I would slow down mass eviction rates. I would prioritize available housing for residents of the district. Protect and keep our seniors and disabled residents in their homes through programs. I'd prioritize giving individual homeowners the ability to develop and improve their properties. I'll hold other cities and states accountable for sending their homeless populations here. This includes other parts of the City of Los Angeles as well. The City of Los Angeles as a whole must do its fair share in affordable housing, CD14 should not shoulder this burden alone.

Proposed housing and mixed-use developments should have at least 51% affordable housing units to be considered as "affordable housing.” We need to provide protection to responsible property owners that rent out their units and we must hold slumlords accountable. The city collects an RSO tax annually, but does not provide the landlords anything in return, other than the permission to legally rent that unit. I'd like to offer a tax break or incentive of some kind to vacant habitable properties that can be used to house our seniors, disabled persons, or families at an affordable rate.

We need to have a thorough discussion and analyzation of metrics. What are the major zones where the impacts are occurring? We need to be responsible as a city to ensure safe streets so that pedestrians are not utilizing the street to walk or use their wheelchairs in. Alternatives should be allowed for families or individuals that do not wish or do not feel safe to use the street bike lane to ride their bikes on.

Proper lighting on our streets is imperative to mobility. We need to listen to the constituents, we should not wait for someone to be killed before we install a stoplight or other deturents to speed, distracted driving and driving under the influence. I am committed to never driving under the influence. People driving under the influence are more likely to speed, crash or kill innocent pedestrians and bicyclists.

Meth and other drug use is highly impacting and devastating our communities. We do not have sufficient enforcement to get a proper handle on it. We need the sales and use to be eradicated from our neighborhoods. We need to significantly increase vice and additional task forces. Drug dealers infiltrate homeless encampments. This makes it more difficult to assist houseless people in the most need. They become the cover for organized crime.

In 2023, El Sereno was leading in homicides. We need a more reliable and efficient way to communicate with 911. Being on hold for 45 minutes or longer when you have an emergency is unacceptable. Inaccurate crime reports are harming our community. Just because the constituents were unable to complete the 911 call does not mean that crime is down in the area... ask the residents.

We need to elect someone who is transparent from the beginning and even with the small things. If you can trust them with the small things, you can build trust with the bigger things. I for one have stated my real address and phone number on all my forms. I am a Notary Public and an income tax preparer, so I must maintain ethical standards all the time.

I will establish a platform where residents of CD14 may register and participate in. It would allow for residents to let me know what issues they are dealing with. This way our team can address or redirect these issues to the proper agencies. This platform will be an uninterrupted way of the councilmember knowing what these issues are in the community directly from the constituents themselves. The platform will also serve to give residents fully transparent and understandable information on all aspects of their communities. Like proposed developments, status of developments, new propositions, memorandums, moratoriums, laws, etc. It will give the opportunity to submit public comments and opinions on all things impacting the community in your own languages. These comments will be reviewed prior to making decisions. No more closed-door backroom deals!

I am a person who has gone to many meetings at city hall and the police commission. I have called in, been on Zoom and attempted to participate in many ways. I learned that it is not always possible to have your voice heard. CD14, I hear you!

My plans include an audit of several departments that provide services to the constituents including sanitation. I think that many communities are being underserved. This is creating unsanitary conditions in many parts of the district. Buildings in downtown should have the option to opt in to allow their residents to participate in recycling programs.

We also need to create more parking solutions in our parking poor communities. This will include not allowing large developments to get away with insufficient parking that causes a burden to the entire neighborhood. I plan to reclaim much of this concrete jungle we live in and explore artistic and ecological alternatives to move our city forward. Like expanded park programs to include children through the age of 17, offering children not only an opportunity to play sports but arts, music and other programs as well. Supporting business by ensuring they have sufficient lighting, clean accessible streets. Grants for camera systems and/or murals to deter tagging/crime. Regular street cleaning. I plan to stay with my district. This is not a stepping stone for me, this is our opportunity to be heard.

I really enjoy community organizing. I have been volunteering in the community for over 20 years. I am also a mother of five boys. I am a proud Navy Wife. I am married to my high school sweetheart, from Wilson High School.

Community Plans for downtown Los Angeles and Boyle Heights have been approved. The plans outline land-use rules and regulations for developers and aim to incentivize and produce new housing. If implemented, these plans could pave the way for the construction of new housing units that the city needs desperately.

I would use Assembly Bill 2011 and other pertinent laws to help streamline the process to build residential developments in certain commercial zones and incentivize affordable housing developers to build in areas that make sense. I would prioritize residential developments that support diverse housing needs, such as three or more bedrooms to support extended family households and multigenerational living; residential infill developments; and utilizing public land and funding to develop supportive housing projects and affordable housing for extremely-low, very-low, and low-income households.

As a transportation advocate, I want to champion the Mobility Plan 2035, for cleaner air, safer streets, less traffic, and a variety of options to reach destinations. I'll advocate for policies that consider pedestrians, cyclists, children, the elderly, and those with mobility challenges. In 2022, LADOT began infrastructure improvements funded through Vision Zero program; however, none were located in CD 14. I am committed to working closely with residents and other stakeholders to identify challenges and develop enhancements aimed at eliminating fatal collisions in burdened communities.

I will use the weight of the office to be proactive in making our roads and streets safe by analyzing the High-Injury Network to determine areas to prioritize. Once identified, I will seek to implement proven safety countermeasures such as appropriate speed limits, protected bike lanes, speed safety cameras, median and pedestrian refuge islands; leading pedestrian intervals (LPIs), curb extensions, scrambled crosswalks, etc. I will seek funding sources such as Measures M and R funds, Vision Zero Funding, Safe Routes to School Program, state and federal dollars (i.e., Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA), etc. I will also analyze opportunities to capitalize on the federal infrastructure bill associated with the 2028 Olympic Games being held in L.A.

Public safety is the principal issue in every respect, as it affects all of our lives and public trust in law enforcement is a critical element in public safety. I’m concerned about the relationship between law enforcement and communities of color. The police killing of George Floyd served as a catalyst for an international mass movement centered on police violence against Black Americans and intensified calls for systemic change in American policing.

The Brennan Center for Justice cited George Floyd’s death as “a catalyst for one of the largest social movements in U.S. history.” The city is sadly divided with a faction calling for “defund the police” and a faction calling for more police. I have held conversations with community members and police officers. Members have expressed that they feel afraid, over policed, and disrespected by law enforcement. Officers have communicated that they feel dejected, demoralized, and underappreciated. I hear both sides and will seek to support community policing initiatives that foster relationships between law enforcement and the local community. I also will continue to advocate for more unarmed crisis response services for interacting with our nonviolent, unhoused neighbors.

To restore public trust, L.A. city government must publicly acknowledge that public trust has been eroded due to corruption in city hall and make a measurable commitment to improve its policies, practices, and rhetoric. Constituents need to feel that the government is responsive to their need , and be made aware of the government’s performance, good and bad. This requires a commitment of transparency across all levels of government. My administration will be rooted in honesty, respect, and transparency — values that strengthen community bonds and foster growth throughout Los Angeles.

People have a role to play, as well, in restoring public trust. They need to set the bar high, then elect leaders, like me, who will not enrich themselves at the public’s expense. They should organize at the grassroots level and drive change, demanding that the city’s leadership act accordingly. People should be encouraged and empowered to “follow the money.” The new controller is enabling citizens to monitor government spending, which will help restore public trust. Showing the use of public funds helps build confidence in government by demonstrating that tax money is being spent wisely. Formal oversight with strong enforcement powers to hold accountable those who violate the public’s trust must be independent and well funded.

I am a strong supporter of the neighborhood council system and nonprofits that encourage stakeholders to participate in the political decision-making process. There are nine Neighborhood Councils in CD 14; I would like to see a Skid Row Neighborhood Council. I plan to strengthen and empower those community members so they can be more effective advocates for their communities on important issues like development, homelessness, transportation infrastructure, and climate. I will have regular communication with the officers to stay abreast of what’s happening in their respective communities and to inform them of happenings at L.A. City Hall. The goal is to work together on adaptive challenges to maximize the city’s limited resources. I will seek to raise their annual budgets to operate efficiently and be responsive to the different needs and lifestyles of the district’s tapestry of communities.

I plan to champion policies that will improve and revitalize our district and bring investment and new businesses to the area; and support a fair economy that assures just wages, workers’ rights and dignity. I will take a comprehensive approach that includes crime prevention and safety, streamlined permitting processes, local sourcing, community engagement, transparency, and accountability, innovation and technology, and encourage well-managed infrastructure and Metro projects to avoid disrupting operations.

In 2020, after an 18-wheeler totaled my car, I started taking the bus. Today, I solely rely on public transit because it's safer for our planet. By riding the bus, I’m able to see the heaviness of life weighing on the shoulders of mothers, the elderly, unhoused, and disabled. The very people who need to be at city hall advocating for policies that will help ease the burdens of life can’t be — they are just trying to survive. The sights I see at ground level motivate me to run my best race to bring solutions to them.

When big pieces of land are empty, or houses are vacant, it only makes our housing crisis worse and drives up the cost of rent. I support a vacancy tax that would encourage property owners to rent or sell their properties, increasing the housing supply and reducing rental costs. I would also charge property flippers speculation fees, in order to stop corporate landlords from turning a profit at the expense of everyday working people. That speculation fee would be reinvested into public services and affordable housing initiatives.

We also need to focus on Community Land Trusts. CLTs acquire and manage properties so that residents have a direct say in property management and development. That means corporate landlords can’t have complete control over our housing stock. We can allocate surplus land to be administered by CLTs and direct the city to buy up vacant buildings and develop them into affordable housing administered by CLTs. Additionally, we must expand and invest in public housing/social housing/cooperative projects managed and collectively owned by the community to ensure long-term affordability, prevent displacement and challenge the dominance of profit-driven landlords.

As a councilmember, I will work to create pedestrian-friendly streets with wider sidewalks, improved crosswalks, and strategically placed benches for resting. I will implement traffic-calming measures such as roundabouts, chicanes, and raised crosswalks to slow down traffic, making our streets safer for everyone. Additionally, in areas with high foot traffic, I will reintroduce on-demand crosswalks to enhance pedestrian safety. These crosswalks will give pedestrians the ability to activate traffic signals when they need to cross, providing an extra layer of safety in areas with heavy foot traffic.

And of course, as a longtime cyclist, I plan on implementing protected bike lanes to create dedicated spaces where cyclists can safely travel without the fear of colliding with motor vehicles. This proactive approach will help reduce accidents, injuries, and fatalities on our roads, making it safer for everyone, including pedestrians and motorists.

As a lifelong public transit rider and a single mom whose daughter often relies on Metro, making sure our public transit systems are safe for all of us is a top priority. That starts by making it free. When more people have access to affordable transit options, our streets (and our climate!) become safer places due to a decrease in cars, and our buses and trains become safer places because of increased ridership leading to safety in numbers.

Additionally, I propose a substantial investment in our Metro ambassadors — not just more of them, but for them to be better trained, better paid, and available for as long as the train is running. They must have a comprehensive orientation that includes conflict resolution training and de-escalation techniques.

Expanding the city council is a critical step toward curbing corruption within our governance structure. In a city as vast and diverse as Los Angeles, the current council size of 15 members is insufficient to adequately represent the needs and voices of four million inhabitants.

By increasing the number of council members to at least 25, we not only enhance representation but also dilute the concentrated power wielded by a few individuals. A larger council disperses this power, reducing the potential for council members to establish and maintain large fiefdoms, and it minimizes the incentives for corrupt practices, like kickbacks and the exploitation of public resources for personal gain.

One of the key elements of my campaign and plans for CD14 is my commitment to co-governance. L.A., especially our district, requires a fundamental shift in how we approach governance, placing power and decision-making in the hands of the people. That's why my office will be an open book, regularly engaging with constituents through town halls, community meetings, neighborhood councils, and social media. Every decision that impacts our district will be communicated clearly, allowing for feedback and suggestions from residents.

I also believe we desperately need participatory budgeting, which involves residents in allocating a portion of CD14's budget. Through public meetings and forums, constituents will have a direct say in how public funds are spent, prioritizing projects and initiatives that truly reflect the needs and aspirations of our communities. Our campaign is already operating under a co-governance model by hosting policy roundtables attended by community stakeholders, activists, organizers, and residents to help us craft and create our policy platforms. We plan on continuing this work in city hall.

As much as I critique capitalism, I can't deny that I love playing Animal Crossing. I just finished Book 5 of Dune. I wanted to be a hip-hop choreographer when I was growing up. I'm really good at writing bad poetry, and my teenage daughter says I have the style of a grandma or a 5-year-old girl.

We need to build more, prioritizing affordable housing, alongside senior, veteran and mixed-used housing. Certain communities need more affordable housing than market rate, and the City of Los Angeles needs to be able to build responsibly. Additionally, when it comes to the unhoused community, the City of L.A. needs to create more shelter and mental health beds. As an Assemblymember, I secured $50 million to revitalize L.A. General Hospital and to turn it into affordable housing and a resource center for those impacted by homelessness and mental health challenges. Skid Row is in Council District 14 and is Ground Zero for our homelessness and mental health crisis. It needs the attention and resources of a national emergency.

I will work with the ENTIRE City of Los Angeles to address this crisis and our state and federal partners to bring attention to what’s been allowed to grow in Los Angeles for decades. While the City of L.A. has mandates to build more housing, building market rate housing is not going to expedite the fact that more people are falling into homelessness. There is a great need for affordable housing, senior housing, veterans housing and multi-use.

I am the principal joint author of the creation of LACAHSA, the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Agency, and just authored the policy that would allow L.A. County to move forward with finding a funding source to tackle homelessness and mental health issues through this agency. Society cannot continue to turn a blind to human beings that need help. We need to act and we need to create the health and wellness infrastructure needed to create a new Los Angeles where we prioritize mental health.

Vision Zero is a bold and innovative idea that, without proper funding, won’t achieve its goals. City planning of walkable communities, connected transportation, lowering speed limits, improving street light infrastructure, increasing the walk time at intersections and introducing policies that create new norms for drivers are critical. The creation of more bike lanes has to be done with actual connectivity for users to get to Point A to Point B. We have seen in the past bike lanes be created for the sake of saying it was done, but the bike lanes end at abrupt stops or doesn’t connect to a destination that would increase usership.

The most recent Vision Zero report for Los Angeles identified 509 miles of unsafe streets including 71 corridors and 90 intersections of which 60% were in disadvantaged areas. Angelenos work hard everyday to provide for their families and be conscientious citizens. Local governments must invest and ensure that public transportation is safe and on time in order to reduce our use of private vehicles, reduce and eliminate pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and overall create more walkable communities across the city of Los Angeles regardless of income demographics.

We all deserve to live in safe and clean communities. I worry about the mental health and well being of our first responders. Amid a homelessness and fentanyl crisis, it is our first responders, law enforcement officers, firefighters and EMTs that see humanity at its lowest and who everyday are responding to a crisis that sees no end.

Everyone is working hard to try to turn the tide, but if the City of Los Angeles is not able to provide the incentives and resources to hire and retain the personnel needed to combat these issues, we will continue to see a shortage of first responders that leads to longer wait times for civilians calling 911 for help. First responders risk their lives everyday, but they also have families they go home to and work challenges that the majority of us don’t know about. We need to restore pride in our city, pride in our communities, pride in helping others and pride in being of service.

I will work to restore public trust in L.A. city government by leading with transparency, honesty, compassion, and courage. Our communities should have faith in our representatives to deliver and prioritize the needs of everyday Angelenos, not special interests and speaking ill of our neighbors, friends, and families.

I have a proven track record of putting people first, taking accountability, and I came into public service inspired by the pursuit of a more just society, not the prospect of climbing the ladder. I share the lived experience of many Angelenos and those personal experiences motivate and frame the work I do as an elected official everyday.

Now, more than ever, we need new city leadership. With your vote, I will continue fighting for affordable housing, decreasing homelessness, expanding mental health care, improving transportation infrastructure and pushing for environmental justice, parks and open space so our neighborhoods reflect the values and vision of a Los Angeles we can all be proud to call home.

I plan to continue delivering funding and resources to our communities and expand opportunities for community input while serving in office so there is a constant flow of communication between constituents and leadership. Participatory budgeting, revitalization projects, better paying jobs, and consistent community input should be the norm for Los Angeles City Council.

When I’ve had the opportunity to travel, I enjoy finding old libraries or churches with stained glass windows. I wonder about the people who have come through its doors and who will come next. It makes me feel part of something greater. I also have a rescue dog named Lulu who is a Maltipoo... She is my little best friend and I enjoy spending time with her while I cook and tell her about my day.

District 14 is at the apex of the housing and eviction crisis, and working families feel the impact everyday. As a tenant organizer and a tenant myself, we need fundamental change to how our city approaches homelessness and the housing crisis. We have all the resources available right now to stop this wave of evictions and sky-high rents. The housing crisis right now is the choice and result of the career politicians who take money and direction from their friends in real estate and luxury development.

As the district faces many threats from gentrification luxury projects that drive up rents, the availability of decent and affordable apartments declines. At the same time, there are tens of thousands of housing units across the city of Los Angeles that remain vacant for market speculation. The working class built these housing units, but it's the banks, developers, and landlords who own them and get to decide who occupies them.

To treat housing as a right, we propose overhauling many city departments like Housing and Building and Safety, using the many vacant units to permanently house homeless people, codifying tenant associations as bargaining units with their landlord or management, and overhauling and updating the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO).

These reforms to stop homelessness and poverty are only possible if we have a strong tenants rights movement that fights for these demands in every block of the district and of the city.

Poor and working class communities deserve the same level of attention to increasing pedestrian mobility and safety that wealthier neighborhoods across Los Angeles have seen in recent years. Vision Zero can be achieved, but it requires economic and urban planning that prioritizes commuter safety as the best measure of success for our streets, not vehicle speed.

We propose investing into L.A.’s crumbling public transit infrastructure and fighting for free and mass localized public transit. Under current traffic and infrastructure conditions, rush hour doesn’t ever stop for working class people who take the 101, 10, and the 5 freeways daily. We have the funds currently available to make all these demands a reality, but we need political leadership that is independent of the establishment parties — Democrats and Republicans who are only accountable to their donors.

Our top priority for public safety is to ensure the needs and well-being of working families in the district. We will go to the root cause of crime, homelessness, and economic insecurity by proposing a People's Budget designed to stamp out poverty while divesting from a police force which has never guaranteed the safety of working families. Workers created all the wealth that Los Angeles enjoys, so workers must have the power to determine how our resources best serve community goals like public safety. We propose developing violence interruption programs and treating housing as a right in order to address the fundamental issues in public safety.

Instead of sending out heavily armed officers who specialize in harassment and brutality, teams of community leaders trained in de-escalation and conflict resolution will be deployed to promote public safety. Violence interruption programs require sustainable outreach and engagement by the neighborhood’s own residents who know best how to handle ongoing issues.

Without stable living conditions, problems such as harmful drug addiction and mental health crises will not be solved. We must take swift action to permanently house the homeless and prevent others from becoming unhoused. We set forth this vision because we know our communities and we know that they want to believe that a better world is possible, that we don’t have to choose between false binaries, and that there is real power behind people’s movement to challenge the status quo.

For decades we've elected career politicians, and all we’ve gotten in return is corruption, racism, and betrayal in our city council. We can’t be fooled into thinking that people who make millions off of their career in politics can truly represent working families.

To end the scandals we need a new type of government, a socialist government made up of the poor and working class families who already make this city run. As a socialist candidate for city council, I come from the working class. I am a public school teacher, not a lawyer or a career politician. I am fighting for the rights and well-being of my students, my coworkers, my neighbors, and for my working class community.

One socialist member of the L.A. City Council can fight for reforms to get us closer to a better world, but only an organized working class can bring about the political change necessary to transform Los Angeles into a beacon of workers power. By engaging the community through the struggle for our rights and our power, we will achieve a movement and a vehicle that can truly meet the needs of this district.

We’ve developed a five-point socialist program for the district and for Los Angeles to focus on the most pressing issues, but this is by no means exhaustive. We cannot achieve these demands with a socialist city council member alone; we need the working class of Los Angeles to fight and organize for these demands that the rich and elites will want to reject. This can be done by forming tenant associations in every building, by forming unions in every workplace, and joining socialist organizations like the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

Before I became an educator, I [was] an EMT... most of my patients were victims of the opioid crisis — a crisis of capitalist greed in which poor and working class communities were flooded with highly-addictive drugs. This experience truly transformed my consciousness and political journey. I also write poetry.

Increasing our supply of affordable housing in Los Angeles is absolutely necessary. We must act with a sense of urgency to cut through bureaucratic red tape and build more affordable housing and permanent supportive housing in Los Angeles, as well as defend tenants from unfair evictions. This year, I partnered with Mayor Bass to exempt emergency shelters, permanent supportive housing, and affordable housing from bureaucratic processes and speed up the construction of much-needed affordable housing. I think we need to take a closer look at what steps are necessary to repurpose vacant commercial buildings for housing.

That’s why I proudly supported policies to fast-track approvals to build 100% affordable housing on most properties zoned for retail, office, or parking. I also support the countywide efforts to replace Measure H and dedicate more funding for housing. With all the state legislation that has been adopted to prioritize our housing supply, on the city council I will focus on effectively implementing the new laws, cutting red tape everywhere I can to get affordable housing built faster, protecting renters, and helping to create pathways to home ownership for working Angelenos.

We’ve seen more pedestrian and bicyclist deaths in Los Angeles than ever before. To address this, I joint-authored legislation this year that authorizes Los Angeles to install speed camera systems in school zones, on high-injury streets, and in areas with a history of speed racing. On city council, I will ensure the city follows through with policies and will also push for other traffic calming measures.

On a broader scale, the city can make a big difference in safety if it fills the many vacant Department of Transportation positions. As LAist reported, 50% of the positions charged with implementing Vision Zero were vacant, without a roadmap for filling them in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. Clearly, it is a life and death situation, and I will make filling those vacancies a priority in the budget and in implementation.

Another apparent problem with the implementation of Vision Zero has been ineffective outreach and engagement by the city — despite strong efforts by some. I’m an experienced organizer, and that’s how I would treat the job of getting communities on board by making sure they feel heard and see that their input has value. We can’t build consensus behind every project, but effective organizing can make a difference.

I’ve worked to pass common-sense gun safety legislation to help get illegal guns off our streets, including writing the law to expand access to red flag laws that help keep guns from people who pose a danger to their communities — including those accused of domestic violence. And I helped secure millions of dollars for law enforcement agencies to expedite their gun buy-back programs. On the city council, I will continue working to keep our communities safe from gun violence and other forms of rising crime, including retail theft.

After years of scandals and corruption, the dire need for Los Angeles city governance to be improved and held to higher standards is evident. I am committed to transparency, accountability, and equity and will only work to serve in the best interests of my constituents. I strongly believe we must establish mechanisms for accountability and oversight to ensure policies are carried out as intended and public trust is maintained. This includes a truly independent redistricting process as well as increasing the size of the council to ensure members are more responsive to their constituents.

I also believe that there needs to be a more thorough review by the L.A. City Attorney, and a fully-funded Ethics Commission, to review matters before the council to prevent conflicts of interest, whether they are intentional or unintentional conflicts.

Greater transparency and review will help rebuild trust — but only if the public is more engaged. As an experienced, effective organizer, my mission will be to bring engagement to much higher levels.

I plan to prioritize the needs of CD14 residents on Day One. This includes tackling the affordable housing and homeless crises. We must speed up the production of affordable and homeless housing — including adaptive reuse, tiny villages, emergency shelters, and transitional housing with wrap-around services addressing substance abuse and mental illness. I plan on creating good-paying jobs and tackling income inequality by making sure constituents can meet their basic needs, such as paying for health expenses, housing, groceries, and utilities. And I plan to ensure safe and clean neighborhoods with responsive and high-quality constituent services like street maintenance, tree trimming, litter cleanup, and graffiti removal.

I take pride in being a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu dad. My 7-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy train and compete, while I cheer enthusiastically from the sidelines. Additionally, I have a passion for playing soccer and was once an avid skateboarder, sparking my enduring love for Vans shoes.

Housing affordability is one of the main reasons that Angelenos are being forced out of their homes and onto the streets. Solving the housing crisis is critical for all Angelenos but it is a complex issue that needs a multi-pronged approach. I have remained focused on ensuring affordable housing is available to everyone who needs it by using our community plans as a tool to increase housing but specifically affordable housing through the implementation of the city’s first inclusionary housing program via the DTLA 2040 Plan.

Additionally, I have rolled out our city’s first pre-approved set of plans for Accessory Dwelling Units which my office funded, so someone who can walk in the door at the Development Services Counter at 1 p.m. and out the door at 5 p.m. with an approved ADU ready to build. These are the kinds of common-sense programs I have worked on to make sure we’re ready to meet the needs of our community.

Vision Zero has not succeeded at decreasing the rates of fatalities among pedestrians and cyclists. The reality is that just over 6% of all L.A. streets account for 70% of pedestrian deaths and injuries. I have several of those streets on the city’s High-Injury Network.

I have taken concrete steps to reverse this tragic trend. I authored a motion calling for a multi-year plan to upgrade all crosswalks city-wide by adding warning lights to let drivers know that pedestrians are present and secured funding to begin the initial design for upgrading our crosswalks.

Plans are meaningless without funding. I’m proud to have secured over $90 million within the first three years of joining the Active Transportation Program (ATP) Grants from the California Transportation Commission. These funds will be used to deliver improvements that increase the safety and mobility of pedestrians and cyclists while increasing the use of active modes of transportation, like walking and biking. In two major grants, one for Skid Row and the other for Boyle Heights, the funds will deliver essential improvements for some of the city’s poorest communities: curb cuts, major increases to pedestrian lighting, thousands of new street trees, and new bike lanes.

My top safety issue is the reduction of violent crime in the city. I want to make sure every Angeleno feels safe walking down the street, using public transportation, shopping or simply enjoying a meal outside. While homicides dropped overall in the city, some communities like Boyle Heights in Council District 14 saw an increase that required additional law enforcement resources. To deter these crimes, we need to equip police and prosecutors with the tools to go after the organized crime rings that are perpetrating crimes like the current rash of “smash-and-grab” robberies. Everyone who lives in Los Angeles wants to feel safe walking down their street or sidewalk, riding public transportation, or even shopping at a store.

We also need to invest in our city infrastructure to make communities safer which is what I have done, especially in communities with higher crime rates like Skid Row and Boyle Heights. That means ensuring there is ample street lighting, trimmed trees, and safely lit sidewalks to ensure there aren’t dark places that invite criminal activities. I would also propose seeing an expansion of programs like LAPD’s Community Safety Partnership in other parts of my district facing similar socio-economic challenges, specifically in areas with gang activities such as in District 14.

I understand and empathize with Angelenos who feel discouraged by the recent criminal corruption scandals and demoralizing events that have unfolded in our local government. I believe that our city government needs to be more transparent and accessible to all Angelenos. I also believe that when a mistake is made that a true leader should own that mistake and reconcile it for the people we serve.

That is why I have owned my role in the recorded audio tapes and have immediately apologized for any harm that I have caused to our city and my constituents. As a leader, I have always been willing to talk to people directly about the struggles that have faced our city and I have continued to do so. While I have owned my responsibility in the leaked tapes, I have also continued to do my job and serve my constituents throughout this time.

Angelenos need their city to provide the basic services so that they can thrive and that is what my staff and I have focused on during this past year. Since I took office I have brought over $150 million in funding to our district to provide better parks, repair our streets, and provide interim housing for those who are unhoused. I have made my mistakes but I learned from them. Restoring public trust means delivering tangible, measurable results for the residents of Los Angeles.

My team and I have hit the ground running since joining the council, and we will continue to do so if re-elected. Below are some of the things that we have secured and plan to build on during a second term: Homelessness in District 14 declined for the first time ever. We housed more unhoused Angelenos than any other council district in the City of L.A. Built more interim homeless housing than any other city council district — over 2,000 new beds. Built more new playgrounds than any other council district for District 14 children and their families. Removed more illegal dumping from neighborhood streets and alleyways than any other council district.

We also secured $150 million in outside grant funding exclusively for District 14 that will allow thousands of new trees to be planted, thousands of new pedestrian lights to be installed, and major improvements to our streets and parks. Secured over $8 million for the rehab of Hazard Park including the construction of a new soccer field and playground. Secured $8.5 million for the construction of the new 6th Street park under the 6th Street Bridge which will be built during the next few years. Secured $25 million for the rehabilitation of Hollenback Lake including dredging the lake. And spearheaded the improvements along Colorado Boulevard with construction of over 200 pedestrian lights to provide a safer environment for businesses and residents.

During my spare time you can find me visiting my grandson and reading Spanish books with him and singing Spanish songs. Becoming a granddad is the absolute best experience because it’s far less stressful than being a first-time parent. You get to enjoy the moments together with a relaxed sense of what really matters in life.

I will prioritize developing affordable housing in the district and throughout the entire city. This should have been a top priority for the District 14 decades ago, but due to the lack of leadership, vision, and representation, the constituents continue to suffer. I will advocate for a “pathway to home ownership,” whether a condo, townhome, or single-family home. It is imperative to look at our options and think innovatively on creating options for people in need of housing. Incentives for landlords, property owners and tenants need to be explored, addressed, and created to protect and help them. Checks and balances need to be front and center to develop housing communities that are viable and sustainable for all types of housing for people with a diversity of needs in District 14.

I understand one solution will not solve homelessness. It is going to take a collaboration of health professionals, advocates, social innovators, planners, educators, and other experts in the field to develop affordable housing with services for all types of needs. Creating and developing evidence-based programs that produce solutions to help the homeless population is a huge undertaking that will require a certain type of expertise, collaboration, and empathy to reduce homelessness at many levels. It is important to triage the homeless population to determine a conducive plan for housing that includes health and human services for a population of people who represent the elderly, the veterans, the disabled, the mentally challenged, the medically challenged, drug addicted, the undocumented, the families, the children, the women, the men, and students of all ages. There is a percentage of homeless people who are gravely challenged and unable to survive and thrive in society due to mental health conditions that require proper mental health care in an institutionalized facility.

First and foremost, the city, county and the state need to make Vision Zero a top priority to truly tackle it full force with a stronger intention and mandatory implementation to reduce the number of fatalities among pedestrians and bicyclists. I agree with CEO Michael Schneider of the Street for All organization, “We must build our streets to first protect lives. Real infrastructure changes” need to be done and adhered to along with conducive and effective bicyclist rules and regulations.

One rule is to prohibit wearing dark clothing when bicycling, running and/or walking. A maximum fine of $100. L.A. streets need to be user friendly for pedestrians and bicyclists, instead of the other way around which does not protect pedestrians and bicyclists.

My top public safety issue pertains to keeping constituents, businesses, organizations, and institutions safe, clean, and exempt from crime. I am a firm believer in “community policing,” especially in protecting the constituents and the communities of District 14. There are several ideas and plans to implement as a top public safety solution to issues that impact the quality of life in the district.

To empower, strengthen and improve public safety is simple and attainable by utilizing the following: 1) Increase and implement Neighborhood Watch Programs (NWP) in communities in District 14. 2) Collaborate with city, county, state and federal departments and offices that may warrant involvement based on the type of concern and/or crime. 3) Document the areas of concern, issues, and problems. 4) Free public transportation for senior citizens, the disabled and students. Increase disabled parking availability and transportation amenities. 5) Increase MTA police visibility at Metro stations in District 14.

I am running for Los Angeles City Council District 14 to restore respect, integrity, transparency, and service. My mission is to guarantee that all stakeholders have a voice and a seat at the table in terms of planning and decision-making processes, fostering a more optimistic future for Los Angeles City Council District 14. I am a third-generation constituent of District 14 whose journey has been marked by a relentless commitment to creating positive change for all people.

Unlike most candidates, I am neither resigning from my current legislative position nor a career politician who is termed out looking for his/her next job, nor an individual who just moved into the district to run for city council or interested in becoming a council member to run for mayor or higher office. Like many of you, I share deep concern and disappointment regarding the ongoing political corruption issues that hamper our city. This corruption has resulted in a lack of leadership and trust, adversely affecting the health of the constituents in terms of cultural, economic, environmental, mental, physical, and social determinants. The neglect and disregard for the past 50 years have exacerbated these challenges. I am an advocate who continues to volunteer my time as a community leader to improve the needs of the constituents living in the district and the city.

My plan is to ensure the constituents have a voice in terms of all land-use development and projects within a 500 ft. radius of their residence, business and/or property. Public input, comments, ideas, support and/or non-support are pivotal to the process of land use development in District 14. It is important to create and implement land-use committees that represent constituents who have a voice and some knowledge of, or not of, the land use development within a 500 ft. radius of a proposed project area.

Having extensive experience in land-use development, planning, implementation, and evaluation process of proposed projects such as housing, education, business, environmental justice, green space, infrastructure, community space, transportation, and health and human services, it is imperative for me to engage the community in this process. All development needs to be presented to the constituents, voters, taxpayers, and stakeholders and not behind closed doors as it has been for 50+ years.

I have several hobbies — cooking, creating documentary films and walking. My background in cultural anthropology and my personal multi-cultural background are pivotal in my passion to learn about other people, their histories, cultures, values, and belief systems. I believe everyone has a story to tell and share about themselves.