Lowest Participation Ever by Venice Stakeholder’s Casts Doubt on Entire Election Process
By Nick Antonicello
In an election process crippled by no in-person voting and the LA City Clerk’s Office refusal to simply mail ballots to all Venetians, less than 500 stakeholders participated in a process that was doomed for failure according to preliminary figures released Tuesday afternoon.
In what has to be regarded as a governmental black eye for both the LA Clerk’s office and DONE (EMPOWER LA), the purpose of neighborhood councils has been diminished in the wake of this awful level of engagement.
Of the 1,128 ballots requested, only 465 or 41% were received and tabulated.
Once the most active and vibrant of neighborhood councils citywide, Venice saw another significant drop again in voter participation from 2023, with a decrease of 41%!
For the whole “vote by mail” mandate by city officials and in particular DONE (Department of Neighborhood Empowerment) and the LA City Clerk’s Office under minded any real attempt to bolster turnout and participation despite the best efforts of the current 21-member board of officers and an anemic budget of just $7,200.
Venice has a population of 34,332, but only 465 or so residents and stakeholders bothered to register and vote. Had city officials simply mailed ballots to all those registered, the turnout would have been easily in the thousands, potentially in the tens of thousands.
Officials blame the city’s burdensome financial ills and pending billion-dollar deficit as the reason for no in-person voting. But is hollowing out the electoral process logical, or even justifiable?
Isn’t this really a case of democracy denied?
Nevertheless, Brian Averill was elected to a second term with a paltry 333 votes, down from the 563 he received two years ago.
Gary Pearl was also elected unopposed, receiving 339 votes for the position of Vice-President.
Incumbent Secretary Tima Bell was reelected unopposed receiving 323 votes.
In one of the few contested races, incumbent Helen Fallon was reelected garnering some 58% of the votes cast or 243. Community Officer Deborah Keaton finished second with 144 votes or 34% while newcomer Crystal Lopez received 35 votes or 8%.
For the open seat of Land Use & Planning Chair more commonly known as LUPC, local architect Mark Mack received 275 votes or 67% to Ted Henderson’s 138 or 33%.
Steve Bradbury, a board incumbent this time ran unopposed for Communications Officer and received 331 votes.
In the other contested election, Outreach Chair Erica Moore was reelected with 269 votes or 64%. Her opponent was former board member Alex Neiman who received 36% or 153 votes.
Sarah Mahir, who also ran unopposed for the position of Community Interest Officer received just six votes to secure a seat on the new board.
The VNC has thirteen at-large members with voters only allowed to select a single candidate. While most board members in 2023 endorsed expanding the voter franchise beyond a single selection, they failed to amend and revise the BY-LAWS and thus this system remains Intak.
For the third consecutive time, Alley Mills Bean led all candidates with 71 votes. Surprisingly, retired attorney and two-term board member Clark Brown finished a close second with 69. Brown has been diligent and outspoken in his opposition to encampments and RVs on the streets of Venice, as he has worked tirelessly to see encampments cleared on Flower, as well as Marr and other locales in the neighborhood.
The drop-off in ballots was considerable as incumbent Lisa Redmond received 38, Yolanda Gonzalez 31, Fran Solomon 26, Jason Sugars 24, Nico Ruderman 23, newcomer Brennan Lawson 22, Christopher Lee 18, and Richard Stanger, Jim Fitzgerald, Mehrnoosh Mojallali, Kenya Lee and Joseph Garcia all receiving 16 votes.
Until the all the ballots are finalized and certified, that 13th position on the board remains in doubt.
The other candidates receiving votes were Michael Levy (13), Gina Hardin (12), Joe Friend (3), Gabriella Baracchini Ross (2) and Susan Hewitt (1).
While only one seat remains in doubt, the entire election process needs to be reformed, emended and reconsidered moving forward by both the LA City Clerk as well as EMPOWER LA.
Democracy is being diminished and made irrelevant when less than 1% of the Venice population and community is determining who serves.
It is not the job of volunteers to promote these elections, but rather the deep resources of Los Angeles to bolster, and not tear down a grass roots democratic process that demands the appropriate financial resources to govern moving forward.
This should never be allowed to occur again.
Nick Antonicello is a thirty-two-year resident of the neighborhood and covers the deliberations of the Venice Neighborhood Council. Have a take or a tip on all things Venice? Contact him at nantoni@mindspring.com
