LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Four Los Angeles mayoral candidates were asked Monday at the L.A. Business Council’s forum what they would do to keep businesses from leaving the city. All of them placed an emphasis on public safety.
“I do believe the number one job of the mayor is to keep the city safe, and we’re experiencing an uptick in crime, and I think it’s absolutely important when a crime occurs we have to hold the individual accountable,” said Rep. Karen Bass, one of the leading candidates for mayor. “But I also think we need to invest in communities because we have prevention strategies that have been well researched, well documented.” L.A. City Attorney Mike Feuer said he’d emphasize cleaning up the city.
“L.A. is a filthy place. I have proposed increasing, by a million more hours a year, cleanup and beautification of our neighborhoods. It’s also a public safety issue,” Feuer said. “In Philadelphia, they did an experiment. They took a dangerous neighborhood. They cut it in half. On one side they cleaned a blighted, vacant property. On the other side, they didn’t. A 29% decrease in gun violence in the neighborhood they cleaned up.”
