DECEMBER 2008
323.221.7400
voicepub@gmail.com
Page 9
ZUMA DOGG- “LOOKING FOR TOP DOG SPOT”
“COMMUNITY ACTIVIST” RUNNING AGAINST VILLARAIGOSA
ZUMA DOGG
Why Zuma Dogg Wants To Be
Candidate For Mayor of Los Angeles
For the past month, I have
been out on the streets of Los Angeles
gathering signatures for my
nominating petition to get “Zuma
Dogg” on the ballot for the mayoral
election in March 2009.
A candidate needs 500 signatures to
get on the ballot for the election
(Mayor, City Council, LAUSD),
but it’s not as easy as you think.
Some candidates pay people
to gather the signatures, or have
staff members gather for them.
But Zuma Dogg has been getting
them the hard way…one by
one on the streets of Los Angeles.
(Sidewalks, actually.)
And although my body is heavily
taxed at the end of the process
from running all over the city, it
was a great opportunity to discuss
the different issues (problems)
with the city with constituents
from across the city.
So here are some of the main
issues (reasons) that resonated
best with people as I had to the
same basic question over and
over a thousand times, “Why do
you want to be mayor and what is
your platform?”
Well my name is Zuma Dogg,
and after attending most of the
city council meetings over the past
two and a half years (including a
recent six month stretch, without
missing a single meeting), I do
not like what I see regarding the
way the current mayor and city
council is running the city.
First of all, the City of Los Angeles
is worse than Vegas. At least
in Vegas you have set odds. The
City of LA will try to get away
with anything (in violation of the
Constitution, City Charter or even
State or Federal Law), then it’s up
to YOU, the constituent to sue the
City; but most people can’t, the
city knows that, and that’s what
they plan on.
CLEAR CHANNEL BILLBOARDS:
Look how all of these
bright, fl ashing (UFO) Clear
Channel billboard have popped
up all over the place, in places
they were NEVER intended to be
installed. (You are NOT supposed
to have a backyard view.). And
now, someone showed up at City
Hall, last week, claiming that
many of these billboards were installed
under fraudulently signed
permits. Even Councilmember
Eric Garcetti is now saying that
many of these billboards are in
places they were never intended
to be installed.
HOUSING: The city has continued
to warn us how they have
to keep building massive density
housing structures to keep up with
the population boom migrating to
Los Angeles. However, in case
you hadn’t noticed (and everyone
ZD has spoken to HAS), the city
has gone all upscale million dollar
condos across the city and forgot
about all the moderate-priced
housing for people who work in
the city. People like teachers, police,
clerks, cooks, labor workers,
staffers, retail workers AND EVERYONE
ELSE WHO KEEPS
THIS CITY FUNCTIONING.
Now, all the million dollar housing
(much of it built in violation of
zoning and vacancy laws) is sitting
vacant; and people are forced
to live outside the city and commute
back in, each day, which
makes traffi c much worse.
We need to focus on providing
moderate-priced (workforce)
housing, because you cannot have
a city where all the rich people
live in one area, and everyone else
is pushed out or into the streets.
THEY ALWAYS SAY IT’S FOR
ONE THING, THEN IT GOES
FOR SOMETHING ELSE: It’s a
Citywide issue that affects every
DWP rate payer in the Boulevard
Sentinel reading area; TRASH
COLLECTION FEES! If you
check your most recent DWP bill,
you will notice the trash collection
fee (solid waste fee) has TRIPLED
over the past two years.
When they created this fee, they
said it was to hire 1000 new police
offi cers (LAPD). Now, not
only do we fi nd that after tripling
the fee, they haven’t hired the
cops, but NOW, City Council is
talking about a hiring freeze on
police! (Then are you going to
refund the trash collection fees
that you said was in a “lockbox”
fund that would not be used for
anything else?)
FEDERAL AND STATE MONEY
EARMARKER FOR THE
COMMUNITY ENDS UP EARMARKED
FOR CRONIES,
BILLIONAIRE DEVELOPERS
AND SPECIAL INTERESTS:
This is Zuma Dogg’s pet peeve
issue, after attending a couple
year’s worth of council meetings;
THE FRAUD, WASTE AND
ABUSE OF FEDERAL AND
STATE MONEY, TO PROVIDE
SERVICES AND DEVELOPMENT
IN THE COMMUNITY
(mostly through non-profi ts)
then the money is diverted into
“shady” non-profi ts and given
to billionaire developer projects,
instead of going into the communities
for the intended purposes.
THEN, they come back and raise
your fees and say they need new
property taxes to help solve the
problem; after they just wasted
most of the money they were given
for the problem.
For example, there is billions of
dollars in CRA (Community Redevelopment
Agency) to redevelop
BLIGHT in the community.
Emphasis on the word, “blight.”
It’s for “blight.” (Get it!) So what
happens? They end up handing
your tax increment money over
to Billionaire Eli Broad, Related
Co (one of the biggest developers
in the world); in partnership
with the Arab Emirate Family
of Dubai for the “Grand Avenue
Project.” A project that boasts of
a Mandarin Hotel, tippy-top of
luxury (and expensive) condos,
“boutique” shops and eateries.
(How about some actual amenities
people living downtown actually
need? Instead of some international
millionaire play palace
mall?) That is not redeveloping a
blighted community!
Zuma Dogg as mayor, will
make sure that if you are applying
for money from the City of
Los Angeles, it is going into the
community…not a bunch of shill,
front-end loaded, crony deals.
OVERALL, between ballot
measures that are written to be intentionally
deceiving (they called
a council term extension a “limit”
on the ballot; and the new Prop
S phone tax a “reduction); violations,
variances and exemptions
of every planning issue imaginable;
and what appears to me and
many activists who attend the
council meetings regularly; the
“fraud, waste and abuse” of public
money to provide services to
the community (and everything
else that comes across the council
agenda on a daily basis); you
got one guy who is pissed-off and
doesn’t like what he sees. His
name is Zuma Dogg; and I hope
to knock Antonio out of the box
and help get on top of some of
these issues and help reduce the
waste and help refl ect the spirit
of the community, not the bank
accounts of the career politicians
and their cronies.
ZumaDoggForMayor.com
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