Decision ’93 / A LOOK AT THE ELECTION IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY : The Issues

On these pages, the 11 leading candidates give their views on the local economy, racial tension, gangs, higher taxes for more police officers. . . They also respond to questions on gun control, the city’s homelessness, mass transit, the city budget and where they would look for new revenue.

*Ernani Bernardi

Note: Answers are adapted from questionnaires returned in March. Bernardi declined to complete the questionnaire or answer questions. His answers are adapted from public statements and campaign literature.

Declined to complete questionnaire or answer questions. Answers are adapted from public statements and campaign literature. QUESTION 1:

If you are elected mayor, what will be your first important official action?

(Bernardi’s campaign is built around his attack on the Community Redevelopment Agency, which he argues keeps redeveloped property off the tax rolls too long, subsidizes unworthy projects and is mainly interested in perpetuating itself. He argues for a City Council takeover of the agency, now governed by a seven-member board that answers to the mayor.) QUESTION 2:

Do you have a plan for improving the city’s economy? If so, please describe it briefly.

If I’m elected mayor, I assure you that results, not talk, will be the order of the day. An excellent Legislative Analyst’s Office report shows the fragmentation and duplication in the city’s economic development program. QUESTION 3:

Do you have a plan for reducing racial and ethnic tensions in Los Angeles? If so, please describe it.

Not Available

QUESTION 4:

Do you support the ballot measure to raise taxes to add 1,000 officers to the Los Angeles Police Department?

No. It’s premature. We are not using all the police officers we have on the payroll. Every day as many 900 officers are off because we refuse to pay overtime. We should pay overtime and put them back on duty for half the cost of the ballot proposal, without raising taxes. Money can come from several sources. QUESTION 5:

What do you think should be done about street gangs in Los Angeles?

Not Available

QUESTION 6:

Do you support any restrictions on the right of people to own firearms? If so, what restrictions do you support?

Not Available

QUESTION 7:

Do you believe the city government should try to alleviate homelessness in Los Angeles? If so, how?

(Campaign literature points out that in a lawsuit he forced the Community Redevelopment Agency to pay for 420 beds for homeless people downtown.) QUESTION 8:

Do you support continued growth of rail mass transit, despite low ridership and high per-passenger cost to government?

If we can afford to subsidize expensive rail lines on elite boulevards, we have a greater obligation to subsidize an expanded, low-fare service to communities like South-Central, the Eastside and Pacoima. QUESTION 9:

Do you have a plan to balance the city budget? If so, please describe it.

(He has advocated eliminating the city Board of Public Works and privatizing city garbage collection.) QUESTION 10:

Do you support any tax increase or other source of additional revenue for the city? If so, please describe it.

Not Available