League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Los Angeles County, CA March 5, 2013 Election
	Ronald "Ron" Gochez Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Los Angeles; District 9

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?

Poverty. Although some angelinos are among the richest in the nation, the majority of the people of Los Angeles are struggling economically. In District 9, the unemployment rate is much higher than the state/national average and we have thousands of brothers and sisters who are homeless; 91% of which have no shelter at all. I would work with community partners to support small/family businesses to promote job creation. I would also work closely with organized labor to increase union density and to insure that all government contracts only hire unionized workers.

2. The City Administrative Officer has estimated a $200M budget shortfall for 2013-2014 increasing to $300M in 2015-2016. What steps do you propose to deal with this problem, and how much do you estimate each step would reduce the shortfall?

Our first priority should be to restore the cuts in services and staffing of the last few years. In addition to cutting wasteful spending, we should use our funds to hire our unemployed to repair/clean our streets to clean make LA the model for a new restoration. I would also push for transparency when it comes to corporations and the taxes that they are or are not paying. If all corporations paid their fair share of taxes, that would generate millions of dollars that could alleviate the fiscal crisis.

3. Do you support the ballot measure to increase the sales tax in the city?

I would support ballot measures to place higher taxes on corporations and on the rich.

4. What role do you feel the City of Los Angeles has to play in addressing climate change? Please explain in terms of what you as a city councilmember would have the power to do.

As a councilman, I would continue to support measures to protect the environment such as those dealing with plastic bags, car emissions, clean fuels for public transportation...etc. I would fight environmental racism by going after the businesses in low income neighborhoods that are notorious for illegal dumping and similar violations. Lastly, I would also help to promote healthier practices such as walking, cycling, public transportation and carpooling.

5. How would you prioritize your local constituency versus the City as a whole when acting as a Council Member?

I will prioritize the people of District 9 that need immediate support. District 9, which primarily covers South Central LA, is the poorest, has the highest level of unemployment/under-employment and is the most disenfranchised area of Los Angeles. We have the highest amount of homelessness and our infrastructure is the poorest in the city. I will work tirelessly to bring necessary resources to the people of my district.

I also understand that there are many other fundamental problems that affect our entire city. I will try to bring about reforms that will benefit working class people throughout the city.

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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: January 15, 2013 12:23
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