(click to view full size)I am not here to defend the City of Vernon. They have enough people handling this for
them and the issues has already drawn enough of its own attention. Nevertheless, the issues with Vernon are
representative of other issues with Sacramento that deserve attention. How can any rational person look straight
into the camera and say with a straight face that handing over Vernon to the
County of Los Angeles won’t have a negative economic impact on the 50,000 jobs
and the families that depend on them?
According to a
report by fiscal experts,
the disincorporation of Vernon would leave Southern California with 11,000 less
jobs and $420 million in lost wages.
Why should anyone believe Speaker Perez when he calls the
report inaccurate, especially when you consider that he oversees a legislature
with a $25 billion deficit, where 2.2 million Californians out of work, and he
continues to add regulations to a stack of binders that already hold nearly 270
pounds of business regulations?
Like other cities and our own state legislature, Vernon has
its set of problems, but that does not mean you allow a politician to hand over
50,000 jobs to a debt ridden, poorly managed county. This is the same group of people who called
it a wise and prudent use of taxpayer money when fellow Los Angeles County
Board of Supervisors, Mark Ridley-Thomas, spent $707,000 on an office
renovation at the height of our current recession. It’s no wonder they are interested in having
the Speaker engage in a naked power grab on the county’s behalf – to bring in
even more tax revenue to have at their disposal.
While a recent Vernon
television campaign depicts their
workers smiling and in good spirits, nothing could be further from the truth.
They realize that their livelihood is in jeopardy and that they are just a few
votes away from joining the millions of Californians at the unemployment line,
with their local rights being so blatantly disregarded by some power-hungry
Sacramento politicians.
Does anyone really believe Perez’ actions: "I am from the
government and I am here to help."
If you are going to lead, at least be truthful. If this is
about corruption, then when are you going to go after those involved in the Los
Angeles Community College fiasco?
Have you gone after those who spent
$5.5 million of taxpayer
money on new vehicles to only let them sit idle for years? Or what about those
who paid $380.70 of taxpayer money to fix
a toilet paper holder?
Perez should just come out and say that he is carrying out
some personal political vendetta against Vernon and like Perez, the County
Board of Supervisors are acting like some money grubbing politicians who are
just trying to infuse the county coffers with additional revenue.