For more information about Robert Luna for Sheriff, please visit our website: lunaforsheriff.com or contact us at campaign@lunaforsheriff.com -- thank you!!

Rudy Melendez2022 US Representative CandidateCalifornia Congressional District 29Office /Fax 818.761.1773rudy@rudymelendez.com

Chief Luna has earned the endorsement of the LA Times for Sheriff: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-05-08/luna-sheriff

Nury Martinez is very anti Neighborhood Councils.

The problem is that these instances of increasing restrictions on public participation are beginning to become accepted as "normal". That's how we lose our democracy.

Right on, Tony!

I am anti Nury Martinez

Agree TonyWe must NEVER normalize this behavior from governance

I am pro Nury as long as she is my Councilwoman because that is best for my neighborhood. Still, I need to try my best to get her to help us out here.

That is 1 month away. May not be timely. That would be easier. (checking the recording). I have repeated the resolution several times. If we won't send this our by email, we can access it in other ways.

The LANCC web site is https://lancc.org Click on the "NC Alliances" tab and scroll down to the VANC section. Glenn has kindly put the links to all the VANC meeting recordings there.

We have taken action on a simple ask. The issue of meetings from the Valley again brings up additional issues of problematic people monopolizing that live feed. Why it was killed before.

Apparently our concerns of restricting public comment have not made it into the city’s anti bias training curriculum.

An executive directive is not "LAW".

All of the Mayor's executgive directives have been phrased in terms of city employees. Part of the reason for asking for separate versions for Neighborhood Council use is that NC participants are not strictly either employees or elected officials or volunteers (3 established cat7egories). The NC system probably needs its own approach to the same issues, in a way compatible with the executive directives.

Digital Communication Policy initially failed by a vote of 3 Yes and 4 No. Then one of the "no" votes (Commissioner Wehbe) asked that it be reconsidered on April 5th BONC meeting. With two of the "no" votes absent, and no second on a motion by Commissioner Shaffer to postpone, the Policy as amended passed 4 Yes and 1 No.

Are there not two more sections of social equity content to come? Ghat is, one more beyond the gender expression segment?

In a lot of these conflicts, the Department Manager gets a lot of flak for actions taken or not taken by the CITY ATTORNEY. In this election race, we need to separate rhetoric from likely action and elect a City Attorney with a constructive and empowering approach to Neighbp0rhood Councils.

Want to give GM Beltran credit. DONE *has* created many VOLUNTARY training programs that have been top notch. Hope they will continue to do that.

Yes--also gender identity.

Ethics and Open Government is STATE LAW. *That* is an area that needs to be addressed by the City Attorney. it should not be a reason for additional draconian enforcement powern at DONE.

Let's be honest. Anyone who has studied this issue and the original ideology behinds it KNOWS what this training is. We need to accept that Mayor Garcetti adopted that ideology hook line and sinker. We KNOW this is "Est 2", and will go down history books as such. Our objective should be to get past the ideological training and GET ON with the challenge of making our space more diverse and inclusive and empowering to everyone.

The result of the ORDINANCE BASED endless required training will destroy the Neighborhood Council system. People who want to get work done will take up other community ways of achieving those results. The politicians and politically appointed folks are all taking destructive actions regarding NCs with either little self-awareness or with determined purpose.

New rule will be, "If anyone put this more restrictive rule into their bylaws, we will enforce it for EVERYBODY?"

Mandatory trains were formerly TWO courses. Today it is an unending series of pile it on training, inclusing Land Use, Able, etc.

trainings

Honestly, I will probably miss some of the content thagt may be removed. Part of following both the Brfown Act and the universal statewide Ethics and Open Government training is that TEACHES US exactly what our elected and appointed officials are supposed to be doing. The "Lite" versions of training are essentially TALKING DOWN to NC members. Similar to taking a low income group and having easier grading for them on the presumption they are not "up to" standard grading. Same mindset.

CF20-0990 05/11/22 amending motion 5a. Blumenfield/Bonin adds "and require mandatory gender expression and gender identity training for all board and committee members of Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils.

Kudos to our GM for outlining the intent of the NC system design. It was a LOCAL CONTROL emphasis. Today we have creeping centralized government and broad (leftist) public opinion that both behavior and rules should be top-down dictated. The result of that would be essentially tol turn NCs into Girl Scout troops, with a standard handbook and merit badges.

Regarding the contact City Attorney issue on NPGs - if a clear conflict and recusal is made clearly - why is contacting the City Attorney an requirement. Fix the form.

someone should sure respond!

If you email the City Attorney, then you can tell the City Clerk that you have asked the City Attorney. No answer, don't tell the City Clerk that.

Steve -- This issue has come about by the City Clerk. The CC is saying that in EVERY case you must contact the CIty Attorney. This is new to restrict this to BEFORE. With so much confusion so broadly this tells me that this BEFORE requirement is new. Where did this come from ?

Once improper action has been taken, the City Attorney is ESPECIALLY NEEDED for cousel on what to do next. SILENCE at that point makes no sense.

Do the City Council members have to contact the City Attorney every time they recuse?

Raquel--Where is the full document stating "you must contact the City Attorney?

Some NEAs are reading a "recusal" script during Board meeting but some NEAs do not....

What do you do if the City Attorney does not respond?

This is why we love our government!

Recusal is an INDIVIDUAL issue, but it affects THE WHOLE BOARD in term of its decisions. There should be two levels: (1) individual contacts attorney regarding PERSONAL issue. (2) President contacts City Attorney about what to do AFTER a possibly invalid action has been taken.

I am not a lawyer. My comment is not legal advice.

Even tonight with Raquel's explanation I'm hearing new information. We need a more Customer Service driven DONE and City Clerk in these matters. Yes, you are seeing alot because its not been broadly communicated. Its a ROADBLOCK for NCs right now.

Does the City Attorney HAVE to respond to a required contact before the NC can move forward? What if the City Attorney's office is slow to respond.?

Please have all NEAs forward the "recusal script" to ALL NC Board members. Also please repeat in every Monthly Update. Thank you.

NC board members need to be able to have a virtual/live Ethics training so these questions can be addressed.

Maybe City Atty should have an NC portal for Conflict inquiries

This hurts me. It hurts because it gives the perception that we're doing something wrong and to have to take “time" to wade through layers of people to explain. We know the City Attorney is busy and there are bigger issues they have to deal with.

So the answer is to not attend those meetings, then the BAC shows "absent" not "recusal" and therefore whatever it might be it is not visible.

Becky is correct. The recusal reason is PRIVATE. Non-attorneys (including me) should not be questioning that decision or pressuring Board Members.

My point weas to make it easy for the city Attorney's office - yes they are busy and understaffed.

I know for sure that we were advised that when you recused we DID NOT have to state the reason. So, something has changed in the internal training / advisories because I haven't made this up. It was broadly announced during a board meeting by a former NEA for all to hear. So this is new.

NOTHING is "forever". If someone is an LAPD employee, can understand. If someone is a member of a CPAB, I would strongly object to attorney advice to recuse as an unwarranted restriction on free speech. An NPG for you programs gives ZERO personal advantage to any LAPD volunteer.

youth programs

Ballots are out. THINK HARD about who you want for City Attorney!

I believe that these actions by the City Attorney are generated by their primary interest that is to avoid having the City getting sued!

Often it takes 10-20 times before the information gets through. NC leaders are juggling a lot of work in addition to their own lives and work.

Thank you Lydia!!

the after the fact contact is unfair especially when you don't know. It should be part of the training requirements because this is ALL new.

Thank you Raquel for being here at VANC.

I have to jump off. Been fighting COVID all week and I’m fading. Thank you all for hosting this meeting.

The real question is when will there be consequences based on a "non-city-attorney-approved" recusal. What happens if someone recuses themselves without "city-attorney-blessing"?

When will the Zoom recording to the second Ad Hoc Code of Conduct meeting be posted on the EmpowerLA webpage? Thanks.

The recording of the first Ad Hoc session on April 30th is already posted.

Personally, I would ALWAYS take personal action to recuse myself if I in good faith believe I should. I (we) have personal legal obligations to avoid conflicts of interest. Legally, the City Attorney is NOT our PERSONAL attorney. There may even be an argument for NOT contacting the City SAttorney because hie/she is representing my potential adversary (that BOARD who could be impacted if I did NOT recuse myself), and my personal information shpuld not be shared withy someone who is not MY attorney. The state Ethics traininhg is very clear on my personal res[ponsibility.

I hope these chat musings will be shared with the NC Advice Division attorneys.

This is the Commission's Code of Conduct Ad Hoc Committee's draft policy amendment: https://empowerla.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/GM-Memo-to-Commission-re_-Code-of-Condudct-Policy.pdf

This map shows which areas have filed CIS's on the Code of Conduct amendments presented by the Dept.

https://lahubcom.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=689e7420031e4bc5844ef9998b0e54af

However (for Chatsworth and Northridge South) DONE has traditionally put out a SELECTION Handbook of standard rules. That should also be available early for 30 days for comments.

Correction: this is the Ad Hoc Comm’s redlined version of the Draft Code of Conduct policy: https://empowerla.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Red-lined-Draft-Code-of-Conduct-2-2-22-1.pdf

This Google folder has all the material on the Code of Conduct. This includes the two recordings from the Ad Hoc Comm. mtgs, the 2021 feedback sessions, presentation materials, feedback from board members, and other materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1VgLPV5EEMttxbcpG-KHqXotYGYXPKtKe

Thank you! It's great to have those ad hoc meting recordings. Hope they can stay available after the final decision, as part of the "legislative (actually policy) history".

meeting

EDDM is a great way to get inside all those locked multi-unit buildings. Door to door street distributors can't always get into those addresses.

when does targeted mailers to a "specific group" or "targeted interest" reach ethical issues. ie sending mail to homeowners vs renters, special interest groups such as Ruthsentus, NRA, League of Women voters; certain racial criteria? when is BONC going to address this?

NOT ALL post offices accept EDDM mailings. They must be dropped at the PO assigned for the relevant EDDM carier routes.

We found Walking Man Inc, walkingmaninc.com, a good alternative for flyer distribution.

Lees, EDDM is for EVER DOOR on the carrier route. The online system will show you how many addresses. For overlaps, we have always included a BOUNDARY MAP in our printed mailer so that people on the other side (in the carrier route) can see they are outside the NC boundary.

EVERY DOOR

@tony. yes, true. however there are no limits or policy. see DONE "targeted" Outreach

PlanCheckNC will meet this Saturday, May 14 @ 10 AM with the Department of City Planning presentation on SB9 Implementation. This will be an extended presentation. Share with your land use committees and join the meeting. More info at plancheckncla.com and the Zoom info is Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/87279383147Meeting ID: 872 7938 3147One tap mobile+16699009128,,87279383147# US (San Jose)

I also appreciate GM Beltran spending all this time with us tonight. It has been very helpful.

Everyone should ask for MORE licenses! The city rate will be far less (with more features) than individual purchases. Please send in HOW MANY more you want so they can include the number in the bulk proposal. Once you ask, sure that DONE will find a way to include it (and charge us).

I just discussed it today with NEA

Idea is that each active committee could use its own license. About $200/year is minor expense. Remember that includes cloud storage.

Peace Be With You

Elisa Avalos for City Council June 7,2022