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Notes from the Editor:

Trust Me, I'm The Mayor
George Cole, Break-Away Plans & Mayor Villaraigosa.
Watch How I Smile Not What I Hide........and.........
Deal Cut In Sacramento for LAUSD Superintendent?
Also,
How to Build a Charter School In HP with Help From Mayor Noguez

Posted August 2, 2006, 7:00 am
The Editor,
WatchOurCity.com

Huntington Park, CA - Southeast L.A. County mayors have already hired on retainer Huntington Park's
city attorney Francisco Leal as legal counsel for a proposed southeast break-away school district.
WatchOurCity.com connected the dots back in December. Francisco Leal has a public track record of
alleged corrupt business practices in the backwaters of Southeast L.A. County Cities. Leal was
appointed city attorney in 2004 by Huntington Park's ex-Mayor, now convicted felon, Edward Escareno
(see side bar "CROOK") and his council cronies.

City of L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: A political thug in populist democratic clothing? Be wary of smiley
faced politician with dark intentions:
The Mayor's school take-over plan is moving forward with shocking speed and no brakes. Other than
Sen. Jack Scott, there is little opposition to Villaraigosa. Parents and students not invited. It's not that
everyone likes the Mayor. It's only that most fear him and the Latino leadership in Sacramento now in
power that can make or break political careers. Leadership by fear is not leadership at all, but veiled
thuggery. It's like the PRI party from Mexico has taken over Sacramento. Assembly Speaker Nunez can
relate to that political experience: he grew up in Tijuana, Mexico.

Assembly Bill 1381: The State's Assembly Education Committee Chairwoman Jackie Goldberg was at
first cautious about the new bill. Then on the same week that Assembly Speaker Nunez called
Villaraigosa to Sacramento to save his takeover plan, Goldberg sides with Villaraigosa, despite serious
and grave concerns she voiced just 48 hours before. It smells of heavy arm twisting and back room
dealing. Assembly woman Jackie Goldberg is an ex-school board member. Did Mayor Villaraigosa cut a
deal with her? She may just step into Gov. Romer's' shoes before we know it. Not that Jackie's not
qualified, it's just that she will be under the Mayor's ambitious and power-hungry little thumb (click to
see AB 1381).

State Senator Martha Escutia is on the School District's committee to find a replacement for current
LAUSD Superintendent Gov. Roy Romer. Senator Escutia sponsored legislation in 2002 that paid for the
study exploring the feasibility of a break-up plan from LAUSD for the cities of Huntington Park, Bell,
Maywood, Cudahy, South Gate, Vernon and adjacent unincorporated area schools.

Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez are co-sponsors of
Assembly Bill 1381. Dario Frommer is an ex-employee of attorney Francisco Leal's law practice.
Assembly Speaker Nunez is a good friend of Leal. Speaker Nunez's Assembly district includes
Huntington Park. Francisco Leal is being sued by City of Commerce for alleged bad lawyering, unjust
enrichment and for violating conflict of interest state law. In 1999 the L.A. Times published an expose
on attorney Leal's reportedly corrupt practices and heavy dependence on Sacramento Latino caucus
fire-power to bully his way in lucrative city attorney contracts in southeast L.A. County cities only,
coincidentally the same cities his friends in Sacramento represent. These are cities with the highest
concentration of immigrants and with the least municipal oversight. Nothing has changed since The
Times report was published.

George Cole, Bell Council member and Executive Director of the Oldtimers Foundation spearheads the
southeast Mayors' efforts for a school break-away plan. George Cole and current Huntington Park
Mayor John Noguez share a political fundraising consultant, Conrado Terrazas, who was a staffer to
Jackie Goldberg. George Cole received a multi-million dollar transportation contract in Huntington Park,
courtesy of current and ex mayors Noguez and Escareno. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez called
Noguez and Escareno "friends and men of honor". City of Bell has not held open elections for city
council for the past two straight election cycles. Vernon is the only other southeast city that has not
held municipal elections for a longer period than George Cole's city of Bell.

George Cole is a member of L.A. City's President's Joint Commission on LAUSD Governance. The
commission's final report was released on June 30, 2006. Cole just received a $600,000 contract from
Huntington Park for Housing development, thanks to Huntington Park's Mayor John Noguez.

Council of Mayors and Huntington Park's Mayor John Noguez: City council majority voted in early May
2006 in favor of a new charter school being developed by Pacific Charter Schools. Pacific is building the
school for Aspire and Alliance charter school operators. In January 2006 WatchOurCity.com received an
email from someone connected with the charter school soliciting this editor's opinion as to why the city
was putting so many roadblocks and hurdles before the developer. Then, after the project was
approved in May, according to a report, city attorney Francisco Leal stated that he was "shocked" that
the project had been approved since it was dead in the water before city council voted to approve the
project. In fact, the project was opposed by planning staff, by the planning commission and by city
council. According to Leal, it was nothing short of a "miracle" that the project was approved. Despite
even a very negative Environmental Impact Report citing concerns with the school's immediate
adjacency to the Alameda Corridor's submerged train corridor and a high statistical probability of
causing related health problems, and citing lack of green space, the school is scheduled to open in
September 2006 on time for the Fall semester. The city's charter school approval is even more puzzling
since Mayor Noguez himself publicly expressed concern for lack of green space and even offered Pacific
Charter to swap the land for another property with more compatible use, even throwing in the city's
power of Eminent Domain. Mayor Noguez has sated that he will run for House Speaker Fabian Nunez's
seat when he's termed out in 2009 (has Fabian already chosen his successor?). John Noguez has not
yet opened any campaign account with the California Secretary of State, as required by law should he
solicit campaign donations for a State elected office. A meeting was allegedly held at the California Club
in Downtown Los Angeles, called by Mayor Noguez, inviting a couple of folks from Pacific Charter
Schools. The timing was such that the project was approved by city council, with rubber stamp approval
from the planning commission and quite curiously, planning staff's concerns seemed to have vanished a
few days after this meeting took place. Did Mayor Noguez ask Pacific Charter for something in return for
approving the project? Mayor Noguez controls 3 of 5 votes in Huntington Park City council. If John
Noguez asked for something in exchange for guaranteeing project approval, then the State's Attorney
General may want to investigate since the L.A County D.A.'s office may have an apparent conflict of
interest: D.A. Steve Cooley is good friends with Rosario Marin, Gov. Schwarzenegger's Consumer Affairs
Dept head and mentor to John Noguez (it's even published in a book by Wiley Press: "Power
Mentoring" by Ensher and Murphy; Marin and Noguez are one of 50 Mentor-Protege power couples
described in the book). If John Noguez asked for money in the form of campaign contribution in
exchange, then a few state and federal laws were slightly overlooked. Fact is, the charter school was
approved under highly questionable circumstances and despite overwhelming odds against the project.
If Mayor Noguez did ask for a shakedown campaign contribution, Pacific was probably under duress to
respond in kind, after all, Pacific was heavily invested in the school project perhaps by several hundred
thousand dollars, not to mention the hundreds of parents and students who were sold on a new
school opening by September, and as a result felt they were up against a wall and had to give up their
wallet in a mugging. Mayor Noguez has a public record trail suggesting he has favored campaign
donors for multi-million dollar city contracts: Several city contracts have favored his friend George Cole
and let's not forget his friend City Attorney Francisco Leal.

The L.A. Times reported last week that high maintenance Mayor Villaraigosa has instructed his slavish
aides to stock breath strips. Reportedly, the Mayor runs through several packs a day.

No amount of breath mints can cleanse the Mayor's foul plans.

The three Amigos:
Mayor Villaraigosa, Dario
Frommer and Fabian Nunez at
Sacramento press conference
announcing Assembly Bill 1381.

Photo Credit: State of California Website

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