Re “Ms. Mitchell: Culver City Wants to Know Where You Are”
On Day 7 after the State Supreme Court’s explosive ruling that evidently dissolves California’s hundreds of Redevelopment Agencies because the beast in Sacramento needs to be fed more tax money so it can spend more lavishly, Culver City’s delegate to the state Assembly remains MIA.
The verdict has municipal leaders in 400 towns wringing their hands.
Our shlumpy, thin-thinking leader, the thoughtful Gov. Brown, is dancing with glee this morning over his selfish fiscal triumph even though he is knocking thousands more public sector workers out of jobs.
Hey, man, ya wins a few, ya loses a few. That is what Democrats do.
All so Gov. Brown and the legislature can gain a windfall of more confiscated funds. This will allow them, unfunnily, to sit on the floor and play with the funny money while the unemployed ex-Agency people hunt for work.
Ya wins and ya loses, dude.
Since freshman Holly J. Mitchell (D-Culver City) voted last year to eliminate all of the Agencies in California, I wondered about her reaction to the Supreme Court’s confirmation.
Yesterday, we charted our fruitless path to interview or at least learn her post-ruling views.
Silence.
Ms. Mitchell had disappeared — until late Tuesday afternoon. At 3 o’clock, her office relayed a stale, outdated essay that appeared 10 months earlier under byline in the Culver City News, a tone-deaf gesture.
I thought all politicians knew that when asked a question they needed to respond, that it wasn’t cricket to say “See my response the last time this happened.”
Except this never had happened before.
Frustrated, I messaged the Assembly member’s office:
Surely she has a reaction to the Court ruling. Maybe she thinks it is terrific and further she does not believe Agencies should be resurrected in any form. She will have to be convinced that there is a need to bring back Agencies with the certain guidelines…
The woman I met last month is not indecisive or distant; rather, clear and forceful, emphasis on the former.
The opening sentence in her essay trumpets her newness, which is hardly the image she should be portraying after a year in town…and after 10 more months of experience.
It is rather like a sportswriter, after a 4 to 3 loss, filing a story he wrote last season after a 4 to 3 loss to another team…
She has seen the reaction of community people… Doesn't that affect her? What does she tell them? Have any called her? Has she contacted any?
Instead, Ms. Mitchell, through an aide, dispatched the following retort:
I spoke with my boss. She says that she has nothing to add. Her views on the budget have been clear, as is her disappointment with having to focus solely on cuts rather than revenues.
She said to come back to her after the budget is released and session starts. That is when there will be new news on all issues as they relate to the budget and how we move forward.
In political reality, Ms. Mitchell, you are running away from your responsibility.
I look forward to a relevant, informative response.
