POLITICS-David Ryu did not win the election to be councilmember for Council District 4.
The May 19 vote was not FOR David Ryu but against Garcettism. David Ryu probably knows this fact. After all, his entire campaign was anti-Garcettism.
Will David Ryu fail the integrity test as did former mayoral candidate Kevin James? Those of us, who cast our anti-Garcettism votes, certainly hope we will not find a vendido, turn coat, or sell out in our midst.
How will we know which road David Ryu chooses to walk down?
At the debate sponsored by the Los Feliz Improvement Association [LFIA - founded in 1916], Ryu and Ramsay were asked about the illegal voting agreement which governs Los Angeles City Council. Ramsay said she did not know what a voting agreement was (Ha, really?), but Councilmember-to-be Ryu gave a good answer, “If it exists, I will expose it.”
Councilmember Ryu’s answer was good because he first said that he would have to verify that such an illegal voting agreement exists and then he would expose it.
Penal Code 86 and the Brown Act both make voting agreements unlawful. There is no other explanation for the City Council’s record of voting unanimously over 99% of the time. Thus, those who have looked into the situation know that Los Angeles City Council has an illicit voting agreement.
When one attends City Council, watches City Council by Live-Feed or watches re-runs on Channel 35, one can see that the council’s vote tabulator is pre-set to vote YES. There is no other way for councilmembers who not are at their desks could vote YES within 2 seconds.
What can Ryu do?
Councilmember Ryu can have his voting button disconnected from the automatic vote tabulator in order to show everyone that he personally pushes his button. If Councilmember Ryu is wise, he will wait 3 or 4 seconds so that there is verification that he is casting his own vote.
Then, Ryu can Vote “No” when he disagrees, and he can Abstain, or he can vote “Yes.”
Next, his office can publish his voting record weekly. Councilmember Ryu can put his weekly vote tally on his website. The weekly tally should show his vote on each item, and it should also show the total vote tally for all councilmembers on each item.
One honest man can make a difference. If Ryu disables the automatic tabulator, visibly casts his own votes, and then publishes his votes along with how the whole council vote, soon the illegal voting agreement will be broken.
David Ryu is at a crossroads. Angelenos will soon see whether his claim to be an outsider who shuns the old ways was a campaign slogan to be abandoned or a promise to be kept.
(Richard Lee Abrams is a Los Angeles attorney. He can be reached at: [email protected]. This email address is being protected from spambots. Abrams views are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CityWatch. )
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 45
Pub: June 2, 2015
