Results tagged “bobhertzberg”

Bob Hertzberg ran for Mayor of Los Angeles in 2005. The former California Assembly Speaker and adviser to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger lost and moved on away from politics to working on solar power in Wales where the Guardian newspaper named him one of the "50 people who could save the planet."

Beyond Obama in '08, local politicos are already talking about 2009 elections here in LA. From Controller to Council, here comes Chick. Who the hell is going to oppose the powerhouse of Mayor V? Wendy and Weiss will leave council and try their hands at Controller and City Attorney.

We’re not really sure when we stopped paying attention to the inconsistencies and broken promises spouted by the political leadership of Los Angeles. “We” not only being the writers of LAist, but also the editors of the Times and the City’s citizens. The instant broken promise we are referring to “Stem Cellgate” as Bob Hertzberg’s former verbal hatchet man, Matt Szabo, called it. (Check his blog out; it’s quite good.) Over and over again mayoral candidates have talked about bringing jobs to the City, especially encouraging biomedical industries. So, why exactly did we concede this major coup to Emeryville, among others?

Bob Hertzberg might be gone from the Mayor's race, but he's launched a new website this week to make sure he's not forgotten. Called Big Ideas 4 LA, the site so far has a lively blog that culls stories from the day's news into a snappy, still-evolving digest format. Former Hertzberg campaigner Brian Hay is behind most of the work, and the digests are sure helpful to those who like getting a snapshot of what's happening around the city. But like LA Voice, we're not exactly sure what the point is. Maybe it's the first step toward something big.

With Bob Hertzberg conceding the race this morning, the May 17th election will now be between Antonio Villaraigosa and Mayor Hahn a rematch of the 2001 runoff.

Richard Alarcon: Cha Cha Cha in Encino

The big day is here--municipal election day. Hertzberg, Villaraigosa, and Hahn are the front-runners, as we said a few moons ago. Whether you pick one of those three or the two longshots (Parks and Alarcon) the important thing is to get out and vote. The level of civic engagement in this city is pathetic, and don't let yourself be a part of that disgrace to democracy.

As predicted in earlier columns, Mayor Jim Hahn and former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg are in a struggle to the death for 2nd place in the runoff, as the new Times Poll shows. Hertzberg has surged into a virtual tie with Hahn around 20%, and Villaraigosa holds a slim lead at 24%. Huggy Hertzberg has taken the first shot of the final week, calling for the resignation of several commissioners who also happen to lead unions which are supporting Hahn, and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars through Independent Expenditure Commitees. LAist agrees with Mayor Sam blogger Chief Parker that Huggy is right to attack these ridiculous appointments. The Mayor makes these appointments entirely at his own discretion. Isn’t this “pay-to-play” of the worst sort, especially since there’s a ban on Commissioner fundraising? Commissioners can’t fundraise, but they can spend hundreds of thousands through IEs? Shame on you, Mayor Hahn.

LAist has noted with amusement that every time the Times mentions Hertzberg’s LAUSD breakup plan, they also say “the mayor has no authority over the school district.” Whether that’s because the Times editorial board doesn’t agree with the policy, because they think Hertzberg’s plan is “a cynical ploy to get votes,” as his opponents have said, or because they simply don’t like Hertzberg (though we doubt that), the plan got a major boost this week when the Governor supported it. Why? While the Mayor doesn’t have authority over the school district, the state does. The Governator and Bobzilla are close friends, and when you put those two factors together, what do you have? A good chance to put the seemingly impossible policy into action. All of a sudden, the relentless attacks by Hertzberg’s opponents about the Mayor’s authority are stopped in their tracks, and this allows Hertzberg to advertise the breakup plan with the Governator’s seal of approval.

Much like the New England Patriots, Taft High School seems like a team of destiny. The two time national Academic Decathlon champions have won the district tournament and move one step closer to another national championship. Their win comes on the same day that Governor Schwarzenegger called for the breaking up of LAUSD while throwing his support in the Mayoral race to Bob Hertzberg.

Bob Hertzberg released his first campaign ad to a variety of reviews. Boi from Troy says “Message gets an "A" but the imagery gets a kinda-spooky "C",” while there are a variety of comments, positive and negative, on Mayor Sam’s Sister City blog.

Although the mayoral candidates have been jousting for position the last 6 months, the next five weeks that will determine who will become the next mayor. Brace yourselves for the onslaught of TV ads, mailers, and phone calls as the candidates will make a play for your support.

The big local story this morning is happening right now as two metrolink trains derailed in Glendale this morning. The Times reports that three are dead but according to a fire department spokesman on KTTV's Good Day LA there are now four fatalities. As of this writing, those injured on the trains have not been cleared to leave. If you are concerned that a relative was on one of the trains, you can contact the Glendale Fire Department. Coincidentally, the Times runs another story this morning about metrolink re-opening its route from west Ventura county to Los Angeles. It had been closed since the big storm.

The first LA mayoral debate, hosted last night at the Museum of Tolerance, probably wasn’t on the radar of local voters. Many are still worn out from the long presidential campaign that ended just a month ago; others are simply wrapped up in the holidays.

Candidates are going to need full coffers in order to pay for the heavy TV advertising necessary to compete in this spring's election.

LA Mayor James Hahn has apparently resolved a "scheduling conflict" that aides said would have prevented him from participating in a Mayoral debate next week, clearing the way for all 5 major candidates to square off in the first rhetoric rumble of the campaign season.

Tired of politics? You'd better get your second wind because local politicos descended on City Hall Monday to file the paperwork for the city wide election on March 8th.

One of the problems with Howard Dean's campaign (disclosure time! I worked for Dean in New York when I was in college) was that the majority of its supporters came from traditionally liberal constituencies, making a lot of its grassroots efforts moot. But L.A. is a democratic stronghold, and it's reasonable to speculate that a Dean-esque effort could catch fire among young citizens who are hungry for a significant chance to make a difference.

Perhaps in response to concerns about his leadership abilities, Hahn's office released a plan Tuesday to combat congestion at 25 of L.A.'s problem intersections. Check out the infobox: a plurality of the improvements go to the Valley. In response, Hertzberg's campaign manager took a shot at Hahn's ideas, saying they're "like cutting grass one blade at a time." With this apt suburban metaphor, let the battle for the Valley begin!

Over at Change L.A., Bob Hertzberg continues to enjoy financial success as his Palm Tree-o-Meter inches toward its initial goal of $1 million in online fundraising. Don't count this guy out. Can't Bernard Parks find a techie or two to set up a similar money-grabbing mechanism? (The current one isn't going to cut it, Chief.)

LAist is rooting for an interesting and compelling mayoral race, so we're hoping the rumors are true. Given the support for Hertzberg among Valley loyalists, and the love for Chief Parks among South L.A. blacks, we're also wondering if Hahn will even make the runoff should Antonio join the race.

LAist is taking Hertzberg's candidacy seriously - he's raised more money than the rest of Hahn's potential opponents, and that counts for a lot. And his desire to beat the mayor on a campaign theme of "change" and "new ideas" shows that he's ambitious. But it takes actual, genuine new ideas to make that kind of case compelling (not to mention a healthy dose of charisma). Does Bob have either? Will his friendship with Governor Schwarzenegger prove decisive? And, for that matter, does the word of non-bodybuilders count for anything in this town anymore?