If it
wasn’t for the fact that he’s made a series of really dumb decisions, you could
almost feel sorry for Antonio.
The poor
guy is stuck in the middle of a City Hall melodrama that could be titled, “The
New Guard, the Old Guard and the Point Guard.”
Actually,
it’s more like a dog fight. And it’s getting really freaking nasty, which is
something I love next to eating.
By now,
everybody knows a bunch of kids didn’t put together a talent show in a garage
in LA over the last few years without Antonio showing up, more than 3,000 such
events during his time as mayor. His problem isn’t with those self-promotional appearances
but with taking gifts of free tickets, some worth thousands of dollars, to
sporting and entertainment events – not mention the find food and wine he lets
others pick up the tab for..
The guy
loves the spotlight, the adoration, the love – and is now under investigation
by three different agencies for taking and not disclosing to authorities all
the freebies he’s taken. Even worse, many of the gifts coming from folks with
business before the city, people who are freeloaders like Antonio looking for gifts
from taxpayers.
Those kinds
of conflicts of interest could be an even bigger problem than merely ignoring
all local and state disclosure laws
How many
times have we seen the picture of Antonio sitting next to big shot Jeffery
Katzenberg courtside at the Lakers?
According to the mayor, he was performing ceremonial duties.
Grrrrrrrr!
Meanwhile,
at
the urging of what passes for the city’s civic elite, Antonio has
virtually
turned over the keys to the city to Austin Beutner and the army of
financial
whiz kids he brought with him into public service.
The
old
guard of the mayor’s entourage of 200 or so had enjoyed acting like big
shots for
so long they thought they were actually important just as Antonio
himself has
been living like a multimillionaire for so long he thinks he actually is
one.
Being
overshadowed
by the new big shots on Beutner’s team does not sit well with those
who now find themselves small fries who see the mayor arrive late and
leave
early and pay utterly no attention to the city’s business during his
brief
visits to City Hall.
They
aren’t
happy and their ongues are wagging. So Bruno’s dog house – which reached
108
degrees yesterday because Master Ron thinks he’s going to bankrupt the
DWP by
refusing to turn on the air conditioning, the lights or the TV- has
become
rumor central for the warring parties.
Almost
from
the time Antonio moved into his big office and Getty house, tumors have
floated
around that Jimmy Blackman was about to get fired. Seems
some folks among the newly arrived big
shots don’t think much of the guy who is beloved by the small fries.
Somebody
has
to follow the elephants in the circus parade and that job has fallen to
Jimmy so he’s stuck cleaning up the dung left in the street when the
parade
passes him by.
Jimmy’s
critics
keep floating Jimmy’s-on-his-way out rumors, even hitting the guy with
a phony charge that he was arrested a few years ago. This
stuff shows up on blogs, even if it’s
later discredited.
Now
there’s
a Greek chorus spreading the word that Beutner and his
we-used-to-be-financial-
titans gang chanting something that sounds like “fall guy, fall guy,
some guy
has to take the fall, and you know why…”
And
if you
read Ronnie’s breaking news today, you’ll see one of those guys used to
show as
much represent for nation’s financial laws and as Antonio shows for our
ethics
laws.
You
can bet
the Old Guard is laughing their heads off about this guy getting caught
and
paying a $2 million penalty right after enjoyed the mayor’s New Guard.
Bruno
thinks
it’s a riot watching these two gangs act like Bloods and Crips in a
turf
war.
No
wonder
Antonio appointed a gang expert as his chief of staff. It might have
been the
smartest move he’s made in a long, long time.
Woof!
So what does the mayor do with all his time? Golf? Tennis? Beach? Rehab?
SEX
Gazes adoringly at. . . his own reflection.
As someone who has been around for some time, the Mayor’s staff moves have been baffling to me. He hired a convicted crook probably without knowing and his entire administration is floating adrift.
Jimmy Blackman has been with him from the very early days in the assembly and with Robin Kramer and Thomas Saenz gone he is one of the very few people left in the office that is respected both inside city hall and in the community. I can’t imagine that Antonio would fire him but I can’t believe he would do the other things he has done over the past few years either. I think it is more likely that he will leave on his own because he must be tired of picking up the parade dung.
Beutner and his team have really pissed off council with the DWP fiasco and right now everybody smells blood in the water.
Ah, Bruno. The magic of a doggie Freudian typo. One to really chew on.
“Almost from the time Antonio moved into his big office and Getty house, TUMORS have floated around that Jimmy Blackman was about to get fired.”
Corruption, shiftless on-the-job performance, cronyism, political favoritism, council rubber-stampitis all reek with noxious odors worse than what emanates from a dog house on a hot muggy day.
A dog house can be hosed down, but the “tumors of corruption” aren’t quite as easy to get rid of.
It is incredible how low Antonio has sunk. He has lost all respect, authority, power,and integrity, if he ever had one. He is surrounded with ass kissers ,yes men and incompetents. He socializes with sycophants who are extracting every bit of his flesh, without his knowing it, because as we know by now , he is not smart. Poor LA.