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ERIC PREVEN’S NOTEBOOK -
From: Eric Preven [email protected]
To: Frank Stoltze
Dear Frank,
I saw your write-up — or more precisely, LAist’s latest house blend of editorial cowardice lightly dusted with institutional flattery. You quoted the council president uncritically, as if he were delivering unassailable truth rather than an expedient PR talking point designed to mask yet another calculated move to restrict public access.
Harris-Dawson said..." use of vulgar language has put a chill on civic participation because people don’t want to come to meetings."
Let me get this straight: Public comment has become “too upsetting” for Angelenos to witness? That’s the new journalistic framing?
Frank, I’ve attended hundreds of these meetings. If anything has driven away the public, it’s not Herman yelling or Spindler’s antics. It’s the 30-minute cap, the delayed start times, the deliberate mismanagement of speaker queues, the death of remote comment, and the whiplash rule changes announced after the deadline to sign up. The Council President doesn’t clear the room because people are afraid — he clears it because people show up.
You say the rule change is in response to a handful of “bad actors.” I say it’s an attempt to institutionalize discomfort, to make civic participation feel like trespassing in a room that should belong to everyone. And you’re helping them sell it — while branding yourself as neutral.
This isn’t just about Spindler or free speech purists. It’s about the broader, quieter exclusion of regular Angelenos — disabled folks, workers, elders, parents — who can’t trek to City Hall during working hours, wait hours, and then maybe (maybe) get 60 seconds to speak before the mic gets cut. And now you're telling them it’s the content of their neighbors' comments — not the rules themselves — that has iced them out?
Let’s stop pretending. If the First Amendment weren’t involved, City Council would’ve replaced public comment with a curated slideshow of congratulatory PowerPoints from Avak years ago.
This micromanager is advised to keep quiet. "First and final warning."
I once admired KPCC for explaining local government and helping people navigate civic life. But this recent coverage feels like the opposite: a fainting couch defense of the powerful, delivered with NPR cadence. What's next? A podcast on How to File a Brown Act Lawsuit Without Offending The Mayor?
Maybe you should report on Spindler's comments, shown below.
Warm regards,
Eric Preven
Coming Tuesday, a motion from the same Supervisors who helped ram Measure G down the throats of compliant County Democrats—only to dismantle our beloved voter mandate for Measure J—returns with yet another symbolic gesture.
Supervisors Janice Hahn and Lindsey Horvath now move to proclaim:
August 2025 as “National Breast/Chestfeeding Month,”
August 1 through 7, 2025 as “World Breast/Chestfeeding Week,”
August 8 through 14, 2025 as “Indigenous Milk Medicine Week,”
August 15 through 21, 2025 as “Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Breast/Chestfeeding Week,”
August 25 through 31, 2025 as “Black Breast/Chestfeeding Week,” and
September 8 through 14, 2025 as “Semana de la Lactancia Latina/o/x.”
One political operator follows another—again.
At this week’s Board of Supervisors meeting, we were treated to the usual: surreal budgets, performative policies, and just-in-time bonuses to keep the County club cozy.
**Measure G has got to go.
Barger standing tall with the Mayor of Maui, who appears taller.
The Board suspended its own rules—again—to chase a hypothetical Trump homelessness order. Eleven departments now have 30 days to churn out a glossy report on what might happen. Meanwhile, encampments swell, sweeps roll on, and the unhoused get nothing. Leadership by press release strikes again.
Supervisor Horvath’s much-touted (by her besties) “cooling ordinance” for renters? A cruel tease. It promises relief, but not until after the 2028 Olympics. Low-income tenants baking in their homes get the County shrug: hydrate and hope. If this were for Olympic VIPs, the chillers would already be humming. This item will be on agenda Tuesday August 5.
Despite the fiscal doom spiral, Item 21 delivered a $5,000 bonus and permanent raises for County workers. Apparently, there’s always cash for the county family. Except the frontline home caregivers—the ones wiping brows and lifting the vulnerable. They poured out their hearts in public comment, pleading for a living wage. Their reward? Polite claps, not checks.
The Probation Department, a bloated swamp of absenteeism and union protection, remains untouched. Here’s a thought: shut it down. Fund real, community-based care instead. The Board has the authority—just not the appetite.
Then there’s the $44 million sewer inspection contract—robust enough to make your eyes water. And Norwalk? A 99-year public land lease for one dollar. Connected developers get sweetheart deals; struggling renters get a pamphlet and a minute - your time is up!
The board went behind closed doors and played a Disability Pride Month video, but the looming budget cuts that will gut services for disabled residents? Not on the agenda. Shocker.
Closing Ceremony
As the Supervisors slipped into the backroom for closed session, a pre-recorded video tribute played in the chamber: Supervisor Hilda Solis honoring Disability Pride Month. Her appointees to the County Commission on Disabilities—Hector Ochoa, Lourdes of Alma Family Services, and Peggy Reyna of Peace Over Violence—offered moving reflections on equity, independence, and dignity.
It was heartfelt. It was beautifully produced. And it was creepy.
No Supervisors present. Just a reel of virtue signaling on autoplay, while behind closed doors the real decisions were... deferred.
When they returned, Executive Officer Edward Yen delivered the usual postscript:
No reportable action on anticipated litigation.
No action on employee evaluations.
No movement on labor negotiations.
Which raises the question: Will this Board ever fix the problems—underfunded programs, mismanaged departments, broken systems—or will they just keep waiting to settle once the damage is done?
For now, the only thing being proudly aligned is the optics. The rest of us are left watching the highlight reel, wondering when real help is coming. And when CEO Davenport said they found 2,500 more AB218 claims under the sofa cushion that could cost another (don't hold anyone to it) $2.5 billion in liability payouts on top of the $4B...
We need more than public entertainment zones, stat. (aka outdoor bars!)
Sitting ducks.
Los Angeles City Council Meeting – July 30, 2025 - Wayne Spindler – Public Comment (Inc: Item 30)
Wayne Spindler: So again, we wanna thank Traci Park on item 39 for coming out — thank you, Traci.
(Audience applauds)
So now, you can go down to the crosswalk in Abbot Kinney. Once you do, you are certified LGBTQ+.
Once you cross that sidewalk in District 11 — Traci Park’s dream, that’s right.
And of course, why would Traci Park be on this motion? Because she wants to be LGBTQ+.
This is a way to raise more fucking money on top of the $384,000 she’s already raised, according to the last filing, right?
So again: if you cross that crosswalk — you gay.
If you ain’t gonna play — you gay.
And of course, I wanna see Marqueece cross that crosswalk — ‘cause we got doubts about you.
So now, let’s get over to this budget emergency.
Somebody called me this morning about this. And apparently, the Mayor is hiding no-bid contracts in the agenda today.
And we just wanna know: which one of you council criminals put that in there? Because obviously she couldn’t put it in herself, right?
So: you declare an emergency, then you do no-bid contracts, then after you get paid, you funnel the money back into officeholder account donations, re-election campaigns, donations to nonprofits, and then you get a tax break on top of it.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office calls this: money laundering.
And again — you don’t wanna be laundering money with a Republican U.S. Attorney, right, Eunisses?
“Eh, I’m gonna take the First Amendment.”
Of course, you’re gonna take the First — you took the Fifth, motherfucker.
And let’s not forget the biggest fucking of the man who was liened by that motherfucker, Nazarian the goat-herder, on this poor man over at Otsego Street — one lien for $88,000, and then another lien for $78,000.
Why is this bald-headed retard having two liens on the same landlord?
What the fuck is going on here?
Look at him — he’s losing more hair every day.
Look at that. I mean, my God. I gotta go like this [shields face] because—
(Groat interrupts — speaker moved to general public comment.)
Finally, Item 30.
This will be the last time that we will say the Council President’s favorite word: nigger.
And his second favorite word: cunt.
That’s right — Item 30: banning free speech, banning rap music.
And of course, after you do the ban, I’m gonna walk in here with a list of Tupac Shakur’s greatest hits, and I’ll start with the N-word.
Every one of these songs — “niggas this,” “niggas that,” “nigger this,” “bitch this,” “cunt that,” “motherfucking nigger this,” “motherfucking nigger that” — and I’m just gonna read it.
Then you’re gonna throw me out of here and have me arrested by LAPD.
And then I’m gonna file my $400 million lawsuit — that I already have ready, prepared, and ready to file.
So again, if you wanna make me the next millionaire, pass number 30 — you’re guaranteeing riches.
Thank you, Tracy Park. Vote yes for my million dollars.
I need the million dollars.
(Eric Preven is a Studio City-based television writer-producer, award-winning journalist, and longtime community activist. He is known for his sharp commentary on transparency and accountability in local government. Eric successfully brought and won two landmark open government cases in California, reinforcing the public’s right to know. A regular contributor to CityWatch, he combines investigative insight with grassroots advocacy to shine a light on civic issues across Los Angeles.)
