Green Party Endorsement Questionnaire

Francis DellaVecchia
Candidate for Mayor
5850 W. 3rd St., #336, Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-850-8577 fax:310-652-7660
francis@watchthemayor.com

1. Please list the top three issues you see facing Los Angeles.
a) A pervasive belief in a disposable culture.
b) Dominance of government by powerful moneyed interests.
c) Population growth with concomitant decline of services and quality of life.

2. If elected, how do you intend to deal with each issue?
a) Disposable culture. Los Angeles, unfortunately, is a capital of disposable culture. From the sets of the movie industry to our very landmark buildings, we treat most objects as eventual trash. This must stop, for the notion of disposability influences all facets of our daily lives.

The most serious environmental issue facing Los Angeles is the widespread perception that we can continue our current wasteful lifestyle in this desert climate, without facing serious current and future consequences. We must come to grips with our decades long water appropriation and waste. We must drastically reduce exhaust gases. We must stop dumping our storm sewers into the bay. But underlying every environmental issue is a drastic switch in public perception. We need to build sustainable models, including houses made of alternative materials set in mixed-use communities. To meet these long-range goals, we must get people involved in the decision making process, and my webcast of citizen panels is a start. (See part b)

Ending the "fiscalization of land use" is a natural component of long term planning. Land use decisions based on sales-tax revenue generation are endemic in a shortsighted system, which puts short-term financial gain above sound use. Truly sustainable development not only makes more sense, but in the long term-20, 50, or even 100 years, it is not only more financially beneficial, it is the only option that is tenable. The savings involved in truly sustainable systems are incalculable. Mixed use, sustainable developments, as they encourage shorter trips, more green space, less pollution, and a greater quality of life, save in terms of productivity, health costs, energy and property values, to name just the financial benefits. 'The quality of life improvements are innumerable.

A city wide Sustainable City Plan, based on Whole Systems design, gets us to this goal. Land use decisions must adhere to such a plan, which would stress mixed-use developments, with ample green space. Building materials should be recycled where possible, double plumbing encouraged, solar panels installed to feed the electric grid, and developments based on a walking, rather than a driving, scale.

b) Dominance of government by powerful moneyed interests.
This fundamental problem causes what others may answer as the problems facing Los Angeles: lack of mass transit, pollution, traffic, racial tension, etc.

However, if we solve this problem, all the other problems change from seeming insurmountable, to becoming solvable. The reason lies in the undue influence money possesses in our electoral process, and especially in city politics. Though there are six well funded candidates for Mayor, there are no big ideas amongst them. They know not to promise too much, because the same developers, lobbyists, and powerful insiders will continue to control City Hall regardless of which of the six well funded candidates succeeds.

The people who need the problems solved - those who use public transportation, send their children to public schools, live in industrially blighted areas of the city, suffer high crime or police abuse - do not have money to elect a candidate who will fight for their interests and really tackle these issues head on.

Until now.

I am basing my campaign on the internet. I webcast from my office, host online chats with real residents, and shoot remote events. I also pledge to put a webcam in my office should I become Mayor. This unique use of the internet lets me break the stranglehold of campaign contributions in three important ways:

I. The bulk of my message is disseminated through the internet, for a fraction of the cost of my competition's television advertising and direct mail. Since I spend so little money, I need to raise only a fraction of what my competition must. Since I take in no big contributions, I am not beholden to benefactors once I take office.

II. I listen to the voices of the real residents of t his city, not only those who can contribute. We webcast the bus drivers and riders, teachers, students, city employees, and people from many walks of life. We ask them what they believe is working, and what could be improved in the city. Residents can also send to the web site thoughts, comments or videos on issues that concern them at any time. They can interact with me directly in the chat room. In this way, the voice of the real working people of this city is heard.

III. If elected, I will install a web camera in my office, and continue to webcast the business of the city. This will protect me from undue influence from lobbyists and other powerful interests. The people will have the opportunity to keep tabs on their government as never before.

c) Population growth with concomitant decline of services and quality of life.
The population of Los Angeles will continue to grow. The challenge is how to manage that growth and not only maintain, but improve, our quality of life. At stake is nothing less than the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink.

My proposals for dealing with the specific issues of transportation and sustainable development are outlined in greater detail in part a) of this question, and in the questions that follow. In broad terms, I am committed to bringing Green industry to Los Angeles. This will provide jobs, but not pollution. Most importantly, Los Angeles should be the solar power and Green Transportation capital of the world. Mass transportation and zero emission vehicles must become our dominant modes of transportation. Water must be stored, biofiltrated and reused where possible. Storm sewage must not go into the sea untreated.

Los Angeles should have as its goal to only produce what it can use, and use what it produces. This implies a huge increase in recycling, and a huge decrease in trash creation. Building materials should be recycled, double plumbing encouraged. In order to keep some quality of life, Los Angeles must transition from a capital of disposable culture to a city at the cutting edge of the drive to reduce, reuse and recycle, on a scale never before seen.

3. Do you support Los Angeles' living wage ordinance? Should this ordinance include the private sector?
I do support the living wage ordinance. It should be gradually phased in to include the private sector. Simultaneously, we must fight for a nationwide living wage, to avoid an influx of job seeking hopefuls from other states.

4. What would you do to promote development that favors stable neighborhoods and affordable housing?
I would begin with the Sustainable City Plan. I strongly support mixed use development, and would encourage it wherever feasible. I support more in-fill development that increases rather than decreases density where it supports public use and participation.

I would encourage more pedestrian activity, as this is a main goal of my plan to recentralize LA. Regional centralization must occur as the primary concern of this city. Communities must be designed to look inward so that they can constantly improve and re-evaluate their rate of progress.

Community gardens are an important part of the new urban experience I envision. As people spend more time in somewhat higher density architecture, it becomes necessary that more communal open space be made available.

5. Los Angeles is known for having too few parks/open spaces and poor maintenance of existing parks. How will you address this?
Los Angeles is seriously "under-parked". In comparison to other major cities, our percentage of public open space per citizen is woefully low. To begin to address this problem, we must save the space we have, re-green space as it becomes available, and explore mixed uses on existing sites.

The Los Angeles River State Park is a good start. We must carefully watch where the money goes, to ensure that we get a park of commensurate value to the $100 million that will be spent there. The Chinatown Yards and Taylor Yards are excellent sites to begin that park's expansion.

There is a direct correlation between the average income of a neighborhood and it's available open apace. Our low income areas have the fewest parks. Turning existing brownfields into green fields is a start toward solving this problem. Other public sites can also be reconfigured. Schools can take out asphalt and replace it with community gardens that can be shared by students and the surrounding neighborhood. All city owned properties should be open and re-greened as much as possible. With creative managers working under a new Sustainable City Plan, Los Angeles will be a greener city with more parks, playgrounds, gardens, and growers' markets springing up through energetic community involvement.

We can simultaneously commit city resources and facilitate community based initiatives to develop new parks and maintain existing ones. Certainly, successful organizations, such as Northeast Trees, must continue to be encouraged. I would also train and hire individuals to lead and facilitate a force of community volunteers to care for and maintain new and existing parks, greenscape and gardens throughout the city of L.A.

6. How will you work to reform the LAPD?
The consent decreee is a good place to start, but the decree is also seriously flawed. Most glaringly, it has shut the rank and file officers out of the process. We must recognize that without the support of the rank and file, reform is doomed to failure.

Many issues have colluded to land us in our current situation. Our outgoing mayor hired too many new officers too quickly, without adequate background checks or training. There is a code of silence within the department. The current top administration does not have the support of the rank and file. The CRASH Unit became a gang of its own. The War on Drugs has produced a war mentality in our streets, given us prohibition-style crime, corrupted law enforcement, and hampered true community-based policing. These factors are daunting, but reform is possible.

Proposition 36, which mandates treatment for drug possession, is a good place to start. As we begin to pull back from a drug war culture, we can concentrate on the serious criminals. As we concentrate less on drug busts for possession, more members of distressed communities will be willing to meaningfully participate in community-based policing. The lead officer program must be fully reinstated, and the emphasis must be on addressing violent crime, not victimless crime.

The rank and file officers must be part of the reform process. They must be respected, as they will implement reforms based on their support of them. Civilian oversight must be strengthened, and paid positions created. If the current leadership of the department does not garner the respect and support of the rank and file, it should be replaced.

7. What solutions would you propose to relieve traffic congestion and increase the use of public transit and alternate transit? Please name a few right-of-ways on which you would favor seeing public transit.
Los Angeles must encourage the research, development, and production of alternative modes of transportation. Through license and tax incentives, I will make Los Angeles the home of Green Industry, and Green Transportation in particular. Seeing our widespread geography as a catalyst rather than an obstacle, we must seek a mixed-use solution that reflects the needs and realities of a highly mobile populace. This involves seamless cooperation between bus, mini bus, smart bus, light rail, subway, heavy rail, bicycle, smart freeways and other modes of transportation that will be developed and manufactured locally. As traffic slows and gasoline prices soar, the goal of the system must be to make it easier to use and more affordable than a driving a car solo. This shall be developed as a twenty-year plan, without the usual preference for projects that benefit campaign-contributing contractors.

I will vigorously enforce the three main tenets of the Bus Riders Union consent decree. The MTA must replace substandard buses, add more buses to existing routes, and add more routes. I heartily support maintaining the MTA's alternative fuels only policy. Current diesel buses must be phased out as quickly as possible. I would expand the alternative fuels only policy citywide.

Prospective appointees for the MTA board must be committed to establishing Los Angeles as the Green Transportation capitol of America. No appointee shall have connections to the contracting industry or an interest in a potential future transit district. For the duration of the consent decree, I shall consider a Bus Riders Union member for a position, and will strive to appoint at least two Board members whose primary mode of transportation is not an automobile.

8. Do you favor secession of the San Fernando Valley or any other area of Los Angeles? If so, what would be the appropriate size of a newly created city?
I do not favor secession of any portion of the city. The major problems of the city demand region wide solutions, and these become more difficult to implement as government becomes stratified. However, I firmly believe in the right of any portion of the city to attempt to secede if it feels secession is in its best interest. I think many of the various secession movements are fueled by a feeling of disconnection from City Hall and the downtown government culture. What these people want is good government. If they see good, representative government taking shape, I believe the call for secession will subside.

I address this need for accountability with my webcast pledge. I have not seen any other plans that will provide the kind of openness and accountability demanded by our residents. Should our government's back room politics continue, then these areas will secede. The City of Los Angeles will be reduced to a rotting urban core with a decreasing tax base, and all of Southern California will be the worse off for it.

9. a) Do you support any development in the areas such as the Ballona Wetlands?
No. I believe that all remaining wetlands in the city limits must be inventoried, and then preserved or restored where possible.

b) Do you support taxpayer subsidies in order to purchase the Ballona Wetlands for public open space?
I support any means that will procure this space for the common good, with as little impact on taxpayers as possible.

c) Do you support taxpayer subsidies, tax breaks, or tax-exempt bond financing to fund this development?
Meaning the currently planned Playa Vista development; No.

10. Do you plan to abide by the voluntary spending limits and partial public financing offered by the City of Los Angeles?
Yes. In fact, I plan to do more than just abide by the limits. Unlike the other candidates, who are trying to raise as much money as possible, my goal is to run an effective campaign for as little as possible. By not spending exorbitant amounts, I do not need to ask for big contributions. Without big contributions, I will not owe favors to the power brokers that currently control this city.

This is real campaign finance reform.