General Manager's Update 

I hope this newsletter finds you well. We had a very informative look back at the origins of the Neighborhood Council system on Saturday with the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners' founders panel of Greg Nelson, Jerry Gaines and Raphael Sonenshein. If you weren't able to make it, we recorded the event. You can watch it and track the Plan review process here. I'm looking forward to working with the Commission and Neighborhood Councils for the next 4 months to create a better Plan for all of us.

 

I'm happy to report that the City Clerk and the Department have come up with a proposal to join efforts to administer the 2014 Neighborhood Council elections. The election process and procedures will be similar to how we ran the elections in 2012, and the City Clerk will use their talents for the back office function of candidate filing, ballot printing, vote-by-mail processing, polling supplies management and post election survey compilation. 

 

This great partnership will allow the Department to work with the Independent Election Administrators to focus on citywide and local election outreach and election day execution. We'll be laying out the details in our post election report to Education and Neighborhood Committee this month as well as requesting a change in the election ordinance to give the Department the authority to administer the elections with assistance from the City Clerk. I'll have a draft of the report ready for Neighborhood Council review and input next week. 

 

If I don't see you at the LANCC tomorrow, I hope you have a great weekend!

  

Best,

                                  

Grayce Liu, 

General Manager

Department of Neighborhood Empowerment  

 

Empower Yourself.   

Empower Your Community. 

Empower LA.

    

Neighborhood Council leaders from around the city convened this past Saturday for "Looking Back: A History of the Neighborhood Council Movement in Los Angeles," hosted by Commissioner Douglas Epperhart and featuring a robust conversation with the pioneers of Civic Engagement. View video of Saturday's session here...

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"You have to keep organizing
all the time. You can't ever stop organizing."

"You have to keep organizing all the time. You can't ever stop organizing," explained Ted Thomas, President of the Park Mesa Heights Neighborhood Council. Though Thomas is a soft-spoken man in his 70s with a grandfatherly air, he is a force in local politics and has led his community to some recent high-profile victories...

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Mayor's Office releases the 2013

Los Angeles Budget Challenge!

How would you fill a $216 million budget gap and balance the City's budget? You and your fellow Neighborhood Council members and stakeholders are encouraged to provide your input by taking the 2013 Los Angeles Budget Challenge at...

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Funding Update 1.31.13

IMPORTANT DATES / DEADLINES

* February 28, 2013 - Treasurer's Training
* May 15, 2013 - Last Day to Submit Complete Demand Warrants and Neighborhood Purpose Grants.
The Funding Unit will hold the next Treasurer's Training on Thursday, February...

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News from Field Operations 1.31.13 

The Department's Field Division has been busy making final transitions in regards to their regional Neighborhood Council assignments. We have been working on our training and education schedule, which we hope to roll out next week. In the meantime, please save the date for the upcoming Ethics & Open Government training...

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My 203-Vote Electoral Landslide

I never would have predicted that being priced out of Silver Lake would be my first step toward winning elective office. But that's how it began. Silver Lake, my favorite place in L.A., was where I vowed I'd live and die. But when I approached 30 and started looking for a home to buy, I quickly realized if I was going to die in Silver Lake it was going to be as a renter...

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Recruiting now for the February RACO Program

Are you interested in trying something different? The RACO Program welcomes volunteers to become Reserve Animal Control Officers serving in the same capacity as our Animal Control Officers. The program requires a commitment of...

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Crisis Response Team Now Recruiting - March 2013

The Crisis Response Team (CRT) program is composed of professionally trained civilian community volunteers who respond to traumatic incidents at the request of the Los Angeles Police and Fire Departments in each of the fifteen Council Districts. CRT volunteers provide immediate on-scene crisis intervention, attend to...

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