Issues

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I am a Los Angeles native born and raised. I've lived in this beautiful city my entire life and over the years I have experienced its evolution and change. Along with rapid growth, Los Angeles’s growing pains have become increasingly evident over the last few years. Leaders have either been slow to respond to the city’s new challenges or have failed in their response altogether. Unfortunately, our recent civic leaders often make calculated decisions for their own selfish political gain rather than choose to do what is best for the city and its residents. I’m running because it is time to finally tackle growing problems and make difficult decisions in order to put the City of Angels back on track for the taxpayers who call it home. 

Homelessness

The homeless situation has never been this bad in the City of LA and District 5. Encampments litter our neighborhoods. They create unsafe, scary, and unsightly environments for the community. Often the homeless start fires leading to property damage and wildfires decimating our environment and neighborhoods. Poor policies have allowed this crisis to persist and grow for so long, it seems too daunting to take on, and leaders do not want to make the hard choices to make a real effort to get homeless people off the streets they occupy. While I have empathy for the homeless population, I do not believe their rights supersede those of the rest of the Los Angeles community. Nor do I believe allowing homeless people to remain on the streets helps them overcome their situation. Mental health and addiction within the homeless population need to be addressed as does our affordable housing shortage, but these issues can no longer be used as an excuse to allow people to live on the streets. 

Crime

Crime has become a major issue in District 5, particularly over the last two years, and the criminals have become more brazen than ever before acting as if they have no fear of repercussions. It’s common to see boarded up stores on some of our most popular shopping districts such as Melrose and Fairfax, and the rate of occurrence of armed robberies is truly alarming. We need to strengthen our police force and use different strategies and technologies to keep our neighborhoods safe and deter criminal activity from happening. Hate crimes in Los Angeles have spiked to the highest level in over a decade. This is another vital area where we must do better. 88% of religious hate crimes in 2020 were perpetrated against Jewish people. Asian Americans experienced a 76% increase in hate crimes, and anti-black hate crimes were up 35%. I support the recall of George Gascon whose efforts have only emboldened criminals and put our communities at risk.

Housing

There is an affordable housing shortage in the city, and housing costs continue to rise for renters and homeowners. Policy makers have made this situation worse by making the development of housing more costly with added fees, more complicated to approve, and more time consuming to permit. Properties suitable for development are in short supply. There is uncertainty and risk in the market. The process should encourage development of more housing rather than discourage it. We need to increase staff at Building & Safety, BOE, and LADWP, modernize our zoning codes, and streamline the permitting process. 

Environment

Los Angeles has always been on the forefront of new environmental technology adoption whether it be solar, electric cars, or LED street lighting. We should continue to lead in this department with continued research and implementation of green technologies. We also need to expand and streamline green energy programs such as public/private solar and water conservation projects and reform others which are inefficient and overly burdensome to individuals. We cannot ignore the damage being done to our environment by the homeless population. Trash, needles, and excrement litter our streets and get washed away into storm runoff drains. Small fires and wildfires sparked by homeless people have released unfathomable amounts of carbon dioxide into the air and have destroyed tens of thousands of acres of trees and forests.