In the recent special election in CD 2, the eight underfunded grassroots candidates got their collective rear-ends handed to them by the special interest money that flowed freely into the campaigns of Paul Krekorian and Christine Essel. The money worked wonders at spreading their message -- while the candidates who didn't have that type of money didn't even come vaguely close to winning. These results were extremely unpalatable to Neighborhood Council members and local activists, who had warned many voters of the pain of an Essel-Krekorian showdown in December. Even though the other candidates had also warned about this, they didn't effectively get their message out. What many of them had feared eventually became a reality. Essel and Krekorian will chase voters one more time in December. The other eight candidates will watch from the sidelines in despair, thinking about what could have been. This was an election that was clearly up for grabs.
88% of the voters in CD 2 didn't bother to go vote. A mere 5000 votes would have given any one of them first place in the primary and a spot in the runoff. I am quite sure that many of them are regretting their decision not to go door-to-door and seek votes in person. (50 people a day times 100 days equals 5000, right?)
Now...you're probably asking yourself -- what does this have to do with Walter Moore? The answer is that many of the Los Angeles City Council seats are going to be up for grabs in 2011. That might seem like a long time to you, but it really isn't. The City election is on March 8th, 2011. That is only 526 days from now. That might seem like a lot, but it really isn't. About a year and a half. Time for a candidate to start to get to know as many voters as possible in that district. It is time for the activists in this City to start deciding who they can get to replace some of the horrible Council Members in the even numbered Council Districts - all of whom are up for election in 2011. Even the newcomer, whoever it will be..(Essel or Krekorian)...will have to defend their seat.
Voters will finally have a chance to be rid of Council Members like Tom LeBonge, Tony Cardenas, Bernard Parks, Herb Wesson, Greig Smith, and Jose Huizar.
Voters also had this opportunity in March of 2009, but several candidates, including some horrible Council Members -- like Richard Alarcon and Jan Perry -- didn't even have an opponent in the election! Activists need to make sure that this trend comes to an abrupt end. We are clearly seeing now how the bankrupting of the City and the looting of its tax dollars happens when the wrong people are in power. How on earth were the voters in Council District 7 and 9 ever supposed to expect change - when change was not available on the ballot?
Walter Moore ran for Mayor in March. He didn't win, but he spent over $300K on his election efforts and managed to come in second place and draw about 72,000 votes citywide. This earned Moore some political capital. People know who he is and many people voted for him. In fact, in Council District 12, Walter Moore got 40% of the vote. I think that in 2011, it wouldn't be difficult to get 51% of the voters to support him.
I have already communicated with Walter about this. He says he is not interested and he is out of politics. OK. He says that now...but I notice he couldn't help getting involved in the CD 2 election and endorsing Mary Benson. Walter told me he wants to change the City and can only do that as Mayor. I disagree.
Council Member Herb Wesson likes to talk about "the power of eight" .... getting eight Council Members to agree to vote for something to make sure it passes. There is great power in that. Activists need to find eight good people in which they can place their trust for the future of this City.
Is Walter Moore a perfect candidate? Of course not. He is flawed like everyone else. But he is well known for his anti-Villaraigosa message and many people have been willing to vote for him in the past. When we were both running for Mayor in March we took a few jabs at each other...but I regarded this as political campaigning and bear no grudges against Walter. I respect his skills as an attorney and agree with many (but not all) of his political policies.
But Walter doesn't live in CD 12, you say? Who cares? The City has shown that it not only doesn't care about carpetbagging...it actually encourages it! Neither Krekorian nor Essel live in CD2 now, nor did they live there before the election, yet one of them will be the next Council Member for that district. To be honest -- even though I criticize them for it -- I don't think the issue is a big deal. So what if someone has to drive an extra mile or two over a non-existent imaginary line? It is all quite silly, really. I don't have a problem with anyone running for any office that they live within 10 miles of.
Walter Moore needs to start looking for a cheap, phony apartment in CD 12. Mitch Englander isn't much of a candidate. Moore is staring a golden opportunity in the face. Let's hope he changes his mind.
