Neighborhood Councils are at a Crossroads … Time for BIG Ideas

NC WATCH-I have been accused by some of my readers of being an Anarchist because I tell NC Board members to “Rock the Damn Boat.” On the other hand, more recently, I have been accused by some of praising the establishment and wanting the status quo. 

I’ve never been a status quo type person.  My previous industry colleagues and probably my family will attest to that. However, I do appreciate that a certain structure is necessary when you are dealing with large groups. 

We are at a cross roads here in NC land.  There is lots of discussion on how to view the next level.   I think it is time for big ideas.  That doesn’t mean dismantling the entire system!  I’ve expressed my frustration with “all talk and no action” so I’m going to use this space to talk about big ideas.  Perhaps we can get a real dialogue going. 

“This election season brought historic voter turnouts, intense candidate campaigns, unprecedented community engagement, and innovative voter outreach strategies. It was not without its challenges, as candidates vied for hotly contested seats and communities debated important issues.” 

Do you think this will be a description of next week’s primary election?  NO!, It is EmpowerLA’s report on the recent Neighborhood Council City-wide elections.  Just in case you missed the report: 

There were 81 elections, 8 selections, and 5 affirmations with only 1 loss of quorum 

   ● Citywide voter turnout increased by 29% from 2012 - that’s 25,529 voters! 

   ● 10 of 12 regions saw an increase in voter turnout over 2012 

   ● 2,169 candidates filed for 1,268 seats, a 24.9% increase over 2012 

   ● Voters per Open Seat was up 32.1% 

   ● 659 Volunteers ensured there was a warm welcome at the polls for each voter 

   ● 20 Neighborhood Councils had historic high voter turnout! 

   ● 45 Neighborhood Councils had increases in voters greater than 15% 

This is quite a difference from our recent municipal elections, which had a 23% total turnout for the run-off election. Approximately 11.1 of the total population of the City of Los Angeles, decided the elected leadership of the City. 

As most of you know … our local officials have more influence on our day-to-day quality of life than the Federal government.

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In order to try and increase voter participation the Mayor and City Council put together “another” Commission.  The Resolution (13-1364) called “The City of Los Angeles Municipal Elections Reform Commission.” It was officially established last October. The Mayor and City Council President, Herb Wesson, selected the nine members who did not need City Council approval. 

An interesting observation … within the resolution stated that “appointing authorities are generally encouraged to appoint individuals with expertise in one or more of the following areas: elections, marketing, outreach, neighborhood council leadership, polling places or persons with significant experience in managing large one-day events.  When I went to the website and checked out the members it looked like a heavy weight group EXCEPT there didn’t seem to be anyone from the “Neighborhood Council leadership”. 

This is a six-month Commission whose powers expire June 5.  Their mandate is to come up with recommendations for the City Council and the Mayor. 

These are some of the areas they were to explore: 

What can the City do to increase voter turnout? 

How can the City engage voters prior to and on election day? 

How should same-day voter registration be maximized? 

Would you be more inclined to vote if: a. The City changed election dates? b. Election Day was on a weekend? c. The City offered multiple locations for early voting prior to election day? 

Apparently, one of the instructions to the Commission was to hold Community Input Meetings.  Seven have been scheduled throughout the City.  They started May 27 in West LA and will conclude June 2.  

So far the turnout has been less than stellar.  I stumbled across the meeting by accident.  That’s what happens when you check Facebook in the morning (thanks Bob Blumenfield).

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There has been very little publicity on the Community meetings.  Apparently Council members were in charge of getting the out word.  Should we infer their level of enthusiasm is equal to the amount of publicity generated?  

I also noticed the group was to meet in Council Chambers every two weeks and that Commission appointments were to be finished by one month after the October 13, 2013 Resolution was passed. 

For some reason the meetings didn’t start until March and the original deadline of May 16^th was extended to June 5^th.   They split into three areas: Outreach, Research and Logistics.  With the community input just occurring, one wonders how much emphasis it will be given.   Why they had such a slow start needs an answer. 

I spoke to one of the Mayor appointed Commissioners, Jeffrey Daar,  who was on the Research committee.  I asked him if they were going to come up with a list of recommendations. He said that it was too early to tell if they had any agreement.  He was genuinely anxious to get community participation and thinking. 

Here is my input … why don’t the NC’s take on the project of “getting out the vote”.  Before you groan that it is a lousy idea … think how that gives a fabulous outreach to our community.  It certainly fulfills the mandate of the City charter about bringing local government to stakeholders and vice versa. 

It also provides great opportunities to get our stakeholders involved in NC activities and in the final analysis it is something we can do!  Just take a look at all the creative ways many NC’s recruited candidates and turnout.  Why can’t we do some of the same things for our City?  

As a byproduct think of how our influence would jump exponentially. Talk about a living breathing City Impact Statement …

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Perhaps, because I am an American by choice … voting is very important to me.  I was talking to one of my favorite millennial’s about politics, voting etc., and he is probably very representative of his generation.  He doesn’t think it makes a difference and that most politicians talk a good game but mostly conform when they get in office.  These are the people we need to reach.  This is our next group of leaders and they need to be motivated and even inspired. 

We also need to encourage them to participate in Neighborhood Councils.  It will be interesting to see if the Commission addresses the Millennial issue.

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On another note … June 3-7 is National CPR Week … Did you know that every 60 seconds someone dies of a heart attack? 

EduLife Institute invites Los Angeles residents to celebrate National CPR Awareness Week (June 1 through 7) by joining the largest CPR Block Party ever to be held on Tuesday, June 3rd.    

The event hopes to break the World Record for most people to complete CPR training by offering free CPR training classes at five Metro Rail stations: North Hollywood Station, Universal City/Studio City Station Vermont/Sunset Station, Union Station Mariachi Plaza Station and Grand Park in front of City Hall. 

The CPR Block Party will take place at the stations from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Public Safety is an important part of the NC program.  Many of them will be volunteering at the various stations.

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I welcome your comments even if you don’t agree with me.

 

(Denyse Selesnick is a contributor to CityWatch covering activities, policies and foibles in NC Land.  She is Co-Chair of the LA Neighborhood Congress Program Committee and a former Board Member and long time stakeholder in the Tarzana Neighborhood Council.  She can be reached at [email protected].) 

-cw

 

CityWatch

Vol 12 Issue 44

Pub: May 30, 2014