Council Perks: Stuff for Freeeeee

LA Mayor Villaraigosa gets to go to all sorts of cool events, like the Lakers games, for freeeeee.


Supervisor Slater-Price goes to super cool entertainment events for freeee.

Pam Slater-Price is rich and can afford the tickets, but its much more fun to get gifts, especially from organizations that you like so much that you point tax dollars toward those entertainment organizations (she's also taken heat for the plaques she gets from the organizations she funnels tax dollars to).

Now What?
The LA Mayor asked for his actions to be reviewed by the FPPC.

Slater-Price was found to have violated FPPC rules and had to pay a fine.

Supervisor Horn has had all sorts of sleazy scandals and he'll probably get reelected.

Jerome Stocks got caught taking "funny money" from Barratt American.

From the NCTimes: Later, Stocks revealed in campaign financial disclosure forms that he declared 11 returned payments, which he said resulted from accidental overpayments to his re-election campaign that exceeded the $250 limit.

Stocks said, "I think maybe I'm a better candidate than a treasurer."

Stocks' reelection was untouched by the admission that he isn't good handling his own moolah.

Slater-Price, Horn, and Stocks have not been abandoned by the voters. Most voters don't know or care. If they care, they care less for their opponents (who are usually of a different philosophical persuasion, partially because of our system of incumbency).

Half the LB audience are Slater-Price campaign supporters. Do the voters care about ethics violations?

If they do, lets make things really simple. Elected officials should not take gifts or bro deals from anyone who has any sort of connection to the city. Period. They are there to serve the public, and with that comes some responsibility to take their actions beyond reproach. It is a good idea suggested by others in the County.

What Dalager did looks bad, but as you can see, it is far from career ending.

The whole thing would blow over for Dalager if he would let the press inspect his kitchen. His refusal smacks of a cover up. Logan Jenkin's was willing to write that Dalager's kitchen didn't match the story being weaved about the appliances.

It was all “old crap,” Dalager told me.
Really?
I’ve seen his kitchen and the brushed-steel stove setup looked pretty sleek, modern and functional to me. In short, this is the best cooking crap I’ve ever seen.

Did Dalager trade for a vote? I highly doubt that it was necessary to bribe Dalager for that vote. And, the Gordons apparently give bro deals to a select few around the city. However, that bro deal is not available to the public.

There should be no appearance that access to bro deals is a perk of being Mayor.

The Gordons have lots of reasons to keep Dalager happy. Well, they had that famous vote you already know about. The Gordons also have their very own Taxpayer subsidized government liaison.

Our city along with other cities pay Steve Aceti's salary to run CalCoast (a lobbying firm, sort of). CalCoast is government funded and directed by a board of elected officials. Steve Aceti turns around and uses CalCoast to represent the Gordons at city hall.  (Aceti also promotes a pro seawall agenda and the Gordons have expressed their extreme pro-sea wall views to at least one city council candidate).

The day I went to meet Aceti to talk about what CalCoast does for Encinitas, he interrupted our meeting to start a phone meeting with City Attorney Sabine and City Manager Cotton. The topic of that conversation? Well, it was the Gordon's issues with the engineering department. Aceti was clearly heavily involved in the issue.

The Gordons are enjoying a personal taxpayer subsidized lobbyist at city hall, and Sacramento. If you're not a bro, you don't get one of those.