LA WATCHDOG-On Tuesday, we will have the opportunity to deliver a “No Confidence” vote to City Hall by rejecting Charter Amendments 1 and 2, voting against incumbents Herb Wesson, Jose Huizar, and Nury Martinez, and rejecting the business-as-usual political establishment candidates running to succeed the termed out Tom LaBonge.
The Herb Wesson led City Council rushed Charter Amendments 1 and 2 onto the ballot without adequate outreach to the voters, not dissimilar to what they did in 2013 with Proposition A, the permanent half cent increase in our sales tax.
While consolidating City elections with Federal and State elections may increase voter participation, these ballot measures would bury City elections deep on the ballot. The noise from Federal, State, and County elections would drown out candidates for City office. As a result, the cost of running an effective campaign for the City Council that is capable of reaching the voters would increase dramatically, leaving the field open to only wealthy candidates or those supported by our city unions or other special interests.
Charter Amendment 1 will also benefit termed out Herb Wesson and Jose Huizar by extending their last terms by 18 months to December, 2020. This will allow each of them to collect an extra $500,000 in salary, benefits, and discretionary accounts and permit them to leverage their Council seats in their quest for a new office.
In the case of Wesson, he is looking to swap offices in 2020 with termed out County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas while Huizar would exchange seats with termed out Kevin de Leon, the leader of the State Senate.
The shenanigans surrounding Charter Amendment 1 are reason enough to dump Wesson in Council District 10, especially given that political novice Grace Yoo is a smart, hard-working, and ethical alternative.
As City Council President, Wesson has not embraced reform as witnessed by his unwillingness to even review or consider the recommendations of the LA 2020 Commission regarding the Office of Transparency and Accountability that is designed to oversee our City’s busted finances.
He also refused to consider the Committee on Retirement Security that would review the City’s pension plans that are underfunded by $12 billion.
He also shelved the LA Utility Commission that would oversee rates and management of our Department of Water and Power.
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In Council District 14, Gloria Molina is an excellent alternative to the fiscally irresponsible Jose Huizar. As a County Supervisor, she showed extraordinary discipline in balancing the County’s budget without layoffs, furloughs, or lower service levels. Our City, on the other hand, is still struggling to balance its budget even after downsizing its workforce by 5,000 employees.
While Huizar has been sleeping on the job, ignoring the City’s financial plight, he has also engaged in a campaign of half-truths about his concern for the DWP Ratepayers and the taxpayers. Yet the union backed Huizar has not met a rate hike or tax increase he does not like.
Perhaps that is why the unions, real estate developers, and their cronies have invested over $1,000,000 in Huizar, either through direct contributions to his campaign or the establishment of a $500,000 Independent Expenditure committee.
In CD 6, the Los Angeles Times endorsed Cindy Montanez is a strong candidate to replace Nury Martinez who, like Huizar, is backed by an Independent Expenditure committee sponsored by our City’s unions, billboard companies, and Big Tobacco.
Cindy was instrumental in saving Ratepayers billions as she worked with Governor Brown and the State Legislature to protect our wallets from overzealous politicians who wanted to sock us with Cap & Trade payments and impose unreasonable and very expensive cooling requirements on DWP’s new, efficient, multibillion dollar gas fired power plants located on the ocean.
In the race to replace the termed out Tom LaBonge, voters should support the underfunded Sheila Irani who earned the endorsement of the Los Angeles Times. As a result of her private sector experience, she understands balanced budgets and the need for fiscal reform.
The top six money raisers (David Ryu, Carolyn Ramsay, Steve Veres, Wally Knox, Teddy Davis, and Joan Pelico) have not offered any real solutions to fix the City’s precarious finances because they are allied with the political establishment that relies on the support of the public unions.
Interestingly, three Independent Expenditure committees have been establishment.
Wally Knox is being backed by a $72,000 Independent Expenditure committee funded by the Police Protective League which is currently in heated contract negotiations with the City.
Steve Veres is benefitting from a $100,000 Independent Expenditure Committee whose questionable funding sources were exposed by the Los Angeles Times.
David Ryu is also the beneficiary of a $50,000 Independent Committee financed by Loma Linda residents.
We have the opportunity to tell City Hall that we are mad as hell. We are fed up with budget deficits, inefficient operations such as Street Services, the lack of services, the failure to enforce our laws, rampant development that threatens our neighborhoods, our lunar cratered streets and busted sidewalks, and the underfunded pension plans that are devouring our future.
It is time to send Herb Wesson, Jose Huizar, and Nury Martinez packing while at the same time, rejecting the less than transparent, self-serving Charter amendments.
(Jack Humphreville writes LA Watchdog for CityWatch. He is the President of the DWP Advocacy Committee, The Ratepayer Advocate for the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, and a Neighborhood Council Budget Advocate. Humphreville is the publisher of the Recycler Classifieds -- www.recycler.com. He can be reached at: [email protected])
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 17
Pub: Feb 27, 2015
