During last year’s State of the Valley luncheon put on by the Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce, Nury Martinez had yet to resign from the Los Angeles City Council for her role in a racist leaked audio scandal, Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas had not yet been convicted in a corruption case, and Councilmember Curren Price was not yet facing criminal charges.
But with all three news stories unfolding in the past 12 months, in addition to a string of City Hall corruption scandals in previous years – the question before six L.A. City Council members on Thursday, Sept. 7, was: “Do you believe this is the last of the scandals at City Hall?”
That question – posed by Spectrum News 1’s Alex Cohen, who moderated a discussion with the six Valley-based City Council members at this year’s State of the Valley luncheon – immediately drew laughs from the audience.
“I sure as hell hope so,” Councilmember Monica Rodriguez responded amid the laughter.
She and five other councilmembers – Paul Krekorian, Bob Blumenfield, Nithya Raman, Imelda Padilla and John Lee – addressed a range of topics during the panel discussion, from the importance of trust and accountability in local government, to homelessness, affordable housing and public safety, to what issues will shape next year’s election season.
Rodriguez said the public has a right to be distrustful of government because there hasn’t been enough oversight on how taxpayers’ dollars are being spent, including on programs to address homelessness.
“We have a responsibility to demand oversight and accountability for every dollar that is expended in the city,” said Rodriguez, who serves on the council’s budget committee.
“And I am often very forthcoming about my frustrations of the lack of accountability and oversight and direct answers and reporting on dollars that we’ve allocated to serve certain functions,” she added. “The public does deserve transparency and…
Read the full article here