At the end of a daylong series of inter-connected community meetings, the Saving LA Project voted unanimously to seek candidates in the seven even-numbered City Council Districts for elections next March and run a “Clean Sweep” campaign for a slate that can clean up City Hall.
More than 20 people signed up to form a steering committee to recruit credible candidates with the ability to raise enough money to qualify for city matching funds. They will also develop a citywide strategy and explore formation of a political action committee that will hold incumbents accountable for the worsening city budget crisis.
Anyone interested in consideration as a Reform LA candidate should contact me at [email protected].
Incumbents up for re-election next year are Paul Krekorian, Tom LaBonge, Tony Cardenas, Bernard Parks, Herb Wesson and Jose Huizar. Greig Smith’s seat will be open and his chief of staff Mitch Englander has attempted to lock up the seat early.
SLAP also endorsed recommendations of Tony Wilkinson’s DWP MOU Committee to oppose the mayor’s vague “lockbox” proposal for a portion of his rate hike proposal and to advocate for breaking up the catchall Energy Cost Adjustment Factor into separate funds for fluctuating costs of fossil fuels, green energy, energy efficiency and other programs.
Former DWP Commission President Nick Patsouras and DWP Committee for Advocacy Jack Humphreville were named to head an committee to mobilize community groups behind creation of an independent Rate Payer Advocate protected permanently through an amendment to the City Charter.
The RPA issue will come before Jan Perry’s Energy and Environment Committee this month with a variety of proposals put forward by Council members and the mayor pushing to gut the RPA’s independence of Controller Wendy Greuel who has supported repeated large pay increases for the IBEW and received more than $250,000 in contributions from the union.
The LA Neighborhood Council Coalition spent considerable time discussing the elimination of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and its consolidation into the Community Development Department.
Proposals from Shawn Simons were adopted as the strategy for how this dramatic change might work to preserve efforts to achieve community empowerment despite what the mayor is doing. Read the plan here: (DONE-CDDsummary.doc)(DONE-CDDplan.doc).
The NCs’ BudgetLA Advocates also met and presented the facts about the city’s budget crisis and discusses strategies going forward with the mayor to present his budget proposal shortly.