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Empower LA outlines outreach strategy, resources and tools to boost Region 4 Neighborhood Council turnout
Summary
Marilou Gebara of Empower LA described a five‑pillar engagement framework, ready‑to‑use communication kits (social press kits and personalized flyers), partnerships and on‑the‑ground outreach options for neighborhood councils ahead of Region 4 elections.
Marilou Gebara, director of Awareness and Engagement at the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (Empower LA), presented the department’s outreach plan and resources to help Neighborhood Councils boost candidate recruitment and voter participation in Region 4.
Gebara said Empower LA’s engagement framework rests on five pillars: messaging and communication, partnerships with city and community organizations, candidate and voter engagement, coordination with neighborhood councils and advertisement. She described a social press kit and regional communication materials that neighborhood councils can post or download, and said the department will provide personalized PNG/PDF flyers, postcards and door hangers with QR codes that link to the City Clerk’s candidate and voter pages.
On partnerships, Gebara said the department is leveraging city newsletters and community partners — naming Los Angeles Sanitation and Personnel Department and several council district newsletters as distribution channels — and that Empower LA maintains a regional list of more than 300 community‑based organizations for outreach. She said the office has already done 31 Neighborhood Council 101 presentations and is offering support for in‑person candidate and get‑out‑the‑vote events.
Gebara urged boards to distribute outreach responsibility across members and committees, not to rely on one outreach chair. She recommended practical options for outreach including posting flyers at local businesses, tabling at markets, door‑hangers and school/college engagement for youth seats. She highlighted a public drive of templates and materials Empower LA will post on its website and said printed materials can be requested through a neighborhood council’s Neighborhood Empowerment Advocate (NEA).
Gebara said the department will also use the city’s electronic notification system (ENS) — the same list used for posting Brown Act agendas — to notify stakeholders about candidate filing windows, vote‑by‑mail registration, and election day, but that they will “be mindful” of frequency. She said an engagement guide, a candidate campaigning workshop and translations on request will be available to boards and candidates.
Ending: Gebara closed by noting she and other Empower LA staff are available for one‑on‑one support and will share the presentation, engagement drive link and other materials with participants.
