Updates

The City Council unanimously approved a report Wednesday championed by Councilmember José Huizar recommending adopting City policy asking departments to create guidelines to donate consumable surplus food to food banks and pantries.The action is part of Councilmember Huizar’s plan to increase awareness about the need to donate surplus food to feed an increasing demographic in today’s tough economy, while cutting back on the waste that occurs with California dumping approximately 5 million tons of food a year.

Councilmember José Huizar worked with community advocates Hunger Action Los Angeles and introduced the legislation to create the citywide program. Councilmember Huizar’s office also worked with Hunger Action L.A., the City’s Information Technology Agency and other partners to create a database of food banks and pantries, accessible through the City’s 311 information system. The Councilmember is working with partners on creating a campaign to boost food surplus donation from businesses with the hope of making donating surplus food as commonplace as recycling.

At the press conference before the City Council vote, Councilmember Huizar was joined by Councilmember Paul Koretz; the City's Information Technology Agency’s General Manager Randi Levin; Union Rescue Mission’s Rev. Andy Bale; Frank Tamborello with Hunger Action Los Angeles; Jessica Jones with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank; Fred Summers with Jewish Family Services SOVA Community Food & Resource Program; as well as representatives from Mazon, The Jewish Federation, Food Finders and other assistance organizations.

With Los Angeles’ unemployment figures 3 points higher than the national average, 1 in 6 people receiving emergency food aid in Los Angeles have never received assistance in the past, creating rising need for food banks and pantries. 

Click here for the slideshow and footage of the event.

Following are news outlets that covered the press conference and subsequent vote in Council Chambers: NBC, LAist, LA Times, KPCC, and the Daily Breeze.

Posted at 11:38 AM

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Councilmember Huizar introduced a motion in Council that would form the creation of a formal City Fellowship Program for the City of Los Angeles. The fellowship would work with the volunteer program from the Office of the Mayor and would create a second new category of full or part-time volunteer ("Angels") for any recently retired City employee who is willing to assist the City. The fellowship would also provide opportunities to recruit young talent and offer real work experience while they build their professional portfolios. The motion was approved and more information will be available as the program is developed.
Posted at 12:00 AM

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On March 4th, Councilmember Huizar moderated a Campaign Finance Reform forum in City Council Chambers featuring some of the leading campaign, political and election reform experts. The panel included Kathay Feng, Executive Director, California Common Cause; Robert Stern, President, Center For Governmental Studies, Ron Kaye, former editor of the Los Angeles Daily News, Xandra Kayden, League of Women Voters; Trent Lang, California Clean Money Campaign; LeeAnn Pelham, Executive Director Los Angeles City Ethics Commission and Jim Sutton, attorney and noted election law expert. The forum discussed whether Los Angeles should change its campaign finance laws, especially in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that lifted a ban on corporate and union donations to individual candidates. Councilmember Huizar plans on taking the main points discussed to the City Council’s Rules & Elections Committee as part of an effort to place Campaign Finance Reform on the Council’s agenda. In the near future, Councilmember Huizar may hold additional forums on other important issues like Instant Run Off Voting.
If you missed it, you can watch the rebroadcast on Ch. 35 on Thursday March 11 at 8:30 p.m. and Saturday March 13 at 2 p.m. or you can watch it online HERE.

Posted at 3:02 PM

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Councilmember Huizar recently welcomed U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves to the Boyle Heights Technology Center and Dr. Rebecca Blank, Commerce Department’s Under Secretary of Economic Affairs who visited Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights. This week, Councilmember Huizar introduced the CD 14 Complete Count Committee, consisting of more than 40 community based organizations throughout the district and also welcomed the Census Road Tour “Portrait of America” bus to CD14.
By answering 10 simple questions in the census survey, Angelenos can help Los Angeles obtain millions of dollars in federal funding for things like hospitals, job training centers, schools, senior centers, bridges, tunnels and other public works projects, as well as much needed emergency services. To join the CD14 Complete Count Committee, call (213) 473-7014.

Posted at 2:09 PM

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Throughout the budget process, while appreciating the importance of acting as quickly as possible to realized savings, Councilmember Huizar has not agreed with the way potential cuts have been presented. Councilmembers have been asked to make decisions to cut thousands of jobs and significantly reduce City services with little notice and absent of the uniformed process that normally drives budget discussions. Councilmember Huizar strongly believes that the process needs to take place to give Councilmembers and the public enough time to express their opinions on what services are important to them.
Posted at 2:06 PM

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Posted at 1:30 PM

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As the City works to deal with a $212 million shortfall this fiscal year and a $484 million one in 2010-2011, Councilmember Huizar has focused on saving vital city services, particularly public safety, while lobbying aggressively to protect the City's Reserve Fund this year, which the Controllers Office has stated is crucial to the financial health of the City.

The City Council recently voted to authorize the elimination of 3,000 positions, on top of 1,000 already previously approved.  Together with the 2,400 retiring employees who are leaving through the ERIP program, the City stands to lose approximately one-third of its civilian workforce, which will greatly impact the delivery of services. The only way to avoid this is to either increase revenues through a number of initiatives being looked into or for the City to work with employee groups on cost-saving measures. Councilmember Huizar strongly believes that there are alternatives to layoffs and is committed to looking at every viable option and has challenged City staff to do the same. As chair of the Public Works Committee, the Councilmember is working with the DWP and other proprietary departments to hire or contract with Bureau of Street Services employees to prevent 100 proposed position eliminations there.

 The City Administrative Officer (CAO) originally stated in his Mid-Year Financial Status report that the City would only save about $16 million this fiscal year (toward the $212 million debt that is due July 1, 2010) through position eliminations. The majority of the savings would be realized in fiscal year 2010-2011 and beyond. The CAO's solution to cover this fiscal year's debt consists primarily of borrowing from the Reserve Fund (the City's rainy day account, used for emergencies). The CAO's plan is to replenish the Reserve Fund later after securing lease agreements for 10 City parking garages, which Councilmember Huizar considers a risky proposition that could leave the city financially vulnerable. For this reason, he supports other short-term revenue-generating and cost-saving plans, such as cashing out meter revenue and transferring it to the Reserve Fund, slashing private city contracts by 10 percent or more, and recouping a portion of the $400 million in debt owed to the City.

Given that the impact of the proposed elimination of 3,000 more positions has not been studied, Councilmember Huizar successfully introduced an amendment requiring the CAO to identify those positions and report back on the impact to City services within 20 days. Recently, the Mayor has proposed the elimination or consolidation of several departments, including the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE), which oversees the City's Neighborhood Councils.

With the City Council meeting daily to discuss budget items and the Mayor announcing numerous updates of his own, the bottom line for Councilmember Huizar is to ensure that the public has ample time to have their voices heard on these matters.

Councilmember Huizar will continue to update you on the budget hearings and encourages you to attend the next Budget & Finance Committee meeting in El Sereno (see below).

City of Los Angeles Budget and Finance Committee Community Meeting
Monday March 8th at 6:00 p.m.
El Sereno Recreation Center
4721 Klamath St
Los Angeles, CA 90032
The Budget and Finance Committee will hold a meeting for residents in preparation of the 2010-2011 budget. These meetings will provide residents the opportunity to hear about current fiscal challenges and discuss budget priorities. For additional information, please contact the El Sereno District office at 323-226-1646

Posted at 2:15 PM

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As part of a national effort with mock graduations taking place in various cities, Councilmember Huizar delivered the

Posted at 3:58 PM

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On July 3, Councilmember Huizar, who's also an MTA board director, joined U.S Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and other elected officials on a tour of the soon to be open Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension. The tour and meeting included discussions on the importance of new public transportation projects and the positive impacts they have on the communities in which they are built. The Metro Gold Line will run from Downtown Los Angeles to Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles and is slated to open later in the year.

Posted at 3:57 PM

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Eighty-seven students from elementary, middle school and high schools from Northeast L.A., El Sereno, Boyle Heights and Downtown were honored by Councilmember Huizar on June 20th at Downtown's Lady of the Angels Cathedral. Each student was nominated by their perspective school for academic and community achievement. Councilmember Huizar initiated the Adelante Awards during his tenure on the LAUSD board and has continued it as a councilmember to foster leadership among his district's youth.

Posted at 3:51 PM

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Joined by hundreds of volunteers throughout CD14, Councilmember Huizar, along with the CD14 Complete Count Committee, participated in Census canvassing events last weekend throughout hard-to-count areas in the district. The Census brings millions of dollars to the City of Los Angeles.
Remember, April 1st is National Census Day. Please use this day as a reminder to send in your Census form. Join Councilmember Huizar at the Census 2010 Health & Resource Fair on Saturday March 27 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. at El Pueblo, 622 North Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

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