SUSAN CLOKE
 |
| Sheila Kuehl |
Columnist
California Primary
Election date – June 3, 2014
California General
Election date – November 4. 2014
Last day to
register to vote – May 19, 2014
Sheila Kuehl
discusses her candidacy for the elected position with Mirror Columnist Susan
Cloke.
Susan. What made you decide to run for
Supervisor of the Third District?
Sheila. My
whole adult life has been in public service. Issues of social justice are the focus of my life’s work:
health care, foster children, the safety net, transportation and traffic,
environmental protections, the arts, juvenile justice and education.
Since my 20’s my work has been focused on protecting people
who need protection, fighting against any kind of discrimination and working to
help people who need help.
I decided I needed to go to law school so that my work could
more effectively help people.
Out of Harvard Law I began by providing legal services for
battered women. I chaired the
Sojourn Shelter for Battered Women for 17 years and served on the Board of the
Ocean Park Community Center.
I went on to run for elected office so I could be more effective
in my work. I was the 1st
openly gay person elected to the State Legislature. I carried groundbreaking legislation protecting
children in all public schools in the State against harassment, discrimination
and violence based on sexual orientation.
Being a Supervisor is not an entry-level job. The five Supervisors have enormous
responsibility. It’s not the place
for on the job training. For me,
being the 3rd District Supervisor is a continuation of the work I
have done all my life.
Susan. What in your experience makes you a
good fit for the Supervisor job?
Sheila. I gained an enormous amount of knowledge and
experience of the very issues the County Supervisors oversee in my 14 years in
the California Legislature; 6 in the Assembly and 8 in the Senate.
The County is the implementing arm of much of state and
federal legislation on issues of social justice. When I chaired Health and Human Services Committee in the
State Senate I oversaw legislation and was intimately involved with all the laws
and the budget on these issues.
I worked closely with the Board of Supervisors and
especially with Zev as we greatly overlapped in the geographical area and the
people we both represented.
I represented more than half of the 3rd District
when I was a State Legislator. One
of the things I heard over and over from constituents was that I had a great
and hugely helpful District Staff.
That is key to being a good representative and it will be key in the 3rd
District.
Susan. You worked intensively on environmental
and sustainability issues at the State level. What are the environmental and sustainability issues facing
the County?
Sheila. Water
quality, the Santa Monica Mountains, the beaches and coastal areas are all the
responsibility of the County Board of Supervisors.
The Supervisors have jurisdiction over water quality. They are required to find a countywide
solution for the pollution of storm water runoff and other pollutants entering
the storm drain system and being carried to the rivers and ocean.
The Supervisors have to find a way to spread costs across
the County of storm water treatment plants and other actions to prevent
polluted water from entering our waterways. And I would hope to do so without too heavily impacting the
inland cities.
Los Angeles is the only City in the US that has a real
mountain range running down the middle of it and most of that Range is in the 3rd
District. One of my primary
responsibilities will be the protection and preservation of the Santa Monica
Mountains as a natural resource and for public access and use.
In addition the 3rd District has a significant
responsibility for a major swatch of coastline. We must maintain and protect
the beaches for public use and to protect and enhance the cleanliness and
quality of coastal water.
When I chaired the State Senate Natural Resources and Water
Committee all environmental regulations and issues came before my committee and
I learned both about the issues and the proposals to solve the problems facing
the California environment.
I was able to work closely with Supervisor Yaroslavsky and
Senator Pavley to secure Ahmanson Ranch, Gillette Ranch and other properties so
there would be no development of those properties and they could be used for
public recreation and the benefit of the public.
Susan. How will you meet the energy needs of
the County and protect the environment?
Sheila: It’s
important to work collaboratively with the State and Federal government and the
88 cities in the County to best prepare a future in which we will have to
incentivize alternative energy.
Being collaborative is the key to a solution.
Susan. Transportation and traffic are constant
issues in the LA area. What are
you thoughts and how will you think about solving these problems?
Sheila: Transportation
is the most challenging issue for the County. Everyone complains but few people get out of their
cars. We have to provide
alternatives, most especially rail.
The light rail is coming to Santa Monica but it’s unclear
that it will have sufficient parking for people who want to use the 4th
and Colorado station. So I’m
uncertain if it will be comfortable using the station and safe to get home from
the station late at night. We will
need to solve that problem and make it comfortable for people to use light
rail. Perhaps something like the
downtown DASH system (a downtown LA small shuttle bus) to get people to and
from the station.
I think we will eventually see a line from the Valley to the
airport. That will greatly reduce
congestion on the 405.
Locally we need to focus on alternatives such as bike
valets, including at the Expo stops and we better Apps for people to know what
the transportation alternatives are and how to get around town.
My criteria for judging programs to reduce traffic will be
ease and comfort of use and affordability.
Susan. As Supervisor how will you approach
creating affordable housing?
Sheila: One of
the most important things the County can do in the next few years is to make certain
that the
"boomerang" monies coming in because the cities no longer get
redevelopment money
(which will
go, in part, to the County), is used to create and support affordable housing.
This also
means a more creative approach to helping the homeless find permanent housing, housing
that will include wrap-around services to give them a chance to re-integrate
into society and pick up the interrupted threads of their lives.
My caring family taught the importance of kindness and
problem solving and I have a demonstrated track record of innovative thinking
and problem solving. I’ll bring
those values
to working on affordable housing and all the issues of the 3rd
District.
What
Say You?
