Do Villaraigosa's Latest Claims Measure Up?

Do Villaraigosa's Latest Claims Measure Up? By Walter Moore, Candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles, WalterMooreForMayor.com Today on the radio I heard Villaraigosa claiming he has cut spending, and crime is lower than at any time since the 1970's or 80's -- as opposed to the 1950's, per his State of the City address. So let's look at the facts again: Villaraigosa has increased spending every single year of his term, not cut it. His latest budget calls for the City to spend $7.010 billion per year for the 2008-09 fiscal year. That's up $1.7 billion from the $5.3 billion budget of 2004-05. In other words, when Villaraigosa took office, the City was spending $605,023 per hour, and he has increased the spending to $799,087 per hour. As for crime, the latest LAPD statistics, for the week ending August 2, 2008, show there were 15,277 violent crimes so far this year, including 281 murders and 449 rapes. That's 70 violent crimes per day, one murder per day, and two rapes per day. Does that sound safe to you? Do you think the City is safe when gangs are so brazen that they murder a Sheriff's Deputy in front of his own home? Me, neither. So the next time you hear Villaraigosa make some vague claim on the radio, remember to demand the actual numbers.