Candidate Forum Mostly Civil: Two People Ejected

The Westside Regional Alliance of Councils (WRAC) held a Los Angeles City Council District 11 candidate forum on March 1 at the Venice First Lutheran Church.

Three candidates were on the dais: incumbent Traci Park and challengers Faizah Malik and Jeremy Wineberg.

Wineberg has lived in Pacific Palisades 40 years. Malik said her husband and kids moved back from the East Coast in 2017 and moved to Venice in 2019. Traci said she moved to Venice in 2012.

Before the debate began, CTN spoke to a Venice resident in a pew who said, “How can you go back to a DSA (Democratic Socialist of America) councilmember. We had [Mike] Bonin and he wrecked the district.”

Malik is a candidate supported by the DSA, which is the largest socialist organization in the United States and is “a political and activist organization, not a party; through campus and community-based chapters, DSA members use a variety of tactics, from legislative to direct action, to fight for reforms that empower working people.”

Also in the pew was a senior citizen from Minnesota, who had come to event with his daughter, who is working for Malik. He asked, “Is usually this crowded for a candidate forum?” I told him “no” – and then he was hustled out of the pew away from the reporter and replaced with an avid Malik supporter.

ABC7’s Josh Haskell did an excellent job of handling the forum.  Each Westside Neighborhood/Community Council was allowed one question and  candidates had not seen questions before the event.

POLICE:

Haskell asked, “Do you support current funding for the police department? And should we increase the budget?”

Malik said we should look at how the money is being spent. “We’re spending so much money, we should be funding alternate responses.”

Wineberg agreed with Malik.

Park said “we have 8,600 sworn officers for four million people; we are dangerously and critically low. They are understaffed.”

A man in the audience stood up and started shouting at Traci. He was removed. Audience members had been told prior to the forum that any outbursts would not be tolerated.

MENTALLY ILL/ADDICTS

Haskell asked about the mentally ill. Wineberg said “There should be rehabilitation centers and we should treat them like our neighbors.” Malik said “We should ensure the mental health dollars are going to the people.”

Park said that there needs to be mental health and addiction treatment centers and added that people on the streets, who wanted help, had been helped.

An audience member started screaming out “How many have you helped?” And the woman was ejected.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING:

The State Housing mandate was the subject of a question from Mar Vista. There were three different opinions: Wineberg said we had to take care of neighbors, Malik said that we are facing an affordable housing crisis on the Westside and that more housing near transit centers is good. “We have to get to yes,” she said.

Park said that her issue with mandates is that they were written by state legislators that have never visited some of the Westside areas, where geology can be an issue and flexibility is needed.

VENICE DEL PROJECT:

The controversial Venice Del Project was the next topic. Wineberg said “It has already been approved, why are we not doing it?”

Los Angeles axed the project (120 low-income apartments) a year ago when it voted to reject a long-term lease from the city to the developers, the nonprofit Venice Community Housing Corporation click here.

Malik said the project was absolutely needed and that it was being developed by a “reputable nonprofit.”

Park said that it was a project started by former councilmember Mike Bonin and that it “was plagued by back-room deals.”

She had not finished talking when Wineberg told her that her time was up. Haskell told him “Candidates can’t say when time is up” and Haskell told Park to finish speaking.

PALISADES FIRE:

The Pacific Palisades Community Council’s question was about the Palisades Fire and the next steps. Wineberg said. “We need to staff the Palisades so that someone is there every day.”

Malik agreed, “we need to support residents. We need to address climate resiliency and do community planning.”

Park, who has been the Palisades biggest advocate and seen all of the challenges faced by residents said, “I don’t know where to start. There’s ALE (additional living expenses—rent), mortgage and recovery. There are insurance and financing questions.”

DENSITY:

Asked about added density Wineberg, who lost his home in the Palisade Fire, said “let people come home first.”

Malik that that added density would be good for Palisades teachers, and families could have ADUs on their lots.

Park said that no additional density should be added to the Palisades until the evacuation routes are figured out.

FORMER COUNCILMEMBER MIKE BONIN:

Candidates were asked, “Do you think Mike Bonin did a good job?” .

“I voted for him,” Wineberg said.

“I have never been Bonin’s lawyer,” Malik said, and added that Park had alleged that. “This race is not about Mike Bonin. We need to move forward.”

“Did he do a good job?” Park asked. “Obviously not. I’m here.”

Then an interesting paradox occurred, Wineberg started attacking Park, which brought applause and cheers from Malik’s followers.

SB 79 AND 41.18

Asked if they supported SB 79, Wineberg and Malik were yes, Park said community safety was first. (SB 79 development projects override local control to develop sites zoned for residential, mixed, or commercial development within one-half or one-quarter mile of transit stops.)

Candidates were asked about enforcement of 41.18 (homeless are not allowed to camp in a sensitive area, such as a public park, library or school).  Wineberg started to speak and then stopped because he said, “I’m getting laughed at.”

Malik said “41.18 is a tool made to manage public spaces, but it does not solve homelessness.”

Park was clear about enforcing it. “There is no planet where kids should be stepping over needles and addicts. You just can’t be that close to schools.”

In the closing remarks, Wineberg attacked Park to huge applause from Malik supporters. “What has gotten better under Traci,” he said. “It was the worst disaster in history, and she used the fire to look better, she turned tragedy into headlines.”

Malik said “The status quo is not solving problems. I want our city to provide opportunities for all of us.”

Traci asked people to set aside the rhetoric and look at the results. “The weight of responsibility is incredibly heavy and I’m running one more time to get results for you.”