The Issue

There must be eyes upon the street, eyes belonging to those we might call the natural proprietors of the street. The buildings on a street equipped to handle strangers and to insure the safety of both residents and strangers, must be oriented to the street. — Jane Jacobs

 

We need to ensure that our public space is a collective living room for all people–residents, business owners and patrons, workers, and visitors alike.  Whether on quiet streets, buses, green parks, or our bustling downtown, everyone should be safe in public.  We can greatly enhance both the feeling and reality of safety by making investments in the hard infrastructure and human infrastructure to make public space beautiful and welcoming.  That means continued progress on policing, new types of services, more street tree and sidewalk maintenance, attention to the urban fabric in planning, and much more.

 

I believe that cities are magic.  We can do more to make sure that everyone is a part of what Jane Jacobs called our sidewalk ballet. 

Experienced Leadership

During Alex’s first term, Culver City:

  • ENDED VEHICULAR STOP AND FRISK

  • APPROVED THE CREATION OF A MOBILE CRISIS INTERVENTION TEAM

    …and hired an experienced project manager to make it a reality

  • SUPPORTED SENIORS DURING THE PANDEMIC

    …with meal deliveries and regular telephone check-ins

  • EXPANDED OUTDOOR DINING AND OPEN STREETS EVENTS

  • REFRESHED THE CITY’S PARKS AND PLAYGROUNDS

    …including the baseball fields with money from Measure RE

  • CREATED THE EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Actions and Tools for Our Future:

  • Prioritize safety for every person in every space with the funding of a new unarmed and care-based public safety department that folds in mobile crisis response, homeless outreach, housing services, violence prevention, and street medicine, all while reducing the burden on Police and Fire Departments
  • Build safety through accountability rather than fear by relying less on incarceration and developing alternatives that instead directly address the harms caused by non-violent misdemeanors, especially those that today consume the vast majority of police time and resources 
  • Strengthen Culver City as a community that looks out for our neighbors by ensuring public space is appealing and safe for everyone through increased investment in our parks, dated public buildings, and public programs, including after school programs
  • Continue to protect the safety of vulnerable communities from enforcement of unjust federal laws, particularly in light of renewed efforts to ban or criminalize sexual and reproductive healthcare like abortion, gender-affirming care, and contraceptive care
  • Implement programs to reduce and prevent gun violence and the proliferation of guns
  • Implement harm reduction strategies to prevent encampment fires