Mayor Garcia Didn't Preside At Council Meeting (One Of His Charter Duties) To Attend L.A. County Democratic Party Event; His Former Online Calendar Has Apparently Vanished And We'd Like To Know If He Took Metro To The Event

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(Feb. 16, 2018, 8:15 a.m.) -- LBREPORT.com has learned that Mayor Robert Garcia wasn't present and didn't preside at the Feb. 13 City Council meeting, one of his City Charter enumerated duties, because he chose to attend a meeting of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. LBREPORT.com became curious about Garcia's absence when Vice Mayor Rex Richardson (who handled the Feb. 13 Council meeting) conspicuously omitted citing a reason for Garcia's absence and a Feb. 14 emailed inquiry to the Mayor's chief of staff atypically received no response.

Councilmembers Roberto Uranga and Vice Mayor Richardson also attended the L.A. County Democratic Party event but did so after performing their elected City Council duties.

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The City Charter specifies that the Mayor "shall preside at meetings of the City Council." The Charter specifies that the remainder of the Mayor's duties are [Charter term] "ceremonial" or involve budget recommendations, voicing citywide policy perspectives and offering appointments that require Council approval (with Council actions subject to a Mayoral veto that six Council members can override.) Prior to 1986, LB's Mayoral title was simply rotated among Councilmembers but an escalator clause inserted in the Charter text has now raised the Mayor's FY18 budgeted salary to $143,267.

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LBREPORT.com was interested to know what Mayor Garcia may have done, and with whom he may have met, on Feb. 13 (and other recent days) for his six figure salary so we searched for his online office calendar. In running for Mayor in 2014, candidate Garcia boasted that he'd put his office calendar online to show his transparency. However as best we can tell (after searching for some time), Garcia's Mayoral office calendar appears to have vanished from City Hall's website. This is despite a costly website "upgrade" advocated by Garcia (a cost item approved by the Council) and despite a Mayor/management-overseen "innovation team" (a $1 million Council-approved cost item to obtain a $3 million Bloomberg foundation grant.)

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The L.A. County Dem Party event took place at UTLA HQ on Wilshire Blvd., just two short blocks west of a Metro station. We're interested in knowing if Metro boardmember Garcia took Metro's Blue Line/Red Line to the event. The same inquiry is in order for Vice Mayor Richardson and Councilman Uranga scheduled to vote March 6 on density-increasing Land Use Element maps that presume LB residents will use LB-accessible public transit.

Perhaps they rode bicycles. Further as we learn it.

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