LOS ANGELES — It’s been a busy, tumultuous year for the Los Angeles City Council.
The Hollywood strikes brought the city’s entertainment industry to a standstill, the intertwined issues of homelessness and affordable housing remain and the council continues to deal with the aftermath of the racist audio recording scandal.
Council President Paul Krekorian replaced Nury Martinez after she resigned from the council following the leaked audio recordings. He joined “Inside the Issues” host Amrit Singh to discuss his first year in charge.
Krekorian has led the council’s effort in responding to emergencies like the I-10 fire and shutdown. The City Council passed an expedited motion to address the public safety and economic impacts of the fire.
“We needed to get the pieces in place for immediate response to ensure that there were resources to address, for example, impacts in the surrounding neighborhood,” Krekorian said.
The City Council president added fire departments are now investigating other freeway underpasses to make sure future fires can be prevented.
Throughout the past year, putting out fires is something Krekorian has grown accustomed to following several high-profile scandals involving City Council members.
“A year ago this city was facing a lot of crises that were overlapping, and there was a significant crisis in confidence,” Krekorian said.
Though Krekorian is confident the City Council can regain the public’s trust due to all the new members, seven of the 15 council members have been sworn-in within the past year.
“This really gives us an opportunity for a reset. I feel the public has seen that and they’re giving us an opportunity to show that we’re committed to a reform of city government,” Krekorian said.
Krekorian’s first goal when he took over as president was to create an independent redistricting process for the council to prevent council members from being able to disenfranchise voters. The City Council will vote on a measure to create an independent redistricting commission that will need final approval from the voters.
Let Inside the Issues know your thoughts and watch Monday through Friday at 8 and 11 p.m. on Spectrum News 1.