We sent a survey to candidates to get their views on some big issues of the day to help our own editorial board and voters understand what are the candidates for Los Angeles City Council. Here, we present the approach to the Avalambi Parishad Nithya Raman and Challengers Levon Baironian and Ethan Weaver. This editorial board supported Ethan Weaver.
Is the city taking the right steps to handle the homeless? What do you propose to do different ways?
Levon Bironian: The crisis around the struggles of untoward is a multi-dimensional economic, public health and safety issue. Thus, till now, we have temporary band-aids from policy makers who are more concerned than superficial optics than the long-term original work required to solve this challenging failure of the system. Homelessness is an expression of the increasing cost of life, mental health issues and drug abuse to more failure of our education system and combination of issues for obstacles for resources and admissions for community support.
My office will have a specified component Casswork branch dedicated to resources and opportunity guidance for the residents.
Navigating the process of reaching government resources can be highly complicated. With inadequate awareness about government services, adequate time, expertise and resources, with the resources required to apply in several programs and to help, with the necessary resources, forms a significant obstacle for admission for many individuals.
It will increase the effectiveness of low-term programs such as street medicine, provided by the USC and covered by Medicare and Medicade.
Ethan Weaver: Under the leadership of Counselmber Nithya Raman, Los Angeles has unfortunately taken steps that seem to grow rather than reducing the homeless crisis. According to Lahsa, the allocation of $ 1.3 billion annually, with an increase of 10% for an estimated 46,260 people in 2023, has only deteriorated. Counselor Raman’s decision to vote for 500 feet of schools and Decors to allow him to vote for homeless, even with the presence of dangerous drugs such as Fentanell, increases serious concerns about their ability to lead on the issue. Such an approach not only fails to address the root causes of being homeless, but also endangers the good of our communities. Conversely, Mayor Karen Bass has shown commendable efforts in dealing with the homeless, and their cooperation and care of the first courts with the first respondent has aligned with a more active strategy that I favor.
I pledge to improve the city’s approach to the homeless. My aim is to clean the roads and close the allowance of encroachments when shelter options are available. I advocate the Mayor bass and cooperation with the first respondents, which provides a more effective passage to accelerate the use of care courts, to get mentally sick individuals on the streets and in necessary treatment and support services. Through these measures, I want to address the homeless crisis with a broad and impressive strategy.
Nithya Raman: During my first term, my office replaced the district’s approach to become homeless, causing the first decrease in street homeless which CD4 has seen in six years. Addressing the homeless will remain a priority area of focus, and I am thankful that I have been appointed as the chairman of the council’s residence and homeless committee, where I can push for real changes in my policies.
If selected again, I will continue my work at the district level, where we have formed the largest homeless team of any council office, and add new, contracted case management and street medicine resources that allow us to contact us on the roads or even hours within hours-at the point that we start the process of whatever resources they need.
Our major expansion for outreach, shelter and accommodation across the district, which led to the first decrease in the homeless roads in the district in six years. Our new resources include the only project room shelter opened in Los Angeles in 2021-a resource for which my employees and I made a discovery, found, assisted to interact on the initial contract, then managed to convert into a non-stagnant non-shelter-sheltering site for the first long-term city-powered non-seminal shelters in LA. We have doubled the beds available in our district and have brought hundreds of people on the road and in permanent residence inside the house.
Charitable, I have pushed my homeless system for more and more accountability and greater coordination, including a pioneer tent and RV homeless strategy, it is changing how we inform our rights tenants and the landlords need to report eviction, and improve the speed and effectiveness with which we navigate on the road.
Is the city on a permanent fiscal trajectory?
Levon Baironian: I am not sure that the city of Los Angeles does not have enough money. I believe that the issues prevailing within our governance structure have expressed important concerns about the allocation of transparency and money. Examples of misconduct, the backdoor deals made in the meetings of Clandstine Bacarroom, and the resulting members of the council have been accused of embezzlement. While sufficient amount of inconsistency has been exposed, it is my firm belief that a large extent of undeclared malfunctions exists.
To restore public belief and maintain principles of good governance, it is necessary that we conduct a broad and rigid system of financial accountability. Each dollar entering the budget must undergo a thorough investigation, be carefully responsible, and subject to regular and independent audit.
Ethan Weaver: Los Angeles is currently facing fiscal challenges, and is an important opportunity to improve the city’s fiscal trajectory. A major aspect of this reform is creating a more business-friendly environment, especially for small businesses and mother-and-pop shops. I believe in reducing unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles, cutting red tapes and providing assistance to local entrepreneurs, who can contribute to economic growth and employment generation. However, it is very important to address the city’s disability and ineffectiveness in spending dollar, especially in combating important issues such as homeless.
The current approach requires a thorough re -evaluation to ensure that the money is directed to the efficiently and effectively needy people, especially the unheard population. We should prioritize a kind and strategic approach that allocates resources to provide asylum, medical treatment, and people to help people avoid inhuman living conditions. By redirecting the funds where they need the most, and to promote a supportive environment for small businesses, we can work towards a more durable fiscal trajectory for los angeles.
Nithya Raman: No, Los Angeles is currently not a permanent fiscal trajectory – we are once again in deficit, forcing us to cut the services and employees posts in departments and was not prepared for economic shock. I had a major part of the reason for the LAPD officers who passed in the last summer to throw the city in deficit due to opposing the salary hike of $ 1 billion, while not addressing the LAPD authorities, not addressing the shortage of LAPD officials, intended to address it.
I support all city employees to maintain the salary increase with inflation and help our workers to stay and enrich the LA, but I felt that this package was included that the package was included by 27% to start salary. This was passed despite my opposition, and as I predicted, Lapd staffing actually fell as the growth was laid forward and our city is now close to $ 200 million as a result of increases. Although I am not in the budget committee of the city council, I will remain a terrible lawyer in the budget process for responsible expenses, which allows us to compensate for proper compensation to our workers while maintaining essential employees and services.