Yaroslavsky on Shifts in the L.A. Mayor’s Race

/0 Comments/in /by

Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, spoke to CBSLA News about a new poll showing Rick Caruso and Karen Bass leading the pack in the contest to become Los Angeles’ next mayor. After an early media blitz, Caruso’s poll numbers have tripled, with 24% of respondents expressing their support, just ahead of Bass’ 23%. Yaroslavsky said the trajectory of the race will shift as other candidates step up their marketing campaigns. “Karen Bass hasn’t been on television at all. Kevin de León can’t be discounted, hasn’t been on television at all. … So, it will change, I’m sure, in the weeks ahead,” he said. The race also stands to tighten as undecided voters make their choices as the June 7 primary nears, he said. “Most people don’t know all that they want to know about the candidates. Forty percent don’t know enough to make a decision at this point or they are withholding their judgment until they hear more.” 

Watch the video

Luskin Housing Scholars Weigh In on California’s Crisis

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

A UCLA Newsroom article on how to tackle California’s affordable housing crisis cited several scholars from UCLA Luskin. Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy Paavo Monkkonen sees the housing crisis as a combination of “unaffordability, instability and inability to house” and has urged the state to “use many levers to push cities to allow more new housing.” Los Angeles Initiative Director Zev Yaroslavsky has cautioned against changes that fundamentally undermine the character of neighborhoods. He suggested increasing zoning capacity but allowing the city to decide where it should take place. “You don’t need to destroy communities,” Yaroslavsky said. Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy Michael Lens highlighted the urgent need for more money for permanent supportive housing. The article was written by Jim Newton, editor of UCLA’s Blueprint magazine, who concluded that the competing arguments “reflect and shape California’s ongoing and urgent search for ways to adequately house every resident of the state.” 

Read the article

Yaroslavsky Cautions Against Splintering Electorate

/0 Comments/in /by

Director of the Los Angeles Initiative Zev Yaroslavsky was featured in the Orange County Register discussing the lengthy requirements for political parties to qualify for the California ballot. Only 19 parties have been on the ballot in the 112 years since California started the nomination process, and California state laws make it difficult for new parties to break through. “I don’t think it should be impossible, but it also should not be so easy that you could have 30 parties on a ballot,” Yaroslavsky said. “I don’t think most voters like to throw away their vote to very minor parties.” Yaroslavsky expressed concern that lowering the bar for new parties to get on the ballot can further complicate and splinter the electorate. If a party can’t even drum up enough support to get on the ballot, he asked, what kind of impact could it actually make?

Read the article

Yaroslavsky on Newsom’s Message to California

/0 Comments/in /by

Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, spoke to CBS2 News ahead of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2022 State of the State address. Californians are concerned about pressing issues including homelessness, public safety and criminal justice reform, Yaroslavsky said. “The average person does not see the progress that’s been made, and I think that’s what the governor has to address,” he said. On the state’s response to COVID-19, “There’s a lot that went right with it just as there was a lot that went wrong with it. He ought to thank the people of California for what they’ve done to put this, so far, in the rear-view mirror.” Newsom survived a recall attempt last year and is running for re-election. Yarsoslavsky commented, “Now people are asking the question, ‘What are you going to do going forward? What’s your plan? You’re asking us to re-up you for another four-year contract. What are you promising and what can you deliver?’ ”

Watch the video

 

Yaroslavsky on West Hollywood’s Ex-Soviet Immigrants

/0 Comments/in /by

A CBS2 News report on West Hollywood residents’ reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine featured Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin. In the 1970s, West Hollywood offered a fresh start for Jews fleeing religious oppression in the former Soviet Union after World War II. Now, the city claims more Russian speakers than any U.S. city outside of New York, the report noted. “West Hollywood became a magnet for those fleeing the Soviet Union,” said Yaroslavsky, whose parents emigrated from Ukraine earlier in the 20th century. “You had the very liberal, progressive gay and lesbian community in West Hollywood and then you had the Russian community. But over time, they became partners, and it’s really a beautiful history they have in West Hollywood.”

Watch the video

 

Yaroslavsky on Caruso’s Campaign for L.A. Mayor

/0 Comments/in /by

Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, spoke to media outlets including the Los Angeles Times and Financial Times about billionaire developer Rick Caruso’s entrance into the L.A. mayor’s race. The L.A. Times piece focused on Caruso’s real estate company, which would be put into a blind trust to avoid conflicts of interest if he is elected to office. Referring to recent corruption scandals involving City Hall and local developers, Yaroslavsky said voters are keenly aware of the breach of trust among city leadership. He added, however, that homelessness and crime are the biggest issues facing the city right now. “It’s much lower than it was 20 years ago, but crime is more ubiquitous now,” he told the Financial Times. “It’s shown up throughout the city.” Caruso joins several other candidates who are campaigning on public safety, including front-runner Rep. Karen Bass, Yaroslavsky said. 

Read the L.A. Times article
Read the Financial Times article

 

Yaroslavsky on Tipping Point of Homelessness

/0 Comments/in /by

Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, spoke to USA Today about the growing issue of homelessness in Los Angeles and the role that it will play in the city’s upcoming mayoral election. The homelessness crisis has grown and is now visible in parks, on sidewalks and at freeway underpasses. Experts estimate that there are at least 40,000 unhoused people in Los Angeles, and a Los Angeles Times poll found that 94% of respondents considered homelessness a serious or very serious problem. “This problem has been around for a long time, [but] we’re past the tipping point now, the political tipping point,” Yaroslavsky said. “This is as potent a political issue as there is in the election coming forward.” The article cited a report from the UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy that estimated that 1,500 people without homes died in Los Angeles between March 2020 and July 2021. 

Read the article

Yaroslavsky, Newton on the L.A. Riots and Police Chief Gates

/0 Comments/in , /by

Los Angeles Initiative Director Zev Yaroslavsky and Blueprint editor Jim Newton joined the Slate podcast “Slow Burn” to discuss the aftermath of the Rodney King beating in March 1991. A tape of the beating exposed brutality within the Los Angeles Police Department, prompting many to call for Chief Daryl Gates to step down. At the time, the LAPD “saw itself as a paramilitary organization, primarily white and male, and viewed its fundamental charge as maintaining the peace,” Newton said. Yaroslavsky pointed out that the police commission could fire Gates only for a case of moral turpitude. “It was never an issue of whether he would be fired; the issue was whether he could be persuaded to leave,” Yaroslavsky said. The Christopher Commission, launched by former Mayor Tom Bradley and chaired by Warren Christopher, recommended that Gates step down; he did not retire until June 1992.

Listen to the podcast

Yaroslavsky on Risks, Rewards of 2028 Olympics

/0 Comments/in /by

Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, spoke to KPCC’s AirTalk about the risks and rewards Los Angeles faces as it prepares to host the 2028 Olympic Games. Yaroslavsky noted that L.A. already has the infrastructure to support the Games, including sports arenas such as SoFi Stadium, which can host opening and closing ceremonies, and new dorms at USC and UCLA that can serve as an Olympic Village. Commenting on the prospect that Los Angeles might still be battling crisis levels of homelessness, Yaroslavsky said, “We can’t wait until 2028 to solve this problem. We’ve got to solve it now.” The primary challenge for local Olympic organizers is to remained disciplined to avoid running a deficit, he said. “Barring any pandemic kind of event, or a worldwide recession which would influence ticket sales and travel, … these Games should make a profit,” which would be reinvested in youth sports and other initiatives that benefit the community, he said.

Listen to the interview

 

Garcetti and Yaroslavsky on the Lessons of Leadership

/0 Comments/in /by

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti shared his reflections on the surprises and challenges of leadership in a special episode of the UCLA podcast “Then & Now.” In conversation with longtime public servant Zev Yaroslavsky, now director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, Garcetti touched on issues including homelessness, the 2028 Olympic Games and the region’s response to COVID-19. He also summed up lessons learned from political leaders of the past: “Don’t worry about the criticism of today or the headlines of tomorrow. Think about yourself looking back 10 years from now, [asking], ‘Did I make the right decision?’ ” Nominated to serve as U.S. ambassador to India, Garcetti said, “The basic work of politics, whether you’re an ambassador or mayor, is trying to reach people’s hearts … and to bring people together to realize it’s better when we find common ground than when we just shout about what separates us.” ” The podcast is produced by UCLA’s Luskin Center for History and Policy.

Listen to the podcast