California State Representative Rick Chavez Zbur and Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath expressed support for Measure G, the California Housing Security Act and more at the North Westwood Neighborhood Council meeting Dec. 4, 2024.
The council meeting, held at Weyburn Terrace, included speeches from Zbur and Horvath. Both were given a minimum of 15 minutes by the council to inform the public about their roles, policy objectives and hopes for Westwood, with opportunities for questions afterward.
In her speech, Horvath expressed her gratitude for the passage of Measure G, a November ballot initiative on county governance reform she co-authored. She said that the implementation phase for the measure’s reforms has begun, adding that the LA County Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved the use of federal funding to operate a task force for the reforms.
Horvath said she is looking forward to increased budget transparency as a result of the measure, given Los Angeles County’s $50 million budget.
“Never before in the history of Los Angeles County have department directors ever had to publicly present their budgets at a public hearing,” Horvath said. “I think the public deserves to know more, and thank you for voting for Measure G to make this happen.”
[Related: Measure G proposes expanding board of supervisors, increasing accountability]
Steve Sann, the chair of the Westwood Community Council, said he thought the passage of Measure G was understated in improving the county government.
“People said no one would ever vote for more government,” Sann said. “For you to have expanded the board from five to nine to create a county executive to create the ethics component and the transparency that we talked about, that is a monumental achievement.”
Horvath added that she introduced a motion in late November to increase government accountability through two changes: consolidating task forces to address homelessness and streamlining the LA Homeless Services Authority at the county level.
Jacob Wasserman, the secretary of the NWWNC and the research program manager at the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, asked about Horvath’s position on a Metro station on campus after Horvath said she wanted to keep new developments “cost-effective.” In response, Horvath said she does support a Metro station on campus.
Once Horvath finished answering questions, Zbur – who was reelected for a second California State Assembly term in November – addressed the council.
[Related: Democrat Rick Chavez Zbur wins reelection to California State Assembly]
Artificial intelligence is now a highly discussed topic in the California Legislature, Zbur said, adding that it will have a significant impact on the film industry, with job protection as a priority.
“When you look at AI, it has a tremendous promise for us as human beings, but it’s also something that actually has a lot of risk,” he said. “One of the things I think we all have to figure out is, how do we use AI in a way that it actually improves the lives of people in California and in the United States?”
Zbur said investing funds into moving people into temporary and permanent housing is an expensive yet necessary step to deal with the homelessness crisis.
He also expressed support for the California Housing Security Act – which previously failed to pass in August 2024 due to issues with budget compensation – and proposed housing subsidies for former veterans, those who formerly experienced homelessness, foster youth and other populations who are at high risk of being homeless.
Horvath said she was grateful for the work of the North Westwood Neighborhood Council members present in the meeting.
“I want to thank you for the ways that you’re jumping in, that you’re asking important questions, that you’re raising important issues about your concerns, about potential impacts and what things we need to be thinking about to be proactive and productive,” Horvath said. “I thank you for your engagement there.”
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