Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today joined City Controller Wendy Greuel, Councilmember José Huizar and community leaders to encourage Angelenos to participate in the 2010 Census and welcome the Los Angeles stop of the Census Bureau's "Portrait of America Road
Tour."
“The Census is much more than a tally of numbers, it defines who we are as a City and as a nation,” Mayor Villaraigosa said. “And here in Los Angeles, we are doing our part by coordinating a citywide grassroots campaign through Complete Count Committees and actively encouraging Angelenos to be counted.”
The Complete Count Committees have forged partnerships between government agencies, Neighborhood Councils, faith-based organizations, labor unions, and businesses to promote participation in the Census.
"It is critical that each and every Angeleno is counted in the upcoming census," said City Controller Wendy Greuel. "Los Angeles lost $200 million because of being undercounted in the 2000 census, which translates to money for books in our schools, police officers on our streets and affordable housing that should be built."
“Today we are reminding the public that the Census is an extremely important part of our democratic system, providing key data for health, education and emergency service funding as well as congressional representation,” said Councilmember José Huizar. “In these tough economic times, Los Angeles can ill afford to be undercounted by nearly 77,000 people and lose hundreds of millions of dollars in vital funding as it did in 2000. In 2010, we need all Angelenos to step up and be counted.”
Also on hand to welcome the road tour was the director of the U.S. Census Bureau Los Angeles Regional Office Jamey Christy, President and General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) Thomas A. Saenz and Executive Director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Arturo Vargas.
The 2010 Census Portrait of America Road Tour is part of the largest civic outreach and awareness campaign in U.S. history -- stopping and exhibiting at more than 800 events nationwide.
From local parades and festivals to major sporting events like the Super Bowl and NCAA Final Four, the Road Tour will encourage America's growing and increasingly diverse population to complete and mail back the 10-question census form when it arrives in mailboxes March 15-17.
Traveling for a total of 1,547 days and more than 150,000 miles across the country, 13 road tour vehicles will provide the public with an educational, engaging and interactive experience that brings the 2010 Census to life.
City of Los Angeles Census 2010 information is available at www.lacounts2010.org.
