Make no mistake about it: City Hall is a closed system.
City
Attorney Carmen Trutanich found out how you toe the line or you get
punished. Paul Krrekorian figured out you go along to get along or you
go nowhere unless you lend your ample skills as lawyer to rationalize
the unjustified and justify the irrational. Both Trutanich and
Krekorian, like a handful of others before them, owed their elections to
grassroots community support but found you can’t get anything done
trying to do the right thing.
Like Wesson, Villaraigosa is a
former Speaker who wielded the enormous power of that position for
political advantage without regard to whether his actions were for the
public benefit or private benefits.
As mayor, he and his staff
have bullied and abused every top manager who dared to suggest that what
they were doing was not serving the public interest. Obedience became
the only real quality that was considered important.
Now he’s
turning his power on members of the pension boards as he previously did
the presidents of the commissions overseeing Planning and the Department
of Water — namely Jane Usher and Nick Patsaouras who told him to go to
hell — and every other commission whose members have been more quietly
compliant.
Villaraigosa sacked civilian pension board president Roberta Conroy
in advance of today’s decision to lower the expected rate of return
from 8 to 7.75 percent in light of the poor investment performance and
economic troubles, a move state pension boards already have made and are
still finding it should be even lower.
The trouble the mayor has
with even a modicum of sane fiscal policy is it requires the city to
pay $27 million more to LACERS next year, adding to the expected deficit
which is rising rapidly.
His answer is the same as it has been
throughout the economic crisis: Take out more credit cards, put off
payments until he’s out office. It is nothing but a cover up of the
fundamental economic problems
Three days before she was replaced,
Conroy said she was called on the carpet and asked how she was going to
vote on lowering the pension fund’s rate of returned. “I indicated that
it would be difficult” to ignore the agency’s
actuarial firm, which concluded an 8% annual return was unrealistic, she
said. That firm warned the board that the figure may have to drop to 7.5% next year.
The mayor’s response: “This
(delay) request is completely reasonable … given our own financial situation.”
Another
pension board member, Rick Rogers, said the mayor was hinting to other
board members what he wanted. “The message is, you follow my direction
or you’re off the board,” he said.
This has been going on throughout the Villaraigosa Administration’s time in office.
The abuse of power when power is held as closely as it it at City Hall is despotic and tyrannical.
For
all the good intentions of tens of thousands of engaged people in the
city, nothing will change until there is a balance of power that
restrains the greed and self-service that have become all that City Hall
is.
Ron, why are you surprised? You just realized Maria Elena Durazo, the corrupt union boss, runs the City with the blessing of the charlatan?
I don’t think Ron is one bit surprised, his
expertise is as reporter and retired editor. His
job is to inform us as to what is going on. Good
job!!!~
Our job: share the information with co-wworkers, neighnors, good buddies and families
so that when election day arrives, they go to the polls and vote.
As for Villar – he is proud of his power. OK.
I think he has abused it sso badly that he should
be indicted.
I LOOOOVVEEEE YOU KRLA!!!!!!!!!!! Now it’ll be easier to get CD15 filled with a more “desirable” person. I like talk radio stations that have no live call in shows covering my, err, their corruption. No more Ron on Wed nights, another gift in the gift basket. Thanks guys for all the help!
I hate jobs where you can’t make real change; you are not empowered in L.A.
This is the same durazo whose low-life husband cantreras was found dead after while being serviced by a teenage prostitute. If Ron has any friends who are so-called journalists, maybe they could do some investigative work to show what happened.
Also scum Wesson didn’t just get where he’s himself. Somebody has voted for him.
Ron unfortunately speaks a truth that the pathetic Los Angeles Times will not tell the voters. (Oh, we would not want to rock the boat over at City Hall, would we? oh, no. The LA Times continues to cover up the corruption of Antonio Villaraigosa and his miserable coterie of incompetent labor criminals.)
Ron speaks the truth but the 99% continue to manipulate the media outlets so a broader audience does not get the message or see the connections.
I fear for this City. I truly do.
Powerful piece of Truth, Ron. It shows how completely dysfunctional our govt. is, from local to Washington, DC. I’m sharing it!
p.s. Please add Twitter and Facebook links to your articles!
Powerful piece of Truth, Ron. It shows how completely dysfunctional our govt. is, from local to Washington, DC. I’m sharing it!
p.s. Please add Twitter and Facebook links to your articles!
Wesson is an ignoramus. While we know he is a power hungry sleaze ball (and that’s the nicest term for him), he is also a fool. Educated people (a category which exclude Wesson) know of Lord Acton, who wrote in 1887: “Power tends to corrupt and absolutely power corrupts absolutely.”
Thus, Wesson has just identified himself to be a corrupt power-monger, but then look at whom he replacing — Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumber
Ron,
On behalf of the people who do try to do the right thing in this town, THANK YOU.
I am waiting for the day that someone will do an investigative report on Maria Elena Durazo. She has a bunch of skeletons in her closet and it is time that they come out.