Los Angeles is the greatest city in the world – but it is a city in crisis.
With rising homelessness, crime, and poverty, it’s a city where our middle class is getting squeezed every day.
We need a fresh start. Coming out of the deadliest pandemic of our lifetimes, we have a chance to reimagine our city.
Imagine a strong homelessness program that actually helps families get off the street and into safe permanent homes, so they too can build back better.
Imagine clean streets where sidewalks are clear and accessible for everyone.
Imagine a safer Los Angeles that lives up to its name and allows the residents the feeling of calm, order and stability.
This is why I am running for Mayor of my hometown, Los Angeles.
A city that tackles pollution will do more than clean up our air and protect our environment – it will protect our health. It will fight asthma in our kids, protect our lungs and allow us to take deep breaths without worry.
A city that makes housing affordable – so a hard-working family can buy a home in a neighborhood they want to live in – will bring stability for generations to come.
We must find a way to transition from the city we have to the city we need - without discomfort or displacement.
A city that nourishes the imagination of our creative wizards, supporting Hollywood and the jobs it creates, will fuel our local economy.
A city that welcomes everyone, like my parents who are immigrants, is a city that truly cares about its people.
Biography
Joe Buscaino is the President Pro Tempore of the Los Angeles City Council and represents the Council’s 15th District which includes the communities of Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, San Pedro, Watts, and Wilmington as well as the Port of Los Angeles. He has served on the L.A. City Council since 2012.
Councilmember Buscaino has served as the Chair of the City’s Trade, Travel and Tourism Committee since 2017. The committee oversees the Port of Los Angeles - the busiest container port in the United States; LAX - the second busiest airport in the United States; and the LA Tourism and Convention Board. Councilmember Buscaino also serves as Vice-Chair of the Rules, Elections, and Intergovernmental Relations Committee and as a member of the Public Safety Committee, Transportation Committee, Homelessness & Poverty Committee, and the Ad Hoc Committee on the 2028 Olympics and Paralympic Games.
In 2019, Councilmember Buscaino was elected as President of the National League of Cities (NLC) which represents more than 2,000 cities, towns, and villages across the country. Since November 2020, he has served as NLC's Immediate Past President.
Councilmember Buscaino serves as the Mayor’s appointment on the board for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. He also serves as a board member for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority, and Sister Cities International.
Councilman Buscaino has lived in the 15th District his entire life and is a first-generation Italian-American whose parents emigrated from Italy over 40 years ago, in pursuit of the American dream. Prior to his election to the City Council, Buscaino served for 15 years as a police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department. Buscaino graduated Cum Laude, with a BA in Communication from California State University – Dominguez Hills.
He has served on the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Harbor Area, the San Pedro YWCA’s Racial Justice Committee, and the Advisory Council for the Los Angeles Watts Summer Games and is active with Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church and various Italian-American organizations. Joe and his wife, Geralyn, a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, are raising their two children in San Pedro. Their children attend Los Angeles Unified schools.
This is not about going back to normal. It’s about being exceptional.
This is Los Angeles. If we can imagine it, we can do it.
-- Joe