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VENICE - In a letter dated Monday, November 3rd, Steve Bradbury, Communications Officer for the Venice Neighborhood Council (www.venicenc.org) abruptly resigned effective immediately.
In an e-mail sent to fellow board officers, Bradbury made his resignation official as he described "immeasurable frustration that multiple board members knowingly choose a path of rancor, chaos, bullying and impertinence, simply because they can."
Bradbury, a popular board member with a strong background in marketing, media and technology was serving as webmaster for the VNC's website, said he was being treated in "a condescending, arrogant, attacking manner."
"I have been on the receiving end of slanderous statements, questions about my integrity, condescending schooling on by-laws, rules and regulations, accusations of not being transparent and claims of being misogynistic and racist."
Bradbury declined to name the board members in question and would let his letter of resignation be his only public comment on the matter.
Bradbury did confirm he made his case to EMPOWER LA, which monitors the actions of the city's some 99 neighborhood councils and refused to take any corrective or administrative action.
"If this was any business or (one would hope) city department, these behaviors would have been summarily addressed by HR and/or senior management. Timely investigations/meetings would follow with warnings and/or dismissal, as appropriate. Unfortunately, no such mechanism exists here."
The 21-member Venice Neighborhood Council is elected by stakeholders every two years and the NV system is part of the Los Angeles City Charter. With Bradbury's exit, the board now has two vacancies and sources confirm more resignations based on the behavior and actions of at least four current members is possible.
In conversations between Bradbury and DONE (Department of Neighborhood Empowerment), the agency has refused to mediate the current conflicts that existed with him and these board officers.
In his letter, Bradbury urged that enforcement of the VNC's Standing Rules become part of board practice as well as funding a police presence at board meetings.
"Perhaps reasonable people will collectively insist the temperature must be finally turned down to actually serve the community in a meaningful way," offered Bradbury.
Regarding EMPOWER LA, the agency that monitors and regulates neighborhood councils, one board member best described that bureaucratic unit as "useless."
Steve Bradbury is a long-time resident of Marina del Rey and has run for office several times as a stakeholder/Community Officer for the Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC). He identifies himself as a “thoughtful pragmatist” with interests in issues like homelessness, infrastructure, transportation/parking, city services, and quality of life for Marina-del-Rey residents.
(Nick Antonicello is a 23-year-resident of the neighborhood and exclusively covers the deliberations of the Venice Neighborhood Council. Have a tip or a take all things Venice? Contact him via e-mail at [email protected])
