Tomas O'Grady for City Council 2011

EnrichLA- Tomas O’Grady Working To Get The Job Done

admin — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 18:59:32 +0000

Tomas O’Grady and Leonardo Chalupowicz founded EnrichLA in early 2011, and they have been hard at work ever since!

EnrichLA is a Non-Profit organization that builds gardens in Los Angeles Schools. It may sound simple, but these garden projects take a lot of time, coordination, and hard work. EnrichLA coordinates soil tests with LAUSD, appeals to Neighborhood Councils for funding and volunteer support, works with Principals and Teachers to find the best location and use for the gardens, and designs and installs each school garden. Currently, there are school gardens installed in five local schools, and they are building a new garden on an average of once every six weeks.

Discussing Plans with Mayor Villaraigosa

Whats the big deal about gardens?

Gardens enrich the daily lives of students in multiple ways. Not only do they improve the aesthetic of otherwise barren and asphalt laden schools, but they also become a project and learning tool for students. Students participate in the “outdoor classroom” activities, learning science and math, nutrition, and environmental stewardship.

Learn more about what EnrichLA is doing and how you can get involved by visiting the EnrichLA website HERE.
Or, copy and paste this link into your browser: http://enrichla.org/

Volunteers at Harvey Milk Day of Service at Roosevelt Senior High School

A Nice Story for Election Day by William Walker

admin — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:02:47 +0000

Something extraordinary happened a couple of days ago in my neighborhood, the Hollywood Dell, that I wanted you to be aware of. For years my neighborhood has been lucky to enjoy a nature trail sitting on 10 lots of undeveloped land where everyone walks their dogs, savors the wildlife, and just finds a bit of peace in a busy world. The developer who owned the lots was asking a large price but recently softened. On Wednesday, March 2, a number of the trail supporters wrote to Councilman Tom LaBonge asking him to find some money to help us buy this useable open space. We pointed out that LaBonge had pledged property owner’s annual $40 open space tax for the next twenty years to buy the Cahuenga Peak – a place that no one can walk on or enjoy except from afar. We once again asked him to find a little City money to help us preserve this nature trail, since he had formed a committee to find other parcels adjacent to the Peak to buy for the City and we wondered: where’s the money? LaBonge did not respond.

We did, however, copied the 2 candidates for LaBonge’s council seat and one of them, Tomas O’Grady, called us up, educated himself on the facts, called the developer, and within an hour, had made a deal for us to buy the lots on acceptable terms (extraordinary terms, really) through a non-profit entity. Apparently he believes in getting things done. We are now embarking on the fundraising for the trail but finally have a deal in place thanks to a guy who is running for office but took the time to get involved.

I am impressed with O’Grady and so decided to email everyone I know who lives in the 4th Council District to tell them about this amazing feat and suggest that they be sure to get out and vote on Tuesday. Turnout is typically very low.

And if any of you have friends or neighbors in the 4th Council District, please forward this email to them. Every vote counts in this election since turnout will be low. If Facebook can bring down Mubarak, maybe email can elect O’Grady….

William Lucas Walker

MEG TAYLOR SAYS OF O’GRADY “Now we just need to vote him in”

admin — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 05:02:45 +0000

Friends,

There is an election tomorrow, Tuesday, March 8th in Los Angeles, and I am emailing to entreat you to get out and vote for Tomás O’Grady for Los Angeles City Councilmember representing district 4.

I have had the great honor of being roped in by Tomás to innumerable volunteer public service opportunities including but certainly not limited to developing and teaching curriculum for the huge organic garden at King Middle School he spearheaded and installed himself with almost $20,000 of money he also raised himself and irrelevant of the fact that his kids were not even attending the school at the time.

His attitude was and is that the course of action to save our suffering public school system is to show up for our responsibility to the quality of our kids public education by investing our time and energy into it’s schools and not flying away to the haven of private schools. He has unwaveringly viewed the sum total of the experiences of every kid to be what we can expect for the future of our city, and he has created action after action to bear out this understanding with the 25 hours he seems to find in every day, and with a stretching of funds he enviably handles like a rubber band. I have seen him learn from scratch how to navigate relations with LAUSD’s Board and staff to embark on projects that no one else could have gotten away with, install rainwater catchment and solar heating systems with no previous experience with his own two hands in a 4 bedroom eco-house he also built from studs with his own two hands using funds he and his wife Justine made from scratch when they bought their first small building in what was a neighborhood with it’s glass half-empty, and turned it around. In the many times I have been over to this house for dinner, I have never seen it when it wasn’t a community hub buzzing with kids playing, people talking politics and celebrating what they got done today, and all glasses full.

I know Tomás to be a person who does not accept failure as an option regardless of whether he has previous experience in whatever he has put his mind to, because I have seen him make something beautiful out of nothing over and over again. I am not without grave cynicism about the honesty in our political process and wonder sometimes if the term “public servant” has jumped the shark, but Tomás O’Grady reinstalls my faith to such an extent that I have put off jobs, rescheduled meetings, not done my laundry or showered, and given my last 500 bucks for every leaf blower campaign, Eco-home tour, school garden, neighborhood council election, school board meeting and zero waste initiative he has launched. He already is the public servant we always hope for when we think about the dream of American democracy.

Now we just need to vote him in.

Please, do yourselves and LA a favor and put off whatever you had planned for the 30 minutes it will take you to vote tomorrow, and participate in our democracy by putting someone in office who will not accept failure as an option in efficiently using your money to represent your best interests. Vote for Tomás O’Grady tomorrow.

–

Meg

____________________________

www.largemargesustainables.com

(310) 902-4104

Meg Taylor

Tomas stands with Hollywood Dell Residents

admin — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:09:18 +0000

Bringing people together to help save the La Rocha Trail in the Hollywood Dell.

ADAM SILVERMAN OF HEATH CERAMICS SAYS VOTE FOR TOMAS

admin — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 04:47:54 +0000

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

This coming Tuesday is election day for the Los Angeles City Council, as well as other offices and ballot measures. I am writing to encourage you to vote for Tomas O’Grady for LA City Council District 4. CD4 is huge and irregularly shaped. If you click on Tomas’ website below, there is a link to the district map.

If you don’t live in CD4 and like what Tomas is doing, please forward this to your friends in CD4.

Tomas is a father of four young children. An immigrant who’s love and appreciation of America, and Los Angeles, you get in your first meeting with him.

This love and appreciation has lead him to become a deeply committed activist. He is not looking for a job, he is looking to give back and make LA a better place for his kids, and ours, to grow up. I know that sounds hokey, but it’s actually true.

Tomas is a tireless worker on behalf of our city. From the most grass roots level, literally planting trees and gardens, himself, in the local schools and neighborhoods, to advocating on behalf of all of our neighbors, not just those in the right neighborhoods. I have seen his efforts make drastic improvements at both Franklin Avenue Elementary, and King Middle Schools. His sense of right and wrong and fairness is remarkable. His energy for making Los Angeles a better city is contagious.

Tomas grew up on a farm in Ireland, and that clearly influences the man he is. His deep sense of practicality, fiscal responsibility and bootstrap, can do attitude are all traits that we need in city hall.

I encourage you to look at Tomas’ website, it will give you a good sense of who he is. He doesn’t have all the answers, and he doesn’t pretend to, but I believe we can trust him, and that he will work harder than anyone we know to do the right thing for the future of Los Angeles. If you take a few minutes to look at Tomas’s website, I think you will agree that he represents a unique opportunity for us to have a voice in city hall.

Please vote this Tuesday March 8^th.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

http://tomasogradyforcd4.com/wordpress/

Adam

ADAM SILVERMAN

director heath los angeles

HEATH ceramics

7525 beverly blvd.

los angeles california 90036

323-965-0800

http://www.heathceramics.com

http://www.atwaterpottery.com

FRIENDS OF LA ROCHA ENDORSE O’GRADY

admin — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 16:20:25 +0000

Contact: Alexa Iles Skarpelos Friends of La Rocha co-chair Phone: 323.469.4977 Mobile: 310.497.3982 Email: alexa@mediaart.com

THE FRIENDS OF LA ROCHA TRAIL RECOMMEND TOMAS O’GRADY

TOMAS O’GRADY IS A REAL FRIEND TO THOSE WHO WANT TO PRESERVE ACCESSIBLE GREEN SPACE IN LA CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 4

Current LA City Council Member Tom LaBonge never misses an opportunity to speak about the success of his pet project to “Save the Peak.” But many CD4 residents were disheartened to find out at what cost.

LaBonge committed twenty years worth of the $40 annual assessment that residents pay towards protecting and preserving accessible green space in our neighborhoods to the $12.5 million purchase price of the land around the iconic Hollywood sign. When approached in the months prior to the Peak deal deadline about supporting another, smaller effort, to preserve a nature trail in the Hollywood Hills, LaBonge claimed that there wasn’t a dime of city money that he could contribute. Really?

While both of LaBonge’s opponents have publicly challenged this claim, it was Tomas O’Grady who went beyond political posturing and sprung into action to become a REAL friend of the La Rocha Trail. He understands the importance of local and accessible open space in an increasingly dense urban environment.

“For a number of years now, in the Los Feliz and Silver Lake area, I have both advocated for and taken action towards creating small parks close to people. Griffith Park, for example, is a huge, urban wilderness. What we need now more than ever in this city is to have small parks close to people.”

-Tomas O’Grady

In response to a letter (attached) written to Council Member LaBonge, and cc’d to his challengers, O’Grady immediately contacted the Friends of La Rocha Trail and familiarized himself with the project.

Within 24 hours, O’Grady contacted the owner/developer of the string of lots along the trail and was able to negotiate both a price and timeline that will allow for fundraising efforts to be successful.

The Friends of La Rocha Trail, and other grassroots groups who are working to make Los Angeles a more livable city, have a friend in Tomas O’Grady.

RE-BUILDING TRUST ONE PENNY AT A TIME

admin — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 16:54:54 +0000

Re-Building Trust…One Penny at a Time

26/02/11 by TOMAS O\\\’GRADY in Blog, FISCAL COMMON SENSE

“Take care of the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves.”

Remember that saying?

We are going to need two things moving forward to bring our public finances, state, city, and federal, into equilibrium. To put it bluntly, political courage and leadership. The tools that we have are spending cuts and finding new sources of revenue.

Everyone will have to make a sacrifice. The rank and file is going to have to pay a little more for their healthcare and their pensions. They’re going to have to freeze their salaries for the foreseeable future. But this has to be a shared sacrifice. These cuts have to apply to politicians and city administrators as well. The only way an elected leader is going to have any hope at all of cutting through the rhetoric and negotiating concessions is if he or she has credibility. Walking the walk.

Let’s first embrace the fact that our shared sacrifice will allow us to truly fulfill our shared purpose of serving the public. Voters are more likely to be convinced of the need to pay new taxes if our government is demonstrating that it is efficient and without waste, and that not a single cent is being misused.

That is why I have committed to halving my salary, refusing a city car, halving the massive (20 person) council office staffs, eliminating the slush fund, and cutting everything, and I mean everything, that is non-essential.

I first committed to this last fall because I thought it was the right thing to do. Morally, I could not handle the idea of collecting an almost a quarter of a million dollars’ compensation package when just blocks from city hall, thousands of people sleep on the street. How could I explain that to my children?

After going door to door in recent months and talking to voters in the 4^th district, I realize this is now also a confidence building matter. Many voters I’ve spoken with are deeply distrustful of City Hall culture and their Council Member. At what point does managing the expectations of constituents and their perceptions of you take the place of political courage and real leadership?

I have learned through my volunteer work in public education that when you build trust among teachers, parents, and administrators, just about everything else falls into place. Building community begins just like building any relationship. People need to slowly learn to trust each other.

It takes honesty, humility and a fierce desire to be of service. What keeps people thriving together is trust. We need to rebuild trust in our government.

Political leaders can do their part by walking the walk and by cutting their largesse. It doesn’t matter if it is a $2 cup of coffee paid for by the taxpayer or the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of pet projects paid for by the CRA piggy bank; it’s all money that were our voters given a chance to weigh in, they likely would say, “Please don’t do that.”

As long as voters believe that our government is wasting their money, they will refuse to pay additional taxes to pay for the things we all hold dear, and as long as public sector workers believe that our elected leaders are living like kings, they will refuse to concede.

L.A. can’t let “business as usual” set the standard anymore. It’s not good enough. Until you, the voters, put people in City Hall who refuse to accept the status quo, then the problems we face today, will look minuscule in comparison to five years from now.

A PERSONAL LETTER FROM TEACHERS AND PARENTS ABOUT TOMAS O’GRADY

admin — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 16:40:25 +0000

February 28, 2011

Dear neighbor,

We are writing to tell you about our friend Tomas O’Grady, who is running for city council in our district. Tomas has been a tireless advocate for public schools, the environment, and fiscal common sense. Wherever he has seen a problem in our community, he has fixed it. In working with him in several different areas, we have all seen his dedication and sincere desire to make Los Angeles a better place.

When it was time for Tomas’s children to attend Franklin Avenue Elementary, he came to the school and wanted to get involved. He built a reading garden at Franklin and implemented recycling and composting programs for the students. He also worked with Friends of Franklin to keep music and arts at the school. Franklin was named a distinguished school in 2010.

At King Middle School, Tomas took a look at a school that was deemed by many to be out of control. He took concrete and turned it into a vegetable garden complete with composting. He founded Friends of King Middle School, the first non-profit PTA to have sustainability written into its bylaws. Through Friends of King, Tomas started an afterschool program to teach drama, cooking, and drawing. The school has seen massive improvements in its test scores.

Tomas is a family man. He and his wife Justine have four children, three of whom are school aged and attend public schools in Los Feliz. Tomas is a person of integrity and is no stranger to hard work. We have never written a letter like this for a candidate for any political office before, but we know that Tomas is the right person for the job at this difficult time for our city. Please visit his website at www.tomasogrady.com to read more about the wonderful things he has accomplished to date as well as the future goals he has for our community. And please consider voting for Tomas O’Grady for City Council on March 8^th.

Sincerely,

Dr. Harpreet Malhi, mother of two, elected board member of the Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council*

Judy Murray, Franklin Avenue Elementary School teacher*, Los Feliz

Annemarie Ralph, Thomas Starr King Middle School science teacher*, Los Feliz

Leslie Weinstein, mother of one, Friends of Franklin board member*

*For informational purposes only.

Tomas O’Grady Walks the Walk on Saving Barnsdall

admin — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:56:38 +0000

Photos 1 and 4 by Rebecca Joyce

Just How Much does your Politician’s Personal Staff Cost?

admin — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 23:01:34 +0000

First some numbers:

Back in 1970, each Council member had a staff of 5. Today they have 20. Each city council office costs a little over 1.7 million per year to run. According to the latest numbers, 477 political aides work for the 15 Council offices and the Mayor’s office. That is more than the White House. Most aides make around $100,000 a year. But the true cost is around $140,000 when you count in healthcare, dental, disability, benefits, etc. Let’s compare this to other cities. In San Francisco, the city’s Board of Supervisors, which are their council people, have 2 aides each. New York City is the same. In San Diego, the mayor’s office has a total staff of 37.

I have written repeatedly to the council office and the city council begging them to scale back these ridiculous numbers. Were I to have the honor of being elected as your city council person, I would immediately cut my staff and salary in half. This city needs to spend money on folks who actually do things and stop spending money on political aides. I do not need a press secretary.