The more things change the more they remain the same.

Here are some reprints for times past. After perusing ask yourself, has anything changed? Without any hesitation the answer is absolutely, positively, resoundingly, "NO! It hasn't changed." As a matter of fact it has gone from bad to worse. And the worst part about it, your choice will make no difference because Hahn or Villaraigosa represent the exact same power base, the same ideologies, and the same oligarchy that has been running Los Angeles.

Daily Trojan - Opinions Issue: 4/21/04
Hahn's naive act wearing thin
By Peter J. Spalding

Mayor James K. Hahn is shocked, shocked to find that there's corruption in this town. In the last few weeks, Hahn's administration has been egged with criminal probes, federal subpoenas and resignations among high-level staff and many other things.

Through it all, the mayor has kept up a steady stream of bureaucratic bluster. "Questions are being raised about how we do business at City Hall," he said Monday during his annual State of the City speech. "To me, ethics isn't optional, and I won't tolerate unethical behavior in my office or anywhere in City Hall." Of course, that sort of rhetoric is par for the course.

Hahn is up for re-election next year, and his rivals have already started their campaigns, so naturally, he has to say things like that. But frankly, if he was surprised about all these shakedowns, then he must not have been paying attention. Los Angeles government is not known for its ethics, and over the years, we've had more scandals than we can count. Some of these stories are actually entertaining. For example, back in the day, there was a lot of scuttlebutt over some shady deals during the construction of the Owens Valley aqueduct. Hollywood decided to make a movie based on the issue, and it became the film noir classic "Chinatown." Audiences were delighted when Jack Nicholson got his nose sliced open, Faye Dunaway seduced him, and Dunaway's husband mysteriously drowned in the middle of the night.

Unfortunately, the current controversy isn't nearly so diverting. City commissioners have allegedly told contractors to make campaign contributions, or else the contractors will lose airport and harbor work. Alas, there are no private eyes prowling around dark alleys, and there aren't even any shootings.

This scandal is about bureaucrats who shuffle paperwork and write checks. As a result, it hasn't captured the public's attention, at least not in a big way. It's just business as usual. Anyone who deals with City Hall on a regular basis - myself included - has known for a long time that we have the best government that money can buy.

If you want to get something done, all you've got to do is slip a bigwig some dough, and voila! Your problem is solved. It's not like Chicago, where you have to be a Democrat in order to buy clout. And it's not like New York, where you have to be Irish, Italian, Jewish or some combination of the three. Here in Los Angeles, we practice equal-opportunity corruption, without regard to party lines or ethnicity. It's the American way.

Of course, we've set up ethics rules, but they only exist for decoration because nobody pays much attention to them. Every few months, the city ethics commission wags its finger at some high-power figure. The accused official promptly apologizes and says it was an honest mistake, and he promises to never ever do it again, cross his heart and hope to die. Then he gets a slap on the wrist and goes on his merry way. By the time the next election rolls around, the voters have forgotten that it ever happened. Hahn knows this as well as anyone - or rather, he should. He has spent his career working in our local government; in that time, he has served as city attorney and several other posts. What's more, his father was the late Kenneth Hahn, who was a legendary figure on the local political scene. And to top it all off, his sister Janice is a city councilwoman. In other words, our mayor knows this town like the back of his hand. He knows where the skeletons are buried, and he knows how to sidestep the landmines. There is no way that he could have been blissfully unaware of corruption, either in his own administration or anywhere else.

Then again, it could be that his administration is on autopilot. Hahn is rarely in the limelight, and he hasn't spearheaded any major initiatives. Ironically, in the three years he's been in office, his biggest victory came when he upheld the status quo. The San Fernando Valley wanted to secede from the city, and Hahn helped defeat the measure. In that case, he did the right thing, but that was two years ago, and he hasn't shown any leadership since. At the moment, he is trying to push through an airport renovation plan that nobody seems to like. In all likelihood, the plan probably won't pass, or if it does pass, it will be changed drastically. By this time next year, the mayoral campaign will be in full swing, and chances are that Hahn will have nothing to show for his time in office. If he does want to get re-elected, he needs to step up and fix things, instead of timidly insisting that he was unaware of any corruption.

Voters won't buy hot air, and City Hall insiders won't buy it either. If Hahn wants to clear his name, he needs to stop talking about it, get off his keister and get to the bottom of this issue."

Peter J. Spalding's column, "Life in L.A.," runs on Wednesday. To comment on this article, call (213) 740-5665 or e-mail dtrojan@usc.edu.

The status quo is a testament to the efforts of both Hahn and Villaraigosa. Two peas in the same pod. During this month, we can expect a lot of finger pointing from two of the highest caliber scoundrels and ne'er-do-wells. Both of them have established a long tradition of high-times, bad politics, and mismanagement for Los Angeles.

This election, like all the other Hahn appointments, is like getting a new sewer pipe, "New pipe. Same crap." To wit, after The Lid Comes Off and all the alleged corruption and scandelous contract mismanagement at Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), Hahn appointed "the most powerful man in Los Angeles politics," Ronald Deaton, to clean things up and loosen Brian D'Arcy's grip on the city's utility. It has been five months since his appointment. Be patient, he's working on it, they say. What Hahn has really done and done well is protect the status quo. And he put his best man to keep it that way. Except for Assistant General Manager Mahmud Chaudhry who is trying to protect the public's interests in a clearly articulated letter to the mayor, the incumbants are doing nothing. Deaton is singing the same tune like all the other managers at DWP, "Stay quiet a couple more years and I can get my retirement." The union has its next legion of cronies already in line to take their place. It is a disgusting example of malfeasance. Deaton hasn't even cleared his throat to whisper, "Shape up."

We would have thought Chaudhry’s letter to Mayor Hahn would have brought the house down. But it didn't. The Los Angeles Times was quiet, consistent with their same abject reporting of city mismanagement. Of course, no one expected any objection out of the Mayor or the City Council. Los Angeles is turning out to be the the movie set for "High Plains Drifter." However, there are no drifters coming to town. Most of them with any wherewithal are leaving.

This election is a choice between two mischievious brothers. Their claim to the throne: countless instances of city mismanagement, scandels, cronyism, and corruption that essentially degrade the city and all its departments and rob the public of their potential. They know each other so well, don't they? Most of it is very well deserved.

If we re-elect Hahn, it will mean status quo by "popular demand." Never mind that it has been the lowest election turnout in history. If we elect Villaraigosa, it will mean the staus quo with a new name plate, but without the "popular demand" endorsement. Consequently, here is the endorsement we've all been waiting for... Buy new name plates.