LA’s Water and Power Board Allowing Union to Program ‘Green ‘ Spending W/O Public Participation?

November 20, 2008 | Filed Under Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Energy, Government, Corruption, Media Bias, News, Publius Contributor, Security/Safety, Society/Culture, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston |

-By Warner Todd Huston

According to the website CityWatchLA.com, it looks like the Department of Water and Power Board of Commissioners seems to be so cozy with its public employees union that it is planning massive new “Green” programs without taking them before the public for approval.

In a piece on a proposed Rate Payers Advocate position to monitor the DWP, Jack Humphreville gave us this interesting tidbit:

The DWP Board of Commissioners claims to be our Watch Dog, and to some degree it may have been when Nick Patsaouras was there. But now, where is the Board on the multibillion dollar Green Initiative? What public outreach has been held? Indeed, the City Council is asking questions that DWP won’t even report back on for months. Who is watching out for the Rate Payers when its main union has a stranglehold not only on labor, but on management too?

And isn’t this same City Council that recently approved, without a dissenting vote, the multibillion dollar Green Initiative without the benefit of DWP’s analysis, a thorough vetting by the Energy and Environment Committee, or even informing the Rate Payers and Neighborhood Councils, despite the fact that the monopoly elements of the initiative could easily cost Rate Payer hundreds of millions of dollars?

The union has so much cash to disseminate amongst politicians in LA that anything it wants it gets, apparently. And it gets it whether the voters are told about it or not.

This is just one more reason that unions are anathema to good government.

____________
Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, Human Events Magazine, townhall.com, New Media Journal, Men’s News Daily and the New Media Alliance among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston

Fair Use: This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material available in my efforts to advance understanding of political, human rights, economic, democracy, and social justice issues, etc. I believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research, educational, or satirical purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site/blog for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Bookmark this story to your favorite service: