Some time after the dust from November settles, on March 8, 2011, Los Angeles voters in 7 of 15 districts will select their local legislative representative.
Mark your calendars: It's Tuesday, March 8, 2011.
The City Council, anemic as it seems to big world outside City Hall, has an incredible breadth of control over local issues. Jobs, parks, libraries, the environment, homelessness, land use, taxes, and on and on and on. It’s everything in SimCity, but with millions of dollars in lobbyist, union, and developer money gumming up the gears. Such things tend to complicate the fair and transparent functioning of government.
In a series to continue as the election draws near, I plan to take a look at the races and issues on the ballot in 2011.
For reference, let’s take a look at some facts about the 2007 city primary. As will be the case in 2011, there will be no high-profile mayoral race on the ballot, which I think makes 2007 a fairer voting-model comparison than 2009. (Even then, however, voting was beyond low: 17.8% in 2009, 11% in 2007.)
- 5 of 8 candidates for City Council ran unopposed. (There were 8 candidates, not the usual 7 as there would be in the cycle, because of a special election in Council District 7. Currently under-felony-charges Councilmember Richard Alarcón won that election.)
- The other 3 candidates collected a majority vote in the March primary. Under city rules, winning an outright majority (50%+1) in March results in automatic election.
- Therefore, there were zero city council members on the ballot in May for the General Municipal Election.
The rule about attaining a majority in March and avoiding another election in May isn’t, in theory, undemocratic. But it does amplify the case that there is very little time for new candidates to grow the profile required to defeat incumbents, or incumbent-lites running for their boss’s job. (For instance, Greig Smith’s (CD-12) Chief of Staff, Mitch Englander).
The specter of a Republican takeover of Congress will limit attention on local elections through November. But the statistics clearly indicate that any serious challenger for City Council should already be fundraising and ready to launch a detailed campaign website by Thanksgiving.
Los Angeles and First 
another reason daniel to promote grassroot candidates. if you care about this city, you will. credibility is created by the press and media.
“Incumbents lite” is a nice turn of phrase…
Thank you for covering the race in CD 12!
As of yesterday we have 11 candidates including myself who have declared their intention for CD12 race, it would be great for the voters to study all the candidates, as it is the informed voters who can cast an educated vote and bring in the positive change needed for the next 12 years!
Please visit my campaign website to learn more about me at:
http://www.ArminehChelebian.com or http://www.ChelebianLA.com
“The status quo has got to go! Time to help bring constructive and effective reform to CD 12 and Los Angeles”
Warmest regards
Armineh Chelebian for City Council 2011 ID# 1322902
PO Box 2231 Winnetka CA 91396
Rebuilding Trust in Our Government
One of Americas statesmen stated “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” His presidency ushered in an era of disdain for government and a widespread cynicism that government could be effective in addressing our challenges.
Today, as we confront a crisis that has shaken confidence in our financial system and economy, we have an opportunity to restore public trust and confidence in the legitimate role of government. Indeed, to effectively tackle our economic challenges and to implement the reforms we need in our healthcare, education, energy, and environmental policies, our government will need to garner strong public support.
However, rebuilding public trust will not happen in the face of a pervasive perception that government is not transparent and accountable, cronyism is rampant, and public officials are more interested in helping themselves than in serving the public good.
Taking strong, swift, and decisive action to address abuses and begin to rebuild public trust should be the first priority for our city, state and federal government in the new legislative session.
Create a Task Force on Public Integrity with a mission to develop a comprehensive proposal for ethics and lobbying reform in our city and state. Which addresses reforms in three areas: (1) strengthening enforcement of ethics, campaign finance, and lobbying laws; (2) strengthening civil and criminal penalties for abuses; and (3) improving awareness and education for public officials.
Reinforce honesty, integrity and transparency by government officials as the core requirement to be and stay in office, any violations of these core tenets will cause the removal of the public official and the loss of “all benefits” retroactive.
While the many of our elected officials and government employees are honest, dedicated public servants, the actions of a few create a dark cloud over all.
Taking strong, swift, and decisive action to address these abuses and begin to rebuild public trust should be the first priority for our city, state and federal government in the new legislative session.
Compiled by: YJ Draiman