ken draper, citywatch-LA: carmen trutanich, LA city atty — buffoon or bully? (2047)
Is LA’s City Attorney a Wolf in Loose Cannon Clothes?
CityWatch
By Ken Draper
Oct 30, 2009
So what are we to think of our Carmen Trutanich? Is the City’s attorney a sad buffoon or a wonderful, much needed, City Hall bully?
As has become the case in this considerably divided national and local political climate, the answer to who won the game depends on which side of the field the fans are sitting. As a society we’ve become quite good at defending … making excuses for … the foolish performances of those we blindly support. Such is the case these days with LA’s heat-seeking and controversial City Attorney. A bunch of folks love him and rationalize away his over-the-top behavior. (“He knows what he’s doing … it’s all part of a plan … he has City Hall right where he wants them … he’s a political genius.”) And some, already, have grown weary of his buffoonery.
Four months ago, Trutanich hit the City Hall deck running. Before he picked up his office key he was in Council Chambers asking for a closed-door session because he had uncovered some “criminality” in his quickly fabricated crusade to nail the sponsors of the Michael Jackson memorial program at Staples Center for the cost of city services at the event.
Councilmembers walked out of that closed-door chat scratching their heads. One councilman said he didn’t know what the hell Trutanich was talking about. To date … at least not publicly … no criminal charges have been either filed or offered up by the CA.
He followed that opening act with a public squabble … still on-going … with the City Controller, Wendy Greuel, over who should represent her in a difference her office has with … the City Attorney’s office. Greuel questioned the objectivity of the CA’s opinion since her issue was with his office.
That followed by a letter to the Planning Commission threatening them for not following his advice.
Followed by a public attack at the Congress of Neighborhoods on a cancer patient who takes medical marijuana. He was accused … and the video confirmed it … of bullying the patient and not letting her complete her public comments and her questions. He told her to go home and put pesticides on her kid’s Cheerios.
Followed by threats to jail Councilwoman Jan Perry if she continued to maintain that the City had an agreement with LALive to allow them to post billboards in the face of the City’s moratorium on new signs.
AEG President Tim Leiweke accused Trutanich of bullying and extortion as well, saying that the City Attorney was trying to strong arm him into coughing up $6 million to cover the costs of the Jackson Memorial event.
A week ago, Trutanich’s chief deputy, William Carter, participated in City Council free-for-all that was agendized as consideration of the LALive sign issue but turned into mostly combative exchanges between the City Attorney’s office and the Council on whether they could trust the CA to represent them.
Councilman Ed Reyes accused Trutanich office of trying to set policy instead of providing legal advice and said that his trust in the CA “has been severely shaken.”
So, how’s that folks for only three months on the City Hall stage?
And I left out the part about Trutanich being accused of grandstanding on the medical marijuana dispensary issue and devoting too much time to petty, publicity-producing minutia and not enough on taking on LA’s gangs, and other more critical City issues … as he promised to do when he was running for the CA office.
So, what are we to think of Carmen Trutanich? A loose cannon? Or, a wizard nursing a blowhard habit?
Trutanich will tell you that his office, in this short time, has done some good work.
Has won a bunch of cases. Some of which produced revenue for the City.
He goes after lawbreakers without regard for their clout, defended the City well in the billboard moratorium case … even though the judge said it was invalid … and has an ordinance ready for City Council that will solve the runaway medical marijuana dispensary crisis.
Trutanich has, supporters will tell you, taken some unwarranted media punches lately. All part of the job when you have to step on sensitive political toes while keeping your eyes on the prize, they say.
Still, there are signs that the Trutanich criticism has reached a critical mass.
Even diehards are beginning to suggest that his ham handed performance in public is creating a clownish perception and has become a distraction from the good work his office has done.
This kind of political theater would be more fun to watch if it weren’t dealing with such serious issues and the consequences weren’t so painful for those getting hit by the fallout.
Maybe it’s time to call the City Attorney’s highly talented staff together and recalibrate. What’s the point of a brilliant message if no one’s listening … because they’re distracted by the clown suit.
(Ken Draper is the editor of CityWatch. He can be reached at Editor@CityWatchLA.com) ◘