Los Angeles City Council District 12 serves the northwestern San Fernando Valley, including Northridge, Chatsworth, Granada Hills, Porter Ranch and West Hills. After former Councilmember Mitch Englander’s resignation in October 2018, the district will see a special election on June 4th. With 24 candidates currently running for the seat, a runoff election is all-but-guaranteed for August 13th. The winning candidate will represent the district through the end of the current term in December 2020.
The district has a terrible record on roadway safety, with three out of the top five most dangerous intersections in all of California located within the District, an epidemic of street racing, and a disproportionate number of streets whose speed limit was increased to 40 or 45 mph in December. Council District 12 is in desperate need of bold leadership to stem the upward trend of unsafe streets and roadway deaths that the area sees.
CD12 voters should feel empowered in this special election with a great number of serious candidates with excellent positions on transportation and roadway safety. Considering the large field of candidates, our CD12 committee decided to provide letter grades for candidates based on their responses and experience, with the possibility of making an endorsement for the special election runoff in August. While Bike The Vote L.A. received responses from all of the leading candidates, a number of announced candidates either did not respond to our questionnaire and/or do not have an active public campaign. As a result, these candidates were omitted from consideration and this voter guide. Individual summaries for responding candidates are listed below, along with a link to each candidate’s full response to Bike The Vote L.A.
2019 CD12 Special Election Primary: Tuesday, June 4, 7am-8pm
Register to Vote: http://bit.ly/btvregister
Find your polling place: https://clerk.lacity.org/elections/candidates
CD12 Candidate: Carlos Amador
Carlos Amador’s response to our questionnaire is informed by his own experience as a survivor of a hit-and-run, car-vs.-bicycle collision that sent him to the emergency room. Citing that experience, Amador supports prioritizing safety improvements on L.A.’s High Injury Network and implementing protected bike lanes on streets like Parthenia Street. He opposes raising speed limits on 12th District streets and supports alternatives to traffic enforcement, including redesign of neighborhood streets and educational programs.
Amador offers a range of helpful policy ideas to improve mobility options and help key segments of the 12th District community to get around without driving, including leveraging Measure M funds to improve street safety; creating more affordable housing for workers and students; and providing more tailored transportation options for seniors. With that kind of platform, voters and safe streets advocates will be well-served by Amador as councilmember.
Bike The Vote L.A. 2019 Primary Grade: A
[Click HERE for Carlos Amador’s questionnaire response to Bike The Vote L.A.]
CD12 Candidate: Loraine Lundquist
In her response to our questionnaire, Loraine Lundquist impresses with her deep knowledge and detailed platform on transportation. A faculty member at the Institute for Sustainability at Cal State Northridge, Lundquist has clearly done her homework, and it shows in her comprehensive policy prescriptions addressing infrastructure, bus service, carpooling, land use, tree canopy, ADA accessibility, and more. As a member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council, she has put that understanding of safe streets to work, sponsoring the Mobility Bill of Rights. She’s willing to do what it takes to prioritize safety for people walking and biking, pledging to use data to target the district’s most dangerous intersections and implement needed changes.
Lundquist also emphasizes her personal stake in improving active transportation, citing her own daily bike commute to campus and her family’s reliance on transit to get around their neighborhood. Between her personal choices and her professional focus, Bike The Vote L.A. is confident that improving mobility options across the 12th District will be a high priority for Lundquist as a councilmember, and that she’ll be a valuable ally for safe streets advocates on the L.A. City Council.
Bike The Vote L.A. 2019 Primary Grade: A
[Click HERE for Loraine Lundquist’s questionnaire response to Bike The Vote L.A.]
CD12 Candidate: Stella Maloyan
Stella Maloyan’s response to our questionnaire can be summed up with one exceptional quote: “Vision Zero is insufficient. We need Action Zero.” While she doesn’t call anyone out by name, Maloyan makes clear that she’s dissatisfied with the inadequate pace of progress on the City’s signature street safety initiative, pointing out the hypocrisy of politicians who talk a good game on the need to address climate change but continue to stand in the way of meaningful improvements that would make it easier for more people to walk and bike.
Maloyan is committed to getting 10 miles of protected bike lanes installed throughout the 12th District in her first term, including a route connecting Cal State Northridge to Metrolink. At the same time, she pledges to work hard at engagement and coalition building so that crucial improvements gain lasting support from the community. Between her strong commitment to safe streets and her background in the nonprofit sector, Stella Maloyan is poised to be a strong and effective ally for bike and pedestrian advocates on the City Council.
Bike The Vote L.A. 2019 Primary Grade: A
[Click HERE for Stella Maloyan’s questionnaire response to Bike The Vote L.A.]
CD12 Candidate: John Lee
John Lee served as Chief of Staff to CD12’s previous councilmember, Mitch Englander, and understands the need to make 12th District streets safer for all users and supports the idea of creating more protected bike lanes and other improvements; however, his response left a lot to the imagination as to what kinds of changes—in infrastructure, policy, funding, etc.—that he’s willing to actually champion. In his response to Bike The Vote L.A., Lee emphasizes the need to engage community stakeholders and keep a range of options open in consideration of roadway safety. While we would hope to see a stronger commitment to prioritizing safety on city streets, we’re hopeful that, should he be elected to City Council, Lee will give safe streets advocates the consideration they deserve during that process.
Bike The Vote L.A. 2019 Primary Grade: B-
[Click HERE for John Lee’s questionnaire response to Bike The Vote L.A.]
CD12 Candidate: Josh Yeager
In his response to Bike The Vote L.A., Josh Yeager expresses that he supports expanding mobility options for the 12th District and suggests helpful safety improvements such as all-direction pedestrian crossings and neighborhood traffic calming. However, his stated opposition to reallocate travel lanes or parking lanes—even where necessary to reorient deadly streets towards safety—makes us doubt that he’d be an ally for bike and pedestrian advocates when tough decisions need to be made.
Bike The Vote L.A. 2019 Primary Grade: C-
[Click HERE for Josh Yeager’s questionnaire response to Bike The Vote L.A.]