# 3 JUNE 2007

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SOMEWHAT OLD NEWS (History)
Starting Year Two - A Year in Review

As the GGPNC's new officers, elected October 21, 2003, lead the way into our second year of operations, it's a good time to look back on a year in which much time was spent building a structure for community progress on our foundations of inclusive community involvement. New officers elected for GGPNC's second year of operation (l-r) Stanley Thompson - VP Administration, Yvette Bryant - President, Kerry Hunnewell - Treasurer, Nora Mosqueda - VP Outreach & Communication, Andrew Westall - Secretary Yvette Bryant is the GGPNC's second elected president taking over from Charley Mims whose dedication to the neighborhood council principal goes back to his service on the commission which wrote neighborhood councils into the City Charter adopted in 1999. One of the GGPNC's first community actions was to rally to the support of neighbors concerned about a view blocking tower proposed as a supermarket facelift. After offering both sides an opportunity to present their case, it was clear the community opposition to the project was strong, and with the GGPNC's influential support Gelson's decided to drop their request for a zoning variance. The Council has won praise for activities such as working to preserve the 100 year old Toberman House, the once elegant home of a 19th century LA mayor. The GGPNC received a letter of thanks from Hollywood Heritage and recognition from Councilman Tom LaBonge's office for being the first in CD4 to have a Community Impact Statement included in the City Council Agenda. The good news is that community involvement appears well on its way to saving a forgotten treasure that might well have disappeared. The GGPNC has been a strong supporter of projects throughout the community ranging from landscaping the once graffiti plagued area under the Shakespeare Bridge, to a mural project that will give a needed facelift to Hoover St. below Prospect Ave. And upcoming, a community supported, landscaped traffic island to make a wide place in the road safer and more pleasant for everyone where Alexandria and Mariposa meet. Of course the GGPNC's concerns go beyond our boundaries. We have provided Community Impact Statements on citywide issues such as police alarm response, and curtailing illegal newsracks that clutter our sidewalks. As part of our effort to reflect the pulse of the community, we surveyed more than 250 stakeholders at the end of summer to provide guidance and input for city leaders on what should be the important priorities for next year' city budget. Much work remains to be done, a recent strategic planning session set goals for our future. But we already have a dozen committees up and running, tackling issues from education, to traffic, from safety to culture, from city services to open space and just about everything in between. Please join in making our second year's achievements surpass anything we could have dreamed of. Back to GGPNC Home Page                    Meeting Calendar It's all smiles for the GGPNC's incoming and outgoing leaders   To learn more about the progress of efforts to save the Toberman House click here. Neighbors and community leaders hear plans for the mural and landscaping that will erase Hoover Street's dead end image Strategic planning October 2003 GGPNC Board Selects First Officers 2002 At their December 16, 2002 meeting the GGPNC Board of Directors elected their officers. Charley Mims was elected president, giving him a second presidential hat since he already serves as Franklin Hills Residents Association President. Andrew Westall, a political expert, was elected Vice President for Administration and Cheryl Johnson was voted in as Vice President for Communications and Outreach. She's also a VP of Los Feliz Improvement Association. The race for Treasurer appropriately came down to a coin toss after a tie vote. Kerry Hunnewell, who has his own consulting and investment firm as well as a Harvard MBA and Yale planning and architecture degree, called heads and won. Runner-up Yvette Bryant, a financial analyst, will serve as backup. Bruce Carroll, FHRA Treasurer and former ABC Network News producer, was elected Secretary. Councilman Tom Labonge (center) swore in the GGPNC Board and its officers then warned the council, "don't get bureaucratic." After the swearing in the Board worked on some more organizational details, heard the latest about the now closed Sunset Pacific Motel (aka the Bates Motel) and more delays on the reopening of Barnsdall Park which was supposed to be in January 2003, but now has slipped to June. The next board meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 21, 2003, 7pm at the Los Feliz Community Police Center, upstairs in the Cal Fed Bank (now Citibank) building at, 1965 Hillhurst. The meeting is open to the public and there will be time allotted for comment from the public if they fill out a speaker card indicating the agenda item or subject of their comments.   The GGPNC includes the areas of Franklin Hills, Griffith Park, Los Feliz and its Board will be charged with representing over 37,000 stakeholders.  This is an important leadership position for the purpose of serving on an advisory body to city, state and local government officials on matters that affect our communities.  GGPNC Board membership represents an important leadership position on an advisory body to the City of Los Angeles, as well as other government officials, on matters that affect our communities.

The election results for the first ten members of the GGPNC Board of Directors were announced about 12:30pm on Saturday, October 26, 2002, after the second of two public meetings where stakeholders in the area could vote.

The area was divided into five districts and voters were allowed to vote for two candidates in each district. A total of 300 voters were registered...297 cast ballots, but 2 were invalidated.

The tallies for each district are listed below with candidates ranked by the number of votes each received...winners in red.

============================== DISTRICT "A" Cheryl Johnson - 176 Bernadette Soter - 113 James Weaver - 80 Paula Davis - 80 Stanley Thompson - 70 Marvin Martin -28 DISTRICT "B" Andrew Westall - 150 Jacqueline Kerr - 146 DISTRICT "C" Dora Herrera - 170 Meredith Patten -152 DISTRICT "D" Yvette Bryant -139 James Balesh - 110 Stephanie Fitzpatrick -51 Adam Gallagher - 43 Jerry Boughan - 18 DISTRICT "E" Charley Mims - 124 Joseph Hahn - 105 Paul Boardman - 80 Amy Schulenberg - 75 Michele Cobin - 43 ==============================

MAP OF THE FIVE GGPNC ELECTION DISTRICTS.===================   Back to the GGPNC Home Page

During the period of this survey of voters in the GGPNC's October 2002 elections, the GGPNC.org website was perpetually "under construction" and frustratingly useless in any outreach effort. The following survey results must be viewed with this important missing factor in mind. The #1 most effective way of reaching people about the elections in the GGPNC area was by posting public notices in the communities of Franklin Hills, Griffith Park, and Los Feliz.  This method has been employed by the GGPNC for over 2 ½ years and the surveys confirmed this is a successful way of outreaching to the GGPNC area.

The second most effective means of reaching the GGPNC stakeholders was by word-of-mouth.  Outreach by word-of-mouth has worked so well in the GGPNC area, as evidenced by the survey responses, and shows that most people are alert and talk to their neighbors.  Additionally, the Los Feliz Improvement Association (LFIA) and the Franklin Hills Residents Association (FHRA) reached out to their membership.  The large margin of victory in the GGPNC District A and E shows the influence of these organizations in the GGPNC area and the desire to work together to represent the communities of the GGPNC.

The mailing of Election Brochures and Election Reminder Notices were the third most effective means to reach people here in the GGPNC area, according to those who answered the outreach surveys.  It is interesting that people said they noticed the election information posted in public places more than they noticed their own mail.  This is an interesting result, given the fact that the GGPNC used both the Walking Man service and saturation mailing for distribution of the Election Brochures and Election Reminder Notices.