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Downtown Drama
Comedian-Neighborhood Council Saga Takes a Not-so-Funny Turn
by Anna Scott
In an unexpected turn of events, voters will have to go to the polls to choose two members of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council's board of directors mere weeks after the last election.
Part of the hubbub is tied to a seat won by a well-known comedian. But with the extra time and expense required to fill out the 28-member board, no one is laughing.
The DLANC board holds seats for inhabitants or business representatives of specific geographic areas. Last month, a comedian named Ant (known for his gig hosting "Celebrity Fit Club" and his appearance on "Last Comic Standing," among other credits) won the seat reserved for a Fashion District resident. That post is now up for grabs again after DLANC officials determined that Ant does not actually live in the Fashion District.
Exactly how he ended up with the seat is the subject of some debate.
Ant was originally approved by the City Clerk's office, which oversees neighborhood council elections, to run as a South Park resident. But he was disqualified from that category when officials realized that the restored Eastern Columbia building on Broadway, where Ant lives, is outside of what DLANC considers South Park.
"We have different geographic districts based on trying to get a diverse representation on our board," explained DLANC President Russell Brown. "He is right on the border. It is tricky."
Shortly thereafter, Ant chose to run instead in the Fashion District. As proof of his stakeholder status, he provided a letter from a landlord stating that he maintains a secondary residence in a Fashion District building. Ant won the seat uncontested, but Brown became suspicious and challenged the result.
"As soon as I saw the address, I said, 'This isn't a residence,'" Brown said. "It was at Olympic and Wall. Nobody lives down there."
Ant, who said he wanted to serve on the board to give a voice to the local Latino community and "to get the buses to stop idling near my building," admits that he does not live in the Fashion District. He said that he submitted the false address at the urging of Isaias Cantu, the city's senior project coordinator for neighborhood council elections.
"He told me, 'Get a different address and say you live there. You only have to live there a night,'" said Ant. "I actually believed it was okay, which was my fault. I feel so terrible about the whole thing."
Cantu, however, maintains that Ant took it upon himself to claim stakeholder status in the Fashion District after being told he did not qualify to run as a South Park resident.
Either way, Ant will not serve on the DLANC board for the current two-year term. Now, a new election for the Fashion District resident's seat will be held between July 15 and the end of August, said Brown.
That was not the only problematic outcome in the voting that took place June 12. The seat reserved for a business representative operating east of Alameda Street will also be on the ballot.
That seat originally went to Lapchich Fan of Concerto Development, the company behind the Arts District's 2121 Lofts. However, Fan, who ran uncontested, failed to garner a single vote.
"Because he got zero votes, we have to have another election," said Brown. "He didn't even vote for himself."
Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.
page 8, 7/14/2008
© Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to re-distribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
Part of the hubbub is tied to a seat won by a well-known comedian. But with the extra time and expense required to fill out the 28-member board, no one is laughing.
The DLANC board holds seats for inhabitants or business representatives of specific geographic areas. Last month, a comedian named Ant (known for his gig hosting "Celebrity Fit Club" and his appearance on "Last Comic Standing," among other credits) won the seat reserved for a Fashion District resident. That post is now up for grabs again after DLANC officials determined that Ant does not actually live in the Fashion District.
Exactly how he ended up with the seat is the subject of some debate.
Ant was originally approved by the City Clerk's office, which oversees neighborhood council elections, to run as a South Park resident. But he was disqualified from that category when officials realized that the restored Eastern Columbia building on Broadway, where Ant lives, is outside of what DLANC considers South Park.
"We have different geographic districts based on trying to get a diverse representation on our board," explained DLANC President Russell Brown. "He is right on the border. It is tricky."
Shortly thereafter, Ant chose to run instead in the Fashion District. As proof of his stakeholder status, he provided a letter from a landlord stating that he maintains a secondary residence in a Fashion District building. Ant won the seat uncontested, but Brown became suspicious and challenged the result.
"As soon as I saw the address, I said, 'This isn't a residence,'" Brown said. "It was at Olympic and Wall. Nobody lives down there."
Ant, who said he wanted to serve on the board to give a voice to the local Latino community and "to get the buses to stop idling near my building," admits that he does not live in the Fashion District. He said that he submitted the false address at the urging of Isaias Cantu, the city's senior project coordinator for neighborhood council elections.
"He told me, 'Get a different address and say you live there. You only have to live there a night,'" said Ant. "I actually believed it was okay, which was my fault. I feel so terrible about the whole thing."
Cantu, however, maintains that Ant took it upon himself to claim stakeholder status in the Fashion District after being told he did not qualify to run as a South Park resident.
Either way, Ant will not serve on the DLANC board for the current two-year term. Now, a new election for the Fashion District resident's seat will be held between July 15 and the end of August, said Brown.
That was not the only problematic outcome in the voting that took place June 12. The seat reserved for a business representative operating east of Alameda Street will also be on the ballot.
That seat originally went to Lapchich Fan of Concerto Development, the company behind the Arts District's 2121 Lofts. However, Fan, who ran uncontested, failed to garner a single vote.
"Because he got zero votes, we have to have another election," said Brown. "He didn't even vote for himself."
Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.
page 8, 7/14/2008
© Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to re-distribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
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