One month ago Candidate Janice Hahn was taking a beating in the Los Angeles media when her plans to serve as mediator over multimillion dollar contract dispute and it became known she had accepted large donations from one of the parties. The Daily Breeze reported…

Hahn recuses herself as mediator after shipbuilder’s contributions come to light

By Art Marroquin Staff Writer

Posted: 02/10/2010 08:38:37 PM PST

Janice Hahn

The president of a ship-building business donated at least $7,000 to Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who was expected this month to mediate a dispute between the company and the Port of Los Angeles.

Hahn was set to step in as an impartial arbitrator amid the ongoing debate between port officials and Long Beach-based Gambol Industries, which has tried since last spring to open a $50 million shipyard on Terminal Island.

Gambol’s president, Robert Stein, contributed $6,500 to Hahn’s lieutenant governor campaign account last October and another $500 to her City Council officeholder’s account last August, according to online state and city filing records.

Stein is listed in the state and city campaign filings as an “executive” with TST Inc. A public records search by the Daily Breeze found that Stein is the president of both TST Inc. and Gambol Industries, with interests in eight other local companies.

Additionally, the Los Angeles-based law firm of Jeffer, Mangels, Butler and Marmaro is representing Gambol Industries in the ongoing negotiations with the port and contributed $5,000 to Hahn’s campaign for lieutenant governor last September.

“I don’t think it’s a conflict,” Hahn said initially when reached by telephone Wednesday.

“I’ve been asked to not talk to the press about this,” she said. “The city attorney advised me to not discuss anything about this.”

Full story here: http://www.dailybreeze.com/new…

Now comes a brand new issue in which Hahn’s judgement may be questioned.  After voting for the layoff of 4000 workers, Hahn is attempting to have the layoff reversed for the first employee to receive a pink slip. The problem is the employee in question IS A RELATIVE OF HAHN’s.

More after the break.

From OURLA.ORG

The First City Pink Slip Goes to Kristen Heather – Museum Curator, Janice Hahn’s Cousin

Written by Chelsea Cody  

Friday, 12 March 2010

From Griffith Park Wayist: First pink slip gets Hahn’s goat

The first pink slip in the City’s layoff process was handed out earlier this week to one Kristen Heather, curator of the Point Fermin lighthouse museum.

Heather is an at-will employee and therefore has no union protection. Same as most non-Union folks.

It’s not exactly surprising, then, that she’s just the first of the 1,000 getting the chop if they can’t achieve a transfer to a position not paid for out of the City’s General Fund. It’s not rocket-science.

Nonetheless, Janice Hahn is furious over Heather’s pink slip and is sabre-rattling like all get-out. Hahn railed against the heinous act in City Council this past Wednesday, insisting she was shocked and stunned that Heather received her two-week notice.

We’re not really sure why Hahn should be surprised. After all, Hahn voted for the 1,000 layoffs. She voted for the 4,000 layoffs, too.

The real deal is that Hahn is likely embarrassed that she had sent letters to some employees in San Pedro slated for layoffs — including Heather, a cousin of Hahn’s — telling them their jobs were safe.

In retaliation for the embarrassment, and probably because it was her cousin who was laid off first, Hahn then fired off two new council motions designed to control the department who had the audacity to follow the City Council and Mayor’s directive: the Department of Recreation and Parks.  

Hahn’s Motions:

09-0600-SI86 Motion:

In anticipation of next year’s budget burden we need to take action now to identify any possible cost saving measures and other efficiencies while maintaining the optimum level of vital services to the public.

In the Recreation and Parks Department there have been certain policy decisions that may not coincide with the goals of the City Council. For example, eliminating day-care centers and critical services which are important to the public such as museum curators and program coordinators. There needs to be exploration of different proposals that may give us similar

savings and deter the number of lay-offs from those programs that maintain basic recreation and parks services for our children and our parks. Read the full motion here.

10-0413 Motion:

The City’s current financial situation requires the City and its departments to devise creative and innovative ways to generate revenue and close the City’s funding gap. City departments must work together to close the gap, while maintaining the level of service to all Angelenos.

City departments consistently foster partnerships among themselves and in some cases with outside entities to provide services, programming, and even maintenance of facilities throughout the City. The Department of Recreation and Parks (Department) is one of many City departments that actively engages in various partnerships. The Department currently has an agreement with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to maintain landscaping on property owned by DOT. The Department of Recreation and Parks also works with the Harbor Department in a similar capacity. It is important that City departments continue to work together in order to minimize the impact of any budget cuts to programming, services, and maintenance of facilities throughout the City. Read the full motion, here.

Full story with several links here: http://ourla.org/index.php?opt…

You draw your on conclusions. Poor Judgement, poor leadership, arrogance, or something else going on?

From the Los Angeles Daily News today comes one of the more sickening stories I have read about the LA City Council mishandling the operation of the City of Los Angeles. Unlike many cities in financial meltdowns, the LA Council is actually blamed by bond rating companies for the financial disaster–NOT JUST THE ECONOMY. Council Member and Lt. Governor Candidate Janice Hahn was singled out for her words and recommendations without knowing the impact of her recommendation. As the Daily News said:

Last week it stopped being funny.

L.A. council dithers as city nears fiscal cliff

Those were real tears in the City Council chamber as members of the various public employee unions made their case why 4,000 of them shouldn’t be fired due to the budget sinkhole that promises to swallow us all.

Moved by the tears, Councilwoman Janice Hahn proclaimed, “It’s time for us to lay off private contractors and keep our city workers!”

In Hahn’s world there’s a hierarchy of sorrow. A city worker losing his job is somehow worse than you losing your job. Unemployment is clearly more tragic if the laid off worker has a union card in his wallet. This must come as a great comfort to the thousands upon thousands of private sector taxpayers in L.A. who have been fired over the past 18 months. Sure you lost your job and your health insurance. OK, so you’re upside down on your home, your taxes have been hiked and your pension has plummeted, but at least you are not one of those poor city workers who might lose his job.

Janice “Evita” Hahn cavalierly suggests firing private contractors, as if their children’s stomachs fill themselves. Fired is fired, Ms. Hahn. Nonunion tears are just as salty.

All three credit agencies cited the same reason for their pessimistic view of Los Angeles: The mayor and City Council have been MIA during this financial crisis – a crisis largely of their own making.

The Daily News goes on to detail that the LA City Council REPEATED ignored the advice of the financial folks that work for the City to act or more folks would loose their city jobs. As the Daily News put it:

The Spring Street Ostriches continue to twist like Cirque du Soleil aerialists as they try to come up with any reason to avoid doing anything. Every day of delay layers an additional $380,000 in debt.

If someone ever writes a book about our current generation of L.A. politicians the title will be “Profiles in Cowardice.”

The highest paid City Council in America continues to dither while this great city crashes on the rocks of insolvency. To add insult to injury, Janice Hahn and Company are only interested in drying the tears of the public employee unions and the special favored few.

H/T To LA DAILY NEWS and Writer Doug McIntyre

Link to Full LA Daily News Story: http://www.dailynews.com/ci_14…

GOV LITE RACE: LA Daily News Editorial:

“Janice Hahn has been shamed into scuttling a deal in which she would have played arbitratore”

The Los Angeles Daily News published a critical editorial on February 19th with the title: INVITING TROUBLE concerning actions by California Lt. Governor Candidate Janice Hahn.

Quote

Janice Hahn: Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn has been shamed into scuttling a deal in which she would have played arbitrator between Gambol Industries and the city-owned Port of Los Angeles over a proposed, $50 million shipyard on Terminal Island.

The problem? Gambol has poured $12,000 into Hahn’s officeholder account and her campaign for lieutenant governor.

The full story, which can be found at the link below, makes clear the newspaper is not saying Candidate Hahn is corrupt, and addresses appearances vs. perception in Los Angeles politics.

LINK: http://www.dailynews.com/opini…

You can draw your own conclusions.

Would this issue prevent you from voting for Candidate Hahn?