Weiss Joins the Game With a Broad Agenda

I probably wouldn’t make as much fun of Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss, as I’m about to do here, had he not answered honestly the other day when I asked if billionaire Eli Broad had been one of his campaign contributors.

He wouldn’t have been the first to try to buy some time by lying.

“I believe Eli contributed to my campaign 2 1/2 years ago,” said Weiss, who introduced a resolution to the council urging Fox to sell the Dodgers to local investors three days after The Times reported Broad had a sudden hankering to own the team.

Now I have no idea how good a baseball owner the Boston parking lot attendant is going to be, but he has already shown an amazing ability to get people (such as Broad and Weiss) interested in the Dodgers overnight.

It’d be interesting to see who has visited Dodger Stadium more in the last year -- the Boston parking lot attendant or Weiss’ benefactor, the L.A. billionaire.

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I DON’T recall the council’s voting to urge local ownership in the Los Angeles Kings before the reclusive Denver billionaire bought them. In fact, I believe the council is a financial partner of sorts with Philip F. Anschutz, the Denver billionaire, who has the first right of refusal to buy the Lakers if Jerry Buss sells them, in the Staples Center project.

If the council were really interested in L.A. sports, why not propose a resolution sending Donald Sterling to Boston?

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IT MUST be a frustrating job to be a councilman, proposing resolutions that no one takes seriously. Last year, the Los Angeles City Council considered a resolution opposing the Iraq war. It failed, but interestingly enough, Weiss voted against the measure, telling The Times, “It’s not the sort of work we should be doing.”

I’m guessing when it comes to Los Angeles City Council resolutions, Rupert Murdoch generates about the same attention as George Bush.

When Weiss followed Broad’s lead and introduced his resolution, Fox already had a Dodger deal in place to exclusively negotiate with Frank McCourt until Jan. 31. I don’t know the legal ramifications, but I sure hope Weiss wasn’t urging the council to undermine such a business arrangement.

All reports now indicate Fox and McCourt have reached an agreement, and are waiting for Thursday’s seal of approval from baseball owners, which will come a day after the council is asked to vote in urging Fox to sell the team to local investors.

Where was Weiss when the owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tried to buy the Dodgers?

If the council wants to work on behalf of L.A., it ought to send the welcome wagon with local restaurant discounts to the McCourt family, which is moving here. That would allow them to save some money and maybe someday buy better players.

Obviously, we’re all concerned about the poor guy who is buying the Dodgers. For my part, I’m urging The Times to give his kids paper routes to earn some extra money. But that’s the business transaction that’s taking place, and a week from now -- after he has hired a general manager and traded for a cleanup hitter -- it’ll be interesting to check back with Dodger fans.

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THERE’S PLENTY of time to pick on the Boston parking lot attendant. And I don’t plan to let it go to waste. But right now my problem is with the politician.

When we talked earlier, Weiss said he wasn’t picking between McCourt and Broad, but following the council charter that urged him to work as an L.A. booster.

He had me convinced until I read what he had to say in Bill Shaikin’s story in The Times on Saturday: “There is a sense that there is a serious effort being made by a prospective local owner. With that occurring, I thought it was important for us to indicate local ownership was better.”

I presume he’s talking about his benefactor’s serious effort, which I still maintain is a joke and a grandstand opportunity to remind folks how civic-minded Broad has been.

Broad had a similar heroic chance when it came time to buy an NFL franchise, but he made no effort to learn the NFL secret handshake and declined to write the big check. As a result, the Super Bowl will be in Houston next Sunday instead of L.A.

There’s no question Broad has done great work in L.A., but beyond having lots of money, living here and contributing to Weiss’ campaign, why is everyone so sure he’d be a great baseball team owner? Bob Daly, successful as the Movie Guy, and passionate about the Dodgers, failed miserably in that role.

Obviously, the Boston parking lot attendant comes to town already buried, and his first day on the job won’t begin until probably Thursday. The public relations mistake in not letting Dodger fans know anything about his passion for baseball, and his interest in making this a family pursuit here might take years to overcome.

Who knows if the rich folk in town will buy the suites from the poor Boston guy? Will he have enough on the ball to keep up with the Angels and owner Arte Moreno? Will he have to pass a batting helmet around to collect the money to field a better team?

I just wish Weiss and his council friends had been around earlier to urge Broad to buy that NFL expansion team when he had the chance. That would have kept me in L.A. this week for the Super Bowl, while also giving me the opportunity to be here for the parking lot attendant’s first news conference.

Instead, I’m off to Houston -- just hope Weiss & Co. don’t get any ideas about voting to make that permanent.

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TODAY’S LAST word comes in e-mail from Douglas Ferguson:

“I wish the Dodgers could have landed one more solid hitter, but I am very optimistic about this year. Call me silly, call me a dreamer, call me an idiot, but I love my Dodgers.”

You silly dreamer idiot.

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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.