Oct. 24, 2005 - Candidates Forum for Council District 10 |
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Our good neighbors, the South Robertson
Neighborhood Council (SoRo), are sponsoring a candidates forum for the
empty Council District 10 LA City Council seat. The forum will be
this Thursday, Oct. 27, 2005, at 7pm to 8:45pm at the Auditorium
at Hamilton High School.
For those of you who live east of Motor and South of National you are probably in CD10. see map below.
Palms
is divided up amongst three council districts. Who our
Councilpersons are, are more important, at the neighborhood
level, than who the Mayor or Govenor or President is.
Councilpersons, if they wanted to, could make major positive sweeping
changes in our neighborhood. Or, in the case of Palms, they have
ignored us. I am disappointed our Palms Neighborhood Council is not
having a forum of our own. This is a very big mistake! It
sends a message to candidates that we are not important; that we can be
ignored at no political cost them. Palms already has
thought of as a neighborhood of renters. This is true 93%.
When a politicans hears this they associate renters with
non-voters. Non-voters do not get their share of city
services. The current leadership of our NC has been foolish to
ignore external relations (see my blog on Joining the LA Neighboirhood
Council Congress).
The
CD10 seat is vacant because Councilman Martin Ludow, who visited us
several times, got a better job, head of the LA County Labor
Federation. Mr. Ludow was formerly political director for the
federation. His new job is a very powerful one. He is now
one of the most powerful labor leaders in the country.
The
front runner for the CD10 seat is Herb Wesson. He formerly
represented most of Palms as our Assemblyman. He was also Speaker
of the California State Assembly. He was the Chief of Staff to
both Councilman Nate Holden, the longtime holder of the seat he seeks,
and to LA County Supervisor Yvonne Braithwaite Burke, our
Supervisor. Mr. Wesson apparently has no credible
opponents. By almost all accounts is expected to win by a
landslide. I am told with the Nov. 8, 2005 election fastly
appoaching, Mr. Wesson only started walking the district this past
weekend, Oct. 22-23, 2005. I have ben looking for his campaign website
but he does not have one which can be found. I am disappointed
Mr. Wesson has not come to the Palms Neighborhood Council.
.... I am also disappointed that the other candiates have such a
low profile, I do not know who they are. However,
it ain't over, until its over. Not one vote has been cast.
No one has won. So do come to this forum and do vote on Nov. 8,
2005! We will get the kind of democracy we participate
in. Please find your polling place by clicking:
http://cityclerk.lacity.org/election/
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Oct. 31, 2005 - Report From SoRo's CD-10 Candidates' Forum (2005) |
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I am sorry that BloggerCrab.com, the host of this blog, is not working properly and is not allowing me to upload a map of CD10, nor allowing me to link to the LA City Clerk's website.
I went to SoRo's CD-10 candidates' forum Thursday night. Oct. 27, 2005, in the cafeteria at Hamilton High School. There were about 100 people there, including a few who read this blog and came from the Palms' part of CD-10. A few weeks ago the Pico NC held a forum and only about 10 people showed up to hear 4 candidates. SoRo like Palms only had about 150 people turn out for its one and only election. The turn out for the forum shows that if people are motivated they will turn out.
The candidates are (in alphabetical order): Barry E. Levine, Robert D. Serrano, Herb Wesson, Warren Williams. Mr. Levine is a photographer. Mr. Serrano is an former U.S. Marine and owns a security company. I already mentioned Mr. Wesson's background above. Mr. Williams' background is unknown.
Mr. Levine favors the Exposition line and high density development along that line, more cops - especially footbeats, after school programs, mentoring, fixing roads and sidewalks, and historic preservation zones.
High density along the Exposition line affects Palms since the line borders Palms. We already have too much density.
Mr. Levine said as a Councilperson he would attend every NC meeting in CD-10. While this is commendable, we want more access to our councilpersons, it hard to see how this is practical. Many NC meetings are at the same time on the same night. When the NC program is fully implemented, each councilperson will have about 10 NCs in their districts. Perhaps a more practical idea is that Councilperson come to two and three meetings a year, and also have nights and weekends when they will come to neighborhoods so that any *neighborhood person* could bring their problems to them.
It is commendable for Mr. Levine to post on his websites his responses to candidate questionaires from the: American's for Democratic Action, Sierra Club and Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters. Few office seekers would be this specific. Please visit him at www.barryelivine.com
Mr. Serrano was the most detailed of the candidates. However providing detail is also risking controversy. Mr. Serrano calls the LAPD ineffective and wants to break-up LAPD so that each council district has it own seperate police force and Chief. He wants private security companies (he owns one) to patrol our streets instead of LAPD. He wants to do something similar to LAUSD.
I on the otherhand believe making the Basic Car and its Senior Lead Officer (SLO) program stronger is a better solution than breaking up LAPD. I would like to see NCs have a hand in selecting and evaluating SLOs. I think giving full law enforcement powers to private contractors is dangerous and asking for abuse of authority. The police are vested with great power and that power must have accountability.
Mr. Serrano wants a monorail along Wilshire from downtown to the ocean. As a former almost lifetime resident of the Fairfax District I was there when the Market Basket supermarket (not the Ross store as the press repeatedly wrongly reports) blew up due to methane gas. Most buildings along the Miracle Mile have tar speeping into their basements. Those buildings should not have been built let alone a deep subway line under them. A recent studying saying methane gas will not be a hazard to a subway is questionable since LAUSD's diastorous Belmont Leanring Center project's massive envornmental problems were also said to be not a problem. We also need to kep in mind there are strong money interests, contractors, unions... who stand to make a great deal of money off such a project. While the idea of a monorail is more appealing, in political reality, I doubt the wealthy people who live and work along Wilshire will allow this to happen. Please visit Mr. Serrano's wesbite www.serrano2005.com
Mr. Wesson wants to increase NC's budgets and wants to give youth job training in the building trades by building housing for low income people. He is running on his history of working for CD-10 as former Councilman Nate Holden's Chief of Staff, Supervisor Yvvone Burke's Chief of Staff, and as CD-10's former Assemblyman - and Speaker of the Assembly. In answering the opportunist charge, he has committed to serving the 3 years left on the seat and has announced his candidacy for reelection in 2007. Please visit Mr. Wesson's newly posted website www.wessonforcitycouncil.com/HomePage.html
Mr. Williams' did not say much about his background. His flyer says he has been a "human rights advocate for the past 30 years." This does not give us much information. His platfrom is: "government not politics, budget for needs not greed, fairness not racist status quo, family support not family destruction." I tried his website www.smartvoter.org/vote/williams_warren but could not find his page.
Mr. Serrano was the most concrete out of all the candidates; followed by Mr. Levine. Messers. Williams was the most vague. Telling us "he is not a politican" each time he spoke does not tell us who he is. Time was wasted on things city councilpersons have not influence on but are what bothers voters at this time, i.e. high cost of prescription durgs, high gas prices. Instead tell us where you stand on the recent DWP rate increase, the renewal of BFI's trash contract, the upcoming cable TV franchisee renewal...... We want to know what they are going to deliver!
The candidates did not state their political party affilation. LA City offices are suppose to be non-partisan. However parties do fund and influence candidates. Mr. Serrano's views are conservative, sugegsting that he is a republican. From the groups Mr. Levine post responses to on his website, it suggest he is a liberal and probably a democrat. Mr. Wesson is a democratic party leader. There is a lack of information put out by or available on Mr. Williams. CD-10 is a democratic majority district.
The forum was moderated by the League of Women Voters; a respected neutral. The format was that after openning statements, the audience filled out question cards which were given to one candidate to answer - in 45 seconds. Each candidate got different questions - making it harder to comparison shop.
I wrote two questions. My first question was - "How are your five biggest campaign contributors?" In politics it comes down to who gives money to what politican and what do they get in return. Mr. Levine was asked my question. He said he has raised no money for anyone. This hopefully reduces the influence of special interests on Mr. Levine. This is also probably why I never heard of him until Thursday night. He has not raised any money to be able to afford running a campaign to get his name before the voters.
At one point the moderator asked we write a second round of questions. My second question, which I am recreating from memory, was not asked. The question went something like - Martin Ludlow (the previous Councilperson) gave us his home phone number (those of you present when he came to a Palms Neighborhood Council meeting shortly after taking office got his home phone number). He said we could call him if we where not getting any help from the city bureaucracy or his staff on emergency matters, i.e. water line break, power outage..... Will you do the same? The moderator said all the questions had been asked and concluded the forum. This was not true. My second question was not asked. This question brings up the important issues of accessibility and accountability. "The little people" usually have no access and the politicans are not ususally accountable to us unless it is election time. Having direct access is appealing.
The format controlled conflict for it would be easy for the three unknowns to gang up on Mr. Wesson for being a "career politican." But they did not for they had only 45 seconds to respond. Attacking another candidate in this format wastes time better spent (in most cases) getting their message out. Mr. Williams said about 8-10 times "I'm not a politican." At one point, Mr. Serrano referred to Mr. Wesson as his "opponent." Mr. Wesson baited him said "oh. come on, Why don't you me a man, and call me by my name?" Mr. Serrano attacked Mr. Wesson's record as Speaker of the California State Assembly for creating the budget deficit and raising taxes.
Kudos to Colleen Collins for putting the forum on. Kudos to Carlos Collard, SoRo President and all the folks who worked hard to put this forum on.
The leadership of the Palms Neighborhood Council missed an important opportunity by not having our own forum. CD-10 is regarded as a mostly black district. African-Americans were the largest group to attend this forum. The western part of the district, SoRo and Palms are more racially diverse and have to work harder to get noticed and its share of city services. While the SoRo NC is about as old as the Palms NC, SoRo has one of the oldest neighborhood associations in LA and is a force to be reckoned with in CD-10. Palms regarded as a neighborhood of 93% renters, who are highly transisent and who do not vote nor do they donate money. This means Palms is easy to ignore. The leadership of the Palms Neighborhood Council has hurt Palms by missing an opportunity to politically empower our neighborhood.
My bet is on Herb Wesson. He hired good district staff (Michael Bai and others) to take care of our needs when his was our Assemblyman. He knows not only CD-10 having served as Chief of Staff to our former Councilman, Nate Holden, he knows the County government as our Supervisor, Yvvone Braithwiate Burke's former Chief of Staff. Having someone who is well connected can serve us well. Someone who is an unknown is going to have to spend years developing relationships to get things done. Since CD-10 lacks a Councilperson, the rest of the government attempt take $10M of CD-10s funding. Mr. Wesson who has not been elected, but is endorsed by all 13 of the sitting other Councilpersons, put an end to this raid. I seriously doubt if any of the other candidates knew about this happening, let alone were able to stop it.
I am especially encouraged with what I hear from Mr. Levine. Had Mr. Wesson not been in this race, I would have recommend him. I urged Mr. Levine to continue serving the community, get active in his local NC, and continue developing his knowledge, skills, and contacts.
Please vote on Nov. 8, 2005, Tue. This is the only way a democracy can work. Do visit the LA City Clerk's website, see above, to determine your polling place. Remember, since this is a special election, polling places are combined. Your regular polling place may be closed. Check the website.
Edited by palmsblog on Nov. 2, 2005 at 3:00 PM |
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Nov. 10, 2005 - Herb Wesson Wins, 80% |
| Posted by |
I went to Herb Wesson's election night celebration at the Koreatown Radisson Hotel, Nov. 8, 2005. The polls closed at 8pm. At 9pm Herb Wesson came in with Councilpersons Dennis Zine and Eric Garcetti, California State Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, Mayor Antionio Villaragosia, and his wife Fabian Wesson who works for Assemlymember Mervyn Dymally. Councilperson Wendy Gruel came late. Mr. Wesson was endorsed by all 14 LA city councilpersons. Our other Councilpersons, Bill Rosendahl and Jack Weiss were nto there.
Mr. Wesson acknowledged retired Councilman Nate Holden, who came, for giving him a start in politics. Mr. Wesson eventually became Councilman Holden's Chief of Staff, and now he suceeds him.
Herb J. Wesson won with 80% of the vote. Robert D. Serrano got 12%. Barry E. Levine got 8%. Mr. Williams, who was a write-in candidate, did not place. Mr. Wesson told his young son, who served as his Campaign Manager, everyday that we wanted a 80% victory. His son delivered; then again, Mr. Wesson had no serious competition.
The fact Mr. Levine got 8% having not raised any funds is impressive. Mr. Serrano raised only $2,750 and got 12%. Mr. Wesson raised $396,271. Despite Mr. Wesson's out fundraising Mr. Serrano 144:1, Mr. Serrano still got 12% of the vote.
Recall at the SoRo Candidate's Forum I wanted each candidate to asnwer the question - who are their 5 largest campaign donors? Unfortunately due to the format set by the League of Women Voters, only one candidate asked that question - Mr. Levine.
Edited by palmsblog on Nov. 18, 2005 at 8:21 PM |
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