Please Vote for Me!

Tip O’Neal tells this story of his next door neighbor not voting for him.  He asks her why and she said he didn’t ask her. So I am asking for your vote! Please save the date - Sunday, June 5th at the Mar Vista Farmers' Market!

I love Mar Vista. We feel like a small town while accepting the responsibilities of being part of a big city. It's a very special community.

I often tell people that my volunteer work for the community feeds my soul. I've been working within the Mar Vista Community Council since 2008. I never ran for a seat on the Board -  I was just happy to contribute my time and energy without a seat.

But in the 2014 election, we barely had enough candidates to fill the board seats and the result was low voter turnout (only 215 voters). We have some fantastic board members who do a tremendous amount and they deserve to have partners who work just as hard. 

I was asked to fill a board seat last year when one member had to relocate and I have served on the Board for a little over a year. I am thrilled that in this June 5th election we have more candidates, more voters and more passion. It is essential that a Board Member be engaged and do more than attend Board meetings. I would be honored to have the opportunity to continue to serve on a Board that shares my passion and commitment to serve this wonderful community. I hope that you will vote for me!

As a founding member and Co-Chair of the Green Committee since 2008, I’ve co-founded and organized the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase, the Mar Vista Water Wise Expo, the MVCC Green Tent and this year’s Mar Vista Eco Car Expo.

In 2014 we created the Aging in Place Committee which I co-founded and Co-Chair. The committee presents a monthly speaker while also addressing policy changes and supporting nonprofit organizations. Learn more about my community work here. 

After taking a seat on the Board I joined the Outreach Committee - posting events and news to Facebook and joining the effort to keep our community well informed. I continue to volunteer for the Mar Vista Fall Festival by managing the blog and creating a Aging in Place zone within the festival. I collaborated with our newly formed Homeless Issues Committee as an organizer of the 2016 Homeless Count. Most important, I’ve worked hard to hear the community on the issues concerning us and use my vote to support them.

Please save the date and vote on June 5th at the Mar Vista Farmers Market!

My Presentation at the MVCC Candidate Forum

On May 16th, the candidates running for the MVCC Board were invited to present at a candidates forum. For those who missed the evening, here is the text of my comments. You can also download the 3 minute video here. 

I love Mar Vista. We feel like a small town while accepting the responsibilities of being part of a big city.

I've been working within the Mar Vista Community Council since 2008. Last year, I was appointed to fill a vacancy and I have served on the Board for a little over a year. I’ve had the honor to collaborate with a lot of board members. Some just show up at the monthly meeting. I think the community deserves more than that. I would like to believe that all 20 of us who are candidates are committing to serving the community – whether we are elected or not. You have my pledge that I will continue to co-chair and serve on committees, will volunteer to organize events and will be responsive to the needs of the community – even if not elected.

We may each bring different personal opinions to the board, but it is our responsibility to make sure that the community is well informed, that issues are thoroughly vetted and that we take policy positions that represent the will of the community. I pledge to make sure that each issue we look at is considered for its impact on the environment and how it serves our community as we age. I consider it my responsibility to bring those questions to the stakeholders for consideration on each issues. I work hard to hear the community on the issues concerning us and vote to support them.

As a founding member and Co-Chair of the Green Committee since 2008, I’ve co-founded and organized the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase, the Mar Vista Water Wise Expo, the MVCC Green Tent and this year’s Mar Vista Eco Car Expo. In 2014 we created the Aging in Place Committee which I co-founded and Co-Chair. The committee presents a monthly speaker while also addressing policy changes and supporting nonprofit organizations. This month I was honored for my efforts supporting seniors at the 5^th Annual Senior Fraud Awareness Day. I received a certificate of recognition from the City of LA signed by Mike Bonin, Paul Koretz, Mike Feuer and Mayor Garcetti and certificates from Congressmember Karen Bass and State Assemblymembers Richard Bloom and Sebastian Ridley Thomas. This recognition really belongs to the committee – and MVCC made this possible. What excites me most is that we have an open channel for communication with our elected officials.

Communication and outreach is the primary responsibility of our Board – to ensure that we represent the will and needs of the community. After taking a seat on the Board I joined the Outreach Committee - posting events and news to Facebook and joining the effort to keep our community well informed. Please follow us on Facebook!

I continue to volunteer for the Mar Vista Fall Festival by managing the blog. Last year we created an Aging in Place zone within the festival. This year we hope to also include a Fall Prevention Fair.

I collaborated with our newly formed Homeless Issues Committee as an organizer of the 2016 Homeless Count.

I believe that the Santa Monica Airport should be closed and I am excited about the potential of converting the Historic Fire station 62 so that it becomes a much needed community center.

I believe our current voting process leaves too many people disenfranchised. I pledge to work study what has worked and not worked with On Line Voting in the NC system, to improve it and am committed to providing 100% of our community with the opportunity to vote.

I hope that I have earned your support and that you will vote for me on June 5^th.

MVCC Accounting Reform

Most of the candidates have concerns about the financial reporting for MVCC and the fact that our funds were briefly frozen. A picture is worth a thousand words. As you can see in the December report submitted to the Board and to Empower LA, the section where the outstanding commitments should be detailed is blank. This is not the way I manage manage my own finances!

Yes, it will help if each board member takes the Empower training for treasurers. But I believe we need more than that. Our current accounting process just meets the minimum required by DONE. I propose that we follow accepted accounting practices. The Treasurer should present an initial budget for Board approval that factors in expenses and funding motions that re-occur yearly. At every Board meeting, we should review the following - 

-   A current bank account statement that includes the account balance

-   A recap of pending approved expenses and the amount in ongoing operating expenses

-   A report showing funds currently available, less forecasted expenses

-   A report that shows that the above reconciles with what has been reported to DONE in the MER’s (monthly expenditure reports)

Community Work

Here is a recap of some of the community work that I've done with the MVCC.  

Please vote for me as an At Large Director for the Mar Vista Community Council!  The election will be held on June 5th at the Mar Vista Farmers Market and voting must be done in person.

The MVCC Green Committee was founded in 2009 and I am proud to be a founding member and co-chair. We created and launched the MVCC Green Tent at the Mar Vista Farmers' Market and are thrilled to have used it to launch many eco initiatives and support the incredible non profits in the environmental community.

With Councilman Bill Rosendahl - our inspiration and our champion - and
fellow MVCC Board Member and Green Committee Co-Chair Melissa Stoller

In 2009, the Green Committee organized the first Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase. Little did we know that we were creating an annual event that would run for 7 years! Over that time, Mar Vista opened over 300 gardens to inspire our neighbors to embrace sustainable landscaping. We were definitely ahead of the curve! I served as co-creator  and co-organizer of the tour. It was truly a labor of love. Melissa Stoller opened her garden for the tour and continued on as a co-organizer - taking over the tour blog and setting the bar for recruiting the most gardens!

Supporting the bees with former MVCC Board member Chuck Ray, Honeylove Co-Founders Chelsea and Rob McFarland, Councilman Bill Rosendahl and David King - SLOLA Co-Founder and Garden Master at the Venice High Learning Garden 

The Green Committee took on many challenges, but one we are proudest of is the legalization of urban beekeeping in Los Angeles. We collaborated on a feasibility study with the Rob and Chelsea McFarland, the Co-Founders of Honeylove. The MVCC Green Tent, the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase and the Mar Vista Fall Festival were key outreach opportunities in the early days of this amazing non profit. We were thrilled to support them with Bill Rosendahl as our champion. 

The launch of Honeylove and the campaign to legalize urban beekeeping
with Bill Rosendahl and Honeylove Co-Founders Chelsea and Rob McFarland

I'm never been shy about turning up at City Hall - to add my voice in public comment and support our elected officials as they fight for what we support.

Supporting Councilman Paul Koretz as he called for the City to inventory and mitigate our methane leaks - 

long before the Porter Ranch Aliso Canyon leak brought awareness to the issue.

Bringing City Hall to the Neighborhood with Mike Bonin

The team behind the MVCC Aging in Place Committee -

Co-Founder and Co-Chair Tatjana Luethi and Co-Chair Birgitta Kastenbaum.

In 2014 we launched the MVCC Aging in Place Committee. In addition to our outreach and advocacy we have a speaker series that is attended by 20 to 30 people a month. We are building a community working together to make Mar Vista a great neighborhood to grow old in.  I've also personally created the Aging in Place in Mar Vista Facebook page where I share articles and experiences related to the challenges that our seniors face.

The day the LADWP station was replanted - with CD11 Field Deputy Len Nguyen,
Green Committee Co-Chair Jeanne Kuntz, Steve Fox, Green Committee Co-Chair Melissa Stoller
and  Councilman Mike Bonin

When the LADWP was laying down artificial turf at Distribution Station 59 at McLaughlin and Venice, CM Mike Bonin was immediately responsive to the MVCC Green Committee. We collaborated with his office and the LADWP to convert it to a showcase for best practices to conserve water and protect our watershed. There was a community planting event - see the final results on the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase here.

Mar Vistan Lisa Cahill of TreePeople and NCSA leadership join Mayor Eric Garcetti
 to announce the launch of the Save the Drop campaign.

As a member of the steering committee when the Neighborhood Council of Sustainability was launched, I was delighted to support Mayor Garcetti at the launch of the Save the Drop campaign.

With Liberty Bradford at the 2015 Homeless Count

This year I was happy to help as a key organizer of the Homeless Count - we doubled the number of participants over the prior year. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          In 2009 the MVCC Green Committee held the Wise Water Use Expo. This launched a tradition of annual events to support our community's commitment to sustainability. This year we held the Mar Vista Eco Car Expo. It has been a thrill to collaborate in creating and organizing these great events.

The Mar Vista Community Council works because of the amazing leadership and board members who give up so much of their free time for the community. They have inspired me and it has been an honor to work with them. 

In memory of Bill Rosendahl - my friend and mentor.
With gratitude for leading me to fall in love with community service.
With Green Committee Co-Chair Jeanne Kuntz