A Wish List for a New Councilman

Alex Padilla, 26, won an overwhelming election victory in the race for the northeast San Fernando Valley’s 7th District seat on the Los Angeles City Council.

Touting his ties to the community, youthful enthusiasm and his commitment to improving basic city services, Padilla captured 67% of the vote in a runoff election against Corinne Sanchez, a 52-year-old social services agency director who received 32.7% of the ballots cast in the nonpartisan race.

KARIMA A. HAYNES asked three district residents what issues should top Padilla’s agenda when he takes office July 1.

CHERYL GONZALES

48, Sylmar; president, San Fernando Valley chapter, National Council of Negro Women

I would like to see city leaders ask more African Americans to participate on planning projects and other community commissions. Padilla should make an effort to go to the leaders of NAACP, black churches and other African American organizations. Also, when I attend community meetings, the attendance tends to be 99% Hispanic. He should hold community meetings in the locations where African American people are.

Another top priority should be the creation of more after-school youth programs. There need to be more programs for latchkey children who need something to do between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. There should be after-school tutoring and arts programs in the city parks, something more than just playing on the swings. There are a lot of after-school programs like soccer, T-ball, basketball and dance, but parents have to pay for them. The city programs should be free so that parents don’t have to come up with $50 to give their kids something to do after school.

I think the police should also be more visible around neighborhood schools when school lets out for the day to make sure that the kids are safe as they walk home.

RAY JACKSON

67, Pacoima; president, Northeast Community Improvement Assn.

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We have been trying to build a major library in Pacoima since 1992. There is a small library in northeast Pacoima at Telfair Avenue and Van Nuys Boulevard, but you can only do minimum research. We are hoping for a first-class, complete resource library. A major library would be an asset to the community.

I met with the [Los Angeles Board of Library Commissioners] in 1992 to inform them that we needed a library in the area. I had the impression from [former City Councilman Richard] Alarcon that he would see it through. The last meeting for the library was in January 1998. People met to talk about the amenities like books and computers.

I mentioned to Padilla before the election that a library should be his top priority. I haven’t fully discussed it with him; I would prefer to wait until he is in office.

We’ve seen Porter Ranch, Panorama City and Northridge get libraries built and we’re still standing out here holding a green flag, hoping for something to happen.

LISETH ROMERO-MARTINEZ

26, Pacoima; project coordinator, Pacoima Beautiful

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I think that Padilla should look at cleaning up the district. We need to have graffiti removed more quickly. Pacoima Beautiful has been taking the lead on reporting graffiti to city officials and having cleanup days. We don’t have street sweeping in the area; some residents have never even seen a street sweeper. We have a lot of alleys here and they are a dumping ground for bulky items. We have a lot of stray dogs and they need to be removed from the streets. We have dim or no street lights and that encourages crime. [Pacoima Beautiful] has gotten calls from people complaining about people raising chickens in their backyards; they are concerned that they attract rats and insects.

He should use community leaders as resources to help him achieve his goals on the council. Pacoima Beautiful has done a lot of surveys--we know what people want--and he can use these surveys as a source.

Once he has his staff in place, he needs to have regular meetings with them to remind them that they work for the community, and not the other way around. He needs to send a newsletter regularly to district residents so that they know what’s going on.

When he has community meetings, [district residents] should be notified at least a week before so that we can attend. Just having fliers at the council office is not enough--they need to be placed in Laundromats, liquor stores and other places so that people can be made aware of the issues in advance of the meeting.