Candidate for
Council Member; City of Los Angeles; District 12

As a mother, grandmother, teacher and public servant, I know that our children are our future. They deserve a future that is full of hope and opportunity.

I am running for City Council to be a strong voice for Valley families in City Hall. I will be an independant voice fighting for the Valley's fair share of services.

As our Councilmember I will create a 12th District "Community Learning Center" providing tutoring, parenting classes, job training seminars, internet access and professional development opportunities. I will fight to expand the LA's Best afterschool program to every school campus in the 12th District.

The safety of our children must be our #1 priority. In 1989 I established the School Safety and Security Task Force which led to major reforms to protect students in and around school campuses. I will not only fight to add 2,000 new police officers to the LAPD, I will also double the Senior Lead Program and deploy mobile police sub-stations and foot and bicycle patrols to high crime areas. I will work with Chief Bratton to create the LAPD "Valley Anti-Gang Task Force" to crackdown on gangs, drugs and guns.

I have been a leader in the fight for government reform and tough new campaign finance laws to reduce the influence of special interests and put an end to political corruption. I will refuse to accept political gifts or campaign contributions from those who wish to trade money for votes.

As your Councilmember I will propose major structural reform of city government through the creation of a "Community Borough" system of government to provide smaller, more responsive representation.

I will ensure full disclosure of campaign contributions by requiring special interest groups to disclose their expenditures to City Council candidates within 24 hours of their contribution.

I want to make the 12th District one of the most family-friendly areas in California. This starts with clean, green and safe neighborhoods.

As Councilmember I will reduce traffic congestion by creating an idependant, autonomous Valley Transit Agency with a dedicated bus fleet and neighborhood mobility action teams to keep traffic off of residential streets. I will support tax breaks for employers who offer flexible work schedules and incentives for workers who telecommute, use public transportation, bike to work or rideshare. I will work to change traffic patterns to add more lanes in the direction of rush hour traffic on major thoroughfares. I will stop big developments that overload our fragile infrastructure and create gridlock. With the exception of emergencies, I will ensure that road construction takes place on off-peak hours.

I will continue to fight to keep landfills OUT of our neighborhoods. I will keep fighting against the expansion of the Sunshine Dump to protect the health of our children. After demanding an independant report which proved that dangerous levels of toxic contamination would result from bringing the dump nearer to our schools, I led the Board of Education to join the law suit against the dump's expansion.

I forced the developers of Porter Ranch to dedicate acres of land for schools.

Over the years, I have fought many battles, and won many victories for Valley schoolchildren. In so doing, I have gained the knowledge and the experience necessary to be your Voice in City Hall. I would be honored to have your support.