Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Draiman says that voters deserve to hear from all Mayoral candidates on the ballot

Draiman says that voters deserve to hear from all Mayoral candidates on the ballot

It is anti democratic to ignore candidates who have earned their place to be on the ballot.

In the current political mood and the growing apathy by voters it is imperative that every candidate who is officially on the ballot to be heard by the public.

Ignoring these candidates only reinforces to the voting public that money and not the most qualified candidate is given a chance to run for office with a level playing field.

The deck is stacked against a candidate who is not willing to be swayed by money and political influence. This is a sad day for our Democracy.

The Media and the various organizations who host a candidate forum – debate have a great responsibility to present unbiased information to the public, of all the candidates that appear on the ballot with a level playing field.

To ignore some candidates is a distortion of our Democratic oath and they are practicing the very same unacceptable behavior that they are trying to correct in today’s political scene.

By ignoring candidates who are on the ballot the voters are deprived of critical information and opinions of all the candidates on the ballot. It is a disservice to the community at large.

Angelenos have the right to an open and balanced election process resting on the values of our democracy, which is open to all candidates.

We have to show to the public how real democracy at work – by presenting all the candidates, not just the select few.

The right to vote is the right that protects all other rights. That includes all official candidates.

YJ Draiman

Draiman says that voters deserve to hear from all Mayoral candidates on the ballot

Draiman says that voters deserve to hear from all Mayoral candidates on the ballot

It is anti democratic to ignore candidates who have earned their place to be on the ballot.

In the current political mood and the growing apathy by voters it is imperative that every candidate who is officially on the ballot to be heard by the public.

Ignoring these candidates only reinforces to the voting public that money and not the most qualified candidate is given a chance to run for office with a level playing field.

The deck is stacked against a candidate who is not willing to be swayed by money and political influence. This is a sad day for our Democracy.

The Media and the various organizations who host a candidate forum – debate have a great responsibility to present unbiased information to the public, of all the candidates that appear on the ballot with a level playing field.

To ignore some candidates is a distortion of our Democratic oath and they are practicing the very same unacceptable behavior that they are trying to correct in today’s political scene.

By ignoring candidates who are on the ballot the voters are deprived of critical information and opinions of all the candidates on the ballot. It is a disservice to the community at large.

Angelenos have the right to an open and balanced election process resting on the values of our democracy, which is open to all candidates.

We have to show to the public how real democracy at work – by presenting all the candidates, not just the select few.

The right to vote is the right that protects all other rights. That includes all official candidates.

YJ Draiman

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

YJ Draiman for mayor of LA TV Interview - Dec. 24, 2012

YJ Draiman for mayor of LA TV Interview  - Dec. 24, 2012
 http://youtu.be/dAhC83qfFXg


 

Draiman Mayoral Candidate Interview - Dec. 24, 2012 - YouTube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAhC83qfFXg
2 days ago
YJ Draiman - LA Mayoral Candidate 2013 TV Interview December 24, 2012. www.draimanformayor2013.com.
 

YJ Draiman for Mayor 2013 
9420 Reseda Blvd. PO Box 274
Northridge, CA 91324
Campaign ID# 1333783
Tel. (818) 366-6999

"Economy is the basis of society. When the economy is stable, society develops. The ideal economy combines the spiritual and the material, and the best commodities to trade in are sincerity and love."

If you vote, you can make a difference by shear numbers alone!

If you vote, you can make a difference by shear numbers alone!
Los Angeles must change its dysfunctional leadership!
The “Vote Organization” sponsored by Yehuda Draiman intends to gather the masses of the population, the people who are being ignored and apathetic. These people outnumber the Special interests groups and their puppets by at least 8-2. In gathering all the masses to vote as a cohesive force by sheer numbers alone, we can retake our government and place candidates whose allegiance is to the people as a whole. We can place candidates who care about the people, our cities, states and country.
It is voter apathy that prevents people from voting – Yehuda Draiman

It is known that many people distrust politicians and the “system”, and many people believe that their vote is worthless in the end. This leads to high levels of “voter apathy”, especially in municipal and state elections.
We need to educate the people that their votes do count, that each vote helps them to exercise their constitutional right in a Democratic country. I think if people care about the future it is their obligation to vote and exercise their voting power to make a difference.
I know many voters claim that special interests groups and the money people control the elections.
I feel very strongly that if the masses of people would rise up and vote, we could overcome the special interests groups and the money people. After all the peoples, numbers are much greater than the special interests groups and the money people.
... It is a government by the people for the people.
I plead with all voters please exercise your right and vote and make the difference.

Thank you

Yehuda YJ Draiman

Do you want to experience again LA’s vibrancy and vitality - Draiman

Do you want to experience again LA’s vibrancy and vitality
Are we to follow a paradigm of failed leadership or are we to flourish economically – truthfulness and financial discipline will – intensity; That the quality of truthfulness enabled him to live with. Through strict adherence to truth, we should be able to recognize that the ideas concerning metaphysics that are current in Los Angeles are falsehoods. We should not underestimate the attractiveness of those ideas. At that time, Los Angeles was the world's entertainment and intellectual center. For this reason, the ideas circulating within that country's intellectual elite came with great persuasive power. Moreover, a firm grip of the truth should enable us to know that those superficially plausible ideas are in fact intellectual booby traps.
I suggest that another way through which the quality of truth enabled our forefathers to live with life (truly living) even in today’s time is our truthfulness to ourselves. To understand what I mean when I say that X was truthful to himself, consider the opposite situation wherein we do not acknowledge to ourselves that we are doing wrong. Such intellectual dishonesty precludes the possibility of correcting the error of our ways. Indeed, the person may continue doing wrong, and do so with an air of self-satisfaction -- thus adding haughtiness’ to his/her portfolio of bad deeds.
With the advent of joy, X was able to reconnect with higher power. Further, as this account indicates, Life living and happiness can be mutually reinforcing. Starting with truthfulness, a person may generate a self-sustaining upward spiral. Thus, adherence to truth can help a person live his/her life with joy. And unburdened of negative feelings to life, the person can come still closer to an awareness of reality; that is, to recognition that the entire Cosmos draws its existence from higher power.
http://draimanformayor2013.com
 

To be the Mayor of Los Angeles is a great responsibility - treat it with respect!

To be the Mayor of Los Angeles is a great responsibility - treat it with respect!
The position of a Mayor of the City of Los Angeles is an enormous undertaking and a great responsibility. It must be assumed with the yoke of great duty and humility; one must bear the weight of such a revered position and earn the trust and honor to serve the people of Los Angeles. Only with such state of mind and intent can an individual honestly lead the Great City of Los Angeles.
The Mayor must serve as an example to his staff and the people in honesty, integrity and fiscal responsibility. To serve the people of Los Angeles is no easy task and it must be performed in a manner that projects the Mayor as the leader of all the people of Los Angeles with no exceptions. The Mayor of Los Angeles must represent the aspirations and goals of the people he serves and not the special interests.
The Mayor should revitalize the City of Los Angeles and restore public faith and confidence in City Hall by taking actions that benefit the people. He should promote business and streamline bureaucracy, institute a strict financial responsibility, promote and enhance the education system, devise and implement systems to eliminate corruption and fraud, rebuild the infrastructure and expand public transportation. The Mayor should unify the transit system; direct the building of low-cost public housing, public playgrounds and parks; upgrade the airports; reorganize the police force; defeat the powerful special interests political machine; and reestablish merit employment in place of patronage jobs.
He should lead by example and implement reform politics that are carefully tailored to address the sentiments of his diverse constituency. He should defeat the corrupt political machine; he is presiding during an era of extreme economic depression and an era of foreclosures that have not been seen since the depression era. The mayor should make the city the model for welfare and public works programs and champion immigrants and ethnic minorities. The mayor will succeed with the support of the masses. He should secure his place in history as a tough-minded reform mayor who helped clean out corruption, bring in gifted experts, and instill upon the city a broad sense of responsibility for its own citizens. His administration should engage new groups that had been kept out of the political system, give Los Angeles its modern infrastructure, and raise expectations to the new levels of urban possibility. He should synthesize the human sympathy of the special interests with the honesty and efficiency of the good government reformers. The Mayor should embrace the Neighborhood Council's advice, for they represent the cross-section of all the neighborhoods in Los Angeles. He should consider adding some voting power to the Neighborhood Councils.
The mayor should be tough on his staffers and leave no doubt that he is in charge. He should never lose control; he should utilize federal money and grants to the full extent. He should work with all concerned for the betterment of the people and the city. According to today's political standards, the people would have to support the Mayor's vision and actions.

Restore the financial health and break free from the special interests & bankers'
Implement and overhaul of our educational system
Expand the federally funded work relief program for the unemployed
Develop and implement an atmosphere of a business friendly city
End corruption in government and racketeering in key sectors of the economy
Replace patronage with a merit-based civil service, with high prestige
Modernize the infrastructure, especially roads, transportation and parks
We need to rebuild the infrastructure - highways, bridges and tunnels, transform the physical landscape of the City Los Angeles. We need to address the wages, pensions and benefits for teachers, police and city workers without borrowing more and more until the City of Los Angeles is faced with bankruptcy. No juggling the books to pay the city's bills.
The mayor must restore the economic lifeblood of the City of Los Angeles during these hard economic times and initiate public works programs which would employ thousands of angelinos. The mayor should pursue a relentless lobbying for federal funds to upgrade and develop LA's economic infrastructure.
There is no time like the present to start investigating in alternative methods of insuring the financial security of the City of Los Angeles, and in particular the people of Los Angeles don't deserve procrastination and partisan gotcha politics. The people of LA need and demand real action and real results.
In closing The Mayor of the City of Los Angeles for 2013 must have courage, wisdom, honesty, and vision with an added tenacity and perseverance? What we need is gutsy political leadership and a realistic plan that includes sacrifices by everybody.
YJ Draiman
http://www.yjdraimanformayor.org
PS.
If Los Angeles is to avoid the potential of Bankruptcy, like N.Y. in 1975.
The Mayor of Los Angeles must pull the stakeholders together and forced them to make sacrifices -- unions, banks, legislators, debt holders, community groups. The obstacle to that seemed to be the politics of getting everyone to make reciprocal concessions.
The Mayor of LA has to come up with a plan that looks realistic. This includes sacrifices from everybody. Which maintains the economic viability of the city because you can also tax yourself out of existence, LA already has high taxes and fees? Which probably puts in a control structure that oversees budgets? You just have a big economic plan that stretches out between six and 10 years that will be acceptable to the markets and not be destructive to the economy.
http://www.yjdraimanformayor.com

”Draiman is gaining momentum against his rivals for Mayor of Los Angeles”

”Draiman is gaining momentum against his rivals for Mayor of Los Angeles”
 YJ Draiman
 
Seventy-seven days remaining to the Los Angeles primary election of March 5, 2013. The Conservative candidate – who wants to make LA “The World Capital of Renewable-energy”, The Independent contender, Yehuda YJ Draiman, is challenging LA’s political machine and gaining strength with the message to the voters – “if you all vote, we can take back our city”, we outnumber the special interests voters at least 8-2. It seems to be a very powerful and realistic slogan.

The current elected insider candidates for mayor by utilizing visible, powerful, slight, innocuous but forceful sense – each of his three rivals insiders has held office and set City Hall policy for more than 12 years, which explains how the insiders contributed to the city’s desperate condition and financial insolvency. This system will eventually bankrupt the city of LA – Draiman is systematically breaking down the political machine that is holding Angelenos hostage he is methodically breaking down their hold on LA city government.

Draiman has stated that they the insiders made the mess, which should disqualify them from running for any office, especially the mayors, while they are continuing on the road to bankrupt the city of LA. With that kind of record, no wonder Draiman’s claims are not ignored.
Draiman is Different
As one of the two viable unelected candidates – Draiman is building a following that has no allegiance to any political party, when it comes to put the right person for the job of Mayor. Draiman states that as independent, his loyalty is to the people of Los Angeles and the City, therefore he is the right candidate at the right time, and given the chance, he can bring our city to economic and financial health.

In the past twenty months, Draiman with over 20 years of energy and utility auditing experience contended that the opposition insiders have contributed to the economic and financial havoc in our city that is why they are not qualified for the office of Mayor. The insiders’ record of accomplishment is littered with poor judgment, they voted for multitude of bills that are detrimental to our city’s health. They have caused many of the problems that now ail Los Angeles.

The insiders, his opponents, have tried to enumerate their debatable accomplishments in the past 12 years. They keep harping on those questionable accomplishments ignoring all their failures that caused our current disastrous condition.

Draiman has stated that the insiders’ guidance and dubious accomplishments have brought our city to its knees.
Our city is on the verge of bankruptcy, a crumbling infrastructure, schools in disarray, economy in shambles, businesses and people are leaving the city in droves, a transportation system and traffic pattern that is highly inadequate for Los Angeles, no transparency and above all the total loss of trust by Angelenos.

You are the 12 years veterans of our city council contributed to the catastrophic situation the city of Los Angeles is currently facing, that is what Mr. Draiman is telling his better-known rivals.
Projecting His Image
Draiman’s repeated charges that insiders’ past poor performance if not negligent performance, is the crux of our city’s problems. Draiman has shown his understanding and devotion to the challenge at hand, which is to start changing the direction our city, is currently heading.

Draiman’s approach is primarily tackling the economy and jobs, he states that addressing these problems as top priority will reduce or resolve some of the other issues. He would initiate a program for Made in America products. This would require certain tax benefits to the manufacturer of products or other new businesses in Los Angeles. Any unemployed person, who returns to the workforce, reduces the dependency for financial and social support by the government. Thus it turns the worker into a revenue generator for the government, while the employee’s earning are spent on goods and services, which boosts the economy further.

Draiman asserts that the city of Los Angeles must make it easy for businesses to thrive. This will create employment and increase revenues to the government and it will create the multiplier effect.

Draiman claims that by increasing the bureaucracy taxes and fees, it depresses the economy, reduces business development, which in turn reduces consumer spending and as a result reduces revenues to the government.

Draiman is supposed to have been a long shot in a field dominated by three City Hall elected officials with name recognition. City Councilman Eric Garcetti, the most favorite for his own so-called accomplishments. City Controller and former Councilperson Wendy Greuel, a close second choice or maybe first choice, and Councilperson Jan Perry, most likely the third on the list.

While Draiman is considerably behind the three leading contenders in the race in fundraising, many claim that such deficiency is hard to overcome. That is why he is not at the top of the list.

Unless those people occupying the seats at the mayoralty discussions, and unless his rivals are pretending to be concerned, ignoring Mr. Draiman could come to haunt them in the end.
We See a Pattern
Those who have witnessed the various mayoral candidates presentations – have noticed, a specific pattern:

Mr. Garcetti, keeps stating how he has authored...”

Ms. Greuel’s performance is similar. Ms. Perry has somewhat of a milder performance.

Mr. Draiman, has, continually addressed the critical issues with logical solutions, which puts his opponents on notice that they must respond accordingly.




It is voter apathy that prevents people from voting – Yehuda YJ Draiman

It is voter apathy that prevents people from voting – Yehuda YJ Draiman
It is known that many people distrust’s politicians and the “system”, and many people believe that their vote is worthless in the end. This leads to high levels of “voter apathy”, especially in municipal and state elections.
We need to educate the people that their votes do count, that each vote helps them to exercise their constitutional right in a Democratic country.
I know many voters claim that the elections are controlled by special interests groups and the money people.
I feel very strongly that if the masses of people would rise up and vote, we could overcome the special interests groups and the money people. After all the peoples numbers are much greater than the special interests groups and the money people.
It is a government by the people for the people.
I plead with all voters please exercise your right and vote.
Thank you
Yehuda YJ Draiman
Be sure to vote your conscience and not be swayed by money and empty promises.

A corrupt government in Los Angeles is a failed government! - Draiman

A corrupt government in Los Angeles is a failed government! - Draiman
Any politician running for any office in the city of Los Angeles in 2013 who makes statements like the following, regard these statements as red flags as to the type of job they will do once in office. Politicians who refuse to confront the single most important issue in Los Angeles Today are not only in denial, they are unfit to hold the office for which he/she is running. They are complicit in the crime of usurpation and are unwittingly revealing to you he/she will—once in office—place his/her career above the integrity of LA’s city government. Any politician who places his career above his city and country is a traitor. This type of politician can and will be easily corrupted by bribery, intimidation and special interests groups who care only about their own agenda and not the people.
Corruption is insidious; a viral infection that turns cancerous if ignored over time — and that is what has happened to the city government of Los Angeles.
For decades, the city’s business and civic leadership has stood by with a wink and a nod and sometimes their active participation as developers, contractors, unions and other special interests bought the politicians with campaign cash and reaped fabulous profits on their investments in the form of sweetheart contracts, subsidies, tax breaks and other lucrative benefits.
The point here is that we all as Angelenos must determine the direction we want to go in, the kind of people we want to see in LA’s City Hall and the focus we want our Los Angeles city government to have.  Such a perspective forces us to think beyond a single person and his/her rhetoric and promises to see what the shape of the future is. Do we Angelenos are fools enough to elect current elected officials as Mayor or any other position, after they have presided over a failed and dysfunctional LA city government for the past 12 years.
Therefore, candidates, tell me who you plan to put in your cabinet, why, and what your practical goals are. Do not tell me what you think or what I want to hear, or nice sound bites, tell the truth about how you will contribute in concrete terms to the city of Los Angeles economic and financial health, how are you planning to turn our city around and make it flourish.

http://draimanformayor2013.com

Bring the City of Los Angeles to Economic Health! - Draiman

Bring the City of Los Angeles to Economic Health!
Elect YJ Draiman for Mayor in 2013
In your hands, my fellow Angelenos, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this city was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again - not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are - but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" - a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself. 
If you want to make a difference in your life and the life of the City of Los Angeles – Bring back our City to prosperity – Elect Yehuda YJ Draiman for Mayor on March 5, 2013

Are LA voters angry enough to change the current administration at Los Angeles City Hall??? - Draiman

Are LA voters angry enough to change the current administration at Los Angeles City Hall???
LA voters in the March 2011 Elections voted for incumbents – People do not care, why???
Why do we think LA city election on March 5, 2013 will be any different???
I would think with the poor performance and dismal track record by the current administration, the voters would demand to change the current administration at LA City Hall.
4 of the current LA Mayoral candidates are mostly recycled LA City Council members who have proven themselves unworthy by their repeated failure to solve the City’s problems and Council staff members who have demonstrated their loyalty and obedience to their pockets, like well-trained dogs.
The corruption in LA government must be stopped.
The performance of the current administrations borders on criminal neglect.
In order to move forward, we must educate the voters, let them know that the current administration goals are business as usual, there will be no significant changes and the city will be heading into bankruptcy. The escalating costs of pensions and benefits will drain most of the city budget as we head into 2020. The increased taxes and fees on residents and businesses will push people and businesses to leave the city. This again will reduce revenues to the city.
The city must initiate an austerity program. Cut salaries and benefits across the board, increase efficiency and performance. The Police Department should utilize civil service employees for clerical work, not Police Officers. The city must tighten its belt and reduce taxes and fees, streamline bureaucracy. Promote the health of existing businesses and actively go after new businesses. Any city employee who is not performing his job to standards should be put on suspension without pay or benefits and if such action has not improved the workers performance, the worker/employee should be terminated. The city must utilize its most expensive resource, its employees more efficiently, promote a good work environment and reward exceptional performance. People must realize that if they do not do their job, they will have no job and no means of support. The city must streamline management and reduce management costs. A high administrative cost is not prudent and not sustainable. LA’s employee costs are one of the highest in the country. We need a change in attitude, and that starts at the top. As they say in good leadership, “follow me”.
The main question is, why LA voters don’t care, why they are resigned to accept failure and diminishing LA city services.
Can we not find a leader who will motivate City Hall and initiate hard choices to bring the city to financial health?
City elections should be held on the first Tuesday of November with all the other elections to Federal, County & State.
It will reduce costs and increase voter turnout.
The peoples brigade for honest government

The Ethics of Governance – YJ Draiman

The Ethics of Governance – YJ Draiman

When we have a set of principles, of values, which we have been learning for many years, we organize our life following this structure, and then we try to apply that frame of mind to practical situations in our life. But often, we find ourselves in a sort of uncomfortable position because the moment we try to apply our values to this very present practical issue, we feel that the situation is not as clear as we would like, that we can not tell very clearly which is the best possible alternative. Often, it is not a choice between good answers and bad answers, good and evil, but maybe between two good things or two bad things. We would like to be much surer about our decisions.
When this happens in government, it is even worse because the whole society and beyond is affected by your decision. You are not dealing with your own life. You are dealing with many millions of lives at the same time. Maybe things will never be the same again in the future because of your decision. Hence, ethical decisions in government are; How do you apply your theoretical values to practical decisions where you do not have pure answers and when the whole life of your society or community will be affected?
You have more or less the same system dealing with the problems in government. You need all the facts. The facts can be the symptoms or the problem. You never know which is it at the instant you start analyzing the problem. Thus, you get the facts, and afterwards you try to make some sense of them. You have some theories or hypothesis of what is causing the symptoms. In addition, you try to implement the course of action. Only after you have consulted with your advisers, you want to have as much input as possible.
You also have to deal with the problem in ethical terms. The ethical approach is the Utilitarian. You have to balance how much good and how much evil you produce with your actions. If the good outweighs the evil, you should do it, as it is a sort of balance. The second is based on the concept of rights. There are some basic human rights that you have to respect. You are not allowed to affect those human rights in order to produce positive affect in your society. The third one is founded, on the concept of justice or fairness. We have at least three different concepts about justice. You can have distributive justice in which you try to distribute all the goods of the society according to the needs of the people. However, you can also have the concept of contribution. In this case, you are not receiving on the base of what you need but on the base of what you are contributing to society. In addition, you have the compensation concept. In this circumstance, you have the right for compensation if you have losses or harm done due to others. The fourth major ethical approach is a foundation on virtues. The question is not what I should do, but what kind of society would I like to have in the future. How are my actions going to contribute to that future? In addition, you have the common good, the concept in which you are doing things that are equally good for everybody in your community.
The sun is an asset to everyone, we have to know how to harness its rays within us and warm the heart.
Should the sun warm only the individual heart, to skip on others, on the community and the nation?

It is predicated on the individual’s personality, the compassion, the treatment of his fellow person, to the community and the nation.

YJ Draiman

To lead Los Angeles Government as Mayor, you must earn the trust of the people – We need a game changer YJ Draiman – r1

To lead Los Angeles Government as Mayor, you must earn the trust of the people – We need a game changer YJ Draiman – r1
America and its cities are gripped by the Great Recession.  A collective mood of unrest has grown into dissatisfaction and disaffection with politics and the political process. There is a belief that our best days are behind us, no one can get us out of this mess.  People are losing their jobs, their homes, and their savings, everything they worked for all their lives.  Moreover, we cannot agree as to when it will end.
Politicians in Washington talk past one another, engaging in partisan, meaningless bickering, while not addressing the underlying conditions that got us here.  Politics is less about long term solutions and more about winning the evening’s news cycle.  For the first time in our history, we are in real danger of failing to pass on a better world than the one our parents left us.
How then do we rebuild America? What happens now?  The answer must come from all of you.
Today, a commitment to public service is no longer an option, but an imperative, more important today than perhaps at any other time in our history.  It is how you assure that the American Dream will still be available to you and your children.
We posit that the only way to reverse the systemic, long-term economic crisis we are in today is through an investment in American cities.  Consider that 80% of the American people live in metropolitan areas that are responsible for nearly 85% of all jobs, income and our gross domestic product.  Cities generate wealth, prosperity and opportunity…creating sustainable economies.
An investment in America’s cities, an investment in America’s people, is an investment in your future and America’s future.
Because America invested in me, I am able to give back through public service.
Is America still willing to invest in its people; provide the tools for opportunity?  Does a 10 year old child today see the same promise?

Mayors as architects of their citiesThe fight to save the planet from irreversible climate change begins on Main Street- we must embrace smart growth- to design cities that make sense.
The challenges Mayors face daily can be seen through the context of the Mayor’s role to make cities sustainable, to make them work, to be the architects of their future.
While traditional American cities were developed as high density, compact, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, that is no longer the case.  We abandoned cities for the failed promise of the suburbs.  We paved our land, and destroyed natural areas. We wasted water resources, and spent billions to connect distant neighborhoods.  We strained municipal budgets, and glorified the automobile.
Today, ensuring a sustainable future requires that we design cities not around cars, but around people.

Investing in people, investing in America

Our nation’s infrastructure (aviation, energy, rail, surface transportation and water systems) is the backbone of our economy.  Yet, America’s backbone is broken. Our spinal cord is severed. When we drive across a bridge, we wonder if it will collapse.  When a storm comes, we wonder if we will be safe.  When we turn on our faucet, we wonder where our water will come from.
Over 70 percent of the world's energy is consumed in or by cities of the world.  A recent survey of America’s Mayors showed that 35% of our cities do not know where their water will come from in 20 years.
1 in every 6 children lives in poverty.  If you are a young black child, you have a 1 in 3 chance of going to jail; 1 in 4 if you are Latino.  Youth violence accounts for 20% of all violence.  Over 60% of America’s children do not read or perform math at grade level, and in our largest cities, over 50% of children do not make it past high school.
The United States is now #15 in the world in broadband adoption trailing Korea, Japan, Canada, Spain, and Poland.  In ten years, 70% of all jobs will require technology knowledge and skills.
Mayors understand all too well that our nation can not remain economically competitive with rest of the world if our transportation systems are inadequate, water systems are leaking, and our energy systems do not address changing realities.
How then do Mayors lead the way to ensure that an investment is made in the engines that propel our growth?

The job of the Mayor

Partisanship bickering has paralyzed our country.
Solutions are not coming from Washington.  Solutions are coming from our cities......because cities are the solution.
Cities need to be vested with greater authority to decide how available federal resources are invested, and be held accountable for their performance in the use of these resources, including measuring progress in achieving national objectives, particularly improving safety, reducing oil dependency and advancing climate protection.
Infrastructure, transit, education, environmental and workforce investments in metropolitan areas should be decided by local elected officials who should be empowered to determine federal investments in their areas.  Such a paradigm shift will finally recognize that local agendas should be set at the local level, where ideas will flow from the government closest to the people.
Mayors do not need polls to figure out what the American people want.   We are the polls.  Our proximity to the people we serve allows us to understand best what Americans need.

The mechanics and reality of governing - building a team
You get elected, now what?
Set a goal, a vision.  Lay out your plan.  Budget according to your vision/plan, not based on last year’s numbers plus or minus five percent. Change the culture.  To change the culture-Change the team; change your structure.  Recruit outside professionals, those willing to choose public service over a pension.
My favorite bureaucratic answers:  "No, it can’t be done." "This is the way we’ve always done it."   "Somebody’ told me to do it this way."  "I am going to be here long after you are gone."  "Institutional History."
At a point you reach a personal crossroads: do you accept that change is difficult, avoid controversy, take plenty of photo-ops, and get re-elected?
Or, do you choose to lead and do the job you were elected to do?
Mayors must take charge, control their own destiny and not depend on other layers of government to govern.

The mechanics and reality of governing - Building consensus for your vision

Governing for the next generation versus the next election requires a compelling purpose, a strong passion and negotiating, political and persuasion skills.
Building consensus requires that you articulate and communicate a clear vision to others….city council/commission, residents, the business community and the media.  It requires sacrifice, patience and the willingness to take risks and punches.
Local government, unlike state and federal governments, is mostly non-partisan.  There is no party apparatus, no speaker, no majority or minority whip.
It is just you and your ideas.  How do you get others to go along?

Building and maintaining a safe city

The most fundamental responsibility of government is to provide for the safety and security of its people.  Successful policing is more than just crime statistics; you must earn the respect and trust of all residents through a professionally trained force governed by a set of clearly articulated policies, including use of force, which respects the dignity and rights of residents.
Moreover, when well over half of homicides in America involve people age 29 and younger, our next generation is killing one another.
In this context, how does a Mayor fulfill this most fundamental mandate to maintain public safety?

Summation
"Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Angelenos…"
What will the future of Los Angeles look like?
Are we destined to fall behind while other countries, cities or political hegemony replaces us?  Or…Can Los Angeles be a place where poverty is not a lifelong sentence, but a temporary condition to be overcome?  A place where economic prosperity is aligned with financial and environmental sustainability.  A place where children can receive the best education, afford a home, hold a good paying job, have access to the arts and live in safe, well-planned communities.
The stakes could not be higher as these choices will determine whether your generation, and future generations, will reap the benefits of the American Dream.
What is clear is that the status quo has not worked.  To secure the city of Los Angeles’s future, we need a clean and historic break with the past.
Cities must once again emerge as the centers of life and investment, the rebuilding blocks of America.  Nevertheless, upon your shoulders rests our future.
The torch is now passed – what will you do with it?
News Bulletin - Draiman News Agency - Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012 YJ Draiman is certified as a Candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles by LA’s Election Division.
Angelenos hold city hall accountable individually and collectively

A polluted society - by YJ Draiman for Mayor of LA

A polluted society - by YJ Draiman for Mayor of LA

A polluted society

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time;

We have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.

We've conquered outer space, but not inner space.

We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.

We've split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less.

We plan more, but accomplish less.

We've learned to rush, but not to wait.

We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships.

These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw-away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just ignore it.

Jobs and the Economy – solutions – YJ Draiman r6

Jobs and the Economy – solutions – YJ Draiman r6
As Mayor of LA, how would I create jobs? We have a tremendous amount of natural resources here in Los Angeles, which we need to develop. To put it succinctly, "You can not drill for American oil and natural gas in China, Saudi Arabia or anyplace else other than America."

The more domestic energy we produce, renewable and non-renewable, the more domestic jobs we create.  Moreover, jobs in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas pay more than twice the national average.  At the same time, the domestic energy we produce will increase R&D in renewable energy sources, thus, increase efficiency.

Just look how far we have come in the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency in the past 10 years.  I intend to accelerate that trend, and to take advantage of every resource possible in technology and funding. As I stated many times; “Those who control the energy supply control whole continents”; “Those who control the water sources control life”.

Americans should demand products made in the USA. We can produce a better product with better quality at a competitive price.  It is my intention to provide numerous incentives to retain businesses here in Los Angeles, and to offer those incentives to bring businesses back to Los Angeles.

Employment creates revenues and saves the government money and resources by taking the unemployed off the government subsidy and social services. It also creates the “multiplier affect”, which is a snowball of economic growth.

One of my top priorities is to ensure that we continue to develop and promote renewable energy sources.  Many in the natural gas industry believe the day when renewable energy dominates our energy landscape is far off.  I disagree.  With American ingenuity, innovation and determination, the dawn of renewable energy sources can be upon us now.

What I propose is a "do-it-all strategy" in which we focus not just on developing renewable energy, but also on the development of our abundant fossil fuels. While further technology and innovation in building construction would need to be developed, such need would also provide more jobs.  More importantly, our reliance on over-priced outside energy would be decreased resulting in positive economic growth.

I would promote the design of a thermal solar system that provides energy, heat and hot water.  In addition, I would initiate a new and advanced fuel technology for vehicles such as hydrogen, natural gas and ultra-capacitors for energy storage.  Los Angeles wastes an enormous amount of energy and work hours due to traffic congestion. I plan on an expedient advancement of our public transit system and devise systems to reduce traffic congestion.

In urban areas: roads, sidewalks, buildings and other structures prevent rainwater from being absorbed in the ground and replenishing the aquifers. It is time for us to compensate for that loss by collecting the rain runoff into retaining ponds. We need to implement the use of rainwater harvesting, gray water technology, collecting the billions of gallons of rain runoff into retaining ponds, desalinization projects powered totally by renewable energy (solar and wind combo systems) and other methods of conserving natural resources. As such, we would make existing renewable systems more cost effective and more efficient.

The result of my programs would be the increase of jobs, the decrease of energy and operating costs, and a reduction of our reliance on foreign oil.  That in turn would result in decreasing the deficit and creating permanent jobs.

In short, the key to Los Angeles economic recovery is not an increase in taxes and fees.  Rather, true long-term recovery will rely on the increase of efficiency and productivity; the reduction of bureaucracy; and the promotion of businesses and employment.  All of which will instill confidence in our economy, generate greater revenues for the city of Los Angeles and other governmental entities.

American confidence in government is at an all time low. We no longer have the same level of faith in our institutions and leaders that we once had. Consequently, we are seeing a continued erosion of our outlook on the future. This outlook must change by initiating a massive and sound education program that produces innovation and technology.

We have an opportunity to jumpstart our economy, protect our environment and put our city on the path toward energy security through greater use of our domestic energy production such as natural gas.   Our domestic energy production can serve as a foundation for our energy and economic independence.  This path will enable us to develop the required innovation and production of other forms of energy sources.

To realize a course toward energy and economic security we must do what is necessary to instill confidence in the responsible development of our energy sources.  We can use natural gas as a solid foundation on which to develop extensive R&D in renewable energy sources, and the efficient means to operate and maintain the mechanisms needed for such use.

Improving our educational system is the key to our economic survival. In a global, knowledge-driven economy, there is a direct correlation between engineering education and innovative progress. Our success or failure as a city will be measured by how well we do in providing the needed educational tools to promote innovation in all fields.

Leadership is not a birthright. Despite what many Americans believe, our city does not possess an innate knack for greatness. Greatness must be worked for and won by each new generation. Right now that is not happening. However, we still have time. If we place the emphasis we should on education, research and innovation, we can lead the world in the decades to come. Nevertheless, the only way to ensure we remain great tomorrow is to increase our investment in science and engineering today. In addition, we must invest in trade schools to train our future workers in the new and old technology.

We have to learn how to balance the need of the people vs. the need to protect the environment. Any extreme to either side is not good.

In today’s fast moving technologies, government as well as companies must learn to adjust and maneuver quickly to keep pace, or they will be out of business or incur deteriorating revenues and infrastructure. We must learn how stay competitive and resourceful to survive and thrive economically.

I submit: Leadership by example. I plan to cut waste, maximize productivity, reduce bureaucracy, increase efficiency and conservation in all city departments and assets, eliminate duplicating tasks and reward excellent performance and innovative methods of job performance. In addition, we have to use the Neighborhood Council’s more effectively; they are the eyes and ears of all the communities in Los Angeles. These are hard economic times; we must all put our shoulder to the task.

We must put all our differences aside and work together in harmony for the good of the people and the city of Los Angeles.  Your vote for me will be one more step in this positive direction and it will be a win for all the people in LA.

YJ Draiman