A big budget win!
Friends & neighbors,
Ballots for the June primary have been delivered! You have until June 2 to postmark and mail in your ballots.
Last week, the Supreme Court nearly completed it’s dissolution of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965, continuing its attack on minority and progressive power.
Remember: voting is the bare minimum… just step one of many.
Find local candidates who inspire you… volunteer and donate if you are able. Fighting to preserve our democracy takes all of us.
Big budget news + public safety committee created!
Here’s what went down in the last Council meeting…
First, I have some big news to share.
We secured $3M in next year’s budget for safe streets projects!
By a vote of 4-1, the Council passed my motion directing staff to include $3M in next year’s budget for critical safe streets projects such as Better Overland and Safer Fox Hills projects.
When the list of capital projects being funded next year included no safe streets projects, neighbors spoke up, and we got $3M in additional funds added for that exact purpose.
Our community deserves safe streets and we have waited long enough to fund these projects. I’m grateful we were able to get this funding secured so we can make major improvements to some of Culver City’s most dangerous streets.
We created a public safety subcommittee— a first for Culver City
When I first joined the Council, I was appointed to the Police Polices Subcommittee which privately met a few times per year with the Police Department about important issues, but never in public.
In my first meeting of this body, I was asked to approve important documents that never came to a public meeting for visibility. Meetings about important police policies should happen in the light of day, with plenty of public input.
So I proposed a motion to create a standing Public Safety Subcommittee that meets publicly to discuss issues of public safety, including policing but not just policing, and it passed 3-2.
I’m grateful to have my colleague Councilmember McMorrin serving on this body with me— she has been working towards a modern vision of public safety in our city for many years.
We endorsed state bills supporting police oversight & accountability
An important aspect of our job as Councilmembers is to support important pieces of state legislation when they reflect our community’s values and goals.
So I asked the Council to officially endorse two state bills, one by our fantastic Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (AB 1537) which would ban police officers from taking a second job with ICE.
And the second by Senator Scott Wiener (SB 747) which would create a right to legal action for individuals who have had their constitutional rights violated by police.
Both motions were unanimously approved, and now those important state bills are officially endorsed by Culver City.
We dissolved two committees due to a member’s conflict of interest
Following a decision letter from the FPPC that Councilmember O’Brien was conflicted from participating in the Minimum Wage Subcommittee and the Interactive Kiosk Subcommittee due to his role as the CEO of the Culver City Chamber of Commerce, the Council voted to dissolve both subcomittees.
The policy work of the minimum wage subcommittee will be folded into a new Subcommittee on Affordability and the work of the interactive kiosks will come straight to the full City Council for approval.
Tonight at 7PM! City Manager unveils proposed budget
Tonight at 7PM, here are the four major items coming to City Council:
PH-1: Annual update of job vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts
PH-2: Introducing an ordinance approving zoning code amendments to comply with SB-79
A-1: City manager presents the annual budget and key performane indicators
A-2: Approving the siting plan for the interactive digital kiosk program on city sidewalks
We would love to hear from you tonight!
Watch tonight at City Hall, Zoom, or on the city’s YouTube channel.
Just tap the button below to sign up to speak.
Saturday: Support our Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas for Re-Election!
Please join me this Saturday in support of Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas for re-election.
Senator Smallwood-Cuevas continues to be a champion for working people in the CA Senate. In her first term, she’s been a powerful voice for criminal justice reform, workers rights, environmental justice, universal healthcare and childcare, investing in public transit, and so much more.
We see you, Senator! Thank you for fighting for all of us.
Around Town!
We rode the D, and we liked it!
LA just got a lot smaller thanks to the D Line Extension Phase 1, creating a 15 min ride from Beverly Hills to DTLA.
And that’s just the start. Phase 2 and 3 all the way through Century City to Westwood is set to open next year.
Culver City: you can take the 105 (La Cienega) or 217 (Fairfax) to ride the D too! And next year, Phase 3 will connect to our Sepulveda Connects project and the CC6 bus!
This extension creates seamless connections to businesses, to museums, to schools, and to each other.
Because great cities are built for people, not cars. All aboard! 🚇✨
Thanks for catching up with me— I hope you have a great start to your week!
In service,
Bubba