The Informer

Eric Garcetti's Chief of Staff Has Organizing Background, Longstanding Link To His Wife: Politics

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:55:05 -0800

Ana Guerrero

Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti has selected Ana Guerrero, a former community organizer who has worked in his council office for the last dozen years, to be his chief of staff.

Guerrero's history with Garcetti dates back to 1999, when she worked alongside his wife (then partner), Amy Wakeland. Guerrero and Wakeland were the only paid staffers of the Progressive Los Angeles Network, which was set up to develop a progressive agenda for the 2001 mayoral election.

"Ana is a loyal public servant and also a friend of Eric and Amy's," said Yusef Robb, Garcetti's spokesman.

Carmen Trutanich Moves Three Political Aides To Tenure-Track Positions: Politics

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 06:00:35 -0800

Jane Usher: Sticking around?

When he arrived in the City Attorney's office in 2009, Carmen Trutanich was alarmed to find some of his predecessor's political appointees still working there. Trutanich fumed that it was "like Barack Obama walking into the White House and finding Karl Rove waiting for him."

Now Trutanich is on the way out and the shoe is on the other foot. Two days after losing his re-election bid by 24 points, Trutanich transferred three of his political appointees -- Jane Usher, Bill Mangan and Nick Danna -- to tenure-track positions.

That means that all three intend to stick around after Mike Feuer takes office on July 1.

Transition Drama: After Delay, Eric Garcetti Confirms He Will Attend Antonio Villaraigosa's Goodbye Party: Politics

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 06:00:58 -0800

Frenemies: Villaraigosa and Garcetti

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's goodbye party has sparked some transition drama this week with Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti.

As we reported last week, Villaraigosa is throwing himself a big, $265,000 bash at Grand Park on Friday night, with special guests Ryan Seacrest, Wanda Sykes and Bill Clinton, and with some of the funds provided by hard-working taxpayers like you. The bash was billed as a chance to say goodbye to Villaraigosa and hello to Garcetti.

But until yesterday, Garcetti had not confirmed his attendance.

FBI Probes Ron Calderon, One of California's Worst Legislators : Politics

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:02:41 -0800

Office of state Senator Ron Calderon

Will Ron Calderon be smiling this time next year?

Update: Top Sacramento officials deny earlier official reports that the FBI took files from the Latino Caucus offices. See at bottom. First posted at 11:53 a.m.

The FBI is investigating California state Sen. Ron Calderon, a Los Angeles-area legislator exposed by L.A. Weekly for putting his own name on laws ghostwritten by the very special interest groups who benefited from the laws. Calderon has lawyered up with celebrity attorney Mark Geragos.

Ghostwriting laws is illegal in Congress. But the unsavory practice is legal in the legislature and dismissed as normal by the Sacramento press corps, especially the L.A. Times. The public was unaware of the practice until "sponsored legislation" was unmasked in a San Jose Mercury News probe, "How Our Laws in California Are Really Made." After that, the Weekly reported that three L.A. legislators -- Ron Calderon, brother Charles Calderon and Felipe Fuentes -- (just elected to the L.A. City Council after the Times endorsed Fuentes) sank to new lows putting their names on laws they didn't write. Yesterday, the FBI took Ron Calderon's files. Connected to ghostwriting? Consider:

Attention City Hall Job-Seekers: Eric Garcetti Appoints Transition Chief, Sets Up Job Application Web Form: Politics

Fri, 31 May 2013 13:19:17 -0800

Photo by Marta Evry

Rich Llewellyn, at left, consults his phone on election night. With Jeff Millman, Bill Carrick and Douglas Herman

So you want to work in Eric Garcetti's administration, but you don't know who to talk to? We're here to help. Today, the mayor-elect announced that his transition team will be led by Rich Llewellyn, a longtime adviser.

Llewellyn is a City Hall veteran who served as Garcetti's first chief of staff at city council. He was a fixture on the mayoral campaign, though he tended to stay on the periphery in public. Above, you can see him celebrating victory on election night by staring deeply into his phone, along with the rest of the Garcetti war room.

Eric Garcetti Won Westchester In A Landslide, Now LAX Neighbors Want Action To Stop Runway Move: Politics

Fri, 31 May 2013 06:00:36 -0800

Eric Garcetti

Eric Garcetti did poorly in Westchester in the March primary, finishing third behind Kevin James and Wendy Greuel. But in the runoff, he came out against moving the LAX north runway. That changed everything.

Garcetti won 69% of the Westchester vote last Tuesday -- far outpacing his 54% showing citywide. Thanks to that one decision, Westchester became one of the most pro-Garcetti neighborhoods in the city. (In Silver Lake, his hometown, he got 73%.)

"He really really killed it," says Mike Bonin, the councilman-elect in the coastal 11th district. "Clearly Eric's decision on LAX resonated really clearly with people in Westchester and Playa del Rey."

Now that Garcetti has been elected, Westchester activists want their due.

[Update] How L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Spent His 12-Hour Days in 2012: Politics

Fri, 24 May 2013 14:15:27 -0800

Darrick Rainey

Updated below with Villaraigosa responding to the Weekly's coverage, saying "I live in a bubble, and I love that bubble."

Please see today's L.A. Weekly cover story, "L.A. Mayor With Baggage Seeks Job: Antonio Villaraigosa's quest for Wall Street, Washington and wealth," and check out the mayor's original, unedited schedule, obtained by the Weekly, at the end of the next page.

In 2008, L.A. Weekly obtained Mayor Villaraigosa's official work schedule and discovered that he spent only 11 percent of his time on direct mayoral work. Critics dubbed him "the 11 percent mayor." Four years later, as he leaves office, we revisited his calendar. We found that Villaraigosa is deeply devoted to photo ops, ceremonies and travel, spending just 15 percent of his day on core duties such as deciding upon policy or weighing laws. He spends 42 percent of his working hours traveling outside Los Angeles.

During the 15-week period from September 1 to December 16, 2012, he logged roughly 1,234 hours of official work, 12 hours a day. He divides his time into the same five categories we unearthed in 2008: Trips, Gap Time (getting from event to event), Personal Time/Blacked Out, Ceremonial or PR, and City Work.

Here's the breakdown by category of how he really spends his time, 2012 versus 2008:

Three Days Antonio Villaraigosa Slacked Off the Most in 2012: Politics

Fri, 24 May 2013 06:00:00 -0800

Ted Soqui

A defaced Antonio Villaraigosa mural in East Hollywood

Read the scathing L.A. Weekly cover story "Antonio Villaraigosa's Quest for Wall Street, Washington and Wealth."

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa sure knows how to live it up on other people's money and the taxpayers' time.

Elected in 2005 to be the chief executive officer of Los Angeles -- the second largest city in the nation -- voters undoubtedly expected Villaraigosa to roll up his sleeves and tackle such issues as traffic, the proliferation of billboards, improving city servies, the city's shaky financial standing, and numerous other things. Instead, he constantly left town, held countless press conferences, and a lived a 1-percent lifestyle.

Here are the three days the mayor slacked off the most between September 1 and December 16, 2012...

Gil Cedillo + Jose Gardea Early Election Results: Cedillo Ahead in Eastside L.A. Council District 1: Politics

Tue, 21 May 2013 23:44:06 -0800

Jose Gardea (left), Gil Cedillo (right)

Update: Gardea is closing the distance to Cedillo. See details at bottom.

Updated at bottom to explain that the city election web site's confusing "7.52 percent reporting" is wildly misleading. Far far more votes have been counted. First posted at 9:05 p.m.

Gil Cedillo is leading Jose Gardea in early vote results for Los Angeles City Council District 1, with Cedillo getting 2,715 votes or 56.57 percent and Gardea 2,084 votes or 43.42 percent.

Cedillo and Gardea are vying to represent an Eastside council seat in a community with a dense population of Latinos, mostly immigrants from Mexico and Central America. CD 1 is one of the poorest neighborhoods in L.A., extending from Northeast Los Angeles to the Pico-Union area. The two men share some fascinating similarities and differences:

What Are All These Ballots Doing On Some Guy's Bed?: Politics

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:11:52 -0800

Charges of election fraud are flying in Little Armenia, as council candidates John Choi and Mitch O'Farrell have filed complaints with the district attorney accusing each other of stealing votes. The latest sign that something suspicious might indeed be going on is the above photo -- posted last month on Instagram -- which appears to show a large number of vote-by-mail ballots sitting on somebody's bed.

Election law requires voters to personally cast their ballots, so the photo suggests that something untoward is afoot.

Wendy Greuel's Campaign Alleges Polling Bias, Claims Eric Garcetti "Swift Boated" Her On DWP Issue: Politics

Sun, 19 May 2013 15:42:31 -0800

Wendy Greuel

In an internal memo this weekend, Wendy Greuel's pollster took aim at the new USC/L.A. Times poll and argued the race is a "dead heat" heading into Tuesday's vote.

The poll, released Friday night, showed Greuel trailing Councilman Eric Garcetti by 7 points. In the memo, Greuel's pollster called that result "an outlier," and suggested the Times is biased against Greuel's candidacy.

"It is disappointing that an otherwise well-respected publication like the LA Times would put out a flawed poll in favor of their endorsed candidate, despite no other polls reporting anything remotely similar," the memo says.

Eric Garcetti Up 7 Points In New Mayoral Poll; Mike Feuer Has Commanding Advantage In City Attorney Race: Politics

Fri, 17 May 2013 21:49:47 -0800

Eric Garcetti

Eric Garcetti has a 7-point lead over Wendy Greuel in the race for L.A. mayor with just four days to go before the runoff election, according to a new USC/L.A. Times poll out this evening. The results:

Garcetti 48

Greuel 41

The margin of error is 4.4%, and 11% remain undecided.

The poll also gives Mike Feuer a commanding, 18-point advantage over incumbent Carmen Trutanich in the race for city attorney, with Feuer at 42% to Trutanich's 24%.

The closest race...

Wendy Greuel Heads To Hollywood To Challenge Eric Garcetti's Turnaround Claim: Politics

Fri, 17 May 2013 21:12:16 -0800

Wendy Greuel attacked Eric Garcetti on his home turf today, challenging his jobs figures and blaming him for a recent spike in rapes, which she called the "dirty little secret" of Hollywood.

"It's one of the most dangerous places for women in the city, something Mr. Garcetti seems to be ignoring," Greuel said, according to remarks provided by her campaign.

Greuel cited a 68% increase in rapes in Hollywood since 2009. However, a broader look at the data shows...

Decrying TV Attacks, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Gives A Boost To Wendy Greuel: Politics

Fri, 17 May 2013 06:00:48 -0800

Antonio Villaraigosa

So much for staying neutral. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has said that he would not get involved in the campaign to succeed him, saying he wants to maintain good relations with both Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti.

But if we know one thing about this guy, it's that he's constitutionally incapable of staying out of the limelight forever. Five days before the election, Villaraigosa took to the microphones Thursday to denounce two Spanish-language TV ads -- one attacking Greuel and one attacking Garcetti.

While he made sure to balance his denunciations, his remarks reinforced Greuel's message and seem intended to boost her campaign with Latino voters.

Wednesday Attack Ad Round-Up: Three New Spots Slam Mayoral Candidates in English and en Español: Politics

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:06:16 -0800

Garcetti for Mayor TV ad

We're already getting a little nostalgic for the L.A. mayor's race, which will be over next Tuesday. Call us crazy, but we think we'll miss the attack ads the most. There's just something compelling about seeing fundamentally decent public servants portray each other as child-killing monsters.

Today we got three new ones, including two in Spanish. ¡Ay, caramba!