More than 400 people, including elected officials, union heads, leaders of several non-profit organizations in District 9, neighbors and other stakeholders, came out to the kickoff of L.A. City Councilmember Curren Price’s re-election campaign on April 2 at The Beehive in South Los Angeles.
Among the local elected officials in attendance were L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez, and Councilmembers Herb Wesson, Paul Krekorian, Bob Blumenfield and Paul Koretz.
State elected officials also turned out in support, including California State Senators Sydney K. Kamlager and Steven Bradford, and California Assemblymembers Reggie Jones-Sawyer and Mike Fong.
Also attending were Inglewood Councilmember Eloy Morales, Jr., MWD Chair Gloria Gray, SEIU- United Service Workers West President David Huerta, Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chair Mark Gonzalez, and Dr. Jerry Abraham, director of vaccines for Kedren Community Health Center.
“During my time spent on the City Council, I’ve been focused on building a more thriving future for families,” said Price, who is running for a third term as 9th District Councilmember.
“This includes creating landmark policies, increasing affordable housing, working to reduce homelessness, supporting economic growth, defending the rights of immigrants, and of course, keeping our streets clean and adding green space. My platform is built on a solid foundation of experience in taking action and getting results.”
During an hour-long program, more than 20 speakers addressed the Price’s achievements on the City Council.
“Councilman Price is a champion for Black and Brown families,” stated Council President Martinez. “He was the leader in establishing the $15 an hour minimum wage for our City, as well as our $40 million Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) pilot. He’s been a leading voice for working-class families, standing up for them when they have needed him the most.”
Over his last two terms, Councilmember Price has delivered the most progressive pieces of legislation in Los Angeles including the $15 an hour Citywide minimum wage, “Ban-the-Box” which prohibits employers from asking candidates about their conviction history before making them a job offer, and “BIG:LEAP” – the largest GBI pilot in the nation providing 3,200 families with $1,000 a month for a year.
“As the original author of the LA GBI pilot, it is very important for me to see this program continue, and hopefully it can serve as a State or National model,” added Price.
Also, he is cleading on other landmark policies, including the creation of an Unarmed Model of Crisis Response that will divert non-violent calls for service from the police to other agencies for mental health and substance abuse crises, and the establishment of a Public Bank in Los Angeles, which would help to finance small businesses, assist first-time home buyers, build more affordable housing and invest in more renewable energy solutions.
During his speech, Price stressed that combatting the homelessness and housing crisis is a key priority for him. To that end, he has approved more than 3,300 units of affordable and homeless housing over the last several years. Under his leadership, roughly 1,200 shelter beds are estimated to be completed by this summer. Moreover, he has been able to secure tens of millions of dollars for interim housing solutions including a shelter, safe-camping site and Tiny Home Village in progress.
During his tenure, Price has ushered in more than $4 billion of investment into CD 9 alone. This includes historic projects like the Banc of California soccer stadium, restoration of the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, currently under construction. All of these major projects benefit the community by bringing in new jobs through Project Labor Agreements and local hire requirements, as well as job-training resources.
Through his office, Price has helped create more than 12,000 construction jobs and nearly 3,200 permanent jobs within District 9 through private development opportunities. These major developments have made it possible for his District to obtain more than $22 million in community benefits to go towards parks, job creation, scholarship programs, youth programming and capital improvement projects.
During his potential next term, Price has said he would like to oversee the renovation and expansion of the L.A. Convention Center, as well as the transformative Slauson and Wall project, a $240 million investment that will include 525 units of affordable and market rate housing. This seven-acre site in CD 9 will also include a new grocery store, shops and restaurants, as well as a business incubator center, community rooms and a three-acre park.
Since coming into office in 2013, Price said he has opened six new parks in District 9, with four more on the way. This includes Sen. Bill Greene Memorial Park and Inell Woods Park, named after two African-American leaders who served the community well. His Office has also spearheaded efforts to bring Slauson Connect to fruition. The $30 million project, on Slauson between Normandie and Budlong, is in pre-development and includes a 12,000 square foot community resource center, two-acre park and will be home to the South L.A. History Museum.
“I have delivered more than $60 million to make improvements across every park and recreation center in District 9,” added Price. “In the same breath, our community deserves clean streets and a healthy environment which is why I brought together government and non-profit organizations in an unprecedented $4 million program to promote cleaner and safer neighborhoods.”
Price’s Environmental Equity initiative includes 16 dedicated cleanup crews of more than 60 employees from the South LA community working six days a week, targeting hot spots.The dedicated community cleanup campaign has been responsible for the removal of thousands of tons of trash, bulky items and illegal dumping from our alley ways, corridors and other sensitive areas.
