Radio Abundance Los Angeles: Building Near Transit with Jon Rawlings

Zennon Ulyate-Crow, Host of Radio Abundance LA: 

Hello! My name is Zennon Ulyate-Crow. I'm here with Radio Abundance, live in Los Angeles. Sitting right next to me is Jon Rawlings, running for Council District 3 in Los Angeles.

Jon, want to tell me a little bit more about why you're here today?

Jon Rawlings, Los Angeles City Council Candidate:

Yeah, so we're here at the Sepulveda Stop of the Orange Line. We're reacting to City Council yesterday voting to oppose SB 79 to build more housing near transit. We thought this would be the perfect place to do it because behind us we've got what I think is a Chevron gas refinery and an empty parking lot on the other side. And this seems like the perfect place that we should be building housing.

Zennon Ulyate-Crow, Host of Radio Abundance LA: 

Can you tell me your first reactions to the Council opposing SB 79 and what you would want to do as a Council Member to support building more housing near transit?

Jon Rawlings, Los Angeles City Council Candidate:

Yeah, I mean, my first reaction is obviously disappointment. We certainly need bills like SB 79 to build more housing around transit.

But my second reaction was: I expected it. This is a City Council that has traditionally always said "no" to more housing, no matter what that looked like, whether it's a state bill or something on the local level.

So, as a City Council Member, I want to get to a City Council that says "yes" to more housing, especially around transit. That feels like probably the most obvious place we should start with building housing.

This station right here is actually the site of where they're planning to build the new Sepulveda Pass transit corridor, which is a train line that's going to connect the Valley to the West Side. You're going to be able to get from here to UCLA in 9 minutes.

Zennon Ulyate-Crow, Host of Radio Abundance LA: 

Why is the LA City Council opposing building more housing in places like this?

Jon Rawlings, Los Angeles City Council Candidate:

Well, we've seen City Council tends to listen to the loudest voices, even though that might not be indicative of the population of their districts. And those tend to be the NIMBY, wealthy, single family homeowners. And you'll hear standard terms like, "oh, we want to maintain control of our city and the way that we do things, and we also don't want to change the character of our neighborhood."

But, for those of us in this space, we know that that's just BS and that just means they don't want to do anything. They want to maintain their control, and that means not building anything.

Zennon Ulyate-Crow, Host of Radio Abundance LA: 

As a Council Member in CD 3, what would you do differently for your district and for the City of Los Angeles as a whole when it comes to housing and transportation policy?

Jon Rawlings, Los Angeles City Council Candidate:

Yeah, for me and my district in CD 3, we definitely could use some more building around transit and commercial corridors as well. There's definitely some opportunities along the Orange line and even along Ventura Boulevard to build more housing, bring in more density, and create more walkable cities.

In terms of transit, I would very much be an advocate for the Sepulveda Transit Corridor and building heavy rail down there, as well as other, you know, bus lanes and bike lanes and other transit-oriented development and just transit means of getting around the city.

Zennon Ulyate-Crow, Host of Radio Abundance LA: 

If there's any way that people can help out with your campaign, what could they do the most to help?

Jon Rawlings, Los Angeles City Council Candidate:

Right now, it's getting the word out. So, follow the socials for sure. Just look up Jon Rawlings (J-O-N & Rawlings like the baseball company) to follow me on social media.

If you're interested in volunteering, you can go to the website JonRawlings.com to reach out. Or even DM me on Instagram!

I'm available, and we're looking for volunteers and people that want to get the word out about good candidates that support transit and housing!

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