City upholds results of election rejecting formation of Skid Row council

A homeless man on Skid Row (Credit: Getty)
A homeless man on Skid Row (Credit: Getty)

The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, which oversees Los Angeles’ 96 neighborhood councils, upheld the results of an April election which rejected an attempt to form a Skid Row neighborhood council.

Some Skid Row residents said they will continue to pursue the establishment of a council, though they will have to wait until next year to submit a new application.

Some said they were even prepared to sue the city over its decision and the results of the election, in which voters were allowed to submit their ballots online. Skid Row advocates said that disadvantaged homeless voters who may not have had internet access.

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Jeff Page, chairman of the Skid Row Neighborhood Council formation committee, told Curbed that the group would immediately take action to try to reverse the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment’s ruling. He and his counterparts lost by only 60 votes in the election.

“There’s no ‘wait’ in Skid Row. We can’t wait,” Page said.

Skid Row advocates argue their interests are not adequately represented by the existing Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, but opponents say being part of the larger organization will help Skid Row integrate with the rest of Downtown L.A., which is flourishing. [Curbed] Cathaleen Chen