With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today during our fall member drive.
How you can help LAist watchdog your elected officials
"I Voted" stickers in multiple language at a Los Angeles polling place.
(
Robyn Beck
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
This is an excerpt from our pop-up election newsletter Make It Make Sense.
Most of the November 2024 election is over, despite the agonizing wait for final results. But until then, we’ve got an eye on the next phase of the election: holding our elected officials accountable.
Accountability is already a big part of LAist’s journalism. We follow major initiatives, spotlight critical gaps in protecting communities or preventing disasters, and uncover corruption scandals. But we’re particularly interested in better understanding the everyday work our representatives are doing — or not doing. Even if your city council member never makes headlines for a controversy, they’re making critical decisions all the time over how much housing is in your neighborhood, where and how you travel through the city and how much funding goes to police or homelessness services. The same goes for your school board, your district attorney, and more.
Support for LAist comes from
As LAist’s civics and democracy producer, my job is to make local government more accessible to Angelenos. This work starts with knowing what you, the voters, want to keep tabs on.
Fill out the quick survey at the bottom of this post to let us know what you’re most interested in tracking as this next term gets underway. You can also share this link with anyone else you know who might want to share their thoughts, too. Here are some of the questions you can weigh in on:
- What measures or officials from the 2024 ballot do you want LAist to track?
- Is there specific information you want us to look for?
- What questions do you have about any of the measures we passed or officials we elected?
Additionally, one of our next projects will be developing a tracker for members of the L.A. City Council. It’s one of the most powerful local governments in the nation, with 15 members representing more than 4 million people. And yet when we talk to voters, most have no idea who their city representatives are, let alone how they’re shaping residents’ lives.
Here are some ideas for what we could include in an at-a-glance snapshot of a city council member’s time in office:
- How they voted on major legislation
- How much affordable housing they approved in their district
- Pedestrian fatalities over time in their district
- How they’re spending discretionary funds
Have any more ideas to add? You can let us know in the survey below.
Did LAist help you vote? Member support made these voter guides possible.
Our election coverage is focused on you: helping you understand the results of these races and their impact on our everyday lives. And we don’t stop there, even after results are in, you need a source of trusted reporting that will hold those in power to account and shine a light on issues important to our communities.
Even after the last ballot is cast, LAist reporting and voting guides are here for you. But we need to hear from you now with your support to know that this work we’re doing is important.
We cannot do this essential work without your help. We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
At a time when the need for local journalism has never been greater, many newsrooms are facing cutbacks, including LAist. Member support — your support — is what will sustain a free press in Southern California.
LAist’s mission is to be here for you, so please be here for us now with a donation to power our trusted local reporting. Step up right now and make the choice to give. Because that’s exactly what it is — a choice. It's a choice with consequences. If readers do not choose to step up and donate, the future of fact-based news in Southern California will not be as strong.
No matter what happens in the world, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust.
Thank you for your generous support.
Sincerely,
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
What questions do you have about this election?
You ask, and we'll answer: Whether it's about how to interpret the results or track your ballot, we're here to help you understand the 2024 general election on Nov. 5.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
A tort claim obtained by LAist via a public records request alleges the Anaheim procurement department lacks basic contracting procedures and oversight. -
Flauta, taquito, tacos dorados? Whatever they’re called, they’re golden, crispy and delicious. -
If California redistricts, the conservative beach town that banned LGBTQ Pride flags on city property would get a gay, progressive Democrat in Congress. -
Most survivors of January's fires face a massive gap in the money they need to rebuild, and funding to help is moving too slowly or nonexistent. -
Kevin Lacy has an obsession with documenting California’s forgotten and decaying places. -
Restaurants share resources in the food hall in West Adams as Los Angeles reckons with increasing restaurant closures.
Best of LAist