could be made that transferring the $73 million is criminal. That $73 million is power revenue on top of the utility tax that is transferred to the General Fund. And incidentally, the courts declared last year that the equivalent of this transfer from water revenue was illegal.
A couple days ago, the council did ask Trutanich to investigate to see if they could just take the money anyway. I don’t know what Trutanich’s response was.
Maybe a solution is to go after the DWP Commissioners head on. We should call Pres. Sample at USC where THOMAS S. SAYLES is Vice President, Government and Community Relations. Say there is an ethics issue with his employee.
FORESCEE HOGAN-ROWLES -President & CEO of Community Financial Resource Center (CFRC), a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution whose mission is to enhance the economic wealth and capacity of residents and businesses throughout Los Angeles County.
(does this commissioner work in the County and not city of LA? big problem here)
LEE KANON ALPERT-Albert, Barr and Grant
(we should call his board of directors at the law firm and say the same, there is a huge ethics issue at stake, maybe protest outside his law offices)
JONATHAN PARFREY-Green L.A. and is housed at Liberty Hill Foundation . Ron had a story about the conflict of interest on this commissioner and the fact he backed Measure B.
the mayor is mad
time for a recall
like his home boys will say {hes out to lunch}
and is not coming back
Mayor Pollovillar huffs and puffs about shutting down services two days a week. Meanwhile, his cronies at Legacy LA in Boyle Heights run duplicate recreation programs with no cut in services.
That is what happens when you pay the “frachise fee” in form of campaign contributions ($1,000), right Lou Maria Calanche??
Scott Johnson in CD 14
Antonio at the Brink: A Profile in Courage?
There is nothing courageous about this man’s recent actions or in what he has proposed. I suggest an alternative title – Antonio on the Edge: A Desperate Bully.
They need to cut the money going to gang intervention programs. Isn’t it about $26 million cause if you read the papers gangs are killing people all over the city and its not just Latino or Black now its Armenians. That money is a waste of resources which can be used for a park or library
As for your stating that just Cardenas and Alarcon “duck every vote” – your hero Paul Krekorian and Cardenas were the two who ducked the vote yesterday opposing the Mayor’s plan. Yes Krekorian made his fancy soundbites recently but was conveniently absent now – too fresh from the Assembly where ignoring hard financial problems except to raise taxes is the way to go.
Your other pillars fiscal responsibility, Parks and Carmen the CLown, refuse to take pay cuts because in the latter case, “I made more in private life” (an attitude the Daily News took him sharply to task for in an editorial as being very much AGAINST the whole notion of “public service” he duped us into believing he shared, all evidence to the contrary). In Parks’ case, he can’t afford any cut despite a $500,000/year pension and all the free health benefits and perks. HE who is intent on cutting police, fire and everyone else because he didn’t get to stay on as Chief – now, also lost a bruising campaign for BOS. Smith another “budget hawk” can’t afford a cut either, because he’s also set to retire and wants his pension based on latest salary.
Alarcon another Assembly veteran was there squarely blaming this whole mess on Prop 13: ah, yes, if only we were all paying exhorbitant taxes (we “all” meaning the minority who own a home at all in this city), they’d have more to squander like he and Krekorian, Cardenas and the others did in Assembly. Former Assemblyman Koretz did not support the mayor BUT he had joined these others including Janice Hahn, Rosendahl, Zine etc. into trying to shove some employees slated for layoffs INTO DWP, Ports and LAWA – necessitating the pay raises they’re blasting the Mayor for now.
The Mayor IS waffling all over the place, having started out claiming DWP needs the money for its “green” plans or be hit with government fines. But having realized that there’s a recession and people don’t want hikes except for improving infrastructure IF they could be assured money would finally be directed there (a lesson he didn’t learn during and even after his Measure B debacle) he’s now claiming DWP needs the hikes to be able to transfer the $73 million to the general fund. SO the City Council which refused to make real layoff cuts or other politically unpopular decisions even weeks ago, could have some money to bail it out. (The council – led by “budget hawsk” i.e. two-times, Parks, Smith, Zine – also have fought the mayor in trying to keep the tripled trash fee hikes going to the cops as homeowners paying this burden were promised.)
So it’s not like the Mayor’s all and the Councilmemers opposing him are good or brave. The council didn’t do the right, painful thing when it should have and now is using a waffling, visibly angry and anxious mayor, as whipping post.