Pacific Palisades Residents Association (PPRA) hosted a CD11 campaign debate February 16 at University Synagogue.
Mike Bonin, current CD11 councilman, didn’t attend.
His two challengers, Robin Rudisill and Mark Ryavec, did.
Rudisill focused on issues of financial integrity, saying her background as a CPA and financial auditor was a strong qualification for anyone involved with making and managing budgets.
Rudisill said potholes have to be made more of a priority and that, overall, the city needed to do a much better job of planning. Community plans, she said, were often as much as 20 years out of date.
She said using excess city land to shelter homeless provided a quick and practical solution to getting homeless individuals off the streets. While she supported measure HHH, an initiative that was passed to add housing for homeless, she pointed out that Measure H – an initiative designed to provide mental health services for those being housed – was equally important.
Rudisill said Mike Bonin engaged in too many photo ops, with pictures of him filling potholes and trimming trees. She said she’d be too busy for that, focusing on bigger items and making sure those who are supposed to be filling the potholes in the first place were doing their jobs.
Rudisill said she had the “political will” to stand up and do the right thing. She also said the city needed more in the way of female leadership. Today, on a city council of 15, there is only one woman.
Ryavec said he wanted to work on finding practical solutions, like figuring out a way to balance the need to do more for homeless people in Venice with the concerns of residents in the area, who often feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the homeless population.
Mike Bonin’s policies, according to Ryavec, had made certain parts of the Westside “magnets” for the homeless.
Ryavec said the district was “in a tailspin” in terms of public safety, and that LA needed 2500 additional cops.
He also said LA faces over-development, and that developers could essentially “buy” zoning changes via their political contributions. For this reason, said Ryavec, he is taking no campaign contributions from developers or people outside the district.
Ryavec said two-thirds of Mike Bonin’s contributions come from wealthy donors, developers or contributors from outside the district.
Ryavec suggested that one lane of curbside parking be removed on Lincoln during morning and afternoon rush hours so as to create another traffic lane.
Ryavec successfully opposed offshore drilling years ago and said he’d continue to resist today, should Trump or anyone else want to start offshore drilling again.
Ryavec suggested local resident Elon Musk might be able to do more to bring about more residential energy efficiency, using batteries to store electricity derived from solar power.
Ryavec also said Mike Bonin operated in a secretive manner, and had “never met a developer he didn’t like.”
Ryavec cited Bonin’s support of the Archer School and Brentwood School expansions and the Martin Cadillac project as evidence that developers were too much in control.
Both Rudisill and Ryavec said they supported Measure S, which would slow growth in big developments in LA. Opponents of Measure S, including Mike Bonin, say it will slow the building of needed housing and cost the city jobs.
The debate was hosted by Pacific Palisades Residents Association. Sarah Conner, chair, welcomed attendees, along with volunteer Debra Hockemeyer, a resident of Brentwood. Frank Mottek, KNX Radio broadcaster, served as moderator.
Another debate is scheduled to take place February 27 at Windward School in Mar Vista, sponsored by the Westside Regional Alliance of Councils.
It’s not yet completely clear which candidates will be there, which will not. There has been a lot of back and forth on this.
There were several stories floating around the halls of University Synagogue the night of Feb. 16 regarding why Mike Bonin didn’t attend that debate, even though members of his campaign staff did.
One version claimed Bonin had a conflict that night.
According to a post on Facebook the day after the debate, Mike Bonin attended a gathering at Windward School to listen to a discussion on “Aging in Place,” attended by 31.
Critics questioned whether attending that event was really more important than attending a debate open to everyone in the district.
Another version had it that Bonin didn’t want to appear in Brentwood because many in Brentwood are upset with Bonin’s support of plans by Archer School and Brentwood School to expand their facilities, combined with Bonin’s support of the Martin Cadillac project at Olympic and Bundy.
Opponents of these projects fear potential traffic impacts.
A third version claimed that Bonin didn’t want to attend because Bonin thought the event organizers were supporters of one his opponents.
Event organizers said everything about the event was completely neutral.
, a Venice blogger with Venice Update who is following the race, wrote that Bonin wants to keep a low profile for as long as possible, because Bonin is assumed, as an incumbent with name recognition, to hold a big edge.
If he wins 51 percent of the vote on March 7, Bonin is “in” for the next five-and-a-half years.
Should Bonin fail to win 51% on March 7, that will lead two a two-way race in which the surviving opponent will have a chance to mount a serious campaign.
Of course, this is all speculation. While he has his critics, Bonin also enjoys support from many citizens and community leaders in Brentwood and beyond.
