Big winners in SGV politics
Good morning. Here is this week's installment of our column.
Leftovers Column: Valley politics has its winners
By Jennifer McLain and Tania Chatila, Staff Writers
Article Launched: 10/13/2008 12:18:22 AM PDT
If it's not diving stocks or the tanking economy, then it's something in the water at our local city halls.
It seemed like an endless newsweek filled with legal battles, arrests and convictions among San Gabriel Valley politicians last week. Let's take a look at who came out on top:
South El Monte
Political activist Michael Lewis, who received plenty of press a couple of years ago for helping pro-Wal Mart residents in Rosemead, got slapped with a fine by the Fair Political Practices Commission.
He could pay up to $25,000 for failing to report contributions to South El Monte candidates in a 2003 City Council election.
Lewis agreed to pay $12,000.
And the winners are: Mayor Blanca Figueroa and councilmen Hector Delgado and Luis Aguinaga. They don't have to give back the contributions totalling $7,200. Aguinaga and Figueroa did say they would do so gladly if asked. Delgado did not return calls.
West Covina
The former campaign manager for Councilman Roger Hernandez was convicted of one count of voter registration fraud for registering to vote in West Covina but not actually living there.
Paz Oliverez, 32, still believes she was "vindicated" because the case against her was reduced from two felonies to a single misdemeanor.
The whole incident unraveled during the 2007 City Council election when Councilman Mike Touhey spilled the beans on her peculiar living situation.
And the winner is: Hernandez. Oliverez resigned from his campaign, but Hernandez still managed to win a seat on the council.
Walnut
Mayor Joaquin Lim doesn't want a proposed NFL stadium in neighboring Industry because of traffic, pollution and the hit to property values. So he's doing everything he can to stop it.
Among those things: outright opposition to the stadium and a plan to sue Industry if it doesn't give Walnut additional time to review the stadium proposal.
Open meeting expert Rich McKee is calling Walnut out for the above decisions, and a few others, made by the City Council in September.
In a letter to Walnut and the District Attorney, McKee accuses Walnut of breaking the law for making decisions on issues not listed on the agenda.
The DA is looking into it.
Lim said the council did nothing wrong.
And the winner is: Industry.
Whether they get the football stadium or not, it has more businesses than it does residents and always will be making money.
Azusa
In America, life revolves around hamburgers, and it's no different in Azusa.
Angry residents presented two councilmen with recall papers for their opposition to a 24-hour drive-through at T-Burgers.
Their hearts may have been in the right place, but their paperwork wasn't. They got the 35 signatures they needed, but didn't realize they had to submit the papers to the city clerk before giving them to Councilman Angel Carrillo and Uriel Macias.
And the winner is: Carrillo and Macias, at least for now. As of Friday, the city clerk had not received new paperwork.
jennifer.mclain@sgvn.com
tania.chatila@sgvn.com
(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2477, 2109 www.insidesocal.com/sgvgov
I like to think that deep down inside we are ALL winners. Don't you?
Why is City of Industry always a winner?
Isn't time to stop Industry and Majestic with their grandoise plans to ruin our lives?
With all of that money poured in to the stadium, perhaps why not put that money into improving education, retrofit libraries and improve our lives.
It must be profit before people...so sad.