League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Los Angeles County, CA March 5, 2013 Election
	Odysseus Bostick Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Los Angeles; District 11

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What do you think is the single most important issue facing the City of Los Angeles today? As Council Member, what would you do to deal with it?

The single most important issue facing the City of Los Angeles is its unsustainable budget. Everyone knows that the current financial structure is pushing our city towards bankruptcy, but our leaders have been unable to address the real and growing problems in our finances.

This must, and will, be the most important job for any City Council Member.

2. The City Administrative Officer has estimated a $200M budget shortfall for 2013-2014 increasing to $300M in 2015-2016. What steps do you propose to deal with this problem, and how much do you estimate each step would reduce the shortfall?

The structural deficit emanates from unsustainable pension plans that were designed with unrealistic expectations whose costs will rise from 20% of the general fund today up to 50% of the general fund in 5 years. It is unfair and immoral to allow our city employees to continue working for a pension that will disappear in bankruptcy by the time that person is ready to use it.

If we just capped the city's contribution into the pension system at 15% of the general fund, then we would have saved roughly $200,000,000 this past year. Other potential savings exist (such as double-dipping, spiking your final salary by cashing in unused sick/vacation time, calculating the pension only on your final year's salary instead of an average of the last 3 years, etc..), though none of those savings are as large and immediate as capping the city's contribution rate. These efforts do not represent all of the ways to create sustainable pensions, but they are the most frequently discussed.

3. Do you support the ballot measure to increase the sales tax in the city?

I do not support the sales tax increase. It unfairly targets the working poor, will not keep pace with the growing structural deficits in our pension systems, and allows the city council to avoid fixing the problem for one more year.

4. What role do you feel the City of Los Angeles has to play in addressing climate change? Please explain in terms of what you as a city councilmember would have the power to do.

Of the many challenges we face due to climate change, the most precarious is rooted in water security. With scant natural sources in our region and a population growth of over 1 million in LA County this decade, we must focus on water conservation efforts centered on capturing water before it escapes into the ocean, increasing permeable surfaces in the city, and smart water meter systems to increase more efficient consumer usage. Over the long term, we should investigate the potential use of solar desalination plants as cost-benefit analyses prove more advantageous.

5. How would you prioritize your local constituency versus the City as a whole when acting as a Council Member?

It starts with a more responsive city council office in district 11 that will return phone calls, emails, tweets, and facebook messages within 48 hours as a rule of practice. We already have a council office that regularly attends neighborhood council meetings, but we need to expand that access to include monthly town halls rotating through each neighborhood in addition to expanding office hours to allow for working families to interact with the office at their convenience.

Finally, we must look at the efficacy of our council districts. Los Angeles has 4 million residents with 15 council members making $178,000 each. New York has 9 million residents with 51 council members making $110,000 each. I would advocate for doubling the number of council districts in LA while lowering their pay to match New York's.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League. 

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: January 10, 2013 12:22
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