| Posted 8-4-05 7:00 a.m. A note from the Editor: Dear readers, The editor is back from vacation! Lots has happened since. Thank you for your continued support and intriguing emails. Someone from the Los Angeles office of the ACLU faults the editor for not updating the website with current council members: mea culpa; in due time. On July 28, 2005 Albert Robles was convicted in Federal Court. He is the former council member from neighboring city of South Gate. "Prosecutors alleged Robles extracted $1.4 million from contractors, who were fraudulently awarded $76 million worth of contracts", reports the Los Angeles Business Journal. See also the U.S. Department of Justice press release on the federal conviction. See L.A. Times report from July 29, 2005. Poetic timing: Just 2 weeks earlier, on July 13, 2005, former South Gate councilman, now State Assemblyman Hector De La Torre, announced in a press release that AB 11, his "Ethics In Government" bill, has passed the State Senate (see De La Torre's press release). De La Torre was inspired to author AB 11 as a result of his dealings and run-ins with his former council colleague in South Gate: Albert Robles. “While serving as a council member in South Gate, I witnessed a corrupt majority of the city council give themselves a big pay raise for serving on city commissions and committees” AB 11 and Huntington Park as "extreme example": "One extreme example is the City of Huntington Park, which awards its city council members $1,950 per month for serving on their CDC", states Assemblyman De La Torre's press release. Upon becoming law, AB 11 would limit compensation to $150 per meeting, 2 meetings per month paid to elected officials sitting on Community Development Commission boards in the entire State of California. AB 11, as presented to the full California Legislature, cites Huntington Park's city council members as an "extreme" case of salary abuse: Page 3 of the bill states that "The author points to the City of Huntington Park, which awards its city council members $1,950 per month for serving on CDC, as a prime example of this abuse" (click here to see AB 11 in its entirety). Please note that the text of AB 11 does not once make mention of South Gate or Albert Robles, and instead prominently highlights Huntington Park's salary abuse by city council members. These are not the only abuses WatchOurCity.com has documented for all to see. WatchOurCity.com first reported on and has been tracking salaries of Huntington Park elected officials since March 2004. The August 21, 2004 L.A. Times report on WatchOurCity.com also makes mention of this website's efforts at highlighting questionable salaries and pay raises officials give themselves. Assemblyman De La Torre and The L.A. Times are doing their homework, some of it evidently researched on WatchOurcity.com. Some background: It is noteworthy that on November 30, 2004, WatchOurCity.com reported on the excessive Redevelopment Commission salaries paid to council members in Huntington Park. Six days later, on December 6, 2004, Assemblyman De La Torre announces his proposed Assembly Bill 11. Then on January 18, 2005, City Council publicly votes 4-1 to opposed De La Torre's bill (see report). Later, on June 29, 2005, an L.A. Times report on salaries of local elected officials mentions Huntington Park which merits special recognition and is listed as having the highest paid Community Development Commission (CDC) salaries of all local cities. Then, around the same time in late June 2005 at the conference of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) held in Puerto Rico, local elected officials attending reportedly bitterly complained about Assembly Bill 11. Huntington Park City Attorney Francisco Leal was present amongst the elected and appointed officials attending. De La Torre's close friend and ally, termed-out former State Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh, has been announcing his candidacy for the California State Senate seat of soon to-be termed out Senator Martha Escutia's 39th District. De La Torre, Escutia, and Firebaugh were instrumental in Albert Robles' demise in South Gate and his ultimate conviction last week. Will Marco Firebaugh carry his current employer in tow, Huntington Park city Attorney Francisco Leal? The dots will continue to be connected; the money will continue to be followed; elected officials and their use of public funds will be watched. Yours in service, The Editor, WatchOurCity.com |
WatchOurCity.com
In The Public Interest
In The Public Interest
Home * Ethics Principles * Travel & Cell Phone Expense Watch
Council Salary Watch * Contracts Watch * City Watch Archives
Campaign Promise Watch * Campaign Contribution Watch
Contact Us * Terms of Use
Council Salary Watch * Contracts Watch * City Watch Archives
Campaign Promise Watch * Campaign Contribution Watch
Contact Us * Terms of Use
| Home * Ethics Principles * Travel & Cell Phone Expense Watch * Council Salary Watch * Contracts Watch * City Watch Archives Campaign Promise Watch * Campaign Contribution Watch Contact Us * Terms of Use Copyright © 2005, WatchOurCity.com, All rights reserved |
Notes from the editor - Archive
