Free Republic

L.A. Teetering on Bankruptcy, Former Mayor Says Wednesday, 05 May 2010 02:20 PM By: Dan Weil California’s finances have deteriorated rapidly since the beginning of the financial meltdown in 2007, and now it’s really getting bad. “Los Angeles is facing a terminal fiscal crisis: between now and 2014 the city will likely declare bankruptcy,” former mayor Richard Riordan wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. “Yet Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council have been either unable or unwilling to face this fact.” Riordan’s column was co-authored by Alexander Rubalcava of Rubalcava Capital Management. The basic problem: pension and...

Former Los Angeles Mayor and state Education Secretary Richard Riordan has endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, adding to her collection of high-profile endorsements such as from former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. In the Whitman news release sent out this morning, Riordan says, "Meg believes the future of our state and the strength of our nation depend on Californians rededicating ourselves to education. Her commitment to returning control of our schools back to parents and teachers and demanding accountability makes Meg the best candidate." Whitman repeated the education theme in her quotes in...

A San Marino businessman with long-standing connections to Los Angeles City Hall has pleaded guilty to criminal securities fraud as part of a probe of alleged pay-to-play corruption at a New York state government pension fund, prosecutors said Tuesday. Julio Ramirez Jr., a former employee of Wetherly Capital Group, a Los Angeles investment marketing firm, allegedly gave kickbacks to a top political advisor of former New York Controller Alan Hevesi. The fees, paid secretly to Henry "Hank" Morris, helped make certain that the New York State Common Retirement Fund would invest with Wetherly clients, New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger can't be happy that the ballot measures he and leading Democrats are pushing for the May 19 special election took a gut punch in this morning's Los AngelesTimes from former LA Mayor Richard Riordan. Titled "California's May ballot scam," Riordan's op-ed says the Republican governor and legislative backers of the measures could challenge Bernie Madoff for "swindler of the year." . . . But Riordan says both parties are blindly supporting the approach. ..." And to my conservative friends: Will you be intimidated into voting for something you know is wrong? You should be against increases in...

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was in southern California last night, attending a pair of fundraisers in Beverly Hills. In attendance was the usual crop of Hollywood political activists, but also former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan. He told KPCC’s Special Correspondent Kitty Felde why he’s not supporting fellow Republican John McCain. Richard Riordan: “We want the best person to be president of the United States, whether they’re Republican or Democrat, and now I think clearly Obama is the best candidate. But I’m still basically a Republican, I’m supporting Republicans in the Senate and Assembly, everywhere else.” Kitty Felde: “Well, it...

Former LA Mayor Riordan endorses Giuliani presidential bid Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani was endorsed Friday by former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, who warned that he faces a tough time with California voters. Standing outside his landmark restaurant, The Pantry, where Giuliani was to stop by, Riordan said he believed Giuliani was "too liberal" to appeal to the state's right-wing voters but would make a good president based on his experience as the mayor of New York City. "He did a fabulous job running New York City and of course in 9-11 he showed that he has the feel...

CITY ATTY. Rocky Delgadillo came to office with sterling credentials and the support of some of Los Angeles' most esteemed leaders. He had a captivating personal story — Eastside kid who did well, went to Harvard, then to Columbia, then on to one of the nation's most impressive law firms and City Hall, where he worked for Mayor Richard Riordan. In short, Delgadillo had the drive, the education and the support to be one of this city's leading public officials. Instead, he has squandered those advantages on egocentrism and bad judgment, falling well short of the high standards required of...

New York, Mar 13 - The Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee today announced the latest members of a growing California team supporting Rudy Giuliani for President. The endorsements follow a successful swing through the state and an overwhelming response by Californians to Mayor Giuliani’s optimistic vision for the future and proven leadership. In addition to Rep. David Dreier, Rep. Mary Bono and Rep. Devin Nunes, who have already been working to elect Rudy Giuliani President, the Mayor gained the support of Rep. Jerry Lewis, Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, Board of Equalization Member Michelle Steel, Assemblyman...

The City Ethics Commission has violated the law for a decade by failing to notify city agencies of sanctions against dozens of people who money-laundered tens of thousands of dollars to political candidates, the Daily News has learned. The notification failure means leaders of city agencies - who award millions of dollars in contracts - may have been unaware that some bidders who laundered campaign funds should be ineligible for city business under the four-year-ban rule. As investigations of possible City Hall corruption continue, the breach in ethics enforcement rules raises new questions about whether effective measures are in place....

Why hasn’t Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced controversial movie director/initiative promoter Rob Reiner as chairman of the California Children and Families Commission? That’s the question that has many, especially Schwarzenegger’s fellow Republicans, perplexed. Reiner has stepped away, taken a “leave of absence” from his post at the so-called “First Five Commission” in the wake of revelations about its highly questionable spending practices under his leadership. But he intends to return to the chairmanship after his Proposition 82 universal preschool initiative is voted on in June, even though his term in office expired in 2004. Many Republicans thought they understood Schwarzenegger’s motivation...

Groups consider preschool measure REINER TO PROMOTE HIS INITIATIVE IN S.J. Rob Reiner returns to San Jose on Thursday to pitch Proposition 82, his Preschool for All Act, as two key Silicon Valley business groups wrangle over whether to endorse the plan to provide a free voluntary year of preschool to all 4-year-olds in the state. The tech-heavy Silicon Valley Leadership Group, which met with Reiner in mid-December, and the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce have yet to weigh in on the complex initiative, which goes before voters statewide June 6. In recent weeks, a variety of opponents...

Former Mayor Richard Riordan joined Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Thursday in chiding the federal government's disaster response and calling for more local self-sufficiency. Villaraigosa also announced a new panel of homeland security advisers, including Riordan, who will be charged with developing better ways to protect residents, deliver aid and evacuate the city in the event of a terrorist strike or natural disaster. "We need a new set of eyes to review what we do," Villaraigosa said in introducing the 42-member panel of government, law enforcement, business, religious and think-tank leaders. Villaraigosa blasted the White House last week, accusing federal officials...

While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is taking a duck so far on the preschool initiative on the June 6 ballot, several of his consultants and allies are not. Richard Riordan, the governor's former secretary of education, and his wife, Nancy Daly Riordan, are among Proposition 82's leading supporters. Some of the big donors to the governor's campaigns - Robert and Elizabeth Lowe and Warren Hellman - are also lending their names to the campaign to tax high earners to pay for universal preschool. On the other side, the campaign against Proposition 82 is relying on advice from some consultants who have...

Preschool for All Committee Total (last twelve months):$2,169,584 Cash on Hand (as of June 30):$195,431 Expenditures (Note: this includes only late contributions, generally large electronically filed contributions.This is not necessarily the total amount of cash-on-hand for the committee.) << Donor >> << Amount >> << Received Date >> << Report Date >> Carl And Estelle Reiner (Beverly Hills, CA) $500,000 12/07/2005 12/16/2005 Jamel Perkins (San Francisco, CA) $5,000 11/22/2005 12/02/2005 Catholic Healthcare West (Phoenix, AZ) $25,000 11/11/2005 11/18/2005 Brian S. Snyder (New York, NY) $30,000 11/10/2005 11/18/2005 Hispanic Express, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA) $20,000 11/09/2005 11/18/2005 Elon R. Musk (Los...

To paraphrase the late conservative intellectual Richard Weaver, election results have consequences. The consequences of the off-year 2001 elections will not be limited to the manner in which the victors govern; they will have a national impact as future pretenders to public office ponder their meaning and plan campaigns accordingly. Republicans are likely to draw all the wrong lessons from November 6 and do so at their peril. To review, the GOP lost the governorship in both Virginia and New Jersey while retaining the mayor's office in New York City (the Houston mayoral race will be decided in a runoff)....

Occidental College President Theodore R. Mitchell, a politically connected education expert credited with reinvigorating his Los Angeles campus over the past six years, said Tuesday that he would step down Sept. 1. Mitchell, 49, is leaving the private liberal arts college to become chief executive of NewSchools Venture Fund, a nonprofit group based in San Francisco. NewSchools, founded in 1998 by a group including Silicon Valley venture capitalists John Doerr and Brook Byers, has invested $40 million in efforts to improve public education in urban areas. Mitchell said he decided to take the job at NewSchools because "there is a...

The name Vignali receded into L.A. history after the “Pardongate” scandal of 2001, but questions remain about drug-dealing son Carlos and his real estate magnate father, Horacio, who just might be pulling the strings in the remaking of downtown L.A. --snip--- “Justice Undone: Clemency Decisions in the Clinton White House,” House Report 107-454, documents the involvement of Hugh Rodham, the brother of Hillary Rodham Clinton, in the Vignali affair. Rodham was Horacio Vignali’s chief lobbyist inside the White House and received more than $200,000 for his services. The two met through Los Angeles attorney James Casso in October 2000, according...

SACRAMENTO - State Education Secretary Richard Riordan said Wednesday he will resign from his position in June, ending a sometimes bumpy term in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration. The former two-term Los Angeles mayor and wealthy businessman gave no reason for his decision. Riordan was an uncomfortable fit in the Schwarzenegger administration whose efforts to change public school funding and management were largely stymied by opponents. His resignation was not a surprise to many in the Capitol who have anticipated him leaving after an incident last summer in Santa Barbara when Riordan jokingly told a child named Isis that her name...

'Parlor Maid' tarnishes FBI Details of Leung-Smith spy case throw bureau's handling of investigation into question Details of Leung-Smith spy case throw bureau's handling By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER Twelve years ago, a team of U.S. counterintelligence operatives flew into frigid southern Manchuria to assess Chinese spying on American diplomats. Instead, the U.S. agents came to believe their own team was tracked by China's Ministry of State Security every step of their mission, which is still classified today. The first clue was an odd elevator encounter in remote northeast China, an FBI agent bumping into a California nuclear-weapons scientist suspected...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The executive director of the nation's busiest port resigned Friday amid a probe by prosecutors into the awarding of contracts at the port and other city departments. Officials did not disclose the reason for the resignation of Larry Keller, who ran the Port of Los Angeles for seven years. A search to replace the director will begin immediately, the mayor's office said. "Larry's tenure saw the Port of Los Angeles grow into America's largest maritime gateway and the prime economic generator in the Southland," Mayor Jim Hahn said. "I wish him well in all his future...