LOS ANGELES MAYORAL CANDIDATE MEL WILSON EASILY MAKES THE CUT; FORMER NFL PLAYER’S NAME WILL APPEAR ON THE JUNE 2022 BALLOT
LOS ANGELES (March 11, 2022) —The Los Angeles City Clerk’s office has informed Los Angeles Mayoral candidate Mel Wilson and his campaign staff that his name will appear on the June primary ballot after certifying far more than the minimum 500 valid nominating petition signatures that were required to qualify.
Wilson, a business leader, housing advocate and former Metro Board member, first entered the race in July 2021 with a kickoff event at a Van Nuys Boulevard shopping center in Pacoima that was formerly a food desert and is now anchored by a Food 4 Less store. The location was chosen to highlight his work bringing the public, private, nonprofit and faith community together to solve problems in Los Angeles.
“Our grassroots campaign received voter signatures from nearly every zip code across our city. We are on the ballot. The people’s voices will be heard. I’m standing up fighting for Angelenos from every political persuasion, the young, elderly, working people, small businesses and everyday people who have been left out and left behind.
“The debates organizers cater to career politicians and billionaires. To them it’s all about the money. They may exclude me from the debate stage, but the people’s voices will be heard. We will keep taking our message directly to the people. I have a vision and plans to bring people together to solve L.A.’s problems.
“Career politicians have failed us. Homelessness is out of control, violent crime is rising, rents are too high, housing is not affordable for working Angelenos. If the billionaire developer really cared about the people, why hasn’t he used his vast resources to help everyday Angelenos who are struggling.
“High rent, high DWP bills, inflation and $5 to $6 per gallon gas makes it nearly impossible to make ends meet. The people are smart enough to know that a billionaire developer with a $80 million yacht in the Marina can’t feel their pain. I grew up poor, got an education and worked my way into the middle-class. I feel the people’s pain.
“Everybody should be held accountable. In school we have a report card. What grade would you give career politicians and political insiders who are in this race for mayor of L.A.? How many affordable housing units has billionaire developer Rick created, how many homeless has he moved into housing?
“I helped thousands of middle-income first-time buyers create generational wealth. I fought discrimination, redlining and gentrification for 40-years. Three different mayors, Tom Bradley, Richard Riordan, and Antonio Villariagosa (Democrats and Republican) trusted Mel Wilson when they needed to get the job done.
“I respect the elected officials and wealthy people who run for political office, however, career politicians want a job when they haven’t done the job. Maybe the billionaire developer in this race is bored and wants another toy to play with during his spare time.”
Wilson is a Cal State Northridge (CSUN) business graduate and All-America football player, moved to the San Fernando Valley from Alabama when he was 10 years old. Raised by a single mother and grandmother in the San Fernando Valley, he attended church weekly in Los Angeles and married his bride 48-years ago in a church on the corner of Manchester and Broadway.
“I’m in this race because I have demonstrated that I know how to bring people together to get the job done. When Metro said there was no money I fought and got $120 million to build a Metro Leimert Park Station. When Metro said there was no money I fought and got $1.2 billion to build the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project, the San Fernando Valley’s first light rail project. I fought for fairness with other Valley leaders in the Valley Independence Movement.”
Along with serving on the Los Angeles County Transportation Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors from 1993-97 and 2010-13 – Wilson was appointed by former Los Angeles mayors Antonio Villaraigosa and Richard Riordan – he spent four years on the Los Angeles Fire Commission. He also served on the Business Tax Advisory Commission and the Small Business Advisory Commission, as well as president of the United Chamber of Commerce of San Fernando Valley.
Mel Wilson, the San Fernando Valley housing expert running for mayor of Los Angeles, said the difference between him and the other candidates is that he is not a career politician or a billionaire developer.
“I am the best prepared to be mayor, because I am a housing advocate, middle-class and small businessman community advocate who has fought for fairness all my adult life for the people of Los Angeles. My report card shows that I bring people together to solve problems for all Angelenos. What grade do you give the other candidates in the race for Mayor of Los Angeles?”
