LA WEEKLY ON ZUMA DOGG (David Saltsburg):
Zuma Dogg is not only one of the most recognizable figures at City Hall, cordially greeted by passersby, including security guards and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, he also has the ear of high-level insiders, who feed him information in the hope that he’ll expose, and possibly stop, one questionable government project or another.
“I’m hearing rumors of a hiring freeze over fire and police!” Zuma Doggs yells into the microphone. “Will the council member who has that idea please raise his hand because I’d like to say it’s the stupidest, dumb idea! It’s outrageous! How can you put a hiring freeze on fire and police? It’s the first line of defense of public safety and the city, and here’s why I’m really upset! You did nothing but put up high-density [apartment and condo] projects! High density! With millions of people! So you’re prepared for all of these people! You must keep up with the fire and police hiring to go with the population boom!”
After his allotted two minutes are over, Zuma Dogg takes a breath and returns to the back of the council chamber, where strangers, who enjoyed the hard time he was giving to city leaders over the crowded new housing erected in L.A., give him the thumbs-up, shake his hand.
In his first years on the scene, because he sometimes slept in his van, he was quietly derided by insiders, including a gaggle of journalists who attend council meetings, the subtext being, who cares what some homeless guy thinks?
Zuma Dogg fought the oppressive, tightly controlled L.A. City Council meetings presided over by Council President Garcetti, who had banned video cameras. After security guards tried to stop Zuma Dogg from taping the council deliberations, he railed against the big shots for months, slamming Garcetti as “Garshady” on his show and on his blog. “It was crazy,” Zuma Dogg says. “Whatever happened to free speech in this country?” He prevailed against Garcetti’s rules, and now brings his JVC camera to every council meeting, as can any member of the public thanks to him.
His persistence, and now, even critics must admit, his growing expertise on city policy and city government, have changed all that.
Masked avenger: Once derided, Zuma Dogg earned respect on public access TV.
- LA Weekly
YOU CAN FINALLY SEND THE BIGGEST MESSAGE EVER TO VILLARAIGOSA, CITY HALL AND THE STATE: MAKE ZUMA DOGG THE COUNCILMEMBER ON TUESDAY.
No wonder LA Weekly said, "it says something about this race, and how much it is worrying City Hall, that an elected school board member like Galatzan openly prefers to be counted as part of the Grass-roots Eight, with people like Zuma Dogg, rather than as part of the Machine Two, with Krekorian and Essel."
YES, Zuma Dogg likes to be lumped in with Zuma Dogg and you can vote for the real thing and get the person who has been saying it all along, not just repeating what I have BEEN saying during a campaign. ELECT THE TEMPLATE! ELECT ZUMA!
Tell everyone! Vote Zuma Dogg on Tuesday for L.A. City Council (CD2).
AND NOW, since LA WEEKLY is a major news publication, I will allow for some general public comment from the community. (Here's the most recent email from today as a random sample.):
* Amazing Zuma Dogg! Thanks to you for giving hope and sustenance to those among us all who yearn to act out our frustrations w/ the "big lie." I've admired your tenacious willingness to yell truth to power and let us all know not to underestimate the mediocrity of those running the city while also exposing, what I like to call "the audacity of the mendacity." You mis-spelled unprecedented and roughshod - Ha! But you are a genius and an artist and a civic treasure.
[It can never be ALL good! But, YES...I'm a genius and civic treasure according to this person, so be nice to me! I'm a CIVIC TREASURE!]
ELECT THE "CIVIC TREAURE" TO PROTECT THE CIVIC TREASURY!
"Genius, prophet, soothsayer, hero, legend"...some of the cheap name calling I have been forced to endure this election season. But I'm o.k. Thanks.
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