City Council Race In Los Feliz

There's a hot race for City Council in my part of L.A.-- first time I can remember something like this. Soon after I moved to the area, the City Councilman who had held the job since 1966, John Ferraro, died and Tom LaBonge, previously the Director of Community Relations at the Department of Water and Power, was elected. He's a graduate of Marshall High, down the street from my house, has a reputation as a loud and effective advocate for Griffith Park (behind my house) and he lives within walking distance. Everyone in the neighborhood either likes him or loves him. One of my neighbor's daughters is his intern. When I installed solar panels that were supposed to be hooked up by September, I got nothing but hostility and obfuscation from the Department of Water and Power. 5 months passed-- $5,000 wasted and all that power that could have been generated... nothing. And DWP refused to budge or even give me any hope that something would happen someday. It's been a nightmare and even the company that installed the system said DWP was so bad that they had to stop working in L.A. and just do projects in cities that are more oriented towards solar energy. The president of the City Council, Eric Garcetti, is a friend of mine and someone to whom I've contributed campaign funds. He ignored my pleas for help. So last week I called LaBonge on the off chance he could help. The next day the head of the DWP department responsible was at my front door.

I don't know LaBonge's politics but one of the first times I ever met Obama-- when he was just a state Senator running for the U.S. Senate-- LaBonge sponsored an event for him and I went. In my mind I always assumed that LaBonge was a moderate Democrat like Obama. But I have no reason to really think that. I don't know the intricacies of City Hall politics. They look grubby.

A few weeks ago I got a call from someone in support of Tomas O'Grady. I listened carefully as he read a schpiel about how wonderful O'Grady is. I asked him how he differs from the incumbent. He said O'Grady is the conservative in the race. I said good-bye and a few days later saw that the very conservative L.A. Times editorial board has endorsed him. The L.A. Times is a negative indicator for progressives in L.A. You can always count on them to be wrong on every local issue or race. So I figured I'd just vote for LaBonge.

But then the campaign of the third candidate in the race-- in 2007 LaBonge ran unopposed-- contacted me. They wanted me to endorse because, they said, my progressive positions and Stephen Box's were in line. I was embarrassed because the guy from DWP had just been to my house the day before, thanks to LaBonge. I suggested a guest post instead laying out why he thought DWT readers should vote for him.

Box4CC -Balancing Budgets On The Backs Of Labor = A Failed L.A. Leadership

-by Stephen Box

The City of L.A. exists to serve the people of L.A., to deliver on the Great City mandate of Public Safety, Public Works, Public Health, and Public Education.

The people who provide these services are our heroes, they are our partners in greatness, and they provide the essential municipal elements that allow us to pursue our dreams.

I believe this and I know I am not alone because I stood on the South Lawn of L.A.’s City Hall last Saturday and was surrounded by thousands of people from all walks as we stood in solidarity with Brothers and Sisters from the major cities around this great country, all standing in opposition to the Wisconsin Attack!

Meanwhile, the City of L.A. quietly navigates its own budget crisis, pitting department against department in a competition for survival, one that has turned LA’s City Council chambers into an abattoir and left the delivery of city services dependent upon municipal triage conducted by a disinterested city administration.

Most distressing is the fact that the sitting City Council is attempting to balance the budget on the backs of the workers who deliver the city services to the people of LA who depend on them.

This is no way to run a Great City, unless they’re attempting to run it into the ground.

The City of Los Angeles has just lost two department managers, good people with decades of experience and success, who simply said “It’s time!” and resigned in frustration because politics prevented them from delivering on their commitment to Partner in Greatness.

Those in City Hall would have the public believe that the city is buried in a budget crisis, that the traffic congestion exists because of financial limitations, that the collapsing infrastructure is the result of the economy, that layoffs and furloughs are the only escape route and that people are expendable.

They are wrong!

The City of Los Angeles is experiencing a Crisis of Leadership, one where the people of Los Angeles are being asked to pay more for less and the people who deliver the city services are being treated as if they are expendable. They’re not.

The people who deliver on our Public Safety, Public Works, Public Health, and Public Education commitments are the most important element of our Great City commitment. It’s up to us to protect them!

( Stephen Box is a Candidate for LA’s City Council, District 4, running in the March 8, 2011 elections. Stephen is a Producer/Writer, a Neighborhood Council Budget Advocate, and an Urban Cyclist. His activism was prompted by one too many visits to City Hall’s Department of “No!” Find out more about Stephen at StephenBox.com )