Prepping for the Neighborhood Council Elections

Studio City has one of the more complicated Neighborhood Council ballots, but that doesn’t mean it will be more difficult to vote.

In fact, you don’t have to be registered to vote in order to cast a ballot in the Neighborhood Council. You don’t even have to be a citizen,

If you show an interest in Studio City, for the most part, you can vote in the Neighborhood Council elections to be held at 2:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday at Walter Reed Middle School.

Each of the 95 Neighborhood Councils in Los Angeles has its own bylaws for the advisory community boards, and Studio City’s seven categories make the ballot a little more complicated.

People will have to prove that they own property to vote  in the residential homeowners race, for example. They have to be 15 to younger than 18 years old to vote in the youth race. Yet, anyone can vote in the At-Large race, which has one seat.

Some districts have their areas divided up by neighborhoods, some by categories, some by areas of interest. 

Among the people helping out with the ballots and vote counting are Arlene and Paul Samek. They were involved with the first Neighborhood Council elections a decade ago, and Paul was on the first local council.

Empower LA election administrator Stephen Box said he has seen a few wonderful things going on at the Neighborhood Council elections. For example, a 12-year-old boy was explaining to some Armenian voters what a “ballot” is to first-time voters.

“The idea is that everyone who walks through the door is a voter, “ Box said. “We just have to figure out which ballot they will get.” 

Studio City’s rules are to trust what people say about their involvement in the area. If they say they are a member of a service organization, the can vote in the Service Organization category, or they can say they are a homeowner or a renter—people will be taken at their word.

However, it could be as easy as saying that you shop in Studio City to be able to vote in the At-Large category.

An employee of McDonald’s or a teacher at Walter Reed Middle School, for example, could vote in the Employee/Independent Contractor race as well as the At-Large categories.

Any disputed ballot will be filed as a Provisional Ballot and the voter has three days to bring in proof of their status and then the vote will be counted. 

On Thursday, North Hollywood, Valley Village and Sherman Oaks will go to the polls as well as Studio City. Sherman Oaks has seven ballots with seven different colors. Granada Hills had different ballots.

There will be Curbside Voting. Someone could call the number posted outside the Reed Auditorium and a ballot will be brought out to a car and then placed in the box. 

“This is a very important part of being part of your community,” Box said. “There are 88 cities in Los Angeles County and 95 Neighborhood Councils and the average Neighborhood Council is larger than the average city. This is huge, this is super huge. It’s a very exciting process.”

From the SCNC:

It’s election year, and that applies to the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council system as well. And right here in Studio City, the Studio City Neighborhood Council (SCNC) will hold board elections  Thursday, September 20, at Walter Reed Middle School from 2:30 pm – 8:30 pm.

Walter Reed Middle School
4525 Irvine Avenue
North Hollywood, CA 91602

As a Stakeholder, you can qualify for multiple stakeholder categories and vote for more than one ballot. All voters will receive an At-Large ballot. The SCNC has 16 elected Board seats and there are 7 different Board categories. 

*** You do not have to be a registered voter to participate.  The Studio City Neighborhood Council has chosen "Self-Affirmation" to identify Stakeholders.  You will be asked to affirm the factual basis for your stakeholder claim (Homeowner, Renter, etc). through written self-affirmation. ***

Click Here for the Candidate Statements and Photos, as well as the qualifications needed to Vote for each constested seat.

CERTIFIED LIST OF CANDIDATES:

AT-LARGE STAKEHOLDER  – Vote for one (1) 
Lisa Cahan Davis
Sam Humeid

BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES  – Vote for up to three (3) 
Scott Ouellette
Rita Villa

EMPLOYEES/INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS – Vote for two (2)
John Lawler
Shoshana Raphael

SERVICE ORGANIZATION – Vote for up to two (2) 
Remy Kessler
Richard Niederberg

RESIDENTIAL HOMEOWNERS  – Vote for up to four (4) 
Sarah Angel
Eric Feder
Dan Nieman
Matt Pyken
Lisa Sarkin
Gail Steinberg
John Walker
Denise Welvang
Lisa Yacoubian

RESIDENTIAL RENTER– Vote for up to three (3)
Jane Drucker
Karen Eisenberg
Geoffrey Going
Arthur Hughes
Lana Shackleford
Ron Taylor

YOUTH BOARD MEMBER  – Vote for one (1)
Pasha Vafaee

For information about all the candidates, where to vote, or exactly what is a Neighborhood Council,CLICK HERE.