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.
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.
