Bring on Kevin James.. Zev is OUT of LA Mayor gig; His campaign would have been a total train wreck

The rumor mill has been swirling for months that Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky was NOT going to be running for Mayor of Los Angeles due to several "personal issues."

Well, Zev made it official today. He is NOT in the running for Mayor next year.  Probably a good thing.  He is up to his eyeballs in WAY too much personal crap in order to run for Mayor.

Zev  took the easy way OUT of this campaign.
He didn't want to face REAL JOURNALISTS about his decision.  He posted a note on his blog. Give me a break.  Now that I think about it, Zev would have made an awful Mayor, and his campaign would have been a total train wreck before Thanksgiving.  Here is his "statement" on his taxpayer paid website.  BTW:  Why do LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERVISORS use their "official"  WEBSITE to talk about their POLITICAL plans?  Stick to potholes, and jobs, and cleaning up the massive political pay to play crimes that are going on inside the Los Angeles County Assessor's Office.

I do agree with is one statement:  It is time for a new generation of leadership.  First name that comes to mind is Kevin James for Mayor.  Yep. Got to give Zev credit for that one....

From ZEV:

For many months, I’ve been wrestling with one of the most difficult decisions of my political life—whether to run for the office of Mayor of Los Angeles. I’ve been urged to enter next year’s race by friends, supporters and residents throughout the city.

And I’ve been humbled and touched by the confidence they’ve placed in me. I’m a lifelong resident of Los Angeles, a city facing serious challenges and opportunities. I have no doubt that, with my expertise and experience, I could help transform L.A.’s fortunes. In the end, however, it is this very length of service that has tipped the scales for me. By the end of my current term on the Board of Supervisors in December, 2014, I will have served the people of the city and county of Los Angeles for nearly 40 eventful, productive and fulfilling years. Beginning as a 26 year-old councilman, I have quite literally come of age in public life at the forefront of Los Angeles’ most critical issues. While I have never been a supporter of term limits, I do believe that four decades is long enough for any citizen to hold elective office, especially in an executive capacity. So I’ve made the decision to complete my current term on the board and then move on to the other things I’ve longed to do outside the political arena while I have plenty of productive years ahead of me. Simply put, it’s time for a new generation of leaders to emerge and guide this region into the future. I want to thank the many people who have given me advice and encouragement during the period that I have weighed this decision. I deeply appreciate their patience and understanding. I also want to thank the voters who have elected me 11 times and given me the privilege of representing them. Above all, I’m eternally grateful to my family, which has encouraged me every step of the way while sacrificing so much. Now, with that said, let me be clear: I’m not finished yet. I have more work to do and very little time in which to complete it. My dedicated staff and I will give our all during the next 27 months to get the job done. I look forward to working with you toward that end.

Mayor candidate Kevin James uses "Rape Kits" ad as symbol of failures at LA City Hall

Great to see Los Angeles Mayor Candidate Kevin James talk about a huge underlying problem inside the halls of city government, and it squarely hits a hot button issue: Rape Kits. Kevin James for Mayor campaign unveiled a web ad featuring his involvement as a radio broadcaster in the elimination of the rape kit backlog in Los Angeles. Despite victims' pleas for assistance from LA City's elected officials, few would pay attention until Kevin James raised the issue nightly on his radio program. Eventually the rape kit backlog was completely eradicated. Kevin James also relaunched his campaign website with a new look and even more ideas, issues and solutions to make LA great again. Kevin James stated, "As Mayor I will put the people's priorities first. I have spent years listening to Angelenos' concerns over the airwaves and in neighborhoods throughout the city. Time and time again when LA's politicians have failed, the community has turned to me for help. The rape kit backlog was a tragedy that should never have occurred in the first place." This campaign for Mayor of Los Angeles is already starting to get "hot." We need a Mayor that is going to think differently and think about getting the job done, instead of just worrying about getting elected to another political office.

Paging Wendy Greuel: Next time, you might want to pay attention to requests from the media. Just ask Kevin James and Huffington Post

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Wendy Greuel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HEY WENDY, watcha hiding in your official meeting schedule that is suppose to be available to members of the media?  Interesting column on Monday in the Huffington Post from Los Angeles Mayor Candidate Kevin James....


What is the City of L.A.'s chief accountant hiding? 

By Kevin James
Candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles

Randy Economy, an investigative reporter at the Los Cerritos Community News ("LCCN"), is making quite a name for himself for exposing the mega multi-million-dollar County Tax Assessor scandal that has already landed one appraiser in jail facing 60 felony counts with numerous other officials likely to follow.

As a result of Economy's work, County Tax Assessor John Noguez was forced by public pressure to take a leave of absence while the criminal investigation of his office continues. L.A. County District Attorney Steve Cooley told Economy that the tax assessor scandal "is the biggest in his 40 years as a prosecutor." After breaking the story months ago, Economy has been hot on the trail of numerous emails linking public officials to the growing scandal that the L.A. Times says has increased to multiple targets and will result in grand jury indictments in the near future. Economy has become an expert at using the State's Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6250) to request and obtain the records that are at the center of this rapidly-expanding investigation.

The investigation has already revealed hundreds of millions of dollars in unlawfully lowered property values from potentially hundreds of properties located in and around the City of Los Angeles. In order to continue his probe, on June 11, 2012 (four weeks ago), Economy sent a Public Records Act request to Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel seeking the calendars and agendas of the Controller.

According to Economy, his records request has been completely ignored by the Controller -- even though state law requires the Controller to respond. Economy said, "Controller Greuel's office has ignored my records request and my attempts to follow up in search of a response." Economy added, "I am interested in seeing if the City Controller, who is the City's chief auditor and accountant, met with any of the key players in this investigation and I also want to know if Controller Greuel participated in any meetings relating to any of the key properties that are now at the center of this scandal." Economy reiterated that "County officials also ignored my requests at the beginning of my search, but good government requires a response by the Controller and production of the documents."

 The public is entitled to a timely response by Controller Greuel. The fact that a full month has passed and LCCN's records request has not even been acknowledged by the Controller is inexcusable. The Controller's website states that one of her missions is to be "the taxpayer's watchdog" and she regularly touts "transparency" and "accountability."

How can Controller Greuel claim to be the taxpayer's watchdog and carry on about transparency and accountability when she is unwilling to follow state law that requires her to respond to investigative reporter Economy's records request and to turn over the responsive documents? Economy has already proven that he will not back down. If Controller Greuel has any doubt about Economy's commitment to exposing this corruption by public officials she can ask her friend, former Tax Assessor John Noguez, to whom she provided a "key endorsement" in 2010 and from whom she has received campaign contributions dating back to 2007 and 2008.

Related articles

• LA Mayor candidate Kevin James blasts Greuel, Garcetti and Perry for LA's fiscal woes

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• LCCN publishes hundreds of new emails between Noguez, tax agents

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• California Assemblyman Gatto blasts Noguez, Salari relationship; Seeks restrictions between assessors and 'so-called tax agents'

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• LCCN featured, priased in Sunday LA Times Community Editions, Glendale News Press, Burbank Leader

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LA Mayor candidate Kevin James blasts hiring of additional parking enforcement officers

Kevin James.  Is this the next mayor of LA?  Stay tuned.

Hey, pay attention.  Kevin James, candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles is once again making way to much sense in his campaign in next years race. I like Kevin. I have gotten to know him over the past couple of months and trust me, this guy has all the "right stuff" be fix LA City Hall from top to bottom. Kevin is taking on the parking meter wars in LA today.  Nice, job, Kevin.  His campaign just sent me this statement about the "Parking Wars" and his plan on how to fix the mess.  Keep you posted.
RrE

KEVIN JAMES CALLS FOR REFORM OF PARKING FINE STRUCTURE IN LA
Los Angeles, May 21st – Today Mayoral candidate Kevin James announced his opposition to the current Mayor's proposed increase in parking fines, and his misguided budget "solution" of hiring more parking enforcement officers to increase revenues. James believes that parking fines in Los Angeles are already too high. 
James’ opponents in the Mayoral race have joined with Mayor Villaraigosa in approving parking ticket fine increases six of the last seven years. Kevin James declared, “Parking fine increases will end if I’m Mayor.” “Parking fines must be lowered. It’s bad for business, our City and its residents. Most of us do not have a Gold Card Desk,” continued James. James recognizes that residents, visitors and tourists are shocked at the price of parking in Los Angeles. When high parking fines are added many recipients choose not to pay the fines, stuff the tickets in a drawer hoping they will simply go away. This trend of ignoring the tickets results in less revenue for the City. “Businesses are suffering because customers are being soured by “rip-off” rates that people believe are being used to fund an inept, inefficient and corrupt City government. The higher the parking fines go, the higher the City’s uncollected revenues will go.” Kevin James believes the high rate of uncollected revenues in the City proves that parking fines should be lowered. A person receiving a $20 parking ticket is much more likely to pay $20 than a person who receives a $78 parking ticket. People that receive $78 parking tickets pay nothing and then stay away from the area that resulted in the issuance of the ticket. Many of the parking tickets issued in our neighborhoods are issued on street-sweeping day. However, residents argue that the street-sweepers are rarely seen, but parking enforcement officers are waiting to pounce. If the street is not being swept tickets should not be issued. This provides another opportunity for city departments to coordinate with one another in order to benefit city residents. For more information and to view his whole plan for Los Angeles, please visit Kevin James’ campaign website at  


www.kevinjamesformayor.com


Kevin James has been a radio broadcaster for over eight years where he has been an advocate for hard working residents, neighborhood councils, and common sense solutions to the challenges that face our city. Prior to being a broadcaster, James was an Assistant U.S. Attorney where he received the Director’s Award for his distinguished skills and dedication to cracking down on illegal conduct. James served on the Board of AIDS Project Los Angeles for six years. Currently, James is an entertainment attorney. He plans to continue his neighborhood council tour and focus on local issues throughout the campaign.