Mitchell Englander

Mitchell Englander
File:MitchellEnglanderHeadshot.jpg Councilmember Mitchell Englander
President pro tempore of the Los Angeles City Council
Incumbent
Assumed office July 2, 2013
Preceded by	Ed Reyes
Member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 12th District
Incumbent
Assumed office July 1, 2011
Preceded by	Greig Smith
Personal details
Born	1970 (1970) (age 54) San Fernando Valley
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Jayne Englander
Residence	Granada Hills
Alma mater	Los Angeles Police Academy
Website	cd12.lacity.org

Mitchell Englander (born July 25, 1970) is a member of the Los Angeles City Council, representing District 12 in the San Fernando Valley. Currently the district covers the Northwest Valley communities of Chatsworth, Granada Hills, Northridge, Porter Ranch, Sherwood Forest, West Hills, and parts of Reseda and North Hills. Beginning on July 1, 2012, with new boundaries from redistricting, Englander represents the West, Northwest, north-central, and North San Fernando Valley. He is the only member of the city council who is registered as Republican. He calls himself a fiscal conservative. He came into office July 1, 2011.

Biography

History

Mitchell Englander was born in 1970 in the West Hills community of the San Fernando Valley. His father was a disabled Veteran, which has inspired Englander to strive to honor and celebrate Veterans. He has supported efforts to ensure they have the healthcare, housing and access to jobs and training upon return. According to an interview with the Los Angeles Daily News, his parents separated when he was 5 years old, and his mother Linda, a real-estate agent, "worked two jobs, but lost a home to foreclosure." Englander says this gave him a lifelong respect for single moms and drove his desire to work for the interests of working families. They lived in Canoga Park with his uncle Michael, whose janitorial firm Englander worked for as a teenager. Growing up, his family struggled to make ends meet, and Englander worked multiple jobs from an early age to contribute to supporting his family. Englander attended college in Arizona but returned to California prior to graduating in order to care for his ailing mother, who later died of a brain tumor.

In 1994, his uncle Michael, who was a father figure for him, was shot and killed in a gang-related robbery. When Englander became an LAPD Reserve Officer in 2005, and later a City Council member and Chair of the Public Safety Committee, he said that the tragic incident inspired him to become a Reserve Police Officer and to make protecting public safety and working to reduce crime his number one priority. The same day his uncle was killed, Englander's older sister Natalie suffered an asthma attack and fell into a coma. She was "rushed to an emergency room whose doors were mistakenly locked." She wasn't able to receive medical aid in time, and "awoke with brain damage." Mitch and his wife cared for her for 10 years before she 'died in my arms,' he said."

He has served on the boards of directors of the North Valley YMCA, New Horizons, San Fernando Valley Junior Chamber of Commerce, Providence Holy Cross Hospital, West Valley Boys and Girls Club, Winnetka Community Foundation, Devonshire Police Activities League, and Valley Region High School No. 4 (in Granada Hills). He was named Father of the Year in 2006 by the National Father's Day Council.

Present day

Mitchell and Jayne Englander have two daughters, Lindsey and Lauren. They live in Granada Hills. He continues to serve on the boards of: the American Diabetes Association; The Jewish Home for the Aging; New Directions For Youth; Supporters of Law Enforcement in Devonshire (SOLID); and is a member of the Wildlife and Endangered Species Committee of the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club; and numerous other civic, environmental, philanthropic, and public safety activities.

He continues to serve on the boards of: the American Diabetes Association and co-founded the annual American Diabetes Association Political Roast in 1998, which has raised over $4 million for Diabetes research and treatment. He is a board member of North Valley Family YMCA, and is a past president. He has led their annual YMCA Booster Dinner, which has raised approximately $3 million to fund YMCA summer camp and other activities for at-risk and low-income youth, since it started in 1987.

Englander's other philanthropic, environmental, and public safety boards and appointments include:

Devonshire Police Activities League Supporters (PALS) Holy Cross Medical Center, Governors Board Jewish Home for the Aging/The Executives LA County Solid Waste Management Task Force New Directions for Youth New Horizons San Fernando Valley Council of Governments SCAG (Southern Cal. Association of Governments) Energy & Environment Committee SCAG Regional Council Member, Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Wildlife & Endangered Species Committee National League of Cities, Public Safety Committee Supporters of Law Enforcement in Devonshire (SOLID) Topanga Boosters & Youth Advisory West Valley Boys and Girls Club Winnetka Community Foundation

City Council

Campaign

Englander served as chief of staff to City Councilman Greig Smith from 2003 to 2009, in Los Angeles City Council District 12, then in the Northwest San Fernando Valley. In September 2009 Englander launched his campaign to succeed Smith, who had announced retirement upon his term's end. Calling himself "fiscally conservative," Englander said he was encouraged to run by State Assembly Member Keith Richman. He said that the city "must have a realistic and sustainable pension system that does not threaten the core functions of local government," and he proposed "cutting the salaries of all department heads unless they meet reasonable performance standards."

Noting that Englander was the "consummate City Hall insider," the Los Angeles Times endorsed him as "the best of several good choices." An editorial noted that Englander's "proximity" to Greig Smith had "clearly brought him advantages in fund-raising," with more than $440,000 already raised, "which is 10 times as much as his closest rival (and more than any other candidate for city office this election)." The Times said that Englander had served as Smith's "proxy" and "now claims to have played the leading role in a number of Smith's accomplishments." The L.A. Daily News endorsed him as well, saying that Smith presented "common-sense ideas to reform government, such as cutting general managers' base salaries but awarding bonuses to those who provide excellent service on a tight budget."

The core of his platform revolved around getting the city out of non-essential services and focusing on its most essential core services, including public safety, infrastructure, streets and sidewalks, building and safety, planning, parks and libraries, and performance-based budgeting.

Election

• See also: List of 2011 Los Angeles municipal election returns.

Mitch Englander was elected to represent City Council District 12 in the March 8, 2011 primary, receiving 57.74% of the total vote.

CD 12 communities

Englander represents all or part of the communities of:

• North Hills
• Granada Hills
• Northridge
• Porter Ranch
• Chatsworth
• West Hills
• Reseda
• Sherwood Forest

Committees

Englander is on the following L.A. City Council Committee assignments:

• Public Safety Committee—Chair
• Budget & Finance Committee—Vice Chair
• Planning, Land Use & Management Committee—Member
• Ad Hoc Business Tax Reform Committee—Member
• Ad Hoc Community Care Facilities Ordinance Committee-Chair

Council activity

• On February 17, 2012, Englander introduced a motion to implement FirestatLA, a new system modeled after the Los Angeles Police Department's Compstat system. FirestatLA would use technology and management techniques, based on near-real-time data collection and mapping, to rapidly deploy concentrated resources, with constant follow-up and assessment. Another key component would be frequent meetings among all levels of the Fire Department. The initial motion was approved, and it is under development.

• Campaign finance—One of Englander's first council actions was to file a motion proposing that the campaign-finance limit of $500 per donor be raised.

• Arizona boycott—On October 21, 2011, Englander called for an end to the city's boycott of Arizona, which had been voted in May 2010 after that state adopted Arizona SB 1070, a law requiring law-enforcement officers to ask for proof of U.S. citizenship from people in vehicles pulled over and suspected to be in the United States illegally. He said he would pay his own way to attend a National League of Cities conference in Phoenix, since the city would not do so.

External links

• City of Los Angeles Council District 12: Councilman Mitchell Englander—official CD12 website (homepage).
• Council District 12 Official Youtube Channel - Official CD12 YouTube Channel