Traci Park only represents the wealthy.
The majority of CD11 residents are renters, but Traci Park does not represent them. She is deep in the pocket of corporate landlords, who have gobbled up the majority of the housing stock in our city. Seventy-five percent of LA tenants live in buildings owned by investment vehicles or large landlords. These are the same corporations that want to block affordable housing, reduce building safety regulations, gentrify our neighborhoods and strip away tenants’ rights.
During her City Council campaign, Traci met frequently with affluent westsiders serving on homeowners associations and neighborhood councils. She rarely made time for the majority of CD11 constituents struggling to make ends meet. In October 2022, she refused to show up for a debate at Mar Vista Gardens, the only public housing project in CD11.
Once in office, Park made it clear which constituents she prioritizes by introducing a motion specifically catering to her wealthy friends in Brentwood and the Pacific Palisades. With this motion, she sought to grant informal neighborhood associations in wealthy enclaves the same privileges enjoyed by actual, city-sanctioned neighborhood councils.
As pointed out in multiple community impact statements opposing Traci's proposal, certified neighborhood councils are required to undergo training and comply with the Brown Act, Public Records Act, and a host of city rules and regulations. At least one of the associations even requires members to pay dues. If Traci had her way, these ultra wealthy, secretive and corrupt associations would have the same rights as official neighborhood councils (like extra time for public comment at City Council meetings) without having any of the same obligations. They could carry on without democratic participation or transparency, while wielding even greater influence on City Hall than they already do with their connections and cold, hard cash.
For example, incoming Brentwood Community Council president Carolyn Johnson, together with her husband Daniel, spent almost $10,000 to put Traci in office. With that much money in play, there's little doubt Carolyn expected her new agent at City Hall to pull favors like granting city powers to the undemocratic BCC.
During her City Council campaign, Traci met frequently with affluent westsiders serving on homeowners associations and neighborhood councils. She rarely made time for the majority of CD11 constituents struggling to make ends meet. In October 2022, she refused to show up for a debate at Mar Vista Gardens, the only public housing project in CD11.
Once in office, Park made it clear which constituents she prioritizes by introducing a motion specifically catering to her wealthy friends in Brentwood and the Pacific Palisades. With this motion, she sought to grant informal neighborhood associations in wealthy enclaves the same privileges enjoyed by actual, city-sanctioned neighborhood councils.
As pointed out in multiple community impact statements opposing Traci's proposal, certified neighborhood councils are required to undergo training and comply with the Brown Act, Public Records Act, and a host of city rules and regulations. At least one of the associations even requires members to pay dues. If Traci had her way, these ultra wealthy, secretive and corrupt associations would have the same rights as official neighborhood councils (like extra time for public comment at City Council meetings) without having any of the same obligations. They could carry on without democratic participation or transparency, while wielding even greater influence on City Hall than they already do with their connections and cold, hard cash.
For example, incoming Brentwood Community Council president Carolyn Johnson, together with her husband Daniel, spent almost $10,000 to put Traci in office. With that much money in play, there's little doubt Carolyn expected her new agent at City Hall to pull favors like granting city powers to the undemocratic BCC.
Traci Park is anti-tenant.
In January 2023, Los Angeles was in the midst of a massive affordable housing crisis, with 80,000+ unhoused Angelenos and mass evictions on the horizon due to City Council's vote to end COVID protections. Against this backdrop, Traci's colleagues on City Council stepped up to pass the largest expansion of tenant protections in Los Angeles since the 1979 adoption of the Rent Stabilization Ordinance.
Traci bucked this trend, establishing herself as the most anti-renter representative at City Hall. Although she voted for the new protections, she did so reluctantly, claiming the process "felt rushed." She then joined fellow former Republican Councilmember John Lee as the only no votes on protecting tenants who owe less than one month's rent and requiring landlords to pay relocation fees in certain circumstances. She was also the lone dissenting vote on a one-month grace period for tenants behind on rent. It turns out the only housing-related legislation Traci has introduced is pro-landlord.
Traci bucked this trend, establishing herself as the most anti-renter representative at City Hall. Although she voted for the new protections, she did so reluctantly, claiming the process "felt rushed." She then joined fellow former Republican Councilmember John Lee as the only no votes on protecting tenants who owe less than one month's rent and requiring landlords to pay relocation fees in certain circumstances. She was also the lone dissenting vote on a one-month grace period for tenants behind on rent. It turns out the only housing-related legislation Traci has introduced is pro-landlord.
Traci Park is owned by corporate landlords.
None of this is surprising. During the 2022 election cycle, Traci accepted over $1.2 million from the corporate landlord lobby and powerful real estate interests, including Douglas Emmett, Kilroy Realty and the California Apartment Association. Real estate investment trust Douglas Emmett funneled a whopping $566,000 to Traci through an independent expenditure committee formed by the LA Police Protective League.
Another $330,000 came courtesy of Kilroy Realty, one of the leading funders of the recall against Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. At least one of Traci's major real estate donors, Texas-based Turnkey Holdings, is facing a class action lawsuit for not refunding its customers. Traci found another major backer in the California Apartment Association, which contributed $265,000 to her campaign. According to a special investigation from the Housing is a Human Right Campaign, the CAA has spent millions upon millions in lobbying against renter protections.
Another $330,000 came courtesy of Kilroy Realty, one of the leading funders of the recall against Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. At least one of Traci's major real estate donors, Texas-based Turnkey Holdings, is facing a class action lawsuit for not refunding its customers. Traci found another major backer in the California Apartment Association, which contributed $265,000 to her campaign. According to a special investigation from the Housing is a Human Right Campaign, the CAA has spent millions upon millions in lobbying against renter protections.
Traci Park is facilitating the largest mass eviction in LA's history.
In the 2022 election cycle, Douglas Emmett's $566,000 contribution to Traci Park's campaign came under heavy scrutiny as an attempt to buy political favors, and for good reason. The payout came just after outgoing Councilmember Mike Bonin opposed the company's plan to carry out one of the largest mass evictions in LA's history. With her right-wing bona fides including participation in the "recall Bonin" campaign, Douglas Emmett knew that a hefty investment in Traci Park would pay massive dividends - and they were right.
Douglas Emmett owns the Barrington Plaza complex, which has 712 rent-stabilized units, 577 of which were occupied by residents before Traci Park entered office. For years, the landlord refused to install sprinklers in the building despite two separate fires in 2013 and 2020 that killed a 19-year-old man and injured 21 people, including a 3-month-old baby and 2-year-old girl. As one displaced tenant put it, "They should have put sprinklers in after the 2013 fire . . . The landlords don’t care."
In talks with Councilmember Bonin regarding the need to install sprinklers at the complex, Douglas Emmett proposed evicting tenants, renovating the property, and then re-renting to new tenants. The councilmember rejected this plan, insisting that the company implement basic building and fire safety codes without evicting residents. Although Douglas Emmett had almost no prior history of contributing to local elections, the landlord then poured $1.1 million into the 2022 municipal elections. Their target was clear. They spent $200,000 to elect Heidi Feldstein Soto as City Attorney to ensure no legal opposition, and over half a million dollars on Traci Park, who would facilitate the mass eviction.
In May of 2023, with Feldstein Soto and Park firmly entrenched as their landlord puppets, Douglas Emmett announced plans to evict all tenants at Barrington Plaza, relying on an illegal use of the Ellis Act. The Ellis Act is a state law that allows landlords to evict tenants if they are pulling all units from the rental market and “going out of business.” But Douglas Emmett openly admitted that it planned to rent out Barrington Plaza after installing sprinklers. For a multi-billion dollar company, any fines imposed for violating the law pale in comparison to the financial windfall they would reap by reopening the building with jacked-up rents.
The tenants fought back. On June 12, 2023, the Barrington Plaza Tenants Association filed suit to stop the mass eviction and sought a preliminary injunction to block evictions until a court reached a decision in their lawsuit. They were denied. In August, a judge ruled that the evictions could move forward, arguing that as between 700 tenants losing their homes and a multi-billion dollar company having to delay renovations, "the balance of hardships favors the landlord."
As one tenant describes the mass eviction process, "none of us could have guessed that Douglas Emmett, our multi-billion-dollar corporate landlord, would go to such lengths to evict those tenants who did not qualify for a one-year extension, and to harass those who did." The tenant notes that the small community of folks remaining at the near-deserted plaza are bound by a "shared knowledge that we are in this fight alone . . . Traci Park, who has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Douglas Emmett, ignored our pleas for help." Douglas Emmett hired a relocation firm to force people out with a range of tactics, including imposing draconian new rules, kicking tenants' doors, and calling them names.
Throughout this process, Traci Park facilitated the mass eviction. Her only official action was to instruct the Housing Department to "report on the status of the Ellis Act process and relocation of tenants." She never once challenged Douglas Emmett's legal authority to throw 700 of her constituents out of their homes, arguing instead that any challenge should come from the City Attorney's office. And of course, since Feldstein Soto was also bought off by Douglas Emmett, the city attorney took a "hands off" approach to this unprecedented abuse of the Ellis Act.
Douglas Emmett owns the Barrington Plaza complex, which has 712 rent-stabilized units, 577 of which were occupied by residents before Traci Park entered office. For years, the landlord refused to install sprinklers in the building despite two separate fires in 2013 and 2020 that killed a 19-year-old man and injured 21 people, including a 3-month-old baby and 2-year-old girl. As one displaced tenant put it, "They should have put sprinklers in after the 2013 fire . . . The landlords don’t care."
In talks with Councilmember Bonin regarding the need to install sprinklers at the complex, Douglas Emmett proposed evicting tenants, renovating the property, and then re-renting to new tenants. The councilmember rejected this plan, insisting that the company implement basic building and fire safety codes without evicting residents. Although Douglas Emmett had almost no prior history of contributing to local elections, the landlord then poured $1.1 million into the 2022 municipal elections. Their target was clear. They spent $200,000 to elect Heidi Feldstein Soto as City Attorney to ensure no legal opposition, and over half a million dollars on Traci Park, who would facilitate the mass eviction.
In May of 2023, with Feldstein Soto and Park firmly entrenched as their landlord puppets, Douglas Emmett announced plans to evict all tenants at Barrington Plaza, relying on an illegal use of the Ellis Act. The Ellis Act is a state law that allows landlords to evict tenants if they are pulling all units from the rental market and “going out of business.” But Douglas Emmett openly admitted that it planned to rent out Barrington Plaza after installing sprinklers. For a multi-billion dollar company, any fines imposed for violating the law pale in comparison to the financial windfall they would reap by reopening the building with jacked-up rents.
The tenants fought back. On June 12, 2023, the Barrington Plaza Tenants Association filed suit to stop the mass eviction and sought a preliminary injunction to block evictions until a court reached a decision in their lawsuit. They were denied. In August, a judge ruled that the evictions could move forward, arguing that as between 700 tenants losing their homes and a multi-billion dollar company having to delay renovations, "the balance of hardships favors the landlord."
As one tenant describes the mass eviction process, "none of us could have guessed that Douglas Emmett, our multi-billion-dollar corporate landlord, would go to such lengths to evict those tenants who did not qualify for a one-year extension, and to harass those who did." The tenant notes that the small community of folks remaining at the near-deserted plaza are bound by a "shared knowledge that we are in this fight alone . . . Traci Park, who has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Douglas Emmett, ignored our pleas for help." Douglas Emmett hired a relocation firm to force people out with a range of tactics, including imposing draconian new rules, kicking tenants' doors, and calling them names.
Throughout this process, Traci Park facilitated the mass eviction. Her only official action was to instruct the Housing Department to "report on the status of the Ellis Act process and relocation of tenants." She never once challenged Douglas Emmett's legal authority to throw 700 of her constituents out of their homes, arguing instead that any challenge should come from the City Attorney's office. And of course, since Feldstein Soto was also bought off by Douglas Emmett, the city attorney took a "hands off" approach to this unprecedented abuse of the Ellis Act.
Traci Park opposes interim shelter and permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness.
Traci Park campaigned for City Council on a promise to solve homelessness, but she consistently opposes new subsidized housing, especially if it's in her backyard. California's homelessness crisis is a direct result of the high cost of housing, and politicians like Park are keeping it that way.
Traci got her start in politics by blocking shelter for people experiencing homelessness in Venice. City officials planned to convert the Ramada Inn near her Venice home to transitional housing with services provided by People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) as part of the city’s Project Roomkey program. Instead of embracing the city’s effort to bring more shelter online for people living on the street, Traci spearheaded a failed effort to block the conversion. Park also vehemently opposed the “A Bridge Home” in Venice, which provides shelter to unhoused adults and transitional-age youth, calling it "disastrous" and a "blight on our community." And she joined the NIMBY chorus against a housing project they dubbed the "Monster on the Median", which would bring 140 affordable units to the Westside. From the beginning, Traci’s entire motivation for gaining power in City Hall was to block transitional housing in her affluent neighborhood.
Traci got her start in politics by blocking shelter for people experiencing homelessness in Venice. City officials planned to convert the Ramada Inn near her Venice home to transitional housing with services provided by People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) as part of the city’s Project Roomkey program. Instead of embracing the city’s effort to bring more shelter online for people living on the street, Traci spearheaded a failed effort to block the conversion. Park also vehemently opposed the “A Bridge Home” in Venice, which provides shelter to unhoused adults and transitional-age youth, calling it "disastrous" and a "blight on our community." And she joined the NIMBY chorus against a housing project they dubbed the "Monster on the Median", which would bring 140 affordable units to the Westside. From the beginning, Traci’s entire motivation for gaining power in City Hall was to block transitional housing in her affluent neighborhood.
Traci Park opposes permanent supportive housing.
In addition to blocking transitional housing in Venice, Traci opposes the only strategy proven to solve homelessness: providing permanent housing. Given the staggering cost of homelessness in Los Angeles (including shelter, service providers, healthcare, police, courts, sanitation, unemployment, foster care and more), a failure to provide permanent housing is the height of fiscal irresponsibility. But Traci has said that housing is "too costly." At a September 17, 2022 debate, Traci could not name a single housing project in the district she supported for people experiencing homelessness.
Immediately following the election but before she was even seated, Traci Park killed $2.3 million in funding that would have provided shelter to people living in their RVs along Jefferson Boulevard at the Ballona Wetlands. After tanking the program, she committed to bi-weekly sweeps on Jefferson, which have been proven harmful and completely ineffective in addressing homelessness. And in her first week in office, Traci introduced a motion seeking to delay development of one of the only 100% affordable housing projects on the Westside, located at the Disability Community Resource Center.
Immediately following the election but before she was even seated, Traci Park killed $2.3 million in funding that would have provided shelter to people living in their RVs along Jefferson Boulevard at the Ballona Wetlands. After tanking the program, she committed to bi-weekly sweeps on Jefferson, which have been proven harmful and completely ineffective in addressing homelessness. And in her first week in office, Traci introduced a motion seeking to delay development of one of the only 100% affordable housing projects on the Westside, located at the Disability Community Resource Center.