Once again Antonio had the chance to do the right thing and chose to do the absolutely wrong thing.
On Tuesday, the mayor passed up the chance to reach out to someone who would represent ratepayers on the DWP Board of Commissioners, to make a peace offering to the citizenry enraged about unjustified rate hikes and end the war with the City Council.
Instead, he nominated the ultimate insider, someone who will do his bidding on the DWP Board as he did on the LACERS pension board, someone whose political interests are closely tied with the mayor’s, someone whose financial interests are linked to key players in the mayor’s circle of solar energy profiteers, someone whose public relations consultant is an admitted and convicted felon for his role in the DWP overbilling scandal of several years ago.
That man is Eric Holoman, president of Magic Johnson Enterprises, who like so many others who serve as city commissioners is a pillar of the community who has allowed his private interests to become entangled with city business.
Back in September when the Early Retirement Incentive Program for 2,400 city workers was falling apart, Holoman as president of the LACERS board got a majority to support a 15-year payback for the costs of ERIP over the recommendation of General Manager Sally Choi and the fund’s actuarial consultant who believed five years was prudent if more costly to city workers.
In October, he was forced to resign over a blatant conflict of interest that was ignored until Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law legislation that prohibits pension fund board members from directly or indirectly selling investments to any state pension plan.
“Holomon already was chair of the system’s board when, in September 2007, he was hired as president of Johnson Development Corp., an urban development company owned by former NBA player Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr.,” Pensions & Investments reported at the time.
“Mr. Johnson is also a partner in Canyon Johnson Urban Funds, an institutional real estate joint venture with Canyon Capital Realty Advisors. LACERS is invested in Canyon Johnson funds, although the amount could not be immediately learned.”
According to the LACERS website, Villaraigosa, who got strong support for his election from Magic Johnson, appointed Holoman to the $9 billion pension fund board where he served as Chair of the Private Investment Committee that oversaw the funds
alternative investment Strategies.
LACERS not only lists Canyon-Johnson as manager of some of its funds but also Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies, where key Villaraigosa fund-raiser and strategist Ari Swiller was a principal. The Magic Johnson Enterprises site boasts it operates a “small business private equity fund, Yucaipa-Johnson Corporate” for capital investments.
For its part, Canyon-Johnson relies on the PR services of Steve Sugerman, who testified he lied and cheated the DWP in a plea-bargain deal for probation in the DWP/Fleishman-Hillard billing scandal and provided testimony that helped convict Doug Dowie and John Stodder who are still out on appeal.
CIM Group also is listed as an investment manager. It’s the controversial Hollywood development firm that Swiller teamed up with to buy out from under the DWP the 68,000-acre Rudnick property in Kern County for a major wind farm where DWP has power lines.
“Over the last seven years, city agencies have agreed to provide CIM with $58 million worth of loans and subsidies. And two city pension boards have agreed to invest up to $115 million in CIM funds on behalf of city retirees,” the LA TImes reported in September..
“A few weeks before Swiller met with the Rudnicks in Century City, CIM Group had persuaded the California Public Employees Retirement System to invest up to $200 million in a new infrastructure fund managed by the firm.”
It’s also worthy of note that the company Swiller used for the deal was his Renewable Resources Group that was set up with Villaraigosa’s environmental wizard and his interim DWP General Manager David Freeman.
Freeman, you might remember, hired Fleishman-Hillard more than a decade ago to handle public relations at the DWP at the time of deregulation, a $3 million contract that included $2 million more that passed through to another firm, Donna Andrews.
Both contracts evolved into nebulous forms that came under scrutiny of City Controller Laura Chick whose audits cast doubt on their value and led to the pay-to-play investigations that helped bring down Mayor James Hahn and lead to Villaraigosa’s election in 2005.
Chick’s attacks on those contracts, particularly the pass-through to Andrews, so enraged then DWP Commission President Ken Lombard that he issued an immortal epithet:
“I’d rather swim across a river of snot than apologize to Laura Chick.”
At the time, Lombard was president of Magic Johnson Enterprises.
Can`t wait for April 20th, recall day.
Just another atempt to stack the deck against ratepayers of DWP. Don’t get mad get even.
http://recallcityhall.org/
Just another atempt to stack the deck against ratepayers of DWP. Don’t get mad get even.
http://recallcityhall.org/
Mayor`s press release. ” It is time for a new era at the DWP, and that begins with accountable management and business and rate-payer-friendly reforms”. Admission of guilt? Indictement of the staus quo? Alpert and others, time to save your pride and reputation. Resign.
Such disrespect and contempt for the public.
How will he help the ratepayers of Los Angeles with the following connections?
Who is related to Eric L Holoman? Bank of America Corp and Eric L Holoman share 4 relationships.
Wells Fargo Bank and Eric L Holoman share 3 relationships.
Wells Fargo and Eric L Holoman share 2 relationships.
University of Southern California and Eric L Holoman share 2 relationships.
Holoman Food Services Inc and Eric L Holoman share 2 relationships.
Angeles City Employees Retirement System and Eric L Holoman share 2 relationships.
Johnson Development Co and Eric L Holoman share 1 relationship.
T G I Friday and Eric L Holoman share 1 relationship.
Starbucks Corp and Eric L Holoman share 1 relationship.
Canyon Johnson Urban Fund LP and Eric L Holoman share 1 relationship.
Dealers Inc and Eric L Holoman share 1 relationship.
San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank and Eric L Holoman share 1 relationship.
Southern California and Eric L Holoman share 1 relationship.
Burger King Holdings Inc and Eric L Holoman share 1 relationship.
How will he help the ratepayers of Los Angeles with the following connections?
Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo Bank, University of Southern California, Holoman Food Services Inc, Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System, Johnson Development Co, T G I Friday, Starbucks Corp, Canyon Johnson Urban Fund LP,Dealers Inc, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, and Burger King Holdings Inc. The only one to benefit will be Mayor Villaraigosa able to have another puppet on the DWP Board of Commissioners.
How will he help the ratepayers of Los Angeles with the following connections?
Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo Bank, University of Southern California, Holoman Food Services Inc, Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System, Johnson Development Co, T G I Friday, Starbucks Corp, Canyon Johnson Urban Fund LP,Dealers Inc, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, and Burger King Holdings Inc. The only one to benefit will be Mayor Villaraigosa able to have another puppet on the DWP Board of Commissioners.
Let’s see which city council members has the guts to vote against this appointee. THis is blatantly abuse of power. Wonder what Magic promised Antonio to put his guy inside the most powerful, biggest budget dept. in LA? This is beyond conflict of interest and corruption again. Why aren’t any of the damn media tabloid papars doing their homework and investigating this guy before he is voted on? The people of this city have a right to know the truth. Another story the lazy ass reporters fail to follow is the Mayor’s new entertainment team and working with Tom Leiwekie at AEG to bring the LA Film Festival downtown. ITs a joke in entertainment circles because no one will drive down to the hell hole of LA. How much has Antonio spent on HIS busdget of new hires since January? LA has the biggest dumb ass, lazy reporters in the nation. THanks to Ron we get the truth.
Lucky Holoman has Sugerman to handle the fallout from this post.
Can you spell I-N-C-E-S-T?
How much more BAD! can this guy do?
Doesn’t the council have to approve Holoman?
Ooops, I forgot, except for one rare occasion the council never says ‘no’ to the failed mayor.
Walter Moore has vowed to be the first to sign the recall petition, but hundreds of us are going to be vying to be the second. Let’s be patient and take our turn; we don’t want to crash the recallcityhall.org site!
“Recall” people, please provide some petitions to EAA.
WE should all be at city council when this guy has to appear to be confirmed. I want to hear which council members espeically the ones up for re election and the runs running as a joke for Mayor will say the truth and facts this is a conflict of interest. I want to know which city council members attended today’s Opening Dodger Game and if they got free tickets. But more importantly I want to know which council members had no conscience to attend the funeral of a fallen hero marine police officer then had the nerve to go the Dodger Opening game. Council sure ended fast and started at 11:30am. These fools weren’t in chambers that long.
Magic Johnson, together with Hudson News just won a huge contract for the airport concessions. It is amazing how small the circle of influence is at City Hall. People are enamored with fame and power and if you do the Mayor and the union’s work, you will be rewarded.
Magic Johnson, together with Hudson News just won a huge contract for the airport concessions. It is amazing how small the circle of influence is at City Hall. People are enamored with fame and power and if you do the Mayor and the union’s work, you will be rewarded.
This airport has been voted the worst for many years, and now we will have more of the company who has given LAX that title. Maybe Magic can provide some magic at the airport, but I doubt he will be involved much. Mainly a name and money to be used by Hudson News.
Can this guy do the job? What are his qualifications with respect to running a Utility?
Does he know anything about Intermountain Power Authority (IPA) and the 45% share dwp ownes and under contract through 2027? Is he or the public aware that dwp pays the IPA 45% of its costs?
The need to raise rates is mainly to “replace aging infrastructure to improve reliability”
What exactly is being replaced? Why weren’t these assets replaced over the life of the asset? Until we know what we are getting for our money everyone should stop paying utility bill.
From top to bottom the City is being mismanaged. Council Member Huizar is excited about the Purple Line with hopes his downtown trolly gets up and running. He and his friends have set up Private lecture for investors. Yesterday the Mayor went to LA Dodger game. One would think these guys would be concerned about budget. We need a FORENSIC AUDIT from top to bottom.
Does he know anything about Intermountain Power Authority (IPA) and the 45% share dwp ownes and under contract through 2027? Is he or the public aware that dwp pays the IPA 45% of its costs?
IPA is the owner of one of 2 coal plants that provides LA’s base load (the other is Navajo in Arizona). DWP purchases 45% of the power produced by IPA’s plant. This knowledge is public domain so I don’t see what your concern is.
The need to raise rates is mainly to “replace aging infrastructure to improve reliability”
What exactly is being replaced? Why weren’t these assets replaced over the life of the asset? Until we know what we are getting for our money everyone should stop paying utility bill.
This is not the only driving force but for starters, check out the NERC standards. NERC has a website. These are federally mandated reliability standards that utilities are required to be in compliance with under penalty of fines. The standards cater to evolving technology and since power engineering technology is transitioning from electromechanical and analog equipment into digital equipment, a lot of these standards are still under development. This corresponds directly with replacing aging equipment and improving reliability.