Neighborhood Council Elections: March 2, 2010

Your Neighborhood Council is as strong and effective as its stakeholders make it – no more, no less.

During 2010, all the City's Neighborhood Councils will be holding elections for their Boards of Directors. NENC is part of Region A (roughly, the north and west San Fernando Valley), and all Region A elections will be held on March 2.

Want to make a difference in your community? Want to join with others in improving the quality of life, work, play, and learning in Northridge? Spread the word about the need for greater participation. Find out who's running for the Board, and ask them the tough questions. Last but not least, come out on March 2, 2010 and vote! Together, we can make participatory democracy work for all citizens of Northridge and Los Angeles.

All seats on the Board (except the Youth and CSUN seats) are open in this election (see the composition of the Board here). The filing period for candidates whose names will appear on the ballot is closed as of January 4, 2010, and the write-in candidate filing period closed on February 1, 2010. The table below shows the full slate of candidates for this election.

Look for other election-related events in the Upcoming Events section of this site (left column of the page).

Here's a table of information about the NENC Board elective categories (the Youth and CSUN positions are appointed) and the candidates registered for each as of this date:

Candidate statements will be added to this page as they become available. Note that there are "open" positions in some categories; they will be filled by appointment at the first general meeting after the election results have been confirmed by the Clerk's office and the new board has been seated.

Note: if you're one of the registered candidates, we encourage you to create a statement to be published on this site; rich text and images will be allowed, although we may impose a disk space limitation.

The election will be administered by the Los Angeles City Clerk's office. The procedures to be followed in conducting the election, including the timeline, are available here.

2010 NENC Election — Candidate Statements

Statement of Steve Patel

Steve Patel serves as the current President and past Treasurer of NENC. He lives and works within the NENC area along with his wife and two children.

Steve is Vice President of CBRE Hotel Group, a global real estate services firm. He is a graduate of the USC Entrepreneur Program and attended the Northrop University Aerospace Engineering Program.

As an active representative of the community, he plays a leading role in many community projects/events including:

• Chairperson of NE/W Vision Committee

• Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils

• Councilman Smith’s Service Cabinet Representative

• Congress of Neighborhood Council Annual Mayor’s Budget Representative

• Co-Chair of the North Valley Disaster Preparedness Event

• Other Community projects include: Side-walk clean-up, Citrus Sunday, Salute to Recreation-NC Firework Show

“I look forward to continue working with fellow community members in an effort to make Northridge a better place to Live, Work, Play and Learn.”

Statement of Don Dwiggins

I'm a resident of Northridge since 1970, and have served on the NENC board since it was certified. I have served as Election Committee chair for every election since then, and on the Executive Committee for most of that time. I'm currently the Land Use chair and the Webmaster.

I'm also the author of the subtitle statement in the 2010 Election article: "Your Neighborhood Council is as strong and effective as its stakeholders make it – no more, no less." I believe that the Neighborhood Council system is still young, growing and learning, and has great potential to make participatory democracy a reality in the City of Los Angeles, but will only realize that potential if and when the stakeholders of Northridge East, and other neighborhoods, join together to make it so. I ask all stakeholders of Northridge East to come out and vote, and participate to make 2010 the year that NENC begins to become a strong and effective participant in City government, and a force in improving Northridge as a place to work, live, play, and learn. I'd like to continue to help make this happen as a Board member, but in any case I plan to continue contributing as a stakeholder.

Statement of Nestor Fantini

As a high school teacher who proudly claims Northridge as his home, I know the struggles that we are enduring. During these challenging times, I am running for reelection to the Northridge East Neighborhood Council to continue my efforts to strengthen the economic, health, education and environmental security of our community through a clear record of hardwork and innovative leadership. As past Chairman of the Council's Land Use Committee, I helped create a public forum where residents could challenge environmentally harmful developments that are changing the character of our community. Similarly, as current Chairman of the Council's Education Committee, I am bringing together school teachers and administrators, small business owners and local representatives to develop a plan that will support and strengthen our local schools. If given the opportunity to continue serving our community, I will work hard to ensure a bright future for Northridge's working families and small businesses.

Statement of Y. J. Draiman

Jay Draiman has over 25 years experience in energy conservation and utility auditing. He lives and works within the NENC area along with his wife.

Jay Draiman Energy & Telecom Development Specialist provides expertise in all sectors of the energy and utility industry.

Over 20 years experience specializing in: Energy Audit, Telecom audit, Utility bills audit and review for refunds and/or better rates, Energy procurement, Demand Management, Energy Efficiency review and implementation, Building envelope analysis, Renewable Energy, Lighting Retrofit, Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Geothermal energy, Fuel-Cell, Thermal imaging, Rainwater harvesting, Gray water utilization, Energy conservation and Water conservation methods, Energy and telecom audit and procurement, Indoor pollution control, etc. and commissioning new buildings and mechanical systems.

"Paying for utility costs without using a Utility Auditor and Monitor is like driving a car at night with the lights turned off". Much is at stake when policy makers, regulators, and corporate executives face the challenges of evolving energy markets and efficiency.

I can help you meet that challenge!

“I look forward to working with fellow community members in an effort to make Northridge a Green environment to Live, Work, Play and Learn.”

Statement of Steven Ramirez

I have served on the NENC for the past two years as the Youth Representative. I am a senior at Northridge Academy High School.

As an honor student I know hard work is the key to making a difference.

Being a working part of the NENC has given me the opportunity to get involved and be an active member of the Northridge community. My work on the council includes volunteering at Citrus Sunday, St. Nicholas Valley Greek Festival and The Disaster Preparedness events. During my term I have been active in Environmental programs, including starting a new recycling project at Northridge Academy High School. I am proud to serve on the NENC and look forward to continue working to make Northridge even better in 2010.