Recently in Election 2013 Category

Tipoff: B.H. Kim explores race for councl.

In a sign that the race for the 39th Assembly district is only getting nastier, candidate and City Councilman Richard Alarcon took the fight to a new level Monday - right to his opponent's doorstep.

Standing in the drizzling rain outside the Pacoima condominium building where candidate and state Assembly staffer Raul Bocanegra lives, Alarcon called for an ethics investigation into how Bocanegra purchased and financed his condo during his tenure under then-City Councilman Alex Padilla.

"Rather than serve his constituents, Raul served himself by taking advantage of his position," said Alarcon, who was joined by community leaders at the news conference. Dakota Smith in the Daily News.

Tipoff: Survey from LMU shows no clear frontrunnfer _ if Trutanich not in the race.

Tipoff: Grass roots Republicans hope to benefit from interest; the 2013 city races.

ffluent, politically active and wary of big development, Studio City and Toluca Lake neighborhood groups are usually on the same side in city fights.Dakota Smith in the Daily News,

But the City Council redistricting has blown a hole in the neighbors' normally cordial relationship, with community leaders feuding over which council member should represent which community.

Studio City residents say Toluca Lake is getting favored treatment, thanks to its politically connected neighborhood council president - who also happens to be the executive director of the city's redistricting commission.

The City Ethics Commission today voted to raise the
maximum amount of money individuals can give to candidates running for city
office for the first time in 26 years. City News Service
At the end of a nearly six-hour meeting, the commission voted 3-1 to
raise the limit on how much donors can give to City Council candidates from
$500 to $700 per election. Contributors to mayoral, city attorney or city
controller candidates will be able to give $1,300, up from $1,000 per election.
The changes are effective immediately.
The raise was based on the rise in the Consumer Price Index, a measure
of inflation, since 2000 when voters approved a new city charter.
The changes angered activists and organizations in favor of limiting
money in elections. They told the commission the move would benefit incumbents
at the expense of challengers without established donor bases.
``The increase is going to benefit the 0.1 percent. The 99.9 percent,
their voice is going to be heard even less,'' said Trent Lange, president of
the California Clean Money Campaign.

The Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Coujncils is presenting a "Razzie" award to the Los Angeles City Redistricting Commission for its proposed maps of new City Council boundaries.
The ceremony, if there is one, will be at the VANC meeting at CBS Studios on Thursday evening.
The event was to be solely on honoring various neighborhood councils for various programs, such as the Sun Valley Area Neighborhood Councli worwking with city departments.
But, VANC Chair Jill Banks Barad said the redistricting commission came in for criticis.
"For the first time in VANC's history, the Alliance will present the VANC "Razzie Award." It will be given to the LA Redistricting Commission for pretending to be a Citizens' Commission while being a Politically Motivated Process."

As a City Council panel began public hearings Monday for proposed new boundaries for council districts, attorneys for two disgruntled members sent a letter laying the groundwork for a potential lawsuit.Daily News.

The City Council's Rules and Election Committee, meeting in San Pedro, held a public hearing lasting less than 35 minutes in which there was general support voiced for the redistricting map developed by a citizens commission.

At the same time, attorneys for Council members Bernard Parks and Jan Perry sent a letter to City Attorney Carmen Trutanich questioning the legality of the new map and whether it was drawn based on racial issues.

Tipoff: Do court ruings undermine campaign reform? Mayor's ambitions and timing.

The city's redistricting commission approved new City Council district boundaries late Wednesday night after a nearly eight-hour hearing - but the fight will continue next month when the council itself considers the redrawn lines.Dakota Smith in the Daily News,

Hundreds of speakers packed City Hall chambers to speak out against the lines, with the majority of criticism heard over decisions in downtown, Westchester, Koreatown and the San Fernando Valley.

The commission ultimately voted to have two City Council districts split between the Valley and the Los Angeles basin - against the wishes of local groups, such as the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, which felt Valley-only districts were needed to increase the region's political power.

Tensions over newly drawn council district boundaries erupted Wednesday night as the redistricting commission prepared to finalize the map and send it off for City Council approval. The panel adopted, basicallly, the map that has been circulated with only minor changes.Dakota Smith in the Daily News.

Hundreds of speakers packed City Hall chambers to speak out against the lines, with the the majority of criticism heard over decisions in downtown, Westchester, Koreatown and the San Fernando Valley.

The commission was expected to debate the lines late into the night, and it had not taken a vote on the new map by the Daily News' deadline.

Amid political infighting, the citizens commission reviewing Los Angeles City Council boundaries is scheduled to take one last vote today on a disputed map that imposes sharp changes on San Fernando Valley and inner-city neighborhoods. Daily News

The meeting, at 4 p.m. in City Council chambers, is the last step before submitting the maps to the Council, which has a July 1 deadline for the 2013 election.

While the City Council may make changes, there is a likelihood that the map will be the subject of legal action by two Council members, Bernard Parks and Jan Perry, or by a civil rights group.

Tipoff: Mayor denies role as DNC conventioni chair could lure him from L.A.

Following weeks of complaints and praise from community groups, the Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Commission will consider today more than 75 proposed changes to its draft City Council boundary map before submitting it to the council for final review. Daily News.

"It's one of those things where you cross your fingers and hope they have been listening," said Jill Barad, founder of the San Fernando Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils, which has criticized the most recent proposal for the way it divides up the San Fernando Valley.

The 21-member commission will meet at 4 p.m. in the City Council chambers at City Hall, where the different proposals will be debated. The commission will then give instructions on the final map to be presented to the City Council by March 1. The City Council then will have the option of accepting or modifying the proposal.

TipoffL Dueling security forces; Berman-Sherman debate and a shot of reenge.