My Campaign's Municipal Platform

By Luis Montoya

2. Economic Policy. Let us review all business policies from across our neighboring municipalities and create competitive business policies. We need to streamline the permit process and have all permits and permit statuses be readily available online. Start up businesses should be given a break on city fees for the first year while they get established and this should encourage the creation of businesses in the city. I plan on reaching out to small business organizations, and city planning and development to aggressively develop new businesses and to do so in a timely manner. Let us scrutinize big development projects and have a liberal policy towards small businesses.

3. Government Reform/Audit. We must conduct a thorough audit of all city finances and dealings and publish the results in an easily accessible form. These must be conducted regularly and will help deter bureaucratic waste. We must also work to start to make City Hall more transparent. We need a municipal version of the federal Freedom of Information Act. The whole reason behind this is to make it easier for the public to ask and receive information from the city with as little bureaucratic red tape as possible.

4. Public Safety Policy. Crime in this city is at a multi-year low. This is a fantastic achievement that cannot be overstated. However, this has come to a great expense to the city during a time of crushing budget deficits. The LAPD must look at ways to cut its expenses without cutting the number of police officers on the beat. Public safety is also not just about the cops, but also about crime prevention. The Mayorʼs Summer Nights Light program was a success and we must seek to expand year round and not just during the summer. To fund it, letʼs have Mayor's Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) continue to raise money from private donations to illuminate. We should encourage greater participation and input from neighborhood watch organizations. I also support after school programs that keeps kids off the street and in school during after hours.

5. Energy/Green Policy. The City of Los Angeles should be an example in fostering ideas for green energy and using green technologies. The eventual long-term goal should be using and creating 100% renewable sources of energy. The city, along with the Department of Parks and Recreation should regularly host educational events on informing people in the district on how to be more environmentally friendly and care about cleaning up their local communities. By having the DWP expand into more green sources of energy, then it can become more and more inexpensive.

6. Traffic Policy. It is obvious that we need to continue to invest in public transportation and support the creation of Metro rail lines, busses, and shuttles. We should institute parking permits for neighborhoods plagued with low access to parking. This will discourage people with more than two cars to waste the parking space and leave space for their neighbors. There should be an ordinance that prohibits cars that are on sale to be taking up public parking spaces. We must continue to aggressively enforce tow away zones and encourage public involvement by creating a system where people can text the parking enforcement officers and notify them of people that are illegally parked.