ALPERN AT LARGE - One of the reasons why the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision won’t be the end of the world
is that money can both attract and hurt a given candidate in the eyes of the electorate—it didn’t help Meg Whitman, it didn’t help the failed Proposition A half-cent sales tax measure that Angelenos voted down.
Big money comes from both Big Corporate and Big Union sources, and it’s safe to say that most voters—while willing to hear from all sides (at least for a few moments)—don’t take well to either.
Funny how people don’t like to be exploited and treated like idiots.
Without any funding, and with just a few loud voices, the ill-advised half-cent sales tax that was Proposition A—funded by all the horrid forces that have dragged this City into the broken-down sewer that is City Hall and its array of political puppetmasters—fell by a 55-45% margin without any organized, funded opposition.
The election results can be observed here.
Based on her strong fiscal backing of “gimme-another-raise” political unions, I doubt that Wendy Greuel’s official opposition of Proposition A was sincere, but she along with the other major mayoral candidates also opposed this measure, and it fell.
Looks like the IBEW, SEIU, Casden Developers and other plutocrats who control Downtown—and who have ultimately hurt both LA residents and LA civil servants alike—got nothing for their money this time around.
And it looks like that big union money only slightly helped Wendy Greuel, who was once a rising star in the City’s political circles (I admit to having very high hopes for her in the past), but who is clearly on her way to being a stooge for the unions and developers who don’t give a rip if the City falls apart so long as they get theirs.
Ms. Greuel, whose record as City Controller is lackluster at best and who wants to go on a hiring spree (You really opposed Proposition A, Wendy? Reeeeeeeally?), shook her body parts around, claimed she make history if she were elected…but forgot that she wasn’t the only woman running for the office of Mayor.
It didn’t work for enough voters, who knew that Jan Perry was also female and wanted a candidate who would be more than just “the first female mayor of LA”, and who wanted the candidate who could best bring LA together and bring “hope and change” to Angelenos too-often exploited and too-often victimized by Downtown forces.
Ms. Greuel did get enough votes to make the runoff, but there’s a reason why Eric Garcetti edged her out—he was more affable, and his campaign funding climb was not besmirched by the blood money that is the IBEW and other public sector unions who obviously don’t give a damn that we’re marching headlong into bankruptcy.
We all owe a great deal of thanks to Kevin James (whom I was very proud to support, and who was the most focused candidate towards transportation policy) and to Jan Perry (who showed that a City Councilmember could be pro-business, not give in to the unions and work for the people).
So as the May election looms and we try to determine who will be the next Mayor, City Attorney and City Controller, here’s my own $0.02 as to whom we should support:
ERIC GARCETTI FOR MAYOR.
RON GALPERIN FOR CITY CONTROLLER.
It’s time to be FOR something, and offering specifics whenever possible in the races for Mayor and City Controller is something that should be demanded by the voters. And ditto for the City Attorney race, because both Mr. Feuer and Mr. Trutanich (who made the runoff) both have their pros and cons that they need to work on with the voters.
I admit to being torn during this last election—both Eric Garcetti and Ron Galperin reached out to me, as did Kevin James and Cary Brazeman (the two candidates whom I proudly supported).
Well, the primaries are over, Proposition A failed (as it deserved to), there will be a greater need for innovation and budget/pension reform than ever to avoid bankruptcy in our City, and it’s time to elect new leaders who reach out with both a smile and favorable character to City voters.
I wish both ERIC GARCETTI and RON GALPERIN the best as they show what they’re FOR, and it is my belief they can do just that for the voters of Los Angeles.
And ultimately, the good will, talents and character of these two won’t cost a dime.
(Ken Alpern is a Westside Village Zone Director and Boardmember of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC), previously co-chaired its Planning and Outreach Committees, and currently is Co-Chair of its Transportation/Infrastructure Committee. He is co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee and chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at [email protected] This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . He also co-chairs the grassroots Friends of the Green Line at www.fogl.us. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Mr. Alpern.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 20
Pub: Mar 8, 2013