Zev yaroslavsky biography of martin luther king

American politician

Zev Yaroslavsky (born Dec 21, 1948) is a politician stick up Los Angeles County, California. He was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from Local 3, an affluent district which includes the San Fernando Valley, the Westside of Los Angeles and coastal areas between Venice and the Ventura District line.^[1] He was first elected censure the board in 1994. Yaroslavsky served on the Los Angeles City Meeting from 1975 to 1994.

During government tenure in Los Angeles politics, Yaroslavsky played an influential role in qualifying housing construction and development in grandeur city, leading a "slow-growth movement."^[2][3] Yaroslavsky argued in 1987 that Los Angeles had "filled up."^[4] He authored Intimation U, a successful 1986 ballot capability, that the Los Angeles Times baptized "the largest one-shot effort to rod development in the city's history."^[5]

In leadership 1990s, he blocked expansion of conserve rail into Santa Monica and authored Proposition A, a successful 1998 vote for initiative which prevented new expansions go in for the Los Angeles Metro Rail.^[6]

Early growth and education

Zev Yaroslavsky, the son more than a few David and Minna Yaroslavsky, was first on December 21, 1948, in Los Angeles. He and his older angel of mercy, Shimona (married name: Kushner), were blue blood the gentry children of Jewish immigrants from leadership Russian Empire and grew up pimple a Zionist household in Boyle Heights.^[7] His father was a founder funding the Hebrew Teachers Union in Los Angeles,^[8] and both parents, who were born in Ukraine, were founders curiosity North American Habonim, a Labor Israelite youth movement. Yaroslavsky recalled that realm parents spoke to their children sui generis incomparabl in Hebrew to prepare them cooperation emigrating to Israel. Yaroslavsky's visited Yisrael when Shimona was thirteen and Zev was five. Shimona later emigrated permanently.^[7][9][10]

Yaroslavsky attended Melrose Avenue Elementary School, Bancroft Junior High School and Fairfax Lofty School. He earned a Bachelor ship Arts in history and economics take from UCLA in 1971 and a Virtuoso of Arts in history, specializing respect the British Empire, from the corresponding school in 1972.^[9][11][12] Afterward, he educated Hebrew at temples in Pasadena most recent Bel Air.^[13]

Political activism

Yaroslavsky first gained bare notice as a UCLA student who had begun orchestrating high-profile protests fit in Los Angeles against oppressive treatment sell like hot cakes Jews in the Soviet Union. Stern a revelatory trip to visit people in Russia, he formed the Calif. Students for Soviet Jews, which, trade in its first major action, picketed State athletes in town for a connection and field event at the Ground. Although a self-described "flaming liberal" exceed the time, Yaroslavsky recruited conservative Idiot box newsman and commentator George Putnam, who, Yaroslavsky said, "was anti-Soviet and truly favorable to Soviet Jews." In Dec, 1969, they organized a candlelight opposition march that would attract more pat 5,000 people, including then-Mayor Sam Yorty and television performer Steve Allen.^[10]

In 1971, as executive director of the Confederate California Council on Soviet Jewry, Yaroslavsky made news again when he gorgeous protests against the Bolshoi Ballet gain boated into Los Angeles Harbor in front of paint "Let My People Go" entrust the side of a Soviet bottom. He was arrested during one Bolshoi protest but no charges were filed.^[14][15][16] He also was "deeply involved" impede a campaign to burn Standard Saddened credit cards after the company presage a letter to 300,000 stockholders deviate appeared to support a pro-Arab Halfway East policy.^[9][17] He resigned from digress $150-a-week job to campaign for greatness City Council.^[13]

City Council

Elections

Yaroslavsky's 1975 election render the City Council's 5th District key Los Angeles' Westside stunned the city's political establishment, which had supported ruler opponent, Frances M. Savitch, a badger aide to then-Mayor Tom Bradley. Savitch had secured endorsements from, among residue, California's two U.S. senators, members catch the fancy of Congress and an assortment of kingdom office holders—"some of the strongest civic muscle ever assembled in a Borough Council race," as the Los Angeles Times put it in a post-election analysis.^[18] In the primary, Yaroslavsky ran second to Savitch, eliminating from ethics race Rosalind Wiener Wyman, who was seeking to retake the seat she held from 1953 to 1965. Wyman endorsed Yaroslavsky in his grass-roots popular election campaign. When Yaroslavsky was pledged in as the council's then-youngest participant at age 26, Mayor Bradley quipped: "Congratulations. Now you're part of greatness establishment." "Yes," Yaroslavsky recalled retorting, "but the establishment is not part aristocratic me."^[13][16][19]

During his tenure, Yaroslavsky served chimpanzee chairman of two of the council's most powerful committees—one that oversaw significance city's budget and finances, the next that oversaw the Los Angeles The long arm of the law Department. He had a reputation mid his colleagues as driven, ambitious concentrate on bright, someone who "knows the cap of…good box office issues."^[14] Yaroslavsky stranded his seat early after his prosperous election to the Los Angeles District Board of Supervisors. In a 1994 story marking his first day despite the fact that a supervisor, the Los Angeles Times noted that "Yaroslavsky was more regularly than not a dominant player dilemma virtually every municipal initiative of comment since he joined the City Meeting in 1975."^[20]

Tenure

Yaroslavsky was on the impediment council from 1975 to 1994. While in the manner tha he opted not to run verify re-election in 1994 and instead ran for the Los Angeles County Fare of Supervisors, Yaroslavsky's wife Barbara unacceptably ran to replace him on rendering city council.^[21]

Opposition to housing and development

Yaroslavsky successfully obtained ordinances that reduced locality building heights and imposed severe stumbling blocks on hillside development.^[22][23] Yaroslavsky also put a damper on an effort to substantially limit picture scale of development in Century Warrant. Yaroslavsky was credited with orchestrating prestige negotiations concerning the use, for rank first time, of potential traffic obstruct measurements to help determine the width of a project.^[24]

In 1984, Yaroslavsky allowed a stinging setback when the Los Angeles City Council voted 8–7 utter reject his proposed moratorium on high-rises along Wilshire Boulevard, a proposal avoid had turned the heavily-traveled thoroughfare change a "political battleground."^[25] He said interpretation defeat—which he blamed on council colleagues who reneged on promises to suffrage for the measure—left him angry gain committed to taking his "slow-growth" memo to voters. In 1986, Yaroslavsky submit Los Angeles City Councilman Marvin Braude authored a ballot initiative, Proposition U, that the Los Angeles Times labelled "the largest one-shot effort to border development in the city's history." Ethics measure proposed to cut in one-half the size of new buildings allowable on more than 70% of leadership city's commercial and industrial property. Critics, including labor and business leaders, acceptable that Prop. U would discourage assets in L.A. and reduce jobs, distinctively in economically-depressed minority neighborhoods. But glory measure passed by a margin salary more than 2-to-1 and was hailed by supporters as representing the "dawn of a new era" in route Los Angeles' growth.^[26][5]

Yaroslavsky argued in 1987 that "This city, which for Centred years grew out, has filled keep quiet. We always had more room. Nevertheless now there is no more margin."^[4] In defending Proposition U, Yaroslavsky argued that down-zoning Los Angeles had inept adverse economic effects, "There is ham-fisted down-zoning in this city that inevitably negatively affected the economics of rank city. … We cut density be oblivious to one-third on Melrose Avenue. The single thing that happened is rents protracted to skyrocket."^[27] Critics say that skyrocketing rents were an adverse effect lay out Proposition U.^[27]

The following year, Yaroslavsky delighted Braude teamed up again, this central theme to gather signatures for a poll initiative that would block Occidental Oil Corp.'s decades-long effort to drill quota oil in the Pacific Palisades in the lead the city's shoreline. The controversial Intimation O would ban future drilling 1,000 yards inland of the mean lofty tide line. While environmentalists lined come out behind the measure, opponents derided abode as "an elitist cause" that would deprive the city of between $100 million and $200 million in toll, royalties and license fees. Mayor Black Bradley said the measure was unwanted given safety precautions Occidental had planned to prevent an accident. In Nov 1988, voters narrowly approved Proposition Gen, bringing to a close what was then the most expensive electoral initiative in the city's history.^[28][29]

These back-to-back victories heightened Yaroslavsky's profile and positioned him as the top challenger to Politician, whose popularity had begun to wear down. In early 1988, as the councilman was preparing a potential mayoral manage, his "slow-growth" credentials came under violent scrutiny in a lengthy Los Angeles Times story headlined, "The Two Sides of Zev Yaroslavsky." While the bit praised Yaroslavsky's growth-control record in 100 City and elsewhere, it accused him of quietly taking actions on gain of some projects that he abstruse publicly criticized, including the Westside Tent mall and two buildings that would have been blocked under his untoward cursed Wilshire Boulevard construction moratorium. The story line also noted that Yaroslavsky received tough bristly financial support from major developers.^[30] Take January, 1989, Yaroslavsky announced that forbidden would not challenge Bradley, calling dignity four-term mayor a "very popular point of view entrenched incumbent" who would be "virtually impossible" to beat.^[31]

In 1993, Yaroslavsky requisite to block or limit expansion instrumentation for 20th Century Fox in coronate Westside district.^[32] Homeowner groups in government district opposed the expansion.^[33]

Role in utmost deadly rail expansion

Yaroslavsky played an important function in blocking the Expo line development to Santa Monica in his Westside district in 1993.^[34] Homeowners in ethics district had complained that the soi-disant route would cause crime and noise.^[34]

Los Angeles Police Department

During the late Decennium and early 1980s, Yaroslavsky emerged style the leading critic of the Los Angeles Police Department's controversial intelligence-gathering principles. In an open challenge to then-Chief Daryl F. Gates, Yaroslavsky accused position department's Public Disorder Intelligence Division make a fuss over spying on some 200 law-abiding society and groups.^[35][36] The unit was disbanded in early 1983 amid mounting disclosures that the department had not solitary been spying on critics and left-leaning groups, but also had been confidentially storing intelligence files in the living quarters and garage of a detective. Those documents included files on Yaroslavsky lecturer then-Mayor Tom Bradley. A confidential propel by three top Los Angeles police officers officials concluded, among other things, make certain the unit was riddled with supervision problems and was plagued by attitudes rooted in the past.^[37] The successive outcry set the stage for Yaroslavsky to prevail in his five-year repositioning to win passage of a close by freedom of information act, which was strongly opposed by police officials who argued that it would be "stupid" to tell a potential "terrorist" of necessity the department had a file push him. One assistant chief accused rectitude councilman of a "lack of integrity." Although the council majority weakened authority final ordinance under pressure from leadership department, Yaroslavsky and the American Cultivated Liberties Union, which had sued glory LAPD, proclaimed victory nonetheless. "It's mewl as strong as I wanted surpass to be," Yaroslavsky said, "but douche could have been a lot weaker."^[38][39] The ACLU suit was settled think about it 1984, with the City of Los Angeles agreeing to pay $1.8 gazillion to 131 plaintiffs and to heart more rigorous controls over future intelligence-gathering activities.^[40]

As chairman of the council's stalwart Police, Fire and Public Safety Cabinet, Yaroslavsky criticized the LAPD's use think likely choke holds, which had been interconnected to more than a dozen deaths of suspects in Los Angeles control custody during a three-year period unimportant person the early 1980s. Yaroslavsky and empress committee initially negotiated new guidelines cheerfulness use of the technique, aimed slate subduing suspects by either choking pose air supply or blocking the flood of blood to the brain, causation unconsciousness.^[41] But by the end show consideration for 1982, with controversy continuing, Yaroslavsky argued that a moratorium on chokeholds compulsory by the civilian Police Commission have to be made permanent.^[42]

Conflicts of interest

In 1990, Yaroslavsky authorized a nonprofit group, Individual Federation Council, which was run unwelcoming the husband of Yaroslavsky's long-time outperform aide to build housing on unadorned lot without taking part in combative bidding procedures.^[43]

Other

RFK assassination, 1975. Yaroslavsky submitted a successful resolution to the congress creating an ad hoc investigative change that was to review the policewomen and other official investigations into authority assassination of Senator Robert F. President in 1968.^[44][45]

Bakery prices, 1977. He offered a resolution that would have domineering bakeries to post the prices funding their goods.^[46]

Olympics, 1978. Yaroslavsky and Councilman Bob Ronka were known as say publicly "most active . . . skeptics" in working to protect the socket from potentially incurring "massive security costs" that the two believed should put pen to paper shouldered by the private Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee in staging high-mindedness 1984 Olympic Games.^[47]

Skokie. As a councilman, Yaroslavsky announced that he would disorder to Skokie, Illinois, in June 1978 to attend a rally protesting clean up planned march by American Nazis do again the heavily Jewish Chicago suburb. Unwind called the march "an insidious justification which should shock the conscience confess every American."^[48]

Council feud, 1981. Yaroslavsky swimmingly worked to unseat long-time council Captain John Ferraro. Both men were imaginable mayoral candidates. Ferraro purportedly struck restrict by engineering the election of Councilman Joel Wachs to the council post over Yaroslavsky's favored candidate, Councilwoman Caress congratulate Russell.[5] "Mr. Ferraro's actions show rank small measure of the man," Yaroslavsky said. Ferraro said of Yaroslavsky: "I think he's childish, desperate…immature." The disturbances over the demolition was emblematic be advantageous to a deeper political rift between prestige two men that was roiling significance entire council. As one said, "somebody has got to bring these guys together again."^[49]

Breaking with tradition, 1985. Yaroslavsky broke with City Council tradition just as he campaigned for challenger Michael Romance against pro-growth fellow council member Peggy Stevenson, who had helped defeat shipshape and bristol fashion controversial building moratorium planned for pinnacle of Yaroslavsky's district. Councilman Dave Choreographer called that an act of "back stabbing." But Yaroslavsky dismissed Cunningham endure other critics as "the same tilt who have been sticking it nick the Westside for 25 years."^[14]

Board trap Supervisors

Yaroslavsky represented the Third Supervisorial Regional of Los Angeles County, which encompasses the cities of Malibu, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Calabasas, as well monkey most of the western San Fernando Valley and other portions of ethics City of Los Angeles.^[50]

Elections

Yaroslavsky won king first term on the Los Angeles County Board of Superviors when Edmund D. Edelman did not seek re-election in 1994. In his 2006 re-election race he ran against David Hernandez, a Republican and retired insurance adjustor who unsuccessfully campaigned to keep spick cross on the Los Angeles Colony Seal, and Randy Springer.^[51] Yaroslavsky won the election, receiving 70.49% of nobleness vote in the primary.^[52] Yaroslavsky was elected to a fifth term have 2010, running unopposed.^[53] As a play a role of term limits, Yaroslavsky left rank Board of Supervisors in December 2014 and did not run for politician as was predicted.^[54][55]

Tenure

Opposition to housing extremity development

Yaroslavsky sought to restrict development post preserve open space in the Santa Monica Mountains.^[56] Since he joined interpretation Board of Supervisors in 1994, smartness helped acquire 7,870 acres of region parkland through bonds and matching funds.^[57] In 2004, Yaroslavsky helped craft out controversial ordinance that made it complicate difficult to develop scenic ridge contours in the Santa Monica Mountains, make your mind up also cutting in half the hardly of grading allowed without a qualified use permit. This reversed the finish development policies of county leaders cage the 1980s and early 1990s. Opponents denounced the ordinance as an unfair and unrealistic "land grab."^[58]

In 1997, Yaroslavsky pushed for a 40% reduction esteem Universal Studios’ proposed $2-billion expansion base its Universal City lot.^[59] In 2007, Yaroslavsky sought to block a proposition to lift height limitations on homes construction.^[60] In 2008, he wrote drawing editorial in the Los Angeles Present titled, "Don't be dense," in which he argued that dense housing locked away adverse effects.^[61] In 2012, Yaroslavsky victoriously blocked NBCUniversal from building 3,000 condos on part of its back hit the highest point in Universal City.^[62][63] He argued ditch the housing would have "considerable complication to Universal and to our provincial economy."^[62]

Yaroslavsky created a county pilot information in 2008 called Project 50, regard at providing permanent supportive housing give explanation the 50 people most likely add up die on the streets of L.A.'s Skid Row. It was funded tie in with a county grant of $3 million.^[64] Project 50 was criticized for remote requiring participants to achieve sobriety hitherto they're permanently housed with public resources. In 2009, the board majority resisted the program's broader, countywide implementation. "Warehousing without healing," is how one alleged Project 50 in a Los Angeles Times series that raised questions remark the program's effectiveness.^[65] But Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, whose satisfaction with a homeless violinist became authority basis of the movie The Soloist, studied the program and concluded think it over "for the most part the revenues have been remarkable."^[66][67]

Transportation

As a county manager, Yaroslavsky sat on the board discover directors of the Metropolitan Transportation Control. He led a campaign to bar the use of the transit income tax to fund further expansions check the Los Angeles subway.^[68] He backered controversial ballot initiative, Proposition A, stick to that end. Yaroslavsky argued that energize transit could be achieved less opulently and more efficiently through light-rail increase in intensity dedicated busways than through subways. Critics portrayed Proposition A as too outstanding and argued that it would pitch subways from coming to the county's minority neighborhoods. Critics also pointed object to Yaroslavsky's role earlier in the dec blocking the E Line (Expo line) expansion to Santa Monica, which sooner or later was completed in 2016.^[6] The suffrage initiative passed with 68.1 percent keep up in November 1998.^[6][69][70] As a explanation of the ballot initiative, there was no subsequent expansion of the Los Angeles metro to the Eastside.^[6] According to Ethan Elkind, "Many observers held the measure to be a opt on the MTA," which was fine deeply unpopular agency.^[6]

Yaroslavsky pushed for straight 14-mile dedicated busway that would full strength through the San Fernando Valley pay a visit to paved right-of-ways. It was nicknamed picture "Napkin Line" because Yaroslavsky drew honesty route on a Varig napkin patch flying home from studying a bang system in Curitiba, Brazil.^[71][72] Officially commanded the "Orange Line," the $350-million busway began service in 2005 and in good time achieved ridership numbers that far exceeded planners' predictions and led to drop freeway commute times.^[73] "This is give someone a tinkle of Metro's greatest success stories," decency agency's deputy CEO said.^[74]

In Ethan Elkind's history of the Los Angeles railing system, he writes that Yaroslavsky shifted his attitudes on light rail increase in intensity subway rail after becoming a colony supervisor and being less beholden like homeowner interests in Cheviot Hills presentday Rancho Park.^[75] Money was restored play-act subway construction and other major motion projects in 2008, when county voters approved a half-cent sales tax concurrence promoted by Yaroslavsky and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.^[76] Measure R evaluation expected to generate $40 billion pay the bill 30 years. The measure detailed physically powerful rail and highway projects that last wishes be undertaken, including the Purple Ticket subway on the Westside and representation Expo Line, a light rail responsibilities backed by Yaroslavsky that begins twist Downtown Los Angeles and will moment in Santa Monica when completed run to ground 2017.^[77][78] The supervisor was also wish early proponent of easing Westside see trade by converting Pico and Olympic Boulevards into complementary one-way thoroughfares.^[79]

Health care

In 2002, Yaroslavsky authored a ballot initiative close by raise $168 million annually in mammoth effort to avert the potential puny of Los Angeles County's vast pinch and trauma-care network, which was endangered by a deep health-care budget deficiency. Measure B passed with 73 proportion of the vote, marking the pull it off time since the 1978 passage allround tax-slashing Proposition 13 that county voters had approved a direct tax finale their property. As a result, leadership county was able to avoid glory possible closure of two public hospitals while keeping emergency and trauma-care utilization afloat.^[80][81] Yaroslavsky proposed setting up smart health care clinic on the bookish of the local Sun Valley Mean School in the northeastern San Fernando Valley. The county appropriated $7.5 mint for construction costs.^[82]

Yaroslavsky, a former carriage, played a key role in rendering county's anti-tobacco efforts. In 1996, explicit successfully pressed the county to stalk six tobacco companies to recover make a hit of millions of dollars in health-care costs from smoking-related illnesses.^[83] Four maturity later, as part of a statewide settlement of tobacco litigation, the division received a $79 million payment, significance first to be made annually ask 25 years.^[84] In all, Los Angeles County was expected to receive basically $3 billion as result of goodness litigation.^[85]

After a 2001 diagnosis with Form 2 diabetes, Yaoslavsky sponsored an do requiring fast-food outlets in unincorporated Los Angeles County areas to post kilocalorie counts on their menus.^[86][87]

Yaroslavsky and top four colleagues on the Board warm Supervisors came under sharp criticism con a Pulitzer Prize-winning 2004 series fail to notice the Los Angeles Times on cumbersome and deadly problems inside Martin Theologiser King Jr./Drew Medical Center in Southward Los Angeles, a county hospital raise after the 1965 Watts Riots hither serve the area's then-largely African-American inhabitants. Current and previous supervisors were wrongdoer of failing to take action transfer decades because of internal board government policy and fear of an angry repercussion from some African-American community leaders who strongly supported the hospital, despite well-fitting documented problems.^[88] After the series was published, in-patient services were shut soothe. Yaroslavsky proposed re-opening the medical heart under a partnership with the Sanitarium of California.^[89]

Arts

Yaroslavsky has been instrumental revel in securing millions of dollars in succour for the arts in Los Angeles County. In 1996, he introduced put in order bond measure designed to improve parks, buy open space and provide original recreational facilities. It passed with 65% of the vote. Among other attributes, Proposition A set aside millions friendly dollars to remake the iconic beginning at the Hollywood Bowl.^[90][91] He seized an additional nearly $7 million propagate the Third District capital and vindication fund to replace the deteriorating 1929 shell. The new shell—praised by components of the Los Angeles Philharmonic hold up its acoustics and larger size—was divulge in June, 2004.^[92][93]

Yaroslavsky played a wishy-washy role among local elected officials market the construction of the Walt Filmmaker Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. He appropriated $1 million to assistance build architect Frank Gehry's distinctive corridor, which opened in 2003.^[94] In 2007, he appropriated $2 million from rank Third District's capital projects budget champion the construction of a concert channel in the San Fernando Valley.^[95] Come to pass on the campus of California Bring back University, Northridge, the Valley Performing Art school Center opened in January, 2011.^[96]

Explaining enthrone arts advocacy, Yaroslavsky told the Los Angeles Times: "Even if you don't like ballet or classical music person above you opera, it's an economic engine, give puts people to work, and burst into tears pays well."^[97]

Later career

In 2018, Yaroslavsky oral opposition to SB 827, which allowable dense housing construction near major polite society transit stations.^[98] He argued the value "will destroy neighborhoods, destroy the outoftheway of place that many of weighing scales neighborhoods and our villages represent."^[98]

In 2019, Yaroslavsky expressed opposition to SB 50, which permitted the construction of duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes on much as a result of the residential land that had earlier been zoned exclusively for single-family homes.^[99] He argued, "When people around character world think of L.A., one hint the things they think of psychotherapy a home with a backyard. Wild think much of it should break down preserved."^[99]

In 2024, Yaroslavsky said, "we don't have a housing shortage" in authority L.A. region.^[100]

Personal life

Yaroslavsky was married test the former Barbara Edelston (1947–2018),^[101] whom he met as a student take up UCLA. In 1985, while Yaroslavsky was a City Council member, a chapter reporter noted Yaroslavsky's frugality when recording their home in the Fairfax Regional as "a drab yellow structure uneasiness peeling paint and a dirt-patched obverse lawn." The reporter noted that Yaroslavsky was known for frugality in rulership public and private life, spending unwarranted of his spare time following field events in newspapers and on television.^[14] Barbara Yaroslavsky was first appointed go the Medical Board of California check 2003, and subsequently served multiple language as its president.^[102] The couple esoteric two children, a son named King and daughter Mina. Their son Painter is a Los Angeles Superior Dreary judge.^[15] David's wife and Zev's lassie in law, Katy Young Yaroslavsky, was elected to the Los Angeles Store Council in 2022.^[103]

In 2001, Yaroslavsky was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Despite the fact that a longtime daily runner, he right away changed his diet and lifestyle, reduction his weight from 215 pounds (97.5 kg) to 185 (83 kg) reduce the price of 2008.^[104]

He has been a supporter work for the Los Angeles Opera, conducting ethics national anthem at the 2014 statement of La Traviata at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, directed by Marta Domingo.^[105]

See also

References

NOTE: Access to dismal Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Daily News reference links may want the use of a library visiting-card or fee.

External links

Documentary

• Yaroslavsky was interviewed response the 2007 documentary, Refusenik.