A graduate of the UCLA School of Law, a former union organizer
and, most recently, staff director at the UCLA Downtown Labor
Center, one UCLA professor is continuing his mission as a community
advocate with a new post at the mayor’s office.
Larry Frank, who also practiced labor and criminal law for 10
years, became deputy mayor for Neighborhood and Community Services
in mid July, a post Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hopes will help city
officials accommodate and respond to the many requests of
Angelenos.
“The mayor expects Larry Frank to lead the community
outreach and constituents services efforts of our office as
life-long community organizer and advocate for our neighbors. The
mayor has high expectations for Larry Frank,” said Jimmy
Blackman, deputy chief of staff for the mayor.
Integrating himself into various communities and leading efforts
to improve living conditions are nothing new to Frank, who has
worked with everyone from the United Farm Workers of America to the
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union.
With his new position, Frank will be at the helm of an
institution meant to link over 80 neighborhood councils and over
1,100 community leaders. Essentially, the new deputy mayor will be
in charge of the numerous queries, suggestions and needs Angelenos
have.
“Part of being extremely popular is the perception
(Villaraigosa) can get everything done. There have been a huge
number of e-mails and calls. … We’re addressing all the
concerns that make their way to the mayor’s office,”
Frank said.
Having only been in office for a few weeks, Frank already has a
plethora of short and long-term projects on his hands. Among the
short-term ones are citywide days of service that Frank said he
hopes will bring people together in “a spirit of
volunteerism.”
“(The mayor) is fully aware that city government cannot
fix all of the challenges we face,” Frank said.
The first such day of service is scheduled for Oct. 8 and will
be one of six massive beautification projects in area high schools,
where the plan is to clean up the schools.
Frank also said he considers engaging in the city’s
schools to be one of the administration’s biggest
challenges.
Frank said a recent study shows that only 44 percent of Los
Angeles’ ninth graders are graduating, a number he is intent
on increasing through aligning his office and resources with the
rest of City Hall, including the deputy mayor of education.
Frank says his past as a community advocate, lawyer, professor
and campaign organizer have all helped him gain a “pulse on
the city” and prepared him for his new post. Former
colleagues and friends agree.
Victor Narro, program director at the UCLA Downtown Labor
Center, has known Frank for many years and met him when both were
working on an immigrant rights campaign.
“When I first met him, I was inspired how he connected
with people from different communities. From the white progressives
in the Valley to the Latino communities in East L.A. to the Asian
community in Monterey Park,” Narro said.
In terms of actively working with a community, Frank said he
believes one of the keys is to find “access
points.”
“A sentencing practice allowed me to hear individual
stories of about 300 individuals who were facing incarceration. It
got me deeply inside communities. It was an access point,”
Frank said.
Other so-called access points have included spending eight years
building a precinct organization meant to integrate various
non-profit organizations in Los Angeles for campaign purposes.
The new post at the mayor’s office is a natural step for
Frank and makes sense for the former labor activist, Narro
said.
Narro said he will miss Frank as the fixture at the labor
center.
“Although I talk to him every day, it’s not like
when we had our offices right next to each other,” he
said.