Cityhood for East L.A.

This is the second installment of "Spotlight on Supporters," a series showcasing the talented and dedicated Cityhood supporters who make up East LA.

Adalid Sanchez was born and raised in East Los Angeles. He attended Fourth Street Elementary, Griffith Middle School and Garfield High School (Class of 2003). While attending UCLA, he worked at Fourth Street Elementary through AmeriCorps, before returning back home to upon graduation. Check out below how and why Adalid is involved.

Q. How did you hear about Cityhood and what attracted you to it?

A. I learned about the cityhood movement through friends though I'd been involved with preliminary rumblings since being in Mr. Alberto Palacios' government class as a high school senior when I designed a crude logo and website. My initial attraction was very simply the idea of calling East L.A. a city. I mainly support cityhood as a means to establish a local government by which city codes could be born locally and implemented with residents' close input.

For a quick February update, check out the informative news update on our effort by Telemundo 52. Also this month, Cityhood volunteers Daniel Rodriguez and Jazmín Faccuseh tell their personal stories about giving back to the community in La Opinión.

El Este de Los Angeles busca convertirse en su propia ciudad (video)
Telemundo 52, February 18, 2009

Graduados buscan cómo retornar el favor
La Opinión, February 9, 2009

We did it! The Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) has reviewed and certified the boxes of petitions we turned in last month, and the verdict is amazing! One out of three East L.A. residents signed the petition for a Comprehensive Fiscal Analysis, exceeding the minimum requirement by thousands.
Here's the recent media coverage on our community's bold step towards Cityhood:

East L.A. Moves Toward Cityhood
SGV Tribune, January 11, 2009

East Los Angeles takes major step on road to cityhood
LA Times, January 10, 2009

East L.A. Cityhood Study Gets Underway
EGP News, January 8, 2009

Signature Gathering Petition Officially Certified and First Donation Kick-Starts $100,000 Fundraising Drive

View the Media Advisory. (PDF)
January 8, 2009

What: East Los Angeles Residents to announce the first steps for East Los Angeles Cityhood is a success! The L.A. County Registrar has officially certified the signature-gathering petition, and now East Los Angeles residents will receive their first donation to kick-off their fundraising efforts to raise $100,000 for the first detailed, in-depth analysis done on East Los Angeles since 1974.

When: 11:00 A.M. - Friday, January 9, 2009

Where: 5012 Whittier Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90022 (Front of Mission Furniture in the Historic Heart of East Los Angeles)

Who: East L.A. Residents, Business Leaders, and Elected Officials
East Los Angeles residents are facing the burden of paying for this comprehensive study, which is the next step for East Los Angeles Incorporation. A financial study of any kind on East Los Angeles has not been done in 30 years. East Los Angeles Residents were successful in asking for an initial study completed in 2007 that showed that a City of East L.A. is viable with revenues of $51 million and expenditures of $45 million.

See the January 7, 2009 letter from LAFCO (PDF), which deems the petitions submitted for the proposed incorporation of East Los Angeles to be sufficient.
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