Mayor Villaraigosa and the Truth about Cats
and Dogs
by:
Charlotte Laws
The earth is starting to tremble
in the Los Angeles animal community because Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
has refused to honor his January 2005 campaign promise to fire the
General Manager of Los Angeles Animal Services Guerdon Stuckey, and
this broken promise has drawn attention to a potential scandal
involving a loss of $1.1 million to the city over the next three years.
Even fiscally responsible Angelenos who don't care about cats and dogs
can be officially outraged.
Animal advocates might have let
the mayor out of the doghouse on his pledge if Stuckey had reformed the
department, fostered relationships with the community and saved animal
lives. But according to an October 27, 2005 L.A. CityBeat article, a
poorly negotiated contract by Stuckey for a spay-neuter van "may have
robbed the city of half its needed spay-neuter services" and will
endanger animal lives.
Due to a shortage of van
operating hours combined with the high spay-neuter quota, anesthetized
animals will have to be whipped on and off the operating table at great
risk to their health. The District Attorney has been asked to
investigate.
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Many animal community
moderates--such as the dignified and caring former L.A. Animal
Commissioner Erika Brunson--who were originally unwilling to jump on
the clamorous "we want Stuckey fired" bandwagon, are now steering their
own wagons through the streets picking up angry passers-by, such as the
fiscally responsible crowd.
The "Reasons to fire Stuckey
Email Series" has been circulating for months. Reason number 61 warns
the Democratic mayor--who may hope to land in the Governor's office
someday—that animal advocates will begin cc'ing the
California Republican Party with their complaints. Villaraigosa could
be one misstep away from tarnishing his dapper suit with controversies
much like those that haunted the Hahn administration.
The mayor says he has decided
not to fire Stuckey at this time because the Animal Liberation Front
(ALF)—a "direct action" animal rights group that has not
injured a human or animal since its inception in
1972–recently planted a smoke bomb at Stuckey's apartment
building, making him look like a victim. He says he will not fire an
employee who is being threatened or vandalized.
It is understandable that the
mayor would want to protect city workers. But in an attempt to be tough
on crime, Villaraigosa is being weak on his convictions. If he truly
believes Stuckey should be fired, why is he allowing himself to be
controlled by the Los Angeles ALF?
If Villaraigosa intends to be a
strong leader, he must do what he feels to be right, despite the acts
of a few on the "fringe." Democratic leaders did not turn away from
unions, in spite of the fact that there were 2193 incidents of union
violence against people and property in this country between 1991 and
2001, including those related to bombings, shootings and near fatal
injuries.
Republicans did not become
pro-choice after doctors who performed abortion operations were killed.
According to the National Abortion Federation, there have been 13,256
"incidents" against abortion clinics or doctors since 1977, including
seven murders, 17 attempted murders, three kidnappings, and 41
bombings. The pro-life movement remains firm in its beliefs.
Despite media hype that makes it
seem scary, the ALF's credo prohibits injury to humans and animals. The
ALF recently took credit for sending cabs, pizzas and prostitutes to
the home of an unsuspecting animal services veterinarian. Although one
may disapprove of these tactics, they resemble high school pranks more
than crimes.
Villaraigosa's new "ALF policy"
is good news for those city employees who fear job termination. Anyone
whose porch falls victim to a puff of smoke cannot be fired. At-risk
employees who fail to command the attention of the ALF might be tempted
to place a suspicious package on their own doorstep.
The City Council has become so
concerned about the ALF and the L.A. protest group called the Animal
Defense League that it has approved a plan which provides taxpayer
dollars for surveillance equipment at the private homes of animal
services employees. With high tech cameras, these workers can weed out
door-to-door salesmen and pesky in-laws—again on the
taxpayer's dime--under the pretense that the big bad wolf, also known
as the animal activist, might show up with a feral cat flyer, order
them a fake cab or protest on the sidewalk with a sign. Although city
workers have a right to feel safe, this measure amounts to another
questionable use of limited resources for a city that had 31,000
violent crimes last year.
The mayor continues to react to
the "ALF threat." He recently removed Erika Brunson from the Los
Angeles Animal Commission and replaced her with surveillance expert
Glenn S. Brown. The Commission, which is endorsed by the humane
community, provides a compassionate and intelligent voice for the
powerless victims of our public shelters: the animals The current
commissioners—except for Mr. Brown--may not be experts on
installing cameras to detect fake pizza deliveries, but they are
experts on how to combat the violence perpetrated against the dogs,
cats and other animals that we have a responsibility to protect.
If Mayor Villaraigosa fails to
honor his promise to fire Mr. Stuckey and to hire a compassionate and
experienced General Manager who can implement a no-kill plan and reform
the department, he may find that the animal community is
politically-speaking, more bite than bark. A decision to retain Stuckey
is likely to become a permanent smudge on Villaraigosa's finely
tailored lapel.
The animal community expects the
mayor to do the right thing. But in case he doesn't, they have
forwarded this article to the Republican Party.
