How does L.A.’s March primary affect the climate crisis?
California’s primary election is here. We dig into two pressing climate questions surrounding L.A.’s races for City Council and the Board of Supervisors.
California’s creeping primary, and the host of races that could reshape our districts, got me wondering: What role does our local government play in the climate crisis?
The climate emergency is a global one; it’ll require the coordinated effort of nations to meet the Paris agreement. Still, policies on the municipal level can’t be overlooked.
While they often do rely on state or federal funding, local efforts to decarbonize can be well-positioned: immune to partisan peacocking and more directly influential.
In 2019, L.A. passed its Green New Deal, chock full of commitments to propel the city into a green energy future, like 100% renewable energy by 2045 and net zero by 2050.
Then the city controller put out his report in October saying, hey, hold up — the city’s plan needs a reboot.
It lauded some achievements, like renewables replacing coal on our grid, but said the deal was falling short on specifics, or actionable steps needed to actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
That’s part of what makes the March 5 primary so important: that Angelenos are voting in the candidates who will oversee these long-term climate goals.
Let’s look at two races: City Council and Board of Supervisors, whose budgetary discretion and outsized constituencies make them inseparable from that responsibility.
City Council
Basically the L.A. legislature, responsible for local laws that get approved or vetoed by the mayor. Its members also make your neighborhood more neighborhood-y (or less) through regulations, zoning changes and public improvements.
There are seven seats being contested: in districts 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14.
The hot questions for this next term focus on housing and transportation, both of which are major emitters.
Transportation is the state’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, and state law is requiring L.A. to plan for 185,000 new low-income homes by 2029.
Your elected official will determine the energy efficiency of new buildings, the source of that energy and the access Angelenos have to public transportation.
Board of Supervisors
Supervisors represent unincorporated L.A. County — the 125 communities that aren’t part of a city.
Three of the board’s five seats are on the ballot, and supervisors also sit on the board for L.A. Metro. They’re also responsible for social services, mental health, jails and the Sheriff’s Department’s annual budget.
Metro wants a fully electric bus fleet by 2030. Heck, maybe I do too.
The Board of Supervisors will have a lot of influence over that transition.
As it will have with housing, as supervisors determine how tens of millions get spent to address homelessness and the lack of affordable units — policies that often overlap with the City Council’s.
Read up on The Times’ voter guides to learn more on our state and local races.
Mail-in voting has already begun. And Feb. 20 is the last day you can register online, but you can also register conditionally at voting centers, which are open Feb. 24 through March 5.
The climate emergency is a global one; it’ll require the coordinated effort of nations to meet the Paris agreement. Still, policies on the municipal level can’t be overlooked.
While they often do rely on state or federal funding, local efforts to decarbonize can be well-positioned: immune to partisan peacocking and more directly influential.
In 2019, L.A. passed its Green New Deal, chock full of commitments to propel the city into a green energy future, like 100% renewable energy by 2045 and net zero by 2050.
Then the city controller put out his report in October saying, hey, hold up — the city’s plan needs a reboot.
It lauded some achievements, like renewables replacing coal on our grid, but said the deal was falling short on specifics, or actionable steps needed to actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
That’s part of what makes the March 5 primary so important: that Angelenos are voting in the candidates who will oversee these long-term climate goals.
Let’s look at two races: City Council and Board of Supervisors, whose budgetary discretion and outsized constituencies make them inseparable from that responsibility.
City Council
Basically the L.A. legislature, responsible for local laws that get approved or vetoed by the mayor. Its members also make your neighborhood more neighborhood-y (or less) through regulations, zoning changes and public improvements.
There are seven seats being contested: in districts 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14.
The hot questions for this next term focus on housing and transportation, both of which are major emitters.
Transportation is the state’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, and state law is requiring L.A. to plan for 185,000 new low-income homes by 2029.
Your elected official will determine the energy efficiency of new buildings, the source of that energy and the access Angelenos have to public transportation.
Board of Supervisors
Supervisors represent unincorporated L.A. County — the 125 communities that aren’t part of a city.
Three of the board’s five seats are on the ballot, and supervisors also sit on the board for L.A. Metro. They’re also responsible for social services, mental health, jails and the Sheriff’s Department’s annual budget.
Metro wants a fully electric bus fleet by 2030. Heck, maybe I do too.
The Board of Supervisors will have a lot of influence over that transition.
As it will have with housing, as supervisors determine how tens of millions get spent to address homelessness and the lack of affordable units — policies that often overlap with the City Council’s.
Read up on The Times’ voter guides to learn more on our state and local races.
Mail-in voting has already begun. And Feb. 20 is the last day you can register online, but you can also register conditionally at voting centers, which are open Feb. 24 through March 5.
