Vote ‘Yes’ on L.A. Proposition 1

Proposition 1, the $171-million police facilities bond measure on the June 6 ballot, ought to be an easy sell. For a pittance, about 79 cents a month for the owner of a $160,000 home, the Los Angeles Police Department would get new police stations that are badly needed.

The LAPD stations in the San Fernando Valley, for example, were built for 676 sworn officers. There are now 1,283, and hiring is expected to bring the total to 1,682. Some of the folks in uniform have to change clothes in their cars or in hallways shielded only by curtains. That won’t do.

Proposition 1 is far from an easy sell because the previous City Council, mayor and police chief blew it when they sold a similar bond measure to the public in 1989. They did a lousy job of estimating costs and monitoring contractors, and the money ran out before they could deliver on two key promises: new police stations for the Valley and the Wilshire area.

So, it was like rubbing salt in a wound when a later City Council voted to put another big bond issue on the June, 1995, ballot that, in part, promised the same Valley and Wilshire stations that taxpayers thought they had paid for in 1989.

It meant that a lot of people, including us, needed to be convinced that we weren’t going to be fleeced again. Well, it took a while, but we have decided to urge a “yes” vote on Proposition 1.

First, we trust that our business-oriented mayor, Richard Riordan, would be able to properly oversee such a project. Also, Police Chief Willie L. Williams says he would insist on professional oversight to avoid cost overruns. And, not unimportant, City Councilman Richard Alarcon is on record with a promise that things would be done right this time. That includes making sure that none of the bond money would be summarily shifted to other projects.

The Valley and Wilshire stations that would result from the bonds could produce better police response times and community service. The money would bring about the replacement of the Rampart and Hollenbeck stations, two of the city’s oldest and most overcrowded. All of this is immensely important and necessary work. Without the funds authorized by Proposition 1, the city’s police stations will only continue to go downhill.