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Health & Fitness

City Council Candidate Mike Bonin Unveils Job Plan

Mike Bonin has been endorsed by many civic groups and prominent individuals throughout Southern California. Find out about his plan to stimulate job-growth on the West Side.

City Council candidate Mike Bonin today unveiled a plan for job creation, saying the talent and resources of his Westside district could help spur economic growth for the region.

Bonin, running to represent a coastal district that stretches from LAX to Pacific Palisades and Brentwood, said nurturing the growth of the emerging “Silicon Beach” tech sector, protecting the entertainment industry, promoting the tourism industry, and encouraging green jobs could provide good-paying career opportunities for Westside residents and bolster the Los Angeles economy.

“We live in a special place, rich in talent, resources, intellect and diversity.  Our imagination and inventive spirits create boundless opportunities,” Bonin said. “To make our economy grow and thrive, we need to create jobs for a creative city.”

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Bonin said he was particularly excited by the emergence of the new tech sector in District 11, especially in Venice and Playa Vista.  Those areas are now home to major firms such as Google and YouTube, tech start-ups like Viddy and Mogreet, and accelerators such as Amplify.

Bonin said he intended to work closely with businesses large and small to create jobs and improve the local economy – fueling city coffers with funds for public safety and public works, keeping neighborhoods safe and clean, with reduced traffic and improved infrastructure.

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To create jobs and strengthen the economy, Bonin said he would:

  • Grow the Silicon Beach tech corridor by extending the Internet tax exemption, creating high-speed fiber broadband networks, and partnering with local universities to build tech incubators.
  • Keep L.A. film-friendly by supporting tax credits, faster film permits and less red tape.
  • Invest in environmentally-friendly technologies, such as solar panels, energy efficiency and water-saving landscaping, to create good-paying jobs that are clean and green.
  • Use technology to streamline government bureaucracy.
  • Push for LAX modernization—but not expansion—to create jobs, fuel our economy and support L.A.’s booming tourism industry.
  • Continue to work to extend the Expo Line into the Westside, the Green Line into LAX and fight for more light rail and mass transit, creating good jobs for the region.
  • Connect people to jobs by investing in workforce training for good-paying “middle skills” jobs.
  • Continue to fight for higher wages and better benefits for low-wage employees so working families have more spending power.
  • Gradually phase out the city’s “gross receipts tax” to make it easier for small firms to hire more employees.

Bonin has a track record creating jobs.  He worked to cut business taxes for Internet-based companies, keeping high tech jobs in the Los Angeles. He has spent more than a decade helping cut red tape for small businesses.  He has championed mass transit and major public works projects that have created tens of thousands of jobs.

Officials with Shopzilla, which considered moving from its offices in West LA to Santa Monica four years ago, said Bonin’s work was crucial to keeping the company in Los Angeles.

“Shopzilla was nearly forced to leave the City of Los Angeles,” said Blythe Holden, general counsel of Shopzilla  “Mike Bonin helped pull together the right officials, and worked hard to cut taxes for internet and multimedia firms, helping to keep smart, creative, good-paying jobs in the city. That’s the kind of job-friendly attitude Los Angeles needs.”

George Salem, who owns LA Urban Fitness on Lincoln Boulevard, credits Bonin with helping him open his business.

“When I ran into red tape that threatened to delay the opening of my new business on Lincoln Boulevard, Mike Bonin stepped in and made things happens,” said Salem.  “He made city agencies act so I could open my store, hire new workers, and contribute to the economy.  That’s the kind of leadership we need to create jobs and make Los Angeles business friendly.” 

Bonin has received enormous support from business and community groups, garnering the support of small business owners in his district, architects of the tech emergence on the Westside, major business leaders, and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. 

Bonin currently serves as Chief Deputy to Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who is retiring and has endorsed Bonin to succeed him. 

For additional information about Mike Bonin, visit www.MikeBonin.com.

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