Dear Fellow Community Activists:
At noon Monday, July 14, Bastille Day, we, the people who care about the future of Los Angeles, are coming together on the South Lawn of City Hall to protest the failure of our elected officials respect the needs of our communities and treat us with respect.
This is actually much more than a protest. It is the launching of our concerned citizens coalition that is intended to bring neighborhood councils, service clubs, residents groups, business groups, churches and activists of all types together. Our plan is to form a third force in L.A. politics that will have a unified seat at the table of power with the unions and the developers-contractors-lobbyists.
We all have different neighborhood issues and we might not always agree on everything our city, as a whole, needs. But, we can support each other in our individual goals. We can spark public conversation that will lead to faster progress in solving our problems in order to help create a greater L.A.
The operating name of the group is the “Saving L.A. Project” or S.L.A.P. and the theme protest is “Take Back Los Angeles — Demand A Great City.” I’ve been writing extensively about local politics, and the July 14 rally, ever since I retired two months ago as Editor of the Daily News. I have since met with dozens of community groups and I have learned a lot that has better informed my own views about what’s wrong with the way City Hall operates, and more importantly, how we fix it.
Thousands of people all over L.A., like you, have worked long and hard for years to make our neighborhoods better. I believe what’s needed is for all our groups to unite and develop an agenda for a great L.A., to bring the Spirit of L.A. back to life, a city with healthy neighborhoods, good schools, safer streets and less congestion. Our Neighborhood Councils are vital in achieving this.
During our rally we plan to put forward a “Contract for a Great Los Angeles,” that challenges our officials to sign and commit themselves to a new way of doing business. We need your ideas for this!. We need your participation! We need the biggest crowd we can muster to send City Hall a message! A message that we are serious and we are going to go forward to build an organization that will change the politics of our city and offer hope to our apathetic, alienated and defeated residents.
The future of L.A. is in our hands! We have set up an email address for your responses. Please let us know if you want our printed flyers, if buses or other transportation is needed and what ideals you feel we need to emphasize, during our protest and in our future.
This is the first step in bringing real democracy to L.A., to truly empower our community, to make a difference in our lives now, and in our children’s lives in the future. I hope you will take a look at what I’ve been writing regarding our city on my blog, ronkayeLA.com. Please give me the feedback I need to help me understand what you see. I want to better articulate the frustration and desires of our people, who have already stepped forward and worked hard to make L.A. better.
Please share this information and the attached flyer with all members of your organizations. I would also appreciate it if you would post the flyer wherever it is appropriate. I am looking forward to hearing from you as soon as possible. For further information, and to respond, visit: www.ronkayela.com , or you can call me at: office 818-704-8418, cell 818-621-8349.
Very sincerely yours,
Ron Kaye
Saving L.A. Project
ronkayela.com
cell 818-621-8349
office 818-704-8418