Los Angeles City Council
Paul Krekorian is a Los Angeles City Councilman representing the 2nd District (San Fernando Valley to Sunland-Tujunga) and Chair of the City's Budget and Finance Committee. A resident of Valley Glen, he is a former assistant majority leader and representative for California's 43rd Asembly District. He worked for many years as a lawyer, specializing in intellectual property while working closely with members of the entertainment industry.
The effort to ban developer donations Photo by Tim Ahem There's a development boom underway in Los Angeles. Big commercial and residential projects are being built across the city. Not everyone is happy about this growth and Angelenos opposed to these projects argue that developers have too much clout in City Hall. So some Los Angeles elected officials have called for a ban on political campaign contributions from developers who have projects pending before City Hall. The proposed ban comes just two months before voters will decide on Measure S, a ballot initiative that would place a two-year moratorium on new development projects that require zoning variances or other special exemptions. Is such a ban legal, or is it "misdirection" from the real problem -- a dysfunctional planning process that ill serves a city in need of smart, optimistic thinking about how to grow for the future? DnA talks to developers and critics of money in land-use politics.
City Government and the Sharing Economy Last month, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Airport Commission approved plans for Uber, Lyft and other ride-sharing companies to pick up passengers at LAX. But members of the City Council put up a stop sign, demanding debate and discussion. Yesterday, a council committee heard five hours of heated testimony, as a transformative new technology met politics as usual.
Can LA Politicians Reduce Gun Violence? Gun magazines holding more than 10 rounds can't be manufactured in California. It's illegal to sell them or bring them into the state, but possession is not prohibited. On Tuesday, the LA City Council voted unanimously to impose a ban on possession within city limits. Paul Krekorian represents the East San Fernando Valley, and he authored the measure.
Fighting the Drought with Greywater In Los Angeles, each resident typically uses about 70 gallons of water a day, and a lot of it goes to waste — down the drain after you've washed your clothes or taken a bath. Greywater systems can recover about 40 gallons — a big saving in these increasingly dry times. Two Los Angeles city councilmen want to make it easier to install greywater systems : Mike Bonin and Paul Krekorian, who joins us.
The High Cost of Making Los Angeles 'Business Friendly' For decades, the City of Angeles has been called "unfriendly to business," in part because it taxes business at a higher rate than all the 87 other cities in LA County. Mayor Garcetti has long been a proponent of eliminating the business tax completely, and he's about to offer a phase-out plan .
What about Football in the City of Industry? Governor Brown and the legislature have accelerated the environmental process for Farmers' Field in downtown LA. Only two out of 15 city council members have any reservations at all. But the NFL still may like another site better -- in the City of Industry, on 600 empty acres, where the 57 and 60 freeways meet. Billionaire Ed Roski and Majestic Realty's Los Angeles Stadium Project could get the nod over Philip Anshutz and AEG.
Downtown Stadium Faces a Hard Sell Developers who want the National Football League in downtown LA "guarantee" it won't cost taxpayer money. To make sure that taxpayers won’t be left holding the bag, Mayor Villaraigosa, who favors a $1 billion stadium, has appointed a group of local leaders to analyze the plan. But the Associated Press has reported that all of them have ties with the developer, AEG. The group includes former Governor Gray Davis, who got $93,000 from AEG and affiliated companies during his re-election campaign in 2002. We talk with former Governor Gray Davis and others about real conflict and the appearance of conflict.
LA Budget Scuffle Continues Monday, the Department of Water and Power reneged on its promise to give the City of Los Angeles $73 million. Yesterday, Mayor Villaraigosa said that without that money, the city would have to shut down all but essential services for two days every week. City Councilman Paul Koretz called that a "game of chicken…absolutely a manhood contest," adding, "that's what it's been from the very beginning." For his part, Villaraigosa accused the Council of "demagoguery" and "the kind of scare tactics you saw around the healthcare debate" in Congress.
Krekorian Wins a Seat on the LA City Council In yesterday's special election to the LA City Council, State Assemblyman Paul Krekorian was outspent two to one. The City's most powerful unions endorsed his opponent, Christine Essel , as did Mayor Villaraigosa and Wendy Greuel , who left the seat vacant when she became City Controller. But yesterday, Krekorian won .
The Race for LA's 2nd District Council Seat Los Angeles' Second City Council District is huge, running from Studio City north to Sunland-Tujunga and from North Hollywood west to Van Nuys. After Wendy Gruel stepped down when she was elected City Controller, a special primary election was survived by Democrat Assemblyman Paul Krekorian and former Paramount Pictures executive Christine Essel , both of whom had to move into the district to run for the Council seat. The runoff will be held tomorrow. We hear from both candidates, as well as from Rick Orlov, who covers City Hall for the Daily News .
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?