Who is watching cash-register politics in the second largest city in America? No one, judging by the size of the city’s perpetual scandals, including massive over-billing problems and sweet heart deals at the City’s Department of Water and Power.
The indifference of public officials to Angelenos’ made us angry. That’s why we’ve created LA Watchdog: to expose, confront and change the corruption at City Hall and DWP.
What got us going was how LADWP stumbled ineptly through a massive overbilling scandal, threats to shut off the power of innocent victims, and sweetheart deals to settle the dispute. Consumer Watchdog jumped into the fray to publicize the stories of consumers harmed by the utility’s callous disregard. By exposing DWP’s outrageous conduct, Consumer Watchdog opened Angelenos eyes to a self-dealing DWP power-grab initiative on the November 2016 ballot, Measure RRR, which went down to defeat.
LA Watchdog will expose DWP outrages and other corruption in Los Angeles government and work to fix them.
Los Angeles, CA -- Consumer Watchdog has called upon Attorney General Xavier Becerra to take over a public corruption investigation at the LA City Attorney's Office involving a conspiracy by just-resigned special counsels who colluded in a conspiracy to defraud ratepayers of relief in an LADWP mis-billing lawsuit.
Los Angeles, CA — Consumer Watchdog has called upon City Attorney Mike Feuer to fully respond to revelations in LA Superior Court that his top attorneys and special counsels colluded in a conspiracy to defraud ratepayers of relief in an LADWP mis-billing lawsuit.
Los Angeles, CA – Consumer Watchdog called the City Council’s vote to reappoint Fred Pickel as the head of the DWP’s Office of Public Accountability without a job review a power play and public disgrace that will leave them without a voice. Mayor Garcetti will still have the opportunity to reject Pickel.
Los Angeles, CA – Consumer Watchdog called on Mayor Garcetti to support a new city council motion by council members Koretz and Bonnin requiring a job review for the DWP Ratepayer Advocate Fred Pickel before his rehiring to the $298,000 per year job heading the DWP’s Office of Public Accountability. Pickel has not had a job review in his 6 and-a-half years on the job.
Los Angeles, CA -- The re-nomination for a second term of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s ratepayer advocate, Fred Pickel, by a city-appointed committee is a betrayal of all of the municipal utility’s ratepayers, Consumer Watchdog said today. The Mayor and City Council should reject the recommendation or abolish the Office of Public Accountability that Pickel heads, the group said.
Los Angeles, CA — Consumer Watchdog today called the process of picking a new ratepayer advocate to head the Office of Public Accountability at the LA Department of Water and Power biased and called for an immediate investigation by the LA City Controller.
“We write with evidence of misconduct in the selection of a new Ratepayer Advocate and call upon Controller Galperin to investigate immediately,” Consumer Watchdog's Jamie Court and Liza Tucker wrote in a letter to Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Controller Ron Galperin.