good morning. Welcome to LA on the Record, City Hall's newsletter. Helmed by Dakota Smith and David Zahnizer, we bring you the drama of the past seven days.

Los Angeles' elected officials are in multiple camps when it comes to Healthy Streets Los Angeles, a March 5 ballot measure that would mandate hundreds of miles of new bus and bike lanes.

On the other hand, some politicians supported the HLA (a group that includes city council members). marquise harris dawson, Eunice Hernandez, heather hat, Nitya Raman, hugo do–martinez and Katie Yaroslavsky.city ​​controller Kenneth Mejia also supports it.

The other four members of the council — Bob Blumenfield, Tim McOscar, tracy park and Monica Rodriguez — Although she said this week that she doesn't support the bill, Park appears to be the only one actively campaigning against it.

Furthermore, some politicians have declined public office. The group includes two of his most powerful elected officials at City Hall. Karen Bass and Council Chairman Paul Krekorian. They have remained publicly neutral despite the heated debate over the ballot measure.

On Thursday, city administrators Matt Szabo has released a report warning that projects included in Measure HLA will cost $3.1 billion, which could lead to difficult budget choices in the coming years. His report was released a day after the Unified Fire Department of Los Angeles Local 112 held a press conference on Skid Row, criticizing HLA for slowing emergency response times.

The HLA camp held its own press conference, insisting that urgent measures are needed to stem the number of traffic deaths. Supporters of the HLA also went after Szabo, accusing him of providing inaccurate cost estimates in an attempt to block the bill.

“What's interesting is that [Szabo] “He stands by his numbers even though they are clearly wrong and inflated.” michael schneiderfounder of Streets for All, who invented HLA measurement.

Szabo, who provides budget analysis to the mayor and City Council, defended his numbers, calling them “conservative estimates.”

The Times contacted Bass multiple times over the past three weeks about HLA. She said on February 2nd and February 5th that her team had not yet reviewed it. On Friday, a bus spokesperson said: Zach Seidl He repeatedly declined to comment. Krekorian said there were still “many questions.”

board members john leeHe, who is running for a second four-year term in the northwest San Fernando Valley, has also not taken a position.There are no city council members. Imelda Padillais also running for re-election.

Frank Lima, Secretary General and Treasurer of the International Association. Firefighters seemed angry that many elected officials were staying out of the fray.

“What is happening to all the politicians who are silent now and have not expressed any position? Their silence speaks volumes,” Lima said at an anti-HLA press conference. .

So far, Park is the only L.A. elected official actively campaigning against HLA, and several years before he took office, his West Side district had been involved in a It was the subject of controversy. Park, a close ally of the firefighters union, called the HLA “thugs” this week.

Others spoke in softer tones. Although Blumenfield voted against the HLA, he said he would not actively oppose the bill. He said that while he agrees with much of what the campaign is trying to accomplish, he disagrees with the idea of ​​”ballot box budgeting.”

“There are too many unanswered questions for me to help,” Rodriguez said.

Measure HLA was created by Streets for All, an advocacy group that promotes strategies to slow car and truck traffic and make streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians. Supporters secured signatures in 2022 to force the proposal onto this year's ballot. Since then, the pro-HLA campaign has been successful in building coalitions both inside and outside City Hall.

On Thursday, four City Council members Hernandez, Raman, Soto Martinez and Yaroslavsky stood near a giant HLA sign and said the City Council has dragged its feet for too long on completing street safety projects included in mobility. , advocated this measure. Plan, transportation planning document approved in 2015.

Yaroslavsky said he is determined to make the streets of his West Side neighborhood less dangerous for voters, especially school children. She said in an interview that it's “terrible” that drivers are driving 50 or 60 miles per hour down La Cienega Boulevard every day “because they can.”

“I want bike lanes on every major road in Los Angeles,” she said.. “I want all the bike lane infrastructure in place. [Mobility] Make plans and then want it in other places where it makes sense. ”

parliamentary aide Current price He did not answer about HLA.board members kevin de leonsaid through a spokesperson that HLA's fate is up to voters.

State of play

— Labor shortage: Mayor Karen BassEfforts to expand the Los Angeles Police Department have so far fallen short, according to a new assessment by the city's top budget analyst. Bass had hoped to bring the LAPD's number of officers back to about 9,500 by June 30, but the latest projections show that number is likely to drop to 8,908. has been done.

— pointing: Former parliamentary aide Current price She filed a retaliation claim against the city of Los Angeles, alleging that she was referred to as a “snitch” in connection with the district attorney's criminal case against a city council member. Ms. Price's office denies her accusations, saying he harassed other members of her inner circle.

— Based action: The mayor went to Sherman Oaks last weekend to encourage supporters of the councilman. Nitya Raman, is currently running for a second term in the March 5 election. Yaroslavsky and participants from SEIU 2015, LA Forward, and other organizations also participated.

— School Out: A private school that rented space at the Los Angeles Grand Hotel was forced to close due to negative interactions with the hotel's homeless residents, the lawsuit said. The LA Grand is used as part of Bus's Inside Safe program, which moves unhoused Angelenos from encampments to hotel and motel rooms.

— The housekeeper is also out.:Meanwhile, the hotel employees at LA Grand, went on strike this week, set up a tent village outside City Hall to advocate for better wages and working conditions. Unite Here He Local 11 has been demanding that city leaders intervene on these issues.

— Graffiti Gulch: The City Council voted Friday to spend nearly $4 million to secure unfinished downtown skyscrapers and remove graffiti from their exteriors. The City Council motion also asked the city attorney to report within 30 days on a strategy to recover the city's costs from property owners.

— County Crow: One year after declaring a local state of emergency over homelessness, Los Angeles County officials say efforts to move people indoors are “undoubtedly having an impact.” Last year, 23,664 people moved into apartments and other permanent housing in Los Angeles County, an 18% increase from 2022, according to county data.

— IE influx: Last week we talked about some of the independent spending campaigns being run on behalf of Deputy City Atty. ethan weaverstate legislator miguel santiagoLos Angeles City Council member heather hat and other City Council candidates.Member of Parliament revealed reggie jones sawyeris currently playing against the Hutts in South LA, but also benefits from some major IEs.

As of noon Friday, Service Employees International Union Local 721, Smart Justice California, and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians had spent a combined $220,000 promoting his campaign. SEIU Local 721 represents thousands of city workers.

— More big bucks: In the San Fernando Valley, BizFed PAC is the latest group to make independent expenditures on behalf of city council members. john leespend over $17,000 campaign mailer. That means IE's funding to support Lee in the race for nonprofit leaders now stands at nearly $800,000. Serena Oberstein.

lindsay buberMr Oberstein's political consultant slammed the outside spending, saying special interests were “trying to buy” Mr Lee's re-election. “They're afraid of the changes Serena will bring, and obviously they're afraid of the community behind her,” she says.

Pat Dennis, Lee's political consultant said the costs of these IEs are paid for by police officers, firefighters and other city employees. “The fact that Ms. Oberstein's camp calls them 'special interests' shows how out of touch and divorced her camp is from reality,” he said.

quick hit

• Where is Inside Safe? Bass' team said the mayor's program to combat homelessness began this week in areas in South Los Angeles, including Grand Street between Vernon Street and 58th Street, Hoover Street on the 105 Freeway, and streets near Obama Boulevard and La Brea Street. It was carried out in several locations. The mayor's aide said some areas had previously been targeted by Inside Safe and were repopulating.

• On next week's calendar: City Council Planning and Land Use Management Committee meet on tuesday Discuss strategies to maintain affordable housing and reduce displacement in South Los Angeles