Furlough Notices Reach Portantino's Office

Staff members in the office of Anthony Portantino, one of Arcadia's two representatives in the state Assembly, were officially warned this week that, come October, they could face a month of unpaid leave.

Wendy Gordon, communications director for Portantino's office, said she received the official warning in her home mailbox on Wednesday. 

According to Gordon, the letter is an official notice "warning staff members of a potential change in employment status," from rules committee Chief Administrative Officer John Waldie. 

The letter also informs staff members that an unpaid leave would go into effect on Oct. 21 and that they will be eligible to apply for unemployment benefits during that time.

The letter is the latest escalation in a heated back and forth between Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, and Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge, who  that he would need to reduce his office's budget by $67,000 or risk having his staff furloughed between Oct. 21 and Nov. 30.  

John Vigna, Press Secretary for Perez, said Portantino was officially warned in January and again in April by the rules committee that he could face severe action if he didn't reign in spending.

Warnings Not Heeded?

"He chose not to heed to those warnings," Perez said. "It's universally understood when you get a warning like that you're expected to reply very, very soon. [The rules committee]'s word is gospel."

Portantino, though, said that the actions taken by Perez and the rules committee have nothing to do with his spending and everything to do with punishment for failing to follow the party line on a Democratic-endorsed state budget that passed last month.

"This bizarre and unprecedented action is clearly intended to punish me for my vote and to discourage other assembly members from performing their duties in a conscientious manner," Portantino wrote in an official statement earlier this month.

In an effort to prove that his spending is in line, Portantino has  for the spending reports for each of California's 8o state assembly offices.

So far, the rules committee has denied that request, saying that the assembly's letters and correspondences are exempt under the law.

"We've asked for open disclosure of the budget process and that's not happening," Gordon said. "They've repeatedly turned down public requests for his type of information."

Vigna responded, saying that the assembly complies with "all aspects of legislative open record law."

Who Controls Portantino's Budget?

In the midst of the back and forth between Perez and Portantino is the question of how much control assemblymen actually have over the spending of their offices.

According to Gordon, the answer is "very little."

"We didn't overspend," Gordon said. "They have to approve any new hires, they have to approve any expenditure, they dole out all the money. How would that happen? Let's open the book and everyone can see."

Vigna, however, called Portantino's abdication of spending responsibility "disingenuous."

"If an assemblyman is given a warning, they take the steps necessary," Vigna said. "They can make the adjustments early on. He ignored it for almost eight months. He just ignored all those warnings."

Too Late to Avoid Furloughs?

According to Gordon, Waldie's warning states that the rules committee "sincerely hopes the problem can be resolved."

However, Vigna said it may too late in the game for furloughs to be avoided.

"At this point in the game, the question of how this can be avoided is really one for Mr. Portantino," Vigna said. "He was warned in January and April, and he chose to ignore those warnings."

Gordon said that, should the furloughs of Portantino's six staff members and four field representatives go though, important work in local communities would go undone.

"Field reps go out and talk to constituents, show up at chamber of commerce meetings, attending city council; the community depends on this," Gordon said. "It's sad we're going to be laid off, but the worst part is that the community is going to have nowhere to go."