[Editor’s Note: Tonight’s mayoralty debate (they really are almost daily) starts at 6:30 at the Mt. Gilead Missionary Baptist Church, 9201 S. Normandie, South L.A., sponsored by the L.A. chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.]
[img]1646|left|Kevin James||no_popup[/img]As of last night, the days of Victorian Era deference are over for the four main candidates in the Los Angeles mayoralty race.
The minuet has spent its final minute.
Now it is serious. It’s life or losing.
March 5, the primary, is just over the next hill, barely 47 days away.
A central question is:
Can the accelerating underdog Kevin James – who scored more strikes last night – close the gap sufficiently in a month and a half to place second and qualify – with co-favorite Eric Garcetti, the City Councilman – for the May 21 runoff?
Unclear.
Nine days ago, with the city’s numerous television and video cameras trained on him, Mr. James, the only unelected official running, closed a steadily narrowing gap with his rivals by charging the other favorite, City Controller Wendy Greuel, with major ethical violations.
Advantage James
Capitalizing on the instant media coverage that was worth more than he could have afforded, Mr. James gained precious legitimate mileage by charging, with evidence, that Ms. Greuel deployed her City Controller staff to work on her campaign. Supposedly, some were assigned against their will.
Mr. James has turned over the evidence to City Attorney Carmen Trutanich. If that name sounds familiar, it is because Nuch, as he is known, is in the throes of a sizzling re-election campaign himself.
Will he act?
Or will Mr. James’s widely covered accusations wither and rot?
Last night in the teeming cafeteria of Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks, before about 350 voters – many tilting toward Mr. James –Ms. Greuel uncomfortably became Exhibit A.
Mud and Clouds
[img]1670|left|Wendy Gruel||no_popup[/img]On the griddle, Ms. Greuel shrugged at the rhetorical bullets aimed at her, skating away from precise answers as swiftly as she did last week with Mr. James.
Did voters notice?
Or only those who study backgrounds?
She started the open scuffling between with Mr. James – who seems to be rising faster than any rival – at a debate last month in Little Tokyo. Out of nowhere, Ms. Greuel sought to tar Mr. James with the ad hoc charge that he is a “far right winger.”
She should know, said critics, having been one herself into the ‘90s, until it became politically perspirational for her budding career.
Not only was Ms. Greuel on the griddle for the second time in days last night, others at the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. event were picking at her, too.
Her response was a hollow laugh that resonated with those who have been closely tracking the race since last summer – but with the casual voter?
At the bristling forum moderated effectively by reporter Gene Maddeus of the LA Weekly, Ms. Greuel turned into a latter day Sonja Henne as Mr. James, her main tormentor, opened fast when candidates were allowed to question each other.
Are You Ready?
It was like placing a sizzling five-pound steak before a Texas cowboy.
With a fork in each hand, Mr. James plunged in.
He said his first question was for Mr. Garcetti – but Ms. Greuel need not have relaxed.
“When Wendy Greuel was on the City Council,” he said, “she supported DWP pay raises. As controller, she has audited the situation at the DWP. Now the L.A. Times is reporting that a DWP union is raising significant money for her campaign. Does this relationship between DWP and Ms. Greuel constitute a conflict of interest?”
“Ooooohhh,” went the audience, and the noisemakers promptly were shushed.
Mr. Garcetti wanted no part of this dispute, perhaps because he didn’t want to risk interrupting his smooth-running, front-running campaign.
His succinct response was a burned-out bulb: “I am not a lawyer.”
(To be continued)
