Politics, South Gate style

By Tim Willert

I read the Saga of South Gate, Chapter 3 of Anotnio's Gun and Delfino's Dream, with equal parts bewilderment and amazement. On one hand I found it hard to believe that a sociopath like Albert Robles was allowed to walk the streets, let alone govern a city. Not only did Robles deceive residents he robbed their city blind and justified his actions every step of the way.

But it was the community that had the last laugh, overcoming differences and pulling together to kick Robles and his pals off the city council. That in itself was what I found to be remarkable, that a group of people who didn't see eye to eye could put aside their differences and work together for the greater good -- in this case standing up against a dishonest councilman and his cronies by holding them responsible.

Robles and his robots may have won the fight, but they failed to win the war -- they underestimated their constituents, who learned the value of teamwork and organization and what it means to take your rights as a U.S. citizen seriously. Makes me wonder how much of this is going on in cities throughout California and the U.S. today.

Which brings me to my point: Without journalists keping an eye on city government more cities like South Gate would get fleeced by the men and women elected as trusted servants. Albert Robles was able to successfully manipulate a system in which a large majority of residents were either apathetic and ignorant or both, and the media didn't bother paying any attention until things got way out of hand. Which is precisly what drove a bunch of people who never got involved in city politics to get involved, and make it harder if not impossible for the type of corruption Sam Quinones writes about to happen in the future.

What I found hard to believe was that those mailers were circulating and there was no media coverage to speak of. Apparently nobody was doing their job. Which is Quinones's book, particularly Chapter 3, should be required reading for journalism graduates and community journalists who don't know their way around city hall. There are tons of stories out there that never get told because reporters are too lazy to find them.