Measure S Might shake things up at City Hall !
•January 12, 2017
The biggest fight in the March’s election will not be about all these folks from city hall facing challengers. There is no serious campaign being mounted by any challenger against the mayor or any council-member who is up for re-election. Most of these politicians will be returning back to their offices after the election. The looming fight though, in the next eight weeks leading up to March, will be about Measure S.
According to the Measure S website [www.voteyesons.org], the measure will basically impose a two-year moratorium on mega construction projects that require changes in city planning rules. There is an exception for projects aiming at building affordable housing units. The measure is backed by Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and a longtime maverick in gay activist circles. He argues that “mega-developments” are changing the character of this city and are destroying neighborhoods after neighborhoods by displacing poor residents. Mr. Weinstein appears to have an apocalyptic message about the dire consequences of letting developers determining how to build in Los Angeles. He clearly has the resources to make his voice boom through the rooms and halls of the city hall. Michael Weinstein has been dubbed as the “biggest political spender in the 2016 elections.” He has been likened to big political spenders to the caliber of George Soros, Kock brothers, and even the NRA. This is interesting because his organization is a well-financed non-profit with millions to burn in electoral politics. And, just in 2016, this foundation spent $22 million on two statewide measures. Michael Weinstein is well known in political circles and in in the halls of powers at city hall, county board and Sacramento.
In light of the current voters’ dissatisfaction with political elites, it would be interesting to see if this man leading this powerful non-profit organization is able to make the case to Angelenos that the current “City Hall’s pay-to-play culture” is no longer sustainable and that power must be taken away from developers. Michael Weinstein has literally declared war to politicians at city hall. He has forced conversations about political contributions and he is exposing council-members and the mayor’s cozy relationships with rich and powerful developers in Los Angeles. He hopes that Angelenos will revolt just as voters did last year when they voted to elect Trump for President. Voters just wanted Trump to blow up the system. They wanted radical change. They wanted something new, they didn’t care if the cure was worse than the disease.
Labor, developers, businesses, and anti-gentrification forces they are all sharpening their political knives for this fight. Yes, Labor and the Business community have joined forces to defeat this measure. Millions will be spent and those defending the status quo have already started scaring voters. Indeed, lawsuits have been filed and these groups are battling it out in courts. “The sky will fall, jobs will be killed, the economy will tank and poor people will be the real victims because stopping the constructions of fancy housing is not good for the poor,” the forces against this Measure are screaming at top of their lungs. Their logic here is that if we keep building at one point supply will surpass demand. Then, the poor will start getting the housing they can afford. The problem with that is that it is the very same argument that has been made by developers for the last 10 years. And, poor people and people of color kept moving to the desert, a place they have found affordable. Labor, being led by construction workers’ unions, has had many opportunities to ask for housing the poor but they have just gone along with developers. They just wanted those construction jobs to keep coming. In November last year, Labor swung and missed with Measure JJJ. They collaborated with developers to sell this measure to voters and it passed. Said measure was nothing more than about cosmetic changes and really didn’t do much or will not do much to alleviate the housing crisis poor people are facing in this city.
In politics, timing is everything pundits tell us. Indeed, many Angelenos have grown cynical as they have seen nothing but very small incremental changes being made about the crisis dealing with affordable housing in this city. They see this “pay to play culture” at city hall and see that this city is truly a city of developers, by developers and for developers. Rarely is the week that goes by without the media publishing articles about the political contributions given to the Mayor and City council-Members by developers trying to get exceptions from city land-use laws to build projects worth millions. Disturbingly, sometimes checks were issued to these city political leaders while projects were being under consideration.
It is also sick and ridiculous how these real estate people endeavor to find ways to give political contributions to these politicians. Developer, Samuel Leung, for example, cut checks for friends, relatives, and associates so these checks could be channeled to politicians in City Hall. Then, billionaire and powerful developer, Rick Caruso and other powerful organizations with projects being considered gave large checks to the mayor’s non-profit organization and his pet project, “Measure M.” To add insult to injury these politicians have the audacity to tell Angelinos that all these political contributions play no role in their decisions when approving these developments. All development projects are solely evaluated on the “merits,” these politicians from the city hall tell us. Laughable. So far, I am leaning to vote “Yes” on this Measure.
Thank you for reading.
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Sources used.
Aron, Hillel. “L.A.’s Biggest Spender in the 2016 Election Is a Nonprofit With Millions to Spare.” LA Weekly 5 Nov. 2016. Web. Accessed Jan. 9, 2017. <http://www.laweekly.com/news/las-biggest-spender-in-the-2016-election-is-a-nonprofit-with-millions-to-spare-7575242>.
“City Hall’s pay-to-play culture.” Editorial. Los Angeles Times 6 Jan. 2017, A12. Print
Dembosky, April. “From Maverick AIDS Activist To Porn Cop: The Man Behind Proposition 60.” npr.org 2nd Nov. 2016. Web. Accessed Jan. 10, 2017. <http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/11/02/500039336/from-maverick-aids-activist-to-porn-cop-the-man-behind-proposition-60>.
Lopez, Steve. “When it comes to political donations in L.A., what’s legal can be worse than what’s not.” Los Angeles Times 11 Jan. 2017. Web. Accessed Jan.12. <http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0111-lopez-campaign-donations-20170110-story.html>.
Platin, Dick. “A Must for LA in 2017: More Hard-Hitting Investigative Reporting.” CityWatch 29 Dec. 2016. Web. Accessed Jan. 11, 2017. <http://www.citywatchla.com/index.php/los-angeles/12362-a-must-for-la-in-2017-more-hard-hitting-investigative-reporting>.
I agree with all the points that you made in this article Chamba Sanchez. I also find it horrible that real estate people decide to support politicians rather than family and friends.
I agree with the points you made about the politicians becoming friends among with each other and keeping money for themselves instead of helping the community. I find it horrible that the politicians do not help the poor community because they are working every hard to live in a community they could afford.
It is interesting to see a man like Michael Weinstein who is not in favor of the “mega-developments” and yet putting millions into political spending by these politicians who only look for the wealth of themselves. It is disgraceful to see years or even decades of family history in a community being destroyed just for the wealth of these business men.
They wouldn’t like it if we destroyed their communities so why they trying to destroy ours. They try to make it so fancy but lower income people can’t afford it and its true, that it makes those who can’t afford move more farther to somewhere they can afford. It’s not easy for us to move somewhere new. It’s like starting all over again. Have to get use to a new place.
I honestly agree with what you said about the politicians not giving back to the community. I find it upsetting that they are trying to take over community for business and not thinking the consequences for the poor. Where would they go? Questions like these are probably not even brought up because all they care is about selfish things. It surprises me how LA is turning out to be a bad economy to live in.
I can relate to this article, I was raised in a low income family of 5 and don’t agree that rich class is trying to kick out the lower class in order for the middle class to move in. Love the quote, ” The sky will fall, jobs will be killed, the economy will tank and poor people will be the real victims because stopping the constructions of fancy housing is not good for the poor.” I do agree that this is going to tank the low income people and by stooping them ain’t going to be a good thing to do. I really like the article and love how much information it has. Am shock how the low income is loosing their homes and more than half is becoming homeless, but we do have money for unnecessary buildings such as the stadium and agreeing accepting more teams to Los Angeles.
I understand that it seems almost like a waste of time for another museum to be made and I totally agree. The city needs to help out the citizens in it rather than to open ways for other forms of different projects that would benefit the city itself than the people who live there. The greedy want money even though they have it and then the poor, such as myself, will be forced to go elsewhere that is further that can drastically hurt my ways to my job, possibly a dangerous location, or even remain homeless and that scares me.
I find it interesting and i agree with your points you made in your article. It is very sad to see Real Estates people to support than people who are looking for help. The politician aren’t giving back to communitys and it’s sad that they don’t care to think about the people’s. All they care about is themselves.
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I agree with just about every point you made in this piece its crazy that real estate people would rather help people or politicians that mean no good rather than help family or friends or someone in need , i think they just see or hear the money they throw at them and they bite on it. I can relate to growing up in a low income place i have 6 siblings all together and it wasn’t always nice but we made the best of it. I feel on the aspect of political views they focus to much on 1 certain class the bigger picture and involving all classes. the quote “The sky will fall, jobs will be killed, the economy will tank and poor people will be the real victims because stopping the constructions of fancy housing is not good for the poor” stuck with me because i really feel like this is true if we dont get a grip on this give back to all communities not just 1 or 2 of them.
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