League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Los Angeles County, CA March 3, 2015 Election
	Rostom "Ross" Sarkissian Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Los Angeles; District 4

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What do you think is the single most important issue facing the City of Los Angeles today? As Council Member, what would you do to deal with it?

The single biggest issue facing the City is the City's structural deficit.

We consistently spend more than we take in because of the skyrocketing costs of pensions and health care. We will continue to face budget deficits until we fundamentally address these issues.

2. The City Administrative Officer has estimated a $300 million budget shortfall for 2015-2016. What steps do you propose to deal with this problem and how much do you estimate each step would reduce the shortfall?

In 2012, as former Mayor Riordan and other City leaders were openly talking about the possible bankruptcy of Los Angeles, then Mayor Villaraigosa presented to the council a series of 13 potential actions to eliminate the structural deficit.

These options included compensation reform, consolidation, Fire department reform, strategic outsourcing, use of part time employees, and public private partnerships, among others recommendations. This serves as a starting point in acting honestly to eliminate the City's greatest threat, insolvency.

3. What is the single most important issue facing your Council District today, and how would you deal with it?

Outside of the budget, the most important issue facing CD4 is the stifling traffic throughout the major transportation corridors and their attendant spillover into neighborhoods.

We can begin to deal with this issue by: 1. expanding the neighborhood bus system; 2. building more parking near transit stations; 3. synchronizing more lights and; 4. working with the private sector to integrate ride share options into the "first" and "last" mile of the public transportation process, which keeps riders from utilizing the options that are currently available to them.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' answers are presented as submitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: January 12, 2015 09:14
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