League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Los Angeles County, CA March 5, 2013 Election
	Mike Bonin Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Los Angeles; District 11

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What do you think is the single most important issue facing the City of Los Angeles today? As Council Member, what would you do to deal with it?

There are actually four top priorities for me: If elected, I want to focus on: 1) balancing the budget and focusing on the smart, efficient delivery of core services;2) creating smart jobs and growing the economy; 3) fighting traffic and building mass transit; and 4) combating homelessness.

Traffic: I want to see the Expo Line completed to Santa Monica, the Green Line finally get all the way in to LAX, the Subway to the Sea fully funded, a trolley or similar system working and thriving on Lincoln Boulevard, and plans approved for a north-south transit project from LAX, along Sepulveda or the 405, into the Valley. And match those projects with smart transit-oriented development that create housing and good jobs, particularly in the "Silicon Beach" sector.

Job Creation: Promote the development of emerging sectors of the Los Angeles economy such as technology, cleantech, entertainment and the creative sector through the implementation of creative policies (e.g., high bandwidth fiber to attract internet companies), partnerships with local universities like LMU, Otis and UCLA (e.g., development of a Westside tech incubator), promotion of special incentives for important LA industries (e.g., state tax credits to stop runaway production), and focus city agencies on job creation (e.g., aggressively pursuing local business preferences for city purchasing).

Homelessness: During the past 2 years, Bill and I, working with People Assisting the Homeless and LAHSA, have moved 110 people from the streets into permanent housing or shelter. I want to house at least 500 people.

2. The City Administrative Officer has estimated a $200M budget shortfall for 2013-2014 increasing to $300M in 2015-2016. What steps do you propose to deal with this problem, and how much do you estimate each step would reduce the shortfall?

We need to deal with our structural deficit in a comprehensive way and move past the culture of annual "quick fixes" to the budget. That will require both increased revenue and cuts and increased efficiencies. I would be open to considering proposals and suggestions from all parties and sources.

Increased Revenues: I would also support trying to generate revenue by taxing billboards, and medical marijuana dispensaries. I would also seek to increase revenue by attracting more business to Los Angeles through targeted tax incentives. I think Los Angeles has tremendous potential to be the capital of the emerging "Silicon Beach" tech sector, and we have room for economic growth in tourism, entertainment and clean technology. Additionally, I would encourage promotion of local procurement and local business preferences.

Cuts and Increased Efficiencies: I support implementation of the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Commission on Revenue Efficiency (CORE), including cracking down on rogue parking lot operators, aggressively pursuing money owed to the city, and better money management. I would also ask for a comprehensive review of every recommendation from the past 5 years from the City Controller that recommended ways to save money, and recommend that each recommendation get consideration by the council. I would want to conduct a similar review of recommendations from the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates. Finally, I would propose that the City Council hold an annual "Savings and Efficiency" session + a daylong council session devoted exclusively to proposals to save money. (The council has similar sessions devoted to infrastructure and to revenue.)

3. Do you support the ballot measure to increase the sales tax in the city?

While I generally dislike sales tax increases as regressive and potentially harmful to the local economy, in this instance I am going to hold my nose and vote for it. While I would prefer to raise revenue through other means, this is the only proposal on the ballot, and failing to pass it will continue our structural deficit, and lead to further cuts in vital city services, including fire protection and even police protection. I refuse to put people's lives at risk.

4. What role do you feel the City of Los Angeles has to play in addressing climate change? Please explain in terms of what you as a city councilmember would have the power to do.

I am proud to have the endorsement of the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters and almost every major environmental leader in Los Angeles. Like them, I care about climate change and have a plan to fight it.

The UCLA Vision 2021 environmental report states that by midcentury, the number of extreme temperature days above 95 degrees is predicted to triple in downtown Los Angeles, quadruple in parts of the San Fernando Valley, and jump five times in other parts of Los Angeles County. In District 11, this could increase the risk of wildfires and floods.

The City of LA must avert this problem by decreasing the use of fossil fuels. We can do that by incentivizing and promoting cool roofs and cool paving, increasing tree canopies, increasing the use of solar power, and increasing both energy and water conservation efforts.

5. How would you prioritize your local constituency versus the City as a whole when acting as a Council Member?

I have spent 17 years fighting for Westside residents and for our neighborhoods. I like to solve problems and get things done. I've fought for public safety, bringing more cops to this district and helping keep our streets safe. I've helped build new parks, libraries, senior centers and community centers. I've shaped environmental programs that have cleaned our beaches and helped improve the water in Santa Monica Bay. I've championed a government that uses technology so that it can more efficiently deliver city services. I've helped cut taxes for Internet firms, keeping good and smart jobs here in Los Angeles. And I've worked to make government open and transparent so that neighborhoods have a voice in development decisions.

I intend to stay close to the concerns of my constituents by holding regular, rotating office hours, evenings and weekends, in local neighborhoods and at farmers markets. I will hold neighborhood "coffee" meetings in people's living rooms, and will periodically go door to door, asking residents about the concerns and dreams for their neighborhoods.

---

Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League. 

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Candidate Page || Feedback to Candidate || This Contest
SmartVoter Home (Ballot Lookup) || About Smart Voter

---

Created from information supplied by the candidate: January 31, 2013 19:35
Smart Voter <http://www.smartvoter.org/>
Copyright © League of Women Voters of California Education Fund   http://www.lwvc.org
The League of Women Voters neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office or political parties.