League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Los Angeles County, CA May 21, 2013 Election
	Derek Waleko Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Los Angeles; District 6

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What do you think is the single most important issue facing the City of Los Angeles today? As Council Member, what would you do to deal with it?

Financial stress from budgetary issues plagues our city. LA needs a new revenue source without raising taxes on hard working Angelenos and needs jobs for those struggling to provide. I've created jobs for LA through my international business background and will continue to leverage my expertise to do just that. Our economy relies too heavily on real estate, retail, and other consumption models. Los Angeles's unemployment rate is over 11% and we have 216 million problems with the budget.

New leadership is needed to add a new element into economic growth for Los Angeles, leadership who not only understands district 6 and how the city works, but understands how Los Angeles as a world class city fits into the international spectrum for lasting strong job growth and a healthy vibrant budget. I have a jobs plan that does just that and it focuses on exporting American made goods and services globally. In addition I will be front and center on creating a new Economic Development Department and Citywide Economic Development Non-Profit. You can learn more at my website, http://www.DerekWaleko.com

2. 85% of the City's General Fund Budget is for personnel costs. If forced to cut costs to balance the budget, would you favor reducing the number of employees or asking existing employees to accept lower wages and/or reduced benefits?

The city has already cut 5,300 jobs since 2007, that's over 14% of the city's workforce, which cuts into basic services and lowers the quality of life. Tree trimming, pot hole repair, graffiti and garbage clean up, infrastructure (street, sidewalk, etc) improvements, and animal services all suffer. I believe it's as much the dignity of the city worker that is at stake. Promises have already been given to current employees and they should be honored. They have not been served well by both their leadership or city hall. They have been put on furloughs, they've had pay raises that were originally agreed to, then were stalled.

Even though I will have to make these tough decisions this reflects the integrity of the city family and the fact that we have employees who have not been treated with the amount of respect and dignity anyone, public or private, deserves is wrong. At the same time, we have a large share of the city's workforce that don't pay towards their healthcare that has been subsidized for them and their families by the tax payer when most in the private sector have to pay 10 - 30% of the premium, which most people think is fair. Having just a 10% cost share, which would be equivalent to ninety dollars a month, would save the city $40 - 50 million a year.

I will be front and center to negotiate these issues to arrive at a well balanced approach, but balancing the budget has to start with revenue generation without taxation. Balancing the budget starts with competency and understanding the larger picture. Balancing the budget starts with treating Los Angeles like the world class city we are and adding an export driven economy that utilizes our rich assets, such as the harbor and LAWA. This is a must so our city family doesn't have to be faced with decreased benefits or losing jobs.

3. Do you support the DWP taking steps to reduce carbon emissions even if that will result in increased bills for ratepayers?

I support the ratepayers first and foremost and respect our environment. I fought hard as President of the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council to support the Sierra Club and I stood with them again at DWP when Al Gore came to praise the work Los Angeles has done to ensure we as a city act responsibly to our planet by phasing off coal and implementing new greener technologies. I spoke with Al Gore that day expressing this was the right and responsible path for Los Angeles, but measures would have to be taken to ensure low-cost high-efficient renewable technologies are used and that any LNG plants would have to use cost-saving equipment as to not carry costs over to the ratepayer.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League. 

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: March 29, 2013 17:38
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