2010 Predictions Recap

As is my annual tradition, I make prognostications for the following year, most of which do not come true. That's coming in a few days. However, to be fair of course, it is also my tradition to completely rip apart the predictions I made 12 months (or so) prior and point out how utterly wrong I was. 2010 was a really good year for me to be bad. Here we go:

Janice Hahn will crush Dean Florez in the Democratic primary for Lt Governor and be poised to take on Republican nominee Abel Maldonado. However remarks made by Hahn during a primary debate with Florez will be taken as anti-Latino and tarnish her image with Hispanics who will flock to Maldonado providing him a margin of victory in a Latino year.

Ha.  Could we have been more wrong? The safer wager would have been on our favorite hack and Hahn consultant Michael Trujillo continuing his losing streak;.

An elected Los Angeles official will be arrested by the LAPD, inside City Hall, caught in the act of a significant felony offense causing a political firestorm throughout the City.

Well not exactly on this one BUT we did see a member of the Clowncil get indicted and still may just do the perp walk in 2011.

Day to day management of the Los Angeles Convention Center will be taken over by a private company who will eventually make a buyout offer for the facility that the near bankrupt City can not refuse. A similar effort however by The Walt Disney Company to take over the LA Zoo will fail, however Councilman Tom LaBonge will face a stunning political loss when the City Council votes 14-1 to direct staff to find a lessee for the Zoo.

Okay not exactly but something similar is brewing for the Convention Center.  The Zoo and Disney? No.  Stunning loss for LaBonge? Stay tuned.

The bloggers behind the Griffith Park Wayist blog will put together an activist network rivaling that of the Saving Los Angeles Project. The group will quickly catch on with a membership base more diverse in age and race than SLAP and move forward in recruiting bicycle activist Stephen Box to run against Councilman Tom LaBonge in the 2011 race.

Not so much but the blog was active in boosting Box who is now a candidate against LeBong.  What we didn't predict for GPW was the secession from Griffith Park of it's most notable blogger. The stay-at-home blogger was replaced by local environmentalist Bill Haller, who has articulately skewed much of the coverage even further left than MT.  Haller has done that however with the air of peace that was much needed at the blog which consistently does an excellent and eclectic job in covering the local scene.

Former Mayoral candidate Phil Jennerjahn will earn the GOP nomination for the 33rd Congressional District but lose to current Rep. Dianne Watson by the lowest margin ever for a Republican challenger in that significanlty Democratic district.

Don't start.

Blogger Zach Behrens will be hired as an analyst for FoxNews Network and become the "house liberal" for their late night talk show "Red Eye."

Nope.  But would be cool!

Mayor Villaraigosa will team up with celebrity Chef Bobby Flay on an episode of the Food Network's "Iron Chef America" going up against a team of Wolfgang Puck and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

This was a joke to start with; however Mayor Villar did do continue his more notable celebrity teaming up of a different sort, going on a double date with LuParker and Ryan Seacrest. 

LA District Attorney Steve Cooley will easily garner the Republican nomination for State Attorney General and crush San Francisco DA Kamala Harris in the General Election.

Yes.  No.  But close.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will win the World Series in game five against the Oakland As.

Wrong part of the state but still a California win.

Republicans will gain 7 seats in the US Senate and 35 in the House but not come close enough to recapture control. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will however fail to garner re-election in his home state of Nevada.

Gain of 6 in the Senate, not a bad prediction.  On the House I was way off but I'm not complaining.  Harry Reid, well at least JoeB is happy.

The next big thing in the tech world that will be used by political candidates is a site that combines elements of text messaging and a calendar with social networking. The site will allow many grass roots candidates to quickly assemble groups of supporters to drive voters to the polls.

I really don't know what I was talking about here.  Uh, perhaps Facebook???

And finally more than half these predictions will not come true.

THAT I got right!