Feb. 7, 2012
Strength in Support

Outpacing the Competition
In Contribution Numbers

I’m pleased and excited to report that we’re strongly outpacing the competition, and we have you to thank for it.

The latest campaign finance reports are out. Thanks to our campaign’s many supporters, we reported more than $180,000 in total contributions in only the first seven weeks of our campaign in November and December. Our campaign’s total contributions were well more than 40% higher than reported by the only other two declared candidates for L.A. Controller during the same time. Our brisk fundraising pace is a great start to 2012!

We managed to achieve our fundraising success with fewer expenses per dollar raised than the others. My mother taught me long ago that it’s not just about what you bring in, it’s about spending it wisely and effectively. This is the approach I will bring to the job of L.A. Controller. And, unlike L.A. bureaucrats, who spend billions annually for goods and services seemingly everywhere but in L.A., I am committed to supporting our local businesses and economy as much as possible as our campaign grows.

There’s much work to be done to reform local government, to reach voters and to win. Our campaign will likely need to raise many times this early amount – and we’re just getting started.

My thanks to all of you who have contributed to the very successful launch of our campaign. Together we can – and will – return dollars and sense to L.A. and put our City to work!

Every dollar helps. To learn more about the campaign, and to contribute, visit RonforLA.com.

Strength of Purpose

This month, the Business Leaders Task Force on Homelessness, on which I’m proud to serve, will hold a summit for our “Home For Good” action plan to end chronic and veteran homelessness by 2016. Our Task Force is a joint initiative of the United Way and the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce. We have worked to create a comprehensive plan that details the problems and solutions – including the better use of existing resources, creating 12,000 new units of perhome for good logomanent supportive housing and getting local service agencies to work together.

Similar strategies in Denver and New York are a proven success at saving money and saving lives. Currently, our public systems in the L.A. area spend close to a billion dollars each year on shelters, jails and emergency rooms to “manage” homelessness rather than to end it. We’re aiming to fix it. To learn more about the Task Force and to download and read the plan, click here.

Strength of a Plan

It would be easy to get disheartened by recent audits of the City of L.A.’s finances. A few highlights (or, rather, lows):

Federal grant and stimulus money numbering in the hundreds of millions that L.A. has lost out on because of poor follow up by City officials.
Tens of millions in advertising revenue the City simply hasn’t followed up on.
A million-dollar-plus slush fund at the L.A. Coliseum.

The bad news is that there’s plenty more bad news. The good news, however, is that these problems are fixable — with a plan.

At a recent Budget Town Hall I attended in the Valley, the frustration of everyday Angelenos was palpable. But at City Hall, officials are content to say “there’s no money in L.A.” as a convenient excuse for failure to keep up with fixing our streets and sidewalks, for cutting vital City services and for nickel-and-diming Angelenos with an ever-increasing number of fees and fines. The truth is, however, that money isn’t the problem — it’s the ways in which we collect it and how we spend it that need to be reformed. Check out my 10-point Dollars & Sense Plan for L.A. to learn how.

“Waste, fraud and abuse” has almost become a cliché in Los Angeles as our elected officials talk about it all the time — while doing very little to root it out. But, it’s very real. Here are just a few of the many examples of how L.A.’s current officials are squandering our money and our future:

• Missed opportunities – City Hall spends nearly 90% of its billions of dollars in annual purchases on businesses out of L.A. It’s a foolish waste of tax dollars that could be bolstering local jobs, businesses and revenues. L.A.’s Commission on Revenue Efficiency, which I’ve chaired, discovered $60 million in City cars purchased over just six-months – and not one car was bought in L.A.

• Misplaced priorities — While L.A. officials cut police and fire services — and gut arts programs for kids — the City will spend more than $1 million in Public Safety Bond and Cultural Affairs Dept. funds for art curators at L.A.P.D. stations. Or, how about the City spending $350,000 in scarce emergency preparedness funds on a few stick-figure tsunami warning signs? Instead, we should be supporting the work of our public safety officers, arts programs for at-risk youth, and meaningful emergency preparedness. In brief, we need better priorities.

• Misappropriations – With a lack of oversight by L.A.’s leaders, we’ve seen a wave of reports of misappropriation at the City’s Dept. of Transportation, bribery uncovered by the FBI at the Dept. of Building & Safety, theft at our animal shelters, and a litany of abuses by officials at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. Lost are tens of millions of dollars – along with the public trust.

• Misspending — L.A.’s Harbor Dept. went nearly $100 million over budget on six recent construction projects. Buried on page 81 of an obscure July 2011 Report are the ugly facts about wild cost overruns of 986% for a parking and landscaping project, 793% for a new police station and 571% for a cruise ship baggage handling facility. For now, it’s business as usual.

It doesn’t have to be this way. As your next Controller, I’ll fight and succeed to stop the out of control spending – and to be the tough and effective watchdog this City needs. It can and must be done – and I have a plan to make it happen.

Read my 10-Point Dollars & Sense Plan for L.A.  And for more information about L.A.’s spending, visit L.A. MoneyWatch on my website

      In these times, it is vital that that government on every level ‘tighten its belt’ and learn to creatively do more with less. I strongly believe we have to hold those in government accountable for what goes wrong. That also means recognizing and saying thank you to front-line folks in government who are doing some exceptional work.

      As President of the City of L.A.’s Quality & Productivity Commission (QPC), an as a member of the County’s QPC as well, it was a breath of fresh air to be a part of both commissions’ respective awards for projects that reflect forward-thinking, cost-savings, quality local services and teamwork.

      The CITY of L.A. Q.P.C. presented our 2011 Quality & Productivity Awards at a recent City Hall ceremony. We recognized 11 money-making and money-saving projects involving multiple City departments, bureaus and teams. Awardees this year include utility and maintenance saving initiatives, consolidation, administrative cost cutting measures, waste to energy pilots and creative use of interns. The awards were a real shot in the arm for the winning teams, and I was honored to present them with their awards in the City Council’s chambers

      THE COUNTY OF L.A. Q.P.C. recognized dozens of projects from 25 departments at our annual luncheon at the Music Center. The top ten projects included an electronic pay stub system that will cut nearly half a million dollars in payroll expenses annually. The District Attorney’s Office was also honored for their implementation of the Victim Impact Program. Another project recognized the Department of Coroner’s improved system of inventory that has allowed 140 different law enforcement agencies to process approximately 40,000 cases in the past 24 months.

      It’s a privilege to be able to call out local projects that are worthy of recognition – and to be able to work with a great group of fellow commissioners in the City and the County. To see all the QPC awardees visit L.A. City QPC and L.A. County QPC.

 Shop L.A. started as an idea of several Los Angeles Neighborhood Council board members and budget representatives a little less than 18 months ago. I, along with two of my colleagues, began by looking at various parts of the L.A. budget, and we wanted to find the sweet spots: Opportunities to save the city money and to bring in some new revenues – but without more taxes and fees. Looking at the numbers, we realized one of the best ways to help local businesses, create more jobs – and help boost the city’s revenues – is to get more people to do the shopping they already do in L.A. So we created ShopLA – to educate Angelenos that where we buy makes a big difference.

      We all know how much banks make off credit cards – and debit cards. Wouldn’t it be great, we thought, if we could get people to shop in LA – and save on their purchases, save on so many of the typical card charges, and get some real incentives to buy here – instead of somewhere else. I proposed that L.A. offer its own credit card to Angelenos. We’ve created the ShopLA Visa card with the L.A. Federal Credit Union – which is our City employee’s non-profit credit union – and now it’s going to be opened up to everyone in L.A. – with no fee and triple rewards for every dollar spent in L.A. For more info go to: ShopLAcity.com

Approximately 51,000 people face homelessness in L.A. County, according to the new 2011 Homeless Count released by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. 18% of the homeless are veterans; people who gave their all for our country and who now need our help.

As a member of Home For Good — the joint Business Leaders’ Homelessness Task Force of United Way and the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce – I’m pleased to report that we’re starting to make some headway on our Action Plan to focus private and public resources on ending the shameful scourge of chronic and veteran homelessness.

Home for Good’s cost-effective approach — a shift from merely managing homelessness to instead building housing stability — has won the support of more than 70 regional leaders, elected officials and housing experts who have signed on. Our task force’s efforts were also honored with an award last month by the National Alliance to End Homelessness at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Click here to read Home for Good’s July 2011 Progress Report. Now’s also the time to get in shape and sign up for United Way’s Nov. 19 5K HomeWalk

We hear so much about what’s wrong with government – but it’s vital we recognize and encourage what’s right.

Visiting solar project at Port of L.A.

This summer, the City of Los Angeles Quality & Productivity Commission invited City departments and offices to show us their best in competition for our forthcoming 2011 Quality & Productivity Awards. As the recently elected President of the Commission, I’m pleased to say that we received dozens of applications highlighting energy-saving, money-making, community-building and problem-fixing projects.

Our 15-member Commission just wrapped up three weeks of visits to 15 finalists from departments and locations all over L.A. – including the Port of L.A., Convention Center, Bureau of Sanitation, Emergency Management Dept. and others. It felt great to experience some of the best of L.A. – and the Commission looks forward to thanking and honoring the most innovative of City initiatives at the annual QPC awards on October 14.

Starting later this month, I’ll also be joining my fellow members of the L.A. County Quality & Productivity Commission as we visit the top contenders and finalists for the County’s own QPC luncheon and awards on October 19.

Local jobs, businesses and revenues are being lost as the City of L.A. spends billions of our tax dollars everywhere but in L.A.

Clip: Presentation to Council about jobs, businesses and dollars lost because L.A. City Departments are spending billions of our tax dollars for goods and services out of L.A.

As Chair of L.A.’s  Commission on Revenue Efficiency, I joined my fellow Commissioners last week to present L.A.’s City Council with a preview of C.O.R.E.’s forthcoming report about the billions of dollars spent each year by the City of L.A. on goods and services – purchased out of the city, out of the state and out of the country. Just one example of many discovered by my fellow Commissioner, Michael Gagan: L.A. spent $60 million buying city vehicles in recent months – not a single one of those vehicles was purchased in L.A.!

While City Hall spends our money elsewhere, L.A. loses jobs, businesses and significant sales and business tax revenues. Adding insult to injury, the City paid millions in sales tax to other cities and counties in California. They get to repave their streets, maintain their police and fire services, and keep up their parks with that money – while L.A. doesn’t.

Clip: How rogue parking lots are stealing millions of our dollars

C.O.R.E. also reported last week on how Los Angeles is being cheated out of millions of dollars by rogue parking lot operators who collect L.A.’s 10% parking tax from parkers, but fail to turn it over to the city. C.O.R.E. offered proposals for how to fix it – along with a host of money-making and money-saving ideas for L.A.

Forward Thinker [Fawr-werd Thing-ker] – noun: A member of your community who saw a need and is working to fill it.

California Forward, the premier think tank and advocacy organization working to reform and re-imagine state and local government in the Golden State, recognizes the people it calls

“Forward Thinkers”. This month, I’m honored and humbled to have been named to that group of innovative leaders — and to be recognized with some of California’s most inspiring agents of change.

Established in 2009, CA Forward has been making its mark with fiscal, structural and democracy reform efforts – along with Speak Up CA, where Californians can learn about, and help reshape, CA government. This coming together of diverse business, labor, faith and community organizations was created with the assistance of five major California foundations, including The California Endowment.

It’s humbling and exciting to be recognized with some of California’s most inspiring and innovative agents of change. Reading the profiles of the other Forward Thinkers gives us all something to live up to.

This 4th of July, I’m celebrating American Independence – in Israel. Here on a weeklong trip, today was the perfect day to visit a duplicate of Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell installed at Jerusalem’s Liberty Bell Park in honor of America’s Bicentennial in 1976. From this oasis in the bustling city, you can see the walls of the City of David, the Dome of the Rock, numerous churches and the ancient and holy city’s newest addition – a shopping mall with stores like The Gap, Tommy Hilfiger and foods from around the world.

At Liberty Bell Park today, Muslim women are picnicking alongside orthodox Jewish children on the swings. A group of secular Russian immigrants are playing chess a few feet away from a group of Christian pilgrims who are gathered in a circle for Bible study. And, visitors from everywhere are taking photos and, of course, texting. It makes me hopeful about the future.

In the middle of it all is our very own symbol of independence and democracy — a Liberty Bell. Originally cast in 1752, The Liberty Bell has been repeatedly broken and fixed; hidden and paraded; and a basis for at various times for both discord and unity. It’s also lost a few bits and metal shavings to selfish souvenir seekers. And at Liberty Bell Park in Jerusalem, the bell itself has attracted some unwelcome graffiti.

We now know that the story of the Liberty Bell being rung on July 4, 1776 is but a myth. And, with a checkered past and an irreparable crack, it’s a most imperfect symbol of freedom. Perhaps, however, that is part of its mystical appeal – in the USA, in Israel and all over the world where people yearn to be free. The Liberty Bell is fragile and imperfect – like our own democracy, but it endures as our calling to proclaim liberty throughout the land – in all the lands.