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The LA Times has definitely had its fair share of scandals in the near past with firings and hirings. Yet recently, content wise, the watchdog coverage of scandalicious politicians has been riveting. There is Mayor V and then there was the daily pounding of Rocky Delgadillo. The newest politician in the ring is 74-year-old 2nd district county supervisor Yvonne Burke who represents Watts, Culver City, Compton, South LA, Hollywood, Marina Del Rey, Inglewood to name a few.
But where does the Times say she lives? Brentwood. In the Mandeville Canyon section. However they do find that she stops by her townhouse in Mar Vista on a daily basis:
In interviews with my colleagues Jack Leonard and Matt Lait, Burke initially said she stayed in Brentwood only on weekends and special occasions. But over a three-week period, my mates saw the supe make only brief stops in Mar Vista each day and retire each night to Brentwood. [Steve Lopez's Column]
Upon speaking to James Bolden, Burke spokesman, he "insisted The Times had botched the story about his boss and lost its credibility in the process." In which Steve Lopez responded in his column, "If anyone had a credibility issue, it seemed to me, it was Burke." Maybe those three weeks they followed her was a fluke, but we're going to err with The Times on this one until further notice.
Maybe Burke is confused about residency. You know how out-of-state students are not residents in the eyes of the finance mongers at UC schools until they live here for X amount of time until they get in-state tuition? At the same time, those students are residents within 10-20 days in the eyes of the California Highway Patrol who will pull your out-of-state license plate over and give you a fix-it ticket. Then you finally go over to the DMV to register your car and you get penalized for not registering your car within the time allotted for California residents.
So maybe that's Burke's problem. Residency rules seem to go in favor of the state at the state's whim. But luckily in this case, the residency rules that apply to Burke are more fitting for the public that she represents.
Previous coverage
- Burke has residence far removed from her constituency [LA Times]
- Supervisor Burke's residency WHAT DO YOU THINK? [LA Times]
- If L.A. County Supervisor Yvonne Burke would rather live in a tonier district, fine -- she's free to relinquish her seat [LA Times]
Photo by Mr. Littlehand via Flickr
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She should have responded, "Well, at least I still sleep with my spouse!"
If Burke was too confused by what "residency" means in her case, she could have easily gotten legal counsel on the matter. But she seemed to show she was in knowing non-compliance by all the sneaking around to and from her Mar Vista townhouse (earlier she'd rented other places she never lived in, either), to meet her driver, and pick up the mail she used to "prove" her residency. (Why does a woman who can clearly drive her own vehicle to her bogus residence, need a city-paid chauffeur, anyway? That and her comment that her townhouse had been uninhabitable until she brought it "up to my par," shows a haughtiness out of sync with "her" people.)
All that sneaking around shows she has a lot of energy for a 74-year-old -- unfortunately, ill-spent.
Although her district includes Watts, Mar Vista, Culver City and Hollywood have perfectly tony areas. But if she knew in advance that she and her also career-city official husband couldn't handle leaving and renting out their Brentwood home, she shouldn't have run for election. Maybe then the area would have had a rep who cared more about fixing King-Drew hospital, in the off-chance they might actually end up there, instead of just refusing to acknowledge its problems or necessary closure unless "over my dead body."
LOL Militant!
Good stuff Guest #2. You bring up a great point with King-Drew.
I was on my way home from the Central Avenue Jazz Festival today 7/29/07 having this very conversation with my good friend. We both live in Burke's district. I didn't vote for her (though she ran unopposed). And I am a Black female lifelong resident of Supervisorial District 2. Burke has been the most ineffective supervisor, especially as it relates to the King-Drew hospital.
Perhaps this is a lesson to us all: people who don't actually live in a district cannot be effective leaders because they will use resources and be most concerned about the district in which they SLEE -- every night.
Apparently, for Burke, that would be in Zev Yaroslavsky's district (District 3). God forbid if Burke ever needed emergency room care, the paramedics would take her either to St. Johns Hospital, or UCLA Medical Center, two of the best hospitals in the state.
I wish to holy hell that Burke is recalled. Her behavior is appalling, and we need to hold these people accountable.
So we caught ms burke in violation of a technicality. Bad supervisor, bad!
Given that she's an old woman and about to retire, this strikes me as a non story.
Even if she slept within the boundaries of the district, she still wouldn't be living in el barrio. She'd have a big house on the hill in Culver City, Ladera Heights, or Baldwin Hills w/ the other rich Negroes.
Now I dig that the Times doesn't much care for Negroes, especially rich, powerful Negroes, but the real issue is Burke's job performance, not whether she spends the night off of Pico in Mar Vista, or twenty minutes away in Brentwood.
(I suspect that if she and her rich hubby had stayed out of Brentwood no one would care where they lived. After all, we know what happened with the last shvartze living in Brentwood.)
I compare this story with the coverage the Times gave to the Burbank city council woman who was busted for cocaine possession and child endangerment. Turns out she and her boyfriend had been doing regular business with the local Latino gangsters, a group that included the perps in Burbank's only cop killing.
Burke doesn't sleep in the right house, front page news. Stacy Jo Murphy buys loads of coke and hangs w/ cop killers, a short item in the back pages.
Given that she's an old woman and about to retire, this strikes me as a non story
No one gets a pass. Whether it be a first term city council member or someone that has has one month left.
I compare this story with the coverage the Times gave to the Burbank city council woman who was busted for cocaine possession and child endangerment. Turns out she and her boyfriend had been doing regular business with the local Latino gangsters, a group that included the perps in Burbank's only cop killing.
Burke doesn't sleep in the right house, front page news. Stacy Jo Murphy buys loads of coke and hangs w/ cop killers, a short item in the back pages.
I do not recall the placement of that story, but good catch!