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Council confirms Greg Nelson as general manager of Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
Summary
The Los Angeles City Council confirmed Greg Nelson as general manager of the new Department of Neighborhood Empowerment after extended questioning by councilmembers about outreach, diversity, youth engagement and translation services.
The Los Angeles City Council confirmed Greg Nelson as general manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment on Oct. 2, 2001, voting 12-0 after a public hearing and extended questions from councilmembers.
The appointment, made by the mayor, drew sustained commentary from councilmembers who asked Nelson how he would ensure neighborhood councils reflect neighborhood diversity, involve youth and renters, and secure translation services for multilingual populations. Nelson said the city charter requires neighborhood councils to reflect neighborhood diversity and described a staff emphasis on community-organizing skills.
“The requirement that neighborhood councils reflect the diversity of the neighborhood is a nonnegotiable requirement of the city charter,” Nelson said, adding that neighborhood councils will be advisory bodies that should include existing homeowner groups, chambers of commerce and civic organizations rather than replace them.
Councilmembers pressed Nelson on operational details. He said the department has authority to hire field staff and would return with a plan and budget requests if more resources are needed. On youth engagement, Nelson described plans to link neighborhood-council participation to meaningful tasks and suggested working with high schools and the future youth commission to create continuity among student participants. On translation, he said written translation had improved but that spoken-language capacity remained a priority and required further work with LAUSD and city resources.
Support for Nelson came from councilmembers who described his long track record with community organizations and neighborhood planning efforts. “There is probably no one else in city government who has been a more attentive observer of the evolution of the empowerment congress than Greg Nelson,” one speaker said during the council debate.
Ms. Hahn moved the confirmation and Mr. Burton seconded the motion; the roll call recorded 12 ayes and the appointment was approved.
The council directed related follow-up: Nelson and his staff will develop plans for staffing, translation capacity and outreach to underrepresented neighborhoods and report back to council committees as specific needs and budget requests arise.
