Assessing Hometown Contenders, He Takes Smith Over Gourley

The city of Culver City is faced with the selection of its next city manager.

A number of entities are involved in the selection and decision-making process.

One entity that should have some say in the matter would be the residents of the city.

Their money that will pay for his or her salary. Therefore, shouldn’t some consideration be given to the ones providing the paycheck?

So far, from a large field of candidates, two names have been made public, Mr. Steve Gourley and retired Police Dept. Lt. Greg Smith.

I believe that the new city manager should have some basic qualities that are lacking in the current leadership, such as honesty, integrity and a desire to serve vs. a desire to get rich.

If average citizens wish to involve themselves in this process, they are entitled to voice their opinion in each and every City Council meeting and to contact their representative Council member.

In doing so, I believe that citizens who wish to do so, educate themselves and do some research on their own.

With respect to Mr. Gourley, there has been considerable news media coverage regarding some serious ethical and judgmental decisions he has made that were extensively covered in the Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee. These alleged lapses in judgment most likely led to his termination as DMV Commissioner by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger within hours after Gov. Arnold took office.

Basic common sense would seem to indicate that virtually the first executive decision by the new governor, by phone call no less, to get Gourley out of office, seems to lead someone with average intelligence to believe that Gourley was such a disaster that he had to be the first to go.

Was it Gourley’s alleged personal surveillance of possible “terrorist looking” subjects and the surveillance directed by him to his subordinates of the same practice that led to his firing?

Was it suspected that his incredulous explanation, as reported by the L.A. Times, merely was a weak attempt at diverting the true nature of his alleged actions, given the fact that the Dept. of Justice was involved in an investigation of the property in question and its relationship to a former police chief’s private security business, that was extensively reported by the LA Weekly?

Hmmmm. Seems to me that some higher powers have credible information that led to the firing of Mr. Gourley.

I would invite city residents to research these dozen or so news articles, readily available on the Internet, and make up their own mind. Realistically, a DMV investigator conducting "terrorism" investigations and surveillances would make as much sense as a two- week rookie patrol officer conducting organized crime investigations on his own time because he saw an episode of the "Soprano's."

The city of Culver City has loudly proclaimed year after year of budget woes. We have seen user’s utility taxes continue, increases in various fees and an aggressive parking and traffic ticket program drawing in millions of dollars in revenue.

We have also seen millions of dollars being paid out in claims, civil judgments and specialized law firms defending a handful of various city leaders in their illegal and unethical employment actions.

Would it not be common sense to see that a pattern has developed over the years, by bad decisio- making, and unlawful and vindictive retaliatory actions?

One city manager candidate has seen first hand this pattern over the years, retired Lt. Greg Smith, who for years was intimately involved in the budget process. Mr. Smith is aware of the bottom line dollars and cents, where they are being spent and where they are being wasted and in some cases allegedly pilfered from city coffers.

Just like the state, the city of Culver City has a spending problem, not an income problem.

The city and the Police Dept. are also facing a federal corruption probe. Although there has never been a word uttered by any city official on this subject, we also never heard a word from those who count on the current mortgage meltdown facing the country.

At some point, the federal corruption probe will catch up, like it does everywhere else in the country. When it does, will the citizens and current city leadership stand up and say, “we didn’t know”?

Well, 100 or so current and former city employees know, and another 200 to 300 private citizens know.

So does Greg Smith. He knows of the past pattern and practice of this kind of activity and has seen millions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars squandered, misspent and, in some cases, pilfered from the taxpayer till.

With respect to city experience for the position of city manager, do we want a bumbling lame excuse clown lacking in judgment? Or do we want a person of honesty and integrity? I think the answer to that question is explicitly clear.