Why public official city email addresses are important

The news articles below regarding the continuing saga of the rampant corruption in the City of Bell is a reminder about what LAAG has been saying for some time: City council members using private email to conduct matters related to the city is ripe for abuse. The emails below were likely from public or city official email address used by Rizzo and others at the city. Had these emails not been on the city email server which was readily available to prosecutors (but rather on some private laptop or on a private email server that would require additional legal hurdles to get to) those emails would likely have never been located, even in a criminal investigation. City officials could also have argued that their "unofficial" city email was mixed with their "private" email and as such the entire private email account was off limits in any public records request for a city council person to produce all incoming and outgoing massages from such "private account". This is a huge problem in Lakewood as none of the current city council members have an official city email address (i.e. name@lakewoodcity.org) and in fact two of the current committee members running for city council are also guilty of the same problem most likely (Jeff Wood and Joy Janes). So if Janes and Wood, who have been commissioners in the city for years, dont have city email accounts after serving in the city for years, what are the chances they will do so if elected? You get the point. The other problem of course is unlike most cities, even the people in the city that DO have official city email addresses, they are not posted on the city website for all to see! (surely out of a fear that some angry citizen will contact them in writing and they wont be able to delete the email off the city server it as easily as they can voice mail).

Again the Bell debacle is what results from a lack of transparency.  It creates an environment ripe and tempting for abuse and it leads to misinformed voters who really have no sense of what is REALLY going on in the city behind closed doors. It is not that impropriety is always occurring but rather it creates an air of suspicion and an "appearance of impropriety" and this is a huge problem in and of itself. The fact that no current city council member or candidate has put forth a comprehensive transparency pledge or plan, other than just vaguely talking about it in a "talking point" or using the phrase as "window dressing" for the useless campaign fliers littering the mail now, is telling. Buyer beware. Talk is cheap and campaign promises are made to be broken. The only two rules in politics are (according to lobbyists we have talked to): 1. get elected; 2. get re-elected.


Revealing e-mails unveiled in Bell scandal
Monday, February 14, 2011
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=7958735&rss=rss-kabc-article-7958735

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Explosive evidence was unveiled in court on Monday in the city of Bell's salary scandal. Prosecutors filed documents quoting e-mails between former city officials that they say reveal their actions to hide their exorbitant salaries.

E-mails and other documents from former Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia's computer will show that beginning in 2005 she and former City Manager Robert Rizzo created phony contracts never approved by the City Council that raised their salaries to "outrageous" levels and made it difficult to determine exactly how much they were being paid, according to the 19-page memorandum from District Attorney Steve Cooley.

The e-mails were sent in 2009 by then assistant city manager Angela Spaccia as city officials were preparing to hire Randy Adams as Bell police chief.

Spaccia: "We have crafted our Agreements carefully so we do not draw attention to our pay. The word Pay Period is used and not defined in order to protect you from someone taking the time to add up your salary."

Adams: "I am looking forward to seeing you and taking all of Bell's money?! Okay ... just a share of it!!"

Spaccia: "LOL ... well you can take your share of the pie ... just like us!!! We will all get fat together ... Bob has an expression he likes to use on occasion ... Pigs get Fat ... Hogs get slaughtered!!!! So as long as we're not Hogs ... All is well!"

Rizzo had an annual salary and benefits package of $1.5 million a year when he was fired last year. Spaccia, who was also fired, was making $376,288 a year. Each of the six current and former council members facing charges was making about $100,000 a year.

Adams, who was paid $457,000 a year, was also fired but has not been charged with a crime. Prosecutors say simply accepting a huge salary is not illegal.

A hearing may begin this week to determine if there's enough evidence to try Spaccia and former city manager Robert Rizzo on felony charges of misappropriating public funds.

E-mails show Bell officials sought to conceal their high pay

Originally printed at http://www.wavenewspapers.com/news/local/E-mails-show-Bell-officials-sought-to-conceal-their-high-pay-116193539.html
By WIRE SERVICES
February 14, 2011

Prosecutors filed court papers Monday citing e-mails in which Bell’s former assistant city manager wrote that “we have crafted our agreements carefully so we do not draw attention to our pay” and another saying “we will all get fat together.”

In the court filing, Deputy District Attorneys Sean Hassett and Juliet Schmidt argued there is “substantial evidence” that former City Manager Robert Rizzo and former Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia “intentionally concealed their actions that were designed to grant themselves exorbitant pay.”

The filing documents e-mails sent in 2009 by Spaccia to Randy Adams as the city was preparing to hire him as its police chief.

“The word pay period is used and not defined in order to protect you from someone taking the time to add up your salary,” Spaccia wrote in one e-mail cited in the prosecution’s filing.

The prosecutors said Adams wrote in a separate e-mail, “I am looking forward to seeing you and taking all of Bell’s money?! Okay ... just a share of it,” and that Spaccia responded, “LOL ... well you can take your share of the pie ... just like us. We will all get fat together.”

“Bob has an expression he likes to use on occasion ... pigs get fat ... hogs get slaughtered!!! So as long as we’re not hogs ... all is well,” the document quotes Spaccia as e-mailing.

Rizzo, 57, and Spaccia, 52, are awaiting a hearing — which could begin this week — to determine if there is enough evidence to require them to stand trial on felony charges alleging they misappropriated public funds.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Henry G. Hall is expected to first determine if six current and former Bell City Council members should proceed to trial on similar charges.

Last week, the only current City Council member not criminally charged as a result of the public corruption probe testified that Rizzo virtually ruled the small blue-collar city in southeast Los Angeles County.

“Everything had to go through” Rizzo, Lorenzo Velez testified last Tuesday during the preliminary hearing for Mayor Oscar Hernandez, 63; Vice Mayor Teresa Jacobo, 53; Councilman George Mirabal, 61, and former councilmen Luis Artiga, who turns 50 on Tuesday; George Cole, 61; and Victor Bello, 52.

After finishing the preliminary hearing for the six defendants, Hall is expected to hear evidence against Rizzo and Spaccia, as well as additional charges against Hernandez and Artiga.

Rizzo is also charged with conflict of interest and misappropriation of records in a separate case that is expected to be heard last and to take about a day.

The eight were arrested Sept. 21 on allegations that they bilked taxpayers out of roughly $5.5 million through hefty salaries, benefits and illicit loans of public money.

Rizzo and other top city officials stepped down last July after the salary scandal broke.

The City Council members, who were earning almost $100,000 a year, significantly slashed their pay, but most balked at calls for their resignations. Artiga announced last October that he was leaving his post, saying “it’s in the best interest for the city of Bell that I resign.”

Lawyers for the six current and former Bell City Council members said their clients rejected plea deals that would have brought them two-year prison terms in exchange for admitting guilt and paying back all the money they allegedly looted from the city treasury.



Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™ click here to receive LAAG posts by email

Full length video of the Lakewood city council candidate forum Jan 19, 2011

Update 4-13-11: We note that the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce has since removed the video link to all the candidates pontificating and promising what they would do on 1/19/11. So now if Jeff Wood or Larry Van Nostran fail to come thru on what they said at the debate you will never know it. See how that works? History vanishes in the blink of an eye! Apparently the video was removed as the internet ran out of space..lol..

1/31/11 orig. post:
We have obtained a link to the video taken of the candidate forum on January 19, 2011. We posted an earlier story here. The link to the two video segments is here. There is a Part 1 (59 minutes long) and a Part 2 (32 minutes long). The quality is good but unfortunately it is Apple Quicktime so you can follow this link to download the Apple Quicktime plug in for your web browser which you will need to view it unless you already use a Mac. We used Firefox 3.6 for windows and it worked fine. Problem is we don't know how long this link will stay up, we have no idea how much bandwidth there is at this site nor what the quality is like for people on slow internet connections. You can pick "tiny, small, medium, or large" file sizes so this likely affects download time. Once we find another place this will be aired (if you cannot watch here) then we will let you know. Again we won't repeat our comments from our last posting on the forum. You be the judge after watching the video and then let us know what you think and which questions you feel remain to be answered (or answered better, or even asked). We are still awaiting the candidates response to the LAAG questionnaire we sent out on January 7, 2011. We feel that will be much more informative than the candidate forum if the candidates give it some thought and give truthful non evasive answers. But again this is politics so lets not expect too much from campaign promises.

Subsequent to the above posting were were also provided the following schedule:

Public Access TV - Time Warner Cable Channel 36 on the following dates and times (LAAG was not given the schedule for Verizon FIOS TV users)

Thurs 2/17 7 - 9:30 pm
Tues 2/22 7 - 9:30 pm
Sun 2/27 2 - 3:30 pm
Thurs 3/3 7 - 9:30 pm
Sun 3/6 2 - 3:30 pm

Cerritos College Radio - 1700 on the AM Radio dial.
or
www.cerritos.edu/wpmd

Go to the website and click on the time to listen online

The Forum will be aired on the radio at the following times:
Every Thursday from 8 - 10 pm
Every Sunday from 2 - 4 pm
until the elections


Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™ click here to receive LAAG posts by email

Brief report on the Lakewood city council candidate forum Jan 19, 2011

Update: Please see our Transparency Pledge for Candidates and our Candidate Review

Supposedly there were more than 100 people in attendance last night (not including organizers, staff and other gadflies). I don't know. Barely over 100 maybe. Lots of questions not asked. The questions were being cherry picked for a "mix of softball and hardball" questions and there was a preference for questions that were not multi faceted or hard hitting. The last question was "Who inspires you" I guess they could have also asked what the candidates favorite color was! There were at least 5 people that I heard complaining that their questions were not asked (they all seemed like good pointed questions albeit likely difficult to answer...but that's what we all came for right?)

A number of candidates talked abut experience (as is talked about in national elections) but as it has been said time and time before experience does not often matter as much in these small part time offices. What generally maters more is general "organizational competence" and intelligence, thinking outside the box, being independent and a self starter and not being a sheep and following what the other council members do just because "thats the way it has always been done" Our feeling is that existing council members prefer that candidates serve a long time on the city's commissions (before they run for office) so they can get to know them and see if they will be a "team player" once on the council.

All the candidates were pro-LASD, green initiatives, attracting more business etc. Again this stuff is all easy. Who is against trees? Thanks to LAAG forcing the issue most seemed to be in favor of transparency but talk is cheap on that subject. We see no evidence in the track records of some candidates that they are true promoters of /believers in transparency.  LAAG plans on getting all the candidates to sign or agree to a "transparency pledge" before the election. (this includes Mr. Von Nostran) More on that later. I think the city of Bell debacle taught us that lack of transparency and voter complacency/ignorance is a deadly mix. I think we all know from national elections that even IF you get a pledge in writing the candidates still flip flop and weasel out of their commitments. But its better than vague and aloof statements made at a meeting.

The entire program was taped by the Chamber of Commerce staff and we have an email in to them (and all the candidates) asking that the entire video be placed on the web for all to see at their leisure. City representatives stated that they did not want it posted on the city website as it was a political matter. We are waiting for the Chamber's response. Surely they cant be in need of funds.

Once we get back all the candidates questionnaires we will post them online. We hope to have them soon. We then plan on posting a transparency pledge and once the candidates have had time to support that or not we will then make our recommendations for who should fill the two council seats March 8, 2011.

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™ click here to receive LAAG posts by email

City Council Candidate forum set for Jan 19, 2011 in Lakewood, CA

There is a Candidates Forum sponsored or hosted by the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce where you can meet and ask (hopefully meaningful and pertinent) questions of all four "new" Candidates running for Lakewood City Council in the March 8, 2011 election. (Candidate marc Titel is a former councilman and Larry Van Nostran is running for reelection) Before the event we hope to have more info on the candidates responses to LAAG's campaign questionnaire sent out to the candidates last week.

The details posted on the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce site are:
Wednesday January 19, 2011 (date on Chamber site is 2010!)
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Sycamore Centre Ballroom 5000 Clark Ave.
Free Admission

Why this was not posted anywhere on the Lakewood City website (including its calendar of all events in the city) is a mystery but we don't think it was merely an oversight given how we know things work over there.

LAAG has also obtained further details about the event (which were/are not posted of course anywhere but on this site so far)

1. Lakewood Chamber of Commerce (LCOC) is taking only written questions from the audience the night of the event. LCOC are providing pens and 6 x 4 blank cards for people to submit their questions that evening.(The LCOC did not indicate a maximum number of questions but we presume it will be limited only by the two hour duration of the event; we hope its not filled up with fluffy speeches)
2. LCOC is taping the entire 2 hr event for submission to public access TV. Broadcast times and lengths are determined by public access TV. (which LAAG understands is controlled by the city)
3. No banners, T-shirts, or campaigning at the event except by the candidates, which will be allowed to have campaign materials on a table provided for anyone to take.
4. Rules of the forum will be explained at the beginning of the event to all present.
5. Format is a rotating question and answer format with each candidate answering the question.

LAAG wishes to add that if you cannot be present you can submit your (hopefully meaningful and pertinent) question(s) to us with your full name, phone and or email address on it so we can submit it for you at the forum (if allowed to do so by the LCOC).

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™ click here to receive LAAG posts by email

Calling all Long Beach Cyclists ...The Bridge to Nowhere Update

LAAG editor note:

This issue is not currently an agenda item. The Coastal commission is aware of this project and the commission staff thought having cyclists present on 1/14/11 would be helpful, especially given the meeting taking place less than a mile from the bridge. The port will be requesting their coastal permit within a month or two. Having this fresh on their minds is important.

Press Release:
Calling all Long Beach Cyclists
The Bridge to Nowhere Update

This Friday, January 14th at 09:00 the California Coastal Commission monthly meeting will be held in Long Beach City Hall Council Chambers. Will the cycling community have access to this new bridge? Will the Port of Long Beach get away with disregarding the needs of cyclists and pedestrians?

A coalition of cycling and walking advocates has lobbied the Port for pedestrian facilities for a Class 1 Bicycle facility and pedestrian walkway on this very important project that will last a hundred years and connect Long Beach to Terminal Island and eventually, San Pedro, in a safe and direct way and allow for workers to get to high paying port jobs in healthy and sustainable ways.

The Coastal Commission can require the Port to include bicycle and pedestrian access in this project. In very short order, the Port will have to apply to the Coastal Commission for the final public approval. While the Commission is supportive of inclusion of bicycle and pedestrian access, they need to see and hear from bicyclists and pedestrians who will use this bridge and who support the project. The Sierra Club and more than a dozen other organizations have endorsed the inclusion of bicycle and pedestrian access. BUT WE NEED YOU to attend this hearing and show your support for this bridge to be a bridge to everywhere for everybody.

We need to show the commission that our community is large, diverse and wants equal accommodation in the bridge design construction. It is our right under Federal and California Law, and it is our tax payer dollars funding the construction - nearly a BILLION dollars! Don’t let this opportunity slip away like water under the bridge. Come to City Council Cambers at 9 am on this Friday, January 14th. The public comment is first and you only need to attend until approximately 9:30.

If you really can’t be there in person please return a letter of support to markbixby26@gmail.com

For more bike rider point of view visit this link. The Long Beach Port's bridge project info is here and the DOT point of view is here.

Thank you,

Chris Quint
lci_chris@yahoo.ca
LB Cyclists Co-Founder
League Certified Instructor, LAB

Lakewood Accountability Action Group™ LAAG | www.LAAG.us | Lakewood, CA A California Non Profit Association | Demanding action and accountability from local government™ click here to receive LAAG posts by email