Meet The Candidates: Councilmember Herb Wesson, Jr., Council District 10

To prepare for the upcoming March 8, 2011 elections, LAist has contacted each candidate on the City of L.A.'s Official Candidate List to participate in a Q&A. All candidates received the same set of questions, with the exception of West Hollywood city council candidates, who received a WeHo-specific list of questions. LAist does not endorse political candidates, and responses are posted in the order they are received.

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Councilmember Herb Wesson, Jr. of City Council District 10
In this edition of "Meet the Candidates," we hear from Council District 10 incumbent Councilmember Herb Wesson, Jr. The district includes Arlington Heights, Jefferson Park, Mid-City, West Adams and parts of Koreatown, Leimert Park, Westlake.Other candidates in the March 8, 2011 CD10 race are Chris Brown, Austin Dragon, Andrew "Andy" Kim, Luis Montoya and Althea Rae Shaw. Not sure about your district? See the map to find out if your neighborhood is within district boundaries.

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Tell us about your background and what you'll bring to the table in City Hall. What makes you different from the other candidates, and what qualifies you to represent your district?

I am the Councilman from the 10th District. I have been deeply involved in the communities I am blessed to represent, and I know what it takes to get things done. My breadth of experience in government and as an elected official (six years in the State Assembly, including two years as Speaker of the State Assembly, and five years on the Los Angeles City Council) has taught me the necessary skills to solve the current challenges the City of Los Angeles is facing. As Speaker of the Assembly, I provided the leadership to solve the serious state budget challenges in 2002 and 2003, and that know-how will serve the residents of the 10th District and the City well in the next four years. Serious times require serious leadership, and this is the leadership our communities need today more than ever.

What are your top priorities for your district? How do you plan on tackling them?

While public safety, open space, and the City budget are among my top priorities for the 10th District, in these times, my job is jobs. In order for the City and our communities to continue to move forward and thrive, we need to create and sustain good paying jobs. Over the last 5 years, we have created over 23,000 construction and permanent jobs in the 10th District. These jobs have helped to lessen the impacts of the deep recession we are currently in, but we need to do more to turn our local economy around. Federally subsidized loans and grants are one of many tools we have used to provide the catalyst for economic revitalization along major commercial corridors like Pico Boulevard and Crenshaw Boulevard. We need to preserve these tools in order to foster the retail and commercial resurgence in the community that our residents want, expect, and deserve. Nothing will keep crime down and turn around the economy better than a good job.

How would you address the city's projected $350 million budget deficit?

Over the next few years, we need to reinvent City government and decide, as a City, who we want to be … what services we want … and what we are willing and able to pay for. Under the current economic conditions, we cannot sustain City government and provide the same level of services that our residents are accustomed to. We need to give up control of services the City does not manage well like the Convention Center and City-owned golf courses. Another area we are looking at is the City’s payroll system where efficiencies and revenue generation seem possible. We should also look at taking advantage of the quality of our Bureau of Sanitation. The County of Los Angeles’ Sheriffs Department and Fire Department have been very successful at competitively bidding their services to other cities and jurisdictions. We should work with our Board of Public Works and our labor unions to see if it makes sense for the City to do the same with Sanitation, possibly bringing in additional revenue for the City. We also need to ensure that we have full-cost recovery policies in place for all Departments, as well as look at reorganization and consolidation of Departments like City Planning and Building and Safety. Furthermore, we should also proceed with a tax or revenue-sharing plan on the 4,000-plus legal billboards in the City. Lastly, we need to work in collaboration with our employee unions to provide the leadership necessary to achieve meaningful pension reform and reduce our health insurance costs.

How do you plan on working with your constituents in addressing their concerns?

Over the last five years, as the Councilmember of the 10th District, I have built and maintained good relationships with the Neighborhood Councils, homeowner groups, neighborhood associations, block clubs, chambers of commerce, and other civic-minded groups. We have collaborated on economic development projects, preserved historic neighborhoods, improved the quality of streets and sidewalks, as well as partnered together on many community events. I am in constant communication with all of the groups in my district and they have direct access to me and my staff. They know that we are able to deliver the services that they want, expect, and deserve.

Public transportation is an important issue for LAist readers. What role should public transportation have in LA?

A complete public transportation network is critical to alleviating traffic congestion and providing mobility for the residents of our City. Four of the top transportation projects in the County are currently underway in the 10th District, bringing in almost $10 billion dollars in transportation infrastructure investment. The Expo Light Rail Line, from Downtown to Santa Monica, will finish Phase One in the coming months with Phase Two starting shortly. This project will bring relief to our East-West traffic corridors. We also have the Wilshire Subway project and the dedicated Rapid Bus lanes along Wilshire Boulevard, providing further relief to the East-West corridors. Furthermore, the Crenshaw Corridor/LAX Light Rail Line will connect the Expo Line to the Airport, bringing relief to our North-South traffic corridors. This project will be starting construction within the next year. The 10th District is well positioned to have the best public transportation options in the entire County by 2020.

The City Council has had to revisit the medical marijuana ordinance repeatedly. How would you like to see the medical marijuana issue addressed?

The City Council has done a good job bringing the medical marijuana dispensary (MMD) issue under control, and the ordinance we have put in place will bring much needed regulation and sanity to the issue as long as it survives litigation. Early on in the process, I was very active in shutting down unscrupulous MMD operators in the 10th District, particularly along Pico and Robertson Boulevards, until we got an ordinance in place. One area we need to spend more time on is ensuring that the quality of the medicine provided to patients has the same standards as other pharmaceutical drugs, including a full testing system and a quality control system. The City needs to work in collaboration with the State to develop this system, ensuring that patients who need medical marijuana have access to high quality products that do not contain pesticides and other contaminants that will do more harm than good. Other than this, as long as the ordinance remains intact, we will address the over concentration of MMDs, remove them from sensitive areas next to schools and residential areas, and ensure we have good operators in place.

What are your priorities for development and planning?

Over the last five years, we’ve brought an economic revitalization to the 10th District that has not been seen for decades. We need to continue this economic revitalization throughout the District, while we protect the integrity of our residential neighborhoods that abut our commercial corridors. Billions of dollars have been invested throughout the District along the commercial corridors of Pico Boulevard, Crenshaw Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard, Jefferson Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard to name a few. The Midtown Crossings Project at Pico and San Vicente is a huge milestone for the community, finally bringing in retail and commercial services the community needs after 15 years of neglect at the site. The District Square project at Crenshaw and Rodeo along with the West Angeles Plaza project at Crenshaw and Jefferson is over $100 million dollars in investment, bringing in Target, Fresh & Easy, and other much needed retail and commercial services. We will continue to bring the residents of the 10th District the quality services in their neighborhood they need, deserve, and expect so they do not have to travel to outside of their neighborhood to other cities or communities.

Endorsements (provided by candidate):

• Los Angeles County Democratic Party
• Stonewall Democratic Club
• Stonewall Young Democrats
• Los Angeles County Young Democrats
• New Frontier Democratic Club
• Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters
• Los Angeles County Federation of Labor
• Los Angeles Police Protective League
• United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, Local 112
• Central City Association
• SEIU Local 721
• Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas
• Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky
• Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
• City Controller Wendy Greuel
• Congresswoman Karen Bass
• Congresswoman Maxine Waters
• Council President Eric Garcetti