Studio City resident and actor/activist Mike Farrell was among the speakers at an Occupy the Future Summit that included Michael McCue for Move To Amend, radio personality Kevin James who is running for Los Angeles mayor, and Dr. Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate.

About 50 people attended the diverse meeting Monday night at the Mayflower Club in North Hollywood. Other speakers included Bill Maxwell, of Transition San Fernando Valley; Tom Watson who founded Love, Honor, Cherish against Prop 8; Cary Brazeman of L.A. Neighbors United who is running fory City Controller and Green Peace California spokesperson Derek Iverson.

“I think we are closer than ever before to changing the death penalty in California,” said Farrell, who is part of SAFE California (Savings, Accountability, Full Enforcement) which is collecting signatures for a ballot initiative that would replace the state’s death penalty with life without the possibility of parole.

“The reason things are turning is because of the facts that show how it is more expensive to kill someone than it is to incarcerate them for life,” said Farrell. “That may seem counterintuitive, but it’s true. It costs about three times the amount.”

 (See the video above of Farrell spelling out the costs of $4 billion in California’s 11 latest executions that costs about $300 million per execution.) Even when no executions are being done, it costs $184 million a year just to maintain the system.

Farrell said he has spent the past 30 years speaking against the death penalty, and four states have recently done away with it because of the costs involved.

And, even more important, he points out that 140 people have been exonerated after being convicted wrongly.

“I think this is an exciting time and the mood has shifted in the state,” Farrell said.

Jill Stein, visiting from Massachusetts, said she is running for president because the country is ready for a change.

“Like Mike [Farrell] said it is a truly amazing time, and it’s a perfect storm for a disgruntled middle class, look at the Occupy movement,” she said.

“The stars are lining up for us to take our Democracy back,” Stein said.

She ticked off many issues she supports such as a strong health care system, downsized military and marriage equality. 

“I’m proud that I live in the first state that has equal marriage for all,” she said about Massachusetts. “I was also the first candidate for governor in 2002 to support it.”

Tom Watson, who formed  Love, Honor, Cherish, said he has been working for full marriage equality. An attorney, Watson said, "My partner and I have been together for 13 years and our marriage will have no affect whatsoever on anyone else's."

Former Studio City Neighborhood Council member Michael McCue has joined MoveToAmend.org to overturn the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court by amending the U.S Constitution.

“This is not a conservative or liberal or Democratic or Republican or Green Party issue,” McCue said. “It is to form a consensus that corporations are not people and corporations do not have Constitutional rights.”

Kevin James said he wants to run for mayor because he is concerned about the 400,000 jobs leaving the city. He outlined his six priorities for helping the city, and said, “We have allowed a decade of decline and that forced me to enter the Los Angeles Mayor’s race.”

(See the photo gallery of speakers and Farrell's explanation of the death penalty numbers by clicking on the video above.)