Candidate for
Council Member; City of Los Angeles; District 10

Hi I'm Chris Brown,

And first of all I'd like to thank you for taking the time to check out my SmartVoter profile to get to know me a bit better, both as a candidate and an individual.

I look at our District as a microcosm of our nation. District 10 is big and diverse and populated by honest, hard-working people who are struggling right now to secure their homes, their lives, and their futures for themselves and their families. I believe that everything + EVERYTHING + starts at home. Right where you are. I believe that the best way for each of us to help move our country forward and out of this tough economy starts in our own communities, our own neighborhoods, backyards and living rooms.

That's why, if elected, I will cut my own allotted first term salary in half to recognize the sacrifices and cutbacks voters are experiencing, and as a gesture of protest against a generally over-paid, unresponsive City Council status quo.

And that's why I don't feel so much like I'm running to go to City Hall on your behalf, as much as I feel that I'm running to try to get you interested in going there with me.

Ever since I can remember, I've been an `idea guy'. I've seen the power of ideas open doors, solve problems and change lives. Like my idea to recycle our old electronics, which will raise millions of dollars, create over a thousand jobs, and put qualified teachers back to work.

But ideas are like light bulbs: They need lots of energy from many sources, which is a law of political physics that our municipal government seems to have forgotten. I know I am not the only one in our community with ideas that can illuminate the way forward.

So, I feel my most important idea is really a three-point commitment:

• A commitment to re-connect all of the people in our community with their elected leaders, their local government, and hopefully with each other.

• A commitment to leadership that is responsive and genuinely embracing of a larger and more diverse cross-section of voters in our area than may have been the perception in recent years.

• A commitment to structure my Council staff and administration for optimum accessibility and communication with voters in our District, and to get your input on creating that new structure.

With that kind of idea-producing energy, just think about it: The light from ideas that we generate together + right here at home in District 10 - could reach and radiate a lot farther than any of us might ever imagine.

Thank you for listening. Thank you for caring. And Thank you for the consideration of your vote on March 8, 2011.