Election 2007: The endorsements

Chief William Bratton of the Los Angeles Police Department has taken up to 60 of the officers involved in the May Day incident that took place at MacArthur Park off of the street, according to this article in the Houston Chronicle.


(excerpt)


Bratton said he spent the weekend viewing video of the MacArthur Park incident and he said LAPD failures were widespread with officers from the top on down culpable.

"I'm not going to defend the indefensible," Bratton told journalists groups during a meeting at a television studio in Hollywood. "Things were done that shouldn't have been done."



Members of the Metropolitan Division's B Platoon have been removed from that unit and some of them won't be coming back, Bratton said. The members of this squad moved into MacArthur Park, hitting people with batons and shooting less lethal munitions at them. At the time the police officers did this, several thousand people were congregated in the park at a peacefully and permitted rally.

Injured during the incident were demonstrators and media reporters, several of whom experienced broken bones and other injuries which required medical care. At least two reporters from KTTV, a local Fox News affiliate filed law suits in court last Friday.

Also, a decision was made in the department to reassign two top-level commanders in the Metro Division, according to the Los Angeles Times.


Deputy Chief Cayler "Lee" Carter of the Operations Central Bureau and Commander Louis Grey, also from that bureau also may face discipline in connection with their actions involving the incident. The two men were first and second in command at the scene.

Also, came an announcement that the city council will convene a special task force.


(excerpt)


The task force will hear reports on the investigations pursued concurrently by the Police Department and by the Office of the Investigator General. It will also provide a forum where members of the public can express their views and concerns on the confrontation and the investigations, and it will provide policy recommendations for the future encounters between the police, protesters and news media.

"The freedom of the people to assemble is a cornerstone of our democracy," Garcetti said. "The freedom of the press to operate without encumbrance is a cornerstone of our democracy. And the openness and the accountability of our institutions are cornerstones of our democracy. We have allowed those first two freedoms to come to harm. The health of our city depends even more now on our swift action, rigorous investigation, and on our conduct of the people's business in broad daylight.''

Councilmen Jack Weiss and Ed Reyes will chair the task force. It will include council members Wendy Greuel, Jan Perry and Jose Huizar.



Questions about the presence of the Metro officers were raised earlier by local activists.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa visited MacArthur Park, the epicenter of what happened on May Day with a "heavy heart", according to the Los Angeles Times.



(excerpt)


"I come here because Sunday is family day," he told adults along the sidelines who were surprised to find the photogenic politician standing in their midst.

"For most of you it's the only day you have to rest. You have every right to play here and the right to march peacefully," he continued.

Pointing to City Councilman Ed P. Reyes, who represents the district that includes MacArthur Park, and Police Chief William J. Bratton, the mayor promised a full investigation into Tuesday's altercation involving police, protesters and the news media.

"After the investigation there will be consequences for the abuse," he said.


The discussion also continues onward at the LAPD blog.


The Multi-Ethnic Immigrant Workers Organizing Network will be making demands on the Police Commission on Tuesday.



(excerpt)


* Full Comprehensive & Independent Investigation of LAPD with
a Community Report

* Public Apology & Assurances against a repeat of this kind of
violence by Chief William Bratton and Police Commission for the
excessive use of force at MIWON's May 1 Rally at Mac Arthur Park

* Internal & Structural Changes in protocol for first amendment
marches and rallies as well as addressing the issue of racism and
anti-immigrant sentiment within the LAPD

Tuesday, May 8
2:00pm
Parker Center Auditorium


And on Sunday, Bratton apologized on behalf of his department to a group of journalists from the Society of Professional Journalists for the injuries suffered by reporters during the May Day rally. He told them that the officers in riot gear who had fired less lethal munitions at them and other individuals and hit them with batons were not the same ones who had faced off against agitators at a nearby location.


(excerpt, Los Angeles Times)


"I feel comfortable apologizing…. Things were done that shouldn't have been done," Bratton told a group of journalists who gathered at the KTLA-TV Channel 5 studios in Hollywood. "I'm not seeking to excuse it…. As one human being to another, there were things that shouldn't have been done."

Bratton said the 60 or so members of the Metropolitan Division's Platoon B have been "stood down" and won't return to active street duties until they have undergone retraining that meets his level of comfort.

"Some of them in all likelihood won't be returning to the Metropolitan Division as a result of our findings," he said.

Any disciplinary action won't come until the LAPD issues a May 30 report to the City Council. "Some of this will be career-impacting," Bratton added.

The chief made it clear that incident commanders would be just as accountable.

He said the officers in the Metro unit, an elite corps of men and women trained in various crises including crowd disturbances, had 15 to 25 years on the force and are among the most highly trained of the LAPD's 9,500 officers.

"This was my best, and that was what was extraordinarily disturbing about this," Bratton said.



The Police Protective League bristled at his comments, and responded with some of its own.


(excerpt)


"We should be waiting until all the facts are in before anyone judges this issue. As a detective, I can't decide something based on one piece of evidence," said Bob Baker, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League.

"This is having a profound impact not only on Metro, but every police officer in this city. We are being damned before a trial or investigation."





According to an editorial published in the Press Enterprise, the following candidates are its selection to serve as representatives of the voters of Riverside in their respective wards.



Ward One: Dom Betro

Ward Three: William "Rusty" Bailey

Ward Five: Donna Doty Machalka

Ward Seven: Art Garcia





(some excerpts in bold italics)


The endorsement of Betro is the newspaper's least surprising choice. Everyone saw this one coming when the newspaper leaped to his defense with the editorial about the comments made at the League of Women's Forum for Ward One candidates held several weeks ago. Hopefully, if he does get reelected, his temper will improve. He definitely needs to work on it, if he's planning to run for mayor in five years.



He's also willing to listen when the city pushes ahead of the public, as when he recognized the widespread opposition to the city's plan to sell Tequesquite Park for development. Betro is respected by his council colleagues and has demonstrated he can work cooperatively with the council and staff on city business.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to recognize that it's important not to upset most of your voters during an election year and Betro took note with the uproar over the proposed sale of Tequesquite Park to private developers. He also recognized that one of his political rivals, Michael Gardner, was spearheading that effort to a possible candidacy against him this year. It's too bad that he couldn't exercise the same judgment with the majority of the downtown's small business owners and stop forcing Smart Park down their throats along with the rest of the city council.

But Betro realizes that most of those business owners who are complaining about the new parking system that is costing them customers probably aren't Ward One residents. These business owners fear that the city is using the Smart Park program not just to bring in revenue but to run them out of their rental spaces downtown particularly in the pedestrian mall so that they can replace them with national chain outlets.

Actually, he's willing to listen when he's there to impress whether it's an editorial board or development firms. His motto appears to be disagree with me in private, but agree with me or congratulate me in public, which I guess is good if you're an actor or a politician but not an elected representative. And if you challenge any of his facts in public, he'll vent at you in public loudly, with his supporters looking the other way. That's when he's not venting from the dais, using parliamentarian procedure to deter any criticism of how he does his job or showing his impatience with business owners trying to preserve their futures and keep the city from using or threatening eminent domain against them. Asian-American and Latino business owners in the downtown and also now, the Wood Street areas have been impacted the most.

Onward to Bailey, who is also not a surprising choice, especially after the article that was run recently on Councilman Art Gage, who was dissed by his GASS quartet members on their way to becoming BASS. Not that he doesn't have his serious issues, but on a dais crowded with elected officials who also have them, it's hard to single any one of them out for exclusion. However, it's interesting that one of the few city councilmen with thick skin who won't respond to a criticism by ordering the police officers to remove you from the chambers, is off of the endorsement list.

Bailey is a smart man, with a lot of good ideas, but he's not bereft of development ties as well, having been employed by Riverside County's Economic Development Agency about five or so years ago where he worked until he entered teaching at a local high school. Which means he probably worked for City Manager Brad Hudson, a fact that has been either downplayed by his supporters or omitted entirely from discussion.

Bailey, a teacher, will have to do some homework of his own, because he lacks experience and familiarity with city government. And with endorsements from four councilmen and the mayor, Bailey will also need to show he is an independent voice not beholden to the rest of the council. But a candidate who describes himself as a better listener than speaker would be a welcome presence on a council frequently criticized for being distant from the public.

Gage, the incumbent, has experience, but also a record that raises questions about his conduct and ethics. The fact that a majority of Gage's colleagues endorsed his challenger says much about the one-term councilman's dealings at City Hall. Clearly, Gage's fellow council members don't trust him.

Quite a few people in Riverside don't exactly trust those behind the dais including those who don't trust Gage.

What the editorial board also neglects to mention is that the council that is being criticized from being "distant" from the public is largely those members who are endorsing Bailey. Gage, on the other hand despite what the newspaper calls his ethical shortcomings(and it's not like he's the only one in the dais who has shown questionable ethics), is approachable and always willing to talk to this constituents and even people who don't live in his ward. Compare that with council members who claim to listen to people but at the same time, "complain" about how developers are breaking down their office doors.

Bailey, the neophyte who boasts four city council endorsements and one mayoral one caught the eye of the editorial board who said that he'll be playing catch up but will sit at the dais well.



Michalka has a long familiarity with Ward 5 and understands the district's needs. She brings a commendable focus on ensuring that the area receives the attention it deserves from city government.

Community involvement is not the same as government expertise, of course. Michalka will need to be more than a civic cheerleader and concentrate on the nuts and bolts of council representation. And her political ties to Art Gage mean she will have to show voters she can be an independent voice, free of Gage's influence.



Doty Michalka was also not a surprising pick by the editorial board since she somewhat favors development interests as well, but her philosophy is tempered somewhat by concern about the city's infrastructure. She's been subjected to some rather questionable tactics by people interested in dredging up the circumstances of her divorce from her husband, the late Riverside Police Department officer, Dennis Doty that took place years ago. That's her and her late husband's business if it's anyone's business and it's telling that it's the two female candidates in this year's election who have been subjected to the most scrutiny into the personal areas of their lives. The concern should be what does she bring to the city council if Doty Michalka were to be elected. What is her platform? What will she contribute to the dais?

You know, like it is for the male candidates?

Alas, Councilman Steve Adams lost out on an endorsement by the newspaper that did say, he was "effective" except when he tossed his hat in the ring for state assembly in the middle of his council term. Garcia is the most surprising choice especially over the current favorite in the ward race, Roy Saldanha. Garcia's a good community activist, played a huge role in putting the beleaguered Community Police Review Commission in the city's charter but like the editorial board said, can he carry that with him to the dais?



City governance is a large step up from community activism, and Garcia will need to show voters he can make that transition. He will have to demonstrate initiative and independence, and be more than a rubber-stamp vote for others' ideas. But his long familiarity with the city should give him a good start on that process.

Ward 7 incumbent Steve Adams has been effective, but his decision to run for the Assembly before finishing his first council term suggested his priorities were aimed at higher office more than local service. And Adams' demeanor contributes to the perception of a city council too distant from voters' interests and dismissive of public input. Garcia, along with Betro, Bailey and Michalka, would bring a completely different temperament to the council, and would add a sense of openness and communication that many voters now find lacking.


Once again, the editorial board is forgetting that Betro was at the forefront of the movement to restrict public comment beginning with his decision to propose a motion on July 11, 2005 that introduced further restrictions to public comment including the ability of the city's residents to pull items from the consent calendar. It was also Betro who has been among the most vocal to restrict public comment at city council meetings and along with the other BASS quartet members, he has pushed for the city's police officers to eject city residents from the council chambers.

Gage for all his problems cast the sole vote against Betro's motion and has been one of two council members, with Andrew Melendrez as the other, who has not spoken in favor of further restrictions of public comment at city council meetings. If this bunch gets in, expect BASS to gain a stronger foothold, more public participation restrictions and the neophytes struggling for a while to gain the experience, let alone doing anything to deter the ruling quartet.


If you've read the news coverage by this publication involving the incumbent council members later, then the list of endorsements should come as little surprise given the Belo Enterprise Inc. enthusiastic support for a city council beholden to development interests.


The Press Enterprise is also running a survey on the elections that are taking place in the odd-numbered wards in Riverside. Lots of comments about different candidates in each ward. Looks like it's a wide open election there.