Saturday, January 31, 2009

FOX 11 10 o'clock News Features ZUMA DOGG's Public Comment on $400,000 Academy Award Party

Thanks to Fox 11 10 o'clock News for featuring Zuma Dogg's public comment regarding Los Angeles City Council's approval of $400,000 for an Academy Awards party.
 
During this economic crisis, where Villaraigosa's City Hall is cutting services all across the City, hiring freezes, firings, quadrupling of parking meter hourly rates, new fees and taxes always being proposed, seem kinda irresponsible to be taking $400,000 out of the city's general fund, to pay for an Academy Awards party under the guise of "Special Event Fee Waiver."
 
A couple week's ago, when LA Times quoted Los Angeles mayoral candidate, David "Zuma Dogg" Saltsburg on the Grammy Award "Special Event Fee Waiver," Councilmember Jan Perry said that the council wanted to whatever it takes to keep from losing these types of events to other cities.

As candidate for mayor, Zuma Dogg must remind City Council, however, that the Special Event Fee Waiver is not corporate charity and not intended as a private business stimulus package. It is intended for small community events, open to the public, of public benefit for those (non-profit) type events like a church festival or community event where expenses like trash removal services, parking barriers and whatever city services are required, would prevent the event from taking place.
 
So you can contact your council office, and they can grant you the "Special Event Fee Waiver." The amount was ranging between $500-$1000, maybe a couple thousand. BUT NOW, they are using it for Grammy and Academy Award parties and other private, commercial entities.
 
REMEMBER, the SEF Waiver stipulates, "open to the public!" So if they city has just picked up the tab for this party...you better let Zuma Dogg into the event.
 
I think a Federal racketeering case could be made regarding the abuse of the Special Event Fee Waiver under Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaragiosa's City Hall. 
 
As Mayor of Los Angles, Zuma Dogg will put an end to the abuse of the Special Event Fee waiver, saving millions of dollars, each year on this item alone.
 

Sunday, January 25, 2009

New Zuma Dogg Blog Posts: Nightline Video, Measure B, Mayor Zuma's 14 Point Plan & More

These are the recent blog posts I would like you to be aware of. Email blast it. Thanks, ZD

Zuma Dogg For Mayor - Recent Blog Posts

Zuma Dogg For Mayor of Los Angeles: My 14 Point Plan on Citywide Operations

ZUMA DOGG'S 14 POINT PLAN BASED ON DR. W. EDWARDS DEMING: First of all, here is a Google search for Deming so you can see the impact he has had on this global economy. Deming is the American from Washington, D.C, sent to Japan in the 50's after the war, to help them rebuild their economy because they were so bad off, it was even hurting the U.S., back home. So when you remember back to when Japan took over manufacturing from the U.S. by building all those cars and electronic stuff that didn't break down and was less expensive...that was through the implementation of Deming's 14 points. And now, Zuma Dogg, as candidate for mayor, says the City of Los Angeles now MUST embrace these 14 points and use them as the "Mission Statement" for all city operations.

I am here to tell you, that I can sit here and blog about every problem in the city for the next fifty years, and until the city starts operating under these 14 points, it will always take eight months to have your tree cut, you will always sit on hold for twenty minutes, only to be sent to voice mail by some city employee who is simply trying to pass the hot potato (your concern) to the next person.

So to start, here is a copy of "Interpreting Deming's 14 Points" that I authored in the '90's after attending one of Deming's famous four day seminars. I sent a copy of this to Deming, himself, because I was concerned there were some things that needed correction. I didin't want to misrepresent his life's work. Much to my surprise and delight, Deming faxed back a letter saying that it was well done and he thanked me. This shocked a lot of folks who didn't even believe me, because they claimed the cantacerous consultant didn't go around sending out letters of praise like that. (I, as most others were expecting a lot of red ink corrections.) This article was also published by Quality Digest in 1994 and publisher Don Deward said it was one of the finest articles he has seen on Deming's 14 points and especially liked my explantion of Deming's more controversial points.

As candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, I am telling you, the only reason I have the nerve to put my name on the ballot for mayor in the first place is because of  these 14 points that I has guided me in my radio industry career and now as a city advocate. And as a concerned citizen and someone who is pissed off by what he sees enough to have atteneded a six month consecutive stretch of city council meetings to complain about the fraud, waste and abuse...

I AM HERE TO DECLARE...NOTHING WILL BE FIXED OR FUNCTIONAL IN THIS CITY UNTIL CITY HALL STARTS IMPLEMENTING THESE 14 POINTS. THE WORLD IS WAITING!  IN THESE TIMES, WE ARE GOING TO BE FORCED TO DO MORE WITH LESS...THIS IS THE METHOD TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL AND MY 14 POINT OPERATION MAUNAL FOR THE CITYAS MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES.

QUALITY DIGEST/June 1994
Long after Deming's death, his 14 points will continue to transform U.S. industry.

Interpreting Deming's 14 Points
by David Saltsburg (Aka: Zuma Dogg)

[Editor's note: W. Edwards Deming died December 20, 1993. The following article analyzing his famous 14 points was written before his death. Fortunately, Deming had the opportunity to review this analysis.]

His name is W. Edwards Deming, the American who taught the Japanese about quality.

Back in the late 1940's and early 1950's, Japan was in an economic crisis. They had just lost the war and it was time to rebuild. They took Deming's methods for management and productivity and put them to use in industry. The rest of this economic miracle is history. They listened when no one else would.

How can WE bring our industry and our nation "out of the crisis"? Let's review Deming's 14 points of transformation:

1. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive and stay in business, and to provide jobs.

Pretty complex point. What does it mean?

Think long-term. Set the course today to be in business tomorrow. "Doing your best" is not good enough. Everyone is already "doing their best". First, you must know what to do, THEN do your best. Know what business you are in, THEN commit to constant improvement of quality. Innovate continuously.

Take the vacuum tube industry, for example. Once the transistor was invented, the vacuum tube quickly became obsolete. Could workers "do their best" to produce a better tube? Of course not.

Those who fail to improve constantly and innovate will eventually find themselves out of business. To improve, you must predict customers' needs. Customers rarely point out the need for improvement. The electronics industry didn't ask for the transistor. Someone who was committed to improvement predicted that the innovation would be accepted.


2. Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age. Western management must awaken to the challenge, must learn their responsibilities and take on leadership for change.

What characterizes this "new economic age"? Rapid change, turbulent environment, constant technological breakthroughs. Consumers demand instant gratification. Technology changes so quickly that we don't even have time to catch up with the changes. By the time a new product hits the market, a new innovation occurs before you can get the old ones off the shelf.

It has become much tougher to predict and forecast in this turbulent environment. Today, predicting the future means shaping and controlling the future and adapting to what you cannot control.


3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass basis by building quality into the products in the first place.

The United States builds the product first, then inspects for defects later. By then, it's too late! You've already spent the time, effort and money on production. Catch the defect after the fact, and you have to send it back to be fixed or scrap the whole thing. It's usually a lot tougher to repair a product than it is to build it right in the first place. Meanwhile, you've spent twice the time, effort and money.

We spend too much time defining what IS and ISN'T acceptable, then checking to see if and why the parameters were met. We chase out tails around, never exactly sure, always adjusting and readjusting; doing more harm than good.

SEEK PROFOUND KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROCESS. Understand what variations (defects) are inherent to the process (common causes) and work to control those variations. Improve the system. If a variation occurs outside the range of common cause, you have a "special cause". Only special causes should generate effort to uncover the reason variation occurred.


4. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag. Instead, minimize total cost. Move toward a single supplier for any one item on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust.

The bottom-line price tag doesn't always tell the whole story. Some one in my area started a local painting business. When he first started his business, he purchased the cheapest paint so he could make more profit.

Turns out he needed to double the amount of coats to get the job done. Therefore, he used twice as much paint, and it cost him twice the time and effort.

In addition, the paint cracked sooner than other paints. He lost the repeat business, as the dissatisfied customers spread the word to neighbors of the bad experience with his company. What advantages come from moving toward a single supplier?

* Customer and supplier work together to create a system of optimization for mutual gain and satisfaction. (Work with each other instead of against each other.)

* Customer and supplier can work toward long-term (constant) improvement of quality of design and service. (They can adapt to each others' changing needs.)

* Lower and lower costs occur by constantly improving quality and efficiency. (It's cheaper and more efficient if a supplier gets a higher volume of a customer's business. Both benefit.)

If you have five suppliers for one part, that's five times the amount of headaches that can occur. (Five times the ordering, five times the accounting procedures, five times the effort. This results in reduced efficiency.


5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs.

We set standards, run through the process and analyze the results. As long as we fall within the range of "what has been deemed acceptable," we did our job. If the output isn't falling within the specified range, management will "demand improvement." They'll say: "Do a better job!" "Less Defects!" Or, "Do a better job inspecting for defects."

How many people have been fired from jobs for unsatisfactory results only to have the problem persist with the new employee? Deming says, "Don't blame the individual, fix the system for them." Improving quality and productivity only comes by IMPROVING THE SYSTEM.

The customer of worker almost never tells you anything is wrong. Chances are, they don't know themselves. Management must strive to predict and uncover the need for improvement. Don't blame the individual, fix the system for the individual.

Some other examples of improving the system: The telephone is an improvement of the telegraph. The fuel injector is an improvement of the carburetor.

How does improving the system help decrease costs? If florists can predict how many roses will be needed next Valentine's Day, they can have the proper amount of inventory on hand, so as to fill every order; but not have excessive leftovers to spoil.

Continuous improvement is a cycle: Recognize the opportunity, test the theory to achieve the opportunity, observe test results, act on the opportunity.


6. Institute training on the job.

U.S. Management (and Government) is VERY BUSY. They don't have time for these kinds of details. Managers view training as an expense because they view employees as a commodity -- not an asset. When new employees show up for work on the first day, how many times does a coworker show them what to do?

Management wants the job done right. They institute the rules, regulations and procedures. Each time one employee teaches the next, more is lost in the translation. Mistakes are passes down the line. What gets left out? One person should be responsible for teaching everyone the same skill.


7. Institute leadership. The aim of leadership should be to help people and machines and gadgets to do a better job. Leadership of management is in need of overhaul, as well as leadership of production workers.

Deming on leadership: "What is a leader? As I use the term here, the job of a leaser is to accomplish the transformation of his organization. How may he accomplish transformation?

First, he has a theory, a vision of his organization as it would be if transformed. He understands why the transformation would bring gains to his organization and to all the people that his organization deals with.

Second, he is a practical man. He has a plan, not too difficult. A leader must guide his organization through the stages of transformation. But what is in his head is not enough. He must convince and change enough people in power to make it happen. He possesses persuasive power. He understands people." [ZD: Sorry Deming kept saying "he", ladies. He was born in 1900 and probably meant "he" as in "MANkind."]


8. Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company.

Fear is a cause of un-measurable waste and loss. Someone who is fearful takes whatever action necessary to remove the source of fear. These actions do not reflect the company's best interest. Fear robs people of pride and joy in their work and kills all forms of intrinsic motivation. It prevents people from thinking for themselves. They instead concentrate on removing the source of fear (getting the fear "off their back").

For example, a factory worker must build 100 widgets by week's end. His boss tells him, "If you don't finish all these widgets, you're fired!" So, of course the worker gets then done, and they're shipped off to the customer. (Twenty-five are defective, but the employee still hit the quota and has his job.)

Managers who rely on fear believe those working under them are not capable, and this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Management must create a work environment where workers can take pride and joy in their work. Don't blame the individual -- fix the system for them.


9. Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales and production must work as a team to foresee problems of production and in use that may be encountered with the product or service.

Have departments work together at all production stages. Everyone must share knowledge in a cooperative (not competitive) effort. In the United States, departments work independently of each other. In Japan, departments work interdependently at all production stages. It doesn't do any good to design a flawless product the sales department can't sell ot the production department can't produce. [ZD: Massive City Hall applications here.]

For example, an automotive design team makes a minor adjustment in the design of their 1995 model. This change would require the production department to make a major overhaul in their process that is not possible. So the design must be sent back and reworked. Meanwhile, production is delayed and time is spent reworking the project. Had both departments cooperated and involved each other from the start of the process, this inefficiency could have been presented.


10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations and targets for the work force asking for zero defects and new levels of productivity. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships, as the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and this lie beyond the power of the work force.

Management likes to hang up a lot of posters with such exhortations as "Zero defects!", "Safety is YOUR responsibility!", or "Our goal is to please the customer at all times!" These slogans seem harmless enough, until they backfire.

How about the company demanding "zero defects", not realizing that a 12-to-15 percent margin of error (defects) is a built-in function of the system, no matter how hard the worker tries. Deming tells of a poster he saw claiming, "Safety is YOUR responsibility", next to a set of factory stairs that had no railing and steps that needed repairing.

To further illustrate, I look back to an experience I had with a rude salesperson. When I asked, "What about the sign over there that says, 'Customer satisfaction is our number one goal", he replied, "I don't know anything about that sign, my boss hung that up."

Management would like to think such exhortations take the responsibility off them and put it on the employee. However, there is no substitute for leadership. Defect elimination, a safe workplace, customer satisfaction, all start in the boardroom. [ZD: In this case, YOUR office, y'all.] It is management's responsibility to improve the system for the individual.


11a. Eliminate work standards (quotas) from the factory floor. Substitute leadership. 11b. Eliminate management by objective. Eliminate management by numbers, numeric goals. Substitute leadership.

Quotas and numerical goals are the leading cause of fear in the workplace. They rob individuals of intrinsic motivation and force them to work in a counterproductive manner.

For example, a research worker must fill out 15 surveys a night. Sometimes, this presents no problem. As a matter of fact, sometimes he finishes all 15 early and has time to roam around and do nothing. (Or even worse, bother other workers.)

Other times, it's close to quitting time on Friday, and the market research worker only has 12 surveys completed. How will they his the quota? It's easy. You call a friend (13), let someone through the screener who shouldn't have made it into the survey (14), and make one up entirely (15). (Have a nice weekend!) Either case (finishing early or not at all) hurts quality and efficiency.

If we remove quotas, how do we ensure the worker won't "slack off"? Again, there is no substitute for leadership. Eliminate fear, improve the system, create an environment where the worker can take pride and joy in their work. Employees are your organization's #1 asset. If you can't trust your workers, you are in for trouble.


12a. Remove barriers that rob people in management and in engineering of their right to pride and workmanship. This means, inter alia, abolishment of the annual or merit rating and of management by objective.

THIS IS THE TOUGHEST PILL FOR CORPORATE AMERICA TO SWALLOW. This point calls for eliminating ranking of individuals, grades, gold stars, incentive pay (bonus money) and commissions. Ranking and merit systems please the boss, not the customer. These forces create conflict, competition and humiliation. They rob the individual (and our nation) of intrinsic motivation, cooperation, dignity, self-esteem and joy of work.

If you rank workers, why help a new employee, or someone at the bottom who needs help? That low end MAKES YOU LOOK GOOD. Forget what's best for the company. It's a given that some people perform better than others. In ANY ranking system, you will ALWAYS have a top, middle and bottom. Ranking will not eliminate the middle and bottom, it will only demoralize the majority of individuals.

A grade is a permanent label, a branding. A grade tells children what is expected of them, the rest of their life. Students who get bad grades become demoralized, are viewed in a different light, experience fear and lose self-esteem. They become victims of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Again, there is no substitute for leadership. Fix the system for the individual.

What's wrong with a commission? It forces salespeople to sell customers the wrong items. When customers realize what happened, they will be upset and tell others of their bad experience. Some sales people won't even bother with a customer if the commission doesn't look big enough. If you get a $1000 bonus for selling 100 widgets a month. After widget 100, it's time to start "putting off" turning in new orders, and save them toward next month's totals. They can wait a few days.


13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement. Point 6 deals with training regarding "the skill and knowledge necessary to do the job." Point 13 addresses the need to encourage and provide resources so that people may develop. Just as we reinvest in other sources, we must reinvest in a company's most important asset -- it's people.

Management must make clear, in the beginning, their commitment to this concept. They must take time and make an effort to institute the continuous improvement concept into the system.


14. Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. The transformation is everybody's job.

The transformation must start with top management, for they have the most leverage and influence. They are the leaders. Once the decision has been made, middle management, supervisors and workers must come on board. It takes training and removal of inhibitions (fear, competition, barriers and divisions). We must fully cooperate with each other to constantly improve the system. THINK HOLISTICALLY (systematically).

In order for the transformation to occur, management must see things in a new light. Don't be in the business of increasing profits. Be in the business of constantly delighting customers and workers. Then you will find your profits constantly increasing.

In conclusion, I would like to thank Dr. W. Edwards Deming, Ed Baker, Bill Scherkenbach, Kosaku Yoshida and Jim McIngvale for investing their time, effort and knowledge.

References: Deming, W. Edwards, Out of the Crisis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Advanced Engineering Study (1982), Cambridge, Massachusetts.

NOTE FROM ZUMA: Thanks for reading this. I know this didn't relate to the city of Los Angeles, specifically, but this article sets it up. It's the first thing I would hand out to every manager and commissioner on day one as mayor.  From here on in, I will be applying these 14 Points to the City of Los Angeles as I would as mayor. I've said a lot of things over the past few years about many, many city issues. If I can walk away from all of this and make ONE impact, or be known for ONE thing, or leave any type of "legacy" behind...at the end of the day, I would have to go with "hopefully raising awareness of Deming's 14 points and hopefully moving the city a little closer to the day when they finally do."  Thanks, ZD (Zuma Dave?)

ZumaDoggForMayor.com
213-785-7272
ZumaDogg@Gmail.com

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Zuma Dogg's 14 Point Plan As Mayor of Los Angeles (Zuma Dogg as Mayor DAY ONE)

ZUMA DOGG'S 14 POINT PLAN TO RUN CITY HALL AS MAYOR: OK, it's Dr. W. Edwards Deming's 14 point plan. But Zuma Dogg plans on implementing it if elected mayor of Los Angeles.  Here it is , "Interpreting Deming's 14 Points." I wrote it in the  early 90's and Deming sent a letter of praise in repsonse to  what you are about  to read. (So you can read with the confidence of knowing that Deming signed off on this.)

It's the one, single most critical qualification that distinguishes me from all other candidates on the ballot, including the current mayor.

NOTHING WILL BE GETTING "FIXED" IN THIS CITY UNTIL THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES EMBRACES THESE 14 POINTS.

We can watch the city trip all over itself for the next fifty years. Do your research on Deming's 14 points. One good thing, Zuma Dogg knows a lot of the top level managers and workers in the city know about Deming, and are thrilled that Zuma Dogg knows about Deming. Quite frankly, it has already impressed the hell out of some city hall workers who have asked me how I got into Deming and why.

From here on in, I'll spend a little more time explaining what it would mean to implement these 14 points at City Hall.

But the FIRST thing I would do as mayor, on the first day on the job, would be to contact all the city managers and department heads and have a giant meeting, where Zuma Dogg and top experts explain/break down the 14 points for everyone in the room, and let everyone know this is how we will be operating.

(See "Interpreting Deming's 14 Points" at ZumaTimes.com)

Zuma Dogg feels we have so many genius level people working for the city in these departments across the city, but they are not allowed to "fix" the system, or do what's best for the customer (residents) because of a vindictive and retaliatory city hall under the current mayor.

I have had discussions with countless city workers who start nodding their heads up and down in agreement when I let them know that Uncle ZD knows they have the muzzle on and are not being allowed to do the right thing for the PEOPLE of Los Angeles.

So ZD doesn't have to start firing everyone and replacing everyone. THE PROBLEM IS NOT THE PEOPLE ZD IS MEETING AT CITY HALL WHO WORK IN THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY...IT IS THE SYSTEM ITSELF.

And the first step to fixing the system is letting the top level managers know that Uncle Zuma Dogg as mayor WANTS to know how to improve (fix) the process. How to reduce the beuracracy. People are forced to "fudge" -- hold off on work some months, jam in too much work others. All these things that workers are forced to do to please the mayor, but not the people of Los Angeles. ALL THE THINGS PEOPLE ARE FORCED TO DO BECAUSE THEY ARE WORKING UNDER FEAR!

So when city managers and workers understand that Zuma Dogg LIKES to hear how to improve the process...how to innovate...what needs to change (instead of fighting and resisting change/innovation)...they will feel a lot better about their jobs. And that is how people start to do a better job. It is VERY stressful for people to have to "fudge" and do things the wrong way, when they know how to do it the right way, "IF ONLY SOMEONE WOULD LISTEN."

THEN, you have to create a flow chart for every process. For example, if someone calls to have the tree trimmed in front of a stop sign at a school crosswalk...you make a flow chart of the process from the 3-1-1 call, until completion. THEN, you vet out the bureaucracy (intentional/fraud, and un-intended/waste). You question why the widget is moving from point A to point B.

HERE'S AN EXAMPLE: I saw a DWP crew show up one morning in front of a home to cut a tree. There were a couple of those big trucks, and some regular vehicles with all the workers ready to do the work. (Several thousands of dollars of workers and equipment.)

WELP, unfortunately, there was some broken down pickup truck that I see in the same spot, every day, for weeks at a time, if not months. And it happened to be right where the crew needed to work.

So one of the workers asks me frantically, "Is this your truck?"

I said, "No, but it's there all the time, so don't plan on anyone coming out to drive it away."

SO THAT TRUCK THWARTED THE ENTIRE EFFORT!!! DO YOU JUST DOUBLED THE COST OF THE PROJECT BY SENDING THE CREW AWAY, ONLY TO HAVE TO COME BACK THE NEXT DAY. (And I don't know if the next day would be different.)

ZUMA DOGG FOR MAYOR SOLUTION: Why wasn't a temporary "NO PARKING" sign posted in the area of work 72 hours in advance (like for movie shoots). THAT WAY, every regular resident that parks on the street would know about it and be able to keep clear of the area that day. AND, DWP would have been able to have the truck (which is parked their for weeks at a time) TOWED.

THIS IS WHAT DEMING'S 14 POINTS IS ABOUT. Innovation, empowerment, improving the process. It all adds up to reducing waste and improving efficiency. And that's how you cut the amount of time it takes to have your tree cut. (Cause if they have to come back the next day, that doubles the amount of time it takes to get to YOUR tree, too...those non-Deming embracing dummies.

I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE A HARVARD LAW DEGREE, OR NOT...IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO IMPLEMENT DEMING'S 14 POINTS, ESPECIALLY IN THESE ECONOMIC TIMES (having to do more with less), YOU ARE NOTHING BUT AN INFERIOR CLOWN TO ME.

ZumaDoggForMayor.com

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

ZUMA DOGG on ABC News NIGHTLINE, Wed. January 14th at 11:35pm

I just spoke with ABC News Nightline, and they confirmed that the segment featuring Zuma Dogg, Los Angeles Candidate for Mayor, will air this Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 at 11:35pm. And I will be included in the segment. If anything changes, check back here. Otherwise, tune in at 11:35pm or set your DVR. It will also most likely be posted on the http://abcnews.com website after it airs.
 

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

HUGE: Local Community Activists Kick Home Depot Out of Sunland-Tujunga

THIS IN FROM JOE B AND "NO HOME DEPOT"
THIS IS A HUGE-HUGE VICTORY FOR COMMUNITY ACTIVISM!
THEY TOOK BACK THEIR CITY!!!
 
Tuesday, January 6, 2008-

The Biggest Breaking News Ever!
VICTORY!
Home Depot pulling out of S-T!
We just spoke with a high ranking HD official
(at 10:45pm) and he confirmed!
We are literally shaking (and celebrating)!
More updates tomorrow as they come in!
Congratulations Sunland-Tujunga!
WOW!
Thank You Home Depot! You did the right thing!


LA Times covers the story
HERE!
Ron Kaye has the story HERE!
Street-Hassle has an optimistic mention HERE!
Mayor Sam has the Breaking News
HERE!
NBC has the story
HERE!
 

Monday, January 5, 2009

ELECTION '09: Beware Villaragiosa's Solar Ballot Bamboozle (NO on Measure B)

This article appears in the January issue of Boulevard Sentinel newspaper. It is a summary of recent press regarding Antonio Villaraigosa's Measure B (Solar panels). I put this together to hopefully be something that sums things up for voters including quotes from LA Times, LA Weekly, RonKayeLA and includes the ballot measure argument that Antonio is suing over.
 
IF YOU LIKE THIS SUMMARY, PLEASE EMAIL IT TO ALL OF YOUR CONTACTS.
 
Thanks, Zuma Dogg
 
 
It may feel like we just got done counting votes in the last election; but the New Year means it is already crunch-time for the March 3, 2009 City of Los Angeles general election. 
 
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is up for re-election. And Zuma Dogg is challenging him, so look for my name on the ballot! 
 
Two other big (and very important) elecions are for City Attorney and City Controller. Villaraiogsa's puppet, City Councilmember Jack Weiss, is running for City Attorney. (Even other councilmembers have told Zuma Dogg that they hope he loses. So please look into the other candidates and vote for one of them.
 
In the City Controller's race, you have constituent-loathed City Councilmember "Wicked" Wendy Greuel. So please vote for someone else, in that one, too.
 
Because, can you imagine the nightmare that this city would become if Villaraigosa is re-elected, with Jack Weiss as his City Attorney and "Greuesom" Greuel as City Controller? Ask around. Most people I have spoken with, think the City would be a scary place with those three in charge. (You could have a corrupt mayor working in cahoots with the city attorney and the controller will play the role of Hellen Keller.)
 
Ron Kaye blogged on his RonKayeLA.com, "The March 3 primary gives us the chance to change L.A., to elect candidates to the City Controller's and City Attorney's offices who can stand for the community. Villaraigosa, Wendy Greuel and Jack Weiss along with the 15 obedient council members will have nothing in their way if they prevail in this election."
 
But it is Villaraiogosa newest ballot-measure-bamboozle (Measure B, solar power bond) that has already generated the most media coverage and community discussion among the activists.
 
The avalanche of bad press on Measure B was triggered by an LA Times article that called attention to the "risky" nature of this half-cocked boondoggle that requires the blind public trust of the DWP and the City's blank check spending. Plus, LA Times reports that City Council President Eric Garcetti withheld an important report on the matter from other councilmembers, and more importantly, from the public.
 
And now, Ron Kaye informed the City through his blog, "Please be aware that the mayor's lawyer has dragged Jack Humphreville, me (Ron Kaye) and others who signed the "No on Prop. B" (opposition) ballot argument into to court today, challenging our statements. This is being done even as the L.A. Times reveals today that a critical report exposing this solar energy plan as costly and "extremely risky" was being kept secret from City Council members and the public even as the measure was being rushed to the ballot. The mayor's lawyer is demanding opponents pay court costs and legal fees when we don't even have a lawyer."
 
Zuma Dogg would like to remind you that this is not only a retaliatory move, but a scare tactic to try and prevent people from stepping up to write the opposition to the mayor's shady ballot measures and propositions. (And did you notice that Villaraigosa's City Hall just pulled the plug on the Time-Warner public access channel, just in time for election season?) Anything to silence public opposition.
 
Ron Kaye adds, "This isn't just an attempt to squelch the Solar Eight or the debate over this phony ballot measure but a direct assault on everyones' right to freedom of speech and to participate in the political and electoral process. We need support from Neighborhood Councils, homeowner and resident groups, service clubs, churches and every individual who cares about L.A. This is a defining moment. We need to come together and stop the political machine that is destroying the city. If we won't fight as one against these tactics and this dirty deal, I don't know that we ever will."
  

LA Weekly's Jill Stewart wrote in the most recent issue, "In short, City Hall and Villaraigosa have no idea how they are going to pull off the most massive, experimental, costly installation of solar panels ever attempted in the United States. It will require Angelenos to pour huge sums of their own money into Chinese solar-panel factories. Measure B wants the money from city taxpayers first with virtually no strings. The solar plan has the makings of yet another flubbed Villaraigosa dramaturgy."

 
LA Times' David Zahniser reports, "What they didn't discuss was an analysis by a city-hired consulting firm that called the solar plan 'extremely risky' and considerably more expensive than was being portrayed by the Department of Water and Power."
 
Adding, "Measure B, which calls for unionized DWP workers to install solar panels on rooftops and parking lots across the city, sailed onto the ballot with a unanimous vote. But days earlier, the council's top policy advisor was so troubled by the proposal that, in an e-mail to Council President Eric Garcetti, he recommended that the council delay it until a future election. Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller warned Garcetti that the solar measure could result in "substantial increases" to the electricity bills of DWP customers. Neither Miller nor Garcetti made those findings part of the public record. Bottom line is they do not believe that the department can deliver on this program at all, and that the costs associated with the program are way understated,' Miller wrote in his e-mail to Garcetti."
 
Here is the opposition ballot argument to Measure B (Solar) that the shady, vindictive mayor is challenging:
 
There is a more efficient way to produce more solar power AND at a lower cost using better technology - but if Prop B passes - the City will be forced to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on outdated technology that benefits no one but the people who paid to put this on the ballot.
 
This multi-billion dollar plan was placed on the ballot at the last minute as the result of City Hall back room dealings. There were no public hearings and no engineering and operational input from DWP. The Council did not consider the impact on Ratepayers, the overall cost of this massive project, or the impact on the already burdened infrastructure. Our rates were just raised 24%! It is just another one of these tricky deals that says it's about solar energy and workforce development. The LA Times wrote, "This rush to the ballot has the scent of swindle about it." Don't be fooled by City Hall. Demand honesty and transparency.
 

Measure B and Antonio Villaraigosa's lawsuit against the authors of the opposition ballot argument, highlights the whole kit and caboodle of ballot bamboozlement.

 
The mayor KNOWS this will slip by un-informed, mis-led voters. (They says it's for one thing, then ends up being something else.) Unfortunately, it is you who ends up paying for all of this wasteful. experimental and irresponsible non-sense.
 
This is why I hope you join me and many other people from across the city to help clean up city hall. It needs more than a sweep...it needs sweeping changes.
 
It will take the efforts of almost everyone reading this; along with all the activists on the blogs who lead the information charge and get the word out to the public.
 
PLEASE JOIN THE PEOPLE WHO ARE EMAILING ALERTS ABOUT THE MARCH 3, 2009 ELECTION, relating to the many city positions, and especially Measure B. Stop the City Hall shell game being run by the mayor and city council. Let's keep the risky gambling inside casinos and out of City Hall.
 
Get out the word, to get out and vote. If you go to LADailyBlog.com, you can find specific articles regarding the March election , ready for you to email blast to your contacts.
 
Zuma Dogg
 
(213) 785-7272
 
P.O. Box 50616
L.A., CA 90050

Friday, January 2, 2009

BREAKING NEWS ALERT: Zuma Dogg To Appear on ABC News NIGHTLINE, Friday, January 9, 2009

Los Angeles candidate for mayor, Zuma Dogg, will be appearing on ABC News NIGHTLINE on Friday, January 9, 2009 at 11:35 pm on the ABC television network. Even if you are out of town, you will be able to see it anywhere in the country, or around the world. So, Zuma Dogg is going national and international with the shadiness that's going down inside Los Angeles City Hall under Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles City Council.

Hey Villaraiogsa and City Council...how did that illegal and unconstitutional Venice Beach ordinance, overturned by a Federal judge that banned the sale of incense and Zuma Dogg tshirts work out for you, losers? The fact that your ordinance was overturned, means you never should have passed it in the first place. Which means Zuma Dogg never even should have been to City Hall, even once. AND NOW LOOK YOU DUMB A-HOLE, LOSERAIGOSA AND SHITTY COUNCIL!!!

ZUMA DOGG IS ON THE BALLOT FOR MAYOR AND NOW ON THE HEELS OF THE LA WEEKLY ARTICLE YOU JUST GOT DONE READING, YOU CAN WATCH ZUMA DOGG ON ABC NEWS NIGHTLINE, FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2009 at 11:35 pm, you dumb a-holes.

TRY VIOLATING MY FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS, AGAIN, LOSERS AND WATCH IT BACKFIRE IN THE MEDIA, EVEN MORE.

YOU DON'T THINK THERE IS GOING TO BE A RUN-OFF???

What are you going to do wrong next, you dumb loser Villaraigosa? You have really surrounded yourself with some sharp folks. They done real well for you. Gadfly Zuma Dogg is "the biggest challenger" according to LA Weekly, and that's before Nightlight. LOL!

THE MAYOR WANTS TO RUN THE CITY??? HE CAN'T EVEN RUN THIS CHRISTMAS TREE
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ZumaDoggForMayor.com

A MESSAGE FROM RON KAYE Regarding This Saturday (Solar Measure B)

Everyone:

I'm sure everyone knows about the lawsuit against the "Solar 8" over the Prop. B ballot arguments. I'll be talking about the measure and the legal issues to the L.A. Neighborhood Council Coalition meeting on Saturday at the Hollywood City Hall, 6501 Fountain Ave. and those who are interested in being involved can hang out after the LANCC for an informal meeting of the Saving L.A. Project to discuss strategy for the March 3 election.

This is a great opportunity for us to help make a difference. The way City Hall is treating the community has reached a level of arrogance that is bringing people together from all over the city to work for change.

The LANCC meetings starts at 10 a.m. and I'm supposed to speak along with others about 12:30 p.m. so we should be able to hold our meeting about 2 p.m. or so. It's really just to bat ideas around about strategy and tactics and organizing various groups to get involved.

I've been writing a lot about the solar issue on my blog if you want to read in:
http://ronkayela.com/2008/12/the-solar-8-our-legal-defense.html

Many of the court documents and other material are available in those articles.

We're going to need to raise funds for the legal case and the campaign. The DWP Committee led by Soledad Garcia has set up a bank account to receive donations and the money is being handled by SLAP President Heinrich Keifer.

Send checks to "DWP Committee for advocacy," c/o of Secretary/ Treasurer Heinrich Keifer, 5669 York Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90042

All donations are welcome and most importantly help get the word out to other groups you're involved with.

This solar plan is a fraud. It's not about bringing solar energy to L.A., which gets less than 1 percent of its electricity from the sun because the DWP and its union, the IBEW Local 18, have blocked development of solar energy. Prop. B is nothing but a payoff to the union so we can move forward with green power -- something we all want to see -- but the cost is too high and there's utterly no planning or studies to justify.

Even beyond that, the process of rushing this measure through the City Council in just three week with little or no serious public discussion, excluding Neighborhood Councils and the DWP Commission and keeping critical information secret says a lot about just how bad this measure is.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to City Attorney candidate Noel Weiss for stepping forward last Saturday to give us legal help in responding to the lawsuit.

Happy New Year to everyone, it's going to be an exciting roller-coaster ride.

Best, Ron