We need to address the absolute farce we witnessed at the recent Council District 11 debate at the First Lutheran Church in Venice on 3/1. If you want to know why public trust in the VNC and WRAC is at an all-time low, look no further than that ‘event.’
It wasn’t a debate; it was a choreographed protection plan for Traci Park.

Let’s be honest about the format: It was skewed to favor the incumbent.
Giving Traci Park the last word on every single question and giving her exclusive reign over the clock was a blatant bias that even a child could see through.

It allowed her to simply sit back, lean on the answers provided by others, and then get the final, unchallenged ‘save’ every time. Why weren’t the speaking orders alternated for each question? Because this format wasn’t designed for fairness—it was designed for optics.

But the bias in the format was nothing compared to the bias in the silence. It was painfully evident that this structure was built to sidestep the brutal reality of what is actually happening in our streets. You purposefully ignored how this Federal administration has systematically slashed the vital services our communities actually depend on to survive. Even more cowardly was the deliberate omission of the elephant in the room: the increasing militarization and occupation of our city by ICE and the National Guard. You sat there and acted like public intimidation by federal and state forces isn’t a ‘local issue.’ It is the only issue for the people living under that shadow.

By sanitizing the script and shielding Traci Park from the hardest questions, the VNC and WRAC have signaled exactly where their loyalties lie.
You didn’t hold a debate; you held a press conference for CD11.
Your integrity is compromised, the format was rigged, and the community sees right through it. Next time, try actually representing Venice and the Westside instead of protecting a politician. SMH

Scott Jackson,
CD11 Voter