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RANTZ & RAVEZ - A growing number of Los Angeles City Council members have demonstrated little concern for you and your family and only token attention for your SAFETY and that of your Neighbors, Friends, Community and Commercial establishments in the expanding deteriorating Los Angeles neighborhoods with crumbling streets with large potholes, dangerous cracks in the Sidewalks, Homeless Camps scattered in many residential neighborhoods, streetlights that no longer light the night due to the thieves that steal the copper wire and sell it to corrupt business owners. Couple this with the assortment of abandoned cars and stolen shopping carts and other visual signs of the wide-spread community and neighborhood neglect and decay throughout the 15 Council Districts.
The recent vote by the majority of Council Members on the Mayor’s 2025-2026 budget reflects a lack of concern for the Safety and Preservation of Life and Property in the sprawling neighborhoods of Los Angeles. This reality is difficult to understand since the lives of so many Los Angeles residents are in jeopardy with fewer police officers and other public employees hired to keep people and property safe in the nearly 473 square miles encompassing the boundaries of Los Angeles. An area that stretches from San Pedro to the San Fernando Valley and from East Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean where thousands of residents have been left homeless due to the fires that claimed lives and acres of homes and business. A Los Angeles population count of approximately 3,908,705 give or take a few thousand more hiding from various local, state and federal authorities.
When we examine Los Angeles public safety we look at the total number of sworn LAPD, Fire and other safety Personnel employed by the city. We find the number of personnel dedicated to public safety programs is dangerously low compared to previous years. The current number of all sworn LAPD personnel from the Chief of Police to the Recruit in the Academy is 8746. Compare that to February 2019 when there were 10,072 sworn personnel Protecting and Serving L.A. That is a difference of 1,352 sworn officers! How can a reduction of 1,352 sworn officers manage to police and maintain order and safety with such a shrinking police force? With nearly 473 square miles to patrol, how can any real protection be provided to you and your family with the gridlock roads throughout the city along with other road impediments and other conditions we all tolerate out of necessity on a daily basis.
The January devastating fires in Pacific Palisades closed many roads in portions of the city for months. Thousands of motorists were forced to tolerate hours of traffic congestion during that time. The 101 and 405 freeways became large parking lots most days including weekends. This situation caused more and more stress for those who were forced to navigate the congested roads for hours while driving to and from work. This example illustrates the daily stress experienced by Los Angeles and neighboring commuters. A city that was once well managed by elected officials who respected the taxpayers and worked for the people vs against them as is the current trend at City Hall by a growing number of what I refer to as the “Crazy Train” group of council members with an annual salary of approximately $218,000 a year. The highest salary of all councilmembers in the USA. Are you getting our money’s worth in services?
Following days of meetings and long discussions, the City Council finally voted to approve the 2025-26 budget with many modifications from what the mayor submitted. A number of positions were removed during the negotiations to save money due to the BILLION Dollar city debt. Los Angeles and Sacramento elected officials have one thing in common, they both know how to spend more money than they take in. Talk about IRESPONSIBLE elected government officials. Between Los Angeles and Sacramento, they both have a difficult time managing budgets. While you struggle to pay your increasing bills, they squander money since there are no consequences. Only in time your Vote can make a difference and change the foolish habits of the “Crazy Train” elected officials.
One matter that I and many are concerned about is the new city’s Bureau for Homeless Oversight. While the Feds are investigating the former homeless Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) program we will see who gets indicted and ends up behind bars. When you see that BILLIONS upon BILLIONS have been spent on the homeless programs over the years and the results show very poor results, it is time to get the facts and hold those who spent BILLIONS of dollars with such poor results accountable for their actions which may be criminal. This case is being investigated by the new U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli who was recently appointed by President Trump. I expect Mr. Essayli will get the facts and we will see who goes to jail. Remember Los Angeles City Council has a running record of Federal indictments where multiple Los Angeles City employees and Councilmembers have been convicted and gone off to Federal prison. I will not name the recent inmates since they have all been beaten up in the press in the past. In fact, some have already been released and are back at home. However, I will mention two who are still in line for prison. Mark Ridley Thomas and Curren D. Price Jr. Price is facing criminal charges and is free on his own recognizance pending trial. Thomas is appealing his federal corruption charges and conviction. We all know how slow the criminal justice system runs.
This is what you have as elected city officials. With a salary of $218,000 and many perks like trips to Paris for the Olympics, the Los Angeles City Council Elected Members are the highest paid in America. All I can say to that…..God Bless America and the Land of Opportunity!
(Dennis P. Zine is a native Angeleno who has served in Law Enforcement for 57 years and served on the L.A. City Council for 12 years. Dennis currently serves on a number of local Boards of Directors and can be heard on KABC Radio, Spectrum, Fox 11 and KTLA Ch 5 TV and is a featured writer for CityWatchLA.)
