PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
SPRING 2009

Though we may all feel “election-overload” after the exciting and dramatic presidential election, we nonetheless have an election coming up in April.  This time around we will be electing 3 city council members, among other offices.  I’m not going to be endorsing any candidate – that would not be proper.  But I am going to go on record and say that it is high time that the city of Glendale adopt District elections.  Every large city by and large divides their neighborhoods up into districts of approximately equal population, and only a candidate who lives in that district is eligible to represent that district.  Los Angeles of course does this, but even Pasadena – a city half the size of Glendale – also does it.

The reasons for having district elections are obvious: true representation of the views and concerns of their local constituents.  This is something we in Adams Hill have not had for almost a decade, since Gus Gomez was last on City Council.  This year there is one candidate from our area, Michael Teahan, AHHA’s past president, but he is the first in a very long time, running in a field of 12 candidates including 3 incumbents.

I am not intending to disparage our current council members.  I’ve met all of them and they are decent guys.  But they all live north of the 134 freeway.  More than 50% of the population of Glendale lives south of the 134, but there is not a single council person who lives here.

A few years ago I wrote a report analyzing where all of the people live who had been appointed by the Council to the city’s boards and commissions.   What I found was that the council had a propensity to appoint people from their own areas.  Zip codes in north Glendale, Chevy Chase Canyon, Verdugo Woodlands – all of these areas had more than 80% of the seats while representing less than 40% of the population.  Why are these seats important?  Because they have direct control over many aspects of our lives: what gets built in our neighborhood, what it looks like, what we pay in utility bills.  These are major issues.   Yet the zip codes ‘down south’ – 91203, 91204 and 91205 only had 9% of commissioners versus 39% of population.

I am not saying that a city council person or commissioner who lives outside our area cannot find it in them to learn about our issues and respect them.  But if our representatives lived here, they wouldn’t have to learn – they would know because they live here. 

Chris Welch
President
Adams Hill Homeowners' Association