Valley VOTE Board voted to recommend a NO vote on Proposition R.

Press Release
From: Valley VOTE
Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment
14622 Ventura Blvd. #424, Sherman Oaks, CA. 91403
September 14, 2006 Contact: Joe Vitti -President
javittisr@cs.com [818] 366 1668

Despite the continuing uncertainty of the legal issues, the Valley VOTE Board of Directors has voted overwhelming to recommend a NO vote on Proposition R.

Proposition R will be on the Ballot in November, however, it's fate at this time, is also in the hands of the courts. The proposition recommends a Los Angeles City Charter change to permit City Council member to serve 3- four year terms. It also includes a number of Ethics reform measures.

"The primary justification for Valley VOTE's opposition to the measure is based upon procedural, legal and ethical matters" said Joe Vitti, President of Valley VOTE. " Increasing the term limits for the L.A. City Council should be proposed to the voters as a single issue and not obscured by any other language or reforms."

A summary of the major arguments to Vote No on R are as follows:

1] On August 31,2006 a judge ordered the title prepared by the Yes on Proposition R authors to be changed to clearly state that the term limits of Councilmembers will be "lengthen" not simply "changed." This ruling was reversed by the 2nd District Court of Appeals with the judges stating that "to comply with the election statutes the ballot title need not be the most accurate, most comprehensive or fairest" wording.
2] Another attempt to confuse the voters on this important Charter change to term limits, that occurred early on, was the addition of the flawed ethics reform proposal, added after polling had indicated that the term limits recommendation alone was in serious trouble of passing by the voters.
3] The City Council motion for Proposition R was approved on July 14,2006. On Tuesday, July 18,2006 the City Council passed the final proposal with little time for them to review it.
4] The passage of Proposition R by the City Council ignored the advice of City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo who stated that Proposition R "weakens current ethics laws, places the city in legal peril and is misleading to the voters."

In addition, the rush by the City Council to get this on the ballot in November bypassed a critical review by a number of organizational entities.
5] The Ethics Commission, which has the responsibility to oversee Ethics regulations was never consulted. Ethics Commissioner Bill Boyarsky said that Prop. R is an "outrageous proposal" and "showed absolute contempt for the Ethics Commission"
6] Neighborhood Councils, as the City Charter states, should receive notice and given "a reasonable opportunity to provide input before decisions are made" were not consulted.
7] Many political organizations and political leaders throughout the city were not provided an opportunity to review the proposition. Local Chambers of Commerce and homeowner groups were ignored by the City Council. City Controller Laura Chick said, commenting on Prop. R "I do not think in its current form it should go on the ballot, and if it does it should not pass"
8] What is further damaging to good government is one aspect of the proposed ethics reform measure. It could relieve lobbyists from disclosing who they are working for if they agree to get paid after the issue has been decided.

Valley VOTE Mission Statement
Valley VOTE, a diverse coalition of San Fernando Valley residents, business people, educators, community activists, and organizations, is committed to exploring and implementing programs that empower the people of the San Fernando Valley and the City of Los Angeles, including opportunities to improve local governance, education and public participation on policy matters.