Are you a community-minded individual who is passionate about West Adams? If so, you should consider running for a Board seat on the West Adams Neighborhood Council!

As the West Adams Neighborhood Council, our purpose is to participate as an advisory body on issues of concern to our neighborhood and to create more opportunities to build partnerships with government to address local needs and concerns in our community. You will have an opportunity to affect change on a variety of issues impacting the West Adams community – social and racial justice, land use, housing, homelessness, transportation, sustainability, education, and so much more.

To ensure the health and safety of stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic, the City Council approved the City Clerk’s recommendation to conduct all Vote-By-Mail
2021 Neighborhood Council Elections.

For the 2021 elections, you voted on candidates for 8 Board seats:

• 4 At-Large Representatives
• 1 Business Representative
• 1 Community Interest Representative
• 1 Homeowner Representative
• 1 Youth Representative

Key Dates:

• Candidate forum: April 28, 2021
• Vote-by-mail ballot request closes: May 18, 2021
• ELECTION DAY: May 25, 2021
• Deadline to receive mail-in ballots (must be postmarked on Election Day): June 4, 2021
• Unofficial results: June 02, 2021
• Official results: June 10, 2021
• Challenge filing period: May 26, 2021 to June 3, 2021

Vote-by-Mail Resources:

• Vote-by-mail application (main page)
• Vote-by-mail application portal (online)
• Vote-by-mail application (paper)
  • English
  • Español
  • 日本語
  • For other languages
• Vote-by-mail application instructions
• FAQs
• Vote-by-mail dates and deadlines (refer to West Adams on page 4)
• Ballot voting model (BVM) – indicates the type of ballot that will be issued to you per your voter qualifications
• Voter documentation guide

In addition to vote-by-mail, a ballot drop box location will also be made available at the following locations:

Baldwin Hills Branch Library (map)
2906 South La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90016

Additional ballot drop box locations can be accessed here.

Ballot drop boxes will be opened at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, 5/21 and closed at 8:00p.m. on Election Day (Tuesday, 5/25).

Get to Know the Candidates:

• Check out the Candidate Yearbook here
• View the Candidate Forum presentation and recording here:
  • Opening statements:
    • Brian Piatek (00:31:16)
    • Steven Meeks (00:32:55)
    • John Ma (00:34:10)
    • Omid Shokoufandeh (00:36:57)
    • Connye Thomas (00:38:20)
    • Dorsay Dujon  (00:43:55)
    • Thomas Murray (00:45:55)
  • Question 1: What caused you to run?
    • Brian Piatek (00:48:11)
    • Steven Meeks (00:50:20)
    • Omid Shokoufandeh (00:52:39)
    • John Ma (00:52:49)
    • Thomas Murray (00:56:08)
    • Connye Thomas (00:57:21)
    • Dorsay Dujon (00:59:13)
  • Question 2: Which committee would you like to join/chair and what projects would you like to get done?
    • John Ma (1:02:01)
    • Omid Shokoufandeh (1:04:26)
    • Connye Thomas (1:05:55)
    • Thomas Murray (1:08:05)
    • Steven Meeks (1:09:36)
    • Dorsay Dujon (1:11:48)
    • Brian Piatek (1:13:55)
  • Question 3: How do you approach problems that you know you can’t solve alone, but where you also face opposition?
    • Steven Meeks (1:16:37)
    • Omid Shokoufandeh (1:18:31)
    • Dorsay Dujon (1:19:55)
    • John Ma (1:22:25)
    • Brian Piatek (1:24:58)
    • Thomas Murray (1:26:55)
    • Connye Thomas (1:28:48)
  • Question 4: As an NC Board Member, you will build relationships with government officials, business people, and up to 19,000 residential stakeholders. How will you use those opportunities to improve West Adams for everyone? Feel free to speak in the context of a particular interest you care about.
    • Connye Thomas (1:33:16)
    • John Ma (1:34:21)
    • Thomas Murray (1:36:42)
    • Brian Piatek (1:38:45)
    • Omid Shokoufandeh (1:40:55)
    • Dorsay Dujon (1:42:40)
    • Steven Meeks (1:44:50)
  • Question 5: Name a decision made by the West Adams Neighborhood Council (or other Los Angeles agencies) that you disagree with and what you would’ve done differently).
    • Thomas Murray (1:48:36)
    • Brian Piatek (1:50:08)
    • Dorsay Dujon (1:52:15)
    • John Ma (1:55:11)
    • Omid Shokoufandeh (1:57:49)
    • Connye Thomas (2:00:41)
    • Steven Meeks (2:03:45)

Additional Resources:

• See who is running (City Clerk)
• 2020/21 elections (Department of Neighborhood Empowerment)
• 2020/21 elections (City Clerk)
• Things to know as a Board Member (WANC)

VIDEO: Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Message on 2020/21 Neighborhood Council Elections

VIDEO: What It Means To Be a Neighborhood Council Candidate

Candidate Info Session Recording, Transcript, and Presentation (facilitated by the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and Office of the City Clerk)

• Watch or listen to the session here (you’ll be able to toggle between the chat transcript and an audio transcript at the top right corner of the screen)
  • Part 1 introduces Neighborhood Councils and explains who can run or vote in Neighborhood Council elections (17:54-35:16)
  • Part 2 takes you step-by-step through the City Clerk’s online candidate application process (35:17-51:00)
  • Part 3 covers low-cost / no-cost tips for running a successful campaign (51:00-12:24:56)
  • Questions from the audience (1:24:56-End)
• Slideshow from the candidate info session (download a PDF of the presentation slides in the language of your choice below)
  • English
  • Español: presentación de la sesión de información del candidato
  • Korean: 후보자정보세션
  • Chinese (Traditional): 候選人說明會

April 14th Candidate Info Session Recording and Presentation (facilitated by West Adams Neighborhood Council)

• Watch or listen to the session can be accessed here
• Slideshow from the session can be accessed here