The Los Angeles City Council is undergoing one of its biggest transformations in recent history.
Newcomers make up early half of the 15-member council, and six seats will be held by women — the most the council has ever had. Leading the council is veteran Councilmember Paul Krekorian, who has represented District 2 since 2009.
In this week's "In Focus SoCal," President Krekorian sits down with host Tanya McRae to discuss his vision for LA and the City Council. He is chairing the new Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance Reform, which was established in the wake of the racism scandal involving three city council members — including the former president.
"The first priorities that we'll have are reforming the redistricting process and looking into possible expanding the size of the City Council so that each council member is more responsive to their voters," said Krekorian.
The council president also spoke about the need for more urgency around the homelessness crisis in LA.
"This is a multifaceted challenge," said Krekorian. "We have to bring together all levels of government with that same level of urgency that Mayor-elect Bass has expressed so that we can really deliver results."
Krekorian also shares what compelled him to first run for public office after working as an attorney in the private sector for two decades. He served on the Burbank school board before being elected to the state assembly in 2006.
"I was really inspired by these young volunteers, many of whom were immigrants," Krekorian said. "Many of them couldn't vote themselves, but they were going out and bringing people out to the polls."
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