Like other major cities, the City of Los Angeles maintains staff in the state capital and in Washington, DC. LA has full-time staff working out of both capitals to monitor legislative developments -- so why is this news?

Please realize that Comrade Macdonald is trying to educate the rest of us. He wants us to know where our money is being spent and I am thankful that he did. I may not approve of his politics but he is looking out for the public interest.

Thanks, Grimjack. You hit it right on the nose...although I'm not exactly sure what politics you may not approve. I try my best to be apolitical when it comes to covering City Hall. When I cover gay rights, yes, as a gay man, I'm for same sex marriage, etc. As a freedom-loving American, I believe all people should be treated equally under the law so they are allowed to reach their true potential as human beings--a truly American concept that makes this country so unique and special. But I mostly write about the gay rights movement itself rather than anti-gay groups.

Righto,
Patrick

1:23PM. Please enlighten us what you mean by "staff". Are they on contract that includes o.h.(office expenses) and profit? how many and do they report to work or are they telecommuting(hmm). If you don`t know,shut the f....up.

Yes, the question of staffing is even more interesting. Precisely, who staffs the City of Los Angeles' Washington D.C. office? And, by the way, don't we already shell out huge sums of money to politically connected lobbyists (read: former members of Congress) to seek that federal funding for us? Why does Villaraigosa need a separate office of 2,314 square feet (the size of an average HOUSE) on top of paying huge sums of money to lobbying firms?

It would seem that the City's HUGE office in Washington D.C. might be a good candidate for cuts in this period of austerity. I hope that Patrick probes into the question of exactly who works there and what they do on top of the hired lobbyists retained by the City.

I love criticizing everything, but keep in mind that D.C. houses the federal government, and the federal government gives boat, train, and truck loads of money to states and cities.
Maybe if you want to get some of that load it would help to have an office there to pitch your potential client all the reasons your need federal funding. So you spend $100G's and get a few extra million.
Of course criticizing everything is fun too.

Re: "so why is this news?"

It's not news. Even though this DC ofice has been funded since 1991, the implication here is that Villaraigosa is some poor peasant living above his means on taxpayer money. This author of this blog is trying to foster resentment.

The same thing happened to Fabian Nunez. He had a nice dinner at a restaurant and the LA Times characterized him as some kind of uppity peasant who was living above his means. Their tirades resulted in an ethics investigation, and Nunez was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Did the Times apologize? Of course not.

The media ignore Arnold's spending.

Hi Karen,

Nope, I'm not trying to "foster resentment," as you put it. Merely reporting that this was up for a city council vote and informing people that such a thing exists. It's a very straightforward post, and your projecting about this "peasant" stuff. I have no idea where you got that from.

Righto,
Patrick

I am not a Villaraigosa fan -- at all. But the City of Los Angeles has some huge and very legitimate business in Washington, DC and with the federal government. Our congressional delegation is not elected to represent the "City" of Los Angeles but the citizens of their particular congressional districts. I do think that it takes a considerable amount of work to keep our congressional delegation focused on the needs of the Region, and the City and not just their paraticular congressional district. Legit. Totally legit.

Well, I used to think that Villar was a honest man who truly cared about his constituents. Now, I have realized that he cares about one person only, Tony, that's it.

Now that his gubernatorial aspirations went up in smoke, much like his administration, he is seeking out his next office, Senate (Feinstein or Boxer are you leaving anytime soon?)