Bernie Parks out as Budget Committee chairman

So much for letting bygones be bygones - newly elected City Council President Herb Wesson has bounced Parks from the panel that oversees the city budget. That's a big loss because Parks was one of the few people on the Council who had the first clue on how the numbers are supposed to add up (and who was not inclined to play deficit flimflam, as others on the council are only too happy to do). From the LAT:

Parks, a budget hawk who had run the committee for eight years, did not show up for the Nov. 23 vote that made Wesson the council's newest president. Parks' spokesman said afterward that the councilman was ill. But Wesson said after that vote that he was disappointed. Wesson also removed Councilwoman Jan Perry from her post as chairwoman of the Energy and Environment Committee, which reviews proposals for electricity and water rate hikes at the Department of Water and Power. Perry, like Parks, did not attend the council meeting where Wesson was elected president.

The budget committee will be headed by Councilman Paul Krekorian (could have been worse), while the new chairman of the energy committee will be Jose Huizar. Looks like smooth sailing for the mayor - if not for the rest of us.