"A (Corrupt) LA Jobs Program Masquerading as a Municipal Service" by Daniel Guss
My email to LA Mayor Karen Bass re: HER ongoing abuse of LA Animal Services and why $5 million she stripped from it (reportedly resurrected and returned last week) won't, alone, fix its problems.
Date: May 5, 2025
To: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass
From: DanielGuss.Substack.com
CC: Carolyn Webb de Macias (Chief of Staff), Dave Michaelson (Top Legal Advisor), Solomon Rivera (Deputy Chief of Staff), Zach Seidl (Communications Deputy), Jackie Hamilton (Deputy for LA Animal Services)
BCC: All Y’all
Good morning -
There is no journalist in Los Angeles more eager to report on what Mayor Bass is planning to do to make LA Animal Services what it can be, but for too long hasn't come close to becoming. It is presently the worst I have seen since 1999, both on its premises, across the city and in hiring/appointments and policies.
My current view is that it is essentially a jobs program masquerading as a municipal service.
To wit: The $5mm (you) recently cut, before it was found and reportedly restored, is dwarfed by a single $7.5mm settlement last year related to a Van Nuys bite incident. Had City Hall followed the consistent and clear advice of rescuers and volunteers, it and other tragedies might never have happened.
And as someone who has provided thousands of free spay/neuter surgeries, microchips and vaccines, I believe its operational and financial mismanagement has been at the root of these problems.
Presently, I am developing a story, "Why $5 Million, Alone, Won't Fix LA Animal Services," because I am receiving reports that some of the same mistakes are being made as meeting(s) are being arranged between key stakeholders and thought leaders in local humane matters.
Both as a journalist and (life-long) humane advocate, I am requesting an invitation to each such meeting being arranged, toward transparently reporting what the Mayor's office is being told by these key stakeholders and thought leaders versus what decisions Mayor Bass makes, not only with the next GM hiring, but also with policies, commissioner appointments and transparency, et al.
Please let me know if I am invited to each of these meetings, and when/where they are scheduled.
As always, I will report rigorously and transparently, including whether the process is being conducted openly and transparently from the start. I intend to publish this request for public consideration, and look forward to your prompt response.
Thank you.
(Daniel Guss, MBA, won the LA Press Club’s “Online Journalist of the Year” and “Best Activism Journalism” awards in June ‘23. In June ‘24, he won its “Best Commentary, Non-Political” award. He has contributed to the Daily Mail, CityWatchLA, KFI AM-640, iHeartMedia, 790-KABC, Cumulus Media, KCRW 89.9 FM, KRLA 870 AM, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Magazine, Movieline Magazine, Emmy Magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Pasadena Star-News, Los Angeles Downtown News and the Los Angeles Times in its sports, opinion, entertainment and Sunday Magazine sections among other publishers.)