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June 11, 2008
Mayor's Transit Aide Still Drives Hummer
Photos via FUH2.com
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office has always said that transportation deputy Jaime De La Vega's choice of personal car, Hummer's H3, is a private matter. Steve Lopez, who put De La Vega in the limelight on this issue a year and a half ago says it's a public one. Lopez was in the right. And he still is. Yesterday, he "happened to be wandering around the City Hall basement and came upon De la Vega's copper-colored H3 in Space 26, under a sign that says 'Mayor/Council Staff.'"
De La Vega is not a cop, a clerk, a parks maintenance guy or a 311 operator. Rather, he's in a position of political leadership. And with that comes leading by example. No, that doesn't mean he should necessarily give up driving cars altogether, but when your boss' supposed ethos is to be the greenest city in the country, no, the world, being the guy hired for the job of Transportation Deputy, one of the most contentious issues in Los Angeles along with being "green," there is no bigger slap in the public's face than riding around in a Hummer -- personal car or not.
Leadership doesn't ride into city hall on 14 MPG modes of transportation. Lopez offered $100 to take the vehicle off De La Vega's hands. "But so far, De la Vega has not answered."
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I hope our tax dollars aren't buying the gas for that POS!
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amazing point jrb. his he getting mileage pay for using the car on city business?
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thank you for posting this
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I hate those retarded Hummers. People who drive them are clueless and immature. It's so transparent why these people drive them. They want to have some feeling of power and of indicating to others their status or wealth. They are just idiots.
This deputy for the mayor is the ultimate idiot. No matter that it is a personal vehicle, this moron is in a special public position and you have to be an idiot to not realize that.
However, the middle finger pictures are a little immature as well.
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"If you get into an accident, nothing will happen to you," he said. "You'll just kill the other person." - Adrian Morales
Nice...real frigging nice.
I actually was driving around in a Yamaha vino back in 2001 - an excellent scooter - the design that Honda seemed to have copied just 2 years later with their Metropolitan. It had amazing gas mileage of something 70 mpg - but it only held about 2 gallons. Back then i was "filling up" at about $2-3 and it took my a loooooooong time before I had to refill the tank.
So why am I not still riding it - because of asshats like De La Vega who would consistently try to run me off the road - and I'd been bumped twice by two cars in Pasadena - who then immediately took off. So yeah, after two hit and runs and the constant harassment of SUVs (scooters are looked down upon as much as bicycles in left hand lanes) I gave up and got myself a miata, which also has great mileage - but yet again still had the issue with huge SUVs not seeing me or just being plain dicks about trying to overtake me - which all failed as miatas are really quick - so once again I traded for a "bigger" car - a Mazda3 which has decent mileage and MOST people can "see" me.
Now if we can just convince everyone in LA to stop buying SUVs - scooters,bicycles, and two seaters (such as the miata) would be safe again.
I would love to be able to zip around town again in a scooter.
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talk about a conflict of interests. The mayor should force De La Vega to align himself personally with the goals of the city.
Hummers have no place in LA
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The Hummer is a painfully and laughably egregious abomination apparently with disdain shields as standard equipment because most who own them seem either clueless that they're driving around dumbotanks or they are obstinately defiant... as seems to be the case regarding De La Vega and the lack of any effect that Lopez' various attacks have had on him.
But I'm conflicted. On one side I totally see that he's in an appointed position of civic stewardship and should represent more conscientiously, but on the other side he's free to drive whatever the hell he wants. I choose a bike. He chooses a Hummer. I may not agree with that choice but I'm the last person to tell him he can't make it.
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The fact that this person's job is to work on transportation issues for Los Angeles, and his personal preference is the EXACT opposite of what will benefit the city pretty much renders him unfit for the position in my opinion.
What if the assistant to the head of PETA walked into a meeting in a mink stole holding a cheese burger?
Not to mention the fact that our tax dollars are sponsering this monstrosity...
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it is unconfirmed if De La Vega uses his personal car for city business or not. I'll see if I can find out.
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As long as we are not paying for his gas through tax dollars then he can drive an RV to work for all I care.
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What an asshole.
He must have an inferiority complex, most guys driving Hummers do.
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Although I am in complete agreement with the above comments and also share a disdain for the typical Hummer, the fact is that his Hummer is a H3. I believe the H3 is really no larger than a Toyota 4Runner.