We just received confirmation from Council Member Mike Bonin's office that Bonin will replace his former boss Bill Rosendahl as Chair of the City Council Transportation Committee. The Westside's Council District 11, which Bonin represents, is home to two of the largest infrastructure projects in the region, the 405 Widening through the Sepulveda Pass and Phase II of the Expo Line.
- I didn't notice until just now that it kind of looks like Mike has a cape slung over his shoulder too. Photo: Sean Arian
Most of the rest of the cast remains the same. Paul Koretz from the neighboring Council District 5 remains the Vice-Chair. Tom LaBonge and Bernard Parks remain on the committee as well. The only change is that Downtown and Boyle Heights Council Member Jose Huizar is replaced by Valley Council Member Paul Krekorian.
From a Livable Streets perspective, Bonin may be the best vetted Transportation Committee Chair in the world. He appeared competent and passionate at our CD 11 City Council Forum in January, handled my questions well in a one-on-one discussion after the forum (above), answered a Bike Coalition questionaire, and built his own legacy as a heavyweight on these issues when Rosendahl chaired the committee and Mike was his Chief of Staff.
While there has been a lot of Livable Streets related action in Huizar's district, Krekorian has been a favorite of many activists since he took a stand against speed limit increases as a State Senator in 2008. As a Council Member, he continues to push back against LADOT/LAPD efforts to increase limits on local streets in his district.
We're working on setting up an interview with Bonin as we speak. When we have details of how we're going to conduct that interview, we'll be sure to let you know. At least this time, we won't have to teach the Transportation Committee Chair how to ride a bicycle.
