May Day / M’Aidez Snapshot Of L.A.
By Walter Moore, Candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles
You already know about the clash between the police and reporters at the “Immigrant Rights” -- i.e., Illegal Alien -- rally. Here’s a snapshot of what else is going on at City Hall, and why you should replace the man at the top:
Villaraigosa is MIA. The Mayor, as is all too often the case, is out of town, and, indeed, out of the country. He flew to El Salvador on May 1, 2007, presumably to distance himself from the illegal aliens whom he publicly embraced this time last year. (Remember, “We clean your toilets?”)
Thursday, May 3, 2007
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Apparently imagining himself as a new Henry Kissinger, he announced he’s reached an agreement with El Salvador law enforcement officials to share information on Salvadoran gang members who commute between that country and L.A.
Rather than traveling to Latin America and pretending to enter into treaties with foreign countries, the Mayor could and should simply repeal Special Order 40, so our police can share information about gang members with our nation’s federal immigration authorities. Many of those gang members, as Senator Diane Feinstein has reported, are in the country illegally. Instead of waiting for them to commit and get convicted of additional crimes, we should help ICE agents arrest and imprison them for violating our federal immigration laws. That’s what I’ll do if you help me get elected.
City Hall’s Attacks On Business and Prop 13. There was a court hearing yesterday on an ordinance, adopted illegally by the Mayor and City Council, to require hotels near the airport to pay higher wages than other businesses in L.A. are required to pay. Expect the court to invalidate the ordinance -- but only after the hotels have had to incur substantial legal fees.
The DWP, moreover, plans to raise the rates of major users -- in other words, businesses -- even though the DWP already generates a surplus of money each year that is transferred to the City’s general fund and spent on programs other than the DWP. The practical effect of any rate hike, therefore, is to raise taxes without getting voter approval as required by our State Constitution thanks to Proposition 13.
It gets worse. City Council, in an effort to intervene on the side of unions, is considering whether and how to deny liquor licenses to grocery stores unless they accede to labor’s demands. This is the same City Council, you will recall, that passed a law requiring anyone who buys a grocery store to keep using the same employees as the previous owner. The message to business owners: you’ve got 16 partners you don’t want, namely, the Mayor and the City Council. You provide the money. They’ll decide how you spend it.
If you make me your mayor, I will veto irrational, unfair and unconstitutional ordinances that deter people from opening businesses here and punish those who have not yet fled. I will also veto tax hikes disguised as rate increases. I understand that our city needs MORE employers, not FEWER employers.
Bus Lanes. It’s not all bad news. City Council has approved the creation of a bus-only lane on Wilshire Boulevard during rush hour. This doesn’t go nearly far enough, but it’s a very good start. Rather than dreaming wistfully of a “subway to the sea” that would cost too much and serve to few, we need to use our existing infrastructure -- our streets -- to provide practical, affordable mass transit by creating dedicated bus lanes that we now use for parking. To get traffic moving, and get people out of their cars, we need to give them a better alternative: fast, safe, convenient buses. The City Council has taken a good step in that direction.
Speaking of taking a good step in the right direction, have you contributed to my campaign yet? If you don’t take action to improve our city, you don’t get to complain. Contribute right now, would you? Click here.