Platform : What People Want the Next L.A. Mayor to Do : A cross section of Los Angeles speaks out on the mayoral campaign

TRISHA MURAKAWA

National vice president, Japanese American Citizens League

As Japanese-Americans, we have no loyalty to Japan. Our loyalty is only to the United States. But we hope that in the city races everyone will stay away from the kind of Japan-bashing that went on two years ago around Sumitomo, the Japanese company that got the contract for subway cars, then had it taken away. Japan-bashing affects everyone with Asian features--people can’t tell who is Japanese or Chinese or Korean, and we all suffer from the discrimination and hate crimes. Another issue for the Asian-Ameraican community is immigrant-bashing, which is now part of the mayoral race rhetoric.

An important issue for us is the increased police harassment of Asian-Americans, a new problem for our community but something that has always been a problem for blacks and Latinos. In some smaller cities like Westminster, the police are notorious for pulling over young Asian males and putting their snapshots in books labeled as gang members.

HAROLD W. PATRICK

Owner of a McDonald’s restaurant in South Los Angeles, president of M.L.K. Legacy Assn.

I’m looking for a mayoral candidate who not only has an understanding of some of our special needs, but also someone who is an insider in city government who can help create jobs and assist African-Americans in the transition from consumers to owners.

I’m talking about someone who understands the politics of inclusion. By that I mean someone who is willing to be involved with the African-American community on a peer basis rather than a parent/child basis.

African-Americans need to sit at the table where decisions are being made to ensure that our community gets the kind of resources it deserves. I think that there needs to be a continuation of the groundwork laid (by Mayor Bradley).

CARLOS VAQUERANO

Board member, Rebuild L.A.; Central American community worker

Definitely one of the issues is political representation and political participation. I think that (the winner) has to hire Latinos in key positions in the city government. In 15 years, Latinos will make up the largest minority community in Los Angeles. I think there should be a way of looking at their problems in terms of not violating their rights.

And there has to be an outreach to those who are not documented. Just because people are not documented doesn’t mean they don’t have rights.

GLEYDE NEUMANN

Chair of MENTOR Network, a nonprofit organization that assists women and minority-owned businesses

One of the needs in the black community that should be addressed is better schools and role models. It seems like public officials get too caught up in the business of politics instead of people’s simple needs. Kids are dying on the vine, educationally speaking. I’m not sure how much of this fits within the duties of the mayor, but the candidate could certainly inspire people to begin working in their communities.

Teachers aren’t getting the support they need to be good teachers. Pay cuts are a state issue, but inspiring parental and student involvement and support--city pride--can start with our mayor. That’s the kind of proactive attitude that has been missing from our communities. There have got to be ways to make government, business, development and procurement opportunities more available.

JOEL JACINTO

Executive director, Search to Involve Pilipino Americans

Here we are already in 1993 and with about 90,000 Pilipinos (a preferred term because there is no “f” sound in the Tagalog language) in Los Angeles, we’re the largest Asian Pacific Islander group here. But our power access is nonexistent. Candidates are just beginning to try to attract our votes, because in the past we didn’t vote in any large numbers. But in 1992 a law was passed that recognized Pilipinos who fought in World War II--thousands and thousands--as U.S. citizens. So there was a big increase in who can vote. There’s a window of opportunity for our community now.

CHULL HUH

Secretary general, Korean Junior Chamber of Commerce

The No. 1 issue for us is how to survive economically in the riot area. The No. 2 issue is crime. About 350,000 Koreans and Korean-Americans are living in Southern California. About 30% of all Korean businesses are in the riot area.

Koreans don’t feel they are in a foreign country here; they feel L.A. is like a home. Only 10% have said since the riots they want to go back to Korea. But only 30% to 40% of the Korean businesses destroyed in the riots have been restored. The rest of the victims don’t have funds to rebuild. We need help from the government for the economy and for recovery. And less regulations. And Koreans want police to be tougher on crime, with more patrols and immediate police response. Small-business people don’t feel secure.

LUIS ALFONSO FLORES

General director, El Heraldo Centroamericano community newspaper

The new mayor should create a climate that would make small- and medium-sized businesses stronger. Those are the ones who have suffered the most. When a small business closes, throwing the heads of five, six, seven families out of work, poverty increases. Whoever is the next mayor should provide for a line of credit to small businesses so they can borrow the money to stay afloat. The mayor should persuade the banks to provide this credit.

The assault on the education system is also an important issue. The schools have students from so many countries, it’s difficult to find a common cultural basis for education. I would like to see more programs for the adults and then the adults could help their children learn at home. Education is not only the responsibility of the schools, it’s the responsibility of the family as well.

But this gets back to the economy. When a man does not have a job to go to, when he sits around home all day, that helps lead to a breakdown of the family and a breakdown of morals.

MARY LEE

Directing attorney, Legal Aid Foundation, South-Central office

I would really like to see a candidate address issues that are within the scope of the mayor’s office. There is so much discussion on issues that are politically appealing to all types of interests that aren’t within the scope of a mayor’s office.

One of the issues that I am particularly concerned about is the distribution of resources that are within the city’s control in an equitable fashion. By equitable, I don’t mean using the exact same distribution for every community. What the city has done historically is taken certain funds and divided them into 15 equal slices because there are 15 districts. But that doesn’t mean that they are helping the communities with the greater needs. I’d rather see us make an honest assessment of those areas that have been underserved. To be more specific, the mayor could address public housing. Homelessness is also an ongoing problem and an issue within the purview of the mayor’s office. The next mayor needs to have some vision about housing, renters’ rights, production of affordable housing--things that affect homelessness.

SARO KERKONIAN

Los Angeles attorney, member, Armenian Bar Assn.

The Armenian community (primarily lives) right in the heart of Los Angeles or the Hollywood area. I think curbing the crime in the community is a big issue--it’s important for them to have their children be safe at school. They want to be sure that when they invest money in the community, their rights are going to be protected. Most Armenians would like to see better crime prevention, better protection for their businesses and families. But these are issues that are important for everybody.

I think the most important thing would be to have someone in the mayor’s office who can unite the different communities of this city to work to better it. Maybe it could be done by having summits like the President has had (on the economy)--one on community unity, one on schooling--where you get leaders and members of the community having their say.

FRANK MORENO

Director, West-Central Community Development Center

Latinos are not a monolith. Each group has its way of viewing its existence in Los Angeles. But if you were to stand on a corner in Pico Union or if you were to stand near MacArthur Park, you would hear people talking about the sad state of law enforcement in their communities and about the drugs that are being sold there.

You would hear about how they are fed up with crime, drugs and gangs. A lot of people don’t want to raise these issues for fear of perhaps sounding too stern. But when you go listen to people speak in community meetings, this is what you hear. You hear them talk about how their community is under siege. They talk about how they’re tired of seeing their children shot. They would like to go out at night. They would like to stroll in the park.

Latinos feel as though they deserve more from the city. The feeling is that Latinos should be further ahead than they are. They blame the city government, but to a degree, they also blame their elected officials who they don’t think have pushed their agenda hard enough.

DEBORAH CHING

Executive director, Chinatown Service Center, and president, Asian Pacific Planning Council

The issue that cuts across all groups is the economic development of our city. There’s been a lot of new Chinese and Asian immigrants coming here recently; they need help adjusting to this new country and need to be included in all economic plans. I would like the recognition that all our city’s immigrants are just as much a part of Los Angeles as anyone else.

I would also like to see more emphasis on small business development. Many new immigrants are entrepreneurs who want to start small businesses, and small businesses can help a city just like large ones can.

LUCY CASADO

Owner, Lucy’s El Adobe restaurant

This city needs a mayor with the skills of an ambassador to be able to translate our American values and culture to all the new foreigners who are now living in our great city and haven’t yet assimilated.

They haven’t assimilated because there are no jobs. If there were jobs, they would be working somewhere and becoming acculturated. Many of them are becoming American citizens through the 1986 amnesty, but they still have no jobs.

We also need someone who can define the question of immigration. It’s difficult to determine who the immigration department is targeting. Are they talking about the poor or the rich, the ones who come on boats or on planes? Are they talking about the ones who are coming on boats from China or Korea or the ones who are crossing the roads of San Ysidro?

REV. PETER NEELEY

Creating jobs goes right to the root of a lot of other problems and is the first step toward dealing with the gang issue.

One area of the health issue that needs to be addressed is alcoholism. Very few gangsters are going out and shooting people when they are straight. They’re either strung out on alcohol or drugs.

Domestic violence is another problem. We need programs to deal with that.

PHILL WILSON

Founder and co-chairman of the Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum and director of public policy at AIDS Project L.A.

As a person dealing with AIDS and HIV-diseases services, I think it’s very important for a city that has over 13,000 people infected with AIDS to make a significant commitment to the fight against AIDS.

Also the issues of discrimination against African-American gays and lesbians are very important. We experience discrimination on a very surface level as African-Americans. We experience discrimination, sometimes in more subtle ways, when people discover that we are gay or lesbian.

Recently we learned just how painful that discrimination can be when President Clinton began his efforts to end discrimination in the armed forces based on sexual orientation. Given that so many African-Americans serve in the Armed Forces and use it as both an alternative to higher education and as a way to escape poverty, it’s important that cities take a stand.