The runoff between Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti for L.A.'s mayoral position heated up Wednesday, as both traded barbs during a debate held at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks.
The tone of the debate, which was sponsored by the Sherman Oaks Homeowner Association, was set early by Greuel, who made it clear she was not happy with the way Garcetti's campaign had portrayed her thus far.
"Most of you know me...and that matters," Greuel told those gathered. "Lots of charges have been made by my opponent that paints a very different picture of the Wendy Greuel that you know. Tonight is the night that we're going to clear that up."
Greuel took issue with Garcetti's claim that she was the "handpicked candidate of the Department of Water and Power (DWP) union. She quickly noted that Garcetti had received many benefits from the the DWP as well, and that his claims were nothing more than hypocrisy. She went on to claim that Garcetti had already secured hundred of thousands of dollars in donations from labor unions.
"Sure," Garcetti responded, "there's friends of mine who are not going to lie down as someone seeks to buy this election. The DWP union needs to know this election is not for sale, and this city is not for sale."
Garcetti was also on the offensive, pointing out that Greuel's budget plan was full of nonsense, and that she had no idea how to erase a budget deficit that will likely be in the range of $160 million.
Greuel fired back at Garcetti by portraying him as a privileged boy from the upper class who has never had to work a day in his life. The large contributions donated to his campaign were just one symptom of his affluent lifestyle and inability to relate to the common man.
"How many of you got free tickets to go to the Academy Awards?" she asked. "How many of you got free tickets to go to different places?" Some among the crowd began to laugh, and she continued: "I don't think so."
The runoff vote to declare a winner will be May 21. Though Garcetti had a slight lead in the primaries over Greuel (33% to 29%), it is still anyone's race to win and there is no consensus as to who will be Los Angeles' next mayor.