PERSPECTIVE - Over a year ago, I stated that any candidate capable of awakening just a slice of the 80% of registered voters who do not bother to cast ballots in city elections could rule Los Angeles.
I still believe that, but the pool has grown to 84%.
Where will it end…and where did the four percentage points go? Maybe they took Texas Governor Perry’s invitation to heart.
Based on the results for the mayor’s race, I wouldn’t blame them if they did.
There were some good results: Proposition A went down by 10 points, attorney Ron Galperin looks positioned to send long time Councilman Zine into another stage of retirement and CA Trutanich will have the fight of his life, although I am not thrilled by the thought of being served by a city attorney with no courtroom experience and a resume from Sacramento.
With the city’s financial health on the line, it is discouraging to see the two finalists for mayor were co-culprits in the fiscal demise of our town. There were viable choices, but the 16% are obviously wedded to the inside elite.
I am convinced it will take far greater degradation in service before there is a meaningful change in players at City Hall.
It would be easy for me to ignore the upcoming runoff between Garcetti and Greuel, but I won’t. There is still something at stake. That something is a chance one of these two candidates will see the light and take the bold action to control compensation and benefits costs – the overwhelmingly largest chunk of the budget, and the fastest growing piece.
Both Greuel and Garcetti courted support from the public unions, but at least Garcetti wasn’t willing to sell his soul outright as the Department of Wendy Power did. In theory, that should mean he can look the other way when union leaders insist on even better deals. It may also mean he could ask for rollbacks as the deficit grows.
Let’s put it this way. Garcetti could rise to the occasion; Greuel will not. She will hide under the “table” so often mentioned in her campaign statements.
It is very important that followers of Perry, James and Pleitez look within their hearts and realize that Greuel is nothing more than a Valley version of Villaraigosa. They need to resist the temptation to sit on their hands. They need to support Garcetti.
Besides, do you really want the runoff to be determined by 10% of the registered voters?
(Paul Hatfield is a CPA and serves as Treasurer for the Neighborhood Council Valley Village. He blogs at Village to Village, contributes to CityWatch and can be reached at: [email protected]) –cw
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 20
Pub: Mar 6, 2013