politics and tensions of metropolitan government los angeles
TRANSCRIPT
Politics and Tensions of Metropolitan Government
LOS ANGELES
History of Los AngelesFounded in 1781El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de
Los Angeles (The Village of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels)
Served as a home to Catholic missionsBecame an American state in 1850
Los Angeles as an American CommunityDuring the first 30 years of statehood, LA
developed a commercial economyIt would have remained an agricultural
community if the Southern Pacific Railroad did not want to build a line to Los Angeles
Within 10 years of the railroad, LA had doubled its population
LA and DecentralizationBetween 1900 and 1930 the population of
Los Angeles had grown from 102,000 to 1,238,000
The introduction of the streetcar and interurban train promoted decentralization and allowed people to move into the suburbs
City planners avoided the older form of the city and favored decentralization
City planners wanted to improve transportation
The AutomobilePublic transportation had stopped
growing shortly after 1910The automobile became the primary
means of transportation, which led to severe congestion in the downtown area
City planners hired consultants to rearrange and widen the narrow streets
Because of the congestion in the downtown area, many retail chains opened stores in the suburbs
Planners then began to turn towards the freeway in an attempt to recentralize Los Angeles
Map of Los Angeles
Major Issues
Taxation City Council
ANTI
Alex PadillaWendy Greuel
PRO
Tony Cardenas
Dennis Zine
Greig Smith
San Fernando Valley Description
Northern portion of Los AngelesHas numerous boroughs within the Valley Alone, the Valley would become the 6th
largest city in the United StatesPopulation over 3.5 million residentsSeparated from Downtown Los Angeles by
Mulholland Dr. and the mountainsFairly racially and ethnically diverse with
families ranging in the middle to upper class socio-economic brackets
San Fernando Valley Reasons for Secession
Lack of public services for the Valley despite high taxes
Each LA city council member represents almost 25,000 residents
Hard for individual communities to get a voice in Los Angeles Politics
Increasing problems with traffic crime, and poor schools
Residents feel neglected in their daily lives
Hollywood/ San Pedro Harbor Description
HollywoodKnown for tourism and the movie industryMore connected to the city than the other
neighborhoods that wanted to secedePopulation of 160,000 residents
San Pedro HarborTo the South of Downtown Los AngelesThe seaport into the cityPopulation of 81,000 residentsMore blue collar population with
Hollywood/San Pedro Harbor Grievances
Hollywood and The Harbor felt that there were many problems within their neighborhoods
However, they did not necessarily feel that secession was the best way to fix these problems
Many Hollywood and Harbor citizens did not know that their neighborhoods were included in the area of secession
The main advocate of Hollywood and Harbor secession was millionaire night club owner Gene La Pietra and not the residents at large
Differences in Complaints
Both Hollywood and the Harbor lacked the financial and political resources needed to secede
The Valley had a far larger population than the Harbor and Hollywood combine and was separated from Los Angeles by geography
Many in the Hollywood and Harbor areas felt that secession would hurt Los Angeles and would probably cost more in taxes
Hollywood and the Harbor were more satisfied with public services than the Valley
Talk of secessions in the Valley began decades ago, compared to a few years in the Harbor and Hollywood
61% of Hollywood residents did not want to secede; in fact more residents in the Valley wanted Hollywood to secede than actual residents of Hollywood
The Valley felt that the Valley was the most neglected part of the city, while Hollywood and the Harbor felt South Central Los Angeles was the most neglected
Many claimed secession in the Valley was guided by class based factors
The Valley and Hollywood made it on the 2002 election ballot, the Harbor did not
James K. Hahn
DemocratFocus on reducing crime,
creating jobs and housing, and improving neighborhoods
“We need to work together not break up"~Argues that secession would negatively
affect all LA residents People wanted dramatic reforms by
seceding, but Hahn set out to reform while remaining united
Pledge to reshape government by making it more responsive to citizens and more effective in providing basic services
Hahn has helped to raise millions for advertising about the effects of breaking up the city
Tactics in Attempt to Stop SecessionistsAdvertising campaigns
MailTelevision ads
Hahn used city resources to help in his fight to remain unitedHuge controversy, Was this legal?Ruling on behalf of Hahn stating that the
resources used were used before the issue was on the ballot
Fighting Secessionists Measure defeated December 2002Many public forums with secessionists
Often refused to sit on a panel or actually debate against secessionists, so would speak first then leave
Focus on financial and political risksStates publicly that if LA becomes smaller
they will have far less lobbying power in Washington DC, thus getting much less funding
Reformscreation of 58 advisory neighborhood councils
to represent communities throughout LAGives each council $50,000 annually for
expenses teamwork LA, government reorganization plan to create seven neighborhood service areas
Make city friendlier to businesses and residents alikePush for lower business taxes
Press for more federal funding for law enforcement
Will Hahn be reelected?Hahn up for reelection
Doesn't look promisingPoor record of getting help from Washington
and SacramentoMany people feel that nothing has really
been changed after the attempted secessionMany feel that the valley is still being highly
neglected by Hahn
Questions for Class Discussion