"Not So Fast, Karen Bass" by Daniel Guss
Mayor takes another stab at appointing OJ Simpson's lawyer despite missing records
@TheGussReport on Twitter - It usually takes a while for odd things to ooze from the mayor’s office in LA City Hall, but things are ahead of schedule in the Karen Bass administration, like its jumpstart on withholding public records.
As I previously reported Carl Douglas, one of OJ Simpson’s murder trial defense lawyers, awkwardly withdrew from his Bass appointment to LACERS, the LA City Employees Retirement System.
But quietly, the mayor is now taking another stab at appointing Douglas elsewhere, having served as a member of her transition team.
As Ed McMahon used to say, “heyoooo!!!”
If the pun is a fit, I cannot omit.
So, two odd things.
First, Bass’s office sat on public records related to Douglas’s withdrawal / resignation that they were required to turn over to this column more than a week ago. But in the blink of an eye, i.e. in less than two hours yesterday, her lawyers quickly forked over those documents when I advised that they were in violation of California Public Records Act, CPRA, laws, and that I was turning the matter over to my public records guru, attorney Paul Nicholas Boylan, up in Davis.
Amazing how that works, with City Hall having previously paid more than $10,000 to Boylan on my behalf in an earlier CPRA matter related to the LAPD and Eric Garcetti.
What these records show is a little secret City Hall doesn’t like to admit. That most, if not all, City Hall appointees are required to submit signed, undated letters in advance of their City Council confirmation, one of which withdraws their name from consideration and another that resigns from the appointment. #Doh!
The letter on the right, Douglas’s withdrawal letter, was subsequently dated “May 1, 2023” with a mismatched font and filed with the City Clerk.
So how does that math work if Douglas was confirmed by City Council a day after he supposedly withdrew his nomination?
As I have proven before, City Hall is notorious for falsifying public records, whether it is the LAPD, City Attorney’s office or LA Animal Services, to name a few.
Bass’s office is still in violation of CPRA laws, having hidden the text of the emails as these letters were transmitted from Bass’s people to other city departments. They have until 10am today to fix that before we seek a judicial remedy.
***
The second odd thing is that Bass has now quietly nominated Douglas to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Board of Directors.
What’s odd is that despite Douglas spending months in this holding pattern, he still hasn’t submitted his financial disclosure statement and Bass’s office still hasn’t published his background review.
How could City Council approve, and the City Attorney’s office allow, Douglas to be confirmed to one appointment, withdraw or resign, and still be nominated to another, without these forms?
Are they too busy “locking arms” to ignore crossing each T and dotting each I?
While there’s no indication that Carl Douglas is anything other than a trustworthy man of accomplishment, has City Hall not noticed how failure to disclose financial conflicts and business relationships has sent so many of their friends and bag men to prison the past few years?
This column has submitted a new CPRA to Bass’s office for those records. If Douglas’s new nomination advances without their providing them, you’ll read about it here.
My advice to Mayor Bass:
Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make this nominee last
Stop skippin’ the paperwork
Lockin’ arms and feelin’ groovy
Ba da da da da da da, feelin’ groovy.
Stay tuned.
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(Daniel Guss, MBA, is nominated for four ‘23 LA Press Club journalism awards. He is City Editor for the Mayor Sam network, and has been a featured contributor for 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.)