Like a Hispanic version of Anakin Skywalker, “Cudahy Chris” Garcia was supposed to bring integrity and balance to the scandal-plagued, corruption tinged city of Cudahy. He ran on a slate with other reforms, all of whom jumped in to save their city from the Old School corrupted political establishment. The local press had high regards for Garcia, high hopes that he would bring much needed change. Check out this article from the Latino Californi
a in 2012:Anti-corruption activist to run for Cudahy City CouncilCudahy municipal elections may be half a year away but a local activist has already announced his intention to run for office in this small city whose recent political scandals have grabbed national headlines.
After the disastrous January 11, 2016 Cudahy city council meeting, some of the local activists told me that they had placed so much hope and faith in Garcia. He was one of them, an activist tired of the crime and corruption dominating city hall.
“I want to bring back competency and honesty to City Hall and a just government for local residents,” says Christopher Garcia, a founding member of the activist resident group United4Cudahy. “The current system is old and antiquated and has the wrong mindset. I need and want to remind people that government should be there to work for them.”
If anyone had attended the last city council meeting, disunity and anarchy know defines the government, which is doing nothing for the local residents. Three council seats will be up for grabs on the March 5th ballot. One councilman’s 4-year term is coming to an end. And this summer two members of City Council left among accusations of accepting bribes and other corruption activities after being arrested by the FBI. The now former Mayor David Silva and former Councilman Osvaldo Conde could face decades in prison.
These arrests followed the explosive revelations then indictments in Bell, California. In fact, the most recent political activism among residents ignited after the corruption scandal broke out on June 22. First the Cudahy Association Unidos Salimos Adelante was formed and from this group came out United4Cudahy later; both groups have regularly attended City Council meetings as sorts of government watchdogs and advocating for reforms, transparency and services for residents. GOVERNMENT TRANSFORMATIONUnder the vigilance of those residents change has come to City Hall, according to Garcia. City Council recently approved to change its meeting time from 4 p. m. to 7 p. m. starting January. When the appointment to a vacant council seat was brought up, activists successfully pressed for a open and transparent nomination process and a candidate forum. Furthermore, United4Cudahy lobbied hard to have the Los Angeles County run Cudahy’s March elections in light of the fraud that has happened in recent elections—as acknowledged by indicted officials in court documents. Garcia sees those as accomplishments of CASUA United4Cudahy. “We’ve passed more good reform in the past three months than the previous 15 years,” he says.
Now United4Cudahy has officially adopted a mission to work towards sending one of its leaders to City Hall. The organization’s recently-launched website says that it will “act as a campaign platform for Christopher Garcia in the Cudahy City Council race in March 2013.”
Cudahy Chris boasted a respectable background as well as a promising future:UCLA GRADUATEGarcia, 26, says he was born and raised in Cudahy, attended local schools as a child, went to nearby Bell High School in the City of Bell, and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science on a full-paid scholarship from UCLA. At that university, he was a student activist against fee hikes and later got involved in labor campaigns for the rights of garment industry workers, according to his resume. He also worked as an intern for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in the communications department. He currently works as a independent contractor in patient administration for a doctor at the Back Institute of Beverly Hills.
He’s been an active activist, to put in mildly. He’s also a labor union lackey. Well. MORE REFORM PROMISESIf elected, more changes are coming to Cudahy, says the candidate-to-be. Garcia and his activist group are pushing for term limits and forensic audits to identify wasteful spending and possible misuse of public funds. On these and other issues, United4Cudahy have found an ally in Councilman Jack Guerrero, who was appointed to his position in September to fill a council vacancy.
Term limits and a forensic audit. Have they been put in place yet? Not likely.
So, Cudahy Chris came in like a Jedi Knight, wanted to using the Force of political power for good.
After only two years, he has gone to the Dark Side, doing whatever Emperor Ricardo Lara (and perhaps puppet master Efren Martinez) tell him to.
What is it about political power that corrupts these otherwise naive yet willing young activists?
Let’s settle the background a little bit. This student activist was working with labor unions. These collectives have become more communistic and corrupt in the last two decades, especially the public sector variety. Unions rely on force and have no qualms about breaking the law if necessary.
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The pictures above show Garcia on the run at the end of the January 11th, 2016 city council meeting.
The Democratic Party infiltrating college campuses and indoctrinating students has slowly erased ethical concerns and moral obligations. Pursuit of power at all costs, and for no other reason, has taken precedence over other goals. Add to this mess the political machinery which has waded into the region — and is now making a splash, and there we have Cudahy Chris, or “Darth Chris” may be more accurate.
One again, Big Government leads to bigger corruption, waste, and fraud. Democratic pushes for “equality” end up fostering more inequality, until we have a human version of Animal Farm’s final scene: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”
Cudahy Chris now charges higher fees on low-income reasons, resists calls for transparency and accountability. He shuts down and mocks those who call for better fiscal management in the city. He also does whatever the labor unions tell him to.
Cudahy Chris: the Anti-Corruption candidate has become another corrupted councilman.