Since ending my FUSE fellowship with the City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana, I had an incredible opportunity to make the shift from influencing policy around homelessness to crafting it for Councilmember Mike Bonin. The Councilman reached out to me to fill in for Paul Backstrom, his Transportation Policy Director, while he was out on paternity leave. From late October 2016 until the end of January this year I stepped into Paul's shoes.
This gave me a unique opportunity to move from a city department whose head is appointed, not elected, right into a political office representing approximately 270,000 Angelenos spanning from Pacific Palisades, all the way down to LAX. It also allowed me to see up close the impact that local ballot measures can have in California at the state, county and city level. Two weeks after stepping into my role Los Angeles voted to tax ourselves to address some of the longest standing problems our region faces, and we did... 4 times over. By voting for Proposition HHH funding homeless housing, Measure M funding billions for building out a world class transportation network and additional measures funding community college education and parks, Angelenos sent a strong message: unprecedented trust in local government, despite a continued erosion of that trust nationally and internationally.
Yet clouds hung on the horizon locally. Additional ballot measures not included in the November 2016 election carried over into the March 2017 election. Some built off of the achievements of the previous election, like Measure H for homelessness funding social and health services to accompany affordable housing measures passed through Proposition HHH. While others sought to exacerbate LA's housing crisis by stopping most development through a proposal known as Measure S.
The real risk of voters agreeing to higher taxes to fund homeless housing colliding with an anti-housing measure that would prevent it from being built caused many, including myself, added worry about our future locally. What would it mean if Los Angeles said no to growth despite our current housing crisis? My work in homelessness was at stake and my passion for good policy could be overridden by a reactive measure authored by an AIDS non-profit with no policy expertise in planning or housing. Adding to the tension was a reëlection campaign for the political office I was currently working for. The shock many Californians felt after the national election turned out the way it did made many feel like polls and logical voter behavior were no longer a given for predicting outcomes. Would the same be true for my new boss' position on City Council?
Again Los Angeles voters answered these questions in the most positive way possible. They overwhelmingly voted to fund homelessness services through Measure H. They overwhelmingly voted against Measure S which would have nearly stopped construction of much needed housing. And Angelenos in the 11th District overwhelmingly voted my boss Mike Bonin back into office.
Before all this came to pass I was offered a more permanent opportunity to serve the Councilman. Given the respect I'd built for Mike working in homelessness and transportation, serving as his envoy to LAX was a natural extension of my prior work and it's my pleasure to say I'm the Councilman's eyes, ears and hands on the ground working on forwarding some of the most transformative projects the airport has ever undertaken.
In the months ahead I will attempt to fill the shoes of Omar Pulido, the Councilman's former LAX Community Liaison. Omar's talent in unifying diverse factions under a common cause is reflected in the clear path forward LAX will be embarking on in the years ahead. These projects wouldn't be moving forward without collaboration between the local communities near LAX and leadership within. I will continue in that spirit of mutual trust and collaboration rather than confrontation.
Yet Los Angeles is still confronting some of the longest standing issues that cloud its horizon: housing affordability, homelessness, and transportation. A year and a half ago I was new to Los Angeles and new to this fight, but with some grace and some luck and some folks who believe in me I'm now working for someone whose leadership and staff I learn from every day. I'm not looking back.