Decision ’93 / A Look at the Elections in Los Angeles County : Los Angeles City Council / 5th DISTRICT : Q AND A

CONTENDERS

Laura Lake, 46, of Westwood Village is a former UCLA faculty member who taught environmental science and engineering. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a doctorate in political science from Tufts University in Massachusetts. She also ran against Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky in 1989.

Michael Loren Rosenberg, 37, of North Hollywood is a building inspector for the city of Los Angeles. He earned an associate of arts degree in social sciences from San Jose Community College and a bachelor of science degree in anthropology and sociology from the University of Santa Clara. He also attended Ohr Somayach Institute of Judaic Studies in Jerusalem. He has never before run for public office.

Zev Yaroslavsky, 44, of the Beverly-Fairfax area was elected councilman of the 5th District in 1975. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UCLA. Before he went into public office, he was a teacher and executive director of the Southern California Council for Soviet Jews.

Significant Problem

Q. What do you believe is the most significant problem facing the district?

Lake: If I had to rank the greatest problem, it would be the sense of abandonment and betrayal by the City Council in failing to provide the basics: personal security, good schools, combat graffiti, etc. I would begin to solve the crime problem by ordering preparation of a riot plan to protect communities and increasing the police force to 10,000 by terminating the Community Redevelopment Agency. I would develop youth programs to channel energy, fund more schoolyard programs and latchkey programs, extend library hours and provide more volunteer programs to tutor children. I would also support programs at schools to address violence prevention, comparable with sex education and drug prevention programs. To combat graffiti, I would make it a felony and a citable offense like a speeding ticket so that a burdensome court proceeding would not be necessary. I would also publish the names of the parents of graffiti felons in the newspaper.

Rosenberg: Redistricting has created a “district” of tremendous diversity, containing no homogeneous communities. This, by design, makes “representative” government extremely difficult. Crime, crime prevention, an improved education system, including trade schools and job training, encouraging business growth are essential. Redistricting should be removed from council control in order to achieve truly representative government.

Yaroslavsky: Crime and jobs. We need to increase the size of our police force and implement policies that create jobs and bolster our economy. As chair of the council’s Budget Committee, my first priority has been and is to increase the number of sworn officers. I have succeeded in finding the funds to add 1,100 new officers to the force. I am fighting to maintain and expand our job-producing industrial base here in Los Angeles.

City Services

Q. Do you believe the San Fernando Valley gets its fair share of city services?

Lake: I do not believe it has received comparable funding in grants, appointments to commissions, etc. There are several reasons. First, the representatives of the Valley have not been effective in competing for resources. Second, gerrymandering has split communities so that they lack political clout within districts.

Rosenberg: I don’t believe that the Valley has had adequate representation with several Valley districts being smaller parts of “city” districts.

Yaroslavsky: The Valley does not get its fair share of city resources. Valley elected officials must fight to improve community safety, parks, libraries, transit service and parking facilities and to make city services in general more accessible and responsive to Valley communities. That’s why I am working to get more police officers in the San Fernando Valley, to expand and improve the Van Nuys-Sherman Oaks Park and the Studio City Library, to construct public parking facilities along Ventura Boulevard and to make taxi coupons available to Valley senior citizens.

Government Efficiency

Q. Do you believe there is any city department that is doing an inadequate job of delivering services?

Lake: Yes. The entire development process is inefficient. We need to reconcile the zoning and building codes to expedite development and eliminate the Department of Transportation, which takes forever to evaluate traffic studies. The Community Redevelopment Agency has failed to provide significant amounts of affordable housing and should be terminated.

Rosenberg: I believe that many departments are forced to work under conditions of mandated inefficiency, imposed on them by the City Council. Depoliticizing these departments and redefining the functions of city, county, state government agencies is necessary in order to cut waste and duplication.

Yaroslavsky: Unfortunately, most of our city departments are now doing an inadequate job of delivering services because of the massive budget cutbacks we have suffered due to the recession of the last three years. City departments have lost 2,400 positions, which is affecting their ability to deliver services to citizens. On the other hand, some of our departments, such as the Department of Building and Safety, are bloated and should be cut back through layoffs if necessary.

Privatization Possibilities

Q. Do you support privatization of some city services?

Lake: I think that we should follow the experience of other cities such as Phoenix, and allow public employees to bid, along with private firms, to enhance competition. Suggested for such experiments: public works, sanitation, transportation/traffic analysis.

Rosenberg: I don’t think that privatization is necessary at this time. If private firms can take over city functions and show a profit, then so can properly managed city departments.

Yaroslavsky: Yes. I support privatization of city services if money can be saved and service can be delivered more reliably and efficiently. Accordingly, the city does contract out street paving, tree trimming, some financial services, tax collection, parking fine collection and other services.

Charter Reforms

Q. Do you believe in the need for City Charter reforms?

Lake: Yes. We need term limits, a strong mayor, regional sub-governments (somewhat like boroughs in New York), an expanded City Council, locally elected community planning boards, a larger Planning Commission that could override the local boards with a super-majority but would focus more on citywide planning rather than site-specific projects and civil service reform to provide greater responsiveness from general managers and their chief deputies. I also think that there is a fundamental problem with regard to the role of the city attorney--he is the council’s attorney and not acting in the public interest. We need to change that job description and let the city attorney be there to assure that the council is acting legally rather than defending their actions.

Rosenberg: Question not answered.

Yaroslavsky: Yes, charter reform should be one of the most important items on the city’s agenda for the next two years. Our charter is a 1925 document attempting to govern a city in 1993. It is a cumbersome, 900-page document that has little relevance to today’s city problems. Citizens and municipal officials should join together to draft a new charter that is responsive to our city’s needs and place it before the voters for approval by 1995.

Term Limits

Q. Do you favor term limits for elected city officials?

Lake: Yes. I served on the Los Angeles Two-Term Limit Steering Committee (1989-1990), and feel very strongly that term limits are needed. The proposal we advocated was to limit the terms of all elected officials to two consecutive terms. It was not a lifetime prohibition. It also did not permit grandfathering incumbents.

Rosenberg: I favor the second term-limitations measure on the April 20 ballot.

Yaroslavsky: No. I believe term limits deny the voters the right to choose their elected officials. Some of our greatest public servants have served multiple terms in office, and some of our worst have served only one term. Term limits make no sense--let the voters decide every four years.

Business Climate

Q. What can City Hall do to improve the business climate in Los Angeles?

Lake: First, balance the books and anticipate revenue rather than be surprised by shortfalls. Second, repeal the parcel transfer tax and the 7.5% business license tax surcharge. I would also grant a four-year moratorium on the business license tax for new businesses in the city. Third, I would not view developers as cash cows but ask them to pay their fair share of costs, sometimes the marginal costs of expanding the system. I would also work to tap the brain trust that exists at UCLA and USC and create a high-tech corridor program. Ultimately, the best way Los Angeles can improve the business climate is to become a city that functions again. This means having good, safe schools, combatting graffiti, creating public safety on the streets, establishing a public transit system that reduces gridlock, etc.

Rosenberg: Provide tax abatements and fee reductions as appropriate in direct relation to the jobs provided and other benefits provided by the business.

Yaroslavsky: City government must make improvement of the business climate a top priority. The next mayor, working with the new City Council, should appoint an economic development “czar” whose exclusive job it will be to (a) attract non-polluting, high-wage, job-intensive business ventures to Los Angeles, and (b) consolidate the permitting process and ensure that it functions smoothly. However, the most important thing we can do to attract and keep business in Los Angeles is to reduce crime and make our streets and schools safe again.

Illegal Immigrants

Q. Do you believe illegal immigrants have any impact on crime or on the downturn in the Los Angeles economy?

Lake: Yes. Based on articles in The Times, this would appear to be true. I believe that illegal immigrants who break our laws should be deported.

Rosenberg: I believe that the City Council ordinance prohibiting LAPD cooperation with the Immigration and Naturalization Service is ridiculous and should be revoked. I don’t think that the LAPD should be spot-checking or sweeping the streets for non-documented aliens, but those who are arrested for criminal activity should be turned in to INS and deported.

Yaroslavsky: While illegal immigration contributes to our crime problem, it would be a mistake to believe that it is the only factor in our escalating crime rate. Our economic problems go far beyond the illegal immigration issue. This region has been hard hit by the recession, compounded by massive cuts in aerospace and defense spending. I support Gov. Wilson’s effort to obtain promised federal funds to offset the impact of immigration on our public services.

Police Officers

Q. Do you favor a proposal on the June ballot to increase property taxes to pay for 1,000 new police officers?

Lake: No. It will not be 1,000 new officers. We have lost hundreds of officers through retirement, so we would not be increasing by very much. I would like to see the force increased by funding it from former Community Redevelopment Agency funds.

Rosenberg: No. Before any new taxes are imposed, the City Council must clean up the wasteful practices which they’ve become accustomed to.

Yaroslavsky: Yes. It is essential that we invest in the future safety of our city. Crime and violence are the biggest drags on our city’s reputation and self-confidence. The prerequisite for a safe Los Angeles is to increase our woefully understaffed police force. The only way we can significantly increase the numbers of officers is to modestly assess ourselves for this purpose. If we want a safe city, and it’s in our collective interest to have one, all of us must be willing to pay for it.

Excessive Force

Q. Do you believe excessive force by the Los Angeles Police Department is a consistent and systematic problem?

Lake: Yes, according to the Christopher Commission. The reason, however, is that the force is undersized for the size of the population and stretched to its limits.

Rosenberg: No. I believe that isolated incidents and popularity-hungry politicians have distorted our perception of the LAPD and contribute to undermining its support. This has led to low morale and has created an atmosphere which benefits the criminals in police/criminal confrontations.

Yaroslavsky: The Christopher Commission found that among a small number of officers (less than 400 out of 8,000), there was a systematic problem of excessive force. Under Chief Willie Williams and the new system of discipline approved by the voters last year, a significant reduction in excessive-use-of-force cases will be achieved and millions of tax dollars will be saved.

Improving Relations

Q. What have you done to improve race relations?

Lake: I worked to help defeat the Lancer Trash Incinerator in South-Central Los Angeles. Shortly after that, I was called upon by Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles to help reverse a city zoning decision under AB 283 that would have declared the churches in South-Central legal nonconforming uses. This would have meant any additions would have required bringing the entire building up to code--a financially prohibitive condition.

Rosenberg: Question not answered.

Yaroslavsky: I have always been an advocate for human and civil rights for all members of our communities, regardless of race, religion, national origin or sexual orientation. My legislative record reflects my philosophy in this regard. Above all, I have used my own “bully pulpit” to promote harmony and understanding, not only within the community I represent, but between other communities and my district.

District Breakup

Q. Do you believe the Los Angeles Unified School District should be broken up?

Lake: As an educator, I support the LEARN proposals to decentralize the Los Angeles Unified School District but believe that they alone will not solve the district’s problems. I have studied reports conducted by independent analysts and concluded that reorganization alone will not provide the accountability and autonomy that parents seek. This is a question of empowering parents who desperately seek control over their children’s futures. I testified at Assemblywoman Paula Boland’s hearing in support of breakup, and also recommended that the City Council no longer be permitted to redistrict the school district’s seats.

Rosenberg: I’m not sure yet. There is no question but that major administrative reforms are necessary. Duplication of the existing administration in two or more smaller districts would just contribute to the existing waste.

Yaroslavsky: Yes. The district is too big and unresponsive to parents’ and students’ concerns and should be broken up into at least four manageable districts. There is too much distance between policy-makers and schools, between administrators and teachers, and between the system and the students.

School Attendance

Q. Do your children attend private or public schools?

Lake: I am the product of public education (in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn). Both of my children started out in public school. Unfortunately, the schools did not provide the programs my children require and we enrolled them in a private school when we were unable to get them into magnet schools.

Rosenberg: Private. Besides my requirement that my children get a Jewish as well as a secular education, I think that our public school system is rife with waste. Private school tuitions, with better facilities, half the class size and more teachers cost less than the $5,600 per student cost of our public education.

Yaroslavsky: My 15-year-old daughter attends North Hollywood High School and my 10-year-old son currently attends parochial school and will attend public school when he finishes sixth grade.

Elevated Rail

Q. Do you support an east-west elevated rail line over the Ventura Freeway, as approved by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission?

Lake: No. I believe that seismic safety dictates underground as the safest mode. I support the subway on the Chandler-Burbank route. Ridership is key to the success of a rapid transit system. I do not believe that the monorail can carry the large numbers of passengers.

Rosenberg: I support a true, modern monorail over the Ventura Freeway and, looking toward the future, I envision a monorail system throughout Southern California, over all of the freeways. We have the rights of way. The system would be cheaper to build, on-line sooner and its visibility would get people out of their cars. Obviously, every effort must be made to mitigate parking and traffic congestion in adjacent neighborhoods. Existing freeways allow travel to virtually any place in Southern California. Monorails above them, combined with shuttle bus connections, would facilitate the same ability, at reasonable cost on a functional mass transit system.

Yaroslavsky: No. Elevated rail above the Ventura Freeway could create serious environmental and community impacts along its route, including noise, visual intrusion, visual blight, the taking of homes and businesses and the elimination of parklands. Subway is the environmentally superior option.

Campaign Financing

Q. Are you satisfied with public financing of election campaigns?

Lake: No. I do not like switching the rules during the election. I do not think the matching funds should be optional. We must have spending limits. I would like to see the city finance three paid mailings to all voters in the district for candidates.

Rosenberg: In an ideal world, all candidates would have a level playing field and act in an ethical way. We don’t have an ideal world. Each candidate must answer for his/her own conduct or misconduct.

Yaroslavsky: No. This year, $8 million in public monies were set aside to finance political campaigns. This sum would be enough to hire 160 police officers full time for a whole year. The public financing program was designed to increase participation in the electoral process. It has not succeeded. The principal beneficiaries of this largess have been the large number of political consultants who have made a great living this year at taxpayers’ expense.