The recent contract termination and re-hiring of Irvine city attorney Rutan & Tucker is no surprise. It’s not because the issue should never have happened, but because the changing of consulting firms and attorneys is a common event in politics.
A little history – Rutan & Tucker has been providing legal services to the City of Irvine since 1971. As in usual fashion Rutan & Tucker followed the guidelines of the majority Council and did not consider the minority Council depending on who was the majority at the time.
Political winds change, and if a company treats one side of the political spectrum badly, they can’t be surprised when their contract is terminated and they are forced to re-bid for it. Shouldn’t we expect consultants to the City’s government be held accountable for their actions? And Rutan & Tucker were allowed to re-bid, and were allowed to win that bid. The City Council voted 3-2 in a closed session. Mayor pro-tem Jeff Lalloway and Mayor Steven Choi, who served on a subcommittee to review the 13 other applicants prior to the rest of the council, cast the two dissenting votes. (Meaning Christina Shea once again joined the Democratic minority to form a sort of Rutan Clan.)
If anything, this should be a routine and standard policy that every three to five years contracts should be reviewed. Determine who can best serve the city’s needs regularly, rather than keeping it automatic, which is the case with Rutan & Tucker. Turning something which should be policy, and which was certainly warranted, into a dramatic theater presentation is absurd.
Lalloway and Choi gave the impression that they were promoting a different law firm, but whether or not THAT firm was qualified to care for the City’s growth and new developing projects remains unclear. But it really did appear that their intent was to put public pressure on the other Council members to choose and support this other firm. It didn’t work. It was much ado about nothing. The “purportedly” under-qualified firm did not win the bid.
An overheard observation from a spectator was “a serious lack of professionalism by Lalloway”. Lalloway apparently announced his displeasure shortly after Council session in the chambers – Lalloway even threatened Council members by destroying them “politically” and “financially”.
As so often with people who let their egos get in the way, others can suffer consequences for their actions. Lalloway’s kingdom is in danger of changing back from a majority-Republican Council to a majority-Democrat Council, because of one member of the Council siding with the more liberal side of the dais. Whether or not it happened is fairly irrelevant.
Shakespeare’s play King Lear sums it up. It depicts a king slowly losing his grasp on his kingdom and reality is anything but a fairy tale. Fairy tales are noted for their joyful, convenient resolutions, their “happily ever after” endings. But for Lalloway, just as many monarchs tried to convince their subjects that they should love and admire them, he demands absolute loyalty and uses his power as an excuse to get this loyalty and to achieve domination over his kingdom at the people’s expense.
BTW, the monarchy also required allegiance and “love for country.” In Lalloway’s case, he has lost THAT battle before it has even begun.
Apparently politicians mustn’t question the status quo, even when they – and in turn the people they represent – have been mistreated by members of it. And if a politician can’t so much as question the status quo, with no negative long term effects, then why run for office in the first place?
I think we can all agree that just because a firm has been representing the city since 1971, does not mean it should continue representing the city, without question or opposition, forever. Conversely, however, they may very well just happen to be the best choice.
Darn. And right while he’s sounding like the voice of reason on the OCTA Board.
The author of this piece is mentally deranged.
Shea complained year after year that Rutan should be disbarred and then she voted with the liberal majority to rehire them, after she voted to fire them.
Shea is quickly becoming a liberal.
And Kathryn Daigle, the author to this piece of junk, should disclose that she is running for council or mayor or whatever job she wants to run for again.
Deciding one law firm is better than another is a liberal thing?
And re. Ms. Daigle, you haven’t been paying attention.
Dick.
Katherine has disclosed that numerous times.
I think that your definitions of “deranged,” “liberal,” and “junk” are off. I’ll presume for now that you got “complained,” “disbarred,” and “running” correct.
C’mon Vern, stay with me.
Rutan was Agran’s firm and Shea voted with the corrupt Agran to bring them back after she complained for years that they should be disbarred. What did Agran promise Shea?
Why does Daigle write for this blog? She is running as a conservative and has no clue about anything.
She just makes things up off the top of her large head.
I’ll just answer the Daigle question for now. Why should she not write for this blog? Did you get the impression somewhere that we don’t have conservatives? Actually I like having dissident Republicans from every town – Cynthia Ward, Ryan Cantor, Katherine, Sandy “Femme Wonkita” Genis if she’ll come back….
And as far as I can tell, she has several clues.
“An overheard observation from a spectator was “a serious lack of professionalism by Lalloway”. Lalloway apparently announced his displeasure shortly after Council session in the chambers – Lalloway even threatened Council members by destroying them “politically” and “financially”.”
Vern, she just made this shit up.
Well, I know who her source was. I’m not sure why she left that out, except probably cuz it’s a fella she doesn’t really get along with. But …. *tap foot* I’m sure she’ll show up in the next couple hours to speak for herself.
Dick, you have a theory or an “observation”?
No you don’t, if you listen really hard you will hear that, “Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” (George Orwell)
Marvelous quote!
And something further to reflect on Dick, is I am a proud conservative, and I am running for Mayor.
Relax Dick, the “large head” will give you a clue to the story, if you read the article on Rutan & Tucker in the Register, you will find the commentator.
Have a great evening “Dick”
The only names mentioned in the article are Agran and Krom. So does that mean they are your source. Your source for anti-Lalloway news are his opposition? You actually expect us to believe that?
all i know for certain is that our city hall is nicer than theirs
really, can we occupiers camp on your lawn then?
vern, as long as you bring your piano, you can camp anywhere
I have gained a lot of respect for Shea since she’s been elected back to the council. The problem is that all of them are a bunch NIMBYistic egomaniacs with zero sense of perspective. I am waiting for the results of the Great Park forensic audit. This should provide some decent political theatre. Equally decent theatre will be the “devils deal” the Great Park board is going to have to cut with Five Points to recover what’s been pissed away on the park to date.
“There is no present or future-only the past, happening over and over again-now.”
― Eugene O’Neill, A Moon for the Misbegotten