• Grandstander-in-Chief of LA’s Downtown Football Stadium Debate — City Watch LA
Grandstander-in-Chief of LA’s Downtown Football Stadium Debate
Greg Nelson, City Watch LA
July 4, 2011
UNLOCKING THE CLOSED-DOORS ATTITUDE - If you cherish democracy and the public’s involvement in government’s decision-making process, be glad that you missed the meetings of the City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Proposal Downtown Stadium and Events Center. The committee was formed shortly after the Anschutz Entertainment Group announced plans to build a football stadium next to the Convention Center and Staples Center.
The first red flag was when Councilmember Jan Perry was named as chair. That’s not a knock against Perry personally, but the stadium is being proposed for her district so it’s reasonable to assume that the interests of the city as a whole and the city budget would take a back seat to an opportunity to erect a shiny new building in her backyard.
The conduct of the first meeting several weeks ago, and last week’s second meeting would have made any democracy geek run away screaming.
Closely following the Stadium Builder’s Guidebook, the agendas for each meeting weren’t made public until the last minute, something that a committee chair would do if the goal were to ensure that the gallery would be filled only with insiders.
Weeks before last Thursday’s meeting, the stadium developer was telling people which day the meeting would be held, but the agenda wasn’t posted until 24 hours before the 9:30 a.m. start time at City Hall. See the pattern?
All of the items on the agenda but one were verbal reports. That eliminated the ability of anyone, including the committee members, to prepare for meaningful discussions.
Those who believed that the decisions were being made behind closed doors had their fears confirmed when Councilman Ed Reyes went out of his way to assure all who were listening that no backroom dealings were going on.
The city attorney’s representative was well prepared to explain why an ad hoc committee doesn’t have to follow the modest public notification rules in the state’s open meetings law, the Ralph M. Brown Act.
However, there was no explanation from the committee members why they were comfortable conducting their meetings with the minimum amount of transparency just because they could do it.
Most puzzling was the attorney’s explanation that exemption given to the ad hoc committee was rooted in the fact that it was not making any decisions regarding the project, but rather just developing recommendations for the full City Council, which as yet has never discussed the AEG proposal or had any role in adopting the negotiating instructions given to the city staff.
All of this then begs the question: who has decided what the city’s negotiating principles are? If the city isn’t going to simply give AEG everything they want, who’s drawing the line in the sand for the taxpayers?
The City Council has never discussed the matter. Perry said the committee isn’t negotiating the deal. It can’t be the city staff because they aren’t policymakers.
At the end of last week’s meeting, Perry wanted the committee to meet behind closed doors for a while. It wasn’t clear what the discussion would be about, but the Chief Legislative Analyst said that the negotiating team needed guidance on two or three issues regarding development of the Environmental Impact Report.
The deputy city attorney explained that if it were to meet secretly its conclusions would have to be affirmed by the City Council. Seemingly shocked at the prospect of other elected officials being a part of the process, she dropped the idea. It isn’t clear who answered the CLA’s questions.
Before the meeting ended, Perry took a verbal shot, but not by name, at Councilman Bill Rosendahl for daring to ask questions about the proposal, suggesting that the ad hoc committee follow the Brown Act, and holding all of its discussions in public. Radical!
Perry criticized those who were “grandstanding.”
If it’s grandstanding to ask the kind of questions that are reasonable to expect from elected officials trying to ensure that the city gets the best deal possible, then Rosendahl is guilty.
But at least he wasn’t standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the developer as the project and the plan for a taxpayers’ subsidy was announced, tossing around footballs and waving pom-poms for the cameras.
(Greg Nelson participated in the birth and development of the LA Neighborhood Council system and served as the General Manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. He also served as Chief of Staff for former City Councilman Joel Wachs. Nelson now provides news and issues analysis to CityWatch. He can be reached at: gregn213@cox.net .)
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Political ambitions may shake up council
Rick Orlov, Daily News
July 3, 2011
It was a routine re-election for City Council President Eric Garcetti last week, along with President Pro Tem Jan Perry and Assistant Pro Tem Dennis Zine.
But behind the scenes, there was a lot of rumbling about the trio serving only through January as their own political ambitions take shape and as the newer council members look to the day the old guard is termed out.
This might seem like a political merry-go-round, but here goes:
Perry has already announced she plans to run for mayor and has raised more than $200,000 for her campaign.
Garcetti has also indicated he plans to run for mayor.
Zine plans to run for city controller as Controller Wendy Greuel runs for mayor.
Councilwoman Janice Hahn is the front-runner in the July 12 special election for the 36th Congressional District. If she wins, that would open her council seat in the 15th District.
Those in their third and final four-year term, which began on Friday, are Tony Cardenas, Tom LaBonge and Bernard Parks.
Two others are in the last two years of their terms - Ed Reyes and Richard Alarcón.
And five - Paul Koretz, Paul Krekorian, Jose Huizar Bill Rosendahl and Herb Wesson - still have the option of running for additional terms.
Alarcón is said not to be interested in pursuing a leadership position. Plus, he's focused on fighting charges that accuse him of not living in the district he represents.
Reyes is said to be looking for some kind of leadership post to help boost his resume for once his days in public office are over.
Parks said he plans to serve out his final four years and then retire.
Wesson, a former speaker of the state Assembly, is said to be the odds-on favorite to serve as the next council president.
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There was one discordant note in the election on Friday when Alarcón voted for Wesson to serve as president pro tem. He said he did it because of Perry's plans to run for mayor.
"I just don't think we should reward someone who is running for another office," Alarcón said.
Alarcón noted that Garcetti had not officially announced for mayor and that Garcetti had promised he would step down once he does announce.
Garcetti was also very confident of his re-election as council president, with his staff delivering handwritten notes from Garcetti to each council member thanking them for their vote.
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It was a low-key changing of the guard for the 12th Council District last week.
Mitch Englander had been chief of staff to Greig Smith, whom he succeeded on the council.
Smith made sure he would not be in Englander's way. He took off a week earlier on a European vacation with his wife.
Once he returns, Smith said, he plans to continue his work as a reserve Los Angeles police officer.
Englander also is a reserve officer and says he plans to continue that work.
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Everything old is new again, at least when it comes to professional football in Los Angeles and the debate over the future of downtown.
AEG's proposal to build a stadium has brought out critics from a decade ago, when the developer was planning its Staples Center-L.A. Live complex.
Former Councilman Nate Holden, and Greg Nelson, chief of staff to former Councilman Joel Wachs, raised cautionary flags over the stadium plan.
It was Wachs who offered the most critical review of the Staples Center proposal, which resulted in winning a number of concessions from AEG. In the end, Wachs voted for the plan.
Councilman Bill Rosendahl has taken on that mantle and hosted a town hall last week on the plan in which AEG President Tim Leiweke announced a major concession to pay for two parking structures and reduce the amount of a projected city bond from $350 million to the "high $200 millions."