Supervisor Molina Envisions County/City Collaborations With Mayor Villaraigosa

Gloria, Antonio Villaraigosa was elected mayor of Los Angeles this month in what was in reality, a landslide. What does his victory protend for the working relationship between the county and city, and the possibility of planning together for the benefit of the metropolitan area?

Well I think it's going to be very exciting because Antonio Villaraigosa already has been working with the county on various issues. For example, we have a joint county and city relationship to create the new biotech park in the Boyle Heights area. We're going to create a joint redevelopment area and capture the increment dollars that we need in order to build the park. . I think we have an awful lot of opportunities like that in order to solve some of the major issues like homelessness. I am looking forward to having good relationship. Antonio knows how to work with us on common issues.

Is the Grand Avenue Authority a prototype model for city/county collaboration on development?

Well what's exciting about it is that it's a model that's working and we should duplicate it. We tried to a couple of years ago when we started a joint planning process for the civic center. That didn't get off the ground to the extent that it should have. Now, with Grand Avenue, again, we're still building that relationship and it's worked out very, very well. The plan is being devised now. It's going to go to the joint authority for approval and then we're going to go back to our respective bodies, the council and the Board of Supervisors. Really, this is a perfect example of how the city and the county can come together.

Let's return to the biotech/biomed park being planned in Boyle Heights. It could ultimately be more than 100 acres, employ more than 8,500 people, and generate $1.3 billion in economic activity. Speak to intergovernmental cooperation on this project.

Well it is tough; it's not easy. We're talking about combining our properties and using an independent developer. We're working with USC as well. They would have liked us to turn over the land to them and let them do it, but we want to add amenities that I think are very important. I want to make sure that new jobs are created across the board, and we're not just gentrifying the area. We've already signed agreements putting together the board. Hopefully we will come up with something similar to the joint powers agreement on Grand Avenue. We have a separate committee to address the day-to-day issues and turn it over to a developer within the framework of the goals that we have established.

We have to consider what kind of incentives we will offer to attract the biotech industry, but we also have to make sure that the people who are there now are going to benefit from it. We need to think about having schools like Cal State LA, East LA College and Caltech participate and begin training and preparing the work force. We have to think about how to improve the neighborhoods in the area without merely gentrifying them. We need to maintain affordable housing in the area. Whatever we do has to address all those challenges. This can't be just a business plan that doesn't address the other issues. That is why we're maintaining some control, which is a little frustrating for USC.

In the long run, this will be a win-win because the project is very large and we have the opportunity not only to attract high-end science and engineering jobs, but also all the support jobs. To make the most of the opportunity we want a very structured and planned effort all the way along. That is why we are looking to hire a private firm that's going to undertake this responsibility for us.

What's the timeline on this Gloria?

Overall, we're probably looking at a 15-year time frame. Right now, we are in phase one and in the next three to five years, you will see some very dramatic changes in the area. I think USC would like us to move a little more quickly than we have been. Now that the mayoral election is over, I think we are in a position to move much more quickly.

Los Angeles was not successful in its bid to become the headquarters of the agency that will administer Proposition 71 funds. San Francisco won, but perhaps the biotech center in LA, is a bigger prize. Is that the way you see it?

Absolutely. I don't think we should give up just because we're not going to be the headquarters. We have a real opportunity to capture a good deal of the biotech industry. What we need to do is move quickly to create the incentives in order to get some of these new emerging companies to start thinking about locating in this area. They're going to need state of the art labs and right now we're working with USC in trying to see how we can jointly This should be attractive to biotech companies it may create opportunities for smaller companies to use shared facilities and attract them to the city.

We can do a lot to attract biotech business. But we want to make sure it's going to be thoughtful; this is not just about business but also about building the community.

The mayor of Los Angeles is a member of the MTA board and appoints four other members. You're on the board. What's the potential for the county and the new mayor and his appointees to work together on the current projects and plan land uses around them?

Well again, I think we've been very sluggish on our land use planning. Hopefully Antonio is going to be more focused and get good people on MTA who will understand the regional responsibilities. Hopefully Antonio can bring to the table some really thoughtful ideas about how do we jointly plan for effective land use. I am hopeful but I don't know if that can happen at the MTA. The reality is though, that if we're going to do the kind of joint planning and development that should be going on along these major transportation hubs, we would be more effective if there was more planning and less waiting and hoping that the right developer comes along with the right project. To do that, we need leadership at the MTA. I think the Board of Supervisors could help make that happen.

Education garnered significant attention as an issue during the L.A. mayoral campaign. Clearly, LAUSD has embarked on an ambitious facilities program that will/could positively impact scores of urban neighborhoods. What's the relationship between where and how the new schools are designed and built and the social services and quality of life issues you are responsible for as a county supervisor?

There really should have been joint planning years ago with regard to building schools. It's never worked well. We now have a great opportunity to work together to plan for effective schools. Antonio has an opportunity to look at brand new models for doing that. Currently, Alex Padilla and Jose Huizar are putting together a report about how we can move forward with new ideas about governing and managing our schools, including the potential breakup of LAUSD, which I think will eventually happen. Antonio has a great opportunity, if he hires good people that can bring everyone to the table to work together.

So far, it has been a real battle to work with LA Unified on the new schools. Consequently, we've not had the best outcomes and it's the children who are losing out. A lot of taxpayer money goes in the public education system and we're not getting the educational outcomes that we should be getting. It is going to be a tough job to correct things. I don't know if Antonio is going to be able to deliver on all his promises, but there are probably hundreds of us who are willing to roll up our sleeves to make the schools work for our children.

Gloria, If you were writing an open letter to the newly elected mayor, who takes office on July 1, about what his priorities should be, what would you say?

First I would say that he has to honor his commitments. A lot of politicians forget the commitments they make. I think he should write them all down. People are going to judge him on the promises he made, and he has to deal with the issues that everyone is concerned about. That means dealing with our education system, even though he does not have full jurisdiction over it. He needs to hire the best and the brightest, someone who can corral all of us to develop a plan that is going to work.

Second, he has got to deal with the traffic issue. He has to find a way to get the MTA to work more cooperatively on city traffic issues and to have the city work more cooperatively with all of us. He also has to deal with the ports and the freeways. There is a real opportunity at the ports to relieve congestion by creating a 24-hour port. That is going to be a tough sell. I know that the unions are not supportive of it.

He also needs to address neighborhood safety in ways that go beyond simply hiring more police.

He's got a big job, and in the end I would say to him, "I am ready to help you. Los Angeles is a great city with unbelievable potential. We can build enough housing. We can improve traffic conditions. We can be a great place for businesses. We can do it all, but it will require all of us coming together and working. I am ready to assist Antonio, to contribute resources and form a coalition to confront the challenges we face."