Ludlow in Trouble?

    This is a very distressing story out of Los Angeles:

L.A. County Labor Chief May Quit in Funds Probe
By Patrick McGreevy and Steve Hymon, Times Staff Writers

Former Los Angeles City Councilman Martin Ludlow is considering stepping down as head of an influential and politically active labor group and is weighing a plea bargain with prosecutors investigating the alleged misuse of union money in his 2003 campaign for the council, associates and sources said Thursday.

Union officials seemed stunned as word circulated that Ludlow might face criminal charges. Only last summer, he resigned his council post to became executive secretary-treasurer — the top staff position — of the powerful Los Angeles County Federation of Labor upon the sudden death of his union mentor, Miguel Contreras.

    Though I've never met Ludlow, I had heard nothing but good things about him as a labor leader with a progressive vision. This would be a blow to the labor movement in L.A.   

    The rest of the story is here.

Comments

[submarino]

I have the same impression of Ludlow as JT does, and I'm speaking as a union activist in LA, whose campaigns owe a lot to the grassroots political work led by Contreras and Ludlow of the LA County Federation of Labor, which is one of the most progressive and most effective central labor councils anywhere.

It's worth noting that the big "scandal" that Ludlow was allegedly involved in was that a public-sector SEIU local that represents school-district employees provided equipment and volunteers to phone-bank for Ludlow's city council race, without reporting the expenses as a political donation. In other words, Ludlow has been caught red-handed committing the horrible crime of marshalling grass-roots union support for a progressive local electoral campaign.

Meanwhile, corporate lobbyists' virtual ownership over all branches of the federal government and most state governments is ok, as long as they're careful to exploit the proper loopholes.

[janinsanfran]

So today the shoe dropped: Ludlow resigned taking a plea bargain to avoid serving time. Since when do campaign finance cases lead to jail time? When labor leaders or people of color are the offenders? I'm poking around trying to understand this case better. Off the top, sounds like Ludlow tripped up by not ensuring labor allies filed proper reports and kept deniable distance from his city council campaign in 2003. The trouble with many "campaign finance reforms" is that they privilege consultants and lawyers who can navigate the thickets of the laws and bust folks who don't start out with money to burn.

That said, sounds like there were some pretty sleazy figures n the Ludlow camp.

This is bad for LA.

[Ben Williams]

Martin is a very good man. My family and I have known and supported him for many years. I know his heart is pure. He comes from a very good family and him taking responsibility for his actions are another example of his desire to do the right thing. I am certain that his err in judgement was caused by his desire to serve. Martin is a doer and although this does not make his actions right, those who live in glass houses should refrain from throwing stones at this brother and step forward to do one percent of one percent of the work that Martin has done for the hard working men and women of this great state. Martin has done more to ensure that the children in the 10th District have safe parks to play in and activities that lead to their enrichment. Yes, it is easy to say that Martin is yet another elected official caught in the misdeeds of winning a campaign. However, if you know him, you know otherwise. Martin, thank you for trying to improve the lot for those under represented and not connected. Thank you for standing up and taking responsibility for your misconduct. I look forward to you bouncing back!