According to the incomparable Gale Holland, writing in the L.A. Times, the initial balloting shows that the Skid Row Neighborhood Council has been defeated by a slim 62 vote margin. The NC election was the subject of extensive and disgusting opposition on Facebook and elsewhere.¹ The fix was in, though, as the City Council voted a few weeks ago to allow online voting in this NC election only, according to Gale Holland. In a striking performative demonstration of the digital divide, the traditional paper ballots were 183 to 19 in favor of the SRNC, whereas online ballots were 807 to 581 against.

The NC proponents also suspect that the Downtown LA Neighborhood Council misused city funds to campaign against the election.² Anyway, evidently a challenge is planned based on these considerations. The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, overseer of the City’s neighborhood councils, is notorious for the number, length, and vituperativity of its appeals, so this process promises to be, at least, interesting.

And the other side is gearing up for policy-wonk-based battles as well. It seems that Estela Lopez herself, voodoo queen of the ongoing criminal conspiracy known as the Central City East Association, made a CPRA request to Grayce Liu of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment in January on the subject of the SRNC, evidently to gather materials for the witch’s brew of revanchist zillionaire subversionism that’s presently bubbling, boiling, toiling, and troubling in her hellish cauldron out there on Crocker Street. Turn the page for a transcription and some discussion.

The request asked for:

• A copy of the stakeholder signatures submitted in support of the proposed Skid Row Neighborhood Council. I understand that these must include the stakeholder’s first and last name, contact email and/or phone, type of stakeholder (live, work, own real property, or community interest) and the physical address associated with their stakeholdership.
• Documentation of the Department’s verification of these signatures for their validity.
• The Department’s definition of “community interest.”
• Procedures to be followed for this proposed new Neighborhood Council election (online, in-person or mail ballots; polling locations; stakeholder identification/verification)
• Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog, adder’s fork and blindworm’s sting, lizard’s leg and howlet’s wing.
  
  OK, the last item wasn’t on the list, but it might as well have been, friends. And what does/did she want this information for? Nothing good, I’ll tell you that much. I have a number of CPRA requests out on this and related issues. Stay tuned for details as they come in.

  
  Image of General Jeff Page is a fair-use modification of this image taken from his blog, The Mayor of Skid Row.
  

  1. Here is a PDF of the whole Facebook discussion in case it goes away at some point.
  2. Which if you’ve had any interactions at all with Patti Berman, their sullenly aggressive boss-lady, also famous for having worked for batty little fusspot Blair Besten of the Historic Core BID, will come as absolutely no surprise to you.