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By
Ron Kaye
on September 11, 2008 5:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)
Antonio Exposed: "The all-about-me-mayor: Antonio Villaraigosa's frenetic self-promotion"

Stop reading this now and go to the L.A. Weekly and read Patrick Range McDonald's devastating takeout on how the mayor spends his time working for himself -- not the people.

But if you're too busy to read a long article right this minute, here's the short take on how he spent the 900 "work" hours in his daily calendar from May 21 to Aug. 1: "804 hours, or 89 percent of his work schedule, on ceremonial/PR, travel, blacked-out activities, gap time, fund-raising, personal issues and undisclosed "security" issues. On direct city business -- such as signing legislation and meeting with city-department heads -- his schedule shows the mayor spent 11 percent of his time."

Got it? He's not doing the job.
http://ronkayela.com/antonioweekly.jpg http://ronkayela.com/antonioweekly.jpg
At a time when the city is teetering on the brink, when communities across L.A. are seething with resentment over City Hall's neglect, disrespect and failure to address the problems, the mayor is running around the world inflating his ego -- and his campaign treasury -- and doesn't have the time to manage the city's business or the inclination to listen to the people.

Critics like Jack Humphreville, Greg Nelson, Bill Ring and myself have a lot to say in the article but the one that matters most is Eli Broad:

"I think he'll realize his political success in the future relies on the job he does with the city...Let's put it this way, Would I be more comfortable with a mayor like Richard Daley or Mike Bloomberg? The answer is yes."

McDonald describes Villaraigosa as being "so focused on the glitzy trappings of the job, and so distant from the sometimes dreary work inside City Hall," he's unlike any other mayor in recent years.

The result is this: "Los Angeles' mayor has not yet produced any results in improving schools, addressing greatly worsening traffic, keeping kids from joining gangs, cleaning the city's infamously filthy sidewalks, halting patently illegal clutter like 10-story building ads and thousands of illicitly constructed billboards, or controlling his spending in a time of family belt-tightening."

So ask yourself why not a siingle politician or potential candidate with the money to take Villaraigosa down has challenged him. And if they don't have the courage to do it now, should you really consider them for office in two years or four years when the city will be that much worse off?

Who needs a mayor when there's a hard-working City Council tackling the big issues:

* Council votes 15-0 to ban smoking in farmer's markets.
* Council votes 14-0 to require fast food chains to post calorie information.
* Council votes 12-1 to increase visual blight with massive electronic signs on Convention Center (more on that later).

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Response to above:
Oops! I am not Walter W. Moore -- should I wait to post til later?
Forget that.
I believe that the reason the City Council votes on all of these dumb nanny state things is to show that they "are doing SOMETHING." Note I did not say something of substance. Half of them are running for office in March -- and they do not want to DO anything that will reflect badly on them. The other half are spotting State and County posts or "Mayor" or "Controller" or "City Attorney" or "Dog Catcher" they want to graduate into. Who is to blame? Plain and simple, folks,we are. Look at LaBonge and his attempts to take Griffith Park away from us with his cullinary institutes, exclusive spas and the like. And Weiss and Huizar who only show up to Council meetings when they have something on the Agenda -- which maybe a good thing because they do not often show. Council meetings are only 2 days and week and 2 hours each day. I know that you are thinking -- no, it's 3 days a week. But, truthfully, folks, do you really count ceremonial parading Fridays as a serious meeting.
But I digress -- let's throw the bums out with our recycled trash (the cost is cheaper than a hitman!) and get some good stuff going on in this City. I love L.A. ! (a little Randy Newman for your morning)

Louise Clarke Stone

 

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