CD 6 special election candidate survey: Should hotels be required to house the homeless?
Following Councilmember Nury Martinez’s resignation from office last year, a special election is being held on April 4. Ballots will be mailed out soon. If no candidate received a majority of the vote in April, a run-off between the top-two vote-getters will be held in June. Our editorial sent out surveys to the seven candidates, all of whom responded, to get a sense of where they stand on the issues. We will be publishing their responses, lightly edited for clarity. Their responses are presented in the order in which they responses to the survey.
Previous questions:
How would you evaluate Nury Martinez’s tenure on the council (before the leaked audio)?
What three ordinances would you pass to help your district?
What would you do to promote economic growth in the city and in your district?
Question: Do you support or oppose the March 2024 ballot measure related to hotel development and the use of active hotel properties as nightly homeless housing?
Isaac Kim: “Respectfully and honestly, I would have to educate myself more and learn more from the people closest to the problem before answering this question.”
Rose Grigoryan: “I think it is a complex issue that requires careful consideration of many factors. We have to consider potential long-term benefits and/or drawbacks of the measure. I myself have concerns that the measure can bring safety issues and have a negative effect on tourism in the city.”
Antoinette Scully: “Remains to be determined. I personally spent a lot of time working with unhoused people, some of whom spent time in our Project RoomKey hotels. It’s more nuanced than just yes or no. I will always generally support efforts to increase interim shelter and long-term affordable housing. But I also know that sometimes our methods aren’t universally available to people or humane. In some of the hotel programs, the guests were forbidden from cooking in their rooms (yes, even a microwave), holding a key to their own room, or coming and going as they saw fit.”
“We will also need to address the racist policies for entry into these interim programs. It was impossible to provide shelter to Black neighbors. Problems with our racist systems will not be solved with color-blind solutions, and I welcome the chance to explain this further to anyone curious.”
Imelda Padilla: “I support a move for hotels to become more responsible, but what concerns me more is the unregulated proliferation of short-term rental Airbnbs operating outside of the LA City ordinance rules. We see the dire, unintended consequences of Airbnb in our communities with incidents such as the deadly shooting in Benedict Canyon that took place at an Airbnb party house. These party houses sponsored by Airbnb take some of our quieter communities like Lake Balboa and our ranch style homes in Van Nuys and turn them into potential crime targets. That’s the neighborhood by neighborhood conversation happening with our local neighborhood watch councils and homeowner associations. It’s unfortunate that one of my opponents is being backed by city hall lobbyists representing Airbnb. That said, the responsible hotels that do outreach in the community and provide an economic hub for its workers and are done in concert where needed (I love the Airtel at the Van Nuys airport) is the responsible way we should plan in the Valley.”
Douglas Sierra: “Oppose. I don’t believe this ballot measure was advanced with the highest level of scrutiny. The city council missed some critical points in understanding the failures of some of the previous hotel housing initiatives and overlooked consultation with community members affected by this crisis. In addition, some hotel owners have been proactive with city officials to house homeless people, using the entire hotel, which allows mental health professionals to be on-site. This approach should be the preferred option. There are serious unintended consequences that can arise for all community members, all along the scale of income and privilege, due to the poor writing of this ballot measure. The unhoused population has profound roots causing their instability, and it’s my job to find a solution for our district and our city that eliminates the risk of homelessness while also ensuring equity for all income levels. On the whole, I believe further dialogue is needed before any drastic action is taken, seen as a temporary fix to a complex issue.”
Marco Santana: “I support the intent of the ballot measure to use hotel properties as nightly homeless housing although I do have concerns about what the impacts would be on our hospitality industry as well as the lack of details in the measure. Since the measure has already been placed on the ballot, it is too late to make changes and provide more details. That being said, we need to find more ways to get unhoused individuals out of their encampments and I hope this ballot measure can be a part of a broader package of solutions to help address our homelessness crisis.”
Marisa Alcaraz: “We are in a homelessness crisis and so all options to house individuals living on the street should be explored. The primary concern with this measure is how it will be paid for and how it will operate. We can not place individuals with high acuity into hotel rooms without including services and case management. In the case of this ballot measure, I believe it would be feasible to implement if we were able to use housing vouchers funded by the federal and state government and if they were used for those with low acuity, as well as for emergency situations like women and children fleeing domestic violence.”