Priorities
COMBATING HOMELESSNESS
Combating & preventing homelessness is a top priority for me. My leadership in my city has produced an intersectional approach to solving homelessness - housing, services, and community safety - that has delivered results. In addition to inclusionary housing, I have championed production of transitional, supportive, and long-term affordable housing solutions.
We must lead countywide with a system of care that supports and keeps people safe. I initiated my city’s request to have dedicated Mental Evaluation Teams (MET), which combine a clinically-trained social worker with a public safety professional to respond to relevant calls. I support further investment in behavioral health response teams for relevant calls, as well as coordinated response with public safety professionals when needed.
We must invest in establishing teams to meet people where they are with the relevant support and resources they need - including mental health services, addiction recovery, and job training - instead of leaving them to face the challenges of navigating through an endless bureaucratic process on their own. We must invest in solutions that take into account the root causes, rather than wastefully spending more public dollars without solving the foundational problems.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
During my time as a Mayor and City Councilmember, my community has consistently led the state in housing production as one of the only cities to exceed our Regional Housing Needs Allocation goals.
I have actively approved housing projects and policies that have advanced smart growth with inclusionary, affordable housing. Transit-oriented development solutions have also been included in the range of housing solutions which I’ve personally prioritized and championed.
I have also worked with nonprofit housing partners like the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center to develop affordable housing options for low-income seniors and older adults, immigrants, formerly unhoused individuals, veterans, and LGBTQ youth.
Working on behalf of and serving marginalized communities has been my life’s work. We need to develop and implement policies that create more AND affordable housing for everyone to help ensure people can live where they work.
Though progressive policies such as increases to the minimum wage are already on the County’s books, I will look for other opportunities to introduce legislation that benefits our underrepresented residents, such as advocating for greater protections to help ensure communities of color receive fair home appraisals and combating the lasting impacts of redlining.
I will partner with community-based organizations that serve vulnerable people and neighborhoods to understand what the greatest needs are. One such vulnerable community I’ve focused on in my work is older adults; we must create more affordable housing options for seniors to ensure they can safely age in place and have the support they need at later stages of life.
As a renter, I have experienced firsthand the challenging landscape of rising rents and insufficient protections. I support providing free counseling services to renters as well as funding that allows renters to stay in the housing they can afford, rather than slipping into houselessness because of a missed rent payment. Rental assistance both for people at risk of eviction and people with high rent burdens will prevent even more people from becoming unhoused, especially as we anticipate the imminent lifting of rent moratoria.
SUSTAINABILITY
Climate change is an issue that requires immediate action, which is why I am committed to transforming Los Angeles into a leading clean energy County.
I’ve partnered with Citizens Climate Lobby on a number of issues. Additionally, I’m a founding member of the Clean Power Alliance of Southern California - the nation’s largest community choice aggregate (CCA) - and serve as an Executive Committee Member as well as the Legislative & Regulatory Committee Chair.
In my community, I supported the adoption of net-zero policy goals to set us on the path to becoming a zero-carbon city, and I would work with cities and neighborhoods to do the same across Los Angeles County.
The tactics I employed include:
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The creation of a partnership to help property owners pursue solar energy systems;
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Approving the adoption of a composting program with trash & recycling contractors;
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Updating the local Green Building Program to create more energy-conscious, sustainable construction practices and constructed buildings;
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Opting in at 100% renewable energy to power all electrical needs;
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Hiring a Senior Sustainability Planner to keep us on top of policies and practices that achieve all climate action goals.
The survival of our planet and human race depend on a reduction of destructive impact on the environment, and one of the best ways we can do that is to cut sprawl dead in its tracks. The County has already adopted an award-winning Sustainability Plan that needs full investment and implementation to reduce our carbon footprint and hold higher standards that actualize net-zero development.
Energy efficiency upgrades are important, and we also need to focus on developing new housing that elevates sustainability standards. The process of decarbonizing buildings as well as sustainable construction methodologies for both residential and commercial development, like mass timber vs. concrete, all have to be reevaluated and shift to a new reality.
We need to invest in new standards and be mindful of transitioning away from fossil fuels, including properly decommissioning defunct oil wells.
TRANSPORTATION
We need to build out our regional transportation network and make good on the promises of Measures R and M. It’s important that these Measures passed, but it’s essential that those dollars are quickly invested in the infrastructure needed to help people navigate the County on a daily basis - to jobs, healthcare centers, and essential services - as well as for travel, tourism, and events.
The Sepulveda Pass and Crenshaw Northern Extension projects are critical to District 3, connecting communities which have been intentionally divided by redlining and discriminatory policies. Ensuring safe, equitable access to transit is essential. I support the Los Angeles Community College District’s commitment to providing free transportation access, and want to see the Board continue its commitment to increasing ridership through eliminating barriers - both physical and financial.
I am committed to transforming Los Angeles into a leading clean energy County. As Mayor, I led the West Hollywood City Council in its vote to join the Clean Power Alliance, a new CCA serving Southern California. I support converting municipal fleets to all-electric, and have been a leader in implementing infrastructure to support electric vehicle charging. I have partnered with organizations like Plug In America to develop plans of action.
I absolutely support the decarbonization of personal and public modes of transportation, and have experience building out our regional transportation network.
It is also essential to recognize the ways in which climate change disproportionately impacts communities of color. Through my work at Clean Power Alliance, clean energy alternatives were provided to Southern California Edison (SCE). These alternatives are transparent and accountable to our communities, and more affordable than SCE.
I led my community to opt in at 100% renewable energy, inspiring other cities to do the same. I have been and will continue to be an advocate for legislation that advances clean energy goals for LA County and protects the rights of CCAs to exist and thrive.
We need to keep people safe in our neighborhoods. Prioritizing public safety is the most important job for any elected official. As County Supervisor, I will work collaboratively to approve a budget that reflects our community safety needs. From fighting crime to wildfires, we must invest in the personnel and resources necessary to deliver the services each community expects, deserves, and requires to feel safe.
As a local official for over 15 years, I have seen how many responsibilities fall on law enforcement officials because no one else wants to deal with them. We need to revisit which responsibilities are falling on law enforcement because the necessary interventions and services are not being properly funded. We should not be asking LASD deputies or LAPD officers to perform duties for which they are not uniquely trained and which can lead to unnecessary escalation or liability issues.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Fighting for the right to fair pay, safe and reasonable working conditions, and the ability to join a union and bargain collectively is something I have done and will continue to do for the working people of Los Angeles.
I was proud to stand with hotel workers in my community this year as they fought for adequate pay, reasonable hours, and protections from sexual assault. We passed a standard-setting ordinance that required local employers to fairly compensate, protect, and honor the work and dignity of their employees. We worked together to raise the minimum wage and included paid leave protections as part of their employment benefits.
As a Mayor and Councilmember, I have a long track record of advocating for safer work practices, fair wages, and more equitable work hours, especially in times of great uncertainty, like the COVID-19 pandemic. As Supervisor, I will continue to be an ally to and champion for working people.