Transit policy has taken a front seat in the mayoral race, as Bob Hertzberg and Mayor Hahn
traded blows last week over who has the most pathetic record on transportation issues.
Mayor Hahn says Hertzberg is responsible for the "Financial Emergency" loophole in
Prop. 42 that Der Governator
has exploited in his failing effort to balance the State's budget, while Hertzberg accuses the Mayor of missing MTA meetings, and trumpets his own support of the
Orange Line.
Also:
- The
Daily News takes this opening to land a jab on Hahn's record, using the old "They're all bums, but Hahn's the
biggest bum of all" trope.
- Hertzberg's peeps fire back at Hahn
here, pointing to the former Assembly Speaker's "Commuter's Bill of Rights" as
proof that he's tuned in to the issue. Lot's of good debate in the comments of this post.
- Mayor Hahn finally has his website up and running, and
here's the official campaign line on the transportation issue. No debate on Hahn's website, as comment posting is not allowed.
Adding to the animosity between the two camps is the
row over PR firm Fleishman-Hillard's alleged overbilling of the DWP, and other city departments. Hertzberg's attempt to make political hay of the Mayor's apparent lack of oversight might have backfired, as the Hahn campaign was quick to point out that Hertzberg had worked as a consultant for Fleishman-Hillard during the period that the alleged billing irregularities occurred.
All of this is pretty much politics as usual here in LA.
The only surprising thing in the mayoral race thus far is that the fireworks are not being generated by the Hahn vs. Parks bloodmatch I has anticipated, but by Hertzberg and Hahn.
