JANICE HAHN

Last year, the City Council approved a two-year pilot program to allow Neighborhood Councils to introduce up to three motions per year, as long as the motion is seconded by another Neighborhood Council.  I was an early supporter of this program.  

On January 13, 2009, the majority of my colleagues in the City Council voted to require Neighborhood Councils to disclose their personal assets in order to be allowed to participate in the legislative process.  In response to that, I introduced a motion that would remove this requirement.  I stand with the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners (BONC) in strongly opposing the City Council's decision.  The BONC believes - as I do - that requiring this financial disclosure document of Neighborhood Council members will seriously hinder the process of neighborhood empowerment.  One of my guiding principals as an elected official has always been that it is of the utmost importance to involve the community in local governance, which is why I have been a leader in the growth of the Neighborhood Council system.  The system gives local residents a stronger voice in city government, and helps put more decision-making power in the hands of the people.  I spearheaded the new system of early notification of council actions that would potentially affect Neighborhood Councils, and I am always fighting to ease the red tape that Neighborhood Councils face in keeping and spending their funds.

I always have -- and will continue to -- advocate for more efficient, transparent, direct communication between the city and our Neighborhood Councils.  I don’t believe that financial disclosure requirements are in keeping with the spirit of that process - nor do I believe that they are a necessary requirement for private citizens who wish to participate in government.

I want to encourage Neighborhood Council members throughout the City to make their voices heard, and to fight for their fundamental right to interface with and participate in City government - a government whose leaders they themselves elected. 

(Councilwoman Hahn's op-ed can be found in the March 12, 2009 edition of Los Angeles CityWatch)