CommentsMY TURN--Just when we think that the national election circus is winding down for a couple of weeks I receive multiple emails about the Neighborhood Councils having voting issues. In one of my numerous irrelevant college courses I learned that the most efficient form of government is a benevolent dictatorship. The only problem is that it doesn't stay benevolent for very long.
In the Los Angeles Times California section yesterday, one of the front page articles was on the current battle occurring in the Studio City Neighborhood Council. Now you know that if everything was going smoothly the LA Times would not be interested.
The one thing in the article that really hit home was the Times description of the Neighborhood Council as having "no pay and no power". They explained this was done deliberately so that stakeholders could give advice but no one had to pay attention.
I have noticed of late a sort of malaise extending to the Neighborhood Council. Not all of them but the majority. I have tried to put my finger on the reason but it's a conundrum. That is why the four NC election grievances I received, have given me something to at least ponder. Is it better to be laissez faire or fight the battle?
To be honest, in the scheme of things that are really threatening ... the NC problems are way down on the list of priorities. On the other hand, they are a mirror of some of the more unpleasant things occurring statewide and nationally.
The first problem came from the Sunland Tujunga NC and why am I not surprised? This area of the Northeast San Fernando in some ways is a throwback to thirty years ago. Don't misunderstand ... I truly love them. They are never boring. Always active in community affairs. Don't sit around waiting for the local government to help solve problems. They love their rural lifestyle but in some cases have to be carried screaming and kicking into the 21st century.
Apparently there was a planned takeover of the Neighborhood Council by a group of people who wanted ... I am not quite sure what they wanted other than ... they wanted the prior Board members off the Board. Some of the Board had been there for years so change can produce new ideas. I firmly believe that NC's should have term limits, but that is fodder for another article.
Contrary to other NC's in the area the STNC was very active in recruitment for candidates and in getting the stakeholders to vote. Each NC has its own bylaws which makes no sense at all. In order to vote in the STNC election one had to show "documentation" that either they lived or worked in the area or had a substantial and long term interest in the community. So far they have had the largest voter turnout in the NC elections.
Apparently a Gym Boxing Club had recently opened and gave its members a letter of "documentation" so they could vote for the opposition slate. Since attending classes in a gym really didn't fit the long term interest, there were numerous challenges and provisional ballots. The opposition slate had its own share of issues. Two days before the election the person running for President was arrested for the possession of 50 plus pounds of marijuana. He ran a "smoke" shop in the community but was not licensed to sell pot.
There were two recounts on the ballots and several new people will be guiding the STNC. Also in the Northeast Valley there were issues with North Hills West NC. This group has not been known for their warm and fuzzy welcoming manner in the past. Remember what I said about a benevolent dictator ... well NHWNC had one of their own. Their grievance took the issue of nasty internet insults.
There exists a "code of conduct" for all NC members … rules about playing nice. Just like in the play yard, be polite even if you don't agree. Apparently the ex-officer hadn't read the rules because his reign was filled with diatribes and insults against members of the community or fellow Board members. I was privy to some of the emails going back and forth and they were nasty and uncalled for. Remember the "mean girls" in high school or the football clique that delighted in bullying those who didn't fit the mold? This was in the same category. I guess some people never grow out of that phase.
Traveling to the Southeast part of the Valley we find the Studio City Neighborhood Council … subject of the Times article. Yes, the problems mentioned are all in the San Fernando Valley because their elections went first. The other areas of the City are having elections for the next month.
Now, SCNC is known for doing good things for the community. A divisive issue is the renovation of the Sportsmans Lodge. It is destined to become a smaller "Grove". There are traffic and parking problems in this community but Developers have promised to work with the SCNC planning committee to incorporate and solve some of the more serious concerns.
This grievance here was "electioneering." Apparently two candidates who won their Board seats were accused of electioneering in the voting area. Candidates are restricted to 100 feet from the voting booths. They were accused of stopping prospective voters before entering the voting area, leaving campaign literature etc. All the things restricted by election rules.
In the 2014 last NC election, I wrote an article on the grievance issue. There were ninety plus voter grievances filed and I read every one of them.
Surprise ... Surprise! Not one grievance was deemed worthy of investigation. The NC's were up in arms and wanted the grievances to be checked by fellow NC Board members from other councils and not the staff.
Last week, a three member Grievance Committee met in Arroyo Seco. There was little notice given to those who had filed the grievance. It meant in some cases, the panel could only hear one side of the story. In this case, two newly elected Board members were challenged for "electioneering "and the losing candidates asked the Grievance Panel to disqualify them. According to Graycy Liu, manager of the DONE, her department had looked at the evidence and suggested the grievance be dismissed. The panel, on the other hand, decided in favor of the Board members filing the grievance and the election of those two were overturned. Power to the grievance panel.
The last (for now) was a matter of censorship. The City Parks and Recreation had approved a concert AngelFest, to be held in Lake Balboa. Apparently approval was sought from the Lake Balboa NC and given. Some members of the community were up in arms because of the low rental being charged, compared to the outdoor concert in Grand Park held last year. They also pointed out the added noise, garbage and other problems inherent with a large scale outdoor concert would be unsatisfactory.
I was told that 4,000 stakeholders in Lake Balboa had signed a petition against holding the concert. When a few of them tried to post their objections on the LBNC web page ... they were eliminated. These irate community members are decrying the censorship. Their premise was the entire community was not queried. But the NC is supposed to represent the community and can give their approval. Keeping negative comments from the website is another story.
I did not investigate these four instances but I do consider the sources as truthful and I was privy to the emails. I mention them here because voter fraud and censorship are hot button issues now. Yes, they sound minor, but for the people who work hard and get "No pay and have no power" they are important. We each have our own cause for which we are willing to devote time and effort. We like to know that those efforts are accomplishing something.
I know how much time and effort goes into making the NC elections successful. I was Election Chair for my Neighborhood Council. It was almost a full time job. We managed to have more candidates than open positions and more than 700 voters in 2014.
Obviously, the current election committee of this same NC had a different agenda. They had one contested seat, and less than 100 voters. Even though I am a stakeholder in the NC I received no materials other than a generic newsletter.
This is another good reason to have the NC election process revamped so that all stakeholders in the City are aware that they too can participate and their vote really counts. It is my personal opinion that there needs to be some major changes in the Neighborhood Council system.
As always comments are welcome.
(Denyse Selesnick is a CityWatch columnist. She is a former publisher/journalist/international event organizer. Denyse can be reached at: [email protected])
-cw
Political Shenanigans: LA Neighborhood Councils Indulge
