In 2013, then-candidate Eric Garcetti promised a “back to basics” agenda as mayor of Los Angeles — a streamlined government that would create a stronger economy and a more efficient and effective City Hall. According to a recent guest commentary on this page by two Democratic strategists, he has delivered “on far more than the ‘basics.’ ”
The problem is, the facts don’t back it up.
Since Garcetti has taken office, the basics have not improved a great deal, and many trends in the city have gone unaddressed. Housing costs have risen 31 percent since he took office, and countless families are now struggling to pay over 50 percent of their income on rent every year.
With the continued reduction of affordable housing in favor of luxury housing, it’s no wonder the homeless population has steadily increased since 2013, with an additional 11 percent in the last year. Now, new tent cities are popping up along our sidewalks every day and the problem continues to get worse and worse. Our quality of life is on the decline for everyone, and yet our city government continues to do the bare minimum in addressing this growing crisis.
From 2015 to 2016, overall crime went up more than 4.6 percent and violent crime up more than 5.3 percent. Meanwhile, more than 30 percent of our streets are in serious need of resurfacing or total reconstruction, yet the Department of Public Works focuses on maintaining Los Angeles’ least damaged streets since the rest are deemed too expensive to fix at this point.
Paying to deal with these problems is not easy. Los Angeles already has one of the highest sales taxes in the nation. There’s no wiggle room in the budget, either. Since Garcetti took office, the budget has grown by $1 billion — a 22 percent increase. Are our sidewalks 22 percent better? Is the trimming of our city trees 22 percent better? Are there 22 percent fewer potholes in our neighborhoods? Of course not.
And with regard to net hires, not many have been made. For example, the Los Angeles Police Department is no closer to the additional 2,500 officers that both Chief Charlie Beck and former Chief Bill Bratton said we needed two years ago. Nor have we seen an increase in the number of city employees from the roughly 32,000 employees we had since the Great Recession.
We’re not adding more jobs in Los Angeles, yet government spending continues to increase, raising cost of living for Angelenos.
In terms of “back to basics” at the community level, Garcetti has done hardly anything to give power back to the more than 90 neighborhood councils that span our city. As a proud board member of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council, I can easily attest to the struggles many other councils share when it comes to making our voices heard on neighborhood issues.
If Garcetti wants to brag about being a “back to basics” mayor, he needs to explain to us why the basics are pretty lousy.
We need a progressive mayor who will stand up to President Trump’s administration. That’s why I’m supporting Mitchell Schwartz in the March 7 election.
I’ve gotten to know Schwartz, a progressive Democrat, entrepreneur, and environmental leader, and I’m proud to say he’s the leader Los Angeles deserves in the time of Trump. A leader who will put Angelenos first, not City Hall insiders or special interests.
Schwartz has pledged that, as mayor, he would fix the lack of affordable housing, reform and restructure the Department of Water and Power, and restore ethics to City Hall.
Maybe it is time the city elected a mayor who — unlike Garcetti, who has been fundraising across the country for a potential campaign for governor in California — will spend less time talking about getting things done and more time getting them done here in Los Angeles.
Anne-Marie Johnson is an actress. She serves as a co-chairwoman of the Silverlake Neighborhood Council, but is not writing on behalf of the neighborhood council.
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