Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
Newsletter

June 11, 2004

Election Procedures Public Hearings

In September 2003, the Los Angeles City Council’s Education and Neighborhoods Committee instructed Frank Martinez, Chief Executive Officer, City Clerk’s Election Division, to draft a set of election procedures that, once passed, would govern the elections of all Neighborhood Councils.

Working quickly, Mr. Martinez created the Election Procedures Working Group (EPW) made up of 10 Neighborhood Council leaders, and representatives from the League of Women Voters, the City Attorney’s Office, the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, and the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners. With the exception of holidays, the Group met every two weeks in an open forum and discussed and debated every sentence, line, and word of the draft procedures, now called “Draft 21.”

Overall, the document is designed to make it easier for Neighborhood Councils to plan and hold their first and subsequent elections in a timely manner, and to select an election model (from simple to complex) that best meets their needs. “Draft 21” represents the best ideas to date from the individuals and entities that have been most actively engaged in Neighborhood Council elections, but they are in no way exhaustive, nor are they finalized. Your input is CRITICAL to developing the final set of citywide election procedures.

Beginning on June 15, 2004, and until the end of the month, the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment will be hosting seven discussion group meetings to bring Neighborhood Council leaders and neighborhoods together to provide comment on, and to ask questions about “Draft 21.” The information provided by attendees of the focus group meetings will be used by the Election Procedures Working Group to finalize the citywide election procedures. Please take a moment to read “Draft 21” on the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment web site at

http://www.lacity.org/done/newsflash_c/donenewsflash_c94018534_03252004.pdf

and plan to attend the discussion group in your area.

West Los Angeles
Tuesday, June 15 from 6:30-8:30 PM
Felicia Mahood Senior Citizen Center
11338 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, 90025

East Area
Tuesday, June 15 from 6:30-8:30 PM
Barrio Action Youth & Family Center
4970 S. Huntington Dr.
Los Angeles, 90032

South Los Angeles
Wednesday, June 16 from 6:30-8:30 PM
Constituent Service Center
8475 S. Vermont Ave.
Los Angeles, 90044

South Valley
Monday, June 21 from 6:30-8:30 PM
Kaiser Regional Laboratory
11668 Sherman Way
Los Angeles, 91605

North Valley
Tuesday, June 22 from 6:30-8:30 PM
Mission Valley Medical Building, 2nd Fl-Conf Room
14850 Roscoe Blvd.
Los Angeles, 91402

Harbor Area
Wednesday, June 23 from 6:30-8:30 PM
Los Angeles Harbor College
1111 Figueroa, Liberal Arts Building, Rm#120
Los Angeles, 90744

Central Area
Thursday, June 24 from 6:30-8:30 PM
Empowerment Academy Training and Community Engagement Center
305 E. First St.
Los Angeles, 90012

Please RSVP by calling 213-485-1360, or toll free at (866) LA HELPS or by e-mail at ncelections@mailbox.lacity.org. If you are unable to attend the focus groups, you may e-mail comments or questions regarding these proposed Procedures to ncelections@mailbox.lacity.org. You may also mail comments to:

Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
Elections and Policy Development Team
10221 Compton Ave., Ste. 203
Los Angeles, CA 90002.

Thank you for your contributions to Neighborhood Councils in Los Angeles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Greg Nelson

866 / LA HELPS
213 / 485-1360
213 / 485-4608 fax
done@mailbox.lacity.org email
www.lacityneighborhoods.com website