Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon and Wife Indicted, Plead Not Guilty

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles City Council has been dealt another black eye. Seventh District Councilman Richard Alarcon is indicted on 18 counts, including voter fraud and perjury. The deeper issue is a sense of entitlement that L.A. area politicians bring to the table.

Richard Alarcon and Wife Face Indictments

The L.A. Weekly reports that Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon must answer to 18 criminal indictments, including voter fraud and perjury. His wife faces six charges. Grounds for the charges appear trivial: the L.A. democrat allegedly failed to live in his district, which is a requirement for holding office.

Alarcon claims that he vacated his property after a squatter - twice - caused damage to the home's interior that required extensive repairs. Going back in time to January of this year, the L.A. Times reported that the councilman initially attempted (but failed) to have district boundaries redrawn, so that a second home would fall within his district.

L.A. Observed publishes Richard Alarcon's denial of wrongdoing and admonition to all parties to remember that he does not stand accused of any wrongdoing with respect "to the work that I do as an elected Councilmember." Point taken, but if the district attorney is correct, the city councilman's use of an improper address for the sake of voter registration is voter fraud. Moreover, the attempt to have the district lines redrawn underscores all that's wrong with L.A. area politicians: a strong sense of entitlement.

Politicians and Entitlement

Cases in point are the overpaid politicians of Bell, California. With the help of a complicit city council, the city manager ended up with an annual salary of approximately $800,000. Adding insult to injury, the Times now reports that selected Bell city employees benefited from a dubious "loan program," which paid out in excess of $1.5 million. Beneficiaries of these taxpayer-funded loans were the city manager (to the tune of $160,000) and current as well as former city council members.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa recently made headlines with a free tickets scandal that showed him to be the recipient of about 80 tickets to premier sporting and entertainment events. Since the mayor's office 'misplaced' documentation related to several of these events, news outlets dug deeper and found that these tickets were considered gifts that the politician (in many cases) should not have accepted. Mayor Villaraigosa asserts that his presence at the events should be considered an official representation of the City of Los Angeles.

A Fish Rots From the Head Down

Richard Alarcon, Antonio Villaraigosa and the Bell City Council all have one thing in common: they showcase a sense of entitlement that belies their job titles of being public servants. The majority of Los Angeles area politicians choose this profession as a career, and plenty of them jump from one office to the next.

Not surprisingly, those who seek to curry favor understand the importance of a long-term investment, while those in need of votes remember that a successful election is only the end of one campaign and the beginning of another. The politician on the way up or down may be the influential swing vote on a crucial bit of legislation tomorrow, and L.A. area politicians are ever mindful to forge alliances and not oust one another.

As Jerry Brown investigates Bell politicians and the press hounds the Los Angeles City Council in general and Richard Alarcon in particular, the odds of unearthing more entitlement-driven corruption and shady deals increase.

Sources

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/politics/los-angeles-councilman-richard/

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/01/da-searches-two-homes-in-investigation-of-la-councilmans-district-residency.html

http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2010/08/alarcon_says_hes_innocent.php

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5615046/overpaid_politicians_to_leave_city.html?cat=8

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/08/bells-loan-program-totaled-more-than-15-million.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5524070/los_angeles_mayor_faces_ethics_conundrum.html?cat=8