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THE
LOW-DOWN ON
THE TOWN
Impudent, uncensored
account
By C.
Castle |
Assessor Road Show, Joe Who? and Sign Bandit Update
What was the Los Angeles County Assessor doing at the City Council meeting
last week? we asked ourselves as we glanced at the agenda saying Rick
Auerbach was there to be introduced to our elected officials.
Given the timing, we figured he wasn't assessing the value of City Hall.
Heck, we figured, he was probably assessing potential votes.
Auerbach, a 29 year veteran of the Assessor's Office, was plucked from
a pool of 40 applicants to head the office in February, when long time
assessor Kenneth Hahn retired. But his stint as the person responsible
for deciding property values may come to an end in November. Auerbach
is just one of 16 candidates vying for the position he currently holds.
For months Auerbach has tried to get face time with Santa Monica's City
Council and when he finally did on Tuesday - just 13 days before the election
-- he was grateful. After all, the meeting is broadcast live on television
and radio and is replayed twice.
"I'm here to put a face to a name," said Auerbach, who has
been making the rounds to various cities in the county. "If you have
any ideas on how I can help you better let me know."
Several council members were quick with their ideas. They groused that
the assessor's email and web site address were too difficult to remember.
"We've found that e-mail is really revolutionizing the public process,"
said Bloom, who also suggested that Auerbach get a "manageable email
address."
Auerbach took the suggestions in stride probably not knowing that if
there is one thing the City prides itself on and loves to tout is being
the first in nation to go online.
Joe Who
?
"I would like to commend Joe Green," said Board of Education
candidate Gleam Davis from the dais of City Hall Chambers during a recent
interactive candidate forum.
"I too would like to thank Joe Green. In case I'm elected I want
him to like me," added fellow candidate Jose Escarce.
"I also want to thank Joe Green," said another school board
candidate.
Joe who? we wondered, looking out over the audience from our special
media seat next to the dais. And there he was, sporting a red T-shirt
and a bashful grin, lounging in his seat with his arm draped over the
chair next to him.
You're kidding, we thought to ourselves. Who is this guy? As soon as
the forum was over we bolted from our seat and cornered Joe to find out
what the deal was. But every time we tried to open our mouth someone would
come up and pat Joe on the shoulder, wishing him well and asking his opinion.
Joe Green is not your ordinary voting resident. Heck, the 17-year-old
SAMOHI senior can't even vote. But Joe is the Board of Education's student
board member for the City's largest high school and, as such, he has the
ear of board members and SAMOHI's 3,000 students. For candidates, Joe's
a good person to seek out.
When we finally got his attention, Joe told us he hadn't yet decided
if he will endorse anybody in the race for three school board seats.
But there are at least two candidates who have caught Joe's eye.
"I'm really impressed with Mr. Escarce. I know him from the DAC
and I've always been really impressed with him. Mr. Jordan is good too.
I don't know about the other three," he said.
Sign Bandit Update
It didn't take College Board candidate Joe Weichman long to find out
who was stealing the lawns signs he put up in front of a house at the
corner of 20th and Pearl. And the Santa Monica College political science
student didn't need to rig up his new video camera to catch the culprit.
"Unfortunately, it wasn't who we thought it would be," Weichman
informed us in a 1:20 a.m. message he left on our voice mail the day after
our last Confidential was put to bed.
It turns out it wasn't a lawn sign bandit from a rival camp after all.
It was the brother of the guy who gave Joe permission to put the sign
on the lawn.
"It doesn't make sense because he says he talked to his brother
and it was okay," Joe told us.
But that wasn't the end of it. In a subsequent call, Joe informed us
that he had checked all the signs he had put up in the area and found
another 10 missing -- all in one night.
"I guess someone around here don't like me," the candidate
said.
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