June 6, 2016 - Voter Pics

President - No pick

I like Bernie and Hilary, and you have all been bombarded with info on the presidential election so you don’t need me to sway you on this one.

LA Supervisorial District 4 - Janis Hahn

Supervisorial district 4 runs from the South Bay to Southeast LA. If you live int his area I recommend Janis. Janis is a progressive democrat who is currently a congresswoman. Her father is the late, great Kenny Hahn - one of the most well known county supervisors in LA history. County government is in her blood. This is not a competitive race, but if she gets more than 50% in the primary she can stop campaigning and start planning her team and her agenda, so help her get there by casting your vote for her on Tuesday. 

LA Supervisorial District 5 - Kathryn Barger

Supervisorial district 5 runs from the Antelope Valley to Pasadena to San Dimas. This is an extremely competitive race and one of the rare times I recommend a Republican. This is a conservative district and a Republican will win this seat. The questions is really want kind of Republican will win. Kathryn is a moderate who understands the County inside and out from serving many years as the current Supervisor, Mike Antonovich’s, Chief of Staff. She has good relationships on the Board and even though she will be more to the right than anyone else on the Board I think she is the only Republican running who will truly approach this seat as a non-partisan.  

Party County Committee - 51st District

If you are a democrat you will be asked to vote for 7 party committee members. I have to confess that I have not idea what party committee members do, but I do have some friends who are running for this. If you you do not live in the 51st I can’t help you, but if you are in the 51st here are some good folks:

• Luis Lopez
• Hans Johnson
• Cecilia Cabello

U.S. Senator - Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris is the person I am most excited to vote for on Tuesday. She has been an extraordinary Attorney General. She has promoted criminal justice reform, which is somewhat unheard of for Attorney General. She has constantly spoken out about the schools-to-prison pipeline and pushed for schools to do more for students who are struggling. She will be a fantastic senator. 

State Senate District 25 - Katherine Perez-Estolano

I have known Katherine for a number of years and she is an extremely intelligent leader. She would make a great state representative. 

Los Angeles County Superior Court

I have not had a lot of time to research judges, but I am supporting the LA Times endorsements in all, but one race:

• Office 11: Steven Schreiner
• Office 42: Cyndy Zuzga
• Office 60: James Kaddo - one disclaimer here: the LA County Bar Association only rates Kaddo as “qualified”, but his opponent is rated as “not qualified.”
• Office 84: Susan Jung Townsend - another disclaimer: all of the candidates for this seat are only rated as “qualified” by the LA County Bar Association.
• Office 120: Ray Santana
• Office 158: Kim Nguyen - this is the one judicial seat where I am breaking from the Times endorsement. The Times endorsed David Berger, but the LA County Bar Association rated him as “not qualified.” I prefer Kim Nguyen, who is rated “well qualified.”
• Office 165: Kathryn Solorzano

Prop 50 - Yes

Prop 50 was proposed by then California Senate President Pro Temp Darrell Steinberg after three state senators were suspended for corruption, but continued to collect pay checks from the state. The state legislation can suspend members when they are under investigation for wrong doing, but not take away their pay. This proposition would allow the state legislature to suspend legislators and take away their pay if the 2/3 of the body voted in favor of doing so. 

November 4, 2014 Voter Guide

Hi all,

I am back at it again with some voter recommendations. I have to confess that I have been a bit swamped and have not done as much research as I would have liked. That said, there are a few really exciting things on the ballot. I am very excited about Prop 47 and Sheila Kuehl. I hope that you will get out there on Tuesday and make you voice heard. As always, these recommendations are my personal opinions. I hope that they are helpful, but take what you like and ignore the rest.

Governor - Jerry Brown

LT. Governor - Gavin Newsom

Secretary of State - No opinion

The LA Times is backing the Republican candidate Pete Peterson, and it appears that is true of all the major newspapers. In contrast Alex Padilla has endorsements from all the major democrats in the state. I am not a big fan of either and will probably sit this one out.

Controller - Betty Yee

State Treasurer - John Chiang

Attorney General - Kamala Harris

Insurance Commissioner - Dave Jones

Congressional District 34 - Xavier Becerra

State Senator District 24 - Kevin De Leon

State Assembly District 51 - Jimmy Gomez

Justice State Court - I unfortunately do not have time to research judges this time around

Superintendent of Education - No opinion

The LA Times is backing Marshall Tuck, who is a big fan of charter schools. Tom Torlakson is much more aligned with teachers’ unions. Unfortunately I am not a big fan of either charter schools or teachers’ unions, so this is another race that I am sitting out. 

LA County Supervisor: 3rd District: Sheila Kuehl

If you live in the Valley, on the Westside, or in the Hollywood/Silver Lake I highly encourage you to vote for Sheila Kuehl. While I like both Bobby Shriver and Sheila Kuehl, I think Sheila is more highly qualified to sit on the board of supervisors. The board is hard place to get anything done, but Sheila has shown that she can work with diverse colleagues to create momental change in public policy. She is what we need on the board. 

Assessor - No opinion

Sheriff - Jim McDonnell

Prop 1 (Water Bond) - Yes

Prop 1 authorizes $7.12B for water infrastructure projects. It has essentially no opposition. 

Prop 2 (State debt payments) - Yes

Prop 2 would change the rules that govern how state debt is paid down, state budget reserves, and community college reserves. It has strong bipartisan support and is supported by all of the major newspapers in the state. There is minimal opposition. 

Prop 45 (Health Insurance Rates) - Yes

Prop 45 is extremely contentious and pits democrats and consumer watch dogs against republicans and health insurance companies. It would require the state Insurance Commissioner to approve rate increases before they take effect. It also increases public notification requirements for rate increases. It is supported by many progressive groups, but opposed by mainstream newspapers, like the Los Angeles Times.

Prop 46 (Medical malpractice cap) - No

This is a strange proposition being driven by medical malpractice attorneys who want to increase the cap on malpractice awards, which would increase their income. To make this more palatable to the public they have combined the increase in the malpractice cap with a bunch of provisions about drug testing doctors. The argument is that there are irresponsible doctors out there who are high and hurting patients and that if these doctors where drug tested there would be fewer malpractice suits. There is no evidence drug testing reduces malpractice suits.Every major medical group in the state is opposing this including the CA Hospital Association, the CA Medical Association, Planned Parenthood, etc.

Prop 47 (Reduced criminal penalties) - Yes!

Finally an initiative I can get excited about voting for! Prop 47 would require that nonviolent and non-serious property and drug crimes be classified as misdemeanors. The list of crimes that would reclassified as misdemeanors all seem like crimes that should have been misdemeanors in the first place - drug possession, shoplifting, theft of property with a value of less that $950, forgery, writing a bad check, etc. It’s kind of hard to believe that we even need a proposition to clarify that these crimes are not felonies. The proposition is expected to save the state $150M to $250M a year, which would be redirected to schools, re-entry programs and victim compensation programs. 

Prop 48 (Indian gaming) - Yes

Prop 48 is the worst kind of proposition because it is a veto referendum, which means that a yes vote maintains the status quo and a no vote overturns a controversial law, AB 277. A yes vote to support AB 277 would allow the North Fork Indian Tribe to build a casino in the Central Valley. The North Folk have a reservation that is too remote and environmentally sensitive to build a casino on, so the state approved AB 277 to allow them to build a casino 38 miles away from their reservation in the Central Valley. The tribes in the Central Valley don’t like this and have bankrolled the campaign to overturn AB 277. The LA Times supports, but the SF Chronicle opposes. The SF Chronicle’s argument is that gaming should be limited to reservations. 

Bear Canyon

We hiked 6 miles today to go swimming in Bear Canyon with our friends Sieglinde and Ralph, and their two dogs, today. It was the perfect way to say good bye to summer. The kids were much braver than I was. I wasn't getting near that cold water. Thankfully Sieglinde got in with them.

June 2014 Voter Guide

Here are my recommendations for the June 3rd ballot:

Governor - Jerry Brown is going to be re-elected. There is not going to be a surprise here.

LT. Governor - Gavin Newsom

I cannot point to one thing the Lt. Governor does, but I generally like Gavin Newsom. I look forward to the day when he has a job where he actually gets to do something of substance again.

Secretary of State - Derek Cressman

The Secretary of State is the state’s Chief Elections Officer, overseeing elections and campaign finance law enforcement. Derek Cressman was VP of Common Cause, a great government watch dog group. He is deeply committed to political reforms that promote transparency and reduce the influence of money in politics. 

Controller - John Perez

I don’t love any of the candidates for controller and have my fears that Perez wants to use the seat as a stepping stone, but Perez in competent and will be able to work with his colleagues. 

State Treasurer - John Chiang

John Chiang is termed out from continuing to be State Controller, but he was a strong controller and will take the experience to his roll as State Treasurer and is expected to do an equally good job in this new roll. 

Attorney General - Kamala Harris

I love Kamala Harris. Her focus on smart justice and improving public safety through sound public policy verges on revolutionary for an attorney general. I support her 110%. 

Insurance Commissioner - Dave Jones

Dave Jones is the current Insurance Commissioner and is widely viewed as having done a good job there.

US Congressional Representative - 34th District - Xavier Becerra

Becerra does not have much competition, but it is worth going out of your way to support him anyway. Becerra is one of the most powerful democrats in the House. He is smart, practical, and committed to important issues like immigration reform and the social safety net. 

State Senator - 24th District - Kevin de Leon

There does not seem to be much competition to unseat incumbent Kevin de Leon for this seat. de Leon has been tapped to take over as Speaker Pro Temp of the Senate when Darrel Steinberg steps down. 

Judicial

It is extraordinarily difficult to get good information on candidates for judge of the superior court. I strongly believe that we should not elect judges. That said, I am not in charge of how judges are chosen and the current system is what we are stuck with. I do not feel strongly about any of the following candidates and will opt out of voting for anyone in office 48 or office 87 because the LA Times and Bar Association either do not recommend the same candidate or there is not a qualified candidate.

Office	LA Times Endorsed	LA County Bar Association Rating	Notes
Office 22	Pam Matsumoto	Well Qualified	Highest rated candidate by Bar Association
Office 48	Charles M. Calderon	Not Qualified	No candidate was deemed qualified
Office 54	Debra L. Losnick	Well Qualified	Both candidates deemed well qualified by Bar Association
Office 61	Jacqueline Lewis	Exceptionally Well Qualified	Highest rated candidate by Bar Association
Office 76	Alison Matsumoto Estrada	Well Qualified	Highest rated candidate by Bar Association
Office 87	Andrew M. Stein	Not Qualified	Bar Association rated Steven P. Schreiner “qualified”, a higher rating than Stein
Office 97	Songhai Sunny Armstead	Qualified	Both candidates deemed qualified by Bar Association
Office 107	Emma Castro	Qualified	Highest rated candidate by Bar Association
Office 113	Stacy Wiese	Qualified	Highest rated candidate by Bar Association
Office 117	James B. Pierce	Well Qualified	Highest rated candidate by Bar Association
Office 138	Donna Hollingsworth Armstrong	Qualified	Both candidates deemed qualified by Bar Association
Office 157	Andrew Cooper	Qualified	Both candidates deemed qualified by Bar Association

Superintendent of Public Instruction - no recommendation

County Assessor - no recommendation

None of the candidates for this seat seem great, but I will share that the times endorsed John Morris.

County Sheriff - Jim McDonnell

I recently attended a debate for the Sheriff’s race and was shocked to see that the majority of candidates had worked under Lee Baca. Given that it has come to light that the Sheriff’s Department is full of “cliques” (AKA gangs) it would seem reasonable to assume that it is critical to bring someone in from the outside who can reform the internal culture. Jim McDonnell is currently the Chief of the Long Beach Police Department and was previously second in command at LAPD. I strongly support him for this seat.

County Supervisor District 1 - Hilda Solis

There is no race here, Hilda is expected win outright.

County Supervisor District 3 - Sheila Kuehl

Most of you will probably not be able to vote in the 3rd district race because the 3rd district is the Westside and the Valley. If you do you live in the 3rd, I highly recommend voting for Sheila Kuehl. Sheila served in the CA legislature for 14 years. While there she fought for a single-payer health system and authored legislation creating paid family leave in CA. She has extraordinary credentials, but beyond her experience she is the rare politician who not only deeply cares about disenfranchised populations, but can relate to people facing great struggles in their lives. We need more politicians like Sheila who do not live in a bubble. 

Prop 41 - Yes

My employer, CSH, helped author Prop 41, so I may be biased, but is hard to find a reason not to vote for 41. Prop 41 will re-purpose bonds that were approved by voters previously to fund low-interest mortgages for veterans. The CA Veterans Home Loan Program has been unsubscribed for a variety of reasons, #1 of which is that veterans can get better rates on the private market. As a result, John Perez introduced the bill that became Prop 41 to repurpose $600 million of the bond authority to provide affordable rental housing for low-income and homeless veterans, which is desperately needed in CA. 

Prop 42 - Yes

Everyone agrees that Californians should not have to vote for Prop 42 because it simply reiterates that local governments have to follow the existing CA Public Records Act and the Ralph M. Brown Act, but sadly we do. The reason is that the state used to reimburse local municipalities to comply with these laws, but stopped during the recession. Local municipalities then argued that they did not have to comply if the state was not footing the bill. Obviously, that is ridiculous and local municipalities should continue to comply with these “sunshine” or good governance laws regardless, which is what Prop 42 ensures. 

The Tackiest Birthday We Could Find

Birthday party #2 was on Jack and Sadie's actual birthday, which due to it being the day after Easter and two days after our return from Key West needed to involve essentially no work. The kids have been begging all year to go Chuck E. Cheese's on their birthday so that they could go in the ticket blaster. We couldn't quite succumb to dragging our friends to this place, so J., Pud and I sucked it up and spent the birthday night with the big rat. As you can see, the kids did not have our reservations and yucked it up. Even I got sucked into the gambling nature of the video games and wasted one too many tokens trying to get the "big spin". Let's hope that this does not lead to an adulthood spent in Vegas.

Note: We learned that the "E" in Chucky's name stands for entertainment. Some MBA somewhere is laughing at us for patronizing this place.

6th Birthday!!!

We are finally winding down from the never-ending 6th birthday. We had the third and final birthday party of the season yesterday at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center. The kids had a great time swimming with 20 of their friends when they were not running around screaming their heads off. The lifeguard looked pretty frightened when all 20 kids descended on the pool at once, but no one was kicked out or drowned so it was a success! More photos to come...

PS I love Meghan photo-bombing this family photo. Particularly since she is the most enthusiastic of the bunch!

Malibu after the Rain

El Matador Beach could not have been more beautiful today. LA sparkles after the rain and we had a storm yesterday that left a gorgeous day in its wake.

Thanksgiving in Ohai

We had a lovely Thanksgiving in the mountains of Ohai with our friend Tamarind and her family. You can just see a corner of Jack peeking out from the end of the table and Sadie doing what she can to throw off the picture.

Halloween

We may have had our best Halloween yet last month. We had way too much fun dressing up as Kiss. Between the kids seeing Kiss on Scooby Doo and J.'s stories of being in the Kiss Army as a child, Jack and Sadie were sold on dressing up as Kiss. Sadie choose to be front man Gene Simmons and Jack wanted to be the drummer Peter Chris. I choose Paul Stanley and J. Ace Frehley. Our neighbors were pretty darn psyched when they opened their doors and found the four of us on their door steps. One father told us that we had "won" Halloween.

Aldama Community Workers

I am back! I could not resist sharing these photos from Jack and Sadie's kindergarten class. They have been learning about community workers and these pictures of them dressed up as the workers they chose and some of their classmates were just too cute!

Kindergarten

Jack and Sadie bravely started kindergarten this morning! They were braver than me - I broke down crying. This is big day for us and everything is new. They have entered the dual language program at Aldama Elementary, where they will learn half of every day in Spanish. Jack started in Ms. Jung's room, where English is spoken. Sadie started in Senora Saenz's classroom, where only Spanish is spoken. I found it disorienting not understanding what was being said, Sadie said that the secrete is to copy what the other kids do. Jack said that he was a little shy today, but he has already asked for a playdate with one student in their program that he knew before starting. It is a new world for us with many adventures ahead!

Ice Skating

Life in LA is not all about the sunshine. There is nothing like spending a 90 degree day at the ice arena, which is what we did to celebrate Sadie's classmate Molly's birthday last weekend. The kids were surprisingly good at ice skating for first-timers. They loved it and had a ton of fun with their goofy friends.

Malibu Lagoon

We had a wonderful visit to Malibu Lagoon to explore the tide pools with Pub last month

5th Birthday

I don't know what has happened to us, but somehow taking good photos has become so hard. Jack and Sadie's 5th birthday party was by far their best party yet, but you can't tell from the photos. I did manage to get cute shots of the kids with their close friends, Mari with Sadie and Ethan with Jack. The party was fantastic and huge, with over 70 guests and a fire truck that took the kids for rides around the neighborhood. When the fire truck arrived the kids broke in a mad run chanting "fire truck, fire truck!" as they swarmed the fire truck. Needless to say, the fire truck was a hit and the birthday was pretty unforgettable.

March 21st 2013 Election

And it’s back to the polls to decide run-off elections and some new propositions. In March we voted in the primary and those candidates who received less than 50% of the vote, but were the top two vote-getters, are facing off. Many of these elections are very lopsided in terms of spending, with labor unions and business backing less independent candidates. Most of my recommendations below are from March, but here are some new opinions on the propositions.

Mayor: Eric Garcetti

Full disclaimer, I worked for Eric for a year some time ago and may be slightly biased. But it is hard to imagine that even had I not worked for him that I would be supporting another candidate. Eric is pretty fabulous. Eric’s strongest suit is his values - which are deeply grounded in justice and equality for all. Eric is also wickedly smart with a strong understanding of public policy and City Hall politics. Eric will be a significant departure from Villaraigosa, who often cared more about flash than substance. Eric truly enjoys being a public servant for all the right reasons.

City Attorney: Mike Feuer 

It will be such a big breath of fresh air to have Mike Feuer not only return to the city, but take over the seat of City Attorney. Feuer served on the City Council in the 1990s and then moved on to Sacramento. He is extremely well respected and seen as being both down to earth and having a strong vision for the future. While I am in the anything-is-better-than-Trutanich camp, I am truly excited to see Feuer running for this seat.

City Controller: no opinion

Council District 1: Jose Gardea

Both Gardea and his main rival, Gil Cedillo, have done good things for LA and disappointed us with other missed opportunities. That said, Jose is more independent than Cedillo and deeply committed to the first district.

Council District 6: no opinion

Council District 9: no opinion

I am very disheartened not to be able to get behind a candidate in CD9. No part of the city needs leadership more, but both Curren Price and Ana Cubas are weak candidates.  

Council District 13: Mitch O’Farrell

Now that the CD13 field has been winnowed down to Mitch O’Farrell and John Choi the choice is clear. Choi is one more candidate who moved into the district to run and is backed by big union money. He is the opposite of Mitch, who has worked tirelessly for the district for years. Mitch has an uphill battle getting his footing in City Hall, but there is no question that he is running because he loves the 13th, will provide amazing constituent services, and will always keep the people he represents in mind.

LAUSD District 6: no opinion

LACCD Seat # 6: No opinion

Measure C: Yes

For all intensive purposes this proposition is meaningless. It “instructs” members of congress to support a constitutional amendment overturning the supreme court decision Citizens United, which lifted restrictions on corporate contributions to political campaigns. The LA Times opposes Measure C and calls it “a primal scream about the role of corporate (and other) money in politics” and they are probably right. It may be therapeutic for voters to express their disgust over Citizens United, but it will probably do nothing to change things in D.C. That said, Citizens United is so detrimental to our democracy, that I don’t no what else to do. If primal scream therapy is the best we got against Citizens United, we might as well try. 

Measures D, E, and F

Measures D, E, and F all place new regulations on medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. Measure D sets limits on the # of medical marijuana dispensaries and increases the level of taxes on sales at dispensaries. Measure F does not limit the #, but sets strong rules and also increases taxes on sales. The backers of Measure E no longer back it, and are supporting Measure D. A bit confusing, eh? Maybe I smoked too much in high school, but I think that this is all much ado about nothing. The dispensaries in my neighborhood do not really concern me. Measure D seems a bit arbitrary capping the # of dispensaries at 135 for no reason, so I am throwing my hat behind Measure F, which has stronger rules, but no caps. 

Measure D: No

Measure E: No

Measure F: Yes

Happy voting!

O,K, and A

Auntie O and Kari came down to visit a few weeks ago and we managed to draw our old friend Al out of his cave and to the park for a picnic. February in LA can be pretty beautiful.

Spring at Descanso

Two weeks ago we spent the afternoon at Descanso Gardens. Jack enjoyed riding the train through the gardens and Sadie collected dozens of fallen camellia blossoms off the ground.

Legoland

After a disastrous trip to Legoland on J.'s birthday we found ourselves with free tickets to go back. It took a few months, but we finally mustered up the courage to return today. Thankfully today's trip was much better. Roller coasters are our favorites and we managed to make it to all three, or at least Jack and J. made it to all three. Sadie was too frightened to get on the largest roller coaster, and got an ice cream instead. The best attraction was a Pharaoh's Revenge, which was simply a giant netted enclosure filled with different guns that shot foam balls. We made it through the whole day without any tears and the kids were asleep within 30 seconds of hitting the road to head home.

March 5th LA City Election

Dear family, 

I apologize for highjacking my kids' blog, but it’s that time again - election time. It’s hard to believe that we have to head to the polls again, but it is true. This time it’s all about the city and LAUSD. In many ways this is the most important election in the city in decades, as all the city-wide offices, including Mayor, and 7 city council seats are up for grabs. That said, there are a lot of candidates out there that can’t get more than a yawn from me. As a result there are a number of no opinion’s below. I feel better about supporting candidates that I know will do a great job, versus the lesser of a number of evils. 

Mayor: Eric Garcetti

Full disclaimer, I worked for Eric for a year some time ago and may be slightly biased. But it is hard to imagine that even had I not worked for him that I would be supporting another candidate. Eric is pretty fabulous. Eric’s strongest suit is his values - which are deeply grounded in justice and equality for all. Eric is also wickedly smart with a strong understanding of public policy and City Hall politics. Eric will be a significant departure from Villaraigosa, who often cared more about flash than substance. Eric truly enjoys being a public servant for all the right reasons.

City Attorney: Mike Feuer 

It will be such a big breath of fresh air to have Mike Feuer not only return to the city, but take over the seat of City Attorney. Feuer served on the City Council in the 1990s and then moved on to Sacramento. He is extremely well respected and seen as being both down to earth and having a strong vision for the future. While I am in the anything-is-better-than-Trutanich camp, I am truly excited to see Feuer running for this seat.

City Controller: no opinion

Council District 1: Jose Gardea

Both Gardea and his main rival, Gil Cedillo, have done good things for LA and disappointed us with other missed opportunities. That said, Jose is more independent than Cedillo and deeply committed to the first district.

Council District 3: Bob Blumenfield

Bob Blumenfield is both the most experienced and the most progressive candidate running for this seat.

Council District 5: no opinion

Council District 7: no opinion

Council District 9: no opinion

I am very disheartened not to be able to get behind a candidate in CD9. No other part of the city needs leadership more. The best candidates are probably Curren Price and David Roberts, but both are a bit too political for my taste and strike me as using the 9th as a stepping stone to bigger and better elected offices. Sadly, no strong candidate who truly loves these communities seems to be running at this time. 

Council District 11: Mike Bonin

Yea, a candidate I am excited about! I am probably more excited about Mike Bonin than any other candidate on the ballot this election. Mike Bonin is an incredible leader, who is both savvy and highly principled. Mike has got incredible progressive credentials and is not afraid to take a stand when poor policies are proposed. He was one of the few people in City Hall to stand up early against, what the advocacy community warmly called, the “Community Does Not Care Ordinance.” It was not a politically easy position to take, but Mike got right out in front and said that the ordinance stunk and with his help it was never brought to a vote. I wish that we could clone him!

Council District 13: no opinion

I am torn between Mitch O’Farrell and Matt Szabo for this seat. I have worked with Mitch and know how deeply committed he is to constituents. Lord knows that he knows these communities like the back of his hand after running Eric Garcetti’s field office for years. On the other hand, Matt Szabo is more politically astute than Mitch and would probably be able to get more done in City Hall on the policy front. Either candidate will probably do a good job, but they bring different strong suits to the district. 

LAUSD District 2: Monica Garcia

Monica Garcia received a truly lackluster endorsement from the LA Times, but they were right to endorse her as she is the only candidate independent of the teachers union. 

LAUSD District 4: Kate Anderson

I am again following the LA Times on this seat.

LAUSD District 6: No opinion

I am very tempted to support Monica Ratliff, who is endorsed by the LA Times and sounds like an amazing educator. My one hesitation is whether she will be independent of the teachers union. As a result, I cannot support any candidate for this seat. 

LACCD Seat # 2: Mike Eng

The LA Times finds Eng much more qualified and with a stronger vision.

LACCD Seat #4: no opinion

LACCD Seat # 6: Tom Oliver

This endorsement is simply because he is the most qualified. 

Measure A: No

This is a hard ballot measure to say “No” to, but it does not seem like the right time to enact a half cent sales tax in the City of LA. First off, sales taxes are awfully high in LA already. Second, the city has done a poor job of belt tightening following the recession. The city continues to provide raises to city employees and do nothing about pension reform - the city’s own looming fiscal cliff. Without better fiscal leadership in the city I cannot support increased taxes. Finally, all four major mayoral candidates oppose this measure. Hopefully a No vote will send the measure to City Hall that voters need the city to do more about fiscal responsibility before they ask for increased taxes.

Measure B: No

This ballot measure would allow non-LAPD security officers in the city to have the same pension plan as LAPD, but there is no question that there is a big difference working security versus patrolling the streets. Right now this measure would not cost tax payers more, but the long term consequences are unclear.

HomeWalk 2012

One of the key photos I did not post in 2012 was our HomeWalk photo. We had our best HomeWalk yet in 2012. We walked with the Corporation for Supportive Housing Team for the first time, which included April, who is just a year younger than Jack and Sadie. It was a great walk and I think we even made it to the finish line in under 2 hours.