Platform : Los Angeles Loses Out on ‘Empowerment Zones’: : What Went Wrong?

In December, federal officials excluded Los Angeles from an empowerment zone plan that would have meant a special $100-million grant plus tax breaks for employers worth even more. The Clinton Administration has promised a consolation grant of $125 million in economic development initiative funds. Activists trying to revitalize L.A. talked with JAMES BLAIR or submitted ideas on their own about how to remedy the loss.

DENISE FAIRCHILD

Community development consultant and member of the Urban Land Institute’s Inner City Advisory Committee

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Clearly, Los Angeles will never fare well against Eastern cities in a competition that envisions the “empowerment” of inner-city communities through strengthened public, private and community partnerships. Eastern cities have experienced many cycles of economic downturn and transition, have longer histories of urban problems and, by necessity, are seasoned at valuing and using grassroots initiatatives and broad-based partnerships to manage urban problems. The fact that Boston, New York, Detroit and the Philadelphia area are cities in which nonprofit community-based development were born 30 years ago and have thrived as an essential part of their city’s urban fabric gave these applicants a strong tailwind in the race.

If Washington plans to embrace its Western cities with less experience in urban poverty and its alleviation, it must recognize the bias of these forms of competition and find ways to support nascent partnerships.

Los Angeles needs to take serious stock of its failings, however, in not being better positioned to compete for an empowerment zone designation. It is sad to learn that the application failed to receive the priority of city officials and the full weight of its political lobby.

MAXENE JOHNSTON

Former president and CEO of the Weingart Center Assn., an integrated service center for the homeless

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I think it’s been a wakeup call; and, as in many things labeled crises, once you admit that there’s something off track you can change your behavior. When you look at other issues like the County Museum crisis, the Disney Hall project, Rebuild L.A.--you can add your favorite issue to the list--they all have an incremental impact on how people perceive our city and how we perceive our own power and ability to get things done.

I think we need somebody to be a “product champion” for L.A., some committed, decisive, focused leader who will not get distracted. The person has to be the “hyphen” between the public and private sectors who really brings the best of those sectors together.

BRUCE WILLISON

Chairman, First Interstate Bank of California.

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The first thing is to encourage what the mayor’s trying to do in consolidating some of the city departments into one significant economic department. We really need cohesive strategies. Today, even within the city government, there are just too many departments working on pieces--some very good programs--but no cohesive strategy. The mayor’s been trying to merge several departments for 18 months now.

I think the City Council needs to get behind that so we can have one focal point of responsibility and authority in terms of putting together economic plans for the city. We need the leadership, both in the public and private sector, to say L.A. has to get its act together to be proactive because it’s not just going to happen on its own. I think the mayor understands that. I think the City Council needs to understand that a cooperative attitude is going to be critical.

JACKIE DUPONT-WALKER

President, Ward Economic Development Corp., an independent affilliate of Ward African Methodist Episcopal Church, Los Angeles

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From talking to people who were involved, it appears that there was nobody who could say, “The buck stops here.” Whenever you have as many interests as you have in Southern California, there has to be somebody who (can do that). Because that entity or person was missing, it appears an awful lot of time was spent on turf issues.

We’ve talked for some time about the need for some kind of regional government. If nothing else, this application shows that.

SHERRI FRANKLIN

President, Community Urban Reinvestment Enterprise, Inc., Los Angeles.

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Los Angeles was not granted an empowerment zone designation because, to translate the words of the Clinton Administration, our application was non-consequential, non-visionary and did not even begin to address the intent to empower community residents from the ground up. The empowerment designation was ours to lose and we did a good job of it.

As a consultant to the city, working on the application, I was amazed at the lack of department, city and state leadership during the application process. Our Congressional representatives didn’t even send a staff person to the planning meetings. Clinton’s staff told Los Angeles exactly what to do and we could not even follow basic instructions.

The lack of diversity was almost comical. I could not believe my ears when during one of the planning meetings a high L.A. County official stated, “We have the programs, we just don’t know what the needs are,” or when I was reminded by another county staffer that, “Of course, South-Central has trees--there is a park down there.”

DAVID LIZARRAGA

President of The East Los Angeles Community Union.

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The city’s strategy of being general so that down the line it could become more specific was not what was requested by Washington. Our organization has been through many, many such processes, although not quite as extensive as an Empowerment Zone. I’ve always believed that the politics of selling your proposal are very important, once you have a product that is competitive. We were not even competitive.