Complaint Review: Housing Authority - Los Angeles California

The Administrative personnel at Housing Authority of Los Angeles (also known as HACLA) is a rip off. They promise, but they don't deliver. The Housing Authority of Los Angeles is also racist. I should know because of the obstinate rude comments made by someone high up in the department. As a long term tenant and avid community activist with various Housing Authority locations around the City of Los Angeles, I take pride what's going on in regards to current events and educational workshops the City of LA has to offer for it's low-income residents, especially when there's money in it. After all, living in a subsidized low-income housing community in California, is much better than living in a housing community in Texas.

My complaint against HACLA started with community interest regarding the HACLA's posted Calendar of Events listing for February. Most, if not all tenants receive neighborhood flyers either through the mail or are posted in the lobby of the apartment building notifying the communities of upcoming scheduled events which HACLA holds at Federal tax payers expense. If you do not receive one of their flyers, you and may have access to their web site, take a look at their events calendar. You will notice no effort has been made on HACLA's part to celebrate Black History Month or the achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King. This I feel is racist and uncalled for. When certain events are scheduled in and around the Housing Authorities low-income tenants, everyone gets involved so that everyone who works part-time for the events get paid.

The complaint and concern of racial undertones took a deeper and darker turn when I made a simple phone call to HACLA inquiring about the possible upcoming celebrations for Black History Month. I was told there weren't any. This is unjust and unwarranted, as most low-income housing communities in other states, like Texas for instance, celebrate with parades, picnics, or charitable events all paid for, once again by the generous tax payer for lower-income families at the Housing Authority. They also employ the tenants to assist on an agreed part-time basis, to ensure community involvement.

After repeated attempts to contact HACLA CEO Rudy Montiel by telephone, I kept getting the run-around by being told he's either "in a meeting," or is "unavailable." This is strange, I thought, for someone like Rudy Montiel to be in that many meetings when it's common knowledge even amongst his own executive staff that Mr. Montiel only puts in four hours a week, (yes, I did say four hours a week, not in a day) yet is able to successfully match the same paid salary as the US President.

Finally, after continuous telephone calls in one day and after repeated attempts to try and get a straight answer, I was finally put through to a self-titled egotistical narrow-minded bigot called Ken Simmons, who claims he's the "Chief Operating Officer" of HACLA. It's funny, every executive member at the Housing Authority all seem to have these larger-than-life corporate titles, on the possible assumption to feel a little more important than all of us, which in reality we all know doesn't amount to much, other than to justify their overpaid annual salaries.

Chief Operations Officer Ken Simmons told me the LA Housing Authority celebrated Dr. Martin Luther Kings' Birthday on January 17th, with recognition by HACLA, therefore, "that should be sufficient," he said. He also added there's no money in it for the organization to hold such an event, therefore why bother? Ken Simmons further told me the Housing Authority has been reviewing its own annual budget and plans to cut back even more with expenditures on monies to be spent with certain minority celebrations. What? I was stunned. In other words, Black History Month just really isn't that important to him.

Ken Simmons further told me if I wanted to participate in celebrations of Black History Month, then I was free to do so, but not at the expense of the Los Angeles Housing Authority. He went on to say the executive committee would not foot the bill for something he said was "irrelevant and ignominious to the organization as a whole, " thereby no further efforts would be made to appease me and further complaints regarding this incident would only be deemed as futile. I was shocked and flabbergasted with sheer disbelief that someone in Mr. Simmons' position had the surreptitious audacity not only to make a remark like that, but to "blow me off" so quick, as if I were wasting his precious time.

Ken Simmons is no angel when it comes to a certain standard of high morals and expected ethical behavior. I have a friend, (I won't mention names) who is a custodian at the LA Housing Authority at the headquarters-2600 Wilshire Blvd. He works the evening shift with some other crew members and told me after everyone at HACLA has gone home, when he's not on the government computers searching through the web site looking for his favorite porn site, he sometimes goes sifting through the desk drawers of certain executive personnel at HACLA just to see what they keep in there.

He told me Ken Simmons is known to keep a couple of Victoria's Secret catalogues in his bottom right drawer. Now, let us make this clear, it is nothing to do with the beautiful exotic fashion models who grace the pages of the magazines. Or, rather, it is, but in an indirect way. I also happen to have it on very good authority, (again, names will be withheld here to not only protect the privacy of the informant, but in an effort to protect the guilty from snooping where they shouldn't be looking or eavesdropping) but I now know for a fact Mr. Simmons seems to have a fetish for women's underwear. He likes to wear them, especially at the workplace. It's one thing to make serious executive decisions while gainfully employed at the Los Angeles Housing Authority, it's another thing for a man in a suit and tie to make corporate decisions while secretly wearing women's clothing.

This is a disgrace and conducive to an atmosphere of distrust. Any type of desire for someone in Ken Simmons' position to want to "act out" and get in touch with his feminine side while sitting behind a desk should not be done at the executive level, especially with his high-end salary being paid for by taxpayers. When Ken Simmons private wardrobe was brought to the attention of two HACLA commissioners, Margarita C. Garr and Raman Mathoda, in an anonymous memo, CEO Rudy Montiel quickly intercepted the formal complaint whereby his analysis of Mr. Simmons' personal motive to dress in women's undergarments was characteristically dismissive. Meaning, Rudy Montiel quickly brushed the problem under the rug.

Yet, one could quite understandably see it was inevitable that the brass at the top would quickly suppress information of this nature, especially considering when Ken Simmons is described and discussed privately by certain HACLA Board of Commission members as being to Rudy Montiel what Clyde Tolson was to J. Edgar Hoover. Back in the day, some would say Clyde Tolson was the Executive Administrative Assistant to J. Edgar Hoover. Others would be more blunt about their suspicions and politely describe the relationship as his "long time live-in male companion," with the exception that Ken Simmons doesn't live with Montiel. From what I've heard, he leads a double life and goes home at night to his wife, making the latter description more relevant. It is obvious Ken Simmons puts up a "front" and continues his heterosexual behavior around the workplace, while in reality suspicions amongst other executives, including the rank and file of HACLA know there is another version to his life of secret perversion.

I also have it on good authority (again, I won't mention names) that although he may be deemed somewhat competent, Ken Simmons wasn't exactly "fired" from his last position as a similar executive at the City of Redondo Beach, but more likely "asked to leave and pursue other career options," as his preoccupation and fetish for openly discussing the joys of wearing women's underwear was reaching embarrassing proportionate levels amongst city officials who deemed his behavior as somewhat "peculiar," especially when Mr. Simmons tried to get the Redondo Beach City Council to consider and pass a resolution that cross-dressing in the workplace held no company or corporate violation, other than sociological acceptance. Having been made aware of all this, Rudy Montiel's admiration for Simmons is almost unbounded.

But enough of the "Hatchet Man," (as certain employees like to refer to his as) let's get back to Mr. Simmons' long time male companion, Rudy Montiel, shall we? Does anyone realize Rudy Montiel received an award in El Paso, Texas for recognition amongst the National Hispanic Engineers Corporation in 1994? What they failed to adress, was that his tireless efforts were pushed into further recognition and sponsored by the Hispanic Gay Achievers of Texas? Rudy Montiel may seem to have somewhat of a compassionate side to his government position as CEO at HACLA. After all, he's paid an enormous government salary to assist the less fortunate with finding a good home. But he's hardly ever there. He's able to invest his wealth by buying up run-down apartment buildings in El Paso, Texas.

Did you know, Rudy Montiel is a former Slum Lord from Texas? He was fined $600 in a civil case filed by the City of El Paso for necessary repairs which were never completed? When he too, as "asked to leave" and encouraged by the City of El Paso with the promise of a huge severance paycheck to quit and go seek adequate employment elsewhere, he did so, but with one major criminal violation-he stole a company car and brought it with him to California. Rudy Montiel's unchecked reign of absolute power, along with "Hatchet Man" Ken Simmons who's ready to "rubber-stamp" every decision at the executive level needs closer scrutiny by the tax payers, especially when operating at a top government level in drag.

Sincerely,

Stanley,

Weslaco, Texas.

Stanley

Weslaco, Texas

U.S.A.