League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Los Angeles County, CA March 5, 2013 Election
	Measure WH-C Term Limits for City Council Members City of West Hollywood Ordinance - Majority Approval Required UNOFFICIAL results as of March 6, 2:00 p.m. Pass: 2690 / 61.9% Yes votes ...... 1653 / 38.1% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure WH-C

Arguments Against Measure WH-C

We love West Hollywood for its unique neighborhoods, its bustling restaurants and nightlife, its small businesses, its historic resources and its creative and diverse people. West Hollywood is known as the "Creative City," but our future depends on fresh, new leadership at City Hall. We believe West Hollywood has a brighter future with your YES vote on Measure C. Your YES vote on Measure C establishes a limit of three, four-year terms for city councilmembers. Your YES vote on Measure C will reduce the power and infl uence of City Hall bureaucrats, lobbyists and other special interests. Your YES vote on Measure C means that our city council and commissions will be regularly renewed with fresh leadership with new ideas for the future. Your YES vote on Measure C will encourage councilmembers to make their time in office count to the fullest. Your YES vote on Measure C will allow current officeholders an opportunity to serve for up to 12 more years should we choose to re-elect them. Measure C is modeled on the 12-year term limits adopted for the L.A. County Board of Supervisors and many cities across California. Term limits have led to more diversity among public officials + making city, county and state governments more representative of the people. Currently, we have some councilmembers who have been in office more than 20 years. Your YES vote on Measure C will put an end to career politicians, who the longer they stay in office, the less responsive they are to their constituents. Your YES vote on Measure C will ensure that our city government is more open, honest, effective, accessible and accountable to the voters. Please join West Hollywood's broad coalition of renters, homeowners, seniors, local business owners, long-time residents + your neighbors: vote YES on Measure C! /s/ Elyse D. Eisenberg Former VP, Warner Bros; Chair, WeHo Heights /s/ Sheila Lightfoot Community Advocate /s/ Scott Olin Schmidt West Hollywood Community Organizer /s/ Cathy Blaivas Co-Founder Protect Plummer Park /s/ Lauren Meister Neighborhood Advocate Rebuttal to Arguments For The West Hollywood/Beverly Hills Democratic Club urges you to vote No on this Republican-backed measure. Respected leaders in the Russian-speaking community urge you to vote No on Measure C. The head of the Coalition for Economic Survival, the leading tenants' rights organization says Measure C endangers rent control and tenants' rights in West Hollywood. Measure C was put on the ballot with the help of the same tea-party people who passed Proposition 8. That's why long-time leaders in the LGBT community all oppose Measure C. Business leaders believe Measure C is a threat to West Hollywood's financial security. With a multi-million dollar city budget, West Hollywood can't afford to have inexperienced and unqualified leadership. West Hollywood voters have previously rejected term limits as undemocratic. Some of the people behind this measure have run for City Council many times but they can't get elected. Now they want to rig the election rules. Measure C would deny you the right to vote for the candidate of your choice. Don't let these cynical political operatives take away your choice. Vote No on Measure C. Democratic leaders, Russian-speaking leaders, tenants' rights advocates, LGBT leaders and Business leaders all agree: Vote No on Measure C. /s/ John Duran Councilmember, City of West Hollywood /s/ Yefim Stolyarsky President, Russian Veterans Association /s/ Ivy Bottini Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board /s/ Larry Gross Executive Director, Coalition for Economic Survival /s/ Sofia Komskaya Former Commissioner, Public Safety

Preserve your right to vote for the candidate of your choice. Vote No on Measure C. Measure C takes away your rights as a voter. Currently you can vote for any candidate for City Council, a newcomer or an experienced councilmember. If Measure C is enacted, you will lose that choice. Experienced candidates won't be allowed to run for election if Measure C is enacted. Shouldn't you be allowed to vote for anyone if you think the person has done a good job? Measure C arbitrarily eliminates candidates with experience and knowledge from serving on your City Council. West Hollywood does not need Measure C. We have elections every two years. Every two years you have the right to vote councilmembers out of office if you don't like the job they are doing. West Hollywood is economically strong and we don't need Measure C. Each year we put money into reserves to handle unexpected costs and to make community improvements. We have effective law enforcement from our Sheriff's Department. We have extensive social services. We maintain our roads. We have great residents and neighborhoods. Many attribute our success to dedicated and stable leadership at City Hall. Whether you agree or not, we don't need Measure C for our city to work well. The state legislature has term limits and no one thinks Sacramento is more effective as a result. When term limits went into effect, the legislature weakened tenants' rights and couldn't adopt a budget. We don't need Sacramento-style dysfunction in West Hollywood. Those behind Measure C enlisted the support of a Republican consulting group to put Measure C on the ballot. This is the same group that helped pass Proposition 8 which denies marriage to LGBT people. Don't be fooled by this divisive measure. Vote No on Measure C. /s/ Jeffrey Prang Mayor of West Hollywood /s/ Ruth Williams Public Safety Commissioner /s/ Laurence Zakson Past President West Hollywood Democratic Club /s/ Rob Bergstein Captain, Genesee Neighborhood Watch /s/ Ruth Tittle CEO, Capitol Drugs, Inc. Rebuttal to Arguments Against Measure C was placed on the ballot by dedicated community leaders, your friends and neighbors, who are concerned about the future of our City. More than 60 volunteers collected thousands of signatures to put Measure C on the ballot. Entrenched incumbents have become complacent and deaf to the voices of our community. Campaign contributions from special interest groups make for less competitive elections, and dissuade well-qualified people from seeking office. West Hollywood can do better. We can do better than live in a City where a well-connected lobbyist is allowed to run the campaigns of councilmembers, while at the same time, lobbying those same councilmembers on behalf of clients with business before the City. Do not be fooled by the opponents of Measure C. They will spend thousands and say anything to maintain the status quo. Measure C's only consultant lives in West Hollywood, supports marriage equality and won an award for his work against Prop 8. If they would lie about that, what else will they lie about? The City of Los Angeles and the State of California have both amended their term limits to make them 12 years long, addressing the shortcomings of tighter term limits. Measure C gets it right the first time and deserves your YES vote. Your YES vote on Measure C will reduce the power and infl uence of City Hall lobbyists and special interests. West Hollywood deserves better. Vote YES on Measure C for Change at City Hall. Join us at http://www.wehotermlimits.com. /s/ Allegra Allison Founder Save Tara / Founding Member of the West Hollywood Neighborhood Alliance /s/ John Altschul Planning Commissioner, West Hollywood /s/ Larry Block Owner Block Party Weho / Chairman Disabilities Advisory Board /s/ Stephanie J.Harker Co-Founder Protect Plummer Park /s/ Steve Martin Former President, Stonewall Democratic Club