An election is looming tomorrow. Who is listening to what you have to say?
Thank you to so many friends and neighbors for your time and thoughts. It has been an incredible experience being a candidate for City Council in a city that I love. Almost 30 years ago I landed on Santa Monica Boulevard, and today I’m ever so proud of what we have become as a city.
It was only one year ago that we forged a new city flag. Today’s West Hollywood flag with our rainbow districts etched into its fabric represents the proud diverse city we are.
Our creative city would not be the same without all its drama. We are a passionate people who don’t give up, who don’t let up, who stand up to fight for equal rights, provide a safety net and dream of solutions to things much bigger then ourselves. Let’s never forget that beautiful day in June when the plaintiffs and their attorneys left Washington D.C. after winning the battle for same sex marriages. They flew here to West Hollywood to be with all of us. That moment still brings tears to my eyes.
There is so much more we can do to make West Hollywood fresh and stay true to our roots. I want to build a West Hollywood that is the capital of the LGBT world. I want to keep the dream that an oppressed gay kid in Russia or Iran can still find his beacon of hope right here in WeHo. I still think of Sunset as the home of rock and roll. Let’s celebrate our history and our diversity.
I’m a dreamer. Yes we can have zero-accident crosswalks. This city council has ordered two studies in the past two years. Those short-term measures that I advocated… well at least the cars are not hitting people. But it’s a mess. Let’s procure the mid-block crossing signals for Hancock and Westmount, and move on to the rest of the crosswalks that need attention. We need to light up Palm and many other streets. Public Safety is Job 1. Let’s get going.
People talk about affordable housing and rent stabilization. I’ve been to most every meeting pitching a simple idea. A person in a rental unit who can’t walk or is disabled and stuck on a upper floor unit should have an option to move to an available first floor unit. This is working its way through our aging in place initiative. Help me get this passed. This is a baseline to build on. If our goals are to be able to age in West Hollywood, then the most vulnerable need to be taken care of first. I want to sit to face with the biggest developers and come up with a plan for micro-units and unleash the private sector to create more affordable housing units.
I’ve been listening to you, and I’m exhausted talking about parking. I stood up against inadequate notice when the increase in the meter rates went to midnight. I begged to keep free Sunday parking, spoke out against the enforcing the parking meters to midnight and the increase in parking rates, the tow away traps. Yes, I’m going to fight to reverse these bad decisions. In addition your resident parking sticker should welcome you at any West Hollywood garage. Eat at our restaurants, shop at our stores from Sunset to Santa Monica and Melrose, and Beverly. Eat, shop and play in West Hollywood.
What about those giant cranes up on Sunset ? You ain’t seen nothing yet. Wait till 8150 Sunset project at Crescent Heights and Sunset, (not in WeHo proper, but it affects us), and the Melrose Triangle, Robinson Lane (The Factory) projects, and the proposed Orange Grove Hotel, the Spouts grocery store and the building that will replace Collar and Leash and the one across from Gelsons and on and on are under construction. We need to stop this over development and get our arms around its impact on our city. I advocate a master environmental impact report on the cumulative effects of all these developments. Lets put a 10 percent development fee on large-scale projects. If we had that right now with $2.5 billion in development we would have $250 million for mass transit. It’s time to slow down the growth in bureaucracy at City Hall too.
Then there is our social service budget. I’m on the Disability Advisory Board, and I’m partially sighted. Thank you to all my fellow board members, for it’s you for whom I will always advocate. People need help sometimes. I’m fiscally responsible but I know we can create new ways and public-private partnerships to meet the needs of our residents.
As a percentage of our growing revenues, our social services budget is down. One friend at a West Hollywood Housing Corporation unit was told “We can do more for you if you had HIV.” Well, that’s sad and ridiculous. We can expand our social services to provide an equal safety net for all.
Well my friends your chance to be counted is coming up tomorrow on election day. I love working for us. I never needed an election to enjoy the work and serve our community. You have to ask yourself what kind of council person you want? A part-time guy? Then vote for somebody else. I’m here to make a great city even greater. Let’s upset the status quo and put a community voice on the City Council.
Interesting how you tout the perceived endorsements from present council members that you have railed against Larry. Smells of hypocrisy. And will your response be that you’ve had coffee with them and that makes it all right? Win at any cost….
@Ed Buck I am kinda blown away that after Larry listed out all the ideas he has on his platform. Which are ideas and solutions he proposes and reflect what many in the community feel are significant living conditions of the residents, your reply is about campaign signs? I thought you were an activist and focused on solutions? I saw you first in the Meter Madness KCET story. And I respected your message in that. To not talk the issues in my opinion and get into a yard sign call out, I don’t think is helpful to anyone Ed. Including… Read more »
@Shawn Thompson. I too am disappointed in the promise that was the Block campaign. Lot’s of slogans and bluster, but much he attempts to hide. Like a billboard on Santa Monica Blvd, that he says he got for $1,000 for several months! It looks like about a $20,000 in kind contribution that he is attempting to hide. He has not addressed serious allegations stemming from the affair he had with Jimmy Coco resulting in a taudry lawsuit where both sides are sullied. Our activist community is being split by the false promise of LarryBlock. That is how Heilman manages to… Read more »
@SL, I have permission from both Heilman and D’Amico, did not speak to Prang but was the recipient of a donation.
Larry I just got your mailer entitled “Community Leaders for Block 2015.” It contains pictures of you with Heilman D’Amico and Prang. This mailer clearly gives the impression that these three have endorsed you for city council with is ABSOLUTELY FALSE. Is your excuse for this lie your disability?
His visual impairment is well documented. He is blind in one eye and partially sighted in the other. And he did not drove for years but recently was able to obtain a handicap license with a corrective lens for his impaired eye. I have been his asst and driver for over two years – Read his own words ‘partially sighted’ on the ballot. Anybody who knows him knows the truth – get to know him you might be impressed. He’s a solid standup guy.
Larry, you almost had me convinced until I read your reply to Ed Buck. You have repeatedly claimed you were legally blind and could no longer drive. My mother was legally blind, we never had a car. Buses and streetcars were are mode of transportation even to Big Bear and Balboa. Mom, two kids and grandma with suit cases on the bus every year.
This big lie just lost my vote!!
It is time for the voters and the candidates to say “no more” to the negative rants and focus on an intelligent consideration of the many issues that face our city. Why do we even tolerate the disrespect and muck-raking of people like Ed Buck? This is not high school Ed…it is time to grow up.
Mr. Buck if you’re so concerned with busting people why don’t you bust Joe what’s his name for taking down Larry Block’s signs and replacing them with his own. I personally saw his partner doing just that at one location. Anybody can pick up a sign at Block Party which many people have done to put up in front of their buildings. Larry Block is running a grass roots campaign that is not funded with dirty money that has a string attached to it. He has run a clean campaign without putting any of the other candidates down and in… Read more »
Ed Buck, – your the same guy that screamed at me in the street a .. ‘get out of the race you old fat leech’, and then screamed, ‘we should stick a fork in you to see if your tender enough for Thanksgiving’ .
Tom DeMille has been in my car once, your facts are you lies.. Tom has his own car. It’s amazing that the city could sit face to face with you and make any deal with regards to the fur ban or anything else. Your not a civil person.
This is the same Larry Block who has carpet bombed our city with his yard signs, placed illegally in most places? Fess up Larry, if you are willing to ignore the law on something as simple as a yard sign, how can we trust you with larger issues? (Yes I did see you at Ralphs driving Tom Demille around planting signs, even though you were cowering behind you steering wheel)……BUSTED
The title of this article should be as I wrote it: ‘Let’s get to work for the people’. Yes – I’m glad to go to city hall and be engaged everyday. But just wanted to put this in context of the way it was written and the theme of my campaign.