What the election means for local transportation efforts in Los Angeles
I had a hard time falling asleep last night. I think I had PTSD from 2016, when the Hillary Clinton victory party I was at turned into a funeral. At the time I was comforted in the fact that my daughter, then only one year old at the time, wouldn’t remember a President Trump. This time around, and two daughters more later, it’s not quite the case. I don’t know how to explain the election result to my kids in a way that makes sense; I do think the democratic party has to do some serious soul searching, regroup, and learn how to win elections.
However, my despair over Trump was comforted by local results in Los Angeles. When I started Streets For All in 2019, I started a PAC whose goal was to elect candidates that believe in progressive transportation ideas to all levels of government. We remain the only transportation focused political action committee in Los Angeles.
As bad a night as last night was for national politics, the opposite is true locally: candidates that share our progressive transportation beliefs dominated!
West Hollywood
In West Hollywood, Streets For All was part of the coalition that led to the re-election of Mayor John Erickson, and to the election of Danny Hang, who will replace Sepi Shyne on the West Hollywood City Council, ensuring a 3–2 majority. We worked very hard directly and with our coalition partners, spending nearly $100,000 in the city; our tactics included digital ads and door knocking.
What this means in West Hollywood: a protected bike lane on Fountain Ave! More than any other local race, this race became about a bike lane. Opponents accused John Erickson (and us) of trying to ruin the city by installing a protected bike lane on Fountain, something that the current city council unanimously approved nearly two years ago. With a majority and mandate, that project will now move forward, and should be in the ground before the 2026 election.
Santa Monica
In Santa Monica, we needed to flip one seat to regain a progressive majority; we flipped four! Streets For all endorsed candidates Dan Hall, Ellis Raskin, Natalya Zernitskaya and Barry Snell dominated. Our strategy in Santa Monica included door knocking with our coalition partners, digital ads, and also advertising in the local newspaper, the Santa Monica Daily Press. All in, with our partners, we spent over $100,000 in the city. Our endorsed ballot measure, Measure K, also passed, which means more funding for road safety projects.
In this campaign, we did go negative, poking at incumbents Oscar de la Torre and Phil Brock; both of them were bad for Santa Monica from a transportation point of view, and it was critical that they were not re-elected to be able to move things forward.
What this means in Santa Monica: the city will continue its march towards becoming the best city in Southern California to take a walk, ride a bike, or take transit. And with new funding from Measure K and a supportive city council, we should see changes on the ground even faster.
Culver City
In Culver City, we needed to retain one seat and flip one seat to achieve a majority. Right now, it looks like Streets For All endorsed candidate Yasmine-Imani McMorrin has been re-elected, and our former steering committee member and political newcomer Bubba Fish has won the third seat, flipping the city council to a 3–2 progressive majority. With a razor thin margin of only 27 votes, it’s premature to confirm Bubba’s victory, but our analysis tells us that his lead should only grow. In Culver City, we went all in on digital ads, spending $25,000 in the city.
What this means in Culver City: While transportation was less of a defining issue in Culver City in the election, it was a huge deal just before the election, with the current city council rushing to remove the protected bike lane through downtown before November 5. With a new 3–2 majority, there is an option to reverse that decision, restore the bike lane, and save the city the $400,000 Metro is demanding the city pay back for removing the road safety project. In addition to restoring MOVE Culver City, there is an opportunity to push progressive road safety projects even faster now with a supportive city council.
City of Los Angeles
In L.A., we had great success in the primaries earlier this year. In addition to passing Measure HLA, we helped re-elect Nithya Raman in Council District 4, supported now Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson in Council District 8. Two of our endorsed candidates, Heather Hutt and Ysabel Jurardo failed to get over 50%, and so they had to face a run off.
I personally held fundraisers and Streets For All supported these two champions of progressive transportation ideas, and they easily defeated their opponents last night.
What this means in Los Angeles: Heather Hutt (Council District 10) has been Chair of the City’s Transportation Committee, and endorsed Measure HLA. We expect her support of bike lanes, our effort to extend the Ballona Creek bike path, and bus lanes to continue, with final approval for the La Brea bus lanes south of Olympic early next year. In speaking with Ysabel Jurardo (Council District 14), it’s clear she will be a supporter of things like bike lanes, bus lanes, and pedestrian space. I also hope she will be on board for Metro’s congesting pricing plans around DTLA.
Federal
While Streets For All doesn’t endorse in federal races, I was happy to personally endorse my friend (and former Assembly Transportation Chair) Laura Friedman in her run for Adam Schiff’s former seat. Laura has been an incredible champion of safer streets during her time in the Assembly, and I was happy to help her in her campaign. Her opponent, meanwhile, was complaining about bike lanes in his mailings!
In Summary
Streets For All endorsed more candidates than I’ve listed here, and you can see the full list here. Other key races included Burbank Councilmember Nick Schultz (who won his race to replace Laura Friedman in the State Assembly) and Burbank Councilmember Konstantine Anthony (who won re-election). While the national scene is depressing — and will have funding ramifications for major projects in the LA area, including California’s bullet train and the Sepulveda Transit Corridor — the local scene is anything but. Last night was a huge victory for progressive transportation projects across the region.