PERSPECTIVES ON L.A.’S NEW LEADERSHIP : Anti-Crime Group Seeks Riordan Aid

Leaders of Valley Organized In Community Efforts (VOICE), a group that for the past five years has pushed a church-based, anti-crime agenda, expect to get more help from the Riordan Administration than they did from former Mayor Tom Bradley.

A centerpiece of the VOICE anti-gang effort is the fledgling Hope in Youth campaign, spearheaded by Cardinal Roger Mahony, whose pleas for financial aid Bradley rejected in favor of existing programs.

Riordan, a Catholic and a personal friend of Mahony’s, said during his runoff campaign that Hope in Youth organizers deserved twice the $2.5 million allotted by the City Council earlier this year. The planned program involves volunteers who counsel potential gang members and their families citywide.

“Mr. Riordan feels this is a worthwhile endeavor that makes sense,” said VOICE co-Chairman Jay Goldberg. “We hope to work with him very closely on this issue and others.”

Goldberg said VOICE leaders also plan to ask Riordan and newly inaugurated council members Laura Chick and Richard Alarcon to help find funding for more Valley police officers and a program to use misdemeanor offenders to paint out graffiti.