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On December 1, six candidates running to replace City Councilmember Paul Koretz in 2022 gathered together for a virtual \u201cMelrose Votes for Safety<\/a>\u201d forum addressing the current and very urgent public safety matters facing CD 5 (e.g. shootings, robberies, home invasions, and \u201csmash-and-grab\u201d retail attacks).\u00a0 The forum was moderated by Liz Bronstein, from the Melrose Action<\/a> neighborhood security group.\u00a0 Candidates participating included (in the order they were introduced):<\/p>\n Sam Yebri<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 Attorney, former member of the Los Angeles Civil Service Commission, and board member of the Friends of the Westwood Library. Lives in Westwood.<\/p>\n Katy Young Yaroslavsky<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Attorney, Senior Policy Advisor for LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, where she helped create LA County\u2019s Office of Sustainability and the Clean Power Alliance.\u00a0 Lives in South Carthay.<\/p>\n Kristina Irwin<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Real estate agent and notary. \u201cI am not a career politician, lobbyist, or lawyer. I am a passionate mother, a frustrated community member, and a fed-up American.\u201d<\/p>\n Scott Epstein<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 UCLA policy analyst, eight-year president of the Mid City West Neighborhood Council.\u00a0 Lives in the Fairfax district.<\/p>\n Jimmy Biblarz<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Attorney, faculty member at UCLA Law School, union member and activist.\u00a0 Lives in the Mid City West area.<\/p>\n Molly Basler<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 Owner of Inside Out Fitness\/Wellness, taught yoga and meditation at Brotman Hospital Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Center, and formed the Green Dream Campaign with the West LA Democratic Club.<\/p>\n This was not the first candidate forum for the district, and it definitely won\u2019t be the last before the June, 2022 primary election, but it was a chance for many of us to get an early look at most of the candidates, and to hear their views on one very current and important topic.\u00a0 The discussion included opening and closing remarks from each candidate, questions from the moderator, and then questions from the audience.\u00a0 Candidates were allowed two minutes to answer each question.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n What would you do to increase safety and decrease crime in CD 5?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Yebri<\/strong> started things off by replying that as a father of four, \u201cthere is no more important issue\u201d than community safety, which involves working on both crime prevention and deterrents, as well as holding people accountable when crimes are committed.\u00a0 Yebri praised current Councilmember Paul Koretz for funding both an increase in LAPD overtime hours and better street lighting, and also lauded a new city ordinance<\/a> aimed at reducing the number of \u201cghost guns\u201d on the street.<\/p>\n Yaroslavsky<\/strong> said it\u2019s necessary to take a holistic approach to crime prevention, and said that, if elected, she would focus particularly on strategies to get more guns off the streets.<\/p>\n Irwin<\/strong> said that if she is elected, she would use her district discretionary funds to address issues of \u201cblight,\u201d such as trash and graffiti removal, as well as hold town hall meetings on crime issues, increase funding for police, and create a special LAPD unit to specifically help businesses that are being harassed or targeted by criminals.<\/p>\n Epstein<\/strong> agreed with Yaroslavsky that it\u2019s important to take a comprehensive approach to public safety, addressing culture, enforcement (e.g. with a leaner, more effective police force), and policy (such as redesigning Melrose Ave. itself to slow traffic and make it harder for criminals to flee quickly).<\/p>\n Biblarz<\/strong> said that if he\u2019s elected, he would try to create a civilian Office of Public Safety to work with LAPD and help with issues the police are not trained to deal with (such as homelessness, mental health, and addiction).\u00a0 He said he also wants to help reduce risks to people of color, get more eyes on the streets, to help make people feel safer, reduce vehicle traffic, and generally help people feel comfortable being out and about.<\/p>\n And finally, Basler<\/strong> said she, too, is a big believer in bringing people together, so she likes the idea of LAPD\u2019s mobile police stations, having town hall meetings at which residents and police can talk to each other, and talking directly with businesses that have been harmed by crimes.\u00a0 She said she would like to reform, but not defund, the police, and would like to bring in more social service workers so police don\u2019t have to deal with things like homeless responses.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n What are your views about street vending on Melrose?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Yaroslavsky<\/strong> said street vendors are a very important part of the local economy, but they can also present certain challenges when it comes to potential health concerns and blocking sidewalks.\u00a0 She said the city needs regulations for street vendors that are much easier to understand, navigate, and enforce than current policies.<\/p>\n Irwin<\/strong> said she understands how people can be divided on this issue, but that if the vending activity is done legally, with permits, it is OK.\u00a0 But she also said she would like to hear what local brick and mortar businesses think about vending in their areas, because it is a problem if vendors block access to storefronts, and\/or if they sell the same merchandize as nearby stores.<\/p>\n Epstein<\/strong> said he thinks street vendors are an important part of the local economy, but that current city council members have \u201cdragged their feet\u201d and haven\u2019t been able to implement a truly fair street vending policy that can be enforced effectively.<\/p>\n Biblarz<\/strong> said that he, too, believes that vendors are part of the \u201curban fabric\u201d of the area, but that we need a \u201cwin-win\u201d solution \u2013 such as making sidewalks wider to accommodate both pedestrians and vendors \u2013 which doesn\u2019t pit street vendors against brick and mortar stores.\u00a0 Biblarz also noted that it\u2019s currently very hard to start a small business in Los Angeles, and that street vending can provide a low cost step on that path for many people.\u00a0 At the same time, however, he said, vending shouldn\u2019t be an act of economic desperation, so we also need to address the issues of poverty that lead some people to street vending.<\/p>\n Basler<\/strong> said she supports \u201cstrategically smart\u201d street vending, and that she does think a good solution to the problems can be found if vendors and businesses get to know each other.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all about working together,\u201d she said. \u201cUnity is power, division is weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n And Yebri<\/strong> agreed with the others who said street vending is important to the area, but the city needs to more effectively enforce its own rules to help protect brick and mortar businesses.\u00a0 Yebri said it breaks his heart to see armed guards protecting brick and mortar stores these days, and the city\u2019s failure to enforce its own rules \u2013 on many issues \u2013 is one reason for the \u201clevel of lawlessness\u201d that has now taken hold in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n How would you handle calls about homeless encampments?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Irwin<\/strong> said that, if elected, she would hold public safety roundtable discussions monthly, to help identify homeless encampments with high crime rates and act quickly to address them.<\/p>\n Epstein<\/strong> said that because every homeless encampment is different, he would support an approach that acknowledges both individual and place issues.\u00a0 He said we need to drive resources to encampments, but we still need more temporary services and placements to meet the needs of various individuals.\u00a0 Those resources include safe camping and safe parking sites, he said, but not more congregate shelters.\u00a0 And at the same time, he said, we also need comprehensive housing reform so we can house more people faster and more cheaply than we do now.<\/p>\n Biblarz<\/strong> said he would use his office\u2019s funds to put more social workers on his own staff, to better engage with those in need and to better develop individual housing plans.\u00a0 We can\u2019t just sweep people away, Biblarz said, because they will just go somewhere else on the street. The only thing that works, he said, is developing strategies for long term housing, and we can\u2019t talk about addressing encampments (the tip of a much larger iceberg) without addressing the larger housing picture, which also includes millions of people who are on the verge of losing their current housing.<\/p>\n Basler<\/strong> said we definitely have to build more affordable housing, but we also need to deal with the larger gridlock and corruption in the current system.\u00a0 First, she said, we need to look at who is living in a particular encampment, and then find an appropriate place for that individual to go.\u00a0 One place to start, she said, would be to repurpose existing empty buildings, and also work harder to address mental illness and addiction issues.<\/p>\n Yebri<\/strong> said our current problem with homeless encampments results from a of lack of leadership, not money \u2013 the city recently spent $2 billion on housing, but the number of homeless on our streets continues to increase, and our leaders refuse to admit that current approaches aren\u2019t working.\u00a0 Every time a person sleeps on the street, Yebri said, it\u2019s a \u201cpreventable tragedy.\u201d\u00a0 We have to get people indoors immediately, and we can\u2019t cure hypothermia by building a new hospital, he said.\u00a0 Instead, we need to get serious about addressing mental health laws, and get the\u00a0 police out of the picture.<\/p>\n Finally, Yaroslavsy<\/strong> agreed that we can\u2019t just continue to let people live and die on the streets, and that we can\u2019t stabilize those in trouble until we put a roof over their heads.\u00a0 To do that, she said, we need to spend money on solutions such as converting existing buildings and hotels into housing, building tiny homes, and creating safe camping sites\u2026as well as more mental health beds.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not rocket science,\u201d she said, and we do have the money to do it, but just haven\u2019t had the \u201cfire\u201d to make it happen.\u00a0 Also, said Yaroslavsky, it will be extremely important for the city of Los Angeles (which handles housing issues) and LA County (which is in charge of health and mental health issues) to work hand in hand on solutions\u2026something she would encourage by holding weekly calls with LA County Supervisors.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n What do you think of Prop 47<\/a> (the new law that reclassifies certain theft and drug possession offenses from felonies to misdemeanors, allows resentencing of those currently serving time for felonies that have been reclassified as misdemeanors, and reclassifies those felonies to misdemeanors on the records of those who have already served time for the offenses)?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Epstein<\/strong> said he thinks the focus of the justice system should be on making sure people return to constructive lives after they\u2019ve served their sentences, and that the kinds of crimes reclassified by Prop 47 are not a significant source of public safety problems.\u00a0 Instead, he said, the current uptick in crime is more likely due to a combination of factors, including the pandemic, various policy failures, social inequities, poverty, ineffective policing, and more.\u00a0 To fight these, he said, we need to significantly reimagine public safety\u2026not by defunding the police, but by reallocating funds to more effective solutions.\u00a0 But so far, he said, the City Council has been \u201casleep at the wheel\u201d and just doubling down on things like LA Municipal Code section 41.18<\/a>, which criminalizes the homeless by making it illegal to sit, lie, or sleep in public spaces.<\/p>\n Biblarz<\/strong> noted that Prop 47 simply reclassifies certain kinds of crimes and sentences, so it\u2019s not the cause of our current rise in crimes.\u00a0 Instead, he said, we need to look at solutions that are not rooted in incarceration, which isn\u2019t a productive tool for people who are addicts or have other kinds of problems.\u00a0 So instead of vilifying Prop 47, he said, we should applaud its effort to take the focus off the prison system, whose mark is so strong that anyone touched it by my never recover.<\/p>\n Basler<\/strong> said she doesn\u2019t know whether or not Prop 47 has contributed to the recent rise in criminal activity, but that she agrees we have to look at the systemic roots of crime, and that failing to do so is like trying to put a band-aid over a wound in the jugular vein.\u00a0 Instead, she said, we need better schools (there\u2019s no reason Los Angeles should have among the worst in the nation)\u2026and to take other measures so we don\u2019t create criminals in the first place.<\/p>\n Yebri<\/strong> noted that Prop 47 was approved by 67% of voters, and did create alternatives to incarceration in some cases, which is good.\u00a0 But he said the law has also had some unintended consequences, which have emboldened gangs and criminals, and we need to admit those mistakes and correct them.\u00a0 That, he said, would be a test of \u201cmature leadership,\u201d but the current career politicians won\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n Yaroslavsky<\/strong> said Prop 47 was passed with the \u201cstaggering\u201d background of the U.S.\u2019s high incarceration rates, and it tried to redirect funds to crime prevention and ways to reduce recidivism, which are good goals.\u00a0 At the same time, however, she said one unintended consequence has been that drug use isn\u2019t being charged at all now, because police don\u2019t want to bother with misdemeanors.\u00a0 And while personal drug use shouldn\u2019t be criminalized, she said, we also don\u2019t really have places where people can go to get clean.\u00a0 Jail used to be the solution, but it wasn\u2019t the right answer, and we still need to create much-needed rehab facilities and job opportunities. So we do need criminal justice reform, Yaroslavsky said, but we also need to create pipelines to good jobs, and invest in safer communities in other ways.\u00a0 And it\u2019s not just a CD 5 problem, but something that needs to be addressed regionally, with the cooperation of many local governments and organizations.<\/p>\n Irwin<\/strong> said there are systemic flaws in the justice system, but there are now no deterrents for low-level crimes, which just results in people who commit crimes coming back and doing it again.\u00a0 \u201cWe have a system that favors the criminal and not the victim,\u201d she said, promising to work with Chambers of Commerce, other business groups, and the police to help the areas worst hit by arson, violence, and looting.\u00a0 More streetlights and security cameras aren\u2019t going to help, she said, without a strong District Attorney to prosecute criminals to punish and deter them.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Who would you vote for if you could NOT, under pain of torture, vote for yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Jimmy Biblarz<\/strong>: Scott Epstein \u00a0<\/p>\n Where do you stand on COVID-19 vaccine mandates?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Irwin<\/strong> said she doesn\u2019t believe in mandates, that vaccinations are a matter of personal choice, and that people should do their own research before deciding whether or not to get vaccinated.<\/p>\n Yebri<\/strong> said COVID vaccines have been proven safe and effective, and that we should incentivize vaccinations to help get as many people as possible vaccinated\u2026and that includes using vaccine mandates in specific contexts.<\/p>\n Biblarz<\/strong> agreed that vaccine mandates have proven effective around the world, but noted that the approach taken by LAPD (which quickly enforced the mandates) has worked better than the path taken by the LA County Sheriff\u2019s department (which has actively fought the mandates) has been much more effective at actually getting people vaccinated.<\/p>\n Basler<\/strong> said she, too, supports mandates, with the caveat that people who have specific medical complications should be eligible for exemptions. \u201cIf my neighbor is safer because I get vaccinated\u2026then, yes,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cWe have to get this under control so we can all be free once again.\u201d<\/p>\n Epstein<\/strong>, who said he works as a COVID case investigator contract tracer at UCLA, where 99% of students are vaccinated, said he strongly supports vaccine mandates in public spaces because we are a \u201chuman collective,\u201d and this is a matter of public health where individual decisions affect other people.<\/p>\n Finally, Yaroslavsky<\/strong>, a mother of two children still too young for the vaccine, said she supports vaccine mandates because every day she worries for her children\u2019s health. \u201cThis is a forum on public safety,\u201d she said, \u201cand if you talk about the biggest threat to our public safety right now, it\u2019s COVID.\u00a0 And we are not going to be safe as a city, as a country, and as a planet until everyone who can get vaccinated does that. And there are very few exceptions that I\u2019m willing to tolerate right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n What have you learned from other cities about solving public safety issues?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Basler<\/strong> said she has learned that Marin County and San Diego both have hate crime hotlines, in multiple languages, which allow people to report such incidents directly to the District Attorneys office for immediate action.<\/p>\n Yebri<\/strong> said he doesn\u2019t think we need to go elsewhere for answers, and we can simply look around Los Angeles to see that the places where crime prevention works best are those that have the best relations between LAPD and the community, and between residents and their Senior Lead Officers\u2026so he would like to help enhance those relationships.<\/p>\n Yaroslavsky<\/strong> said she has been impressed by the CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) Program<\/a> in Eugene, Oregon, which takes calls that can be responded to with social service workers instead of the police, and frees emergency responders for more critical incidents.<\/p>\n Irwin<\/strong> said that, in addition to her previously proposed special LAPD unit to deal businesses that have suffered threats and harassment, she would like to emulate New York City\u2019s \u201cbroken windows\u201d theory<\/a>, which takes the position that any crime, no matter how small (broken windows, graffiti, etc.), can lead to others if it\u2019s not immediately addressed.<\/p>\n Epstein<\/strong> said he likes the Japanese idea of creating small community police stations (k\u014dban<\/a>) and unarmed foot patrols in the community, which can help better connect police officers and the residents they serve.\u00a0 He said we should also be thinking more about how our built environment can help \u2013 such as by increasing the number of housing units and grocery stores on Melrose, to bring more people to the street, and more eyes on the street.<\/p>\n And, finally, Biblarz<\/strong> cited the Boston Miracle (a.k.a. Operation Ceasefire and the Boston Gun Project)<\/a>, which helped to significantly reduce gun violence by focusing on gun trafficking and gang violence in specific hotspots.\u00a0 The program involved a combination of non-profit and grass roots organizations, as well as the police, and addressed the causes of crime with programs that provided job counseling and even Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.\u00a0 Biblarz said he also likes the approach of the Red Hook Community Justice Center<\/a>, in Brooklyn, which engages crime victims in helping to figure out what kinds of punishments for criminals will make the victims feel most whole and safe\u2026which doesn\u2019t always involve prison sentences.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n If elected, what would you do to build better relationships with LAPD?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Yebri<\/strong> said he would partner with community organizations like Melrose Action to bring people together and build on shared values.<\/p>\n Yaroslavsky<\/strong> agreed that building relationships and transparency are very important \u2013 and that she would bring as many different kinds of people to the table as possible for those discussions.\u00a0 Also, she said, communication is important not just within our own community, but across district boundaries, so a council office should be able to integrate and build relationships both within the district and with other parts of the city, as well as with other parts of city government.<\/p>\n Irwin<\/strong> said she would make sure there is adequate funding for police to respond to criminal activity, but that support for LAPD and the Sheriff\u2019s office are not enough if the District Attorney doesn\u2019t do his or her job and adequately prosecute criminals.\u00a0 So she said she would also advocate for both increased funding for the police, and for a \u201chardcore\u201d District Attorney, as well as working with the community.\u00a0 \u201cIt takes a village,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Biblarz<\/strong> said he would start with talking to, listening to, and learning from the police, through a series of roundtable discussions.\u00a0 For example, he said, there are many parts of police work, such as homelessness and other kinds of intervention, that police aren\u2019t trained for and are not comfortable doing.\u00a0 So he said he would like to help remove those parts of the job, which could also help increase community trust in the police. Overall, he said, there\u2019s currently a \u201cdisconnect\u201d between what people need and what the police are offering, which can be closed with better conversations between the parties involved.<\/p>\n Epstein<\/strong> agreed with the others about the importance of building relationships at all levels, including staff such as City Council field deputies and Senior Lead Officers.\u00a0 Being a city councilmember, he said, has both a legislative component and an \u201con the ground\u201d component, filled both by the Councilperson and their staff, and relationships between them and other groups like the police are very important \u2014 so coalition building would be a strong focus of his, too.<\/p>\n And Basler<\/strong> noted that it\u2019s also important to build relationships within each neighborhood, between both individuals and businesses.\u00a0 She said she was surprised to learn that neighborhoods do have their own \u201cbeat cops,\u201d so she would like to help neighbors get to know both each other and their LAPD officers.\u00a0 She said she would especially like to do an \u201cuplift Fairfax\u201d project to help support small businesses in that area, and to help with the uptick in crime it has seen since the 2020 riots there.\u00a0 She said she doesn\u2019t think last year\u2019s civil unrest would have been as bad if the police had come out to meet neighbors and discuss the issues at stake before things blew up.\u00a0 She said they definitely need to be out and about more, and talking more to people in the community, while also not having to respond to so many calls that are not in their area of expertise.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Yaroslavsky<\/strong> thanked the forum organizers, saying keeping people safe is the number one function of local government, and one which she is committed to, from making sure streets are well lit to much larger improvements.\u00a0 She said she will use her policy experience to address both immediate issues and their deeper causes.<\/p>\n Irwin<\/strong> said she would focus on issues of blight, and is also very \u201cpro police.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s important that everyone\u2019s kids are safe, not just mine,\u201d she said.\u00a0 And one way to do that, she said, would be to bring police back to school campuses, \u201cso they can start that bond process with high school kids.\u201d She also advocated support for local police foundation events that bring the community together.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all know that we have big problems in this city,\u201d said Epstein<\/strong>, \u201cand that they require bold solutions.\u201d\u00a0 Epstein said he would try to build a city that\u2019s affordable to all, comprehensively reimagine public safety, and provide a compassionate and proactive approach to ending homelessness.\u00a0 And he said he\u2019s already trying to model that kind of community involvement with a number of community events that his campaign has been holding around the district.<\/p>\n Biblarz<\/strong> noted that he was scheduled to hold a community event the next day, where he invited people to come and talk about their concerns.\u00a0 He also reiterated that crime cannot be solved by incarceration alone, and that communities of color and the queer community are deeply discriminated against by the police, so we need alternatives to the current policing system, especially in the areas of traffic, mental health and homelessness.<\/p>\n Basler<\/strong>, a native Angeleno, said she has been \u201cwitnessing the demise of our city,\u201d and that she\u2019s running for office to help reverse that slide.\u00a0 In addition to public safety, she said the climate crisis is \u201canother huge tsunami breathing down our necks,\u201d and she\u2019s trying to run a \u201cgreen and regenerative campaign\u201d that focuses on those issues, too.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m here to serve the people, the planet, and the animals,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cWe all share this planet together, and it\u2019s important that we take care of each other.\u201d<\/p>\n And, finally, Yebri<\/strong> agreed that safety concerns \u201care the issues that keep me up at night as a father.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s clear, he said, that he status quo isn\u2019t working for anyone, and career politicians aren\u2019t doing their jobs, so we need new, serious leadership.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n If you\u2019d like to watch the full forum, it can be viewed at https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GjyzmH7khX0<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\nModerator Questions<\/h3>\n
Audience Questions<\/h3>\n
Molly Basler<\/strong>: Sam Yebri
Sam Yebri<\/strong>: Molly Basler
Katy Yaroslavsky<\/strong>: Jimmy Biblarz
Kristina Irwin<\/strong>:\u00a0 \u201cMyself or a clone of myself\u201d
Scott Epstein<\/strong>:\u00a0 Jimmy Biblarz<\/p>\nClosing Remarks<\/h3>\n
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