Meet the candidates
Mitch Englander
Mitchell Englander tells audiences about "the day that changed my life." Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.
The 40-year-old Granada Hills resident's name is known to many residents of the northwest San Fernando Valley because he is chief of staff for Greig Smith, the retiring 12th District city councilman whom Englander
Kelly Lord
Kelly Lord tends to say "we" and "us" instead of "I" as he talks about what he would do if elected to the City Council representing the northwest San Fernando Valley. Daily News.
The 61-year-old Northridge resident, whose campaign for the 12th District council seat is endorsed by the grassroots political organization Los Angeles Clean Sweep, presents himself as a leader of the neighborhood council movement.
Dinesh :Lakhanpal
Dinesh "Danny" Lakhanpal said that as a student, a businessman and a leader in the local Indian-American community, he always has been "a doer." Daily News.
Now, the Granada Hills resident said he'd like to do some good for the northeast San Fernando Valley as the City Council member representing the 12th District.
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About The
Sausage Factory
Los Angeles Daily News City Hall reporter Rick Orlov writes about politics on the local, state and national stage.
Rebuilding Trust in Our Government (R)
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. I think we should consider putting public official on a base salary plus commission based on performance.
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.
"The benchmark of a civilized society is the quality of its justice"
Compiled by: YJ Draiman
PS
We need honest government with integrity.
“Good leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion”
Public confidence in the integrity of the Government is indispensable to faith in democracy; and when we lose faith in the system, we have lost faith in everything we fight and spend for.
As citizens of this democracy, you are the rulers and the ruled, the law-givers and the law-abiding, the beginning and the end.
Change is inevitable. Change for the better is a full-time job.
Action speaks louder than words.
Every age needs men who will redeem the time by living with a vision of the things that are to be.
Freedom is not an ideal; it is not even a protection, if it means nothing more than the freedom to stagnate.
Action speaks louder than words.
An Independent is someone who wants to take the politics out of politics, a person with principles.
"The benchmark of a civilized society is the quality of its justice"
http://yjdraiman.org
Brad Smith for Council Statement
1. Today, the mayor and the City Council are cutting spending on city parks, libraries, and all of the other services that make our community an inviting place to live. Very few have cut their own office budgets or salaries of $180,000 a year - which makes the Los Angeles City Council the highest-paid city council in the United States. This is at a time when the shortfall in the city’s general fund – which pays for police and fire services, parks and libraries, and basic needs like street maintenance and tree-trimming – faces an estimated $350 million shortfall, there are roughly $900 million in taxpayers’ funds in the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency’s (CRA) treasury.
These are the very funds that would be used to assist local government’s delivery of services – including for public schools – if the reorganization of California’s CRAs proposed by Gov. Brown goes forward. In the choice between the possible future economic benefit from redevelopment projects and the delivery of basic services today, there can be only one decision. This is not a difficult choice to make for anyone who values serving the people who live in Los Angeles, over those who simply wish to profit from our city.
2. At a time when basic city services have been cut, the city council needs to lead by example. Given the city's current budget crisis, I pledge to use one-third of the $180,000 salary to provide basic services in Council District 12. At a time when families and individuals all across Los Angeles are tightening their belts, we need to all be pulling our weight.