Railtown by Ethan N. Elkind

Railtown by Ethan N. Elkind

Author:Ethan N. Elkind
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of California Press


THE SUMITOMO TSUNAMI

The Sumitomo controversy was the first sign that the recession and its social impact were going to create political problems for transit leaders. The reaction from the public to the decision was explosive, igniting protests across the United States based on fears of Japanese preeminence and declining American competitiveness. “The week they [the LACTC] announced they were going with Sumitomo was the week [President George H. W.] Bush threw up in the Japanese Prime Minister’s lap,” recalled Bevan Dufty, then chief of staff at the agency. “I never would have imagined that buying a rail car would be front page national news, but it was.”7

Local media were overrun by irate Angelenos, shocked that the LACTC would hand money to a Japanese company over an American one with a lower bid. The Los Angeles Times ran continuous stories and editorials during the Christmas holidays focusing on the nationality of Sumitomo and the broken promises to support American companies.8 The Times and other media also ran stories about the influence of lobbyists on the decision-making process, including former California governor George Deukmejian.9

In defense, LACTC chairman Ray Grabinsky argued to the Times that Sumitomo had pledged that 22 percent of its manufacturing on the contract would be done in the United States and that even Morrison Knudsen would have had to partner with a Japanese company to build some of the cars.10

But the media fury only increased in the new year, and politicians of all stripes joined the populist outrage. State Assembly speaker Willie Brown wrote duplicate scathing letters to each LACTC member—even those who voted against awarding the contract to Sumitomo—expressing how “very disappointed” he was with the vote and accusing them of voting to “create jobs and tax revenues in Japan.”11 (Brown’s letter to Supervisor Edelman, who voted against the contract, prompted the supervisor to write to his staff that Brown “doesn’t even know the vote!” while a staff member commented, “This letter is out of line.”)12 The State Assembly then voted 70–0 to ask the LACTC to reconsider the decision.13 Almost the entire Los Angeles County congressional delegation wrote a letter to Chairman Grabinsky to reconsider this “tragic mistake”—even though the Green Line was not receiving federal funds.14 Supervisors Deane Dana and Kenneth Hahn came out against automation and Sumitomo, and Councilman Joel Wachs even set up a hotline number for constituents to call to complain.15 Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky became one of the most outspoken opponents of the decision, challenging an infuriated Mayor Bradley to reverse it.16

The LACTC was inundated with constituent complaints.17 Commissioner Jacki Bacharach told reporters, “We have been bombarded not just with opinion but with a tremendous amount of hatred.”18 Bacharach later recalled how politics had twisted the debate. “It was a nightmare,” she said. “I called friends of mine on the Los Angeles City Council and said, ‘Let me explain this to you.’ They said, ‘I know what you’re saying, but I can’t say it publicly.’ That’s when politics first hit the commission, when



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