As the March 3 Presidential Primary Election draws closer, more attention is being focused on local races that are also on the ballot. This year, half of the seats on the Los Angeles City Council are up for a vote on March 3, included our District 4 seat and the seat in CD10, our next door neighbor district.
Today, The Los Angeles Times endorsed Councilmember David Ryu, who is running for his first re-election. In addition, the Times endorsed three other incumbent council members – Paul Krekorian (CD2), Nury Martinez (CD6) and Marqueece Harris-Dawson (CD8) – noting there’s a good argument for experience this year, given the challenges the city is facing with homelessness and housing. Here’s the text of the Times’ endorsement of Ryu:
“Council District 4: David Ryu
David Ryu has blossomed from an overly cautious first-time candidate in 2015 into a reformer willing to take a clear and, at times, difficult stand.
His colleagues have resisted much of Ryu’s push to dispel the pay-to-play cloud hanging over the council; they only reluctantly passed his ban on political contributions from real estate developers after City Hall scandals. He’s done better on one ethics issue fully under his own control: He has given community groups the ability to help spend and track his office’s discretionary funds.
He has also gotten solid marks from people working to house and serve homeless Angelenos for supporting more shelters and housing in his district, and for bringing a needed perspective as a former executive at Kedren Health, a provider of mental healthcare. As one advocate for homeless people noted, it would be easy for someone representing the 4th District to adopt a “clean up the streets” attitude, but Ryu has favored data-driven and services-based approaches that hold more promise over the long term.
Ryu faces a pair of impressive challengers, both of whom have zeroed in on city government’s failures. Nithya Raman is an urban planner who’s been an advocate for women’s rights, and she co-founded a local coalition focused on bringing services to their homeless neighbors. She’s emphasized the need to do more on homelessness, climate change and immigrant protections. Sarah Kate Levy, a screenwriter and political activist, has also pushed for more progress on homelessness, affordable housing and improving bike, transit and mobility options. Nevertheless, Ryu’s experience and record have earned him a second term.” – Los Angeles Times.
LA Vote Centers
Meanwhile, a booklet titled “Vote Center Locations” published by the LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office arrived in the mail yesterday. The booklet provides a complete list of all the Vote Centers in the county by geographic area, listed in alphabetical order. This year, voting can be done in person at any of these centers on election day…or up to 11 days before the election. There will also be three Mobile Vote Centers available from February 22 though March 3. Locations can be found at LAVote.net.
Now that you know where to vote in person, you can always still vote by mail, it may be the easiest way (and you still get a sticker!). So now you just need to educate yourself about who to vote for.
CD4 Candidate Forum
Finally, last month, we attended a CD4 candidate forum, sponsored by the Mid City West Community Council, which featured Ryu’s two challengers, Sarah Kate Levy and Nithya Raman, and we are planning to attend another one coming up next weekend, on Sunday, February 16, 4 pm – 6 pm at John Marshall High School Auditorium, 3939 Tracy Street. This one is being sponsored by several CD4 Neighorhood Councils, including the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, and the League of Women Voters. KPCC-FM Senior Politics reporter Libby Denkmann will moderate the forum.
See you there!
