Carmen Trutanich: The $1 Million Man

​Updated below. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich will announce this week that he has raised more than $1 million in the race for L.A. County District Attorney.

Trutanich has a commanding fundraising advantage, though he has still not officially declared his candidacy. His nearest competitor is prosecutor Mario Trujillo, who has raised $439,000.

(Update, Thursday: Campaign reports show that Trutanich raised $990,000 by the Dec. 31 reporting deadline. Trujillo raised $427,000. The above figures reflect what each candidate reported to the ADDA as of the last week of January.)

Another prosecutor, Alan Jackson, is close behind Trujillo, having raised $376,000 by the Dec. 31 reporting deadline. (Jackson's campaign said he has since boosted his total to $406,000.)

The biggest disappointment in the group ...
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Austin Beutner

​It's been a rough week for political newcomer Austin Beutner, who's a candidate in the 2013 race for L.A. mayor. First, his campaign team up and quit.

Now, it looks like he's having a hard time raising money. Beutner's campaign disclosed today that he raised just $222,000 in the second half of 2011 -- a dramatic drop-off from his earlier fundraising pace. That total puts him in fourth place -- well behind Councilwoman Jan Perry -- not an impressive total for the guy who's supposed to be the Chamber of Commerce candidate.

In a press release, Beutner tried to turn disappointment into an advantage.
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Wendy Greuel

​Updated. Controller Wendy Greuel announced today that she has raised a total of $1.11 million in the 2013 race for L.A. mayor, giving her a slim advantage over Councilman Eric Garcetti.

Garcetti announced today that he had raised $1.06 million since joining the race in September. Greuel launched her campaign last February, giving her a six-month head start on Garcetti.

"We're raising at about a three-times faster clip than they are," said Bill Carrick, Garcetti's campaign consultant.

Also in the running are Councilwoman Jan Perry and Austin Beutner, the former City Hall jobs czar.
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CNN

Just stop.

​Despite the increasing, oft-hilarious attempts of Republican candidates to convince the crucial Latino voter base that its interests are best served by the red party (including a fugly new outreach website), Latinos still swing Democrat more often than not.

Because name-dropping Sen. Mario Rubio (R-Florida) at every stop on the campaign trail thankfully isn't enough to drown out the redneck racism at the party's core.

So how did Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa manage to lose a weekend CNN debate on "Which party better suits Latino voters"?

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losangeles.blockshopper.com

Should Westchester be carved from the Westside?

​Updated at the bottom with a map of the land grab. This just got ugly.

Every 10 years, Los Angeles is required to readjust its 15 City Council districts to accomodate for population shifts.

But as with most decisions made at City Hall, the 2012 redistricting effort has turned from what should be a simple, logical task into an all-out land grab. Although the redistricting commission's meetings are often held behind closed doors (which is a huge problem in itself), info leaked to the Los Angeles Times about the working map...

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Dennis Romero

Villaraigosa.

​L.A.'s own Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave the official response to President Obama's State of the Union address last night for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Mayor V. is the president of the group. (And we know he didn't use his sizable staff of taxpayer-funded public relations advisers to write this well-thought-out reaction, because that would be a no-no).

We speak Villaraigosese and translated for you:

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Councilman Mitch Englander.

​Corrected: We deleted an erroneous reference to "business ties" between Mitch Englander and folks who represent tow yards and the police union.

The matter of impounding cars belonging to unlicensed drivers in the city of L.A. is becoming a hot topic.

The National Lawyers Guild and the Southern California Immigration Coalition are calling on L.A. city Councilman Mitch Englander to step away from the debate because he has family ties to people who represent the tow yards that are paid for the impounds and the L.A. police union that is vehemently pro-tow.

Englander sent this response to LA Weekly:

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Austin Beutner

​In his address at Town Hall Los Angeles today, mayoral candidate Austin Beutner did nothing to change his reputation as an uncharismatic public speaker.

In fact, former Mayor Richard Riordan, a strong Beutner supporter who happened to be in the audience, actually fell asleep just a few minutes into the speech. He did not lift his head even when Beutner mentioned his name -- and was only jolted awake at the end by the applause. Hey, Beutner can have that effect on people.

Beutner's campaign plugged the speech as a "stake in the ground" on jobs, and promised "fun red meat" regarding City Hall. The text is after the jump, so you may judge for yourself. He did talk about jobs. But red meat?
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PHOTO BY TED SOQUI

"Outsider Joe Buscaino: Will he be the City Council's first fresh face in forever?"

​Can a humble police officer from San Pedro become a historic wrench in the well-oiled Los Angeles political machine?

That's up to you, residents of City Council District 15. You can go with candidate Joe Buscaino, the former LAPD officer who's netted endorsements from local police unions and the Los Angeles Times; or you can go with current State Assemblyman Warren Furutani, backed by the Fed and the Democratic party (and therefore likely practicing his acceptance speech in the mirror right now).

But you don't have much time left. Voting day is today -- Tuesday, January 17 -- and the polls close at 8 p.m.

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Mike Davis for L.A. City Council: It'll be like Jan Perry just slapped on a moustache.

​Few voting bodies are as creepily hive-minded as the Los Angeles City Council.

In 2011, under the leadership of former City Council President Eric Garcetti (now running for mayor), the group of 15 local politicians, who also happen to be the highest-paid councilmembers in the country, voted unanimously 97.5 percent of the time.

That's a small improvement on the first seven months of 2009, when their unanimous record was an impossible 99.993 percent. But the interest in maintaining an unshakeable smiley face as the L.A. City Hall stamp of approval...

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Jason in Hollywood

But who will represent the Gayshians?

​Redistricting is so hot this season! California's doing it; L.A. County 's doing it; and, because the city charter requires we do it once per decade, L.A. proper is jumping on the redistricting train in 2012, too.

Literally. Tomorrow at 9 a.m., the Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Commission will "embark on a city bus tour" that will allow them to observe, in natural habitat, "various communities' district lines and to explore what changes, if any, are feasible," according to their presser.

Aw! As if the puzzle pieces weren't carved out months ago, behind closed doors.

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An actual political mailer

​These are difficult days for Assemblyman Warren Furutani. The veteran pol is running for L.A. City Council against a fresh-faced upstart, LAPD Officer Joe Buscaino.

After a big showing in the primary, Buscaino has raised more money and earned more endorsements. And with the Jan. 17 election coming up soon, Furutani's labor allies have yet to open up their checkbooks for him. At this rate, Buscaino is looking inevitable.

So Furutani needs to shake things up. Why not claim the endorsement of an alligator?
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Brad Sherman: Throwing punches

​The battle is now underway to determine which bald, Jewish Democrat who voted for the Iraq war will continue to represent the San Fernando Valley in Congress.

At their first debate on Thursday night, Reps. Brad Sherman and Howard Berman eagerly tore into each other, setting the tone for what is certain to be a bitter and expensive contest.

Sherman claims to have a wide lead in his internal polls. But he acted as if he were 10 points down, attacking Berman for his leadership role in passing the Iraq war resolution, for his support for free trade, and for his ties to Super PACs.

"We're trying to set the agenda here," said Parke Skelton, Sherman's strategist. "There are some real clear differences between the two of them."
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Tim Donnelly: Packing heat

​It's not too surprising that Assemblyman Tim Donnelly was caught with a loaded gun at an airport yesterday. He's into guns.

About a year and a half ago, the Weekly got a firsthand look at Donnelly's vast gun collection, during a visit to his home near Lake Arrowhead. Let it not be said that Donnelly has no regard for gun safety. He unloaded each weapon before handing it to this reporter to hold and admire.

What's more surprising is that Donnelly wasn't arrested for it. Instead, he was cited and released, and he was on the next plane. If only everyone who made that mistake were so fortunate.
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​You might guess that Isadore Hall's departure from the race for the 44th Congressional District would cause black voters to rally around the lone remaining black candidate: Rep. Laura Richardson.

Not so, says Rep. Janice Hahn -- who is fighting to keep the seat in Congress that she won last July.

Hahn's campaign issued a poll memo today that claims that 52% of Hall's vote goes to her. Only 35% goes to Richardson. Advantage: Hahn.

Richardson's campaign isn't buying it.
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Assemblyman Isadore Hall

​Compton Assemblyman Isadore Hall announced today that he's dropping out of the race for the 44th Congressional District, and will instead run for re-election.

The announcement leaves a two-way contest between Reps. Janice Hahn and Laura Richardson -- which should be the hottest brawl this side of Berman vs. Sherman.

"The Democratic Party needs unity," Hall said in an announcement. "It was never my intention to engage in an expensive intra-party war."

Though Hall did well in fundraising, rumor has it that his campaign did an internal poll which showed him trailing well behind Hahn and Richardson.
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RICHARD SHEINWALD/EPA/NEWSCOM

Jack Abramoff: local boy

​When Jack Abramoff ran for eighth-grade class president at Hawthorne Elementary School in Beverly Hills, he was called into the principal's office because his father had exceeded the $15 spending limit by throwing a campaign barbecue. A tearful Abramoff immediately withdrew. He went on to become a football and wrestling star at Beverly Hills High School before entering Brandeis College in Massachusetts, where he became chairman of the state College Republicans.

After eight years as a Hollywood film producer -- Red Scorpion was his biggest credit -- Abramoff became a powerful Washington, D.C., lobbyist. Thirty years after his first food-related scandal, he used his own high-end restaurant, Signatures, to make deals and influence politicians. At his peak he earned more than $20 million a year and had, he now says, more than 100 congressmen in his back pocket.

But it all fell apart when the press started to raise questions about his treatment of clients. An outraged Congress, shocked -- shocked! -- that money had corrupted the political process, held hearings that focused on his treatment of Native American tribes who had hired him to protect their casinos. In 2006 Abramoff pled guilty to felony charges of fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion and served nearly four years in federal prison.

A feature film, Casino Jack, and a documentary, Casino Jack and the United States of Money, cemented his status as the poster boy for government corruption. Last month he released his memoir, Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist.

L.A. WEEKLY: You hated the feature film, as well as the documentary. Why?

JACK ABRAMOFF: They made a movie that was too inside baseball. Most people couldn't figure out what was going on.

Would you consider doing your own film to tell your story?

Two is enough.

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A detail of the state's new Congressional map

​California's Democratic lawmakers were not in charge of the redistricting process this year, thanks to the new Citizens Redistricting Commission.

But according to a ProPublica investigation, the state's Democrats found ways to influence the commission nonetheless, including inventing local advocacy groups to push for their preferred maps.

The effort appears to have paid off. The new Congressional map could give Democrats as many as five new seats next year.
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Kim Smith

​Updated at the bottom with a response from Parks' office, which says its the city's bill, if there is a bill.

L.A. Coliseum officials are looking into a $40,000 bill left unpaid by the office of city Councilman Bernard Parks following one of his annual 4th of July community parties at the venue.

Documents outlining the outstanding debt were obtained last week by LA Weekly. Interim General Manager John Sandbrook told us, "The matter has been identified and is the subject of discussions with his [Parks'] office right now."

Parks has been a critic of Sanbrook (he has called for his ouster) and of the Coliseum's management in general.

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Ted Soqui

WeHo City Council member John D'Amico

​We're all for protecting bicyclists, the humane treatment of puppies, reasonably guarding the health of restaurant and bar workers against second-hand smoke, and many of the other feel-good, headline-grabbing ordinances the five members of the West Hollywood City Council consider on a regular basis, but how about undertaking legislation that actually matters?

It's been nine months since West Hollywood voters unseated incumbent Lindsey Horvath, moving power away from council members Abbe Land and John Heilman and into the hands of John Duran and John D'Amico, with Jeff Prang acting as a sympathetic swing vote for the latter two.

West Hollywood voters, as a result, have expected big changes at City Hall, but there's a vibe among community activists that Duran and D'Amico have not fully utilized their new power to make the city a better, more citizen-friendly place. In 2012, we hope things will be different, and we have a few suggestions for where they can start.

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