As the election gets ever closer, the News will be speaking to the candidates for City Council in Culver City over the coming weeks. There are seven in total, including two incumbents, and the News is aiming to profile them all. This week, the focus is on challenger Bubba Fish.
What accomplishments and experiences make you a great candidate for City Council?
I have served on staff at both the County and local levels and earned my Masters in Public Policy at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs this past June, specializing in Urban Policy. I also served on the Committee on Housing & Homelessness as Vice Chair for over two years. While serving, I helped abolish onerous parking requirements that drive up the cost of housing by as much as 25 percent, supported the creation of our Project Homekey hotel reuse sites and safe camping, and suggested new state laws the Council could take advantage of to expedite affordable housing production. I have volunteered with grassroots organizations here like Culver City for More Homes and Bike Culver City which strive to make our city more affordable and safe for everyone.
I’m also a public servant, serving the L.A. County Board of Supervisors as a Transportation Deputy. I have devoted my career to making streets safe for all ages and abilities and expanding mobility across the region.
What do you believe has been your greatest achievement?
I’m proud to have earned my Master’s degree in Public Policy at UCLA Luskin, but I think I am even more proud of co-creating Culver City Pride Ride & Rally, the first and only official Pride celebration in our city’s history. It’s one of the most unique Pride events in the region, beginning with a pride parade on wheels and ending with a rally and block party in Downtown Culver City celebrating our diversity. The event attracts hundreds of pride riders and rally attendees each year for a celebration of our LGBTQ+ community members. I am so grateful to be a part of creating this event and to witness our community feeling seen and loved on this special day.
What issues are you running on?
I am motivated to run for Culver City Council because we face multiple existential crises as a City – housing, mobility, and public safety – and we must lead with vision and urgency in order to meet this moment. I’m stepping up to foster a Culver City where housing is abundant, our streets are safe, and our budget is rooted in services and care. I believe in a future for Culver City where everyone can thrive no matter who you are, how you get around, or how much money you make.
How do you rate the current council?
I am grateful to have supported new facilities that were created to help bring our unhoused neighbors off the streets and into housing and shelters, such as the 73 units of interim and permanent supportive housing at Project Homekey and the Wellness Village site providing shelter for 20 individuals. I also appreciate the work that was done to support the creation of the Mobile Crisis Team, a team of mental health and housing professionals that are available to assist folks who need help.
That being said, I am disappointed that the Council has not taken more concrete action to alleviate our housing crisis. While our new housing element meets minimum standards of state law, it places nearly all residential density increases in one neighborhood while further restricting housing construction in others. I also wish the Council majority had taken action to make our streets safer and more accessible for all ages and abilities. Instead, the current Council majority shut down the city’s two open streets, punted all new bike, transit, and pedestrian projects for years,and removed one of only two protected bike lanes in the entire city. There are many ways to alleviate traffic congestion without removing the beginning of a protected bike and pedestrian network that the city desperately needs to meet our climate and safety goals. FInally, the Council majority has shown that they have a one-track mind when it comes to public safety, dramatically expanding the powers and arsenal of our police department, approving millions of dollars in new weapons and surveillance technologies and leading us into an $18M deficit. In fact, a Public Safety Draft Element was presented to the Council for adoption which outlined a modern and holistic vision of public safety, and it was voted to be discarded by this Council majority. Like many residents, I appreciate that our police department has impressively low response times. But with so many competing budget priorities and needs across the city, I believe it is important to apply scrutiny to all our department’s budget requests and ensure that each program we pay for with taxpayer dollars is truly serving our community.
If elected, I will work towards a Culver City where we embrace the policies of the future– housing for people of all incomes, safe streets, and a care-first budget that centers all our needs.
Should you win, what will you be focusing on in your first year?
I would focus on the three pillars of my platform: safe streets, housing for all of us, and care-first budget.
We must address our housing and homelessness crisis head-on by expediting affordable housing production, keeping residents from falling into homelessness, and moving people off the streets and into permanent housing. I plan to work with staff and colleagues to earn the city a pro-housing designation from the State’s Housing and Community Development Department (HCD), unlocking millions of dollars in grants for housing and other critical infrastructure projects. Homelessness is on the rise in our region, largely due to an increase in the cost of housing compared to lagging growth of incomes over the past several decades. We need to find new ways to encourage the production of affordable housing and continue to protect renters and ensure they have the resources they need to stay housed in order to stop the flow of people (now predominantly seniors) into homelessness.
Secondly, I also plan to expand our network of safe streets and traffic calming infrastructure so that people in all neighborhoods of Culver City can travel safely however they choose. I have consistently advocated for bike, bus, and pedestrian infrastructure in our city and supported opening the Jackson Gate to Ballona Creek so children could bike to school safely and independently. I have heard complaints from residents about speeding cars on their street and not knowing whether they will ever get speed bumps or other traffic calming measures installed. Emissions from passenger vehicles are the number one source of greenhouse gases in the state, and traffic collisions are the number one killer of children in Los Angeles County. We must ensure our streets are safe for all ages and abilities if we are going to meet our climate and safety goals.
Finally, to create a more inclusive Culver City, our approach to public safety must encompass so much more than just law enforcement. It is time for a modern, holistic vision of public safety in Culver City. By prioritizing preventative care, investing in vital services like child care and senior programming, and encouraging community participation in city governance, we can create a city where all residents feel secure, supported, and empowered. By adopting proven strategies already in use in cities across the country such as ambassador programs and expanding our mental health crisis teams, we can build a community that not only responds effectively to challenges, but also proactively invests in the health, happiness, and resilience of its residents.
These are divided political times for all sorts of reasons, local, national and international. What is your overall message to voters?
If I am lucky enough to serve as your Councilmember, I will work collaboratively on initiatives that benefit our entire community. I will work to build bridges with those who might view issues differently than me and invite a continuum of perspectives to have a seat at the table. I promise to listen to, learn from, and work with our residents, business owners, and workers to foster a city that is sustainable for the future and welcoming to all.
The City Council and Presidential election day is November 5. For all of the appropriate information, including how to register, visit lavote.gov. Visit voteforbubba.com for more information about Fish’s campaign.