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Dear Editor:
I just finished a fascinating book that I would encourage all elected and appointed government officials in southern Hamilton County to read, City of Industry: Genealogies of Power in Southern California by Victor Valle.
It has some things that may help them avoid the same mistakes and criminality: the highest debt in California, eventually over $1 billion, a dirty city attorney, redevelopment and TIF run amok, cronyism, a local D.A. that just happened to stop investigating the city after getting a substantial campaign donation by the chamber of commerce, a drunk and philandering city father named and repeatedly referred to as “Jim” by the author, putting off bond repayments to a later date by borrowing even more to fund current projects, an over-budget luxury city-built hotel and conference center, a rubber stamp city council and redevelopment commission, stretching the definition of “blight,” spinning off redevelopment projects to “non-profits” to avoid scrutiny, campaign finance violations, and even a handpicked former law enforcement officer to provide city hall security.
Eventually, a good paper did a thorough investigative report, which interested an FBI agent, and Jim, despite looking at the city as his own personal fiefdom to the point where he could rename streets, was brought to justice. The city attorney, who once stated “The boundary between what is private and public does not apply to redevelopment projects” also lost his law license and was forced to pay back over $300,000 in overbilling.
Is there an investigative reporter in our area? We know the local DA doesn’t care, but maybe the FBI does.
Eric Morris
Carmel