Neighborhood Council Coalition Says NO to L.A. Charter Amendments
Today the L.A. Neighborhood Council Coalition (LANCC) announces its opposition to Charter Amendments 1 and 2, now facing voters citywide. The measures would eliminate stand-alone elections for city offices and school board. On Saturday, following a debate of the issue, LANCC voted 14 to 3, with 9 abstentions, to oppose both measures.
“Neighborhood leaders throughout Los Angeles are deeply concerned about these charter amendments,” says Fred Mariscal, who was re-elected vice president of LANCC. The coalition brings together leaders of many of the 96 Neighborhood Councils throughout L.A. “We see the need for better civic involvement, and these measures put that goal in jeopardy. They risk lowering attention to our local elections and limiting officials’ accountability to local voters.
“Our communities tell us they want more connection to city decision-making, not being cut out of it. Neighborhoods want more responsiveness to quality-of-life issues, not less,” adds Mariscal, who serves on the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council. “That’s why LANCC leaders voted to oppose these measures. It’s why I urge Angelenos to vote NO.”
“We are pleased that leaders from L.A.’s communities are adding to the groundswell against surrendering our stand-alone city elections and against Charter Amendments 1 and 2 ,” says Hans Johnson, leader of Save Our City Elections, a coalition of organizations and advocates for responsive government in Los Angeles.
“More and more Angelenos see through the rhetoric promoting these measures to the permanent harm they could cause to honest and responsive local government.”
LANCC’s vote to oppose the charter amendments follows a recent vote by the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council to oppose the measures. Several current and retired city officials, including City Councilmember and former police chief Bernard Parks, former city executive officer and city clerk J. Michael Carey, and former City Councilmembers Rita Walters, Gloria Molina, and Joan Milke Flores have also said they are voting NO.
To find out more about LANCC, go to www.lancc.org.
To find out more about the charter amendments facing LA voters, and reasons to vote NO, go to www.saveourcityelections.org.