My key priority is to implement LA's new City Charter the
way the voters had in mind: Make LA government more
efficient and responsive to an involved and informed
citizenry. I plan to achieve these goals by pledging to the
following platform of citywide and 13th District issues:
- Public Safety. We cannot fix the "Rampart" problems
without true citywide reforms of the LAPD. I will fight to
keep Community Policing and the Senior Lead Officer program,
which gave our neighborhoods an added sense of security and
increased confidence in the LAPD. I believe Community Police
Advisory Boards should be part of Neighborhood Councils
rather than appointees of a Captain who can remove members
if they disagree with LAPD policies.
The "bad cop" computer tracking system recommended by the
Christopher Commission has been stalled in LA's bureaucracy
for years. I will fight to implement it immediately.
The Chemerinsky Report indicates that on a percentage
basis, female police officers are less likely to use force
when they resolve conflicts. I support continuing
recruitment campaigns for the LAPD that will let women know
that we want them on our police force.
"Whistle blowers" in the LAPD must be protected from
repercussions when they identify problems and inappropriate
behavior on the part of sworn or civilian employees. I
support a policy that provides anonymity for whistle
blowers.
LA's shrinking Police Department must start growing again.
It will only happen if morale improves among the rank and
file officers. I support allowing LA's police to work
flexible shifts as long as the schedules do not jeopardize
public safety. I support improving the Board of Rights
disciplinary process to one that is fairer and includes two
civilians and a single command officer on a panel. Because
the Inspector General of the LAPD must independently
investigate the department, I support having that person
report to the City Controller instead of the Police
Commission. I support increases in compensation for officers
that will attract "the best and the brightest" applicants to
Los Angeles instead of letting them go to other
jurisdictions.
- Guns. I support use of LA's Zoning Code to limit sales of
guns and ammunition. Guns and bullets should not be sold
near schools, houses of worship, and residential
neighborhoods; they should not be sold to people who appear
to be intoxicated. Retail displays of weaponry should not be
accessible to or viewed by minors under the age of 18.
- Neighborhood Councils. I have supported and promoted
Neighborhood Councils longer than any other elected official
in Los Angeles. I will work tirelessly to assure a
successful system of Neighborhood Councils. I will fight for
a City Budget that will provide the funds and resources
communities will need to start their organizations, fulfill
their missions, and meet their mandates as provided in the
City Charter.
- Education. As a teacher for LAUSD and a parent of
children in LA's public schools, I have a strong
understanding of what is needed to improve educational
opportunities in Los Angeles. I will make sure that children
and their education will always take a high priority in our
city's affairs.
We must expect a safe route for our kids when they walk to
school. I will prioritize city-sponsored revitalization and
cleanup programs to take place near schools and along the
routes kids use to go to school. After school, campuses,
parks, and libraries must be safe, drug-free zones for
healthy and educational programs for kids who need tutoring
or just a place to go because their parents aren't home.
LA has vast educational resources in its parks, libraries,
and Cultural Affairs Department. I will propose and support
community-based mixed-use programs that maximize their use
and meet the needs of children enrolled in the LA Unified
School District.
- Environment. I support preservation of parks and open
space. I oppose the paving of "Dirt Mulholland" in the Santa
Monica Mountains. I support an LA River Greenbelt that
includes the Taylor Yards and Chinatown Yards. I will
advocate for city support for electric vehicles and other
efforts to reduce air pollution and generation of greenhouse
gases. I oppose the use of leaf blowers in residential
areas, parks, schools, and other public gathering places. I
support programs to recharge LA's groundwater via changes to
building codes which will allow roof drains to empty to the
ground rather than to the street, and to offer incentives
for projects that increase the amount of rainwater that can
soak into the soil.
- Working in and for Los Angeles. I support livable wages
and the right to collective bargaining for workers. I
believe public employees have a right to binding
arbitration. I oppose privatization of public services. I
support benefits for domestic partners that are equal to
those of married couples.
I support the use of tax incentives, "bureaucracy"
streamlining, and other city sponsored programs to keep
movie, television, and other entertainment production and
post-production in Hollywood.
- Preserving Communities. LA's City Council Districts will
be redrawn in 2002 to reflect the new census data. I will
see to it that the process will be open and readily
accessible to everyone who wants to participate. I will only
vote for a Reapportionment Plan that keeps communities in
single districts to the greatest extent possible.
- Housing and Development. Single family homes are the
American dream; therefore I support preserving the Single
Family Residential Zone. With housing costs increasing Rent
Control must stay in place to keep housing affordable; but
the threshold for pass through repair and maintenance
expenses must be raised to extend the life of existing
buildings. I support mixed used housing developments, and
would seek to broaden categories of business uses for
live/work housing developments. I support Community Plans
that include density bonuses for affordable units added to
market rate housing developments.
I believe our Community Plans and Zoning Codes give us
direction for growth, and should not often be changed as a
result of random variances, over-riding considerations, and
other exceptions. I support Environmental Impact Reports
(EIR), but LA's process must be changed so that developers
do not hire their own contractors to prepare EIR's. I
believe Negative Declarations should be a rare way to allow
large projects in place of an EIR.
I oppose the issuance of grading or demolition permits for
development projects that do not have an approved set of
plans or funds to complete the project.
As the LAUSD builds new campuses and modernizes its
existing ones, they should include facilities for community
uses when classes are not in session. Neighborhoods around
schools should not be parking lots; campuses should have
parking places for all their employees.
- 13th District Issues. I support keeping LA's reservoirs
as open and accessible as good water quality will allow. I
support historic preservation, adaptive re-use of important
architecture such as the Van de Kamp Bakery, and the
implementation of Historic Preservation Overlay Zones. I
support the Silver Lake Reservoir Master Plan, and the
effort to commemorate Laurel & Hardy with a park and new
street names. I support increases in the recreational use of
the Los Angeles River.
I will be sure that our district gets its fair share of City
services. Our streets must be cleaned and repaired as often
as the streets in communities to the west of us. I support
enforcement of laws that require licenses for street
vendors.
While LA's residential trash and recycling bins work fine in
flat neighborhoods where they can be hidden from view in
back yards and garages, those containers are a blight in our
older hillside communities where they are stored on
sidewalks and parkways. I will sponsor and support programs
to allow alternative containers that can be put away out of
sight.
I am saddened by the controversy regarding a large
development project in the Mt. Washington community. I
believe that a smaller project requiring less grading is
desirable. It can still meet the objectives of the property
owners, but reduce traffic on the residential streets, and
avoid covering much of the walnut tree habitat area. I will
offer to mediate the issue.
I oppose any extension of the Route 2 Freeway, closing
Berkeley Ave. in the Glendale Corridor, and other
transportation projects that will add to the number of
commuter automobiles using residential surface streets.
|
