CLEAN ECONOMIC JUSTICE

BUILD COMMUNITY WEALTH FROM THE GROUND UP

Council District 9 has the land, the talent, and the entrepreneurial spirit to drive the next generation of economic growth. For too long, development has happened around us without benefiting us.

Building it here means investing in green industry, high-road manufacturing, small businesses, and worker-owned enterprises that create good jobs, protect public health, and keep ownership rooted in the community. Economic development should strengthen our neighborhoods, not displace them.

    • Council District 9 has a long history of industrial and manufacturing due to its proximity to historic rail lines and downtown. Over 1,068 acres of the District (mostly in the northeast area) is zoned as industrial, which creates significant economic development potential but also concerns about pollution and contamination for surrounding residents.  For example the Goodyear tract, which was established in the 1930s as an airship factory and then a tire manufacturing plant, remains an active business district, with approximately $1.4 billion in sales volumes, 200 companies, and 4,000 employees (according to a 2018 report by the Urban Land Institute). However, many of the businesses are considered “hazardous uses” that put the surrounding communities at greater health risk. Using financial support and land use incentives to incentivize green industries will allow us to build a workforce for the future and create healthier and more prosperous communities for generations to come. Specifically we can: 

      • Create a Jobs of the Future Fund to support new green businesses, particularly in the Good Year Tract and along the Slauson corridor. 

      • Increase utilization of land use incentives for Green Businesses established through the Slauson Transit Neighborhood Community Plan.

      • Increase utilization of the Jobs and Economic Development Incentive Zones (JEDI) Program in the Goodyear tract, which provides incentives to businesses, including case management of the City development permit process, permit fee reductions, business consulting, and façade improvements.

      • Increase utilization of federal funding resources like Section 105 and CDBG to incentivize businesses to locate in the area.

      • Use tax increment financing programs like EIFDs to provide longer-term financing to support businesses in and around the Good Year Tract.

      • Require that businesses that receive financial incentives adhere to labor and wage standards and prioritize local hiring. 

    • As part of the Downtown Community Plan Update, Council District 1 advocated for the City to create recommendations to support garment workers, business incentives for garment manufactures, and funding strategies for implementation. The initiative was focused on the fashion district in Downtown, however, Council District 9 houses the Garment Worker Center,includes many garment factories, and many of Downtown’s garment workers live in CD 9. To support garment workers and garment manufacturing in the district we can: 

      • Provide business support for garment factories that comply with fair labor standards to have access to capital and technical assistance. 

      • Support a Garment Sector intermediary within the City’s Workforce Development Division to provide training, upskilling, and support for garment workers.

      • Partner with the Garment Workers Center to holistically meet the needs of garment workers and support the launch of the Garment and Fashion Industry Pilot Program, including workforce development, small business support, and sector-specific programs.

      • Provide real estate assistance for “high road” garment sector employers  to locate in CD 9.

  • Small businesses and street vendors are ubiquitous with the culture and values of Los Angeles. They are the backbone to our economy and to our community and are more likely to be run by families and be worker-friendly than larger corporations. Which is why we must support our local businesses just like they support us. Through policy we can:

    • Increase contracting opportunities for businesses in the district to partner with major entities like the City and County and USC. 

    • Advocate for the city to master lease ground floor commercial spaces in mixed-use buildings to provide below market rents to community-serving businesses. 

    • Prevent small business displacement by advocating for commercial tenant protections for community-serving small businesses. 

    • Expand the City’s pilot Good Food Zone policy to create economic incentives for businesses, including retail and restaurants, that offer healthy products.

    • Replicate the success of Mercado la Paloma by creating another incubator for food, culture and services in the District. 

    • Finance the creation of new industrial kitchens and refrigeration centers for street venders.

    • Increase resources at the City’s BusinessSource Centers to help street vendors obtain permits.

    • Establish a dedicated Small Business Deputy within the Council Office to serve as a direct point of contact for local businesses by providing technical support to navigate city bureaucracy, troubleshoot permitting or compliance issues, and gather input from small business owners to inform future policy decisions.

    • Expand financial resources and training to assist workers in forming cooperative businesses.

REINVEST DISTRICT REVENUE BACK INTO DISTRICT 9

District 9 generates millions in revenue every year from major venues, industrial corridors, and retail sales. Yet too little of that wealth is reinvested back into our neighborhoods.

Keeping it here means requiring that public dollars and locally generated revenue fund affordable housing, green space, transportation improvements, and community-serving infrastructure. It means ending wealth extraction and building systems that ensure our community benefits from the prosperity it helps create.

    • For too long, Economic Development projects and policies in Council District 9 have allowed for wealth extraction rather than reinvestment. 

      • Require that revenue from sporting events and concerts help fund affordable housing, greenspace, and complete street improvements. 

      • Require a portion of the sales tax revenue from cars sold at large dealerships in the district to support public transportation improvements, complete streets, and environmental justice initiatives in the district. 

      • Advocate for the creation of a Public Bank to support economic development and affordable housing investments

      • Proactively apply for federal, state, and local funding to support catalytic projects in the district.

  • A lot of our economic functions are scattered across departments. Establishing an Economic Development Corporation (EDC) would allow us to unify these efforts and move projects forward more efficiently. An EDC could put our city’s properties and resources to work for housing, strategic growth sector investments, and job creation.

    My office would ensure that the EDC partners with neighborhood groups to make targeted investments in areas like the Central-Vernon neighborhood and the southern parts of Council District 9 — communities that are too often left behind.

EXPAND ACCESS TO GOOD JOBS AND ECONOMIC MOBILITY

Council District 9’s greatest resource is its people. A strong local economy depends on the full employment, health, and upward mobility of the workers who power this city, especially those who have been excluded from opportunity.

Hiring us first means expanding pathways to union jobs, strengthening wage protections, improving access to education and apprenticeships, supporting working families with childcare, and removing barriers for formerly incarcerated residents.

When our residents succeed, our entire district succeeds.

    • Council District 9 is home to USC, the largest private sector employers in the region, as well as several other major employers and job centers including the Convention Center and LA Live. Other major employers including the City of LA and Cedar Sinai are just one bus or rail line away from many residents in Council District 9. Additionally, LA Trade Tech’s renown vocational programs create trained and skilled workforce that can 

      • Support and expand local hiring and contracting programs for large and mid-size employers and companies, with particular emphasis on employers that provide union jobs.

      • Support LA Trade Tech in connecting graduates of its programs with local hire and apprenticeship programs in construction and the trades. 

      • Increase and expand priority hiring for large employers throughout the city to hire from high poverty neighborhoods located in the city.

      • Expand the City’s employment programs like the Targeted Local Hire (TLH) and Bridge to Jobs (BRIDGE) Programs to leverage good-paying City jobs to hire more Angelenos.

      • Increase the reliability of bus routes that connect Council District 9 with large employment centers (like the 105 and 40) to ensure workers in Council District 9 can benefit from priority hiring programs. 

      • Increase outreach and education about local hiring programs by partnering and expanding services at Worksource and Youthsource centers. 

    • Advocate for citywide policies to increase wages, particularly in low-wage industries and particularly for vulnerable and marginalized workers (including people with disabilities, immigrants, youth, and women).

    • Increase wage theft enforcement.

    • Expand the universal base income pilot program.

    • Support outreach and services to ensure families are receiving the maximum amount of public benefits including Earned Income Tax Credits, SNAP, Utility Assistance, SSI, etc. 

  • Between USC, Mount St Marys, and LA Trade Tech, Council District 9 is home to some of the most prestigious higher education institutions in the country, yet only 25% percent of people in Council District 9 have above a high school degree and just 5% percent of people have a bachelor's degree or higher. To increase educational access: 

    • Support and expand USC’s Family of Schools program and partner with USC to provide more support for adult education in the community - including computer literacy, English language classes, etc.

    • Advocate for additional federal, state, and local resources to help support and expand LA Trade Tech’s programs.

    • Develop partnerships between LA Trade Tech and other higher learning institutions to develop and share new technological innovations in technical careers.

    • Support targeted apprenticeship programs at restaurants, trade unions, and other employment institutions.

    • Work with LAUSD to create vocational schools within the district.

    • Expand access to financial aid programs so that the residents in our district can afford to go to college or university.

  • One of the greatest ways to support working families is making quality and reliable childcare accessible and affordable to all. Not only does childcare help working parents, but studies have shown that early childhood education is very beneficial to a child’s development. Increasing the supply of childcare services, supporting existing providers, and providing childcare subsidies for lower-income households 

    • Work with local and regional actors to advocate for an easy-to-access and affordable universal childcare system that provides dedicated resources to parents and existing or prospective childcare providers - including financing assistance, permitting, business planning, etc.

    • Increase funding and utilization of childcare voucher programs like Crystal Stairs.

    • Colocate childcare centers in government owned or leased buildings to provide lower rents and services targeted to lower income households.

  • Individuals that were part of the criminal justice system face significant economic barriers upon release, which can lead to recidivism. To end this cycle of economic hardship and crime, I plan to coordinate local and county officials with local nonprofits to support individuals post-release.

    • Partner with local non-profits to offer expungement services 

    • Incentivize businesses to hire formerly incarcerated individuals, such as letting them know about tax emotions and other financial incentives

    • Create programs from the City alongside the County to offer an economic workshop for individuals that have been released or are about to be released

From Extraction to Reinvestment:

An Economy That Works for District 9

For nearly 100 years, the diversity, resilience and innovation of District 9’s residents have created a dynamic community of entrepreneurship and innovation, even in the face of systemic racism, neglect and disinvestment. Our streets are lined with vendors, barbershops, panaderias, corner stores, and home day cares that have flourished in spite of, rather than because of, our city’s policies. I am running for City Council to change that and ensure that our workers, businesses, and communities receive what they need to prosper and thrive. 

Council District 9 has one the highest rates of poverty and the lowest median incomes of any district in the City, yet we receive far less in city-supported economic assistance compared to other communities in the City. Whereas other districts have all received over $200 million for innovative community development projects (supported by the Los Angeles Development Fund), Council District 9 has received less than half of that. With the right leadership and vision, this type of funding can support catalytic projects that integrate economic and job development with affordable housing investments and create much-needed community-serving resources like grocery stores.

Economic development in the district has failed to provide significant benefits for community residents or businesses while increasing displacement. New, large-scale developments near USC have directly displaced long-time residents and businesses, not catered new housing to the needs of the surrounding community, and rented their retail spaces primarily to large chain restaurants. Sports and entertainment venues in CD 9 generate millions of dollars in revenue, but have not been required (by prior leadership, interests, etc) to invest any of those resources back into the community to support affordable housing, green space, or complete streets. This also includes the Districts’ numerous large-scale car dealerships that produce millions of dollars in sales taxes each year for the City and County, but none of that funding is prioritized to support the transportation and environmental justice needs of our neighborhoods. 


My Economic Justice Platform emphasizes investing in our places and our people to create thriving and vibrant communities rooted in the existing assets and needs of our community.