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.
