Colter Carlisle

Taxes / Budget I will also introduce a Council motion to compensate up to five executive board members per neighborhood council with a modest monthly stipend—paired with clear accountability standards—to retain experienced leadership, prevent burnout, and strengthen the most accessible form of democracy our city has. Government Reform As City Councilmember, I will put neighborhood councils at the center of governing CD13 by restoring their funding to 50,000 per council, hiring a full-time CD13 staffer dedicated to neighborhood council support, holding regular meetings with neighborhood council leadership, and integrating neighborhood council committees directly with relevant City departments. Drug Policy I will eliminate the Los Angeles Department of Cannabis, protect businesses from exploitation, and create a regulatory environment that allows cannabis entrepreneurs to succeed while keeping dispensaries safely away from sensitive sites. Criminal Justice / Public Safety I support increasing LAPD staffing to rebuild patrol capacity, improve response times, and restore community policing—but staffing alone is not enough. Infrastructure / Transportation Colter supports accessibility and full ADA compliance while also standing up to bad-faith and predatory lawsuits that unfairly target small businesses. He will advocate for reasonable notice-and-cure standards that expand access for everyone without punishing business owners who are acting in good faith. Housing As your City Councilmember, I will restore accountability and transparency to homelessness spending and bring a balanced approach that pairs compassion with responsibility. That means investing in housing, mental health care, and services first—while also protecting neighbors impacted by encampments. I will make encampments safer for both unhoused residents and nearby communities by deploying cameras to help LAPD identify gangs that assault, intimidate, or extort “rent,” and by removing the most dangerous offenders from these areas. Economy Too many small businesses are forced to navigate City Hall alone. Colter will support the creation and strengthening of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) so businesses can organize by neighborhood, gain direct access to City leadership, and advocate effectively for public safety, sanitation, and infrastructure investments. Criminal Justice / Public Safety Public safety is economic policy. Businesses depend on safe, clean streets and reliable emergency response to thrive. Colter strongly supports funding police, fire, and emergency services and ensuring those resources are deployed effectively so commercial corridors and neighborhoods see real, measurable improvements. Criminal Justice / Public Safety As your City Councilmember, I will replace political cover with preparation by rebuilding the civic infrastructure needed to keep communities safe: empowering neighborhood councils as frontline disaster-response partners, increasing funding for the Los Angeles Fire Department, taking preemptive steps to reduce wildfire risk, and ensuring the City has standing plans, partnerships, and supply contracts in place before the next emergency. Public safety requires leadership that plans ahead and takes responsibility—and Los Angeles deserves nothing less. Immigration As your City Councilmember, I will strengthen Los Angeles’ Rapid Response Network by coordinating city helicopters and drones to confirm ICE raids, prevent false reports, and ensure the public is alerted to ICE activity anywhere in the city within minutes. This will allow community members, legal observers, and service providers to respond quickly and lawfully. The current councilperson has failed to coordinate with other cities, allowed city resources to shield ICE facilities and suppress public protest, and substituted photo ops for real action. The time for strongly worded letters is over. Los Angeles needs decisive leadership that will actively defend our neighbors and hold the federal government accountable. Housing As your City Councilmember, I will use every tool available, including City Code Section 245, which allows the Council to veto Planning Commission decisions, to challenge luxury developments and keep our neighborhoods livable. I will also make relocation assistance real by requiring developers to provide six-figure payouts for every family displaced by luxury projects—ensuring that no Angeleno is forced out without the resources to secure a safe and stable home. This is about defending both our communities and the dignity of the people who call them home. Healthcare I will also enforce SB 43, which allows the City to place individuals experiencing severe mental health or substance use crises into medical facilities where they can receive proper care. My opponent has refused to enforce this law, leaving both unhoused individuals and the broader community at greater risk. Every Angeleno deserves safety, dignity, and a real pathway into permanent housing—and City Hall has a responsibility to deliver it. Economy Los Angeles should not make it harder for businesses to succeed. As City Councilmember, Colter will streamline permitting, cut red tape, eliminate duplicative inspections, and improve coordination across city departments so businesses can invest, expand, and operate with confidence.