Environmental Issues in the Ninth District

By Jan C. Perry

I will work to educate and improve awareness about environmental issues in the Ninth Council District. This includes working to attract clean business development with an effort to conserve, reuse, and recycle our resources.

I have worked hard to make the streets safer, provide better parks and improve the quality of city services, better housing and economic development. I created a coalition of African-American and Asian American bankers to provide business loans after the 1992 civil unrest. I sought and gained approval for a city-funded program to help liquor store owners convert to more neighborhood friendly businesses. I worked with block club leaders in the 9th Council District to fight crime and blight and to empower neighborhoods politically.

I have worked to develop concepts for environmental and historic preservation programs to generate tourism and recycle community-based dollars to create sustainable development. I support adaptive reuse and will look for opportunities to remake strip malls into schools that serve the community. I have worked with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to develop an indigenous classroom plan in park-starved communities. I am committed to public service and believe that I have the training and experience to deliver a high standard and quality of service to the residents in the Ninth Council District.

If elected, I will work with stakeholders in the Ninth Council District that would include community and faith based leaders, business and civic leaders, representatives from the Los Angeles Unified School District and political representatives to develop a long and short term plan to address the needs of the residents living and doing business in the Ninth Council District.

I will assess the needs using the most up to date demographic data, community input and I will look for resources from the city, state and federal government to improve the quality of life for our residents. I will look for ways to make our neighborhoods healthier and safer and to create an environment for economic and job development and for recreation. I will also work to make city departments more responsive to the needs of the residents and provide the residents with opportunities to participate in the planning and implementation process.

I will work to educate and improve awareness about environmental issues in the Ninth Council District. I will work to attract clean business development with an effort to conserve, reuse, and recycle our resources. I will work to develop after school and weekend programs for youth to educate and create community projects that focus on the environment. I will forge a partnership with the Americorp/Vista program and work to recruit local youth as volunteers to educate the residents about the critical importance of recycling, clean water, energy conservation and pollution. I will also work to convert the old rail routes into a functional economic corridor.

I am committed to park improvement and creation and creating land use opportunities on brown fields. I have experience in supporting the conversion of vacant lots into community gardens and will grow that program. I will fight to see that the residents of the Ninth Council District get their fair share of resources to improve the overall quality of life in the district.

I would like to create clean industry jobs in the Ninth Council District. I will work with environmentalists to do that. The better the environment the greater the chance that people will want to live and work in the district. The recent energy crisis was partially blamed on environmentalists. This argument does not hold up when you consider that the DWP has been able to reduce the level of pollution to a level that is one tenth what it was ten years ago. That type of change would not have occurred without environmental regulation.

A healthy economy and environmental protection are mutually achievable. It is important to address environmental issues during the planning process not after. I believe that the quality of life issues are synonymous with a good and healthy environment and that Los Angeles could be used for a number of positive demonstration projects that would prove this point by creating development opportunities and tax incentives for businesses that support clean industry and development.

I would like to collaborate with the federal government and environmentalists to develop a more rapid review of the issues of brown fields and develop a land use plan that would be an improvement for the community.

I have a history of working with environmental groups and serving on boards of environmental organizations and encouraging the smart use of resources to improve the quality of life in Los Angeles. I have collaborated with elected officials on both the state and federal level and understand the legislative process.

I believe that environmental advocacy provides an opportunity to create sustainable economic development that can create jobs. I believe combining good land use planning with a focus on environmental concerns. I want to improve the overall quality of life for the residents living in the ninth council district. I want to work to educate people about environmental issues and empower them to advocate for a better environment for themselves.