Too bad lawyers don't have to take an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth when they argue their cases before judges.
If they did, Antonio Villaraigosa's long-time campaign treasurer Stephen Kaufman would not have told the panel of state appellate judges the things he did today or he'd be worried about perjury charges instead of the handsome fees he'll charge the League of Women Voters and the L..A. Chamber of Commerce he represented.
What Kaufman told Presiding Judge Candace Cooper and her two female judicial colleagues -- who I assume have not now nor ever been involved with the League of Women Voters --- is that Measure R extending City Council term limits and banning lobbyist contributions to their campaigns was a "good government" reform.
"It's working,'' he said, "to reduce the influence of lobbyists and special interests on City Hall."
He said it with a straight face and a sober voice but I could hardly contain myself. In the two years since millions of dollars were raised by lobbyists and their clients to hoodwink the public about Measure R, only one thing has changed: The lobbyists don't have to write checks anymore.
Actually, a second thing has changed: The insider political culture of City Hall has gone from being pretty corrupt to totally corrupt where everything is for sale. Measure R emboldened the system; they knew if they could sell it as reform, they could sell the public anything with enough money.
Tuesday's hearing was the culmination of an amazing two-year effort by community activists David Hernandez and Ted Hayes to keep alive their legal challenge which they did with help from advocates of term limits and other genuine "good government" organizations and individuals.
The heart of the legal argument is whether the state Constitution's ban on multiple subject state initiatives and legislative measures applies to a charter city like L.A. And if it does, whether there is any logic that brings together as a single subject a ban on lobbyist contributions and giving council members three, instead of two, terms.
I wish I could say that the judges were as ready to embrace applying the Constitution's single subject requirement to L.A. as they appeared to be willing to find false the claims that lobbyists and term limits had some legitimate connection.
It's always risky to try to read the minds of judges but my money is on them holding their noses and ruling that laws against public corruption and corruption of the political process don't apply to L.A.
As Kaufman said: "Don't substitute your own value judgments for the people of L.A.'s."
Kaufman argued as if influence peddling were a thing of the past. It used to be that council members -- most of whom have spent much of their adult lives in city government -- didn't know the way to the bathroom without lobbyists leading them by the hand. So they took favors and campaign money and looked forward to the day when they too would become lobbyists richly rewarded for their ability to get what clients want.
But with a third term, those days are over. As Kaufman told it, the council members are now experienced and skilled legislators who don't have to worry about future employment and are forbidden from taking favors or cash from lobbyists -- apparently the one and only class of people intent on corrupting City Hall.
Does the mayor's campaign treasurer not know what promises are being made to raise the millions that go through his hands to fund Antonio's campaigns?
Does he not know that former Councilman Richard Alatorre -- an admitted felon among other things -- is one of the mayor's closest advisers while representing unions, taxicab companies, Home Depot, Las Lomas and a lot of others in need of real insider help. And if he's read the Times, he knows Alatorre didn't even register as a lobbyist until a year after Measure R passed.
Did Kaufman not learn anything when he and Villaraigosa got fined by the Ethics Commission for campaign funding violations?
If they did, Antonio Villaraigosa's long-time campaign treasurer Stephen Kaufman would not have told the panel of state appellate judges the things he did today or he'd be worried about perjury charges instead of the handsome fees he'll charge the League of Women Voters and the L..A. Chamber of Commerce he represented.
What Kaufman told Presiding Judge Candace Cooper and her two female judicial colleagues -- who I assume have not now nor ever been involved with the League of Women Voters --- is that Measure R extending City Council term limits and banning lobbyist contributions to their campaigns was a "good government" reform.
"It's working,'' he said, "to reduce the influence of lobbyists and special interests on City Hall."
He said it with a straight face and a sober voice but I could hardly contain myself. In the two years since millions of dollars were raised by lobbyists and their clients to hoodwink the public about Measure R, only one thing has changed: The lobbyists don't have to write checks anymore.
Actually, a second thing has changed: The insider political culture of City Hall has gone from being pretty corrupt to totally corrupt where everything is for sale. Measure R emboldened the system; they knew if they could sell it as reform, they could sell the public anything with enough money.
Tuesday's hearing was the culmination of an amazing two-year effort by community activists David Hernandez and Ted Hayes to keep alive their legal challenge which they did with help from advocates of term limits and other genuine "good government" organizations and individuals.
The heart of the legal argument is whether the state Constitution's ban on multiple subject state initiatives and legislative measures applies to a charter city like L.A. And if it does, whether there is any logic that brings together as a single subject a ban on lobbyist contributions and giving council members three, instead of two, terms.
I wish I could say that the judges were as ready to embrace applying the Constitution's single subject requirement to L.A. as they appeared to be willing to find false the claims that lobbyists and term limits had some legitimate connection.
It's always risky to try to read the minds of judges but my money is on them holding their noses and ruling that laws against public corruption and corruption of the political process don't apply to L.A.
As Kaufman said: "Don't substitute your own value judgments for the people of L.A.'s."
Kaufman argued as if influence peddling were a thing of the past. It used to be that council members -- most of whom have spent much of their adult lives in city government -- didn't know the way to the bathroom without lobbyists leading them by the hand. So they took favors and campaign money and looked forward to the day when they too would become lobbyists richly rewarded for their ability to get what clients want.
But with a third term, those days are over. As Kaufman told it, the council members are now experienced and skilled legislators who don't have to worry about future employment and are forbidden from taking favors or cash from lobbyists -- apparently the one and only class of people intent on corrupting City Hall.
Does the mayor's campaign treasurer not know what promises are being made to raise the millions that go through his hands to fund Antonio's campaigns?
Does he not know that former Councilman Richard Alatorre -- an admitted felon among other things -- is one of the mayor's closest advisers while representing unions, taxicab companies, Home Depot, Las Lomas and a lot of others in need of real insider help. And if he's read the Times, he knows Alatorre didn't even register as a lobbyist until a year after Measure R passed.
Did Kaufman not learn anything when he and Villaraigosa got fined by the Ethics Commission for campaign funding violations?
Ron Kaye is the former editor of the Los Angeles Daily News where he spent 23 years helping to make the newspaper the voice of the San Fernando Valley and fighting for a city government that serves the people and not special interests.
Twice in recent years, Los Angeles Magazine listed Kaye among the city’s most influential people, specifically in the area of politics. Kaye has been variously described in the media as the “accidental anarchist,” “the Patrick Henry of the San Fernando Valley” and a “passionate populist.” He is now committed to
carrying on his crusade for a greater Los Angeles as an ordinary citizen. Previously, Ron worked at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner,
Associated Press, Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Australian as well as papers
in Fairbanks, Alaska and Yakima, Wash. He also wrote for Newsweek magazine, The Guardian in London and the National Enquirer.