City Council Fumbled for a Way Out and Found It

Kevin James was well prepared, almost rehearsed during his defense today when the City Council voted on his appointment to the Board of Public Works. In case you missed it, Kevin James was confirmed on an 11-0 vote with only Felipe Fuentes abstaining from voting. Councilmembers Joe Busicaino and Mitch O'Farrell were conspicuously absent today during the proceedings.

You could tell by the look on the councilmembers faces that they had spent all morning on the phone with Eric Garcetti and his staff. Even though they grilled Kevin James, you could clearly tell they were trying to lead James to give them an out. Which he did. Even Amy Wakeland, Eric Garcetti's wife and co-mayor was there to shepherd the sheep, and I don't mean the DPW commission candidates, I mean the City Council.

Photo Credit: Alice Walton, KPCC

There are some great breakdown pieces by Los Angeles's fantastic political beat reporters:

Seema Mehta at the Los Angeles Times.

Alice Walton at KPCC.

Kevin Roderick at LA Observed.

Rick Orlov at The Daily News.

Kevin James Shoots from the Hip

In his first Q&A with Councilmember Krekorian, Kevin James gave his mantra during his radio years, which is what I believe we will come to expect from a Kevin James led Public Works Commission:



One phrase that was originally stated by Councilmember Mike Bonin:



And echoed by Councilmember Herb Wesson:



However, someone hasn't gotten the memo that the election is over.

Mayor Eric Garcetti has several Andrew Jacksonian instances of exacting retribution against those that campaigned against them.

If you don't believe me look in The Daily News where Mayor Garcetti has shut out the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the Valley Industry and Commerce Association and the Central City Association:

Noticeably absent from Monday's meeting were the city's three biggest business groups who traditionally have wielded the most power at City Hall: the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, the Chamber of Commerce and the Central City Association. All three groups backed Garcetti's rival, Wendy Greuel, in the mayor's race.

Garcetti said he would eventually bring those groups back to City Hall, but it's time to "rethink their role in the city." (The Daily News, July1, 2013)

If you’re still having doubts, according to the Los Angeles Downtown News, nearly a month after the election had ended, Mayor Garcetti still hadn’t talked to Maria Elena Durazo, one of the labor leaders of Los Angeles:

In the May 21 mayor’s race, the city’s biggest labor organization came up short when it backed Wendy Greuel, who lost to Eric Garcetti. Three weeks later, the organization’s leader and the mayor-elect have yet to speak.

That is what Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, said Tuesday afternoon in her first major address following the union’s backing of Greuel. In addition to endorsing her, the County Fed spent heavily on her behalf.

“I have not spoken to [Garcetti] personally myself, but I am positive we will find a way to work with each other based on our issues,” said Durazo during an event at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel hosted by the organization Town Hall-Los Angeles. “It’s not the first time, as somebody wrote in an article, that our labor-endorsed candidate didn’t win for mayor, and we figured it out before.” (Los Angeles Downtown News, June12, 2013)

If you STILL don’t believe me, read this City Watch article on his staff and relations to everyone.

I’m now going to leave you with a teaser for our next post. Since the fallacious argument of the election being over was tossed in front of me, my next Kevin James piece is going to be about something that took place after the election. As a teaser, his testimony during his confirmation that is below is very topical: