Few Offer Presence at Council Party

Mayor Richard Riordan has long had trouble lining up the eight votes on the Los Angeles City Council he needs to push his programs.

But it still created a buzz at City Hall this week when Riordan couldn’t attract a majority of members to his annual Christmas breakfast for the City Council.

Ten of the 15 council members skipped the breakfast at Getty House last Friday, and each one had an excuse.

All said prior obligations, not a political rift with the mayor, were responsible for their inability to attend.

Several council offices complained that the invitation didn’t arrive until the day before the event, making it difficult to reschedule appointments.

Others cited bad timing.

“The problem is, the last week before recess is really busy and Councilwoman Walters was trying to cram for that last council meeting,” said Delpha Flad, a spokeswoman for Rita Walters.

City Councilwoman Laura Chick of Tarzana gave the same excuse.

“She had scheduled meetings with city staff at City Hall,” said Gary Boze, a spokesman. “It was a matter of her being focused for the council meeting.”

Councilman Hal Bernson was attending a meeting of a rapid-rail-authority committee on which he sits.

Ruth Galanter and Mike Hernandez were sick with the flu.

Joel Wachs of Studio City begged off for emergency dental surgery, but said he would have attended otherwise.

Some no-shows, including Councilman Nate Holden, sent top aides.

Newly elected council members Alex Padilla and Nick Pacheco, who were both endorsed by Riordan, attended, as did council members John Ferraro, Mike Feuer and Cindy Miscikowski.

Ann D’Amato, a spokeswoman for the mayor, said Riordan did not feel slighted.

“It’s fun and it’s social and it’s away from City Hall,” D’Amato said. “It was a nice gathering.”

GOING BANANAS: What does it mean when a city bureaucrat says “DOT needs a CO to deal with the LULU and is using GAAP in the GASP?”

Or, “WIGO with the SLO working with the HITMAN?”

For those who need an interpreter, San Fernando Valley resident Francine Oschin has just released her millennial issue of “Alphabet Soup,” an informal dictionary of City Hall lingo she sends out to friends and co-workers every couple of years.

“A lot of people find it extremely helpful,” said Oschin, an aide to Councilman Bernson of Granada Hills. “There is no way you can keep up with all of the acronyms.”

Oschin’s 45-page guidebook lists about 1,100 acronyms.

Some of the acronyms used at City Hall are humorous, like NIMEY, which means “Not In My Election Year,” CRS, which means “Can’t Remember Stuff,” and BANANA, which means “Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything.”

Oschin, who is thinking of running for council herself, says the humorous acronyms help city staffers get through their day with a smile.

So what about the first two sentences?

The first translates as: Department of Transportation (DOT) needs a Change Order (CO) to deal with the Locally Undesirable Land Use (LULU) and is using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the General Administration and Support Program (GASP).

The second, more nefarious-sounding sentence: What Is Going On (WIGO) with the Senior Lead Officer (SLO) working with the Homicide Information Tracking Management Automated Network (HITMAN)?

The best response to any of the above sentences, according to Oschin’s guidebook? TMA (Too Many Acronyms).

LAY BY OVERLAY: If there was even a smidgen of doubt that Assemblyman Wally Knox, who is running against Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl for state Senate, would portray himself as a Robin Hood fighting greedy phone companies in Sacramento to halt oppressive area code overlays in Los Angeles, it can now be laid to rest.

Handlers for Knox (D-Los Angeles) this week touted a telephone poll of 7,739 voters they paid for which, they claim, shows Knox is a revolutionary figure of sorts in the 310 area code due to his overlay opposition.

In fact, they said, the numbers show Knox is a near 4 to 1 favorite against Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) in “the 310,” which spans much of the Westside portion of the Senate seat he is pursuing. The Senate district also includes the southwest San Fernando Valley, Calabasas and Westlake Village.

“Wally Knox is a hero in the 310 area code,” said Larry Levine, a Valley-based political consultant working on the Knox campaign. “It’s not a surprise to find him ahead in that area. He stopped the area code overlay and restored seven-digit dialing.”

With Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles), a mayoral candidate, Knox did lead efforts to pass telephone number reform laws and kill an unpopular overlay area code slated for the 310 region. In September, despite stiff opposition from the telecommunications industry, the Public Utilities Commission rescinded the overlay and adopted measures to delay the need for new codes.

Knox may also be hoping to become a “hero” in the Valley: He has spearheaded opposition to a plan to split the 818 area code.