The Mayoral Candidate Video Series: Jan Perry

Filmed, directed, and edited by Shireen Alihaji and Kris Fortin
Produced by Damien Newton for Streetsblog Los Angeles
Questions from: Bus Riders Union, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, Los Angeles Walks, Occidental College UEPI, Southern California Transit Advocates and Streetsblog Los Angeles.
Previous Video: Emanuel Pleitez , Kevin James

“This is a perfect example of my vision of Los Angeles, because you’ll be able to live in the city and not need a car.”

Council Woman Jan Perry’s video interview with Streetsblog stands out with us for a couple of reasons. She is the only candidate to “pledge” to fight to keep transit fares where they are. She talks about providing transit for the car-free as a highest priority. But what stands out most is her choice for time and place for the interview.

Perry chose the Flower Street Expo Station at night. During the interview trains whisked past, commuters smiled and sometimes waived at Perry, providing a contrast with the car horns that sounded support for James and Pleitez earlier.

The station, and the surrounding area, the surrounding Transit Oriented Development and the pedestrian walkways that provide access on both sides, are projects she fought for as City Council Member and Expo Construction Authority Board Member.

While Perry stopped short of specific projects she would endorse, she instead presented a vision for Los Angeles, a vision represented by the Expo Station and all that we could see from the platform, a vision of a city where people could move freely throughout whether they chose to have a car or not.