If you're like me, you've been thinking about the problems many states are facing; few are worse off than CA. Huge budget shortfalls and political stagnation are crippling the state. Arnold seems content to block reforms passed by the legislature and take money out of the University of California system budget any time he gets a chance (even though the UC is one of the most important vehicles for growth in the state).
With these sort of problems, a Governor with a 42% approval rating and 2 years to run out the clock, we need to start looking ahead soon, maybe within the next 6 months or so. We need a smart, non-ideological, fact-oriented leader to take charge and get CA on track.
We need CA Secretary of State Debra Bowen as Governor.
She has an impeccable record on voting rights protection, consumer protections, and environmental protections. And she knows where to turn for counsel when she needs it. She gets things done.
None of the other potential Democratic contenders have what we need right now.
(From the Courage Campaign's own Rick Jacobs. - promoted by David Dayen)
About thirty of us gathered in front of the closed Starbucks on the plaza in front of the LA courthouse to assemble our petition materials for the rally and march a few blocks away. MoveOn.org, Courage Campaign (full disclosure: I founded Courage) and Credo Mobile have, over the past week, gathered over 200,000 signatures on a pledge to repeal Prop. 8. Our group that met for the first time this morning, was volunteers who signed up to get more sigatures from the crowd. And boy did they ever!
We made our way to the staging area outside of City Hall where we were greeted by thousands of jubilant folks with home made signs. The backstage set up reminded me in some ways of the May 1, 2006 immigration march on Wilshire Boulevard that had also sprung up from the peoplem, but was managed by organized labor: there was security, a rope line, a little blue tent under which speakers gathered before their turn. Rodney Scott, who puts on LA Pride every year, did a brilliant job with logistics along with a new group of young people called FAIR.
The latest Field Poll is out (SF Chronicle here and Field PDF here) and it shows the favorability ratings of various leading contenders for 2010 gubernatorial race in both parties. And while the Chronicle wants to make this an "omg DiFi is the favorite" and "ha ha - Newsom sucks" story, the two most important things the poll actually tells us are:
1. DiFi has very high unfavorability ratings among Democratic contenders, and
2. Nobody - and I mean nobody - knows a thing about the Yacht Party potentials, except that they don't like them.
Let's take this in order. First, the Dems:
Name
Favorable
Unfavorable
No opinion
Dianne Feinstein
50%
39%
11%
Jerry Brown
34
34
32
Antonio Villaraigosa
28
33
39
John Garamendi
27
20
53
Gavin Newsom
25
41
34
Jack O'Connell
10
16
74
Among Dems only Gavin Newsom has higher unfavorables, but not by much, and since this poll was taken right before the election - when Newsom was getting pounded in the press and on the airwaves by the Yes on 8 campaign - this may be a low point for Newsom.
That makes the 39% unfavorable figure for Feinstein rather significant. Sure, she has the highest favorable rating - 50% - of anyone in the field regardless of party, but that's not a great figure for such an established politician. As we've noted before, her numbers among Dems aren't so hot either. I don't see much basis for a DiFi inevitability argument, which the Chronicle is trying to get started.
Jerry Brown has a lot of room to grow, since much of that 32% "no opinion" are probably younger Californians who (like me) were born late in or after his previous terms as governor.
Antonio Villaraigosa has to be considered a sleeper here. At 39% "no opinion" that gives him room to grow as well. He has been building a solidly progressive reputation over the last year, coming out strong against Prop 8 and leading the fight for mass transit in LA (seriously, getting to 2/3 with a sales tax for rail in LA County is a major achievement). As Brian noted a few weeks ago, his endorsements were the closest match to our own. He is also making a high profile link with Barack Obama, serving on his economic advisory team. If you want to run for governor, it is a damn smart move to link yourself to a popular president who won CA by 24 points.
And what of the Yacht Party contenders? They have Bill Simon written all over them:
Name
Favorable
Unfavorable
No opinion
Meg Whitman
17%
16%
67%
Tom Campbell
14
13
73
Steve Poizner
10
14
76
Even with enormous unknown ratings, none of them have a net favorability rating outside the margin of error, and Steve Poizner already has a significant unfavorability rating that will only grow once his links to voter registration fraud get a wider airing. The Chronicle article promotes Meg Whitman as a breakout star, but I'm not seeing it here. All California voters will need to hear is that she's a Republican and that she was an advisor to the McCain campaign and that may be enough to torpedo her.
The only Republican who might have a snowball's chance is Tom Campbell, the moderate Republican, but he didn't fare well in a statewide race in 2000 (losing to DiFi). Of course it's highly unlikely that the "down with the ship" Yacht Party primary voters will vote for a moderate like Campbell.
This goes to show that the 2010 governor's race may well be decided in the June primary, which should be one of the most interesting primary fights we've seen in this state in a long, long, LONG time.
A couple weeks ago I wrote about three looming battles that we had to think about after the election. Two of them have already fizzled. The open primary ballot initiative filed with the state has been withdrawn. That's probably because the Governor wanted to present it himself, so we'll see where that goes, and a lot of it might have to do with whether or not Prop. 11 actually passes. Second, Bush Republican and rich developer Rick Caruso decided against running for Mayor of Los Angeles against Antonio Villaraigosa. There is now no credible candidate running against the incumbent. Caruso may figure that Villaraigosa is primed for bigger and better things (he's in Washington today with President-Elect Obama's council of economic advisers), and if Villaraigosa vacates the seat he'd have a better shot of capturing it.
However, there are a couple other looming battles that are out there. First, Jane Harman, Congresswoman from the 36th Congressional District, is in line for a top intelligence post with the Obama Administration, and the odds are extremely likely that she'd take it. Laura Rozen has a profile here. After a tough primary against Marcy Winograd in 2006, Harman has been a moderately better vote in Congress, but this represents a real opportunity to put a progressive in that seat. Winograd has recently moved into the district, and would certainly be my first choice if it comes open (or if it doesn't - Harman voted for the FISA bill this year).
The other major news is that Henry Waxman, my Congressman, is looking to oust John Dingell from his post atop the Energy and Commerce Committee. This is a long time coming, and I don't think Waxman would go for it without the support of the Speaker. The Dingellsaurus, while a decent liberal on most issues (and also a former representative of mine in Ann Arbor, MI), has blocked progress on climate change and modernizing the auto industry for years. We were finally able to get a modest increase in CAFE standards last year, but Waxman, who wrote the Clean Air Act of 1990, would obviously be a major step up. And with the auto industry on life support and asking for handouts as a result of the old ways of doing business, it's clearly time for a Democratic committee chair who isn't protecting their interests at the expense of the planet. Waxman's "Safe Climate Act" introduced last year would mandate a cut in greenhouse gases of 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. That's exactly the right attitude from the committee chair, and with energy issues obviously so crucial in an Obama Administration, we need someone in that post who recognizes the scope of the problem. It should also be clear that the committee has likely jurisdiction over health care reform.
I know that we all have to be focused on the final eight days of this election, and I'm committed to bringing a great victory for Senator Obama, wins up and down our Congressional and legislative targets, and progressive values embodied in passing high speed rail and beating back the extremism of Props. 4, 6, 8, and 9. But there are some events on the near-term horizon that we all need to be aware of going forward. The challenge does not end on November 4. Eternal vigilance, price of liberty, etc.
• Rick Caruso, a right-wing Bush Republican developer who created the great eyesore that is The Grove in Los Angeles along with Americana at Brand in Glendale, is seriously considering a run for LA Mayor. Right now, there will either be a legitimate election between Caruso and Antonio Villaraigosa, or Villaraigosa will win in a walk. Caruso, a billionaire, says he will make the decision by the end of the week. Caruso would certainly self-fund and would have the ability to basically buy the seat if he were so inclined. Richard Riordan was able to win as a Republican and I have no doubt that Caruso could as well. He'd play it moderate on social issues over which the mayor has no jurisdiction, and mask his true colors as a right-wing plutocrat. As we head into an economic downturn, Caruso would be simply horrendous for the biggest city in the state.
• Not only has Arnold Schwarzenegger already tipped off his next move after redistricting reform (and he shouldn't be counting his chickens), but the ballot initiative has already been filed. A measure calling for open primaries has been handed in to the Secretary of State. Instead of a primary where the top vote-getter in each party would move to the general election, open primaries would move the top two regardless of party into the general. Candidates would also be allowed to remove their party affiliation from the ballot. The Governor's office is saying they have nothing to do with this filing, but color me skeptical. We've already beaten the open primary concept at the ballot box at least once in recent years. The political culture is already too diffuse to allow a candidate to hide their party affiliation at the ballot, and the success of this idea in providing competition to the political process is more than mixed.
• And then there's the Governor's race in 2010. That gadfly Willie Brown is telling anyone who will listen that Dianne Feinstein is a legitimate candidate and is seriously considering the race:
She didn't tell me outright that she's running. She talked a lot about how she wanted to make sure the Democrats have 60 seats in the Senate after Nov. 4 so they and Barack Obama will be filibuster-proof - assuming he's elected as well.
But she didn't talk about staying in the Senate, either.
She talked about how things are supposed to work between the Legislature and the governor, and she wondered why they aren't working these days - and did I have any formula for fixing it?
She even brought notes. I don't know who prepared them, but somebody had done what appeared to be a detailed briefing paper on the state of California, including its finances.
It was not the kind of information you'd be seeking unless you figured that dealing with that mess might soon be your job.
Good thing she's asking Willie Brown on how to fix Sacramento. I'm sure that appealing to the state's high Broderists would be the only way she would ever govern. God forbid she ask her constituents.
Let me be perfectly clear. Dianne Feinstein cannot be allowed to ever assume the Governor's mansion. She has stabbed Democrats in the back time and again in the US Senate and would only do the same as Governor. A perfect example of this is her cutting an ad for No on Prop. 5, putting her face out in front of a position DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED to the consensus view of the state Democratic Party. It's not surprising; DiFi is the original "tough on crime" Democrat, and policies like the ones she advocates have caused a terrible crisis in our prisons where we are routinely violating the Constitutional rights of our citizens and bankrupting the state to pay for this warehousing. And yes, Jerry Brown's no good on this either; there's a political class of Democrats that think being tough on crime is the right thing to do, despite thirty years' worth of failure reflected in our current prison mess.
Compare this to our other Senator from the state and how she's been busying herself this campaign season - raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for potential Senate colleagues, sending a mass email to her entire list urging a No vote on Prop. 8 (good for Sen. Boxer) and writing the Treasury Department to demand that the government backstop the bad deals of AIG that would absolutely cripple public transit across the state. That's what a Senator that has respect for her constituents would do, not the contempt that Sen. Feinstein shows.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa graciously ordered the city to rescind an eviction notice sent to South L.A.'s leading grassroots organization, SCOPE. City Councilman Bernard Parks, who is also running for L.A. County Supervisor sought to have them evicted from a city-owned office because he believes the non-partisan organization worked against his candidacy. Parks is so wrong on so many levels!
Jenny Oropeza is a by all accounts a fairly good progressive Senator, but she's dead wrong on her threat to shut down the proposed ballot measure raising the LA city sales tax by a 1/2 cent to pay for transit projects, because her pet project won't get funded.
State Sen. Jenny Oropeza put it in no uncertain terms when I spoke to her late this Friday afternoon: she is prepared to kill the bill that would allow a half-cent sales tax increase to go on the November ballot in Los Angeles County to pay for road and transit projects.
"I said in order for the bill to pass the Senate, it is going to have to contain the Green Line extension," Oropeza, (D-Long Beach), told me. "They" - Los Angeles County transportation officials - "understood that. They are playing a game of chicken and blaming the Legislature. I am praying to God they do the right thing. I don't want to see this thing go down either."
I asked her if she was prepared to try to kill the bill - and any chance of a vote in November. Oropeza firmly answered: "Yes I am."
The most bizarre thing about this is that the Green Line extension is in the proposed ballot language. But she wants more of a guarantee. So she's prepared to undermine the entire set of transit projects - which would improve air quality, lower demand for gas, expand transit, enhance the reputation of transit as successful so that future projects can be built, reduce greenhouse gas emisssions, improve quality of life, etc. - because of silly parochialism.
I don't want to make it look like this is limited to Oropeza. Some of our favorite lawmakers - State Sen. Gil Cedillo, Rep. Hilda Solis - have expressed opposition to the project, for largely the same reasons - that not enough of the transit projects in the proposal go specifically to their districts. But on this one, I have to agree with Mayor Villaraigosa.
"The problem in Sacramento is that there are some who want to engage in the pork barrel politics of asking for even more money than has been distributed for their pet projects," Villaraigosa added later [...] using several maps and visuals, the mayor also said the sales tax revenues would be spent on an equitable basis when factors such as employment density and need are taken into consideration. "On the Westside, there are four times as many jobs than there are homes and people."
The traffic crisis in Southern California is not going to be solved overnight. There are specific need areas which are literally impossible to manage by car right now and are completely underserved by transit. A successful show of support for transit now will only improve prospects for better transit possibilities in the future. Which projects ought to be included or delayed is an important decision, but I frankly don't trust legislators with their own agendas to make it. And almost every one of them is playing this backwards-thinking, anti-progressive, reductionist parochial game where they judge the dollars their district will get against what another district will get and scream bloody murder if they come up a dollar short. That's maddening, especially considering that if the sales tax is dropped from the ballot, nobody gets any funding.
Oropeza responded to the Mayor dismissively, taking objection to the characterization of "porkbarrel politics" and leaving the outcome unclear on AB2321, the vote in the legislature that would allow the sales tax hike to go to the November ballot. The Senate Appropriations Committee vote is scheduled for today, and nobody really knows what the outcome will be. Labor, which appears to be on board with the increase (at least the building and construction portions of the coalition), will be watching Oropeza and Cedillo's votes very closely today.
UPDATE: The LA County Board of Supervisors just voted to put the sales tax on the ballot, and ALSO voted to officially oppose the increase. Don Knabe switched his vote to allow the initiative to be a part of the regular election but maintained his position against the tax. Meanwhile the vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee has been delayed to Thursday.
Lots of early positioning in the last week, especially the news from Senator Dianne Feinstein that she would make a decision as to running in the new year (translation: don't write checks to other candidates during the reporting period that ends...at the end of the year).
On a conference call with bloggers, Lt. Governor John Garamendi noted that he'd be announcing a campaign manager in a bit, but couldn't say the name now. Let the speculation begin.
Carla Marinucci looked at who will land Ace Smith, who has a stellar reputation. Carla was tipped about Smith joining a Jerry Brown for Governor facebook group (currently standing at 63 members), but I think we all need to remember joining a facebook group is not an endorsement, as Smith pointed out. Of course, the story looked at how Smith has recently worked for both Attorney General Jerry Brown and LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. It should be noted, neither have a facebook page of their own...
More discussion on Gavin Newsom getting busted with Garry South. Randy Shaw said, "for all of his unpopularity with bloggers, the traditional media, progressives and politicians, Garry South was likely the most experienced and competent campaign manager available." Tim Redmond brushed it off because, "anyone who thinks Newsom will run for governor as a San Francisco progressive hasn't been paying attention to the mayor's history and career. He ran for mayor the first time as a pro-business moderate, and that's how he'll run for governor."
In an unanticipated flip flop (this one in particular, not the flipping in general) this past weekend while in San Diego addressing the National Council of La Raza, John McCain signaled his unequivocal support for the DREAM Act:
Q: "Will you support humanity all across the world and support The DREAM Act that we are trying to pass?"
A: "Yes. Yes, but I will also enforce the existing laws. That's why we must secure the border..."
McCain was a sponsor of the DREAM Act in 2003, 2005 and 2007, but NOW in 2007:
McCain Skipped Vote On DREAM Act But Said He Would Have Voted Against Bill That He Co-Sponsored. "Last week, McCain skipped a Senate vote on immigration legislation called the DREAM Act - Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors. He then said he would have voted against the bill, even though he was a co-sponsor." [Myrtle Beach Sun-News, 11/2/07 ]
This is remarkable on its face and is a clear attempt to pull Latino voters to McCain and make California competitive, but it doesn't exactly jive with the spin that was being pushed around yesterday after Obama's luncheon speech.
The real absurdity of McCain's strategy, at least with regard to reaching Latino voters in California, was on full display Sunday following Obama's La Raza speech, and it basically boiled down to telling Latinos that the elected Latinos throughout the state are failures. Hector Barajas, Director of Communications for the California GOP ticked off the list of Democratic boogeymen: Antonio Villaraigosa, Fabian Nunez, Gil Cedillo. Not just three of the most visible Latino politicians in the state, but ones that are noteworthy for championing Latino causes. Heck, Cedillo sponsored the DREAM Act that McCain now supports.
I consider Antonio Villaraigosa's term as mayor to be generally a disappointment. Brought into office with a lot of hope and even more hype, Villaraigosa has certainly made his way around the city, the nation and the world, appearing at every event from the biggest gala to random neighborhood picnics, but he hasn't gotten a whole lot done other than commandeering the school board. It's as hard to govern Los Angeles as it has California, but the energy and enthusiasm Villaraigosa has for the job seems to be an end in itself, and it certainly isn't channeled into an agenda that can be at all considered progressive.
However, this has been a pretty good week for him. He started by presiding over his first same-sex marriage, which may have been a political calculation but still reflects his abiding belief in equality, so I applaud it. Then, he announced his support of a half-cent sales tax hike to fund mass transit. Big-city mayors are obviously sensitive to transit issues, but Villaraigosa is making sure they are prioritized. This could be a reaction to a Metro Board study that showed on-time rates to be among the worst in the nation. The Metro Board has hired ten more supervisors in response to that, and yesterday they drafted the proposal for the sales tax increase for the November ballot as part of a 25-year plan. If Villaraigosa, who sits on the Metro Board and appoints three other members, can make himself the poster child for expanded transit, and transform LA from a car city to a more vibrant transit culture, he will have left a positive legacy.
Finally, Villaraigosa's LAPD successfully fought a court challenge over its policy banning officers from "initiating contact with people for the sole purpose of learning their immigration status." It's a resource question but also one about the kind of city we want to be, one that is humane and respects the dignity of our people or one like an Eastern Bloc nation constantly asking everyone for their papers and engages in ethnic profiling. The LAPD now has the legal right to continue their policy.
The Mayor certainly has higher aspirations, and with some more weeks like this, he may actually deserve them.
• Assemblymember and former Banking Committee Chair Ted Lieu had a good piece yesterday on the foreclosure crisis and how continuing a laissez-faire attitude toward a deregulated lending industry is a recipe for even more disaster. AB 1830 is the vehicle to crack down on irresponsible lenders and ban risky loans.
• Steve Wiegand writes about the circuitous route the Governor has taken this year, first toward fiscal austerity, then toward revenue enhancement, and everywhere in between. Schwarzenegger is completely squeezed, knowing his legacy and reputation is on the line and at his wit's end over how to bridge the chasm between Republican intransigence and a way forward for California.
• The California Labor Fed has released its endorsements for legislative races. Not a lot of surprises here, nor a lot of variance from the CDP endorsements, although Carole Migden and Bob Blumenfield didn't see their endorsements vacated on the convention floor. The Labor Fed can endorse multiple candidates in one race, which allows them to wiggle out of some of the more contested primaries (in AD-14 they actually had a TRIPLE endorsement). The Labor Fed does bring member education, and in some cases money and volunteers, so it's not a little thing.
• Wired's Autopia looks at LA's future in mobility. In a word, I would call the report frustrating. It's basically going to take forever until the city truly has the transit system it deserves; right now, just 7% of the city uses mass transit.
"I am concerned that ICE enforcement actions are creating an impression that this region is somehow less hospitable to these critical businesses than other regions," Villaraigosa wrote in a March 27 letter to Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security [...]
In his letter, Villaraigosa said ICE has targeted "established, responsible employers" in industries that have a "significant reliance on workforces that include undocumented immigrants."
"In these industries, including most areas of manufacturing, even the most scrupulous and responsible employers have no choice but to rely on workers whose documentation, while facially valid, may raise questions about their lawful presence," he wrote. He said ICE should spend its limited resources targeting employers who exploit wage and hour laws.
"At a time when we are facing an economic downturn and gang violence at epidemic levels, the federal government should focus its resources on deporting criminal gang members rather than targeting legitimate businesses," said Matt Szabo, the mayor's spokesman.
In general I agree with worksite rules enforcement, but the issue does seem to be out of proportion and balance. It's selective.
• This is a really interesting and refreshingly honest article by Brad Plumer on the SEIU/UHW situation.
(This did not get the attention it deserved. It's a big deal that the labor-enviro alliance worked and was able to push this through. There's more at the LA Times and Matt Yglesias' blog. - promoted by David Dayen)
In a landmark vote by Los Angeles Harbor Commissioners, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa moves closer to his goal of cleaning up Southern California's air and paves the way to improve the lives of 16,000 port truckers and their families. The sorely needed L.A. Clean Trucks Program is expected to serve as a national model for ports around the country.
Antonio is still a favorite to be the next governor, so this is a unique opportunity to see how he'd respond to a budget crisis:
Faced with a budget shortfall that has doubled in three months, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called Monday for paring city spending by suspending most hiring, asking thousands of workers to take unpaid furloughs and selling vacant fire stations [...]
Despite the troubling financial situation, Villaraigosa pledged to continue his 1,000-officer expansion of the Los Angeles Police Department -- an effort he called key to attracting business, even if it means cutting other services such as street paving and graffiti removal.
"My priority has got to be public safety," Villaraigosa said at a City Hall news conference. "Keeping the city safe is the answer to how we support revenues."
Villaraigosa outlined $35 million in cuts as he made a pitch for Proposition S, a telephone users utility tax that is expected to generate $243 million annually. Voters will decide the issue next Tuesday, and the mayor has been arguing that the city will have to slash public safety services if the measure fails.
So, fairly flat taxes to fund public safety (which is among the bigger expenditures for a mayor), a threat to cut public safety if it fails, and cuts across the board beyond that. It's not perfect to apply this to what he would do in the Governor's chair, because the state obviously has a far better opportunity to raise revenue. But it's food for thought.
In a scathing self-critique, the LAPD on Tuesday blamed the May 1 MacArthur Park melee involving officers, immigration protesters and journalists on a series of fateful decisions by police commanders that escalated hostilities and resulted in a widespread breakdown in discipline and behavior by officers.
The findings, contained in a long-awaited report by top police officials, come as Police Chief William J. Bratton announced that at least 26 officers participating in the incident are under internal investigation and could face discipline for using excessive force.
The report is the latest effort by Bratton and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to quell widespread outcry over the incident, in which TV news footage showed officers swinging batons and firing less-than-lethal rounds at journalists as well as immigration rights protesters gathered at the park for an afternoon rally.
The melee left 246 journalists and protesters as well as 18 officers with injuries, and more than 250 legal claims have been filed against the city. Los Angeles County prosecutors and the FBI are continuing to investigate the case.
The LAPD is far more given to whitewash than this. You actually have to hand it to both Bratton and Villaraigosa so far for talking this straight. Now comes the hard part. There has to be real disciplinary action taken against those who decided to take up arms against the protesters. Individual officers must be held accountable. Some of the higher-ups, like Deputy Chief Lee Carter, were demoted (he eventually resigned). And Bratton has accepted responsibility, saying "I, as chief of police, regret deeply that this occurred on my watch." But that statement has to have some force behind it.
A few stories of interest that I wanted to pass along:
Chris Lehane and the Fair Election Reform Group are calling for an investigation into the funding of the Dirty Tricks Initiative. Lehane and others allege possible violations of federal election law.
The Humane Society is gathering signatures for an initiative to regulate factory farming practices. "The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act provides basic protections requiring that animals be able to turn around and extend their limbs. It will prevent the use of inhumane factory farming practices such as keeping animals confined in small crates or cages—specifically, veal crates for calves, battery cages for egg-laying hens, and gestation crates for breeding pigs."
State Treasurer Bill Lockyer has some ideas for balancing the budget. According to Bill, they are just ideas and he doesn't necessarily endorse them. Good thing, too, because one of his "ideas" is totally cutting off the UC system from state money. Brilliant idea, there. You know what else we could do? Charge the kiddos for public school, that would free up billions!
LA might need to pass a replacement phone utility tax if the current law is struck down in court.Villaraigosa is trying to get the measure declared an "emergency" to allow passage with a simpple majority.
LGBT organizations across the country are decrying Speaker Pelosi's decision to exclude the transgendered from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. I've heard that the Speaker, and her staff, have been getting in earful here in the district as well. Almost all organizations are standing together saying that they will not leave part of the community behind, except, that is, the Human Rights Campaign. I guess they need some achievements to justify that building they own by Capitol Hill. Too bad any passage of ENDA without the entire community would be a complete sell-out of those who they were supposed to represent.
George Skelton, pretty much the only state political columnist at the LA Times, is charitable toward Antonio Villaraigosa by using his recent marital troubles as a partial reason, but he really speaks the truth that Antonio has wasted his time in the Mayor's office:
"Ultimately, Antonio will be judged by voters based on their perception of the job he is doing as mayor," says Democratic strategist Darry Sragow.
That's what many people have told reporters: They don't care what a politician does in private. What counts is what he does for them.
OK, a lot of Angelenos are waiting. The mayor better get crackin'.
Get that subway-to-the-sea moving.
Really bust up some gangs, not just stage photo-ops.
That failed school takeover fiasco was a waste of time and political clout. Why would a new mayor allow himself to make so many enemies in his first major endeavor?
I'm beginning to understand. He was distracted.
The mayor has a list of accomplishments about as long as the average Quick Hit. Literally, the list that the Mayor's office was going to put out included his hosting American Indian Heritage Month.
Not that Indian heritage isn't noble, but it gives one the sense of grasping at straws.
This affair of Villaraigosa's may damage him nationally, but locally, the damage is being done every day he fails to deliver on his promises.
As juls noted in a quick hit, Mayor Villaraigosa's girlfriend Mirthala Salinas has been put on temporary leave by Telemundo, calling her job into question. Elsewhere though, the LA Times is all over this latest scandal. There are 133 pages and counting of users comments in response to the situation and Steve Lopez is wondering "Who needs telenovelas when you have Los Angeles City Hall?" Lopez brings up several legitimate questions, like whether taxpayers have paid for any part of the relationship and what effect the relationship may have had on the Telemundo newsroom. But as compelling as all of that is, the real fallout may not be felt until next fall. In light of scandals for Antonio Villaraigosa and Rocky Delgadillo, the Times is also exploring the extent to which the Latino community may be disillusioned by their political superstars.
Well, in a story somewhat reminiscent of GOP presidential front-runner, LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appears headed for divorce court.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Friday that he and his wife of 20 years were separating, and a spokesman said the family would be physically splitting up next week.
***
Next week, Villaraigosa will move out of Getty House, the mayor's official residence in Windsor Square, and live during a transition period in his former hilltop home in Mount Washington, the spokesman said. Villaraigosa's wife and their two teenage children will remain at Getty House initially during the separation. (LAT 6/10/07)
Given the enormous pressure and public visibility, it is no huge surprise that marriages fail. These things happen, you know. No word on whether the Mayor will return to his former last name, Villar, yet.
I don't write a lot about Mayor Villaraigosa; I don't live in the city, and I get the sense that Antonio wants everyone to know he's there without necessarily knowing what he does, which makes it frustrating to try to gauge. But this is an interesting article about the promise that he had matched with the difficult reality of this last year. His eye appears to be off the ball of improving the lives of Los Angelenos, and toward the crystal goblet of higher office, and it shows in the work he's done. He's very active in pressing flesh (it's almost a permanent campaign) and tackling high-profile projects like the school takeover and LA Live development downtown. But substantively, I think this list of accomplishments are a little thin.
Villaraigosa and his senior aides acknowledge the recent disappointments but prefer to see them as minor bumps overshadowed by the mayor's accomplishments on education, public safety, mass transit, the environment and city budgeting.
They say, for example, that he deserves credit for balancing the city's books and dramatically reducing a $295-million structural deficit — by more than $200 million — amid declining revenues.
They also speak of his successful effort to win an increase in trash collection fees to hire 1,000 additional police officers, saying the city is well on its way to meeting the goal as the rate of violent crime — including gang homicides — drops.
They single out his efforts this year to tackle gang crime by devoting more money to suppression and prevention programs.
And they point to Villaraigosa's securing billions of dollars in state bond money for mass transit projects — including carpool lanes on the 405 Freeway — and an aggressive expansion of the Department of Water and Power's use of alternative energy sources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A lot less than meets the eye here. There's still a deficit. The reports on gang violence and police protection has been tempered by the MacArthur Park riot and the fact that LA County still has 120,000 gang members. I resent the focus on carpool lanes on the 405, and mass transit projects are actually stagnating, plus MTA had to raise its fees last week.
Villaraigosa is succeeding in the sense of setting himself up for the Governor's mansion by taking on the big issues even if he doesn't really move on them. I don't know if residents of the city will look back fondly on this time, however, thinking they had a champion for them at City Hall. I'd welcome another perspective, however.
