One theme stands out in the 2011 Los Angeles City Council races: There's a sentiment to throw the bums out but only a couple of serious challengers to any of the "bums."
So it looks like the new City Council that emerges after the March 8 election, where all seven of the even-numbered districts — 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 — are on the ballot, is going to look a lot like the old.
One possible upset: The Eastside's District 14 (see the Weekly's "Jose Huizar Unfriends Rudy Martinez," Jan. 21), where Rudy Martinez has a chance to beat Jose Huizar.
Another race showing some fire is in Council District 4, a gerrymandered district that stretches from struggling, "redeveloped" North Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley, over the mountains surrounding Griffith Park, and south to the glitz of the Grove.
Although District 4 incumbent Tom LaBonge is a consummate glad-hander, he's turned off activists fed up with his consistently unanimous votes along with the 14 other council members. LaBonge faces the idea-driven and outspoken reform proponent Stephen Box and small businessman Tomas O'Grady.
Beyond that, there's one wide-open race, in the San Fernando Valley's District 12, where incumbent Greig Smith is leaving early. So only in District 12 is a new face guaranteed.
It's been this monotonous way since 1987. That's the last time a member of the City Council club had their chair pulled out from under them by an outsider. That year, slow-growth upstart Ruth Galanter beat entrenched developers' pal Pat Russell.
A serious challenger who wants to change that calculus, but whose victory would be only a blip in the big picture, is a reality star spending $150,000 of his own money. Martinez, of Flip This House, wants to boot Villaraigosa crony Huizar out of the 14th District.
Martinez wants it bad.
And he's getting unintended help from Huizar, who came under fire for hiring staff with a rich pot of money meant for Eastside neighborhood amenities, and for keeping a Nixonian frenemies list oozing with embarrassing detail.
In the rest of the races, the incumbents ride in easily on name recognition. L.A. residents have heard how the City Council has botched everything from the medical marijuana law to illegal billboards to DWP rate hikes, but few are disgusted enough to vote.
Yet on Wednesday, the Pew Charitable Trusts released its survey of 15 of the biggest cities in the United States, revealing that the L.A. City Council lavishes more money on its personal staffs and personal offices — $1.7 million each — than New York's, Chicago's or any other major city's. Moreover, Pew found, amidst the recession, that L.A. is one of only three major cities left whose council members still insist taxpayers pay for their cars.
But few voters have heard of Augusto Bisani, Rich Goodman, Jabari S. Jumaane, Austin Dragon, Chris Brown, Luis Montoya, David Barron, Jamie Cardaro, Andy Kim or O'Grady — all challengers to the incumbents.
The only challengers who appear to have name recognition in their districts are Martinez, Box and Althea Rae Shaw, the aunt of slain high school football star Jamiel Shaw. Shaw is targeting the seat of incumbent City Councilman Herb Wesson Jr. and has gained national attention over the family's battle to persuade City Hall to crack down on illegal immigrant criminals such as Pedro Espinoza, the known 18th Street gang member charged with murdering her nephew in 2008.
Former KCET commentator Kerman Maddox says that after the decision by voters to discard the old for the new nationwide in November, Los Angeles challengers to the sitting City Council are following suit.
"You can't get rid of a city manager, so you do the next best thing and try and get rid of incumbents," Maddox says.
Here's a rundown on the seats in play:
District 2: City Councilman Paul Krekorian won a special election in 2009. Apparently, he feels so confident that he refused to answer any questions posed by a Weekly reporter at a City Council meeting. In recent days he promised an interview, but the appointment didn't materialize, despite many calls and e-mails.
Krekorian, who job-jumped from state Assembly in Sacramento to move inside L.A.'s city limits and run for City Council, promised to be a different kind of politician. That never really materialized.
He's being challenged by businessman Augusto Bisani, who has little name recognition. But winning seems secondary to Bisani, who's intent on lobbing charges that the exceedingly clubby atmosphere of the City Council — 15 people who rarely display dissenting views and vote unanimously 99.993 percent of the time — breeds corruption.
District 4: See L.A. Weekly's upcoming Feb. 10 cover story on Stephen Box's quest.
District 6: Councilman Tony Cardenas has three challengers, but it's going to be tough for Barron, Goodman or Cardaro to force him into a runoff.
Too bad, because one of the would-be pols, Barron, says, "I would look forward to telling the wealthy developers, union leaders and special-interest groups to take a number, and go to the back of the line, because the public and small businesses are being served first!"
His message is being heard by some, but it's faint.
In the blogosphere, Cardenas is getting pummeled with a vengeance by former mayoral candidate Walter Moore of WalterMooreSays.com, who charges Cardenas is part of the city's "cronyocracy."
All the while painting himself as a model off fiscal responsibility, Mr. Box failed to disclose the multiple judgments recorded against him that belie this characterization: SIX liens in the past ten years, including at least two state and one federal tax lien. This is the man to lead our city out of it's fiscal crisis???
As a Caucasian and active at a street level working with the Thai community, I am aware of what transpires in my town and who to vote for. Most people seem to vote for what a candidate can do for them personally or for some thing in the area they live in that affects them adversely in some way.Of course fixing their problems would also benefit others of Los Angeles, like Barnsdall Park would.Keeping Barnsdall open and not in any form of privatization is not just a benefit to us in the area, but is also a benefit to all LA, .It follows that when you vote it should be for someone who is working hands on at ground level and that person is Tomas O’Grady who is standing for the LA City Council. He realizes the importance of our Park and the smaller problems that ordinary people in the area have.If you meet him as I have on several occasions you realize after discussing issues with him he is an honest and outspoken person. No hidden agenda ,just fed up with the nonsense going on in City Hall as we all are.This is one example. Take Councilman Mr. LaBonge who apparently can't remember seconding a resolution to start privatizing our park. Then one of his aides has the nerve to say he did not, when it is public record that he did. Also after our asking for months no one on the City Council can come up with the figures to the cost to running Barnsdall Park. How can this be allowed to continue. Why do we have incompetent people getting 6 figure salaries.I want to thank Tomas O’Grady for all he has done for our community already.So check this man out for your self. Please go to tomasogrady.com.
Hey Guys, interesting write up. Just an omission concerning CD 4. Tomas O'Grady has more than a small business achievement. Check with the community leadership around King Middle School and Feliz Farm. However for me , he recently was an effective member of The Barnsdall Alliance to Save Barnsdall Art Park from Privatization aka Partnership. Tomas O'Grady stood on the steps of L.A City Hall on January 5,2011 (ask KABC-7 for footage) with our Orange shirts demanding NO RFP, and that L.A City Councilmembers and top brass at DCA(Department of Cultural Affairs) cut their huge 6 figure packages to save Barnsdall and other L.A Art Centers. He was also key to getting the GGPNC (Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council) to write a letter to L.A City Council's APHA(Arts,Parks,Health and Aging) committee to demand the 'real numbers' of Barnsdall facilities and programs costs, before the release of any RFP. The good news this week is Council President Eric Garcetti filed a motion to remove Barnsdall from the RFP(Requests for Proposals) list!! We know Tom's input was a huge factor in Garcetti's decision.O'Grady welcomed 4 lovers/fans of Barnsdall into his home one Friday night @ dinner time, having no idea our cause or positions, as a mix-up occurred on a previously cancelled event.We and you who have enjoyed Aline Barnsdall's gift to L.A on the Olive Hill should all recognize O'Grady's leadership and passion for community justice and prosperity.We were surprised to note your publication did little coverage of the Barnsdall Privatization issue. We need The City Council to approve Council President Garcetti's motion ASAP and Barnsdall fully funded. Thank you.
Brett, you do have a chance to yank out a contender in CD12, Mitch Englander, who is as good as an incumbent and has fed off the public trough for too long. The fact that he has collected a war chest of nearly half a million speaks volumes. There are several challengers and typical of anyone challenging the establishment don't have enough money to do it. I attended a forum in Granada Hills the other day and got an opportunity to hear all the candidates. All good challengers, but limited in breadth and scope, except Brad Smith who had balanced viewpoints and an overarching understanding of the District where single family neighborhoods need to be preserved while ensuring that commercial areas remain successful and an enhancement to the community. We need to financially support good candidates so we can be rid of the people who have brought our city to near bankruptcy.
I live in District 12, where Greg Smith is leaving anyway. Unfortunately, I cannot vote out those who most deserve to be forcibly yanked from the public teat. I don't mind Krekorian; he's the one leading the charge right now to put the brakes on this bloated NFL Stadium that AEG is trying to foist on the already overburdened taxpayers and traffic-sitters of Los Angeles. Cardenas, Hulzar, and Perry have repeatedly demonstrated that they are little more than self-serving, self-aggrandizing professional politicians, more than slightly beholden to big campaign sujpporters and/or prone to nepotism.
We need honest government with integrity.“Good leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion”
Public confidence in the integrity of the Government is indispensable to faith in democracy; and when we lose faith in the system, we have lost faith in everything we fight and spend for. As citizens of this democracy, you are the rulers and the ruled, the law-givers and the law-abiding, the beginning and the end. Change is inevitable. Change for the better is a full-time job.
Action speaks louder than words.
Every age needs men who will redeem the time by living with a vision of the things that are to be. Freedom is not an ideal; it is not even a protection, if it means nothing more than the freedom to stagnate.
Action speaks louder than words.
An Independent is someone who wants to take the politics out of politics, a person with principles.
"The benchmark of a civilized society is the quality of its justice"YJ Draiman
The last sentence of this article does not need to be true if the voters in LA would simply vote on March 8th. Tom LaBonge, in Council District 4, won last time with under ten thousand votes. The entrenched incumbents and the billionaires who look to them for their payouts count on the apathy of the public to maintain their grip on power. The people of Egypt and Tunisia have shown that -- even in the face of the most oppressive regimes -- the power of the people cannot be stopped. In the Middle East, people are risking their lives to get a little piece of the kind of power we take for granted in America.
I urge everyone to go to Stephen Box's web site stephenbox.com. Look at the things people in the community are saying about him, read about his ideas for Los Angeles, look at his campaign videos -- each with a positive message and a creative spin on the issues we face in this city. Compare the creativity, energy and commitment of Mr. Box with the lethargy, cynicism and cluelessness of his opponent and you'll see we really do have a historic opportunity on March 8th.
The issues could not be more important: parks, libraries, schools, transportation, traffic, health, safety. If you think you're life is pretty good -- then look around at some of the other people in this City who don't have the kind of advantages you do. Look at the kids who have nowhere to go, no choices for the future, and no help from this City. Look at your neighbors who are out of work and wondering where to turn for help. We need fresh ideas and leaders who are not afraid to stand up for the people of this City.
David BellEast Hollywood
For those of you wanting to trash the challengers to the incumbents, I'm going for a preemptive "Shh": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
No actually, go ahead and make my day!
Dear Ms. ACTOUT, How much is your HUSBAND AKA MR. BOX PAYING YOU the WIFE with CAMPAIGN FUNDS? No other candidate is paying his/her spouse. Campaign funds are matched with OUR TAX DOLLARS!!!
So let me understand this - You attack both challengers, not the incumbent with allegations, no proof or facts. But here is why it doesn't add up:
ALL 3 CANDIDATES - La Bonge, O'Grady, and Box have accepted matching funds. So your complaint about using "OUR TAX DOLLARS" applies to La Bonge...
La Bonge and ONLY La Bonge used Street Furniture Revenue Funds, like Garcetti to pay for a staff when they are specifically designated for
What these funds are supposed to be used for (exclusively): http://www.hollywoodunbound.co...
La Bonge's feasting of the funds: http://www.hollywoodunbound.co...
This is much like the CLARTS funds in another Council District.
The Community activists in the blogsphere absolutely must get the message out about the challengers to the incumbents and the need for average people to vote in the election. Some of these horrible incumbents can be tossed out and replaced with some people who are more closely tied to their communities. The incumbents count on mailed flyers to persuade voters, but today the Internet is an inexpensive way around the advantage the incumbents have with money from special interests to pay for mailers. We can do it. Like turn this City Hall upside down like the People of Egypt are doing to Mubarak.
Cardenas's sister "doesn't get a penny?" Excuse me, but the contracts are a matter of public record. Then again, she doesn't get a penny, does she? She gets tens of thousands of dollars a year. And her husband is the one who got the $50,000 "lowriders to Mexico" boondoggle.
Hey, thanks for the mention, BTW. Nice to know someone's reading my blog in the wilderness.
There's one other thing that's important besides money and endorsements...the more opponents an incumbent has, the more likely there will be a run-off election...and as we saw with Jack Weiss, who had a bunch of challengers and went into a run-off election for City Attorney, all his money from developers and all his endorsements (including the inappropriate one from Bratton) couldn't save him. Krekorian only has one opponent, but the others are not as lucky (Wesson has 5 opponents, and they all had to get between 500 and 1000 signatures in a very short period of time in order to get onto the ballot)...the run-off election is in May...that's two more months to beat a weakened incumbent...we may get one or two big surprises.
We need change, . VOTE 4 MARTINEZ CD14, Huizar will clean us out of money if the CLARTS fund still has a balance in black,he is, giving away our money needed for the community to pay ANA CUBA, AND JESSICAM THE QUEEN MOTHER OF BRINGING BACK BROAWAY, LEAVING BOYLE HEIGHTS WITH BROKEM PROMISES STARTING WITH VILLARAIGOSA, AND TWO TERMS OF HUIZAR.
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