Voters in Los Angeles and San Francisco Face Tough Choices
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Fifteen state legislators are in Maui this week with all five days paid for by lobbyists for corporations and unions. We hear about what's called the Independent Voter Project, learn who's in the run-off for the seat on the LA City Council vacated by Congresswoman Janice Hahn and, hear how with the system called "ranked-choice voting" in place, the candidate with the most first-place votes won't necessarily become Mayor of San Francisco. Also, if the Los Angeles Zoo goes private, what happens to members of public employee unions? On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, Iran's nuclear technology: is there a threat of war?
Banner image: San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee greets commuters as he campaigns along Market Street on November 7, 2011 in San Francisco, California. With one day to go until election day, candidates for Mayor of San Francisco are stumping throughout the city. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Making News
California Legislators Head to Business-funded Maui Retreat ()
How about five days at a posh resort on the island of Maui, all expenses paid, even if you do have to report them to the Fair Political Practices Commission? Fifteen California legislators, Democrats and Republicans, are attending an annual gathering this week, courtesy of the Independent Voter Project. Patrick McGreevy is staying home in Sacramento to report for the LA Times.
Guests:
- Patrick McGreevy: Los Angeles Times
Main Topic
Voters in Los Angeles and San Francisco Face Tough Choices ()
Eleven candidates fought it out in yesterday's primary for LA's 15th City Council District, which runs in a thin line from Watts down to San Pedro. Janice Hahn held it from 2001, until she resigned early this year to take Jane Harmon's seat in Congress. There will be a January run-off between two candidates who offer contrasts in several ways. Donna Littlejohn, staff writer for the Daily Breeze, has more on the race and the run-off between Assemblyman Warren Furutani and LA police officer Joe Buscaino.
In San Francisco yesterday, the race for Mayor was another test of what's called "ranked-choice voting," in which voters pick their top three choices and the outcome can be unpredictable. Last year in Oakland, for example, the candidate with the most first-place votes ended up losing. In San Francisco, Ed Lee, appointed when Gavin Newsome became Lieutenant Governor, got the most first-place votes yesterday, but did not get more than 50 percent. Rachel Gordon covers politics or the San Francisco Chronicle.
Guests:
- Donna Littlejohn: Daily Breeze, @donnalittlejohn
- Rachel Gordon: San Francisco Chronicle
Reporter's Notebook
GLAZA Formally Submits Its Bid for Zoo ()
The Los Angeles Zoo costs $26 million a year, $11 million from the city's general fund. So the City Council issued a request for proposals from private groups to form a private-public partnership. On Monday, the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association met the deadline. Rick Orlov is City Hall Bureau Chief for the Daily News.
Guests:
- Rick Orlov: Los Angeles Daily News, @Rickorlov
Main Topic
Iran's Nuclear Technology: Is There a Threat of War? ()
The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency has released a report expressing "serious concerns" that Iran is still trying to develop technology that’s only useful for nuclear weapons, and that it has enough enriched uranium to fuel a small arsenal, if it chooses to build one. Will Israel launch a pre-emptive attack? Should the US be more assertive? Is diplomacy possible without new sanctions that might threaten Iran’s economy?
Guests:
- Julian Borger: Guardian of London, @julianborger
- Ari Shavit: Haaretz
- Joseph Cirincione: Ploughshares Fund, @Cirincione
- Ash Jain: Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Links:
Underwriters
Which Way L.A.? is made possible in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which supports study and research into policy issues of the Los Angeles region.
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