According to the Los Angeles Times, Council Member Dennis Zine cites as one of his reasons for running for City Controller is wanting to make the city more transparent and efficient. He claims his position as Chair of the Audits and Government Efficiency Committee has prepared him for the job although he has only served in that capacity for three short months.
If the general fund could earn a dollar for each time a candidate promises transparency and efficiency, there would never be a deficit.
Mr. Zine has served on the City Council for ten years, plenty of time to rail against lack of transparency and inefficiency. Yet, he has only recently raised concerns over the lack of follow-up on audits and incompetent or underperforming general managers. Could it be because he has decided to run for controller?
Regardless of committee assignments, audits and efficiency should be among all council members’ top priorities.
Why has he not publicly challenged his colleagues about ignoring half of the City Controller audits going back to Laura Chick’s tenure? Why does it take an FBI investigation of the Building and Safety Department before he makes a public statement about crooked or incompetent management? Why does he sit silently when an interim general manager with one of the worst track records in the city is confirmed to fill the position on a permanent basis without so much as a competitive process?
Nothing could be less transparent than the dealings between the city and AEG over the proposed downtown stadium, yet Zine may as well have sealed his mouth with duct tape. There are hundreds of millions of dollars at stake for the general fund with this deal. Who is protecting the interests of the city’s residents? At least Council Members Krekorian, and Rosendahl are fighting for an open discussion and challenging environmental exemptions for the project. Zine and the person he wants to replace as controller, Wendy Greuel, have done nothing in support of transparency on this issue. You would think that the City Controller and the (Z)Man Who Would be Controller might weigh in.
The most significant threat to the city’s solvency and ability to provide affordable services are rising pension costs. It was a year ago that Dennis Zine said he was focused on pension reform. Maybe he lost his glasses since then, but focused is not a term that can describe Zine’s role in restructuring the city’s pension and healthcare plans. Recent labor deals have produced only weak concessions from the public unions. Zine has been a quiet bystander.
One thing is for certain – his concept of pension reform, to the extent it might exist, does not eliminate double dipping. Zine and Bernard Parks both enjoy their hefty city salaries and pension benefits.
Zine likes to point to his charitable contributions as if to justify the dual stream of taxpayer-funded financial support he receives. I am sure he is sincere in his advocacy of the selected beneficiaries, but it is safe to assume he accrues, and enjoys, some political capital for the contributions as well.
Unfortunately, Wendy Greuel has turned the office of controller into a political stepping stone. Zine wants to use it to enhance his pension benefits.
He is not prepared to act as a responsible gatekeeper of the city’s finances. The fact he has supported bogus budgets year after year, backed one of the most lucrative compensation packages ever offered by the city (which went to the IBEW) and was surprised by the impact of ERIP tells me he is someone who would have trouble balancing his own checking account.
On the plus side, he did generate revenue by writing traffic citations as a police officer, that is assuming the fines were ever collected – something else he failed to notice as a council member until recently.
One of these days the voters will realize it takes more than a career politician to understand the financial challenges this city faces.
I can only hope Zine faces a serious challenger with the resources to mount a campaign so Z Man’s suitability and plan for the office can be debated in public.
It scares me to think that an open discussion actually has to be fought for in regards to AEG dealings.
And I also agree that Zine has only been “kibitzing” in regards to the released City Controller Audits and non-competitive appointments. We need a certified public accountant with intestinal fortitude and integrity, for City Controller. This name recognition stuff just isn’t cutting it.
The City of LA registered voters, need to stop doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It’s starting to make the unknown look very appealing.
How do we get off this merry-go-round, anyway?
Dan, you know the pecking order in the city as well as anyone: the IBEW, Police/Fire, and lastly – non sworn personnel. I don’t blame you for being frustrated with being jerked around by the mayor, council and some of the union leaders.
Zine was one of the five members on the Executive Employee Relations Committee that held secret meetings and granted all the raises to the IBEW and City workers.
Kim was not the only General Manager picked without a competitive search. This Mayor does it all the time. Bud Ovrom at Building & Safety; Michael LoGrande at Planning; Jaime de la Vega at DOT, and the list goes on and on. When people don’t question such appointments, they become part of city corruption and the ensuing problems.
On a different note, hope you will file for City Controller. There are some of us who’ll support you. We can’t allow Zine, the nincompoop, to sail into this position.
I concur with anonymous. Paul Hatfield would by my first choice for City Controller and would be the most qualified.
Our NC Chair was asked to bring a guest to a meeting at zine’s West Valley office for a meeting of all the NC Chairs in CD3. Each was also asked to bring someone from their Council. We were seated and I was asked to leave by the alcaldito’s former ticket provider and Mrs Pomposa without my having uttered a word. Our Chair was told that the Councilman would not allow me there.
This is transparency? It is unaltered ego and shows the lengths he will go to to avoid questioning. Having trumpeted “THIS IS A DONE DEAL” at a NC meeting where westfailed revealed the land of the misbegotten for retail otherwise known as ‘The Village’ in Woodland Hills, zine continues on his merry way after having sold out Woodland Hills and Warner Center.
I suggest he read the Census figures – there are more than 70,000 residents in Woodland Hills and Warner Center. Even if he gets all the DWP IBEW members and all of the SEIU members to vote for him he still won’t carry the West Valley.
Further, Gruel should disengage him as he is an electoral millstone and pariah. If you don’t carry the West Valley you don’t carry the city!
Jim Anderson
AT LARGE MEMBER
Woodland Hills Warner Center Neighborhood Council
You and Ron Kaye are the only ones in local media who have talked sense. Please do run for City Controller and we’ll find out if this city is ready for reform or beyond help. At least, you’ll have tried. We can all rest & say we tried to do the best for the city.
Paul, I agree with the posters you should definitely file and run for City Controller. Remember the story of David vs Goliath? That’s what we need in this City. I’ve read so many audits this year but no solutions. We still have over $540 million outstanding debt to the City, yet the Controller doesn’t know how to collect it nor does anyone in City Hall. Run Paul Run!!!
I would volunteer to walk precincts for you and could get a few of my co-workers to do the same. We need this change.
[…] While Greuel can best be described as “all hat and no cattle” for her performance as controller, Zine has proven himself as no hat and all bull when it comes to dealing with the financial plight of…. […]