Candidate for
Council Member; City of Los Angeles; District 11

My philosophy of government is simple: leave ideology at the door; empower everyone; take some risks and actually solve problems.

For too long, we have settled for too little. I want to demand more of our city and of ourselves. I want us to work together to make Los Angeles everything it can be: a world-class city of vibrant neighborhoods and smart, creative, hard-working people. I believe in a city that provides efficient services, combats crime, protects the environment, promotes mass transportation, and encourages its residents to participate and shape the direction of their neighborhoods.

I want to create a city that is inviting to both residents and businesses, a city that promotes wise development that protects our neighborhoods. I want to create a city that works in partnership with the county and other cities, so we can build smart growth instead of warring with each over sales tax dollars, choking each other with commercial traffic. I want to create a city that is admired for the public safety it provides, the mass transit it builds, the art it creates, and the natural resources it preserves.

My long-term vision is to create a City of Neighborhoods, a city measured by its achievements and not its problems, a city known for its ability to make progress by bringing people together.

Here are my thoughts on a few key issues:

Public Safety: We are the most under-policed big city in the US. Cops are being reassigned from our neighborhoods to deal with violent crime in other areas, but we still suffer car thefts, burglaries and home invasion robberies. I want to hire at minimum 400 more officers and provide a dedicated patrol car to Brentwood and Pacific Palisades. I want to hire more firefighters, and see that we have a paramedic ambulance in every fire station.

Traffic: The gridlock is unbearable. We have had enough. My detailed transportation platform is available at http://www.billrosendahl.com. I call for neighborhood solutions such as more left-turn arrows, synchronized signals and community shuttle buses, and long-range solutions, such as completing the Exposition Line, and creating a network of light rail.

Neighborhood Preservation: Our planning process has failed us. We suffer the ill effects of poorly planned projects and overdevelopment. I want to move the planning process out of the backrooms and into the sunshine. I will insist that developers follow an open process with the entire community, not just elected officials and a handful of community leaders. We must end a culture of granting variances and allowing the "mansionization" of some of our neighborhoods.

If you would like to learn more, please visit my website at http://www.billrosendahl.com.

Thank you and God Bless.