Oropeza responds to sales tax press conference

State Senator Jenny Oropeza just finished up her own press conference in Sacramento to discuss tomorrow's vote on AB 2321 in the Appropriations Committee on which she serves. But she phoned me first, and her comments are below.

Oropeza's name didn't come up at this morning's press conference featuring Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, but the mayor and others implied that she's a holdout on the bill -- and Oropeza agrees.

Some highlights of our conversation:

++Oropeza took strong issue to Villaraigosa's assertion that she was asking for more money for the Green Line. "I don't want more. That's intellectually inaccurate," Oropeza said. "I am not asking for anything more than what is in the [MTA's] ordinance. What I want is the protection of state law for the [Green Line to LAX] project."

++She also didn't like the mayor's comment that her opposition involved "pork barrel politics." "It is just shocking to me that they would have the audacity to say it's pork barrel politics," she said. "That kind of rhetoric is disappointing to me." 

++I asked her if perhaps some personality differences may come into play -- such as Villaraigosa's failure to endorse her in recent campaigns. "I don't think it has anything to do with that," Oropeza said. "He hasn't supported me in the Senate race or Congressional race. But it's really not about that. We've tried to put that behind us and are working together on a number of things. I hope that's not what it's about."

++I asked her the same question I asked the other day: If the sales tax doesn't go through, the Green Line project doesn't have any funding (the sales tax would provide $200 million if the MTA spending plan is to be believed) if the sales tax doesn't go to voters. And, I suggested, it may even make it harder to get funding if politicians turn against it because of a 'no' vote from her against the sales tax. "One thing I learned is that if you do not hold the line when you're right and it's good for the people, then in the end the people will get screwed," Oropeza said. "I feel the duty to do the right thing."

++I asked her if she had the votes. Oropeza said she didn't know. I also asked her if she had the vote of her colleague, Sen. Gil Cedillo, who has raised concerns about the bill behind-the-scenes (he hasn't been returning my calls). Oropeza said that she spoke to Cedillo today.  "I know he has concerns. I'm not super clear what his concerns," she said.

++Finally, she said that if gets the Green Line project inserted into the state bill, the MTA Board has until Aug. 13 -- that's Wednesday -- to change its ordinance.

However, it should be noted that the Los Angeles County Counsel Raymond Fortner, in a memo dated Aug. 7 to County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, wrote that the MTA does have until Aug. 13 to change its ordinance, but -- and it's a big 'but' -- can only change the ordinance at a regularly scheduled board meeting.

The MTA Board doesn't meet again until the end of September. So, that would appear to be too late. In other words, Oropeza and public officials in the county are at odds and the end result, as of this afternoon, looks to be that she'll vote against the sales tax plan tomorrow.

--Steve Hymon

photo: Lori Shepler / LAT

Comments

[Dan W.]

The joke about all of this is that the Green Line extension is already in the measure.

She's just drawing attention to herself. "Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!"

[Irwin]

Call Senator Oropeza and tell her to knock it off... I just did (she happens to be my State Senator - but everyone can call her and tell her she is being unreasonable)

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[Lisa]

I'm sorry, but despite what this woman says, it does sound like it is about pork barrel politics, sour grapes, and her desire to increase her political clout, whatever the cost.

Politicians like this are killing Los Angeles -- or at least, whatever hope we might have for decent mass transit in my lifetime. If only her district voters would wise up!

"I feel the duty to do the right thing," she says. Please! It feels more like "I feel the need to get back in the spotlight and make the other politicians pay attention to me."