PLAYA DEL REY, CA – A committee of registered voters will take their first official step toward ousting westside Councilmember Mike Bonin on Monday when they file a Notice of Intent to recall. The committee, which also includes Recall Bonin co-chairs Alexis Edelstein and Alix Gucovsky, say they will file the Notice of Intent with the City Clerk’s office at City Hall at 10 am on Monday, October 30.
In addition to filing the Notice of Intent, a letter will be read from the family of Damon Eric Shear, who was killed Wednesday when a car hit him while crossing Pacific and Sunset avenues. Shear died crossing a crosswalk in Venice that had long been scheduled for safety improvements, but had been delayed by “red tape.”
Bonin has earned the ire of his 11th District constituents after his implementation of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Great Streets Initiative which removed one lane of traffic on Venice Boulevard between Beethoven Street and Inglewood Boulevard in favor of bike lanes and parking. Other streets affected by “road diets” were Vista del Mar, Culver Blvd., Jefferson Blvd. and Pershing Blvd.
Residents say that removing a lane has created bottleneck traffic during rush hour, making commutes longer and forcing drivers to make unsafe moves, like cutting across bike lanes to make right turns. Residents and business owners agree that the changes to Venice Boulevard created extra gridlock making it impossible for ambulances to pass through during emergencies and that they felt tricked and unsafe on the city’s evacuation route for a natural disaster like an earthquake.
The changes to the streets occurred without prior knowledge and consent of residents, business owners, neighborhood councils or surrounding city governments and were billed under the auspices of Vision Zero and Mobility Plan 2035–L.A.’s effort to eliminate traffic fatalities and shift drivers to other transportation options by adding hundreds of miles of bicycle and bus-only lanes.
The campaign to recall Mike Bonin has raised close to $100,000 of its $200,000 goal and will commence signature gathering in November. The campaign needs approximately 27,000 valid signatures of registered voters in L.A.’s 11th District to trigger an election, but plans on collecting 50,000.
WHO: Alexis Edelstein, Recall Bonin Co-Chair and Alix Gucovsky, Recall Bonin Co-Chair
Demetrios Mavromichalis, owner Venice Grind
Mark Ryavec, Pres. of the Venice Stakeholders Association and former Chief Deputy Assessor for the County of Los Angeles
Robin Rudisill, former Chair of the Venice Land Use & Planning Committee and Venice Neighborhood Council Board Member
Ana Cruz, displaced from her home after Bonin failed to make good on a promise to help keep her in her home
WHEN: Monday, October 30, 2017m, 10 am
WHERE: Media Availability City Hall – South Lawn Steps,200 N. Spring Street, DTLA
