Recently, as Mr. Tomas O'Grady was campaigning for City Council District 4, hits on this particular article went drastically up. While investigating, we find that much of the information hard-linked here in January 2010 today now have 'not found' errors, or - as in the case of Mr. O'Grady's MySpace page - have changed/moved/been altered.)
With blogs, external links always change over time, and Griffith Park Wayist has no control over external links. That said, the very pointed changes and edits to the external documents which were linked here in January 2010 are terribly interesting given O'Grady's recent foray into the very public spotlight.
Terribly. Terribly. Interesting.
-------------
Applications to run for the Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council board close January 19th, which is also the date of the next GGPNC board meeting. We at GPWayist care about the GGPNC perhaps more than other neighborhood councils because Griffith Park lies in their boundaries. As the impending election stands today, this neighborhood council is in big, big trouble.
There is little doubt crackpots and nutcases aplenty are running for the Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council board this go-round. This is usually true of any local election, so this is hardly an earth shaking observation. In this case, however, the depth of the truth of this statement became crystal blue clear when a bunch of crazies popped up with shockingly paranoid fanaticism over a single 6-line tidbit we posted here on Griffith Park Wayist. Griffith Park Wayist is an evolving body of work with more than 300 articles and observations to its credit, written and gathered by five independent authors since it went live at the end of July 2009. Yet one-small-item brought 'em screaming out of the psyc ward.
(As an aside, we'd like Unafraid to finally launch their first article, but they've been busy with their work.)
One borderline personality running for re-election is Tomas O'Grady, a Los Feliz local who seems to have some pretty serious personal issues. Griffith Park Wayist highly encourages everyone to vote for anyone but Tomas O'Grady. Why?
Where do we start? How about here: In response to the now infamous GPW tidbit, O'Grady himself we're told sent us this cheery missive.
Dear “Wayist”:
These citizens you call “the crazies”, do you mean the ones who object to Griffith Park being used as an excuse for bullying? Do you mean the folk who object to the way Griffith Park scare tactics have been used as a fake political issue to hijack the NC? Do you mean those who are fed up with your smear campaigns and your phony emergencies? Do you mean the growing number of people who are tired of the toxic atmosphere created by the very GGPNC board member who is the “Wayist”?Not only does O'Grady show his deeply rooted paranoia with the claim that GGPNC board members write for Wayist - they don't - but his outright hate for other members of that board and for Griffith Park, of all things, can't help but spew out of the man and onto the paper. The 'bully' claim is interesting only in the fact that others subjected to his wrath state that abuse is actually O'Grady's own relentless tactic.
This has never been about “protecting” Griffith Park. It’s always been about protecting the egos and the territory of a few self-aggrandizing Los Feliz elites who, over the years, have twisted the GGPNC into a nasty little playground run by a gang of neighborhood bullies.
Los Feliz is much more than Griffith Park. Both Griffith Park and Los Feliz deserve better than to be turned into a battleground for the sake of a tiny handful of petty Napoleons who imagine that the world will fall apart if they aren’t running things.
Vibrant, healthy democracy depends on free and open debate enriched by many voices and viewpoints. If the “Wayist” defines as a “crazy” anyone who disagrees with her, it says far more about the “Wayist” than it does about the “crazy”.
There’s a term for this mentality: it’s called ideological bigotry.
But, by all means, “Wayist”, keep blogging. I love it. I say, expose what lies beneath that self-righteous façade. Let as many voters as possible see how deeply malicious you really are.
January 7, 2010 7:52 AM
O'Grady's MySpace page shows him to be a self-proclaimed Dylan-esque musician and 'free spirit', fighting the widespread oppression wielded by The Man. O'Grady doesn't appear to be securely employed, claiming to have made a ton of money in real estate back east (selling for The Man?) One supposes that his lack of current formal employment leaves him more than enough time to prey on fellow local conspiracy theorists - including the local fishwrap in the area whose lack of objectivity has earned it the nickname among locals of the Los Feliz Liar. O'Grady has founded or attached himself to a number of light-weight philanthropic activities in the area and is one of a small group of community people who generate fake publicity and public perception by creating web sites about causes that either don't exist or are being perverted for a purpose. He freely confuses his association with the GGPNC with his personal causes.
People report being afraid of O'Grady's hair-trigger temper and his potential for violence. He is reportedly more than disrespectful during neighborhood council board meetings when he doesn't get his way, to the point of becoming abusive. He's obsessed with filming each meeting, possibly fancying himself either Norma Rae or Michael Moore when in truth he's closer to Phil Jennerjahn in his lack of any functional political understanding. He behavior is reportedly that of a spoiled man-child, which is likely what brought the anonymous comparison to another very famous spoiled man-child, one Michael Jackson.
Last month, without board authorization O'Grady went to a Silverlake Neighborhood Council meeting stating he represented the GGPNC. He then responded to a number of items in this capacity, and to one in particular with a voice described as "screaming" by one board member to that council's board when they did not approve an expenditure of less than $200 for a clown or party entertainer to perform at a children's event within Silverlake's boundaries. O'Grady later tried to force the Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council to pay for the same services by invoking the 24-hr special meeting and agenda process. When the GGPNC board declined to allocate funds for two reasons (1. you cannot "pay" anyone via the NC process, and 2. this takes place in another neighborhood council's boundaries and within another neighborhood council's purview), O'Grady reportedly threw another of his patented temper tantrums and yelled at the board saying that they hated children or some such blather.
O'Grady is chair of the GGPNC Green committee. Here is a sample of their work from the November 19th GGPNC Board Meeting. Note the nonsense of disallowing all uses of bottled water at GGPNC sponsored events - imagine this ban at popular GGPNC summertime eco events like the LA River cleanup - and the shameless allocation of funds to a 501(c)3 non-profit that O'Grady himself founded and another he is associated with.
12. Green CommitteeNeedless to say, Griffith Park Wayist highly encourages everyone with interest to run for the GGPNC Board, and to vote for anyone but Tomas O'Grady.
A. Bottled Water/ MOTION # 1: The GGPNC recognizes the environmental problems associated with the use of bottled water. We encourage as an alternative, the use of tap water. We will strictly adhere to the policy of the City of Los Angeles which forbids the use of our public funds to purchase bottled water. The GGPNC calls on all City departments to adhere strictly to this rule. The GGPNC will not fund any community event or program that utilizes bottled water. The green committee is ordered to publish on the green page, practical and easily executable alternatives to the use of bottled water at these programs and events. The GGPNC calls on all City of Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils to adopt a similar resolution.
ALTERNATE MOTION # 2: The GGPNC recognizes the environmental problems associated with the use of bottled water. We encourage as an alternative, the use of tap water. We will strictly adhere to the policy of the City of Los Angeles which forbids the use of our public funds to purchase bottled water. The GGPNC strongly encourages the use of alternatives to bottled water and will give preference to funding community events or programs that do not utilize bottled water at these events or programs. This does not prohibit the funding of events that use bottled water. The green committee is ordered to publish on the green page, practical and easily executable alternatives to the use of bottled water at these programs and events. The GGPNC calls on all City of Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils to adopt a similar resolution.
B. Trees & Plant watering: MOTION The GGPNC agrees to approve up to $350 to purchase a small 45+ gallon water tank and accessories for watering trees in Los Feliz.
C. EASTSIDE ECOTOUR 2009 MOTION: The GGPNC agrees to contribute $300 towards expenses for the EASTSIDE ECOHOME TOUR 2009, organized by Farm Feliz, Eco-Home Network and the Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council Green Committee. The GGPNC further agrees to post promotion material on the front page of its website and to email the GGPNC database so as to encourage participation.
