Environmental Clean-Up Firms to Wipe Up After Carmen Trutanich's Broken Campaign Pledge

By Gene Maddaus Wed., Sep. 19 2012 at 2:23 PM

Carmen Trutanich: Promise kept (sort of)

Remember Carmen Trutanich's "pledge to serve"? This is a story that refuses to die. Back in 2008, when he was first running for city attorney, Trutanich vowed to serve two terms and not to seek higher office. If he ever broke his word, he said, he would give $100,000 to the L.A.'s Best after-school program and take out a newspaper ad announcing "I AM A LIAR."

Once he got into office, the pledge was out the window. He ran for D.A. in June, failing to make the runoff. Since then, he's been trying to raise money from his supporters to pay off the $100,000. (Trutanich, who earns $214,000 a year, said he couldn't afford to just write a $100,000 check.)

So who are these supporters who are so devoted to Trutanich that they're willing to make good on his broken pledge? They kept it secret at first, but now the L.A Weekly has obtained the names. Full list after the jump.

The money comes from three environmental clean-up firms -- O.C. Vacuum, DeMenno Kerdoon and Advanced Environmental Group -- and two companies that do business at the Port of Los Angeles: Vopak and Pasha Stevedoring & Terminals. Four of those firms also contributed to Trutanich's D.A. campaign.

Why would an environmental clean-up company want to give money to the L.A. city attorney? Well, so far, they haven't returned our calls. But the city attorney does prosecute certain environmental violations, such as hazardous-materials spills. The stricter the enforcement, the greater the demand for remediation services.

The city also owns and operates the Port of L.A., and the city attorney's office has some influence over the port's environmental compliance. So it's worth noting that one of the firms on this list, Advanced Environmental Group (aka Advanced Cleanup Technologies) has invested heavily in a "scrubbing" system that cleans up port emissions. According to the company's website, the system was tested at the Port of Los Angeles, and has been adopted at the Port of Long Beach.

Now a word about the timing. Earlier this year, Trutanich said he would raise the money by his birthday, which was Aug. 12. Last month, Trutanich's spokesman, John Schwada, sent out a statement saying that Trutanich "has delivered on his promise to raise $100,000 for L.A.'s Best by Aug. 12, his birthday."

Perhaps he should have been more clear about which birthday. So far, only $35,000 has been delivered in cash, including a $10,000 check from Trutanich. Another $70,000 has been pledged. Three of the donors are making their contributions in yearly installments, so the full amount will not be delivered until 2015.

Meanwhile, Trutanich has had more success raising money for his own re-election campaign. Just this week, he filed a notice that he has raised $100,000 -- in cash, not pledges.

Asked for comment for this story, Schwada, said, "It's too bad L.A. Weekly can only throw brickbats at generosity."

The full breakdown is below.
Trutanich Gifts- LA's BEST 9-17-12

Tags:

Carmen Trutanich, L.A. City Attorney, L.A.'s Best, pledge

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Monique

Mr. Trutanich lied about not using the city attorney's office as a political springboard to higher office, and he paid the price at the polls on June 5 when he came in 3rd. Yup, 3rd place for the guy who had the most money and name recognition. A pair of political novices thrashed Trutanich so badly that he was probably curled up in the fetal position bawling his eyes out on the night of the election that saw his DA dream go down in flames. Now Trutanich thinks he's the comeback kid and LA's ready to forgive and forget? Not gonna happen. Feuer and Smith have more money and name recognition than Trutanich, and they also don't have proven records as liars who cheat school kids with empty promises. How low can Trutanich go?

losangelesdragnet

2 Like

Trutanich promised to pay $100,000 from his personal funds if he reneged on his 'Pledge to Serve,' but like every other promise Trutanich made, he failed to keep it. Let us not forget that Trutanich had to be consistently reminded of his promise, and at one time even dismissed it as a 'campaign ploy.' If it were not for LA's media focusing on Trutanich's empty promises and shaming him into paying up, nothing would have happened. As it is, Trutanich has reluctantly given $10,000 to LA's BEST, that's $90,000 shy of his promise, and he is trying to fool us into believing that $10,000 is $100,000. But that, as Los Angelenos know, is exactly the kind of slippery snake oil salesman that Trutanich is. It is laughable that he now is trying to claim that he has honored his promise with ten cents in the dollar and a bunch of IOUs that have no enforcement power. If these IOUs are worth the paper they are written on, LA's BEST will have to wait five years to get the money Trutanich promised they should have had by now.

LA voters gave their verdict on Trutanich in 2012. He made political history by running the most deceptive and disastrous campaign for District Attorney, and it seems he has learned nothing from the humiliating defeat he so richly deserved. The LA Times called Trutanich a LIAR, and with good reason. If Trutanich carries on with his lame attempt to be re-elected, he will earn another place in LA's political history; losing two elections in less than a year. Pay your debts Trutanich, and go back to being an ambulance chaser.

john.schwada

@losangelesdragnet Trutanich is not trying to fool anyone. The record of who gave what to LA's BEST is an open book. It's transparent. Unlike your identity, Mr. Joe Friday/LA Dragnet. I'd ask you to come into the light of day but I suppose that's too much to ask of a human cockroach.

losangelesdragnet

1 Like

@john.schwada Everyone who watched FOX 11 News before the DA election knows who Joe Friday is, so what is your point? The fact is that Trutanich promised $100k from his personal funds, and he is trying to con us into believing that ten cents in the dollar and a bunch of IOUs will keep the kids quiet. Stealing candy from kids is just about all we can expect from a schoolyard bully like Trutanich, and he hasn't fooled anyone.

enviroequipment.com

Oh, that's just great. Now even environmental remediation services have become politicized by D.A. Trutanich. I just hope the voters in LA County are noticing.

u62

@michaellinder Any idea how LA Weekly obtained the "Trutanich Gifts- LA's BEST 9-17-12" document? #drama

michaellinder

@u62 My hunch: someone in the Trutanich re-election campaign released those LA's Best docs, hoping to put the issue to rest. #drama.

GeneMaddaus

@michaellinder Re the LA's Best document. Got it from the FPPC.

michaellinder

@u62 http://t.co/OcrSh4oT

u62

@GeneMaddaus @michaellinder What is FPPC?

john.schwada

I hate to burst the incredible indifference that has greeted this article. It is so richly deserved.

But I did want to address the LA Weekly's attempt to scandalize and demean the motives of persons who have agreed to contribute - through the efforts of City Atty. Carmen Trutanich - $105,000 to LA's BEST after-school program. That $105,000 will help a lot of children who live in tough neighborhoods.

The Weekly's smarmy innuendos about the contributors to this charity really constitute an attack on the very children served by LA's BEST and on their parents. The Weekly apparently does not care that its reporting could stunt contributions to a worthy cause.

But perhaps the paper only sees the kids as acceptable collateral damage in its smear campaign. That would not be surprising.

Still, if it is the paper's plan is to scare donors, it won't work. The supporters of children will not be intimidated.

The Weekly's readers should also clearly know that LA's BEST now has received $35,000 (including $10,000 of Trutanich's own money) and has secured a total of $105,000 in pledges. The city attorney has already raised more money than he originally promised, and he is not done. He is committed to do more for LA's BEST - no matter how shabbily this paper treats him and the contributors he secures for this program..