VNC Satisfaction
Survey results are in!
The
results of the first Venice Neighborhood Stakeholder Survey are in and they show
residents are extremely dissatisfied with their local elected officials.
The most
notable results:
--Regarding
the performance of their elected officials, both LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and
CD11 Councilman Mike Bonin received 79% dissatisfaction ratings from
respondents.
--90% of
respondents view homelessness as the greatest challenge for Venice.
74% view crime as another major issue, with 74% believing crime has
gotten worse year after year.
--81% of
respondents expressed levels of dissatisfaction with City services in Venice,
and 48% were generally unhappy with the performance of the Venice Neighborhood
Council - the local elected body and advisory board to the Los Angeles City
Council.
--44%
of respondents believed there was a lack of effective [government]
representation, while the proliferation of scooters at 42% was another issue
Venice needs to tackle.
The
several-months long study was approved by the previous Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) in May of
2019. It was developed and conducted with the assistance of professional survey
research consultants by the VNC Outreach Committee, under the leadership of
former Outreach Chair Hollie Stenson. The purpose was to achieve a
baseline pulse of what Venetians are feeling about their community, and to
provide this information to the newly elected VNC Board, inducted in June of
2019. The goal was also to provide a focus for the new Board and to
improve the Board's service to the Venice community.
Participation in the survey was voluntary. Almost 800
respondents participated in the survey about the issues most important to Venice's
uniquely diverse seaside community.
The full results are available at: https://www.venicenc.org/pdfs/Survey-Results-Final.pdf and
on the Council website at: https://www.venicenc.org.
With 93%
of the respondents living in Venice and 53% residing here for over 20 years,
the Survey reached a core audience of long-time residents who are engaged in
its challenges and issues.
Sixty-eight
percent identified as homeowners and 27% as renters. Forty-one percent were
male, while 54% were female. Thirty-two percent were between the ages of
35-49, 62% were over the age of 50, while only 5% were between the ages of
18-34.
"The
new VNC Board is committed to serving the people we represent during our two-year
term. That's why this survey is important - we have a direction as to
what Venetians want us to focus on," said Sima Kostovetsky, the new
Outreach Officer elected in June 2019, who continued the promotion of the
survey.
--A
bright spot in the Survey was that Venetians generally felt safe in their own
neighborhoods, with Abbot Kinney Boulevard regarded as the safest place in Venice.
Among the
99 Neighborhood Councils that represent communities across Los Angeles, the
Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) is one of the most established and one of the
most successful — consistently having the highest voter turnout compared to
that of any other neighborhood council.
