The District Weekly - Latest Comments in SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

Al — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:00:30 -0000

Amusing?

Don't worry, Juan. Al will get back to us on that issues, as soon as he's done with his latest tax raising scheme for whatever is his latest boondoggle.

And Suja is no different.

Since day one, whenever one sees a Lowenthal speaking, hold on to your wallet.

And i don't find anything amusing with that, mate.

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

90277rulezon — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:38:35 -0000

(con't) Is there some sort of agenda behind his concerns? Well, Sen. Lowenthal, supposedly an environmental supporter, has taken in thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the oil/petroleum industry. Obviously, high-speed rail will cut into their bottom line. Is he protecting them? Maybe he can better answer that question.

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

90277rulezon — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:35:45 -0000

#40 What I found amusing, is that Sen. Alan Lowenthal, who chairs a committee dealing with the proposed high-speed rail project, recently questioned its cost to the taxpayers. What the hell? Here is an elected official, who supported many of the taxpayer boondoggles that are currently raping the city's general fund, supposedly concerned about the cost of probably one of the best investment/infrastructre projects this state will ever undertake.

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

Belly_up — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 06:10:24 -0000

lindaonline, your post in #21 is a despicable lie about a decent man. Either provide proof or retract it.

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

DW reader — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:27:23 -0000

Dave Wielenga (39): What John B.(42) says is by far even more impressive!! He makes the rest of us sound like a bunch of blathering dolts.

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

drnoe — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:03:30 -0000

Seal, how is Heidi?

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

Al — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:55:56 -0000

Lowenthals. If they were in charge of running a real business, it would have sunk well under the sea years ago.

Yes, Suja's career of political opportunism sucks,... as well as her conflict of interest with her voting record,... But it's Suja Lowenthal's, as well as Al Lowenthal's, and Bonnie Lowenthal's voting record of sticking it to every taxpayer that REALLY sucks!

The forever money losing Queen Mary and that whole fiasco.

The money losing Aquarium that old Al Lowenthal was instrumental in helping stick the city with on a forever basis, (check the whole history of that continual big fat lie over on LBReport.com).

And the proposed NEW TAX INCREASE? Designed to pay for basic services such as streets and sidewalks that should be covered by the first basic expenditure of a major city?

Yup, those Lowenthal's have never seen a tax increase they didn't like.

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

Dave Wielenga — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:55:45 -0000

Seeing things from Seal is pretty impressive.

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

Seen from Seal — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:02:45 -0000

Before I say anything else, let me say -- I support the DW in its coverage of this story and its general coverage of local politics so far.

(And my thought and prayers are with those hurt in today's auto accident. I wish them a full and speedy recovery.)

Will -- do what you have to do to keep your business strong. If you have to go no further in your approach to challenging stories than you are demonstrating here, I will understand. I would be sad to see your business fail -- Long Beach would be a poorer place without you -- so if you see thorough investigation of this issue as too big a financial risk because of excessive exposure to lawsuits, I understand. The quality of what you are providing to Long Beach is already far and away a net plus to the community.

That said . . .

I am dismayed that you are punting on this story. You call for a discussion on this issue, posing as a kind of gladiator asking the audience for thumbs up or thumbs down on this woman's privacy. It's the wrong focus -- you should be telling us what we stand to gain as a community by intruding in this public figure's private life. Judging by the chaotic and confused discussion string here, your readers don't know -- so you have to tell them.

You're not telling us what you think is at stake. You should.

I am not a lawyer (though I often usefully play one in my pronouncements to my children), but libel law and the First Amendment would seem to support you asking Suja Lowenthal damn near anything you want to at this point in time. And the reason why is because the law recognizes that our political life as a society is improved when news organizations provide maximum information about government decision making. The character of an elected official is germane and is clearly of "compelling public interest." You have to demonstrate you are not acting out of "malice aforethought," but you do this by acknowledging that this line of questioning is of public interest and by asking her questions and giving her time to respond before publishing her responses. It may not make you popular with everyone at City Hall -- but is that your goal?

Do you have legal counsel telling you anything different? If so, and your counselor is telling you to drop your notebook and slowly back away from questioning elected officials about their sex lives, you may have an obligation to either get a new lawyer or tell your readers this is the advice you are following.

And I don't think the question is about her honesty. I think it's more a question of her loyalty to those who support her and her personal courage: how does she confront an evolving situation (hypothetically, an increasingly unsatisfying marriage) that challenges her previous, very public, commitments? This could be (hypothetically) a wedding vow or this could be a commitment to supporters to complete her campaign for a school board seat instead of opportunistically jumping into Dan Baker's still warm council seat (I'm surprised THAT chapter in the Suja Lowenthal Hagiography wasn't in your article--talk about abandonment! She left a lot of good people as angry as jilted spouses and in-laws when she bailed . . . and delivered to Long Beach by her abandonment the school board member much in the news of late).

Bottom line: does she treat her partners -- personal and political -- with respect in resolving conflicting political or personal desires, or does she find it acceptable to abandon those partners when convenient, jump into a new seat and parse ethics law with alternative weekly reporters as a diversion?

Low scores here on loyalty and personal courage lead to future stories (that you could pre-write today) about what she is leaving Long Beach holding in the bag as she departs for Sacramento or D.C. The importance of exposing this depends on what you, as political journalists, think would be in that bag.

Memorable coverage could change the political climate here -- can anyone say "Michael Carona"? (bless you, Moxley) But if you think the game isn't worth the candle -- if you think Long Beach needs more politicians like Suja, not fewer -- say so (cuz you seem a little, well, smitten). I'll still kinda respect you in the morning.

Frankly, I think Americans in the voting booth admire adulterers. As long as they don't lie about it, do something homosexual (without the prior acceptance of their homosexuality), or reveal some beyond-the-pale kink (wherever that pale may be), they're golden. Plain vanilla cheating on a spouse suggests a certain initiative and reckless individualism in a politician that we can't help but find appealing. Heck, you can even cheat and be the presidential nominee of a major political party! So infidelity might even advance a political career in this brave new world.

But my goodness -- what's that about Suja being abandoned (for whatever reason) by her mother for two years at the age of five? and she volunteers this information to her audiences? Any psychologist in the crowd could fill you in on what that could mean for the adult version of that child. It's not pretty.

Will -- I think it's really about what you and Dave have the stomach for and the direction you want to take your publication. As I said above, don't endanger your enterprise. But you could provide an even greater public service than you already do, if that is in your plans.

Dave -- this is a great story, as far as it goes. You placed into superb context your interview with Lowenthal that I previously understood poorly. You have told us all some important things about Long Beach politics that have not been previously reported, and for that I thank you.

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

DW reader — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:39:39 -0000

EM(36): Yes, we can totally blame Suja; mother-in-law notwithstanding...

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

EM — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:27:15 -0000

Look who she has for a mother-in-law! Can you blame Suja?

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

Duke — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:08:38 -0000

If we can take a break from the Suja fest here, put her three aides in your thoughts. Aguilar, Coward and Burke were in a bad car crash this afternoon at 3rd and Atlantic. There are pictures on Pearl's site. It wasn't pretty.

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

DW reader — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:14:35 -0000

lindaonline: just what precisely are you trying to say in 21?

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

DW reader — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:32:19 -0000

Oops. Sorry Mr. Swaim. That was a typo error in your name in #26

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

L.C. — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:16:29 -0000

To # 13.
Carl Kemp as the spokesman for John Rouse??
Carl is a very busy man these days..he is a registered lobbyist for Englander and Associates, (check Los Angeles registered lobbyists). Carl served the city under both Hankala and Miller and then took a position with the Port before going with Englander. Lobbying firms love this and want ex city employees for the obvious reasons -expertise in in city policy and a network of professional and personal relationships. Carl has been seen lobbying the redevelopment agengy for the Hyatt Pace and for those of you on the eastside....Carl is the lobbyist working with David Malmuth and Cliff Ratkovich on the new SEAPORT MARINA project...but that's another story!

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

Melissa — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:33:50 -0000

My high school english teacher, Mr. Shields, would give about half the people in this blog an F for not fully comprehending this article. Before attacking the DW why don't you reread the article. Bonus: you won't sound like a moron.

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

JJ — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:02:22 -0000

She is power hungry. Everything for her is about image and political advancement.

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

Andy — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:27:15 -0000

#18 So you're saying the DW wouldn't cover it if Mayor Foster had an alleged "relationship" with a woman who had city contracts because he's a dude and it's OK?

It's easier in this life being a dude, but that ain't one of our perks. Writing our name in the snow and not needing to talk about our feelings, however, are big bonuses.

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

##### — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:08:04 -0000

dear suja...thank you so much for tearing down acres of books, it is a legacy you will long be remembered for tearing down a beloved book store.

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

wswaim — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:57:46 -0000

No. 25: You raise precisely the question Dave raises in his article: it's easy to determine that there is a conflict of interest where married or business partners are concerned. The question before us is this: what should we do about relationships outside marriage? Ignore them? Or ask politicians to disclose relationships that might influence their decisionmaking?

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

DW reader — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:54:15 -0000

Mr. Swain (22): Harsh? ABSOLUTELY! Some ludicrous statements,comments and viewpoints can only be addressed harshly. I also read her previous (if it is a her) ridiculous male-bashing comments to the "I Have Many Friends" article when she was going by "Double Standard for Women". And despite you refreshing her short-term memory with the Eliot Spitzer and Bill Clinton examples, she continues clinging to her childish gender-centric whining.

GROW UP doublestandard!! It's not a gender issue. It's a CHARACTER issue!! Women, just like all men, are expected to possess decent moral character!

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

anon — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:37:40 -0000

Okay, so no one is piling on Suja because of a sexist double standard...then why aren't we mentioning any ethical concerns based upon "friendships" with women Suja knows.

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

DW reader — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:20:36 -0000

LB lover (23): OK, fine. Why is Bill blasting the Weekly so harshly for reporting the INFORMATION (that would include facts and/or rumors) that has been presented by outside sources? And why isn't Bill attacking the Press-Telegram for first reporting the divorce story if he thinks the Lowenthal split should be kept private and not made public?

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

LB lover — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:44:46 -0000

Dave - I noticed you NEVER responded to Bill's statements about LB Fire (#6). He's right - you guys are in the wrong here and, in regards to the comments in #8, you were NOT presented with FACTS... you were presented with rumors. Smearing an institution (and it's President) that has shed blood for this town based on rumors is shameful and libelous.

You may care more about your adspace than you do your integrity, but its going to kick your as* one of these days...

Re: SUJA LOWENTHAL AND THE ART AND SCIENCE OF POLITICS | The District Weekly

wswaim — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:05:22 -0000

Yikes (20), a little harsh, no? I mean, I get the response to (18): she made the same comment on the previous iteration of this story. But here's how I responded:

First, no one’s saying Suja had an affair–no one but you, Double Standard for Women. Second, not knowing the details of the mayor’s relationship, I can’t say much except this: the point under consideration is whether Suja ought to have disclosed her relationship with men who brought business before the council. Otherwise, who cares?

And if you think there’s a double-standard, I beg you to consider Eliot Spitzer, Bill Clinton, etc.

This isn’t an issue of sex or gender. It’s a question of transparency in government. See Dave’s latest post for comments on that:

http://thedistrictweekly.co......