VOICES-Since 2007, City CAO Miguel Santana has been a shameless thief on the taxpayers' dime. Here’s how.
Santana is wholly duplicitous with two incarnations of the City Council and two mayors in taking hundreds of millions of dollars. Dollars specifically legislated for libraries and parks by none other than The People of Los Angeles. Money meant for libraries and parks.
Santana's been shamelessly taking it from our kids and using it to balance his City budgets, filling the budget holes of other departments and covering an obscene pension fund deficit.
No doubt about it. Santana simply hates our children.
But man, oh man -- he must love his job. It has great perks!
Better than almost all other City administrators, that's for sure. Better than some electeds, too.
Allegedly, Miguel Santana has a City car that uses City gas. One of those dark Crown Vics with an e-plate. He drives it back and forth from home saving lots of his gas money on the taxpayers' dime.
Allegedly, Santana also gets a $500 car allowance too. It's supposed to be one or the other. But hey - if you are the Magic Money Guy, you can give yourself both, I guess.
Recently, Santana allegedly had his City car towed on Hill Street. Wonder why? There must be a story there.
But hey - no problem for the Magic Money Guy!
Santana, we are told, made a call to the disgraced former General Manager of the Dept of Transportation, Jaime De La Vega, and Santana's City car was then magically returned to him. The towing and impound fees magically disappeared.
CAO Santana has had other well-publicized problems magically disappear.
Allegedly getting drunk at a political function and getting arrested for DUI magically disappeared.
CAO Santana must have magical powers. After all, he steals from kids and still has his job.
(Kristin Sabo is an LA parks advocate and blogs at griffithparkwayist.blogspot.com)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 100
Pub: Dec 13, 2013
