Ahead of the November general election, the Southern California News Group compiled a list of questions to pose to the candidates who wish to represent you. You can find the full questionnaire below. Questionnaires may have been edited for spelling, grammar, length and, in some instances, to remove hate speech and offensive language.
MORE: Read all the candidate responses in our Voter Guide
Name: Grace Yoo
Current job title: Attorney
Political party affiliation: Non-Partisan
Incumbent: No
Other political positions held: LA City Commissioner, Department of Transportation
City where you reside: Council District 10
Campaign website or social media: www.GraceForLA.org
What top two priorities would you focus on if elected? What specific actions would you take to achieve your objectives? (Limit response to 250 words.)
As the next councilmember, two top issues I plan to focus on are housing affordability and homelessness.
We must address housing affordability and homelessness holistically with our local, state and federal partners.The city of Los Angeles should tackle homelessness collaboratively with the county – having in place defined goals, strategies to reach these goals along with accountability measures. To truly tackle the housing crisis, we must address the root causes of homelessness, such as addiction, mental health, and financial insecurity. This means investing in mental health services, addiction treatment programs, and financial support systems. We also need to reassess the manner in which service providers prioritize residents.
Key to addressing our homeless crisis is preventing more people from becoming homeless. In order to do so, we building affordable permanent housing for all income levels must be a priority. I will support development that builds affordable housing and the needed affordable workforce housing. Building mixed-income and market-rate housing is happening in Los Angeles, but we need more. It is also essential to work with community stakeholders to get them to support new and rehab construction. There needs to be a more effective strategy in converting existing properties. For example, 26% of Los Angeles’ office buildings are currently vacant. The city has updated the 1990 Adaptive Reuse Ordinance (ARO) to address the 44 million square feet of office space going unutilized but we need to streamline the bureaucratic red tape which will allow for a more rapid pace in converting and building new housing. Additionally, LAUSD is the largest owner of the land in the city of Los Angeles and has various unused properties that can be repurposed. All that to say, we have tremendous possibilities in Los Angeles, we just need the right leaders to ensure this is prioritized.
What do you bring to the table that’s different or that would make you an asset not only to residents in your district but to the City Council as a whole? (Limit response to 250 words.)
Being a first generation immigrant who moved into Koreatown 50 years ago in 1974, I have a deep and rich connection to Council District 10 and to the city of Los Angeles. I bring a different perspective to the district and the City as a whole because I have been a community leader trying to make sense of the strange decisions that take place in our local City government.
Thus, I helped bring three lawsuits against the city. The two I won helped protect our urban canopy by saving trees in the city. As a result the city changed its policy to save trees first whenever possible. The other win required the city to actually abide by the law, and required that enforcement of the rules ought to be applied equally across the city. What’s good for people in one area of Los Angeles should be equally upheld in all other areas so that laws are enforced fairly in the city of Los Angeles. I may have lost the 2012 Redistricting lawsuit against the city, but feel vindicated that Measure DD, which seeks to create an Independent Redistricting Commission, is on the ballot.
I know my district and the concerns of its resident because I have personally spoken with thousands of voters. People want a better quality of life for themselves as well as their neighbors. They want local government to fix the problems, such as broken sidewalks, potholes, and street lamps that have not worked for months on end.
I want to represent the needs of the people in CD10. We need to tackle homelessness at the regional level and its root causes and work with the county and state to provide more housing and services. People need to feel safe at home, at work, and in their community. And we need to make Los Angeles more affordable and that includes more affordable workforce housing and social housing units. I want to make our city thrive. My goal is to bring positive change to LA.
Given the numerous scandals at L.A. City Hall, including some that put councilmembers in prison, why should voters trust you? (Limit response to 250 words.)
Voters can trust me because I am not the status quo candidate. I am not the person who was appointed by the city council. I am the community leader who has sought change and continues to fight for common sense decision making.
Voters can trust me because I have stood shoulder to shoulder demanding equal environmental protections for Council District 10 residents. As its next councilmember, I will continue to demand that district residents are treated with dignity and equity as other parts of the city.
Angelenos deserve civic leaders who will work on behalf of our families, business owners, and communities that call Los Angeles home. I have always been a doer, willing to stand up and lead. And I will continue prioritizing the needs of my fellow Angelenos for our collective good.
I have more than three decades of experience as a community leader fighting for people in Council District 10 and throughout the city. My career choices have led me to be an attorney representing children at L.A. County’s Children’s Law Center, where the overarching goal was to do everything with the best interest of the child in mind. Over the course of the next two decades, I served as the Executive Director of both the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and the Korean American Coalition – Los Angeles (KAC-LA) and as the director of communications & community engagement at the St. Barnabas Senior Services. Currently, I am a small business owner, operating a law practice specializing in estate planning.
Do you support the package of city charter reform measures on the November ballot? Which ones do you support or don’t support and why? (Limit response to 250 words.)
Of the charter reform amendments being placed before voters I feel that Amendments ER and DD are critical – both of which are results of the prolonged corruption that has plagued City Hall. ER is a first step in bringing true ethics to the Ethics Commission by ensuring that those who do business with the city and are profiting off the city are not serving on the Commission. Amendment DD will help remove political influence from the redistricting process which is intended to bring fair representation to all Angelenos, but has been abused in the past by elected officials to protect their political future. I strongly support both of these measures as they help to hold our elected official accountable.
Do you support Mayor Bass’ goal of building the police force back up to 9,500 sworn officers? Should the city redirect money from the LAPD to other programs? (Limit response to 250 words.)
The mayor believes 9,500 officers is what is needed to protect the residents and solve violent crimes. I can support that number as long as we continue to work with rank and file officers, LAPD leadership, community leaders, and other stakeholders to make sure that number is correct. At the same time, I want to change policy on who responds to 911 calls related to homelessness, drug addiction and/or mental health so police officers and firefighters can focus on emergencies and social workers/clinicians/outreach teams can help with non-emergencies.
One of the most frequent complaints about copper wire thefts is the resulting street light outages and other safety issues. What’s your solution for addressing these safety issues and, more broadly, for combating copper and other metal thefts? (Limit response to 250 words.)
One solution is that we should move toward utilizing solar LED street lights as these would eliminate the copper wire thefts and solve the lack of lighting problems. I want to be able to look at problems and seek new solutions instead of just doing it the same old way.
Everyone agrees that L.A. needs more affordable housing. But there is debate as to whether multi-story affordable housing developments should be allowed in traditionally single-family residential neighborhoods. What do you think? What else should the city do to provide more affordable housing or tenant protections? (Limit response to 250 words.)
The City of Los Angeles is in dire need of more affordable housing. And by affordable housing I do not mean $1800 for a studio apartment that the city currently says is affordable. I am talking about far lower dollar amounts, such that the hourly worker earning $17.27 per hour can pay rent, pay utilities, buy food and medicine, pay for transportation, and perhaps have a little left over to save for a rainy day.
I am in favor of creating more affordable housing units to be built throughout the city we all share and call home.
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