Tom LaBonge Wants to Balance the Budget, Continue Public Safety and Improve Schools

Editor's note: This is the second in a series of three candidate profiles Patch will be running leading up to the March 8 election. Newcomers Tomas O'Grady and Stephen Box challenge the City Council District 4 incumbent, Councilman Tom LaBonge.

Name: Tom LaBonge

Age: 57

Current neighborhood: Silver Lake

Number of years in District 4:  Lifelong resident

Occupation: City Councilmember, 4^th District

Hometown: Silver Lake

Education: B.A. in Sociology, California State University Los Angeles

Family: Brigid, wife; Mary-Cate, daughter; Charles, son.

Favorite movie: The Wizard of Oz

Patch: What do you consider to be your greatest achievement as a Los Angeles City Councilmember?

LaBonge: I’m most proud of the huge gains we’ve made in the area of public safety. I’ve worked hard to partner with law enforcement and communities on Neighborhood Watch and block captain programs. Crime is down in every part of the district, and city it’s down to the lowest levels since the 50's. Part of our district was named the United States’ safest big city neighborhood. I want to work with police officers and firefighters – who have endorsed me for re-election – to ensure that we maintain these gains and keep things moving in the right direction.

Patch: With city revenue sluggish (if not declining), how would go about the challenging task of balancing the city budget?

LaBonge: We have to take bold steps to restore Los Angeles’ long-term financial health. We are going to have to prioritize core services such as public safety, public works and street services. Beyond that, we’re going to need to make some significant sacrifices. I believe that everyone in the city, including our employees, need to be willing to come to the table ready to make real sacrifices. The picture is grim. We are going to have to re-engineer the way the city works and reduce overhead, like many other employers in the region. Specifically, I believe we should consolidate functions among city departments and implement a 32-hour work week for workers providing non-essential services.

Patch: Social media plays a huge role people’s lives, especially young people. How does your office incorporate social media into job? How do you keep your constituents engaged?

LaBonge: We communicate with the district through social media primarily by Facebook. We do have a Twitter account but we’ve found that Facebook is the site that serves the greatest majority of our constituents. Facebook is proving to be a fantastic way to communicate with residents about public safety or district events. We work to keep constituents engaged both online through Facebook, and offline by sponsoring community clean-ups, hikes, and bike rides.

Patch: Broken, cracked and severely uneven sidewalks and potentially car-damaging potholes seem to be an increasing problem. How can these seemingly small problems be tackled more efficiently?

LaBonge: This question is very important because these hazards create serious safety risks. Unfortunately, the city is in a tough spot right now, and our focus needs to be on doing our best to find ways to consolidate functions and reduce non-essential services so we can preserve core services. I consider pothole repair to be a core service and I will always fight to make sure that our district gets its fair share of street repair services.

Patch: Parking in Hollywood is expensive and very inconvenient. This not only affects local residents, but tourism as well. Many people will seek out more convenient areas of the city to do their shopping, dining, see movies or run errands. How can Hollywood improve parking or promote alternative transportation options to avoid lost revenue?

LaBonge: First of all, I have worked hard to promote use of the Metro among the residents of my district. We all need to pitch in to address our transportation problems, and lifestyle changes are a big piece of the puzzle. We need to walk and bicycle whenever we can (it’s good for your health, too) and we need to use the subway as well as services such as DASH. In terms of parking, we need to expand our infrastructure in Hollywood. That means being on the lookout for land so we can build new structures whenever possible. I think it’s important to mention that I oppose the effort to lease the city parking garages to private investors – I do not believe the plan is viable.

Patch: In recent years, police, fire and other emergency services have seen their budgets slashed. Safety is very important to any community. Do you believe there is a way to make the departments smaller, yet more efficient so that services are not reduced so much that safety is in jeopardy? (Example: The communications department at LAFD only staffs three people, but they now use social media, like Twitter, and a live-streaming website, UStream, to get info out quickly, especially during breaking news.)

LaBonge: Cutting police, fire, and emergency services budgets any further is something we should do only as a last resort. The department has become so effective during the Bratton/Beck era. If we continue to police the city in a smart, effective way and keep crime down, it is going help L.A. businesses benefit from a strong economic recovery, which will help our overall bottom-line. That said,  I’m hugely supportive of efforts by the LAPD and LAFD to cut their budgets in ways that preserve police and fire protection for the taxpayers.

Patch: As we all know, the economy has been stagnant for a number of years, causing many District 4 constituents to lose their jobs or become severely under-employed. What have you done to bring more jobs, and more quality jobs, to District 4?

LaBonge: I was a leader in the effort to persuade a local bio-tech company, Baxter, to make big investments in the plant that employs many residents of our district. On the city council, I voted to reform and cut the city business tax, which has helped many local employers provide jobs. In my next term, I want to create more incentives to bring manufacturing and film production jobs back to the region for the benefit of District 4 residents. I’m very proud to have the endorsement of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) PAC, and I am also supported by members of the Hollywood, Toluca Lake and Universal-North Hollywood Chambers of Commerce.

Patch: What are your goals to improve the LAUSD schools in District 4?

LaBonge: I’m an LAUSD graduate, and I’ve been a committed volunteer and advocate for local public schools since the beginning of my work as a public servant. I’m very proud of the safety programs we’ve succeeded in enacting at Thomas Starr King Middle School in Silver Lake, as well as our successful CD4 school collaborative meetings. I am a big believer in after-school programs. If we give kids a safe place to engage in positive activities between the hours of 3 and 6 p.m., they will do better in school and they’ll stay out of trouble. I believe we must find a way to protect successful programs like LA’s BEST during this time when the budget is severely challenged.

Patch: What plans do you have to improve environmental awareness in District 4?

LaBonge: I’m a lifelong advocate for Griffith Park and for parks across Los Angeles. I regularly host community cleanups, hikes, and bike rides to educate residents about the incredible environmental and open space features of our district. People will respect the environment more if they have the opportunity to go out and enjoy it and learn about it. That’s why I believe we need to ensure that every neighborhood in Los Angeles has access to a safe and clean park.

Patch: How do you think the city council can improve and secure steep areas of land to prevent massive rain-related landslides like the one at the Hollywood Reservoir in 2005 and smaller events in the Hollywood Hills?

LaBonge: I have been working with the Department of Water and Power since I began my career as a public servant in the 1970s. Currently, I am working with expert engineers and technicians at the DWP to make sure the land is stabilized so that we avoid another landslide and preserve the homes on Lakeridge. I make it a priority to ensure that DWP addresses other areas that are threatened by slide damage in a swift and effective manner.

FULL CITY ELECTION COVERAGE

Measure L. Cops Take on Measure L

Measure N. 

Measure P. 

Measure Q. Measure Q Would Ease City Hiring Requirements

District 4. 

District 4. 

 Stay tuned for more on Patch.