good morning. Welcome to LA on the Record, City Hall’s newsletter. Dakota Smith, Julia Wick and David Zernaiser sweated this week.

It’s hard to predict in this summer’s heat, but the 2024 primaries for several seats on the Los Angeles City Council are just seven months away. One city council election is particularly noteworthy. Not only because of the large sums of money raised, but also because it is the only election in which no incumbent is guaranteed, leaving a wide campaign.

city ​​council president Paul KrekorianHe, who represents parts of the eastern San Fernando Valley, will retire after 15 years due to term limits.

An Armenian-American, Krekorian oversees the constituency with the highest proportion of Armenian-American voters in the city (about 9%, according to Political Data). At least two Armenian-American candidates in the campaign have raised significant sums of money.

former state legislator Adrin Nazarianjumped into the race last year and raised over $432,000. Sam KubusianThe former union organizer and business owner attended the race this spring and quickly raised more than $222,000, according to an Ethics Commission report.

Kubusian previously ran for the Hollywood District City Council in 2013, finishing third. He also ran unsuccessfully for the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees in 2015. Nazarian previously served as Krekorian’s chief of staff in both Congress and City Hall.

It’s no secret that Armenian-American voters will vote in large numbers in the LA elections. Armenian-Americans made up about 12% of those who returned ballots in the recent District 6 primary election, despite making up about 4% of the electorate in the district.

rose grigorianA marketing consultant who is also Armenian-American and ran for a recent election to replace the former city council president. Nouri Martinez And came in 4th place. She ultimately backed the winner, Imelda Padilla.

In the March 2024 primary, Kubusyan and Nazarian could help divide votes among Armenian-American voters.

Other candidates running for office are: Manuel GonesTree People executive and school board husband Kelly Goness; John Paul Byrd, a marriage and family therapist.Health care workers Gillian Burgosand a talent agent Willie Fort.

political consultant Eric HakopianThe president of Narazuan dismissed concerns about a split vote among Armenian-Americans and attacked Kubusyan.

“I’m not talking about equality between the two,” Mr Hakopian said, referring to the work of Mr Nazarian, who represents the Eastern Valley in the state legislature. He also called Kubusyan “someone no one has heard of.”

Kubussian said Hakopian must be “desperate” for making such a comment. He also labeled Nazarian as a “recycled politician” and part of a “political machine.”

“We need new thinkers and new elected officials,” Kubussian said.

Crecorian’s second district includes North Hollywood, Studio City, Sun Valley, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, Valley Village, and Van Nuys.

The district’s election is one of seven city council elections scheduled for next March.City council member Kevin De Leon He has yet to file papers to run for a seat on the city’s East Side. If he does run, it would be the only city council election in which a seat in District 2 is wide open.

state of play

— Donating to a police officer will give you the following benefits: Mayor Karen Bass She and the city’s negotiating team announced they had struck a deal with a union representing nearly 9,000 police officers to increase the starting salary of the LAPD by 13%, with pay increases of 3% over four years through 2027. bottom. The agreement still requires members’ ratification votes and city council approval.

— reunion of rivals: Former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso met with Base at City Hall on Tuesday. A spokesperson for Caruso said Bass initiated the meeting, and the two had a fun and productive conversation about how they could make LA a better place. Mr Bass’ team confirmed the meeting took place but declined to comment further. (Bass and Caruso had a warm relationship in the years before the election, but things took a turn for the worse in the final stages of the campaign.)

— New zoo approved: The city council on Wednesday backed a major renovation plan for the Los Angeles Zoo, which was opposed by neighborhood groups and environmental groups, citing concerns over construction in Griffith Park.

— for the creatures: The city of Los Angeles is poised to pass stricter regulations for building on the hillside between highways 101 and 405. Proponents want to limit growth to protect wildlife habitat. Gwyneth Paltrow is one of the bill’s opponents, arguing that the new building regulations unduly limit the amount that can be built and hurt property values.

– Drop out: The Los Angeles Department of Homeless Services has begun reporting figures from its Inside Safe program on buses that are moving homeless people off the streets to hotels and motels. One of the numbers that popped out: 1 in 6 came out of the housing provided as part of Inside Safe. In some cases, according to LAHSA, homeless residents are “served from the street” — no longer living in municipal housing, but are still in contact with outreach workers.

— Achieve 100: in the meantime, Va Lesia Adams Kelm, On his 100th day in office, LAHSA’s executive director told reporters his agency was working to reduce the time it takes to move homeless Angelenos from temporary shelters to permanent housing.

— Remake Mayfair: Bass is pushing ahead with an effort to buy the Mayfair Hotel this week and convert it into temporary housing for the homeless, a project expected to cost more than $83 million. The city’s Urban Facilities Commission, along with the Chief Legislative Analyst, endorsed the purchase. Sharon Tso I am raising my only voice against it. Tso, an adviser to the city council, later said he had several concerns, one of which was the city’s decision to keep investigations into the building confidential until the sale was finalized.

— J got the OK: An appeals court ruled that the LA County effort, known as “Measure J,” was constitutional, overturning a 2021 lower court ruling. Measure J requires that 10% of locally generated, unrestricted county funds (estimated at $360 million to $900 million) go to social services. , such as housing and mental health treatment.

— Labor disturbance in the vault: Workers at the LA Grand, a hotel that offers about 480 rooms to the city’s homeless since the outbreak of COVID-19, resumed their strike this week. “Unite Here Local 11,” which represents hotel employees, filed a National Labor Relations complaint alleging that downtown hotel management violated the National Labor Relations Act by “disciplinary and other retaliation against employees who raise concerns about workplace safety.” complained to the commission.

Russ Cox, president of Shenzhen New World Daiichi, the Chinese company that owns LA Grand, said the hotelier had been working with an employee who was cleaning rooms for Inside Safe participants in the morning. It said it documented a “counseling session” with the employee, and said the employee had repeatedly spoken out about his concerns. Pre-shift meetings “delay other employees from going to their assigned rooms.” Cox also detailed the hotel’s safety procedures. Ground workers previously went on strike from July 3rd to July 5th as part of the following: Earlier this summer, Los Angeles and Orange County experienced the first wave of shutdowns by hotel workers.

— Padilla defends new recruits: board member Imelda Padilla hired a former state legislature employee Mark Romeli as her new district director. A congressional investigation had previously found that he violated Congress’ sexual harassment policy in 2016. Knock LA Report. “[My] As a father of two daughters, Romeli understands that he has spent years pursuing these serious allegations, with a focus on remedies through church, family and professional therapy. ‘” Padhya told the website.

A thorny conference over temporary housing for the homeless

Thursday night, a large and sometimes unruly crowd Proposed temporary housing project Located at the corner of Midvale Avenue and Pico Boulevard in Westwood. The loudest shouters in the crowd vehemently opposed the 30-bed plan, with several screaming. board member Katie Yaroslavski And at one point I chanted “Recall” to her.

Yaroslavsky district is one of the wealthiest districts in the city and has a very limited number of temporary housing beds.

In a few minutes, mayor Karen BassAn unannounced guest grabbed the microphone and threatened to call off the meeting if people wouldn’t listen. “How many people would you like to have this meeting with? Raise your hand!” Mayor I shouted at the angry crowd.

“People who don’t want to have this meeting probably can’t say anything to open their minds even a little bit, so they can probably leave,” Bass added.

Bass praised Yaroslavski’s “brave attitude” and said it would take every corner of the city to get people off the streets.

While some in the audience were outright against the project, others said they were outraged that it felt like it was being decided without their input. Few people raised their voices in support.

“This is the beginning of the process. We are very interested in constructive feedback and look forward to providing our community with a valuable and much-needed asset,” said Leo Dove, spokesperson for Jaroslavski. said Friday morning.

Many community members within the synagogue reportedly had blue paint tape on their faces to indicate they felt silenced.

Some even created accessories that unfortunately resembled Adolf Hitler’s mustache, with tape applied to or just above the upper lip to enable them to speak.

another Community briefing session It will be held on Zoom on Sunday.

quick hit

• Where did the inside safe go? Bus’s effort to move people from camp to housing was not an adventure to new places. However, MPs Tracy Park kept cleaning up large RV camp At Barona Wetlands.The park provided the Westside stream some details of that operation.
• Next week’s agenda is: The City Council’s Special Committee on Governance Reform will reconvene on Thursday to receive presentations from the LA Governance Reform Project, the Common Cause, and the LA Governance Reform Project. our LA Union.