Issues, Policies, Legislation

The Green Party of Los Angeles County (GPLAC) organizes based upon the GPCA platform and Ten Key Values and applies them to our local communities.  In addition the GPLAC takes positions on individual issues within Los Angeles County, as well as positions on proposed legislation in Los Angeles County and statewide.  

Issues:

• Green Party of Los Angeles County Statement on DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals); November 2017
• Declaración del Partido Verde del Condado de Los Angeles sobre DACA (Acción Diferida para Llegadas en la Infancia); Noviembre 2017

• Green Party endorses ballot measure to overturn Top Two elections; November 2017

• Green Party of Los Angeles County Calls for President to Release Tax Returns, Congress to Explore President’s Conflicts of Interest; March 2017

• Resolution that Los Angeles City, School District and Community College elections should be elected by ranked choice voting; Nov 2016
• Resolution regarding increasing the size of the Los Angeles City Council; Nov 2016

Some of the longest running GPLAC issue-based campaigns have been to Save All of the Ballona Wetlands (since 1994) and to preserve/restore the South Central Farm (since 2005). The GPLAC also played a key organzing role in the 1996 Green presidential convention at UCLA and the D2KLA events during the 2000 Democratic convention in Los Angeles.

California State Legislation - 2020

Oppose SB 625: Central Basin Municipal Water District: receivership

Background: SB 625 (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB625) would dissolve the board of directors of the Central Basin Municipal Water District (CBMWD) and would provide that the November 3, 2020, election for directors of CBMWD shall not occur. The bill would require the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) to act as the receiver for CBMWD, would vest WRD with all necessary powers under the Municipal Water District Law of 1911 to take control of CBMWD, and would transfer all powers vested in the board of directors of CBMWD to the board of directors of WRD, except as specified. The bill would require CBMWD’s board of directors to surrender all control of CBMWD and its resources to WRD. The bill would also require the Local Agency Formation Commission for the County of Los Angeles to conduct a municipal service review of CBMWD and to seek ideas through a public process for governance of CBMWD. The bill would require the commission to report the results of those activities to the Legislature, as provided.

The Green Party of Los Angeles County (GPLAC) opposes SB 625. Whatever issues may or not be present in the operation of the Central Basin Municipal Water District (CBMWD), the GPLAC does not believe the answer is to have less democracy. Therefore the GPLAC opposes cancelling the November 2020 CBMWD Board election, as SB 625 would do.

And even if some reforms are needed in the operation of the CBMWD (and the GPLAC has no position on whether reform is necessary or not), the state legislature should not open the door to the possibility that the CBMWD would no longer have its own democratically elected board, as SB 625 would allow.

Opponents of SB 625 argue that the bill could open the way to privatization of the public's water supply in the CBMWD.  The GPLAC believes this would be unacceptable.  Therefore the GPLAC opposes 625 and believes at a minimum, that it should be amended so that it would ensure that the CBMWD would continue to have a publicly elected board and that the November 2020 CBMWD Board elections will be held as scheduled.

California State Legislation - 2019

Endorse SB 505 - Presidential primary elections

Background: SB 505 (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB505) would provide objective and realizable criteria and standards for primary election ballot access for candidates seeking the presidential nomination of the Green Party of the United States and other smaller ballot qualified parties in California like the Libertarian and the Peace & Freedom Parties; the bill amended in positive way after originally not providing realizable criteria and standards. 

Endorse AB 392 - Peace officers: deadly force

Background: AB 392 is a state bill co-sponsored by Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles, that aims to reduce the use of deadly force at the hands of law enforcement by promoting sane and reasonable alternatives where possible (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB392). The Green Party already holds applicable key values like Non-Violence and Social Justice.  Here are further arguments in more depth to endorse https://www.laprogressive.com/ab-392. (Since originally endorsing the AB 392, the bill has been amended to be less strong, leading to Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles to withdraw their support, but not oppose.)

Endorse SB 212 - Elections: local voting methods

Background: The Green Party of Calfornia platform supports the use of ranked-choice voting (http://www.cagreens.org/platform/proportional-representation) and the GPLAC has taken a public position that the City of Los Angeles should adopt ranked-choice voting for its elections (https://losangeles.cagreens.org/issues/los-angeles-elections-ranked-choi...).

While charter cities in California can adopt ranked-choice voting by a public vote, general law cities can not.  SB 212 is a state bill co-sponsored by State Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) would grant cities, counties and local education agencies the ability to choose to conduct ranked choice voting elections (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201...).