Today was a good day for Uduak-Joe Ntuk. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a press release announcing Ntuk will join the city of Los Angeles Public Works department as their petroleum administrator with an annual salary of $133,500. The position is also responsible for community engagement. Ntuk has the support of council President Herb Wesson and according to the Times “six other council members quickly seconded” the appointment. The funding will come from Mayor Eric’s office.[adsenseyu2]
Mayor Eric Garcetti has come under fire from the Black community for the actions of the Los Angeles Police Department, which has resulted in the untimely deaths of many unarmed Black LA residents.
As the city has seen a rise in complaints regarding oil drilling around Los Angeles, the mayor and council thought it was imperative to staff the petroleum administrator position on a full-time basis, considering it has been vacant for decades.
Young Black Los Angeles know of Uduak as a previous candidate for Long Beach school board and working on several local campaigns, one of which he recently declined to work on.
Uduak has previously worked for Chevron and the city of Long Beach, and some worry if he will be objective in his recommendations that he will be responsible for giving council, however those who know him personally say otherwise.
They tell this author he is a stand up guy who outgrew his position in Long Beach and with Los Angeles under more scrutiny, it was an awesome opportunity for him.
Will Uduak be independent or will he side with big oil? Time will tell. But in he meantime…
Congratulations Uduak!
Read the full LA Times article on latimes.com.
