Sunday evening, a Silver Ridge Ave neighbor hosted an City Council Candidate Forum in his backyard for CD13 Candidates Mitch O'Farrell & John Choi. A good half the attendees were from the Red Car Property neighborhood.
A neighbor asked, "Will you support the community's efforts to acquire the Red Car Property as a park?"
Candidate John Choi (who admitted to only moving into the district last May) said the property should be a park. However he proved his lack of knowledge when he said we might have to put millions of dollars into developing a park on the site. He also said some neighbors thought the property was unsafe. (Many neighbors present looked at each other, perplexed over the comment, since they live closest to the property.)
Candidate Mitch O'Farrell (who said he personally oversaw the removal of countless tons of dumping, debris, stolen cars, brush clearance & tree trimming on the Red Car Property in the 10 years he worked for City Councilmember Eric Garcetti - he left the office in Feb 2012), agreed it should be a park. Having been involved in other park acquisitions, in addition to being very familiar with the community & the Red Car Property, O'Farrell was more practical in his approach to the site. He suggested a conservation easement &hiking trail as the property is a key link to area parks & recreational facilities: Elysian Park, LA River, Griffith Park.
FOLLOW THE MONEY: We've been saying it from the beginning of election season. Pay attention to not only the amount of money raised by candidates, where it comes from (inside or outside the district), but most importantly, look at the "Independent Expenditures" on the City Ethics Dept website for CD13 candidates.
TODAY, Monday, May 6 is the last day to register to vote in the May 21 election. If you've moved recently or are unsure of your registration status, you can change your address, request an absentee ballot and answer just about any question related to voting on the LA County Registrar of Voters website: http://www.lavote.net/
What would a trail look like on the Red Car Property? Click here for all our trail related photos.
