Mayor Villaraigosa and the
Truth about Cats and Dogs
by:
Charlotte Laws
The earth is starting to tremble in the Los
Angeles animal community because Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa has refused to honor his January
2005 campaign promise to fire the General
Manager of Los Angeles Animal Services Guerdon
Stuckey, and this broken promise has drawn
attention to a potential scandal involving a
loss of $1.1 million to the city over the next
three years. Even fiscally responsible
Angelenos who don't care about cats and dogs
can be officially outraged.
Animal advocates might have let the mayor
out of the doghouse on his pledge if Stuckey
had reformed the department, fostered
relationships with the community and saved
animal lives. But according to an October 27,
2005 L.A. CityBeat article, a poorly
negotiated contract by Stuckey for a
spay-neuter van "may have robbed the city of
half its needed spay-neuter services" and will
endanger animal lives.
Due to a shortage of van operating hours
combined with the high spay-neuter quota,
anesthetized animals will have to be whipped
on and off the operating table at great risk
to their health. The District Attorney has
been asked to investigate.
Many animal community moderates--such as
the dignified and caring former L.A. Animal
Commissioner Erika Brunson--who were
originally unwilling to jump on the clamorous
"we want Stuckey fired" bandwagon, are now
steering their own wagons through the streets
picking up angry passers-by, such as the
fiscally responsible crowd.
The "Reasons to fire Stuckey Email Series"
has been circulating for months. Reason number
61 warns the Democratic mayor--who may hope to
land in the Governor's office someday—that
animal advocates will begin cc'ing the
California Republican Party with their
complaints. Villaraigosa could be one misstep
away from tarnishing his dapper suit with
controversies much like those that haunted the
Hahn administration.
The mayor says he has decided not to fire
Stuckey at this time because the Animal
Liberation Front (ALF)—a "direct action"
animal rights group that has not injured a
human or animal since its inception in
1972–recently planted a smoke bomb at
Stuckey's apartment building, making him look
like a victim. He says he will not fire an
employee who is being threatened or
vandalized.
It is understandable that the mayor would
want to protect city workers. But in an
attempt to be tough on crime, Villaraigosa is
being weak on his convictions. If he truly
believes Stuckey should be fired, why is he
allowing himself to be controlled by the Los
Angeles ALF?
If Villaraigosa intends to be a strong
leader, he must do what he feels to be right,
despite the acts of a few on the "fringe."
Democratic leaders did not turn away from
unions, in spite of the fact that there were
2193 incidents of union violence against
people and property in this country between
1991 and 2001, including those related to
bombings, shootings and near fatal injuries.
Republicans did not become pro-choice after
doctors who performed abortion operations were
killed. According to the National Abortion
Federation, there have been 13,256 "incidents"
against abortion clinics or doctors since
1977, including seven murders, 17 attempted
murders, three kidnappings, and 41 bombings.
The pro-life movement remains firm in its
beliefs.
Despite media hype that makes it seem
scary, the ALF's credo prohibits injury to
humans and animals. The ALF recently took
credit for sending cabs, pizzas and
prostitutes to the home of an unsuspecting
animal services veterinarian. Although one may
disapprove of these tactics, they resemble
high school pranks more than crimes.
Villaraigosa's new "ALF policy" is good
news for those city employees who fear job
termination. Anyone whose porch falls victim
to a puff of smoke cannot be fired. At-risk
employees who fail to command the attention of
the ALF might be tempted to place a suspicious
package on their own doorstep.
The City Council has become so concerned
about the ALF and the L.A. protest group
called the Animal Defense League that it has
approved a plan which provides taxpayer
dollars for surveillance equipment at the
private homes of animal services employees.
With high tech cameras, these workers can weed
out door-to-door salesmen and pesky
in-laws—again on the taxpayer's dime--under
the pretense that the big bad wolf, also known
as the animal activist, might show up with a
feral cat flyer, order them a fake cab or
protest on the sidewalk with a sign. Although
city workers have a right to feel safe, this
measure amounts to another questionable use of
limited resources for a city that had 31,000
violent crimes last year.
The mayor continues to react to the "ALF
threat." He recently removed Erika Brunson
from the Los Angeles Animal Commission and
replaced her with surveillance expert Glenn S.
Brown. The Commission, which is endorsed by
the humane community, provides a compassionate
and intelligent voice for the powerless
victims of our public shelters: the animals
The current commissioners—except for Mr.
Brown--may not be experts on installing
cameras to detect fake pizza deliveries, but
they are experts on how to combat the violence
perpetrated against the dogs, cats and other
animals that we have a responsibility to
protect.
If Mayor Villaraigosa fails to honor his
promise to fire Mr. Stuckey and to hire a
compassionate and experienced General Manager
who can implement a no-kill plan and reform
the department, he may find that the animal
community is politically-speaking, more bite
than bark. A decision to retain Stuckey is
likely to become a permanent smudge on
Villaraigosa's finely tailored lapel.
The animal community expects the mayor to
do the right thing. But in case he doesn't,
they have forwarded this article to the
Republican Party.
