Pacheco and the Public Trust

by Tom Topping
3 years and 8 months ago Councilman Nick Pacheco took office. You may wish to refresh your memory of his activities and actions before you vote in the election Tuesday.
Funny Money
The questionable practices really started during his campaign four years ago. During the 1999 election, workers of a for-profit corporation called La Colectiva, were being paid with state funds designated to do outreach for the "Healthy Family's" program. They also manned the phone banks in Pacheco's Boyle Heights garage, working for his campaign. For several months, 12 to 15 workers, who were instructed to say they were volunteers, were paid about $10 an hour, some for up to 10 hours a day.
Pacheco's campaign paid only $18,000 to La Colectiva for these services, approximately less than one third of what the workers got paid. Martin GutieRuiz, Pacheco's childhood friend, runs La Colectiva. Pacheco's campaign workers were getting paid by funds meant to provide health care to poor families.
Pacheco was fined $7300 for ethics violations in the 1999 election.
Meanwhile, back in Eagle Rock...
Two of the early contentious issues faced by the councilman were the Verizon/Nextel/Airtouch Cellular towers and Rantz Auto. Both of these issues were inherited from the previous council office of Richard Alatorre.
Cellular Towers
A proposal to erect a multi company cell phone tower at the intersection of the 134 and the 2 freeways was contentious from many angles. But because it sat only ten feet from the Glendale City border, they were involved as well. Although it would not be visible to any one in Eagle Rock, the Eagle Rock community was given the say as far as approving a design. Glendale objected and the L.A. zoning administrator denied the application.
Eagle Rockers had some say in choosing the design, and had conditioned their approval on the design they chose. When it became clear that the "Eagle Rock Tower" design would not proceed, developers came up with alternatives to present to the community. It was not what the community had in mind and they were opposed to anything but the original design. Although local land use activists had a clear record of un-compromising tenacity, they became very agreeable when it was offered that the money saved on the alternative design would be paid in cash to the community.
John Koos, who works for Tetra Tech Communications Services, a company that serves the telecommunications industry, was representing the three companies.
On March 3, 2000, an E-mail from Mr. Koos to Linda Herbert states, "a contribution of $60,000 will be paid by the wireless carriers to the Eagle Rock Community... I look forward to the enthusiastic support from councilman Nick Pacheco regarding our project when it is heard before the City Council's PLUM Committee as well as the full City Council." The Councilman came through, providing his support in return for the money.
RANTZ Auto
The issue of moving an interior wall 16 feet within a building that was being used for a single purpose seems inconsequential to most. But to land use activists it represented the end of civilized society as they contended it amounted to a change of use. Pacheco invited Mr. Antunez (RANTZ) and his supporters to his office to discuss the process he would have to go through. He outlined two paths that could be taken. They learned later that Pacheco had been very careful of what he said that day. Everyone who attended that meeting left with the impression that if RANTZ was successful at the BZA (board of zoning appeal) that would be the end of it, and he would be in business. It turned out not to be the case.
After Mr. Antunez won at the BZA, his representative, Sharon Lowe (who now works in Ed Reyes' office), received a call from Pacheco informing her he would assert jurisdiction under proposition 5 of the charter, which would bring the decision before the PLUM committee and City Council. Pacheco had earlier deliberately misrepresented his intentions expecting that RANTZ would lose at the BZA. The issue is still not over as RANTZ has a lawsuit pending.
Pacheco tried to build community consensus on the issue as he invited select community individuals to closed door meetings. One of those meetings was accompanied by marching, picketing, horn honking, and cheers and jeers of community members who showed up in support of RANTZ. When attendees later voted in favor of RANTZ, he disregarded their views and went against them anyway.
It was an interesting series of meetings as he illegally barred reporters from one news organization, while allowing those from another to attend. Weeks later, after Linda Herbert, his Eagle Rock Deputy, had assaulted one reporter when she moved to block his entry, Adriana Rubelcava, a Pacheco staffer and long time ally threatened to prosecute the reporter claiming he was the perpetrator.
The result, however, for someone whose only crime was to want to do business in Eagle Rock, has been that he lost his home, and nearly lost his business several times. He commented later, after hearing of the deal that the Cell Phone companies made, "Why didn't Mr. Pacheco tell me I just had to pay him? That is how it is done in my home country of Mexico. I would have gladly paid before spending all my money on the process he advised me to go through."
The Mayor's Race
Most of you will remember the controversy of the "Gloria Marina" phone calls. 80,000 of these calls were put out to discredit Antonio Villaraigosa during the 2001 Mayors race. Martin GutieRuiz and La Colectiva were at it again. This time they were working under a contract for Becerra's Mayoral Campaign, while leasing out phone bank equipment owned by CAL Inc., a non-profit advocacy group formed by Pacheco after he became councilman. District Attorney Steve Cooley determined that no laws were broken, but the actions were definitely unethical, a complaint that is commonly heard about lawyers, and Nick Pacheco.
La Colectiva Connection
Back in November, right after Villaraigosa announced his candidacy for councilman, Ricardo Torres, another lawyer and long time friend of Pacheco's, sent out a racially charged flyer attacking Villaraigosa. The tactics were decried universally by all L.A. leaders. Interestingly, Pacheco's college buddy Mr. Torres is the lawyer for La Colectiva.
Last week in the L.A. Times, it was reported that the Mothers for Nick, a political group, had made a $36,000 expenditure toward Pacheco's reelection, and that he had given an equal of public money (your tax money) to the "Mothers of East L.A.", in late December and early January. Both organizations share the same address and are run by the same person. That person is Juana GutieRuiz, the mother of La Colectiva operator Martin GutieRuiz. $36,000 of our city tax money ended up illegally going straight into his reelection effort.
Resolution
In the last 4 years, Nick Pacheco has established a pattern and practice of misleading and manipulating. He uses his training and experience as a lawyer and prosecutor to dismiss and diminish anyone he perceives as a threat, regardless of the merits of their proposal, or the caliber of their character. During his city council campaign four years ago, he even threatened to falsely add this reporter into the district attorney's "deadbeat dad" system, regardless of the fact I've never had any children. He asks not whether something is right or wrong, but simply is it legal or illegal?
Perhaps former councilman Art Snyder said it best in a speech he recently gave which asked why Pacheco would allow the mailers Mr. Torres created to be sent out, which he described as "full of hate."
He said, "I believe he does it because he has no respect for the people to whom he addresses the argument, the voters of the 14th district. I believe that while he has lived in the 14th district, he has never had respect for the people among who he has lived. While he has represented the people of the 14th district, for 3 years and 5 months, he still does not have respect for the people he represents. And by destroying respect, Pacheco is destroying peace in our community." - Art Snyder
 

 

 

 

The Spirit of Campaigning:
with Antonio Villaraigosa
by Alex Henry

Tuesday night, up on Round Top Drive in west Eagle Rock, former State Assemblyman and now a candidate for city council, Antonio Villaraigosa walked into a supporter's house to meet his possible future constituents. "Hi I am Antonio, great to meet you!" he said as he greeted everyone around the cozy living room. Other guests hung outside on the terrace to enjoy the northeastward view of the 134 floating mysteriously in the sky. While a few more people arrived and put on their nametags, Villaraigosa made the conscious effort to mingle and spread the spirit of his campaign.
"These house meetings allow all of us to come together and connect," he announces to the room filled with a mix of middle age and senior citizens.
According to Nick and Sharon Gianis, whom hosted the meet and greet, they based their vote on Villaraigosa's honest nature and past record. These reasons, among others, are why the Gianis' decided to open their doors to Villaraigosa and the neighborhood fans.
"I have know Tony for a long time, and all I need to say is he is a good man" said Mr. Gianis.
Many people in the city of Los Angeles know Villaraigosa. Just two years ago he gave Mayor James Hahn a run for his money in one of the closes mayoral races in LA history. He knows how to sell himself, but this time for city council. Villaraigosa has been struggling with critics who comment on his strategic purpose to run for the 14th district. Most say he has a personal agenda to fulfill and becoming city council member puts more experience behind his belt and fluffs up a possible retry for LA mayor. Villaraigosa, however, says he is passionate about the community, In a recent debate held at Occidental by Proyecto Pastoral, Villaraigosa clarified his motive to run saying he chose to do so "because the community is where things get done."
Back in the living room of the Gianis, Villaraigosa introduces himself as a third generation Angelino, who has lived in the northeast district all his life. He grabs a handful of honey-roasted peanuts and then sits in down in a chair, ready to listen to the concerns of his future constituents. He reminds the room "leaders do not just speak but mostly listen and make decisions."
At Villaraigosa house meetings, citizens get to know Antonio on a personal level. They have the chance to ask questions that never get the time of day during debates. The same issues that are asked in each debate such as, "
What will you do about crime? What can you do to bring in more jobs to Boyle Heights? Why aren't there more after school programs? What about health care?" always overwhelm the little concerns. Although these topics are imperatively important, they strangle each debate and the answers become routine. Here, at the home of local citizens, the unheard questions get answered.
As soon as the open forum began, the first issue on many resident's minds is the new manufactured house put on a vacant lot just down the street from Round Top Dr.
"It's one of those pre-fabricated houses that was brought in on a trailer," said a concerned lady.
Villaraigosa says that if the community was never consulted on the issue than there is big problem that reflects the poor leadership of the district.
"I had to call the city directly after the councilmember's office kept redirecting me and couldn't help me," complained the same lady.
Other residents were worried about the graffiti recently sprayed on a cement wall at the bottom of the hill that sits between Eagle Rock Boulevard and Glendale.
"They are supposed to clean it up within 24 hours and its been there almost two days" said a neighbor.
Popping another handful of nuts in his mouth, Villaraigosa goes into his plan of attack to combat graffiti. Villaraigosa alludes to the Broken Window concept. It is the idea that if graffiti does not get painted over immediately then the same perpetrators will go one step further, maybe breaking into a house or destructing other personal property. If they get away with that then they will try the next risky thing, eventually terrorizing the neighborhood. The crowd mumbles, expressing sighs of fear.
"The have even sprayed the windows of Camilo's restaurant" expressed a faithful restaurant patron.
Villaraigosa says that LA police chief William Bratton is also a believer in the Broken Window concept. He and Villaraigosa met ten years ago while Bratton was Chief of the Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York City. Bratton visited LA to work with Villaraigosa on a graffiti clean-up initiative that focused on keeping buses clean.
Villaraigosa reiterated that he and his staff would be efficient in responding to not only graffiti messes but also pothole complaints. "When I was working with Bratton, we got everyone involved."
At times during the evening Villaraigosa gets readily enthusiastic to the point where he hops out of his chair. The spirit of campaign runs through his blood oozing out energy to each guest. A father and son show up late and Villaraigosa insists that the young son take his seat. "I know your going to be something great someday Jason, I can see it in those eyes" says Villaraigosa to the boy after introducing himself later that evening.
The room brings up another issue, this time blindly asking Villaraigosa what his vision is for Colorado Boulevard and the economic development of Eagle Rock Boulevard. "Eagle Rock has the small town feel, where middle class families from all corners of the world are welcome to come. It doesn't need block-size apartment buildings along Eagle Rock Blvd. Nor does it need more public storage units. We could use some more family owned restaurants" said Villaraigosa. "I would like to see Colorado Blvd. be pedestrian friendly."
Easily pleasing the ears of living room, Villaraigosa has just passed the test. Many in Eagle Rock are divided on the direction in which the town should be headed.
Villaraigosa admits his stomach is growling and needs to grab a plate of the finger foods set on the dinning room table. The crowd gets up and some sneak out while others join him in eating.
"You know, you really get a sense for someone after interacting personally for an hour and a half," said Villaraigosa. "My promise to you is that I will come back to every house I have visited to take your lists of issues."
Villaraigosa's true charisma increases 100% when he is around a crowd of supporters. He makes time for every guest to thank him and wish him good luck, even though his staffers are trying to rush him on to the next appointment, at almost 10 pm. He has had a busy day, not very different than any other during campaign season, but today Villaraigosa learned that he won the backing of the Los Angeles Times. He also is supported by the LA Democrats. However, while these two endorsements are huge, Villaraigosa's success depends on the spirit of constituents in the 14th district alone.

Senator Jack Scott Fights Senior Abuse
What is financial abuse against seniors? Are there gaps in California's laws that allow it to happen? And what innovative and effective state regulations can be established to further protect seniors against financial abuse? These are some of the questions that the State Senate's Insurance Committee examined on Thursday, February 27, Room 112, State Capitol. The hearing will take place upon adjournment of the Senate's session.
Recently, Senator Jack Scott (D-Eagle Rock) made a request to Senate Insurance Committee Chairperson Jackie Speier that her committee hold a hearing on the legal financial exploitation of seniors living in California.
"I am extremely grateful to Chairperson Speier for agreeing to hold what I believe is an unsettling matter because of the vulnerable population involved," said Senator Scott, who is a member of the Senate Insurance Committee.
"Senior financial abuse is a serious matter that can cause the devastating lifetime loss of financial resources, isolation, depression and physical illness. Unfortunately, the problem is rarely reported due to embarrassment, guilt or fear of retaliation," continued Scott.
Senator Speier stated, "People play by the rules all their life only to get taken to the cleaners in their retirement years. We need to review the laws so we can plug the gaps to better protect seniors . "
California's Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi is slated to testify at the hearing.
For further information please call Alison Merrilees in Scott's office at (916) 445-5976 and/or Senate Insurance Committee Staff Director Brian Perkins at (916) 445-0825.

 

City Council Adopts Resolution to Oppose War in Iraq
Los Angeles: By a vote of 9-4 today, the Los Angeles City Council passed Councilmember Eric Garcetti's resolution calling on the Bush administration to pursue every diplomatic means available and opposing a unilateral war on Iraq. Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn concurred in the Council's action, signing the resolution the same day.
Councilmember Garcetti stated: "The City of Los Angeles has a long history of
taking brave stands on international issues of conscience. We stood up against apartheid early on in that struggle; we passed resolutions in support of the Baltic Republics during the fall of the Soviet Union. War, moreover, is not only a matter of foreign policy. It will have direct effects on the Los Angeles -- from the hotel workers who will be thrown out of work when a war starts and our tourism industry halts to the federal anti-poverty and housing programs which will disappear as our government pours 9 to 20 billion dollars a month into a war effort."
Councilmember Garcetti continued: "This resolution makes Los Angeles the largest city in the country to pass a resolution opposing unilateral war. Whether in marches and rallies or in City Council meetings, the people's voices have been heard." On two separate days, City Council chambers was filled to capacity with supporters of the resolution, and thousands of petition signatures were collected by grass-roots activist group Neighbors for Peace and Justice.
The text of the final resolution, with critical leadership from Councilmembers Ruth Galanter and Tom LaBonge, is attached. The middle resolved paragraph (regarding Homeland Security and HR 764) was voted on as a separate matter and passed unanimously by all 13 members present. The last resolved paragraph (regarding funding for services for the homeless) was introduced as an amendment by Councilmember Jan Perry.
For further information, contact Josh Kamensky at 213/473-7013.