They're No Angels
Los Angeles's pay-to-play politics.
by David DeVoss
5/29/2004 12:01:00 AM, Volume 009, Issue 37

Los Angeles
EARLY ONE MORNING in April, Los Angeles commuters on the Hollywood Freeway thought their prayers had been answered. On the radio, Mayor James Hahn was promising to eliminate traffic congestion on the main highway that runs from downtown to the San Fernando Valley. "Tomorrow we'll be beginning construction on a $5 billion remake of the 101 Freeway," he chirped. "The only problem for commuters is we will have to be shutting down all lanes in both directions on the freeway for the next 12 months."

Hahn waited a beat, and then admitted that his fleeting promise of orderly transportation was just a joke. "April fools!"

Tall, slim, and handsome, James Hahn, 53, could play a mayor on TV if he weren't one in real life. The son of a South Los Angeles pol beloved for opening municipal government jobs to blacks, Hahn rode his pedigree, prior service as city attorney, and unswerving loyalty to the Democratic party to City Hall three years ago. At his inauguration Hahn vowed to create a service-oriented, user-friendly city attuned to the needs of its neighborhoods. Today, however, Hahn's administration is in shambles. A month seldom passes when the city controller doesn't discover some new instance of fiscal mismanagement in L.A.'s wildly politicized departments, all monitored by 350 commissioners handpicked by Hahn and the City Council. The U.S. attorney, the L.A. district attorney, and a local grand jury all are investigating the city's opaque procedures for awarding municipal contracts. Four deputy mayors already have resigned, along with ...