GOVERNMENT—Padilla Faces Trial by Fire in Tough Year

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What a short strange trip it’s been.

Less than four months after being elected president of the Los Angeles City Council, 28-year-old Alex Padilla was thrust into the national spotlight as the de facto top city official in Los Angeles in the days following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. With Mayor James Hahn stuck on the East Coast, Padilla was given the task of reassuring the nation’s second-largest city that safeguards were being put in place.

It wasn’t Padilla’s first pressure-packed experience. Following the death of longtime L.A. City Council President John Ferraro, Padilla bested veteran colleague Ruth Galanter in July to assume the council president’s post. Then, he found himself under attack by leaders in the African American community who criticized his committee appointments. Now he’s facing a rapidly declining economy and budget shortfall.


Question:

With the city now facing a $71 million budget shortfall, what cost-cutting moves should be made?


Answer:

We have to be fiscally responsible, but before we take any across-the-board steps, we have to look at what our priorities have been and continue to be public safety, for example. My message is to consider specific recommendations on a case-by-case basis. If there is a way to avert layoffs, I think we have a responsibility to do that. If there is a way to achieve cost saving in a way that does not impact services, we have a responsibility to do this. Our job is to try to maneuver ourselves in the next year to try to keep it from becoming much worse. (But) to put it in the proper context, we are nowhere near what the early ’90s was like.

Q: If a business seeks a tax break from the city, would the council make that contingent on protecting its employees?

A: If there is a lesson learned from the big relief package that Congress passed for the airline industry, it is that there wasn’t enough emphasis on the employees. Businesses can be progressive by allowing employees’ voices to be heard in the drafting of those proposals. Let them be first in line if you are going to be hiring back in the future. A package that is comprehensively put together like that is ideal, not only for the taxpayer dollars we are entrusted with, but probably because it’s best for the economy.

Q: Will there be any of the across-the-board business tax cuts that former Mayor Riordan had hoped for?

A: Across-the-board business tax cuts are ideal. And to the extent we generate additional revenues through compliance, we are afforded the opportunity to do that, but appropriately taking into context the economic conditions of today. The economy is very different than it was a year or two ago. To the extent we can increase business tax collections and increase compliance, then that provides us the resources to implement targeted tax relief measures.

Q: To go back to Sept. 11, with Mayor Hahn stuck in Washington, you became the public face of the city. What was that like?

A: There wasn’t too much time to stop and think about things. The first day was all about making sure that the city was safe and secure, and communicating that to the general public. There was so much chaos going on around the country, rumors that were out there. The second day, as we began to appeal to people to return to normal, was a day of trying to measure that, whether people were responding or not. The days were long and I didn’t get a lot of sleep, but I was very proud of the city.

Q: Are you afraid the other shoe will drop, that L.A. will be a target?

A: That will always be a concern as long as the city of L.A. is the second largest city in the country, as long as the city represents not only the business community but the social and cultural community for the world. We will always be on the list if somebody wants to target the United States or target democracy. But I think the nature of our city is a little bit different. We don’t have the concentration quite like the city of New York.

Q: Aside from the terrorist attacks, do you think the council with half its members newly elected is prepared to govern the city?

A: I think it’s a well-balanced council right now. Yes, half of the council is new, but that means that half the council is comprised of veteran members who can provide perspective on the city. (Also) there are new members who will bring with them new energy and new ideas, but they are not necessarily new faces to City Hall. I think the best example of that is (longtime City Hall staffer) Tom LaBonge, who was just recently elected.

Q: There’s been talk that the Valley secession movement has lost steam after the recent LAFCO report that failed to chart any course for the breakup. Is that your perception?

A: People are asking the very important questions that some of us have been asking for a while. If the Valley breaks away, who is going to police the streets? If the Valley breaks away, who is going to put out the fires? Will the parks and library still be open? All along I have said I do not support secession unless somebody can show me how my community will be better off. No one can show me how the Valley will be better off.

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