Lieutenant Garcetti or Ensign Pulver?

Sometimes when the captain is asleep at the helm ignoring the priorities of the ship, a junior officer has to confront the skipper and make a case for a change in course.

Eric Garcetti (Lieutenant, USNR) should know that more than anyone on the City Council from his naval service.  Furthermore, Lt. Garcetti is the Council President, which makes him the executive officer of the good ship Los Angeles (AKA, Titanic).  That means he is the second-in-command. 

The Council President needs to be a leader, especially in tough times.

The classic play and movie, Mister Roberts, is a tale of contrasting leadership styles: a captain (played by James Cagney) who is isolated from his crew and does not care for their morale, the idealistic executive officer Lt (jg) Roberts (played by Henry Fonda), and the mousey supply officer Ensign Pulver (played by Jack Lemmon).

Roberts confronts the Captain at a key point when the morale of the crew is ready to go overboard.   Ensign Pulver, on the other hand, simply tries to avoid any conflict with the Captain in order to preserve his unchallenging responsibilities as the supply officer.

Is Eric a Mister Roberts or is he an Ensign Pulver?

Mr. Garcetti appears to be content playing the role of Ensign Pulver.  At least that’s the message he gave to Rick Orlov (Daily News, Dec 27th).

“This past year was a year of holding the line,” our Council President told Rick.

That’s right, while Captain Tony was steering the ship straight for the icebergs, did Eric bang on the door and confront him and try to rid the ship of the “malignant growth” that represents the Mayor’s fiscal agenda?

No.

Eric was too busy focusing on golf cart concessions, medical marijuana and fast-tracking compensation deals for the IBEW and SEIU – deals that tore a bigger hole in our floundering ship.  His trepidation in dealing with the city’s financial mess speaks volumes about his leadership skills, or lack thereof.

We need leadership now more than ever.  If Garcetti is serious about becoming Mayor in 2013, he needs to demonstrate he has the stuff of a captain – not a Captain Queeg, Captain Bligh, or a Captain Kangaroo, but a Captain’s Courageous.

Will it take a mutiny to instill decisive action at the top, or confrontation?

The ball is in Eric’s court.  If he wants the job, he needs to show he can handle it.  That has not happened yet.

By the way, Mister Roberts eventually tossed the “malignant growth” overboard (substitute some local politocs for the national figures in this scene).

What if California Resorts to the Big D?

I’ve used the “B” word in a few of my articles about Los Angeles - bankruptcy.

Bill Watkins is a professor at California Lutheran University and runs the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting.  He is using the “D” word when discussing California’s sorry financial state – default.

As he points out, there is no law on the books for the state to declare bankruptcy.  Therefore, instead of an orderly process of liquidating obligations and restructuring finances and operating costs, a chaotic free fall will ensue that could destroy investor confidence across the nation and set off a domino effect in other states.

Needless to say, Los Angeles and almost every city in our state will get sucked into this black hole.

Please read Mr.  Watkins’ article in City Watch.  It is concise and will not take more than a few minutes to digest.

A Chat with Wendy Greuel

Wendy Greuel and I met this afternoon to talk about issues, audits and the challenges her office faces.  Here’s a summary of what we covered.

We closed the loop on the CD2 race.   Throughout the campaign, I insisted that Chris Essel was her surrogate.  Wendy insisted she did not encourage her.  By the way, in an interview I did with Chris during the campaign, she said Wendy had nothing to do with her decision to run.  In any event, I told Wendy that it was a mistake for Chris to run and that she mishandled the forum questions regarding her prior lack of involvement in CD2.

We both agreed that Essel’s campaign was troubled from the start.  Wendy acknowledged it invited much Monday morning quarterbacking.

We spent the better part of our meeting discussing audit processes.  Risk assessment was the focus of our exchange.  Our approaches are on the same page, but I tended to emphasize the evaluation of internal controls in as many departments as possible as the key.  My belief is that sloppy internal controls not only expose the city to fraud and waste, but are indicative of general inefficiencies in operations.  Wendy’s staff seem to prefer more comprehensive audits.  It is arguable which is the better approach. I suggested we need the equivalent of a Sarbanes-Oxley Act to empower the Controller’s Office and add teeth to enforcing recommendations.   We both agree that the Mayor needs to light a fire under his General Managers to either assure implementation of recommendations or compel departments to state the reasons for not doing so.  We also agreed that blaming job losses from ERIP is not an acceptable excuse for ignoring findings.

The Controller’s Office will launch a website tracking completed audits and their status.  I plan on linking to it and occasionally writing about them and the GM’s responses.  It appears that the site is nearly complete.

Wendy will provide a summary of her department’s strategic audit objectives in the near future that I can post on this blog.  Obviously, it will not tip the Controller’s hand with respect to specific departments.  After all, the element of surprise is critical in some cases.

We briefly covered some of our earlier disagreements.  Wendy recalled Measure S (the phone tax) was our first major difference.

It was a productive discussion and we plan on having more.

Happy Festivus!

For the rest of us.

Tahoe Blue, Diamond Peak, Incline Village

You will not find a better view than this when skiing anywhere in the West.  Lake Tahoe’s blue is a sight from the top and other points along the trails.

Diamond Peak offers the best views of Lake Tahoe and a wide variety of skiing. If you want to stay in a classic cedar log home nearby, contact me at HatfieldsHaven@aol.com.

My Christmas Poem for Antonio

Twas four nights before Christmas

and all through the City,

not a citizen knew

if there was an ounce of pity.

 

The Mayor was tucked away snug in a bed,

but not in Los Angeles did he tread.

Instead he parlayed his greener agenda

in Europe to avoid all his constituents’ dread.

 

It was time to come home to retrieve his presents

left by D’Arcy, Freeman, Wendy and Eric.

The money piled high like the Federal budget

awaited his return like an IRS audit.

 

As he boarded his plane and flew out of sight,

he yelled “I don’t give a damn about LA’s plight.”

 

Happy Holidays to the readers of Village to Village!  

A Cappella Christmas

I have always enjoyed the sound of the Beach Boys.  I am pleased the style lives on with college a cappella groups.  Here’s a Christmas piece sung by the University of Richmond Octaves.

Zine’s IBEW Contract Math is Shortsighted

Council Member Zine attempted to explain the math of the IBEW’s latest labor deal to KRLA’s Kevin James.

Zine was so fixated on the cash bonus component that does not add to the compensation base that he ignored the long-term implications of the deal.  Kevin had to force that part of the discussion.

Zine’s response reflected the City Council’s deep connection with the city’s unions.  It is this connection that assures complete capitulation when it comes to labor negotiations.  The City Council does not want to jeopardize the support they receive, so they cave in to labor demands at the expense of the taxpayers.

As much as Zine bragged about what is at best an arguable short-term benefit,  he ignored the long-term implications of steady raises for the rest of the contract period through 2014. 

Furthermore, this deal derailed any chance of negotiating more favorable terms for the citizens at the end of the current contract in 2010.  Zine said he feared uncertainty and wanted to lock us in to a predictable range of increases. 

If anyone should fear uncertainty, it is the IBEW.  The outlook for the next several years does not promise any improvement to the city’s revenue even if there is an economic recovery.  The city may be forced into bankruptcy.  That would void all labor contracts and vest significant power to renegotiate them with the courts. 

A bankruptcy judge is primarily concerned with establishing solvency, not with political connections.  Since compensation is at the core of our budget problem, it does not take a genius to understand how the renegotiation would play.  Heck, even Dennis Zine might get it.

Planning’s Gail Goldberg is Playing Games with Us

Auxiliary Dwelling Units (ADUs), or Granny Flats as most people call them, are at the heart of the city’s latest attack on our neighborhoods.

I wrote about this issue a couple of weeks ago; so have others.  Ron Kaye has had the most comprehensive coverage including his latest article featured in today’s Ron Kaye LA.

AB1866 was passed six years ago and flew under the radar in much the same way as SB1818, the controversial state law that threatens Los Angeles neighborhoods because of the city’s poor implementation ordinance.

AB1866 would not pose a problem if Los Angeles crafted an implementation ordinance with tough restrictions similar to what Pasadena and other cities have done.  You would think the City Council and the Planning Department learned a lesson from the citizen outcries against the developer friendly implementation of SB1818 here.

Planning chief Gail Goldberg and the other Villaraigosa pals in City Hall never intended to learn a lesson; they simply wanted to continue their policy of accommodating developers and moving full speed ahead on greater density throughout the city.  Development at all costs despite inadequate infrastructure and lack of reliable public transportation is their mindset and mantra.

If you read my original article you will recall the crux of the conflict.  Planning said we must do everything to comply with the very permissive language of AB1866.  The City Attorney said no way.  Carmen Trutanich pointed to community friendly implementation ordinances in other cities that were designed to prevent pervasive proliferation of the ADUs.  Allowing ADUs with virtually no restrictions could turn neighborhoods into shanty towns.

After catching an earful from the City Attorney and citizen groups, Goldberg made a flanking maneuver.  She said the Planning Department would not introduce any implementation ordinance.  In essence, she blessed the very liberal framework of the law.  It will now be almost impossible to block the widespread construction of ADUs.

She used as her excuse that ERIP left her without the resources to deal with the ordinance.  Really?

She would have had the support of almost every Neighborhood Council and homeowner group had she pursued a sensibly restrictive implementation ordinance.

But that was not her goal.  As an adherent to Villaraigosa’s playbook she wanted to keep builders happy and shoehorn more people into the existing neighborhoods.

This is just another example of the cynical and selfish strategy of the Villaraigosa regime to model Los Angeles into a dense metropolis.  He and his ilk will not stop until they have appeased all of the money laden interests destined to benefit from the population saturation of our city – the same interests that support him along with Wendy Greuel and the City Council.

It is time to push back and demand an implementation ordinance worthy of our support.  Planning does not have to start from scratch and only needs to look at what has been accomplished in other cities.  As I stated earlier, Goldberg and Planning would have the full support of community groups, making the process even easier.  The City Attorney would also be behind her.

Therefore, Goldberg’s excuse does not wash.  We shouldn’t be surprised.  After all, it is a ruse and nothing more to sustain the campaign coffers of her boss.

Richmond Upsets #13 Florida 56-53

The Spiders had to overcome a thirteen point deficit late in the first half and did so with an awesome display of shooting and defence.  They outscored Florida 27-5 over a ten minute stretch, then held on over the last ten minutes to secure the win.

Senior guard David Gonzalves led all scorers, but his biggest shot was a long-range three with only 1:34 left.  His backcourt partner Kevin Anderson sealed the win with clutch free throws in the final seconds.

The Spiders have arguably one of the best guard combinations in the country.  The front line has played somewhat unevenly so far.  Starting center Dan Geroit still has not found his offensive groove after missing last season with an injury.  If he gets it together, Richmond will have an excellent shot at making the NCAA Tournament.