When lunch is more than just lunch

Is lawyer and former state Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg looking to make another run for citywide office in Los Angeles? Our own David Zahniser goes to the source and gets some answers. Well, sort of:        

      That question came up after the San Fernando Valley resident was spotted Friday in San Pedro at the Dalmatian-American Club's monthly fish luncheon, a multi-course feast attended by community types and bigwigs around the Los Angeles harbor area.

      The running joke is that politicians who live north of the 105 Freeway tend to show up at the luncheon once they're running for office. Hertzberg disagreed, saying he simply wanted to reconnect with some friends in San Pedro that he met during his unsuccessful 2005 mayoral campaign. But he also said he hasn't decided whether to be a candidate in next year's municipal election — either for city attorney or for mayor.

      "I'm not ruling either one out," he said. And now that the June primary is almost over, "it's appropriate now to start thinking about it," he added.

      That makes Hertzberg the latest person to flirt with the possibility of a run against the incumbent, Mayor Antonio Villariaogsa. Mall developer Rick Caruso offered a similarly coy message to The Times this week.

      If Hertzberg runs for city attorney, he will have as an opponent Villaraigosa's closest ally, Councilman Jack Weiss. Another likely foe in the city attorney's race would be lawyer Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich, who held a campaign fund-raiser Wednesday hosted by L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca, Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley and county Supervisor Don Knabe.

      Trutanich held his event — where else? — at the Dalmatian-American Club in San Pedro.

Talk about a fish story.

--Veronique de Turenne

Photo: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

 

Comments

[Trutanich in the Valley]

The only reason Jack Weiss is taking his political ambitions city-wide is because he cannot win another election in his OWN district. His constituants hate him, and thousands joined in the effort to recall him. And that is a fact, Jack!

As for Trutanich, his young campaign has support from the key players in LA politics and, more important, the support of law enforcement and rank and file attorneys in the DAs and CAs offices. Unlike Mr. Weiss, when potential voters and endorsers meet Trutanich, they like and remember him.

Name recognition is a non-issue in this campaign. As the saying goes, "Anyone but Weiss!"

[jeffs]

I only double posed cuz it took hours for the first one to appear -- but it does creep me out to look at that photo of Hertzberg, is that a guy who's going to scare away the bad guys? "Gimme a hug" doesn't cut it.

[george laird]

Hertzberg could not get elected to head a walking club at that ghetto park that he is at in the morning - owns the jewish vote? give me a break, he is banging some shikse and avoiding his child support obligations. as for the jewish vote - weiss is stuck to it like white on rice - hertzberg is out of the game and can never get back in - no one likes him and his law career is chock full of lovely conflicts of interest - like asking for favors from the edd, etc.

[No More Antonio Villaraigosa OR Jack Weiss]

Hertzberg owns the Valley and the Jewish vote.

Weiss has tens of thousands of people who almost recalled him just months ago. But it would be a mistake for Bob to run for City Attorney. Let's let this Deputy City Attorney take over Rocky's position, and CORRECT WHAT WE GOT WRONG A FEW YEARS AGO: GET HERTZBERG IN CHARGE OF CITY HALL.

[jeffs]

Sure, Hertzberg just turned up at that monthly fish luncheon for the fish isn't a fishy explanation. Especially when everyone knows he loves to eat -- he was most famous for hanging out at Jerry's Deli in Studio City and eating pastrami sandwiches. There was a sort of running contest between him and Bustamante, as to who could lose the most weight, or at least, gain the least. But seriously, folks, this dude has as much chance of challenging the challengers for Mayor or City Attorney as does Walter Moore, "Candidate for Mayor."

The guy's just plain silly, and being "huggy" might make him more touchy-feely than the favored candidate for CA, but frankly, it just creeps me out. I don't want to hug my chubby City Attorney, I want him to put away the bad guys and scare them.

As for no-name challenger Trutanich, okay, his name sounds like Trout and that might make him a natural for the fish luncheon and a co-candidate with Hertzberg, but a Republican, pro-NRA guy who's backed by Steve Cooley isn't coming with a whole lot of cred.

Steve Ipsen's doing a good job of making people see Steve Cooley with a fresh eye, and his interview in the Times blowing off HIS 22-year top-prosecutor IPsen, Voted President of the 1000- member Asst. DA's Union as "not in my league," shows what an arrogant, smug power-hungry jerk Cooley's become, just like Ipsen and co-challenger Robles say: Cooley runs the DA's office "like a Third World dictator," per another interview, and Cooley refuses to cooperate with LAPD or the City ATtorney or ICE on putting away high-profile felons or illegal gangbangers. Then he blames all the problems on the city's lack of enforcement. VOTE FOR STEVE IPSEN OVER COOLEY.

Today's articles in various media about how he lets Violent Sexual Predators back on the streets in two years, contrary to law, the Supreme Court's rulings and even Democratic State Attorney Gen. Gerry Brown, is another example of being "above the law." His Three Strikes means a teen is thrown away for life for a third strike stealing a can of Coke, so our jails are too full to hold the major criminals, who all get out on plea bargains. Anyone Cooley endorses is suspect. NO on Trutuvoch, fishy name or not.

[jeffs]

Steve Cooley is hoping to make Trutanich his flunky as City Attorney -- Steve Ipsen is right on Cooley, who's refused to follow the law when it comes to being tough on Violent Pedophile Sex Offenders, even defying State Attorney General Gerry Brown and the State Supreme Court.

Cooley's convinced he's "smarter" than they when it comes to the Constitution, and dismisses Ipsen -- a 20year Prosecutor in his own Dept. (whom Cooley's subjected to harassment on the time of DA- paid Inspectors) and the chosen head of the 1000-member Asst. DA's Union. These DA's are too afraid of Cooley's "Third World tactics" to speak out individually, but they've chosen Ipsen to speak for them.

Cooley releases these dangerous offenders back onto the streets after 2 years, because the jails are too full thanks to his "Three Strikes Law" that puts away for life offenders who steal a can of Coke. Cooley promised his Law would clean up our streets, but crime from petty crime to illegal crime and violent felones are way UP under his watch. He's refused to touch the elected crooks beholden to the Mexican Mafia in the 8 South of L A Cities (Bell, Cudahy, etc.), although he'd made that a centerpiece to his ousting Gil Garcetti.

Trutanich is NOT supported by his colleagues and has no political base, so if Cooley supports him, that makes him automatically suspect in my book.

Hertzberg is a joke, most famous for eating endless plates of pastrami at Jerry's Deli in Studio City, and being in an informal contest with Bustamante over who can lose the most weight. We need someone who can form coalitions to get things done, and that's not Trutonovich or Hertzberg.

Then we've heard about Caruso, who thinks that developing Glendale's new mall makes him able manage the complex issues of a huge city like this. Riordan was a moderate Republican who made it as Mayor -- but he also owned the downtown pantry for years, and was a beloved, bi-partisan local figure. He was unique in Republican circles -- Caruso and Trutanovich are a pipe dream, and Cooley's abject failure as an endorser is a big vote of NO confidence.