Friendly Fire Smackdown!
On Saturday, FF's Jonathan Dobrer called out L.A. County Supervisor Yvonne Burke for living in Brentwood even though she nominally represents South L.A. -- an apparent violation of the law. In a slightly abbreviated form, that post made it into today's paper. And on this same day, FF's own Earl Ofari Hutchinson has written in defense of Burke over at the Times.
Here's Jonathan:
However, laws do mean something to politicians (and even civilians) or at least they should. Swearing falsely is perjury and politicians—office holders and office seekers have been charged with and convicted of perjury for claiming residence falsely.
And here's Earl:
If The Times' charge were true and Burke didn't live in her district but only in a wealthier one, does that mean she's so out of touch with the needs of her constituents that's she's unfit to hold office? The answer is yes only if one believes that there's a direct correlation between where a politician rests her head every night and her effectiveness. There is none.
So who wins this exchange? Tell us what you think ...
Earl's argument is for changing the law. Jonathan argues to enforce the one that exists.
Earl advocates freely breaking whatever laws are inconvenient, if you're an elected official. Rocky would love YOUR support, Earl; he's all for that sort of thinking.
Clearly Burke knew she was breaking the law, or she wouldn't have done all that elaborate sneaking around, to and from her condo every day, to meet her driver and get mail. Why does she need a driver anyway, when she obviously can drive?
Burke's comment that the townhouse isn't "up to my par" reflects her haughty attitude.
With questions being raised about how many cars City Council and City Attorney staffers get, it's news to me that the Supervisors go one better: a chauffeur AND the cars! I'm also told that after very BOS meeting, these 5 little kings and queens have cops stopping all traffic, so they can exit the building without the annoyance of having to wait for moving vehicles to merge into.
Maybe Councilmembers would prefer to follow her example: Huizar and Reyes and the rest of them from the Eastside can just move to Bel Air or the Hollywood Hills, or maybe even Beverly Hills, if it really doesn't matter.
Would that make them less responsive to their constituents' needs or concerns, like gangs and crime and grffiti? Well, let me think...