Little Ethiopia, Big Ethiopia: Vote Rick Caruso for Mayor of Los Angeles!
The primary election for Mayor of the City of Los Angeles is set for June 7, 2022.
It is a 9-candidate race, but the real contest will be between Rick Caruso, a successful businessman and Karen Bass, currently a member of Congress a/k/a “The Washington/Beltway Swamp.”
Ethiopian American voters in Los Angeles must answer three critical questions as they consider which one of the mayoral candidates deserves their vote:
Which candidate has the moral character and political integrity to lead the second largest city in America?
Which candidate has the skills, experience and plan of action to deal with the problems of homelessness, public safety and corruption in the City of Los Angeles?
Which candidate is likely to best help the community in “Little Ethiopia?”
As I previously discussed in some detail, moral character is important in a leader. Voters should not doubt the ethical behavior and professionalism of a candidate who seeks public office.
Political integrity is also vitally important because a candidate for office must be free from undue influence of special interests and allow all segments of the community, especially those at the bottom, to have meaningful opportunities to be heard as well as maintain openness and transparency by welcoming public scrutiny of their decision-making processes.
On my score of moral character and political integrity Karen Bass gets an “F.”
The liberal press-titute media is going ape***t over the possibility that Caruso, a conservative democrat, could win the election and become mayor. They are chasing him with their long knives in hand.
They mock Caruso as a “Republican who registered as Democrat about 20 minutes ago.”
They call him “Teflon Rick” because none of the ***t the liberal media has thrown at Caruso has stuck.
They demonize and dehumanize Caruso as the “billionaire Republican-turned-Democrat who has dropped $34 million on the mayoral race.”
The fact of the matter is that Caruso is putting his money where his mouth is to save the city he loves and has served in private and public capacities.
The Los Angeles magazine cannot believe their usual fear and smear campaign against Caruso has failed miserably. “To date, everything slung at the billionaire developer has slid off him, barely smudging his carefully orchestrated persona and platform. So far Caruso has been the Teflon candidate — nothing sticks to him.”
Which candidate has the skills, experience and plan of action to deal with the problems of homelessness, public safety and corruption in the City of Los Angeles?
Caruso is a real-estate lawyer and successful developer.
He established business landmarks including The Grove at Farmers Market in Los Angeles, the Americana at Brand in Glendale, the Commons at Calabasas, the Promenade at Westlake, The Lakes at Thousand Oaks and own/operates many other properties.
In 1985, Mayor Tom Bradley appointed Caruso to serve as commissioner for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. At 26, he was the youngest commissioner.
In 2001, Mayor James Hahn appointed Caruso to serve on the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners to which he was subsequently elected its president.
In 2008, Caruso was elected to serve as a member of the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission.
Caruso has identified homelessness in LA – numbering over 42 thousand people – as his top priority and will establish a Department of Homeless Housing.
He argues the homelessness crisis is “ an emergency of epic proportions that deserves a true FEMA-level response that comes with federal, state, and local coordination and funds to quickly house those who are living on our streets.”
Caruso has a well-laid out and practical plan to deal with the homelessness problem in LA.
His public safety plans are equally well-laid out and practical.
He will “invest in more training, both to reduce unnecessary use of force incidents and to eliminate any elements of unconscious bias” as well as increase the force to fight crime. He plans to address the link between crime and mental health.
Caruso’s third major priority is corruption and ethics. He will work for $1 a year.
He reminds voters, “The last three years have seen more councilmembers, staff, bureaucrats, and high-level commissioners arrested and indicted than anyone can remember.”
To maximize accountability and transparency, Caruso will refuse contributions from corporations or lobbyists; appoint an independent ethics czar on day one to advise on all issues and ensure City business is conducted to prevent any conflicts of interest; won’t meet with lobbyists; publish the Mayor’s official calendar on a daily basis so everyone can see who he meets with, and place all his business holdings in a blind trust.
Caruso wants to be Mayor of Los Angles not to fatten his pocket but to serve and give back to the City that has given him so much.
The LA Times has endorsed Bass claiming Bass is “extraordinarily qualified, battle-tested, mission-driven leader on the ballot.”
That is bull****.
Bass talks the talk and walks the talk by taking $95 thousand unsolicited student aid money from the University of Southern California.
The liberal press-titute media try to palm off Bass as a reformer and progressive.
Her record shows she is just a run-of-the-swamp politician whose guiding principle is “go-along-to-get-along.”
I have given my reasons for opposing Karen Bass, which I believe are shared by the vast majority of Ethiopian American voters in Los Angeles.
I endorse Rick Caruso and urge Ethiopian American voters in Los Angeles to support and vote for him.
The race is tight and will get even tighter if Caruso does not win the primary by 0ver 50 percent of the votes cast.
Los Angeles City and County primary election rules are somewhat unusual.
The top two winners advance to the general election — unless a candidate receives over 50% + 1 of the vote, in which case the winner is declared without a general race.
Little Ethiopia, Big Ethiopia
Which candidate is likely to best help the community in “Little Ethiopia?”
I have had opportunity to discuss my lack of endorsement of Karen Bass, an African American woman who has served in elective office for nearly a decade and half.
The principal argument, ignoring those laden with racial undertones, I have heard in favor of endorsing Bass is that she is more likely to do more to help the “Little Ethiopia” community in LA than Caruso.
My response is very simple.
If Karen Bass is unwilling/unable to help Big Ethiopia when Ethiopia faced crippling sanctions, I doubt very much she will help Little Ethiopia if push comes to shove.
Lo and behold, Bass introduced H. Res. 445 to impose crippling sanctions on Ethiopia!
When we needed Bass in Ethiopia’s darkest hour, she was nowhere to be seen. Indeed, she was plotting to cripple Ethiopia with other bought-off lawmakers in the service of the terrorist TPLF, which to this day toils to dismantle and destroy Ethiopia.
We must never forget that standing in the voting booth!
I have no reason to believe Caruso will act adversely against “Little Ethiopia” or Ethiopian American voters in Los Angeles.
I have seen no evidence Caruso has ever said or done anything whatsoever to harm or demonize Ethiopia!
But I have more than reasonable doubt Karen Bass will not help “Little Ethiopia” based on the evidence of what she has done or failed miserably failed to do for “Big Ethiopia,” which I have presented in my previous commentary.
But I respect those who wish to support and vote for Bass. But those who do should be aware elections have consequences. They are free to roll the dice with Bass!
We can agree to disagree.
Vote for Rick Caruso, Mayor of Los Angeles
It is said Angelenos tune out of local politics because they feel like their vote does not make much of a difference.
That is simply not true.
Every vote makes a difference.
Ethiopian American voters should be keenly aware that the right to vote in America came as a result of the blood, sweat and tears of untold numbers of African Americans in a struggle that lasted for centuries.
In 1957, in a speech entitled, “Give Us the Ballot,” Dr. Martin Luther King said,
So long as I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to vote I do not possess myself. I cannot make up my mind — it is made up for me. I cannot live as a democratic citizen, observing the laws I have helped to enact — I can only submit to the edict of others.
The fact of the matter is that in America today elections are not decided by the majority but a tiny minority.
The majority of voters have already decided to vote for one candidate or the other in the general election. There are those who are fully committed to vote for Caruso or Bass.
The difference is made by the tiny few who are in a position tip the scale one way or the other.
In the 2020 presidential election, in the 15 key battleground states Trump got 48.4% of the votes and Biden 50.1.
Biden won by 1.7%!
It is estimated there are between 30-40 thousand Ethiopians living in the LA area. Assuming 5 thousand of them voted, they could decide the mayoral election straight up!
The right to vote is sacred and the ultimate badge of citizenship pride.
Ethiopian American voters in Los Angeles, your votes make big difference. Vote you MUST!
You must exercise the right to vote by balancing the dictates of your informed consciences, enlightened self-interest and the best interests of your community.
I urge each Ethiopian American voter in LA and all other first and second-generation immigrant Americans to ask themselves one and only one question before making up their minds and vote in the primary on June 7, 2022.
ARE YOU BETTER OFF TODAY THAN YOU WERE BEFORE BIDEN TOOK OFFICE?
Truth be told, I believe the Los Angeles Mayor’s race should be as much a referendum on the gross incompetence and depraved indifference of the Biden administration as it is about issues of homelessness, public safety and corruption.
Karen Bass, as Biden’s short-listed vice-presidential running mate, must be seen as part of the inner circle of Bidenites who are responsible for America’s present condition.
The choice for Ethiopian American voters in LA is crystal clear.
If you are better off today than you were when Joe Biden took office, please do NOT vote for Rick Caruso.
But vote for Rick Caruso if you and your family are burdened by high inflation, high crime, high interest rates, high food and gas prices!
Ethiopian American voters in Los Angeles, I urge you to vote for Rick Caruso and save LA and reclaim Ethiopia’s millennia-long cherished dignity!
