The Housing, Community and Economic Development committee is no walk in the park. With oversight over the Housing Department, the Community Development Department and the Community Redevelopment Agency, the committee I chair must process hundreds of transmittals from those three departments and several others over the course of a year. The work includes approving city economic development projects, putting new affordable housing in the ground, issuing tax-exempt bonds, and helping fund non-profit organizations that serve at-risk youth, low-income families, and seniors; in addition to handling those individually, we have to set the overarching city policies that guide the conception and creation of those projects. To keep up, we meet once a week (most committees meet twice a month). And every decision that the committee makes is informed by the hard work of the staffs of the Chief Legislative Analyst and the City Administrative Officer, assisted by the City Attorney and City Clerk.
To show our appreciation for this heroic but unrecognized effort, I invited the whole crew to join me for a mellow ceremonial lunch in Silver Lake. Thank you! From left: Todd Bouey (CAO), Neil Blumenkopf (CA), John White (Clerk), Angelica Samayoa (CAO), Paul Smith (CLA), Meg Barclay (CLA), Bea Hsu from my own staff, Emilio Rodriguez (CAO), Robert Andrade (CAO), Lisa Johnson-Smith (CAO), Scott Eritano (CAO). Not pictured: Ivania Sobalvarrio (CLA).