Hahn's takes on Arnold

On the front page of this week's L.A. Business Journal, Howard Fine chronicles Mayor Jim Hahn's differing takes on Gov. Schwarzenegger (free with registration):

When it comes to his view of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn has performed more flip-flops than a circus acrobat.

In the space of eight weeks, Hahn has changed his tune on Schwarzenegger no fewer than four times.

[fast forward]

On Dec. 11, a day after Schwarzenegger hinted in a CNN interview that he might not restore all the car tax funds to cities, Hahn, shaking with anger, called Schwarzenegger “immoral” for threatening to renege on his promise.

A week later, as the governor announced he was taking unilateral action to restore some of the vehicle license fee money to cities and counties, Hahn heaped praise on the actor-turned-governor. “We haven’t seen this kind of bold leadership in Sacramento for a long, long time and we are really grateful for it,” he said during a Dec. 18 news conference.

Three weeks later, Hahn had to eat his words yet again after Schwarzenegger released his 2004-05 budget plan, which shifts $1.3 billion in property tax dollars from local governments to schools in an attempt to close a $14 billion budget hole.

“I had no idea this was coming. I am greatly disappointed,” Hahn said in an interview last week. “Once again the state is balancing its budget on the backs of local government.”

Also in this week's LABJ: City Controller Laura Chick making points with aggressive positions.