Candidate Robyn Ritter Simon: 5th District, L.A. City Council

With the March 3 primary election drawing near, The Times asked all candidates for the 5th District Los Angeles City Council seat to respond to questions about key issues facing the nation’s second-largest city. Here are the responses from candidate Robyn Ritter Simon:

.

1) What distinguishes you from the other candidates in the race?

The only mother in the race, I have a proven record of working to protect neighborhoods and improve our schools.

As co-founder of the Beverlywood Moms, I got our neighborhood engaged in improving Canfield Avenue Elementary, and together we turned the school around -- test scores went up, parental involvement increased, and the school is now the anchor of the neighborhood.

As a city planning commissioner, I listened to community concerns as we worked to protect neighborhoods and manage growth.

As the president at a chamber of commerce, I learned what it takes to grow small businesses, stimulate job creation and help the economy thrive.

As a member of the City Council, I will put those same skills to work, listening to the community, addressing their concerns and fighting for their priorities at City Hall.

2) Los Angeles likely will face a deficit of $400 million to $500 million in the 2009-2010 fiscal year, as well as steep shortfalls in the years that follow. If elected, how would you balance the city budget? Specifically, what programs or services would you cut, what taxes or fees would you increase, and what other measures would you take?

Given these tough economic times, with families and small businesses struggling to make ends meet, I believe raising taxes should be a last resort.

Our first step should be doing more with what we have. Implementation of City Controller Laura Chick’s audits would increase government efficiency and eliminate waste, leading to substantial savings. I am proud to have Controller Chick’s endorsement in this campaign.

Stepping up efforts to collect the hundreds of millions in unpaid fees and taxes should be another priority and could make a significant difference in addressing the shortfall.

My top city spending priority is to maintain funding for our police officers, firefighters and emergency personnel who keep us safe and are first to respond when disaster strikes.

3) To cut costs, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is considering layoffs or offering early retirement to city employees. Do you support either or both of those alternatives? Given the increased need for government assistance in these bad economic times, is now the right time to reduce the number of city employees or cut hours at libraries and city parks?

I applaud the mayor for confronting the tough situation we face and putting all options on the table for consideration.

Although no one wants to cut city services or employees, we need to face reality and take action to balance our budget. My first priority would be to implement the cost-saving recommendations in Controller Laura Chick’s audits, to reduce the deficit without reducing services.

Reducing the size of city government through attrition and early retirement may be necessary steps. With unemployment near 10%, I believe we should take every other possible step before implementing layoffs.

4) In June, the city’s contracts with police and firefighters unions will expire. Should police officers and firefighters be given raises or increased benefits? If so, how would you pay for those, given the city’s current financial condition?

Compared to other major cities, Los Angeles has a small police force to protect nearly 4 million people spread out over nearly 500 square miles. I strongly support Chief [William J.] Bratton’s efforts to put more officers on the streets to reduce crime and protect our neighborhoods.

We need competitive pay and benefit packages to attract and retain quality police officers and firefighters. These brave men and women put their lives on the line for us every day. I strongly support fair compensation and benefits such as affordable housing to allow officers to live closer to the communities that they serve. I also support incentives to join the LAPD.

Public safety is one of the fundamental functions of city government and must remain our top priority in the city budget.

5) Assess Councilman Jack Weiss’ effectiveness on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best score. What parts of Weiss’ leadership will you emulate? Are there areas where Weiss could have performed better?

As a mom, I know that on every report card there are areas with good scores and areas with room for improvement. The same is true for Councilman Weiss.

I believe that Councilman Weiss has done a good job partnering with Chief Bratton and the mayor to get more cops on the beat in our district. From more cops on the street to keeping kids off the street and out of gangs, public safety is one of my top priorities.

I would offer him a 7 for that focus on public safety.

Where there could be room for improvement is in the relationship with neighborhoods in the district, who often feel no one in City Hall is listening. I want to change that, by making it easy for people to voice their concerns and with frequent on-the-ground inspections to make sure city maintenance and improvements stay on track, under budget and on time. My staff will know from day one that listening to the community is their first job.

I would offer him a 4 for community responsiveness.